...The Fat Boy By: Owen Marshall ‘The Fat Boy’ is a short story by Owen Marshall about an anonymous, nameless boy who mysteriously appears in a small town in New Zealand and was hated by the townspeople. In the text, I noticed how the author used various symbolisms and themes that are seen in real life. There are three symbolisms in ‘the Fat boy’ that caught my attention. These are religious figures, conscience, and outsider. There were various points in the story where the author made used of a religious figure. The fat boy, for instance, has been described as monk-like. The fat boy is also like a shepherd tending his flock. “The fat boy stood before the railings and held one of the iron bars like a staff”. The fat boy, being a symbol of the Shepherd, looks after and protects the innocent, “The children smiled at him as he watched, and were content at his presence…”. At the end of the story, the fat boy ‘dies’ and his body mysteriously disappeared. I thought of how the fat boy’s fate resembles Jesus Christ who was also blamed for things he didn’t commit, was ridiculed and accused by the public and whose body also disappeared when he died. The fat boy seems to act as the townspeople’s conscience which is why he appears at or before each crime is committed "the fat boy had the knack of being where he was least desired". I think this is maybe one of the reasons why he is described by the town people as having such unattractive figure “A very fat, ugly boy, the music teacher...
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...characteristics to non- human things * Repetition- A word or saying repeated over and over again * Simile- A comparison of two unlike things using like or as * Rhyme- Words that sound the same at the end lines to form a pattern Literary Terms * Mood- The climate of feeling in a literary work * Tone- The author’s attitude, stated or implied, toward a subject * Symbolism- A person, place, or object that has a meaning other than the obvious * Theme- The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work * Foreshadowing- When the author uses hints to hint point to an upcoming event * Irony- The contrast between what is expected and what appears to be * Point of View First Person- Character inside the story who can only reveal personal thoughts and what he sees and hears from other characters. Cannot tell thoughts of other characters Third person objective - Outsider who can report only what he sees and hears. Cannot tell characters thoughts Third person limited- The narrator is an outsider who sees into the mind of one of the characters Omniscient- Outsider, all knowing, can enter the mind of more than one character * Plot- Conflict presented in a structured format * Characterization Major characters- Round characters, good and bad qualities, goals values and ambitions change, Dynamic -Consists of Protagonist (Main character),...
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...mixture of feelings. First, as an American, I thought that the entire piece was trash and clearly had an agenda. Second, as a follow-up response, I thought that North Korean leaders must really be crazy if they truly believe in everything they say in the film. If the population believes in Propaganda, then it is no surprise that the Kim regime has such an iron grip over the people. I had an interesting feeling at the end of my initial defensive response. I thought that the entire “documentary” viewed America from the perspective of an outsider from an alien culture. It actually made sense that an outsider sees us as all-consuming, materialistic, and hedonistic creatures. We clearly have a lot of things wrong with society, and Propaganda is almost calling us out from a naïve perspective. 2. What kind of media techniques/effects did the filmmakers utilize to captivate/persuade the audience? A: They used more images and fewer words. Imagery and symbolism are very effective tools of propaganda because they invoke emotions and feelings that simple words cannot. For example, if we read that Hitler has killed 4 million Jews, we are reminded of the atrocities that he has committed. However, if we see the Nazi symbol, we immediately think of evil, World War II, even Japan and Pearl Harbor; the enemy / other that must be destroyed is what we think of. 3. How does North Korea view the outside "Western" world? A: North Korean leaders probably wish they were in as fortunate a position as...
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... 2. Thesis- In “A Rose For Emily” there are examples of several types of conflict from having to do with Emily’s own self-depression and anxiety, her disconnection with the community, also there is symbolism of the characters that are not accepted in her community- Homer Barron and Tobe. Body A. self vs. self a. Lonely, yearning for her dead dad b. Mental, insecurity c. Kept in a still place in her house, enclosed d. Killing Homer Barron and keeping the weeding stage in her room due that Homer Barron didn’t want to marry her so she killed him. B. Person vs. community conflict a. New South- community with taxes, judgment, evolving and when the middle class starts. b. Old south- confederate, old, dad c. The town doubts Emily when they see her buying the arsenic they are suspicious and when they smell the bad odor they sprinkle lime instaed of actually going straight to her about the issue. d. The town did not accept Emily and Homer’s e. “Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 79) f. “the ladies began to say that it was a disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people” (Faulkner 83), so they called her cousins. C. Symbolism~ Homer Barron, Tobe, and the house a. “…we began to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons” (Faulkner 81) when they first saw Emily and Homer hanging out b. Homer Barron: freedom, progress...
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...success in the drama industry. Though his home life was troubled, he grew to be an author known across the country for his wildly popular novels and plays, most notably of the latter being The Glass Menagerie. Modeled after Williams’s own family, Tom, Amanda, and Laura Wingfield are the artfully created main characters of The Glass Menagerie, each with their own distinct personalities constructed carefully through symbolism. With consideration of the motif of memory, Tennessee Williams uses recurring music, the victrola, jonquils, and Laura’s crippled leg to characterize the members...
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...Text Analysis “The Talented Mr Ripley” The Talented Mr Ripley directed by Anthony Minghella is a movie about the life of Tom Ripley, an outcast who is motivated by the need to fit in. Through the use of film techniques such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, juxtaposition and symbolism Minghella positions the audience to understand and sympathise with Ripley, without endorsing his unacceptable actions. Through the use of cinematography Minghella directs the audience to empathise with Ripley because of his role as an outsider. Ripley’s need to fit in is shown in the scene where he is working at the recital. The camera shows Ripley pulling back the curtain and peering into a world where he doesn’t belong. By lingering on a close up of Ripley face the audience clearly sees Ripley’s longing to be accepted into the upper class. The fact that Ripley won’t be accepted is presented through Minghella’s camera work which shows the audience an upper class lady looking disapprovingly at someone of Ripley class daring to look into their world. This is further emphasised in the next scene where the audience sees Ripley removed from the stage despite his clear musical talent. Minghella also uses mise-en-scene to demonstrate Ripley’s position as an outcast. When Ripley first arrives in Italy his pale white skin and his scrawny build are in stark contrast to the bronzed and muscular men that surround him. Furthermore he stands out because of his fluorescent yellow bathers which are mocked...
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...ANALYZING NOVELS & SHORT STORy Good feedback is kind, thorough and timely. It’s professional and focused. It leaves the writer feeling challenged to do better but great about their strengths. Even if that just means the location they chose was cool. Give your feedback relative to the skill set of the writer. Never lie or obfuscate. Just serve it up gently. An upset writer isn’t going to hear your points anyway. But an encouraged one will. Trust me on this. — Julie Gray PRINTER FRIENDLY PAGE Literary analysis looks critically at a work of fiction in order to understand how the parts contribute to the whole. When analyzing a novel or short story, you’ll need to consider elements such as the context, setting, characters, plot, literary devices, and themes. Remember that a literary analysis isn’t merely a summary or review, but rather an interpretation of the work and an argument about it based on the text. Depending on your assignment, you might argue about the work’s meaning or why it causes certain reader reactions. This handout will help you analyze a short story or novel—use it to form a thesis, or argument, for your essay. Summary Begin by summarizing the basic plot: “Matilda by Roald Dahl is about a gifted little girl in small town America who learns to make things move with her mind and saves her teacher and school from the evil principal.” This will help ground you in the story. (When you write your paper, you probably won’t include a summary because your readers...
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...At first, I felt a movie would not have the power to bring about revolutionary change to the way a culture thinks and acts. But. the more I thought about it and considered other examples, like The Beatles or Elvis Presley, the more I believed a movie has the capability to define certain aspects of culture. Though it is a single work, lasting only a few hours, the new idea can be reiterated through music, symbolism, clothing, actions and even subliminal messages. Easy Rider is an example of a counterculture in which “its norms and values are often imcompatible with or in direct opposition to the mainstreams” (Ferris and Stein 83). Drug usage was happening in reality, not just in the movie and it helped highlight concurrent events, such as...
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...access and use have changed the way we perceive society and personal relations. The world seems to be smaller and we are more often in contact with people from other cultures. It’s therefore important constantly to develop our cultural awareness in order to be more skilled and sophisticated in our communication. Culture has its roots in traditions which are taught and inherited over time. It binds us together in the society we live in and it’s a part of our personal identity. Culture makes us feel as members of the same group, tribe or guild and this knowledge makes us feel related and safe. Our language has cultural expressions which are very recognizable to others and each language has its own intonations and inner meanings. To the outsider these meanings are often lost in a translation as...
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...A Rose for Emily: 1st Essay A Rose for Emily is a short narrative written by William Faulkner, an American writer from Mississippi. This story tells the story of Emily Grierson who belongs to a southern aristocratic family. Emily was a weird but an extremely interesting woman who no one could be able to get the best of her. Even though she was a rude dissociable outsider who lost all her beloved ones and left alone in a society that outer appearances and social class were considered major aspects in people’s lives, she found a way to survive and maintain her strength. Through the events of the story you can realize the hardships Emily had gone through and all the unpleasant things that happened to her either from strangers or acquaintances. When I first read this story I gave a part of my time focusing on the title and what this piece of narrative might be about. Is it about roses? Is it a love story? Is it a funeral? Who is Emily and why she got flowers? Anyhow, for some reason, the word “Roses” stood up in the title and many questions came to my mind whether these roses symbolized something of what I thought it would. Are these roses from Emily’s beloved? Are they from people in a funeral? Or did she use to plant them in her garden? And what is really interesting is that the title was intriguing and encouraged me to read the story in order to find out what did those roses symbolize in William Faulkner’s short story. From the title, I came up with a scenario of what...
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...By the Bog of Symbolism By the Bog of Cats is a play that takes place in present day Ireland. Filled with suspense and tragedy, it tells a story of a woman by the name of Hester Swane, who copes with the separation of her and her husband. Throughout the play there were significant parallels between the setting and the plot. The landscape created by the author, Marina Carr, helps shape the characters and its outcomes of the play. She uses history and tradition of the Bog, use of time of day, the dead black swan and its color contrast, as well as the caravan; in order to create and set a presence. By the Bog of Cats, by Marina Carr takes place on a terrain of land known as the Bog. Bogs are one of the most distinctive pieces of wet lands. "its spongy ground consist mainly of partially decayed plant matter called peat. They are found in cooler climates that have poorly drained lakes and lake brazens" ("Ireland's Peat Bogs."). Bogs, also referred to as blanket bogs are deeply interwoven into Irish history, and have been useful in many ways. The peat found on bogs, were widely used to heat homes. They were also used for water storage. Because of the lack of drainage within bogs, rain water would be stored there, which prevents flooding. The bog also holds history; literally. Due to its denseness and many layers of turf, bogs are an excellent habitat for preserving things. A prime example of this would be a recent discovery made in 2011. The body of a man was found who is believed...
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...“The Catcher in the Rye” is written by J.D Salinger which focuses on the reality of life through the eyes of a teenager who sees the world as a painful existence. The novel is written from the perspective of Holden who has been expelled from his fourth school. After a fight with his roommate, Holden leaves early to explore New York City alone. Holden battles with the reality of adulthood that has turn a different turn on his life. We get to this stage where we fear to grow up and see what will be coming for us next in the future. Salinger’s novel clearly displays the experience of being isolated from multiple activities which can lead to the theme of alienation, the creation of the character (Holden) and also the symbolism which can be unnoticed. Salinger tries to convey a message with his writing to also displaying human connection is a must. The theme of “The Catcher in the Rye” is alienation which connects to Holden (the protagonist)...
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...need which can be seen through Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Tim Winton’s Neighbours. Both texts explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by one’s connection to place. This idea is conveyed through changes in place and how the changes can develop a sense of belonging or non-belonging. Setting is used by both texts to convey how the significance of a change in place can affect belonging. In As You Like It Shakespeare juxtaposes the harshness of court life to the freedom of the untainted Forest of Arden. In Act one Scene one Orlando is placed in the orchard outside the house away from everyone portraying his alienation from his brother and household. Shakespeare uses animal imagery to emphasise Orlando’s outsider status through the lines “His horses are bred better” highlighting Orlando’s alienation. Adam, a servant of the family, also feels disconnected from the house as Oliver treats him with disrespect shown through animal imagery - “old dog” which illustrates how Adam’s disconnection to place is affecting his relationship with Oliver. This is then juxtaposed to the Forest of Arden which explores how the country fosters and teaches belonging as it is unrestricted by social constraints allowing relationships to foster. “Are not these woods more free from peril than the envious court” is Shakespeare expressing through the personification of the “envious court” that the forest is a positive place compared to the court. This is explored further through...
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...black man (who Atticus defended brilliantly in court) for no other reason than the racism the Maycomb citizens harbored in their hearts, the death of this man by seventeen gunshot wounds when he attempted to escape prison, the attempted murder of Scout and Jem, the appearance of a neighborhood recluse for the first time in years, the slow death of a morphine addict who teaches Jem a valuable lesson, and other challenges and experiences the two face as they reach toward young adulthood. By the end, both of the children reach a new understanding of other people, and of themselves. A reason this novel is considered such a classic (other than its interesting and dynamic plot and subplots) is its literary constructs, including symbolism. One of the main points of symbolism Lee incorporates is the mockingbird, which was reflected onto some of the main characters. The mockingbird is seen as purely innocent, and as something that it is a sin to kill, because they "don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy…they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us." (Lee 99) THESIS STATEMENT Atticus Finch, the father of Jem and Scout, was portrayed as a mockingbird through his actions and words as well as other citizens of Maycomb’s perceptions and opinions of him. One example of his likeness to a mockingbird’s goodness and perfection would be when he willfully takes the job of defending that no other attorney wanted, the case of Tom Robinson, who everyone knew would be convicted no...
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...turning the trees into houses, no matter the ramifications of his actions. Andrew McGahan's, The White Earth explores ideas of the destruction of the environment as a result of white settlement in Australia, and how this has impacted man's spiritual connection to the land. Such ideas are conveyed through the use of language, juxtaposition and point of view. Many language techniques are utilised throughout this text in order to express ideas about the beauty of nature and how this beauty is being destroyed through the careless acts of man. The use of symbolism implies a much broader and deeper meaning to the words chosen by the author, for example when Mcgahan writes, “There were only these notches hewn in the tree trunks, slowly disappearing.” He intends for a much broader interpretation of the disappearance of footholds in the trees; he is commenting on the slow disappearance of the Aboriginal culture through the use of symbolism. Another way in which McGahan employs language techniques in order to explore ideas is through the use of personification; the author brings the environment to life through personification as a means to provoke sympathy from the reader. “Bizarrely shaped fungi, feeding off the rotting limbs of fallen trees.” This grim expression transforms a seemingly inanimate tree into something that is living and human like, he does so again when he writes, “the raw crimson of split and bleeding wood” wood does not bleed, this is a human-like...
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