Throughout Vivian Bearing’s entire life, she has been a dedicated scholar and professor. She studied John Donne’s poems religiously, so much that in her eyes, this idea of intellectualism and wit is the most important thing life has to offer. She takes pride in her knowledge of seventeenth- century poetry and often comes off as harsh to students who simply are not on her intellectual level. However, as Bearing’s eight-cycle cancer treatment comes to a close and the realization that death is on prowl, Bearing no longer puts Donne on a pedestal. As Bearing’s death approaches, she realizes that wit and intellect are not the most important things in life, but instead, kindness and humanity is what brings a peace of mind.
“The falling girl” Vs. “The school” Both stories, “The falling girl” by Dino Buzzati & “The school” by Donald Barthelme, deal with the theme of life versus death. Both authors are trying to show the importance of life and how valuable life is. They prove how something has to be lost in order to make people realize the value of what was lost. “We take for granted the very things - _______________________ that most deserve our gratitude.” (Cynthia Ozick). Marta (“The falling girl”) had to lose her youth in order to realize how valuable all that time that she had as young girl was, left with a regret of all the things that she could have done.
Sylvia Plath’s first and only novel ‘The Bell Jar’ focuses on the protagonist and narrator Esther Greenwood; The Bell Jar is a story of how Esther descends into a dark and depressive state and how she eventually overcomes the illness, even if it was not permanent. The theme of female oppression is highlighted throughout the rest of the novel. The novel also highlights the idea that the people that surround you can push you to conform, even though you do not want to, for instance Esther’s mother constantly attempts to force Esther into a stereotypically female job such as a short-hander, the idea that women are only suitable for easier, less fulfilling professions. The protagonist, Esther, explains her desire to explore and rebel against the ‘norm’ for woman in the 1950’s society. "The last thing I wanted was infinite security and to be the place an arrow shoots off from.
An anonymous voice states “fear struck us blind, fear will keep us blind.” This links back to the fearlessness the wife displayed. The fact that the doctor’s wife is the only known character to keep her sight throughout the novel raises the question: “why her?” Although the allegory of fear causing blindness might portray the doctor’s wife to be very deserving of keeping her sight, an exact reason is never given. However, due to her sight, she develops a stunning amount of insight in the novel, which Saramago contrasts with the other character’s both
Allison’s characters are notably similar to her own poor southern family. And even the story seems to follow and mimic her own escape from the fate that destroyed so many generations of her family and would have swallowed her alive. She used writing as a means to fight back and to expose the evils of her childhood. By writing this story as fictions it makes it possible for her to create the basic detachment needed to comprehend the transparency of the characters without being too sentimental. In that aspect her characters are not lacking in depth and it is because of this nonfictional pretense that some of the images are so horrifying.
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.
American families would view single parenting as a threat to a family structure. Doing everything by themselves with no one else to blame but themselves is one of the most difficult things a single mother can struggle with. As time progresses a single mother discovers she is capable of doing so much not just for their well being but for her children. They quickly learn how to adapt and over come. While many single mothers worry too much or regret decisions during their children childhood they are satisfied with the result and the out come of there children by the actions their children make after they grown out of their childhood In “I stand here ironing” a mother depicts her first child to have a bad early childhood by making the wrong decision not by choice but simply what got handed to them in a urban world.
In the book Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Kathleen Boo, the destitute life of poverty in Annawadi serves as a double-edged sword in Asha’s life; while it inspired her determination to lead a superior life, it also gradually corroded the humanity within her mind. Motivated by her impoverished childhood life and the poor living conditions in the slum, Asha had developed her strong determination to rise above her current situation and to live a better life with power and money. Unfortunately, she had gone through a difficult childhood in her hometown in northeastern Maharashtra. As one of the women in her hometown recalled, “She’d been distinguished by her ability to work like a donkey even when she had not eaten for days” (136). Despite the lack of food and terrible living conditions, Asha had been working hard since she was a child.
Mrs Linde has had to work hard and was not afforded love and children which she longed to have. She took care of her mother and brother as her own but still desired more. Once her circumstances had changed she set out to acquire that which she had lost. When Mrs Linde is introduced in Act I, we can immediately see she is a woman who has been through a harder time and worked hard to have a meekly accommodating life. She is more insightful of her surrounding than Nora Helmer.
Virginia Woolf was a person that went through tough times and suffered break downs within her own insanity which were probably caused by her family life. Her Mother Father and Sister all dying within a short space of time, she claimed to be haunted by voices often masculine which would explain her constant attack of the Victorian male culture and imperialistic traits. What Virginia Woolf does so well is convey everyday reality into a form that is unreachable by so many authors. To The Lighthouse is a text in which in all honesty nothing much happens, but the way in which she describes this nothingness is genius and often somewhat offensive to some subcultures. For example her portrayal of Mr Ramsay who relies on his intellectual ability and Edwardian views.