Samuel Irving Bellman is one among many of the critics who have mixed emotions about the story. After first reading the novel in 1943, Bellman found it to be flat, unappealing, and unimaginative. He felt the characters were lifeless and hard to imagine as players in a human drama. A major drawback of his is Wharton’s love-hate triangle between Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie. From a positive perspective, “Ethan Frome is important to Wharton’s canon because it represents her confident coming of age as an artist…It has gained its place as a masterpiece of American literature for its style: it is brilliant in its economy, clarity, and structure (Bellman).” Here, he is explaining that Ethan Frome deserves to be a classic for its style, although he is not personally fond of the book.
Ethan Frome Throughout the novel Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, the main character Ethan goes through hard time in his life, internal and external which eventually lead to his downfall. Ethan is very much a tragic hero because of various tragic flaws in him. Ethan From has very poor judgment and lacks the ability to analyze situations. This flaw leads to problems, including marrying Zeena, his wife, as well as having a relationship with Mattie. Another flaw which Ethan has is his lack in ability to communicate with the people around him.
Throughout the novel Ethan is continuously drawn to Mattie, as she was much more attractive and friendly than Zeena. Ordered by Zeena to send Mattie away Ethan has to make a decision; either run away with the woman he loves or stay with the miserable woman he married. Torn between the two without money and the dreadful guilt to leave the sickly woman he is bound to by vows; on the night of Mattie departure they decided to kill themselves but the plan went terribly wrong, as Mattie became cripple and Zeena “miraculously” recovered and took care of them both. In “Ethan Frome” the theme silence plays a major role when describing the three key characters as they all are encased in their own silence: Ethan silent by nature, Zeena whom fell silent and Mattie young and new to a household who fell in love and unable to express it openly. When Ethan and Zeena had first met, "Zeena's volubility was music to his ears" (qtd.in Lauer 29), after his father’s death, his mother fell sick and silent for years.
Ethan Frome’s attempt at escaping his life We all know that we should be grateful for the life we have. Unfortunately, for some people their life may be unsatisfying for them and this causes them to seek out a new life.. In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, the protagonist, Ethan Frome, struggles living with his wife knowing that he is attracted to another woman. This leads to a bitter love triangle and changes him. He learns throughout the novel how trapped he is in a winter season filled town and seeks out freedom.
OF MICE AND MEN LITERARY ANALYSIS The story Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck is about two guys, Geoge and Lennie, trying to chase a dream during the early 1900’s. During that time jobs were difficult to keep and people were very tough on each other. On the way to a new job they come across trouble, a girl’s death caused by Lennie as an accident, leading to the destruction of their dreams and the end of a powerful friendship. In the novel, most characters are under someone’s power and seem to be limited to reach their dreams because of their weak position in life. According to Alexander Solzhenitsye, “You only have power over people so long as you don’t take everything away from them.
At the end during her sentimental speech Curley’s wife reveals to the reader her longing for being “in the movies”. The way how Steinbeck presents dreams in his novel shows that a women’s dream was harder to achieve than a males’ dream. The effect this has on the reader is that they see George and Lennie’s dream in the exact opposite way to Curley’s wife’s dream. The whole book itself rotates around George and Lennie’s dream and the failure of their dream is what ultimately makes the book so tragic whereas not a second thought is spared by the reader at the futility of Curley’s wife’s
The little brother is under stress because he cannot see his famous brother or that Munez knows of his poor family. The little brother’s mom forbids him from doing a lot of things to a point where the brother does outrageous and self-inflicting things in order to see his brother. Munez’s girlfriend, Roz Harmison, is under the stress that she is losing her boyfriend. She sees all the potential girlfriends he can have and that they do not live together. The pressure of her nursing exams forces her to stay in New Castle while her boyfriend is in Madrid.
Annie has an immediate conflict with Helen’s father, Captain Keller, and when she meets the wild and undisciplined Helen, Annie has an even bigger conflict with her. In addition to these external conflicts, Annie also has an internal one. The death of a younger brother can be devastating but this is something in which Annie Sullivan had to face. In addition, Annie has horrible feelings of guilt over the death of her younger brother Jimmie, and because of the hurt this death caused, Annie has decided never to love anyone else. Eventually, however, all Annie’s conflicts get resolved when she teaches Helen what a word is, and when Captain Keller sees that Annie is able to teach Helen, Annie’s conflict with him is over.
Firstly, the dystopian society causes many hardships for individuals who are in relationships. The Handmaids Tale and Nineteen Eighty-four, both start off with the protagonist fearing and hating their future companion. For example, in Nineteen Eighty-four, Winston is extremely afraid of Julia. He immediately assumes that she is from the thought police, long before he knows her well enough to make such a judgement. “Two weeks ago, I thought seriously of smashing your head in with a cobblestone.
The characters in The Day of theLocust grow discontented and disappointed with their lives and embittered towards the world, whichinstigates the downfall of this lower level of Hollywood society. Todd Hackett, Faye Greener, and HomerSimpson all depict failed attempts to achieve the American Dream. Todd Hackett is a main character who lives with the continuous threat of failure while heattempts to fulfill his personal dreams amongst the lower classes of Hollywood. Hackett comes toCalifornia hoping for a career designing movie scenery, but he faces many obstacles that he mustovercome before he can move up in the Hollywood society. Todd's life begins to go downhill as heassociates more frequently with the lower levels of Hollywood society.