In The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards and King Lear by William Shakespeare, the saying of time heals all wounds is proven to be false as seen through the lack of forgiveness, the tragic endings of the novel and the buildup of guilt. In both The Memory Keeper's Daughter and King Lear, the characters of David Henry and King Lear prove that with time they cannot forgive themselves for what they have done, nor can they have others forgive them. In The Memory Keeper's Daughter, David Henry gives away his new born daughter who is born with down syndrome. This is a “secret that stood in the middle of their family; it shaped their lives together” (Edwards 193). This situation is a very heavy weight for David to carry.
I'd say he is hero, the examples you have of why he isn't are perfectly valid, and definitely include them in the essay, but I don't think they dismiss his heroism. He broke at the end and loved Big Brother but this was due to O'Brien's torture and mind control, he always knew this would be the outcome from his diary entries, conversations with Julia and his observations of Jones, Aaronsen and Rutherford at the Chestnut Tree Cafe. Breaking his only promise to Julia, not to betray her, was unavoidable, see his rantings after his visit to room 101, and the brief encounter with Julia when he is released, she betrayed him too, everyone betrays, this is the purpose of room 101, to remove anything you love more than the party and replace it/them with Big Brother. He sneaks around instead of engaging in open revolt because this is the only way any dissent and subversion can take place, the reactions of people during the ten minutes hate, telescreens, hidden microphones, a militarised society and scared/brainwashed spying neighbours giving you up at the first opportunity to save themselves make open revolt instantly futile rather than eventually futile, he took this approach not out of cowardice because it had the potential to subvert the cause of the party more effectively and because it was the only way. His rebellion does further his own desires, but his primary goal is to undermine the goverment, at first he is revolted by Julia, his initial act of sleeping with her was done not out of sexual desire, but out of a desire to rebel against and weaken the government, in his and Julia's opinion doing something for yourself and only yourself WAS the act of rebellion, it was central in their purpose to revolt as it went against the only reason for the party's existance, control and power (see Winston and Julia's conversations in the flat, and O'Brien's explanation of
just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had. "(Fitzgerald 1) Gatsby didn’t have help from others growing up, and learned his way through life. Once he managed to succeed in life, he intended on getting back the attention he once had from Daisy, the great love of his life. He carries hope throughout the entire book for their split to come back together. Tom Buchanan on the other hand, Daisy’s husband is a very wealthy man but selfish indeed.
He left here while they were in love with each other and expected everything to stay the same until they met again. Sadly, it didn’t work out, Daisy moved on and married Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby was left with no one. Throughout the whole book Gatsby’s ultimate goal was getting Daisy back. He believed that if he could become rich he would be able to recreate the past and win back the love of his life. In a conversation
“They’d married, lived and worked together, slept together- had sex, sure- and then the blind man had to bury her. All this without his having ever seen what the goddamned woman looked like. It was beyond my understanding.” Hearing this I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one. A woman who could go on day after day and never receive the smallest compliment from her beloved.” (p. 2735) Although the narrator believes that he is describing the relationship he imagines existed between the blind man and his wife the reader knows that the description more accurately describes the relationship between the narrator and his wife.
Odysseus’ decision to leave the island when he has the choice may have been a far more trying decision six years ago. On the other hand, Penelope is criticized for leading her suitors on. As Antinous complains to Telemachus in book II, “It’s not the suitors here who deserves the blame, it’s your own dear mother, the matchless queen of cunning. For three years now, getting on to four, she’s played it fast and loose with all our hearts, building each man’s hopes—dangling promises, dropping hints to each – but all the while with something else in mind" (l. 96-100). Penelope and Calypso: Seduction in The Odyssey The portrayal of Penelope as a seductress (though at other times she also plays the role of a mother) is especially interesting since the other seductresses in the Odyssey are goddesses, not mortal women.
Emily instantly fell in love. She even bought him a silver toilet set with his initials on it to almost buy his love, but as time passed they had still not married. Once Emily found out that Homer was not the marrying type, she went out and killed him so he would always belong to her, “The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him” (Faulkner) as the narrator states. Emily had acted irrationally in order to keep what she had always desired. On the other hand, in The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by, Porter, Granny Weatherall had also been rejected by her lover, George.
In the last page of the novel, Nick contemplates human nature, and we learn a little of why Fitzgerald has written the book in this way, and why, in his opinion, we struggle so in life. He describes how our enduring spirits allow us to keep on trying to reach our goals, but recognises the futility of this because we are inevitably involved in our pasts. This is shown in the line "and so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the
In the story The Great Gatsby, there are many corrupted relationships. George & Myrtle, Myrtle & Tom, Tom & Daisy, Daisy & Gatsby, and Gatsby & everyone are all perfect examples of misleading relationships seen in the novel. Fitzgerald may seem pessimistic in portraying every relationship as a fraud. The cheating and affairs that go on throughout the book show that there is no substance in any of the relationships to keep them bonded. By sneaking behind their loved ones back and having an affair with one of the other characters shows betrayal to their partner.
When daisy left Gatsby she married a very wealthy man, tom Buchanan, and has a girl with him. Even though daisy was married Gatsby still went for daisy, and they started having an affair. Gatsby goal was to get daisy back no matter the cost, and also to break the relationship between her and tom. Gatsby wanted nothing less of daisy than that she go to tom and say. “I never loved you”… after she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house just as if it were five years ago (Fitzgerald 125) Gatsby didn’t know when to move on.