Nash 1 Lucas W. Nash Dr. Connally English 1020.60 5 October 2014 Analysis of Symbolism: A Birthmark and a Black Veil Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism to convey his central themes and ideas to the reader throughout his works and his short stories The Birthmark (1843) and The Minister’s Black Veil (1836) are no exception. A comparative analysis of the heavy-handed symbolism used in these two short stories reveals Hawthorne’s style in his approach to creating his personal narrative of the human condition and also, as I believe these works show, how the effectiveness of these symbols differ as a result of the contemporary cultural context in which they are read. In this paper I am going to display this analysis in four sections. The first section will contain a brief overview of Hawthorne’s works and the central theme that overlies them. Second, I am going to briefly explain the plots of both The Birth Mark and The Minister’s Black Veil including the main uses of symbolism in each.
However, rather than representing the road as a political expression of individuality, it transcends the journey into a psychological and spiritual state. The postwar Swedish film Wild Strawberries directed by Ingmar Bergman in 1957 associates travel with introspective reflection: the protagonist Dr. Isak Borg is not travelling away from home, but into his past, society and self. The dreams are a metaphor for his psychological journey, exploring different themes in juxtaposition with the real journey: he confronts his fear for death and his sin of emotional rejection, which instigated his realization that he must openly deal with real life relationships. Nevertheless, the theme of rebellious individuality that flourished in American road movie can be perceived in Wild Strawberries in an evolved sense: the film’s title “Wild Strawberries” connotes the strawberries that grow away from the cultivated gardens of conformity (symbolizing life itself). Thus, it metaphorically indicates that Borg needs to disengage himself from emotional constraints in order to find meaning of life.
However, upon further reading, the reader may begin to wonder about the narrator’s reliability. The use of theatrical language in the prologue also contribute to suspense and tension heightening the novel’s intension for a gothic motif, showing the reader what to expect when they pursue the story further. The Gothic genre is known for building the atmosphere, and setting the tone and mood of a story from the start. In ‘The Turn of the Screw’, Henry James starts off the novel in this typical Gothic tradition, by preparing the reader, in the prologue, to what will be a very frightening tale. ‘The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as on Christmas Eve in an old house a strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered till somebody happened to note it as the only case he had met in which such a visitation had fallen on a child.’ However the simple, gothic reading of the prologue cannot prepare the reader for the future events; this is due to the fact that its purpose is to leave the reader in the unknown.
Khaled Abdulwahed - 0106791 Deborah Stiles English - The Novel March 8, 2012 The narrative structure of Dracula The diary narrative was chosen by Bram Stoker the author Dracula. It is composed of a sequence of newspaper articles, journal entries, memos and letters. Stoker wanted to reader to experience the story from the characters own point of view instead of his own. By doing so the author is separated from the reader. The reader is able to observe and develop a sense of connection with the characters on an emotional level.
Samindokht Ronaghzadeh Department of English Literature Middle East Technical University samindokht_63@yahoo.com THE APPLICATION OF DERRIDA'S IDEA OF MOURNING TO BRONTË'S VILLETTE By studying Derrida and his responses to a wide range of literary works, a Derridean approach to Charlotte Brontë's mature novel Villette, is conducted. This paper considers Derrida's idea of death and mourning in Villette. The main sources used, which deal with this philosophical concept, are Derrida’s 2001 The Work of Mourning and A taste for the Secret. These books provide descriptions of particular aspects of his concept of mourning such as the fear of impending death, the singularity and plurality of death, two infidelities towards the dead, narcissism, self-delusion, interiorization of the dead and tasting a tear. Derrida's The Ear of the Other and Mémoires: for Paul de Man are also used to give an understanding of the best sign of fidelity toward the dead, the mystery of name as a death bearer and the knowledge of finitude.
This is why the speaker takes his time thinking which path to choose because not only is he concerned about which road to take but also which path in life is the correct one. There could be more than one correct road but in reality you only choose one. When the speaker finally chooses a path automatically it can feel the mood changes because the speaker knows that it will not come back to be able to take the other path, left by in the past. The character then regrets its missed opportunity. In the beginning of the poem when the traveler is introduced for the first time he has to make a decision of what road to take.
IB English B Cat: 3 Extended Essay EXTENDED ESSAY RESEARCH QUESTION How and why does David Mitchell emphasize morality in his novel, Cloud Atlas? 1 ABSTRACT How and why does David Mitchell emphasize morality in his novel, Cloud Atlas? An exploratory, qualitative study, focused on discovering the various ways morality is presented. Using literary analysis of themes, characters and methodological ideas supported with quotations were crucial to answer my research question. Characters from the book that emerged together through the six different but interlinked stories, were described as being ‘aware’ of their moral values.
Mrs. Yvette Anderson English 125: Introduction to Literature Instructor Morrin November 20,2012 In Jean Rhys’ “Used to Live Here Once”, there are several important literary elements that make the short story interesting and a work of art. This paper will discuss the pivotal roles that setting and symbolism play in conveying the character’s journey in Rhys’ work. As defined in chapter 6 of “Journey into Literature”, setting is the time or place in which the action occurs. The setting also places boundaries around the action and defines the environment in which conflicts can be witnessed. Clugston further defines setting as the literary element that provides social perspective of manners and customs, and the concept of local color.
Metaphors create new meanings and allow us to write about feelings, thoughts, things, expressions and emotions. We draw our attention to the ways how metaphors are expressed in this story and which meanings they have. It should be pointed out that E. A Poe′s detective story is rich with metaphors, metaphorical phrases and expressions and has a symbolic meaning, and for analysis of metaphors in this story, we should, undoubtedly, deal with imagination and a great multitude of sentences analyzed from stylistic standpoint. The present course paper consists of the following parts: contents, introduction, main part, conclusion and bibliography. The main part presents theoretical assumptions for the study of subject matter as well as the analysis of sentences and interpretation of the metaphors in the story.
María Constanza Fáez Blanco Professor Michael Wilson The XIXth Century Novel - LET1747 24 June 2013 Treatment of Time in The Picture of Dorian Gray Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray can be analyzed from various points of view, being the aesthetic and moral aspects of it the favorite ones for literary criticism. However, these aspects rely to a considerable extent on Wilde's narrative techniques, even the subtlest ones. Among these, it is hard not to notice the peculiar and variable treatment of time in the novel and leads us to wonder: how does it contribute to the story itself? To answer this question, this paper will thoroughly analyze Wilde's treatment of time throughout the novel and study its vital contribution to the plot and the development of the character of Dorian Gray. Firstly, "treatment of time" should be referred to as "narrative speed", which according to Prince, is "the relationship between the duration of the narrated --- the (approximate) time the events recounted go on or are thought to go on --- and the length of the narrative (in words, lines, or pages, for instance)" (qtd.