...Don DeLillo’s book, White Noise, tells the story of Jack Gladney and his family. Throughout the book, Jack takes on a professional, fictional persona resembling that of Hitler, being the Chairman of Hitler Studies at the College-on-the-Hill (DeLillo 4). Jack turns his professional persona into this fictional character, something he could transform himself into, as if he was filling a Hitler mold. Jack relies on this Hitler-esque persona to sustain his own personal identity and self-worth, although in his mind, this fake persona is only subsidiary to his own personality. Jack struggles with ascertaining the importance of himself as compared to the importance of his own made-up persona and this notion of fabricated reality becoming more important that actual reality is offered throughout White Noise. While in his role of Chairman of Hitler Studies, he refers to himself as J.A.K. Gladney and dresses in sweeping, dramatic robes while teaching. Jack also takes into consideration the advice of the chancellor, “He wanted me to “grow out” into Hitler. He himself was tall, paunchy, ruddy, jowly, big-footed and dull. A formidable combination. I had the advantages of substantial height, big hands, big feet, but badly needed bulk” (DeLillo 16). This impression of J.A.K. Gladney differed greatly from Jack’s own character, and the fact that he does not know German only adds to the plasticity of his fabricated self. The idea of false reality overtaking actual reality is shown by Jack and...
Words: 1904 - Pages: 8
...to humans. Moreover, it also tells us that the journey to solving the problem is difficult. This poem is in nine stanzas, where the first four stanzas describe the process of starting up the tractor while the last five stanzas, describe how the tractor finally starts up and rejoices. The poet personifies the tractor and uses contrast to bring about its theme in the poem. Firstly, the narrative point of view poet uses a first person narrative viewpoint, which creates an impression of irritation and anger that the poet has towards the tractor. This helps us to understand the emotions of the persona towards the tractor. Firstly, he uses “I stare at it in hatred”. The emotion ‘hatred’ is a passionate feeling of anger, and the ‘stare’ tells us that it is extremely irritated by the reluctance of the tractor start as it ‘defied’ the narrator. This phrase tells us that the persona is facing a lot of difficulty, causing him to feel hatred towards the tractor. Additionally, the poet uses “I squirt commercial sure-fire down the black throat”. This phrase has the fuel chute, which connects fuel to the oil tank, personified to be a throat, which creates an impression that the tractor is similar to a human in the sense that it has a throat for ‘food’, that is in comparison to fuel, to have energy to start. Moreover, this is ironic because the fuel is ‘sure-fire’ which means that the fuel will definitely cause the engine to start. However, the fuel...
Words: 772 - Pages: 4
...trouble to humans. Moreover, it also tells us that the journey to solving the problem is difficult. This poem is in nine stanzas, where the first four stanzas describe the process of starting up the tractor while the last five stanzas, describe how the tractor finally starts up and rejoices. The poet personifies the tractor and uses contrast to bring about its theme in the poem. Firstly, the narrative point of view poet uses a first person narrative viewpoint, which creates an impression of irritation and anger that the poet has towards the tractor. This helps us to understand the emotions of the persona towards the tractor. Firstly, he uses “I stare at it in hatred”. The emotion ‘hatred’ is a passionate feeling of anger, and the ‘stare’ tells us that it is extremely irritated by the reluctance of the tractor start as it ‘defied’ the narrator. This phrase tells us that the persona is facing a lot of difficulty, causing him to feel hatred towards the tractor. Additionally, the poet uses “I squirt commercial sure-fire down the black throat”. This phrase has the fuel chute, which connects fuel to the oil tank, personified to be a throat, which creates an impression that the tractor is similar to a human in the sense that it has a throat for ‘food’, that is in comparison to fuel, to have energy to start. Moreover, this is ironic because the fuel is ‘sure-fire’ which means that the fuel will definitely cause the engine to start....
Words: 775 - Pages: 4
...two people are truly alike. No two people can ever have the same experience of life, the same perspective, the same mind. Somewhere between these two — our common humanity and our unique individuality — lies personality. Personality is about our different ways of being human. How we are all variations on the same themes. How the human nature we all share manifests in different styles of thinking, feeling and acting. It has been said that temperament is something we share with other animals, while character is, perhaps, uniquely human. Personality Defined Personality can be defined as consistency in a person’s way of operating — that is, long-term consistency in their particular ways of perceiving, thinking, acting and reacting as a person. Consistent patterns of thought and feeling and behaviour. The term personality has been derived from the Latin word “Persona” which was associated with Greek theater in ancient times. The Greek actors commonly used to wear masks on their faces during their performances on the stage. The mask worn by the actors was called persona. Personality was thought to be the effect and influence which the individual wearing a mask left on the audience. When all the personality-describing words in a dictionary are taken and analyzed how people use them, you find they can be separated into a certain number of sets or ‘clusters’. The words in one cluster all have a b-r-o-a-d-l-y similar meaning, but mean something different from the words in other...
Words: 407 - Pages: 2
...take on numerous of new responsibilities as you mature into an adult like; having a career so you can pay bills, buying the car you always wanted, or even dating. As you mature and growing acting like an adult comes easier. Adults make wise decisions, and think about the repercussions that they would face if they make a childish decision. You have to go through those childish phases to see what it takes to not only be, but act like an adult. Once you go through those trials and tribulations’ acting like an adult becomes extremely easier. Some may argue that people aren’t adults due to their age, but in fact it’s not the age it is the mental capacity of an individual. Take the military for example, when you enlist to fight and defend your country people don’t think about the fact that most of the fighting force is probably 17, 18, or 19 year old that go on those front lines. They think of the service member as an adult, because civilians know that it takes someone of a certain mental capacity to knowingly know that they might not come back from Afghanistan, or Iraq. Acting like an adult is being completely prepared for anything that may happen. Everything isn’t for sure going to go a certain way, but you make the decisions that would classify you as acting as a child or an adult. Your persona reflects on the kind of adult you are; one that doesn’t accept defeat or the one that...
Words: 273 - Pages: 2
...In enjoyed this week’s reading, but I decided to do my post on greasy lake. Greasy lake was written in a limited omniscience point of view with a participant Narrator. When I read the story on idea or behavior the it show is, we all wear a mask but we can never lie to ourselves. Many people have outward personas that we show the world. If it’s that were good people, courageous, fearless. The persona changes depending on the situation and with how we are interacting with it can be different if were at work, in front of family friends, our parents. This is not always a bad thing we wear these masks so that people see us as we want them to. However In greasy lake this was the mask of a “bad boy”. In the beginning of the story we get an internal monolog from the narrator setting the scene and telling us what kind of person he want us to think he is. “We were all dangerous characters then.” When the narrator says characters it really dive the point that they were acting. “We wore torn-leather jackets, slouched around with tooth picks in our...
Words: 458 - Pages: 2
...Whitsun Weddings, and is presented as more a study of habits than reading. Though the poem can be read as a representation of Larkin’s own early relationship with literature, I believe that it is a persona narrating, perhaps close to the author’s voice but not one and the same. It is this persona, its growth from child to man, and its escapist addiction that form the theme. Reading and books play a necessarily large role in the poem but as example habits, or escapist addictions. As many of his poems, ‘A Study of Reading Habits’ is imbued with subjects current to the time; the collection The Whitsun Weddings was compiled in 1964 and the circulation of cheap paperbacks was very much still a new concept. Though it opened up literature to all classes, both in price and availability, Larkin is adamant in indicating both the opportunity it presents in flawing the character of the reader as well as the inherent defects present in society. This is possibly due to the new wave of cheap literature threatening a librarian’s custodian career. Larkin is recognised for his representation of life at its most mundane, as Jean Hartley put it; “ordinary people doing ordinary things”, and infamous for his unmitigated cynicism of that life. ‘A Study of Reading Habits’ is typical in this sense; the persona presented unwittingly self-depredates in full view of the reader in the most mundanely comic of manners, supported by the confused use of the language. As in many of Larkin’s poems from ‘The Whitsun...
Words: 1252 - Pages: 6
...Mr. Gilmer’s accusations do not stop him from being respectful: “’I don’t say she’s lyin’, Mr. Gilmer, I say she’s mistaken in her mind.’ To the next ten questions, as Mr. Gilmer reviewed Maylla’s version of events, the witness’s stready answer was that she was mistaken in her mind” (Lee 5). Tom shows his respect by not acting up in the courtroom. He consistently says that she was mistaken in her mind, he does not call her a liar or say she is wrong where she clearly is. Tom knows his case is rather hopeless, but in trying to help himself receive a fair trial in a rasist courtroom, he shows respect to his...
Words: 462 - Pages: 2
...different strategies depending on their real-life personalities, but one obvious way to head off suspicion is to act as un-coplike the best way they could. Undercover cops would have to act like an normal troubled teenager that has to involve breaking school rules, ditching class, come to school late, hang out with the wrong crowd etc. In their first few days, they might act quiet or nervous but they would have to become comfortable around the teens, that’s how a normal teen would act on their first day to a new school. Appearance is also crucial. Shaggy hair, skateboard shoes, and chain wallets are popular accessories, I prefer that the cops choose a persona that’s not too far removed from their real one, to minimize the amount of acting necessary, A name that sounds like their own is also a good touch, talking different, acting different. But going undercover as a student has it pros and cons. Anything can happen during the time frame of how long a cop is...
Words: 253 - Pages: 2
...Dave’s feigned Italian persona in Breaking Away is his own version of that filth. This is an assumption based on the harsh, degrading commentary towards his Italian persona made by his father. But while Cinderella’s filth was caused by the loss of her parents and the uptake of her cruel stepmother, Dave has no such visible reason for his uptake of the persona. However, that does not mean he is not his own version of Cinderella. Throughout Breaking Away, Dave’s relationship with his father is portrayed as strained and negligent. Through both Jacqueline Schectman’s article, ““Cinderella” and the Loss of Father-Love,” and Maria Tatar’s article, “An Introduction to Fairy Tales”, their father-son relationship and Dave’s Italian persona can be reevaluated to make sense of the connection between his father’s ill treatment towards him and his newly acquired personality that is overlooked in the film. A connection that reveals that there is a potential causation between his lack of fatherly love and his acquired persona, all tied together with the need to seek comfort in a figure. Even if that figure must be...
Words: 1843 - Pages: 8
...The Count of Monte Cristo is an interesting story about a sailor named Danteswho change his whole façade in order to have vengeance to his foes.He changed into several types of persona to make his plans successful. At first, Dantes seem to be very weak and naïve and I pity him for his imprisonment. But as the days of his imprisonment passes by, he became very sharp, tough and wise. With the help of his found friend in the cell, Faria, the crazy old man told him everything that helped him from escaping. Faria was good in reasoning out things so Dantesadmired it and change his whole persona. Dantes became eager to have vengeance to his enemy because Faria made him hungry for revenge and had given him treasure which was very enough and too...
Words: 494 - Pages: 2
...paparazzi and the role these popular culture fixtures have on society and celebrity. Specifically, Mendelson examines the “war” between highly controlled celebrity images and candid, raw offerings provided by the paparazzi. While an argument can, and should, be made regarding privacy issues, pictures obtained by paparazzi provide a necessary checks-and-balances system to the cunning world of celebrity and entertainment (Mendelson). To this end, Mendelson’s argument that journalists (i.e. the paparazzi) should “look more deeply” into celebrities and popular culture events is completely valid. This paper will provide arguments that support Mendelson’s view of the paparazzi – first, by exploring the issues presented by celebrity-controlled personas; and second, by reinforcing the need for fact checking, as exists in political and professional realms. Mendelson provides a thought-provoking piece that challenges conventional wisdom on the paparazzi (i.e. privacy and boundary issues). The most poignant of his arguments describes the tactics the media can use to report on celebrity – ignore them altogether, position them as little more than tabloid fodder, comply with the carefully constructed images, or report on them with a critical eye. Mendelson seems to advocate for the last option by believing that the paparazzi offer candid, if not critical, insight into a celebrity’s reality. In fact, he goes as far to say that the paparazzi...
Words: 1731 - Pages: 7
...would be examined according to its physical appearance, then its character would be brought into environmental setting. This expression mentions the importance of the first impression concept. Moreover, it is a process which must be carefully managed (Jacobsen and Kristiansen 132). According to Coffman, five main self-perception approaches are always seen in an individual who has just secured a new job in a given work institution. These are; 1. Self-disclosure- In this method a newly employed person tends to seek identity from others thus commonly used by the authentic persona. For instance, telling others who he or she in the workplace and what role does he or she plays, just for identity. 2. Appearance management - This approach entails outward appearance, e.g., mode of dressing that makes an individual feel that he or she fits in a team of other workers. Always used by tactical, ideal and even authentic persona, the same also aims at gaining self-identity. Additionally, a...
Words: 665 - Pages: 3
...Compare how Larkin and Abse write about unhappiness in their poetry. Both Larkin and Abse have written poetry which involves certain degrees of unhappiness, however, it’s clear that they have different views on what causes the emotion. Charles Hall said that it was “preferable” in Larkin’s view, “for everyone to resign themselves to their destinies and accept the implacable emptiness of their lives.” Larkin seems to have the perspective that unhappiness is generally and essential aspect of the human condition. Whereas Abse is generally optimistic, usually his unhappiness in his poetry is subjective, caused by rare moments in the family, or awareness of mortality. Larkin generally believes that unhappiness lies in the expectations of life and reality. One of his most common beliefs is that marriage and family can be the cause of unhappiness through the routine and repetition of life. This is seen in his poem “Afternoons”, a study of a conventional working class family life, where Larkin acts as the “knowing outside” according to Andrew Motion. It starts immediately with the imagery of “Summer is fading”, he gives the impression that the life of the people he’s observing is digressing from their youth to middle age. He focuses on the youth of the parents being replaced by their children “but the lovers are all in school”. There seems to be this idea that history is repeating itself from parent to child, almost as though their children simply act as a reminder to the aging...
Words: 2029 - Pages: 9
...TRISTE, TRISTE ANALYSIS • Triste Triste explores the aftermath of intimate sexual interaction as a metaphor for artistic creativity. • Through intimate activity (sex) she discovers an out of body situation, a sense that her spirit becomes free • Explores the multi-faceted experiences of women and their roles • The poem begins hopeful and ends melachonic • Harwood utilizes figurate language which is highly emotional and suggestive • Shift in tense – starts present, ends past • Imprisoned heart is symbolic of the restrictions artists feel JUXTAPOSES/DIRECT COMPARISONS • Mourning to ecstasy (orgasm) • Freedom to entrapment • Strength to vulnerability TECHNIQUES • Harwood uses a complex rhyming scheme to further itterate the complexity of the poem relating to her intense feelings and emotions. • Figurative language, which creates an era of the poem, which is highly emotional. Through suggestive imagery and direct speech “ I was with you in agony, remember your promise of paradise, and hammers and hammers, “remember me” Gwen Harwood addresses her audience, manipulating them to determine their personal feelings on what she is saying. • The use of third person portrays an objective feel about the poem, restricting the level of conversational feeling. It increases the sense of detachment. • “Their blood-black curtains tight” Is alliteration combined with negative connotation to extenuate human’s blindness to occurrences in life? ...
Words: 1002 - Pages: 5
