Aaron B PPSA: The Awakening and Song of Solomon The ending passage of The Awakening by Kate Chopin is written in a resigned tone, in contrast to the ending passage of Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, which is written in an elated tone. The ending of The Awakening—Edna's apparent suicide as she finally realizes she cannot live as an independent woman in late 19th century society—reflects Chopin's feminist feelings, and it represents her conviction that women were confined by the norms of society. The ending of Song of Solomon—Milkman's ambiguous leap to either his death or to “flight”—reflects Morrison's feelings that life or death is unimportant so long as one succeeds in his/her quest for self-discovery. Chopin uses formal, abstract diction in The Awakening, while Morrison uses informal, colloquial diction in Song of Solomon. In the passage from The Awakening, Chopin uses formal, abstract words such as “sensuous” (133), “traversed” (133), and “despondency” (132).
Williams’ play is an example of a modern tragedy and Blanche is a complex tragic hero, as she is embodying both the traditional aspects of a tragic hero, but also introducing the new ideologies simultaneously. Williams introduces glimpses of an Aristotelian tragic hero in Blanche’s entrance. Blanche initially appears to fulfil the criteria of nobility; her arrival in the shabby and deprived setting of New Orleans coupled with her reaction of surprise and disbelief, ‘this- can this- be her home?’ clearly highlights her incompatibility to the surroundings immediately. Williams includes stage directions that allow the reader to build up a strong idea of Blanche’s appearance: ‘Her appearance is incongruous to this setting,’ and her distinct mannerisms. She seems to be superior compared to her surroundings, virginal and demure due to her ‘Southern belle’ upbringing and these traits are obvious in her choice of attire: ‘She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and ear-rings of pearl, white gloves and hat...’ These are expensive garments that denote grandeur and wealth and ultimately purity.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a fantastic piece of American antitranscendentalism because in that it shows that humans are naturally evil, sinful, and guilty. Hawthorne's protagonist, Hester Prynne, shows in excellent example how human nature can be sinful. Although she is depicted as beautiful, angelic, and almost the epitome of perfection, Hawthorne reveals in his story how eyes are deceiving and humans are sinners by nature. Hawthorne writes, "Here, there was the taint of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life, working such effect, that the world was only the darker for this woman's beauty, and the more lost for the infant that she had borne," (Hawthorne, 39). Prynne commits adultery in the novel, one of the most unforgivable sins.
In comparison of The Lottery and The Most Dangerous Game both Connell and Jackson convey to the readers that man is inherently evil and that choices made based on societal standards, traditions, and learned behavior may not be the morally correct choice. This confirms the passage of Scripture from Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (KJV) The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell and The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson share a common theme which is showing the darker side of humans, that humans possess evil tendencies and that the morals of people can be corrupted. Connell and Jackson show us that injustice and cruelty in society can be accepted as a normal behavior. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson has an unknown
In chapter two of The Woman In Black, Susan Hill contrasts the emotions of the leading character, Arthur Kipps, with the pathetic fallacy to subvert the gothic genre. She does this by creating a sense of adventure and inquisitiveness through Arthur Kipps but describing the scenery to be dull and dreary. She portrayed the atmosphere to be flooded with thick yellow fog that “chocked and blinded, smeared and stained” the people of London. Describing the fog to have human abilities is an example of personification as it’s giving the fog, a nonhuman, the capabilities that humans have. By using the words “chocked” and “blinded”, it reflects on how vulnerable and exposed the public are due to this sinister fog.
When fevers burn or ague freezes, Rheumatics gnaw or colic squeezes, Our neebors sympathise to ease us Wi' pitying moan; But thee! - the hell o' a' diseases, They mock our groan! Of a' the num'rous human dools - Ill-hairsts, daft bargains, cutty-stools, Or worthy frien's laid i' the mools, - Sad sight to see! - The tricks o' knaves or fash o' fools - Thou bear'st the gree! Whare'er that place be priests ca' Hell, Whare a' the tones o' misery yell, An' ranked plagues their numbers tell In dreadfu' raw, Thou, Toothache, surely bear'st the bell Amang them a'!
Allusion- The Ghoul-haunted ghostland of Weir: Line from Edgar Allan Poe's 1847 poem "Ulalume," in which the speaker of the poem is attempting to cope with the loss of his love. While looking out a window, Blanche speaks this line, indicating that she is still coping with the loss of Allen Grey. The point of allusion in a story is to better help us understand the character’s fantasies and thoughts. Symbolism- Blanche's white suit symbolizes false purity and innocence with which Blanche masks her carnal desire and cloaks her past. The point of symbolism in the play is to explain that a simple and small item or thing can represent a huge experience or thought in the characters life.
Instead for Williams the focus came in the exploration of the murky waters of internal truths, the lands hidden beneath the necessary social construction of man. The subtle shifts of emotion and temperament necessary for this type of exploration is achieved by adopting a more poetic stance and in doing so Williams makes a choice to avoid the more solid and clipped linguistic and dramatic modes of his Isben influenced contemporaries. As an American from the South, he was aware of the deliberate care in which the nation had cocooned its national identity, evoking images of the cowboy, the west and a refined romantic mythology to define self. His plays like Chekhov’s contain action of the internal rather than the external, and through the inner developmental action of characters such as Blanche, Tom, Stanley, Amanda and Laura the audience are allowed to glimpse through inaction the internal struggles, the action, of man. The difficulty for Williams comes in representing a nation which exists on two levels, romantic and mythological, the realistic and materialistic.
“The Tell Tale Heart” Short Story Essay Owen Meredith, a blind woman, stated, “Those true eyes [t]oo pure and too honest in aught to disguise [t]he sweet soul shining through them.” Owen Meredith well describes the beauty that eyes of every individual holds. Edgar Allan Poe on the other hand portrays the negative to the message Owen Meredith convey’s when she describes her vision of eyes. In the story “The Tell Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe focuses his story on the narrator’s insanity, due to the evil eye of an old man. The narrator observes the man for seven nights; after the eighth night, due to the disturbance the evil eye brings him, the narrator kills the old man. Edgar Allan Poe focuses on the insanity an eye can bring to an individual and what it leads to.
I quote: ‘‘The last word he pronounced was—your name. (Conrad, 2003: 161)” He told her that Kurtz’s last word was her name, instead of: “The horror! The horror! (Conrad, 2003: 145)” Maybe he’s trying to protect the woman from the cruel reality of the world, like the imperialism or the slavery. Kurtz’s fiancée represents the innocence of the Victorian society, its ideas and personality, she ignores what is happening in the African continent and she believes in the good deed of the civilizing mission.