The play ‘All my Sons” by Arthur Miller focuses on the themes of loss, guilt and the past revealing itself in the present. In this scene, Miller reveals that Kate and Ann feel very differently about Larry. Kate, as Larry’s mother, refuses to believe that he has died and needs other people around her to feel the same to give her feeling credibility, whereas Ann has come to terms with his death and, although expresses sadness and has a nostalgic attitude, feels ready to move forward with her life. Kate is driven by emotions regarding her feelings for Larry and Chris is determined for her to face up to reality. However, her sons death is something she won’t accept due to the implications it might have, displaying that she is trapped in the past.
Throughout the book, tension builds and drops – there are some upsetting and discomforting affairs for the Fox family. Sexism is a main theme in the book as the main protagonist’s Father is a prime example or how men treated woman in the 1915/20’s. The reader is exposed to Father treating Mother in such ways that would be frowned upon nowadays. An example of this is when father talks down to mother, and doesn’t expect her to understand when they are talking about the war, etc. Another major theme in the book is sickness and health, as Alexandra ends up training to be a nurse, and father is also a doctor and works with shell-shock patients who are portrayed to the leader in different characters.
The protagonist in this story is living a fantasy where she believes that her current lifestyle will lead her to a happy ending. What influenced her twisted belief is revealed as she narrates about her past and present. Throughout the story, Clemencia narrates about her life and the suffering she had to endure during her childhood by witnessing her parents failed marriage and her mother's secret affair. Aparently, the reason for the failed marriage and the affair is because of a culture gap between the Mexican husband and the Mexican-American mother. The husband expect some traditional traits from the Mexican-American wife, however, the wife is clueless about these traits and fail to please the husband and his family.
The county attorney tells the women to come near to the kitchen stove, since it is cold, and while she does step closer, she also mutters “I’m not - cold”(Glaspell, 1916). Her actions and words contradict each other, suggesting that while she outwardly complies with men’s request (or demands) of her, yet she feels resentful and is daring enough to voice her own feelings. Throughout the play, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale make several remarks to each other that reveal their resentment towards their husbands, yet also that they still struggle with the pressure to conform to societal norms of being a submissive wife. In one exchange, Mrs. Hale remarks, “You know, it seems kind of sneaking. Locking her up in town and then coming out here and trying to get her own house to turn against her!” Mrs. Peters replies, “But, Mrs. Hale, the law is the law” (Glaspell, 1916).
However, she is still has one major factor that remains throughout the novel - she worries about people. In chapter 28, when she first sees her father, Larry, after him staying at Harold Clark’s house, she says that the sight of him “startled” her. Also she immediately says to Rose, her sister, “look at him,” showing that she is still caring for people and shows her pity. This is a constant attribute of Ginny’s throughout the novel as she always made breakfast for Larry and worried when he would drink and drive, no matter how he treated her. The first part of the chapter is on Ginny’s description of Larry’s disheveled look and she describes not only his clothing and hair, but also his “demeanor.” “His hair is all standing on end,” Ginny states showing that she is watching him quite closely, and suggesting that she still persists on worrying about him, even after Harold told her he had called her and Rose “whores” and “he wished he’d had sons.” Being from the small town of Cabot, in Zebulon county, another point of worry for Ginny is what other people in town think of her and her family, for example when Harold and Larry are talking to other people at the church potluck she says, “I longed to hear what he was saying…” She says this as if she is worried about what he might be saying about her and Rose, even though it was ultimately Larry’s choice to stay out in the rain storm, she still felt ashamed.
In the story "Story" by Lydia Davis their are many conflicts, complications, and crisis. The story focuses on a lady and what she is experiencing from her lovers sudden actions. The conflict she faces the most is that she is in trying to get in touch with her now distant lover. Her lovers behavior has changed from paying attention to her to ignoring and avoiding her. She has connected sex to love.
The relationship between Curley and his wife is another element that fuels his hostility throughout the novel. “He spends half the time looking for her and the rest of the time she’s looking for him.” This tells us that their relationship isn’t very stable. It also hints at the fact that because Curley’s wife gives some workers on the ranch ‘the eye’ he is quite paranoid that she’ll cheat, thus one of the reasons he’s always asking Slim about her whereabouts. The other reason being that because in those days women were meant to stay at home to cook, clean and look after the house in general; Curley didn’t like it that his wife didn’t do any that and instead hung around the ranch all the time and his American dream was coming crashing down. The American dream was the hope to have a housewife, a piece of land and your own home something that just wasn’t working out for
Literary History, Interpretation, and Analysis Task 4 Introduction Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “Yellow Wallpaper” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily are short stories that both tell about the life of a woman that suffers from depression and eventually goes to being insane. There are similarities and differences that both stories share. The main character of Faulkner’s story was controlled by her father who ran off any boy that tried to get close to her which left her to be alone and unmarried. This caused the townspeople to feel pity towards her. The main character and narrator of Gilman’s story was forced by her husband to stay in a room upstairs where she started to show many delusional signs and eventually went insane.
Adrienne Rich and John Donne and Their Different and Similar Valedictions Part 1: This poem dramatizes the conflict of the independence of women and is also written to her former husband. The speaker begins with the juxtaposition of the words “swirling” and “frozen”. Swirling implies a whirlpool, liquid, fluid image, while frozen implies stiff, hard and cold. Rich wrote this poem in the same year that she and her husband divorced, and it was probably a very difficult and emotional time for her. She seems to be conveying these feelings towards her former husband and the overall situation, especially in the second line of the first stanza.
Leroy tried to persuade Norma Jean to stay with him, not to just let her go as she wished. As Leroy knows his marriage is ending, he decides that he is not going to give up on his wife. Leroy is determined to keep Norma Jean in his life and he quickly forms a plan in his mind to do so. Leroy makes a plan to do something bigger and better for Norma Jean other than to build her the log cabin he finally realized Norma Jean never actually wanted. Even at this beautiful place Norma Jean could not help but be honest with Leroy about how she was feeling inside.