Evaluating a critic Title: “Wingless Chickens”: “Good Country People” and the Seduction of Nihilism [Rejection of values and beliefs] By: Henry T. Edmondson III The author of this article sees O’Connor’s story, good country people, as an example of O’Connor’s fear of the treats of nihilism in society as well as a story of moral examples, Edmonson states, “Good Country People also teaches that a belief in nihilism is something less than a clear, rational choice; it is more likely an example of seduction.”(pg 72) According to his article he portrays joy-hulga (the main character) as someone who wants to be a nihilist and is playing with fire. “It is as if Hulga’s persistent flirtation with nihilism, by word and behavior has conjured up the spirit of nihilism itself and it has come to claim its own.” (Edmonson, pg 64). “Compared with Manley pointer, hulga is a dilettante in nihilism, an amateur in ‘nothingness.’”(pg 66. Edmondson). He sees manley pointer as being the actual nihilist and joy-hulga as an person still trying to develop a personality.
Patten learned at school that ‘one and one made two’. This metaphor is referring to love and how one person and another come together to make two. But at home it was a completely different story; Patten had parents who fought and didn’t take much interest in him, Patten’s home life ‘stung more than any teachers cane’ which shows the extent of how painful love came across to him. In his home life he learned that ‘one and one stayed one and one’. His parents actions when he was young left him with the idea that love and relationships are horrible and all it does is hurt us, he felt as if it’s not worth going through the pain and stress.
Essay 3: ‘Maestro illustrates the impossibility of escaping the past.’ To what extent do you agree? Essay 4: ‘Maestro’s protagonists are too deeply flawed to be sympathetic.’ Discuss. Essay 5: ‘All of the characters in Maestro experience loneliness and displacement.’ Discuss. Essay 6: ‘The reader, in the end, sees Paul and Keller both as egotists and as equally unattractive characters.’ Do you agree? Essay 7: ‘Keller was bad for me, the worst possible teacher: revealing perfection to me, and at the same time snatching it away.’ Is Paul’s assessment of Keller correct?
Kozol addresses his readers so that they may spread awareness on illiteracy and eventually resolve the problem. Questions: 1. These explanations confuse the effects of illiteracy with the causes by saying that laziness is the cause of illiteracy, when in reality illiteracy is the cause of innovativeness, that an illiterate has to adopt, that is seen as laziness and stupidity. Kozol refutes these stereotypes with his examples of just how much illiteracy affects a person showing that they become almost immobilized and isolated by it. In his opinion the nation and it's leaders are at fault for not addressing this problem.
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
Okonkwo and Macbeth are both heavily influenced by other characters, fuelled by the expectations of their societies, and driven to act based on their tragic flaw. The reason behind all the actions Okonkwo takes can be traced back to one person; his father. Okonkwo grew up hating Unoka’s laziness and he “was ruled by one passion- to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved” (Achebe 13). This led him to rule “his household with a heavy hand” (Achebe 13), and treat his family poorly. He is afraid to show affection, as seen with Ezinma and Ikemefuna.
It’s impossible.” (222). The reader recognizes that Holden is confined within walls of phoniness and corruption. The profanity written on the walls becomes too much for Holden. In a sense, he desires to eradicate all profanity, therefore protecting the innocence of children, but as Holden indicates, it’s nearly impossible. Unlike Holden in Catcher in the Rye, Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath concentrates society’s corruption on self-interested people.
At several points in the story, he all but addresses us directly, imploring us, for example, to notice how bad Aylmer looks in comparison even to an animal like Aminadab. The narrator can also be characterized as a moralist who condescends to his readers. Rather than trusting us to figure out the symbolism of the birthmark, for example, or allowing us to draw our own conclusions about the soundness of Aylmer’s experiment, the narrator rushes to explain every metaphor and symbol as if we might miss his point. The strong narrative voice of “The Birthmark” epitomizes a key difference between modern American short stories and nineteenth-century American short stories. Modern stories are often told in an objective, distant, even ironic voice, whereas nineteenth-century stories were usually told by passionate narrators who infused their own strong opinions.
The Study of George It was the writer Joss Wheldon who said, “Loneliness leads to nothing good, only detachment. And sometimes the people who most need to reach out are the people least capable of it.” This shows that those who are lonely are those who are scared to speak out about it. Loneliness affects us all. It frightens people so much they can’t say anything about it. This is like the Great Depression when people just carried on with their lives not caring for others just for themselves.
However, Holden Caulfield’s actions compare to the actions of the so-called “phonies” that he dislikes so much. One example is when he calls himself, “The most terrific liar you ever saw in your life” (Salinger 16). He contradicts his own views with his actions and through this contradictory trait that he withholds, Salinger makes a point that mankind is too blind to see the error in their ways. Holden’s hypocritical personality is seen on page 62 of the novel when Holden says, “Sometimes I can think of very crumby stuff I wouldn't mind doing if the opportunity came up. I can even see how it might be quite a lot of fun, in a crumby way, and if you were both sort of drunk and all, to get a girl and squirt water or something all over each other's face.