Although she has learned a lot from her schooling and has a better knowledge than her mom & sister, I feel she possesses this know-it-all attitude about what heritage really is. Although Wangero does make a good point in saying that heritage is beautiful and should be shown as art for people to appreciate, I just feel she went about the situation all wrong. Maggie is at first a docile character, until she sees her sister disrespecting her mother and then she stands up because her mother doesn’t. I am not saying I have no sympathy for Maggie. Based on the theme of the story I feel that Maggie has a greater, more genuine appreciation for her heritage.
Austen was first published in the early nineteenth century, in a time where social status was of paramount importance within society. Status was recognised by the amount of land a person owned, as well as the wealth one inherited. Women were not entitled to inherit, so for women, marriage was crucial for financial security. This key point is highlighted often within the novel. Charlotte's acceptance of Mr. Collins’ proposal is a prime example; “marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want” (p105)1.
His first encounter of a problem is when the Grandmother recognizes his face and exclaims “You're the Misfit” (O' Connor 1257). While those few words may not seem that important, those three words create a huge problem for the Misfit. The Misfit is being kind and somewhat courteous helping a family in need, but when the Grandmother recognizes his face it puts him in jeopardy of being caught. Since the Misfit can not be sure of whether or not the family will turn him in, he must make a decision on how to solve the problem. His decision is surely made when he tells the Grandmother “it would have been better for all of you, lady, if you hadn't of reckernized me” (1257).
The book of Ruth is a refreshing story of how one woman’s loyality to her mother in law affected a whole society. The fact that it sits between to far more in depth and considerably dark books of the bible also brings it to life even more. The journey of Ruth is an epic example of how one persons faith can change the course of history. If it had not been for the perils of one family during a time of famine, then the story or Ruth would have never been. The fact that Ruth was a Moabite is siginicante because she is not an Isralite and would have never been able to be a partaker of the covenant of Israel if she had not married into the family.
The evil that I felt was portrayed in Charlotte Temple is not the independence Charlotte wants, but the realization that she can’t get her independence happily without the financial and emotional assistance that others can give her. She even admits her confinement to being reliant on others after the letter from her parents. She says, “I will not wound the hearts of those dear parents who make my happiness the whole study of their lives…"(Rowson 46). This evil element of trying to discover her own independence taunts Charlotte throughout the text. Charlotte Temple, by Susannah Rowson was popular in the 19th Century simply because it was just that; simple.
It is quite clear that through her actions that the grandmother is very selfish thus trying to satisfy her selfishness by manipulating others. Once the grandmother meets The Misfit and tries to use the ploy of “you’re a good man” some may feel that she is the same self-absorbed manipulator that she was in the beginning of the story. It becomes evident in that she does not beg for anyone else’s life, because the first words out of her mouth to The Misfit are “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” (O’Conner, 1955).
(AOW, 209) As Epictetus says in his Manual, everything has a price and the price of happiness is personal detachment from the outside world. (AOW, 210) Self-discipline in Stoicism must always be in active pursuit and seeking anything other than self-discipline would cause “avoidable unhappiness.” Stoics believed that unhappiness stemmed from one’s own negative attitude and confusion in thought of what was under one’s control or not as well as excessively desiring material goods. They also believed that one’s attitude determined one’s happiness and that one’s own attitude is self-caused. Stoicism states that in order to have great character, one must go through great struggles. (AOW, 211) Stoics believed that one’s life was fated but free will remains and to control our attitudes, one must choose appropriate actions aligned with our fate.
The book is written for modern Americans, and modern Americans would find it in severe distaste to see a girl being blindly obedient to her father even when what he asks of her goes against her own wishes. Modern Americans want to see a strong female character that fights the norms to do what she wants. This is something that is highly valued in modern American culture. For instance, the suffragettes are highly respected historical figures because although it went against all cultural norms, they fought for what they believed in. Similarly, Birdy fights for what she believes in; the right to pick who she marries: I saw Shaggy Beard’s messengers in the yard, talking solemnly to each other.
Every time the child does something wrong, the mother feels the heartache. It doesn’t matter what the child has done because even if it was just a small matter, the mother would have felt the pain first because she cares and love for her daughter. She loves her daughter with all her heart and wants her daughter to have the best in everything, the kind heart of a mother is fragile. ‘hostage to fortune’, hostage is someone who’s kidnapped and fortune signifies money. This meant that that the idea of having a child is not at all the time pleasant.
The fact that Nora was a woman may have been a catalyst in the result of the story's climax. "Whatever propaganda feminists may have made of A Doll House, Ibsen, it is argued, never meant to write a play about the highly topical subject of women's rights; Nora's conflict represents something other than, or something more than, woman's" (Templeton 28). Nora's "selfish" act was about declaring what she was not, which was Torvald's plaything; figuring out what she would find herself to become. Feminist propaganda, as Templeton calls it, may have influenced the interpretations of others but, art is what it is transformed into by the observer. "Ibsen, it is now de rigueur to explain, did not stoop to issues.