Jeff Minden DesRoches English 1510 3/14/2012 Tradition Without Reservation Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” raises many questions concerning the destructive and blind rituals of humanity. This short story clearly expresses Jackson’s feelings regarding people's inability to change traditions and formal procedures. She also shows how people's lack of compassion can be exhibited in situations regarding customs and values. Jackson presents the theme of the story by cleverly disguising the setting and using profound symbols. The very names of the characters are congested with deeper meaning.
Analysis of Symbols within “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” In Joyce Carol Oates short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates uses a range of symbols both within her characters and their possessions to extend the meaning of the short story to life. Arnold Friend represents the loss of innocence; he forcefully takes Connie from her façade of womanhood—the hair spray, the “pull over jersey blouse,”(Oates 585), and her dates out on the town—to true adulthood, exposing her to the dangers of life and the injustices that accompany it. His name “Friend” (Oates 588) is likely a false name, though he assures her otherwise saying “and that’s my real name” (Oates 588); this is a deliberate effort to calm her subconscious by associating himself with a positive trait—friendliness. He is established as being older, and Connie, though feigning womanhood, is established as a young girl, still fashioning her world view from the marketing of love and life that accompanies the media by which she is surrounded, forming a shiny world view. Friend’s glasses mirror the world in a “metallic,” “miniature”(Oates 587) reflection, suggesting that he tries to present the situation to Connie in a shiny manner, in accordance with how her innocence makes her view it.
Rather than just being rude, she obviously has her opinions about certain things and sticks to them. For example, when asked about Bogey Lowenstein’s party Kat explains that people go to the party’s “in hopes of distracting themselves from the pathetic emptiness of their meaningless consumer driven lives”(10 Things). In this scene, she clearly describes how she feels and how that is the reason she does not go out to be with other people or parties. This gives us audience an insight to how Kat has real opinions and being hardheaded is why she is hated and so considered rude. Even though this is different than the play itself, I felt that this was a good adaption of the character for the film.
Despite the fact that the short story ought to be considered as a whole when analyzing it, the chief element of each work of art is its ending. In this story, there is an abrupt, open ending which leads the reader to ask him/herself moral questions such as the punishment Mary Maloney would have received if she were discovered, was she mentally insane because of her actions? As far as I am concerned, Dahl wanted to
AML2020 29 September 2014 Analysis of The Turn of the Screw: Unreliable Narrator The point of view, in which a story is told from, holds a key factor as to how the readers will understand the material. Seeing the setting in which the story takes place, the narrator’s lack of certitude and proof affects the value of a reliable character. The Governess being one of the main characters and the reader having the opportunity to read her thoughts creates confusion on the credibility of her statements. The Turn of the Screw; a story by Henry James; measures the attention and analysis of the reader, which illustrates the sophisticated use of word choice who is easily misread by its reader. On a literal level, the story can be read as an ordinary ghost story.
Demonstration of Dickinson’s fruitless attempts to belong is evident in her Highly personal “Letter to the World” that she emphasises “never wrote” back. Extension of this isolation further enhances her estrangement from the world, evident when she refers to the “Hands I cannot see.” Regardless of this Dilemma, Dickinson introduces her problem through the positive connotations of “Sweet Countrymen,” highlighting her estrangement and inability to conform to society’s needs. In spite of her rejection, enforcement of her innate need to belong allows Dickinson to seek solace in nature if not with society. Confusion may act as a mechanism leading to an individual’s realisation that they do no belong. Through exploration of Dickinson’s interactions with the world, her perceptions of nature change in realisation of how vast and mysterious the world – especially nature – is in her poem “what mystery pervades a well.” Unlike this is my Letter to the World,” Dickinson realises that her connection to nature may be as superficial
We do not have a homogeneous identity but that instead we have several contradictory selves.’ (p. xv) I will argue that these multiple identities are demonstrated in both White Noise ( ) by DeLillo as DeLillo’s characters have to change and adapt their identities in the face of danger during the Holocaust, and The Complete Maus ( ) by Spiegelman when Jack has to change his name to be taken seriously in his academic career and also because media and technology are shown to have an effect on characters thoughts and insecurities. This essay will also consider how ‘signifiers of culture’ are used to establish characters identity through stereotypes and representation, and I will demonstrate how the texts are a means for both Spiegelman and DeLillo to develop and construct their own insecurities of identity. Both authors use ‘signifiers of culture’ to explore identity. For example in White Noise, as the head of his department, Jack wears a gown, so when Eric Massingale see’s him off campus he says “I’ve never seen you off campus, Jack. You look different without your glasses and gown .
Through the minds of Palahniuk and Stevenson a common ground is reached in the two books Fight Club and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; both the narrator and Dr. Jekyll create their own misfortune in trying to fix the problems of the world, or better yet what they perceive the problems to be. In a sense the doppelganger of Dr. Jekyll and The Narrator create a misery that is eerie. These characters could be considered Byronic heroes; they start off admirable individuals but by the end of their journey we pity them. Another observation than can be made is through the birth of their alter egos Dr. Jekyll is in essence attempting to play God, and Tyler Durden (The Narrator’s doppelganger) believes he is God. The consequences of their decisions lead them to, ceaseless misery,
All of these texts express the complexity of truth through the differing representations of Hughes and Plath’s turbulent relationship. Hughes’ ‘Birthday Letters’ is a series of poems addressed to Plath that convey his subjective truth of the nature of their relationship and subsequent marriage. The anthology is written with hindsight and knowledge, and includes questioning; as Hughes is unsure of his memories. ‘Fulbright Scholars’ in particular portrays a tone of uncertainty through the use of rhetorical questions, authorial answers, and the repetition of ‘or’. ‘Where was it, in the Strand?’, ‘Or arrived.
Wouldn’t that be much more jolly?” (Rama Rau 114). The head mistress’s condescending tone creates tension because it makes the reader feel uncomfortable for the characters. Rama Rau puts this experience in the beginning of the story to set up the tension the reader will feel through out the story. Premila’s mom expresses, “You’re to small to have them. You won’t have them in donkey’s years” (Rama Rau 116).