...Running Head: LITERARY WORK ENG 125 January 9, 2011 “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker and “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer are two literary poems that have similarities and differences. They are very different in their style, character and format. I think the most common thing that these two literary poems share is they both have a strong and excellent characterization. “Country Lovers” has events and circumstances of behavior and situations that “The Welcome Table does not have. Emphasizing the similarities in an essay defines its comparison and when you emphasize the differences in an essay you are defining the contrast. As I discuss these essays in my writing, you will note that there are some similarities but they are totally different. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast two literary stories, “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker and “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer. These two stories overall message is “engages the reader in inter-racial issues from a sociological and moral perspective” in “The Welcome Table”. When we look at the “Country Lovers” I think the message “engages the reader in the same inter-racial issues from a sociological but the perspective is psychological.” (p.69) These two pieces are similar in that they are both written in third person and they both have an effect of social and racial discrimination involved in them. As the author of both pieces intentions are to show...
Words: 2359 - Pages: 10
...Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table Zeta Donald Eng 125: Introduction to Literature Instructor: Bernadette Anayah May 7, 2012 Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table The theme in a story is associated with ideas that lie behind the story. Every story narrows a broad underlying idea and shapes it in a unique way to make the underlying idea concrete. That’s how the theme is created. In other words, the theme in a story is a representation of the idea of the story. (Clugston 2110). This paper will compare and contrast the theme of the stories Country Lovers and The Welcome Table. Discrimination and racism is always an issue. Their backgrounds both had love, racism, rejection, hardship, and death. In the short stories “Country Lovers“, by Nadine Gordimer and “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker, they both talk about racism and discrimination of some form. It is not a particularly hidden message in either of these stories, but the two of them approach it from slightly different angles. The main character in each of the stories is a protagonist black female who both struggle with trying to be accepted in society due to the color of their skin. Where there is racism and discrimination of all kind around us, it is more pronounced in these two stories. Both stories express the determination of two women to survive through all adversity. The authors speak of the hardship these women had to face and suffer and understanding...
Words: 2431 - Pages: 10
...important? Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. Generally, most people have their own ideas of what literature is. When enrolling in a literary course at university, you expect that everything on the reading list will be “literature”. Similarly, you might expect everything by a known author to be literature, even though the quality of that author's work may vary from publication to publication. Perhaps you get an idea just from looking at the cover design on a book whether it is “literary” or “pulp”. Literature then, is a form of demarcation, however fuzzy, based on the premise that all texts are not created equal. Some have or are given more value than others. Most forays into the question of “what is literature” go into how literature works with the reader, rather than how the author set about writing it. It is the reception, rather than the writing, which is the object of enquiry. Largely, what we call “literature” is often a subjective value judgment, and naturally, value judgments, like literary tastes, will change. Etymologically, literature has to do with letters, the written as opposed to the spoken word, though not everything that is written down is literature. As a classification...
Words: 1731 - Pages: 7
...Compare and Contrasting Literary Works ENG125 June, 9, 2014 Instructor Sandra Heilman Compare and Contrasting Literary Works Foundations of literature are important because it consists of the structural makeup of a poem or short story. This foundation includes the content, style, and form of each piece that offers insight to a deeper and personal understanding for the reader. Poetry by Pablo Neruda and You, Reader by Billy Collins are not the exceptions to the rule. These two poems share a common bond; a thread that takes the reader on a journey of discovery, through their creativity and creative process. An author has the ability to use their imagination in a way like no other; to share thoughts and feelings about real or imagined experiences. It is through the use of wording these thoughts and feelings come to life, allowing the reader a glimpse inside the mind and heart of the author. This is where the bridge between the author and audience connect. In most cases, reading material is selected because of a first page or introduction that speaks to the reader. This content is what hooks the reader into a world that is interesting or oddly familiar, causing them to want to know more. When literature, whether it is a story, poem, quote, or even a movie script can speak to us on a deep level, it is a well written piece. It carries the ability to...
Words: 3309 - Pages: 14
...Review of Literary Works South University September 24, 2011 Introduction In canto 9, we see a deeper meaning. In this canto, willand intellect are two components of the human soul that are buried in the imagery of the text. Both Dante and Virgil have in common that like the heretics, they have tried to fathom the world via the intellect. This is an imperfect approach. Life can not be understood this way and this approach needs to be cleansed from Dante's soul. He must realize that mere human wisdom can not fathom the totality of God and life. Summary We see Dante growing pale with fear at his realization of Virgil’s failure to extricate them. In vain, Virgil tries to reassure Dante. Virgil appears to be waiting for someone impatiently. Then, Dante notices three Furies (animals that are half woman, half serpent) coming toward them. They laugh and scream once they see Dante. In addition, they call out for Medusa to come and turn Dante into stone. Virgil swiftly then covers Dante’s eyes so that he will not be able to see Medusa’s head. In this section we see, furies, that is Queen Medusa’s handmaids, including Alecto, Magaera and Tisiphone. In this canto, The Heavenly Messenger: serves as the elper to Virgil and Dante. He may possibly be St. Paul. In this section, the heretics are buried in open graves because they had trusted reason rather than faith and the church. Medusa here is an evil, serpent-haired goddess who can turn people to stone (Dante...
Words: 846 - Pages: 4
...The vital breath of prudent Education Instills a virtue of enchanting power; She lifts the motherland to highest station And endless dazzling glories on her shower. And as the zephyr's gentle exhalation Revives the matrix of the fragrant flower, So education multiplies her gifts of grace; With prudent hand imparts them to the human race. For her a mortal-man will gladly part With all he has; will give his calm repose; For her are born all science and all art, That brows of men with laurel fair enclose. As from the towering mountain's lofty heart The purest current of the streamlet flows, So education without stint or measure gives Security and peace to lands in which she lives. Where Education reigns on lofty seat Youth blossoms forth with vigor and agility; He error subjugates with solid feet, And is exalted by conceptions of nobility. She breaks the neck of vice and its deceit; Black crime turns pale at Her hostility; The barbarous nations She knows how to tame, From savages creates heroic fame. And as the spring doth sustenance bestow On all the plants, on bushes in the mead, Its placid plenty goes to overflow And endlessly with lavish love to feed The banks by which it wanders, gliding slow, Supplying beauteous nature's every need; So he who prudent Education doth procure The towering heights of honor will secure. From out his lips the water, crystal pure, Of perfect virtue shall not cease to go. With careful doctrines of his faith made sure, The powers of evil he will...
Words: 1065 - Pages: 5
...The Theme of Symbolism in Literary Works ENG 125: Introduction to Literature August 1, 2011 The Theme of Symbolism in Literary Works There are many literary works available to discover different themes, such as, symbolism. There are stories of death, love, racism, and much more, and not only that, but they are found in any form of literature from dramas to poems to short stories. However, the symbolism of the “journey of life” is most interesting because most people are drawn to stories that involve human nature, and knowing that they are able to connect to the story or people in the story, on a more emotional or personal level. The poem, The Road Not Taken, and the short story, Used To Live Here Once, are literary works that are both about viewing life from different perspectives. With both of these literary works, the reader is captivated by the mystery of the unknown future, and the challenges of the present from two very different perspectives. The Road Not Taken was written by Robert Frost in 1916, and is a poem about someone making a decision to go down one path versus another, and how taking the “path least traveled” is the best way (Clugston, Sec. 2.2: How Use of Persona Effects Your Response To Literature, para. 4). The symbolism that is being displayed in the poem is that of the literal and physical path that the storyteller is contemplating walking down, against the action of taking a path or making a choice in life. The poem is written in a first...
Words: 2255 - Pages: 10
...polemical issues in the application of literary theories to the field of literature and literary criticism. Out of the several modern approaches to literary criticism as employed by the critics, four literary theories are strategically chosen for analysis in this paper; Formalism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism/Deconstruction and Marxism. This work is objectively carried out by consulting articles, journals and books written on the literary theories. The opportunity of information technology via the internet is also utilized. It is established in the course of writing this paper that literary theories are indispensable tools for literature to achieve its goal of sensitizing its audience towards literary awareness. The application of literary theories to literature, that enhance better and detail insight into text or literary works, would continue to be relevant and make literature more enjoyable and meaningful to its readers and users. Further research and enquiry into the relationship between the two (literature and literary theory) is open and should further be exploited. Keywords: literary theory, literary criticism, Marxism, Formalism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism Introduction Literary criticism is the study, evaluation and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals. Though the two activities are closely related, literary critics are not always, and have...
Words: 2949 - Pages: 12
...THESIS STATEMENTS IN LITERARY ANALYSIS PAPERS *The thesis statement is one of the (if not the) most important parts of your paper—think of it as the foundation of a house—if your foundation is weak and poorly constructed, what do you think happens to the house? *The thesis statement is the announcement of your analytical argument that you intend to make and prove in the duration of your paper. It is a road map for the paper—it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. *It should be placed somewhere in the Introduction of your paper—Many like to put it as the last sentence(s) of their Intro which is fine. *Successful thesis statements provoke thought and should read beautifully. *Your thesis statement should include two parts: WHAT and WHY. *WHAT: What claim are you making about the text? *WHY: Why should we care? Why is your claim important? Your thesis should answer the “so what?” question. *A thesis statement is usually, but can be more than, one sentence long. Examples of Literary Thesis Statements: * “Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.” *What’s wrong with this thesis statement? *An opinion about the book, not an argument. * “In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.” *Better? How so? What is still missing? *Doesn’t answer the “so what?” question—what is the point of the contrast? What does the contrast signify? * “Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry...
Words: 1211 - Pages: 5
...eng 125 introduction to literature instructor erin schwartz | Literary terms and concepts to define. | Literary | | Amanda Manley | 11/6/2013 | [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] | LITERARY TERMS AND CONCEPTS TO DEFINE Allusion- An allusion is reference from one literary work to another. Most people use allusions in every day conversations, although they may not be aware of it. For example, Shakespeare’s famous line, “To be or not to be” has been used and reused in many different contexts. An example of an allusion from Week one’s reading assignments comes from The Hack Driver by Sinclair Lewis. During the story, the author makes reference the express man. He comments on how this man will probably get to Heaven’s gate and call St Peter “Pete” (LA Rocco & Coughlin, 1996, p. 59). Connotation- Connotation is the meaning or implication that the author gives, and the reader receives while reading a literary work. Connotations are not difficult to spot, because they are usually presented in the form of an opinion or assumption. For example, To Be of Use, by Marge Piercy, refers to workers becoming natives to the elements of their work environment (LA Rocco & Coughlin, 1996, p. 248). The entire poem places much emphasis on the positive aspects of good workers...
Words: 1022 - Pages: 5
...Marxist literary criticism has, as the name indicates, its basis in the theories of Karl Marx and his associates. The main idea of Marxism is that “instead of making abstract affirmations about a whole group of problems such as man, knowledge, matter, and nature, he examines each problem in its dynamic relation to the others and, above all, tries to relate them to historical, social, political, and economic realities” (BO). Marx argued that the real foundation of society was the economic structure, that political and legal superstructures rose from this base, and that “[i]t is not the consciousness of men which determines their existence; it is on the contrary their social existence which determines their consciousness” (BO). The most fundamental argument of Marxist literary and cultural theories is that they do not see art as something that is separate from society – art is, as Eagleton says, “part of the ‘superstructure’ of society” (5) – and the central concern of Marxist literary criticism is the relationship between the economy and the literature. Marxist critics argue that art is social because it is produced and received in concrete contexts, and because the creator is someone with a class, gender and racial identity – the author is, unavoidably, “part of her own context” (Haslett 8). Art, in Marxist readings, “is interpreted as a material practice, perhaps because it relies on ‘technology’… is concretely realised in situations which themselves are material… ...
Words: 740 - Pages: 3
...Prevailing Philosophies and Psychosocial Dimensions of Philippine Contemporary Novels in English Chapter I – Introduction Philippine contemporary novels or literature in general is an offshoot of the Philippine-American War or what is coined as the Philippine War of Independence which transpired from 1899 to 1902. As early as 1863, the Spanish colonizers have introduced the public elementary school system to the Philippines. During the American colonization, U.S. soldiers have started layering down the bricks as foundation of the public school system in the Philippines when they opened the first public school in the Philippines at Corregidor Island. On January 21, 1901, the Taft Commission headed by William Howard Taft, passed the Education Act No. 34 that incepted the Department of Public Instruction. William Howard Taft was also given the responsibility of expanding the public school system in and around the Philippines. On August 21, 1901; around 600 American educators or “Thomasites” were sent to the Philippines by the U.S Government aboard the USAT Thomas whose main purpose is to integrate a new and expanded public school system, to train and hone Filipino teachers with the use of English as the primary medium of instruction, and to inculcate basic education to Filipinos. The American educators taught an extensive curriculum which cover subjects on English, Grammar, Reading, Mathematics, Agriculture, Housekeeping and Related Arts (cooking, sewing, and crocheting),...
Words: 3124 - Pages: 13
...written and spoken forms. I have also known that things that are produced out of creative imagination can be referred as literary works which are the ones that comprise literature. Considering this description of what literature is, the coverage of literature seems very puzzling. If literary works are those produced out of creative imagining, then it would directly point to fictional works. But then, there are also non-fictional works that are considered literary. There are literary essays and novels that are non-fictional. Examples of these are those based on true stories. Thus, literature goes beyond just creative imagination. And also, one person may consider a work produced out of creativity while another person may not, so then can that work be considered literary? Another important factor to be taken with high regard in discussing literature is periods of time since people coming from different historical periods may have different perceptions on what they consider 'literature'. It is vital to tackle these questions since literature is present in our everyday life, though it is not consciously felt by many. Terry Eagleton, a literary critic and writer, had written in his essay 'What is Literature?', “What matters may not be where you came from but how people treat you”. He considered an individual's perception as a basis for a work to be considered literary. This point of him is very much agreeable since people from different places with different culture, gender, and beliefs...
Words: 690 - Pages: 3
...Christopher Gilchrist Professor Ms. Alyse W. Jones World Literature I - English 2111 October 7, 2012 The Universal Truths on ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh & The Hebrew Bible’ The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Hebrew Bible are considered by their audiences’ as two of the greatest literary works of ancient literature. The universal truths on The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Hebrew Bible, are most fundamental when viewed from both the contemporary and traditional audiences. Fundamentally, both audiences develop their own universal truths during the time in which the events transpired or by reading the scenic events from an anthology or other literary works. Most importantly, both literary works have sought the attention of their perspective audiences by their ancient texts, which also brought about spiritual interpretations from a religious point of view. These ancient literatures were written and re-written by numerous authors with their spiritual interpretations as their main thesis. Thus, the audiences’ philosophical interpretations create the thread that sews these two literary works to their universal truths. There are several scenes in both literatures that have similar spiritual interpretations. For example, in The Epic of Gilgamesh, “Your clothes should be clean, Your head should be washed, You should bathe in water, (Sec. 10, 77 – 79).” In this epic scene, Gilgamesh embraces the notion of cleansing himself from the darkness that was bestowed upon him. Gilgamesh’s...
Words: 590 - Pages: 3
...and biased, and that 'objective' knowledge is illusory.DiscussionCritical Theory starts from Marx and Freud and expands through the 20th century to cover areas such as literary criticism, linguistics, semiotics, psychology, philosophy, feminism, screen theory, and includes methods such as structuralism, post-structuralism, deconstruction and postmodernism.Critical Theory is such a huge area, it is almost impossible to cover it in total depth. This section is based on an extension of a study done as a part of a postgraduate university course in psychology. | What is literary criticism? Literary criticism has multiple functions. It is used as a vehicle to interpret or analyze various types of literature, including poetry, novels, and plays. There are many different types, or schools, of literary criticism that can be applied to works of literature. Critical essays are the most common form of literary criticism, and they are generally found in scholarly journals or in books of collected essays or anthologies. In effect, literary criticism explores different possible meanings that a text may have. Criticism may look at an idea in a single text or may compare ideas found in multiple texts. These texts may be by the same author, or they may be from the same time period, or they may include similar themes. Often, literary critics use examples from the text or texts to emphasize or support the points they are making in their interpretations or analyses. In addition, ideas from other critical...
Words: 644 - Pages: 3
