...CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Background of the Study In our daily lives, we actually have gone through a lot of incident whether it is good or bad. However, we hardly draw the conclusion of the incident we have been through. We might fail to reach something we have been wanting so long, though the thing we desire is well-planned, yet the result is not like what we expect before. The point is that every time we are facing a problem, we should really pay attention and take the message of it. There will always be sort of a lesson in every single difficulty. Not only shall we find in our daily lives, but we could also find it while reading literary works, watching movies and suchlike. Reading literary works has interesting adventure in which an extra attention is needed to figure it out. For some people, reading novel or short story is more than just about looking for the beautiful story or the greatnesses of the story. Yet, there are some people who only read novel without a deep understanding. Usually the readers will be facing some questions which have something to do with the author’s intention making story. Common question coming out automatically after reading novel or short story is such what is the author trying to tell us in the story or what the moral lessons of the story is. According to Nurgiyantoro (1995:66) to know of what the author feels like to convey in the story is the main task of reading fiction work, it is either Novel or Short story. As a matter...
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...in Oscar Wilde’s “The Nightingale and the Rose” and “The Happy Prince” BY ASST. INST. Shaima’ Fadhil Hassan UNIVERSITY OF KOYA/ COLLEGE OF LANGUAGES/ DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH Heroism and sacrifice are not new concepts; they can be traced back to the early days of human life. These concepts developed throughout history as a result of the development of human thought. In literature, the idea of heroism appears on a large scale. It has been dealt with by different writers in different periods. As far as terminology is concerned, the terms of heroism and sacrifice are interchangeable. The hero must be a sacrificer and the one who sacrifices himself must be a hero, for this reason these two terms (hero and sacrificer) cannot be separated. Thus, both of them go hand in hand in so many works of literature. Heroism and sacrifice are not confined to human beings only. Some writers present their heroes as gods as in mythology, and some of them present animals as in fables. 809 0202 / مجلة ديالى العدد الرابع و االربعون The idea of having an animal as a sacrificial hero is shown in many of Oscar Wilde’s short stories. He developed this theme as a reaction towards his age which lacked, in his view, moral as well as human values. For this reason, he chooses a bird to be his tragic hero. He epitomizes this idea in such short stories like “The Nightingale and the Rose” and “The Happy Prince”. The heroes in these two short stories are birds: a swallow in “The Happy prince” and...
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...Oscar Wilde It’s a story about a statue that was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, it’s eyes are made of two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glows on his sword-hilt. Everybody likes the happy prince because they are glad that there is someone who is always happy. One time a little Swallow who was on the way to Egypt ,wants a place to sleep comes to the statue. When he wantsto sleep under the statue , he notices that the Happy Prince is crying. When the Swallow asks why he is crying he answers that he is sad because there are so many unhappy people in the country he wanted to help. So the little Swallow stays the night with the happy prince and takes the red ruby from the Prince’s sword shield to the pour people. The next day the Swallow wants to fly to Egypt but the prince asks him to stay and take the sapphires from his eye to the pour. That happens also the next day, but now the Happy Prince is blind and the Swallow wants to stay with him. Finally the winter comes and the little Swallow dies, but he comes in heaven together with the Happy Prince. The Text Oscar Wilde My Opinion: I think the story is worth reading because it’s easy to understand. I really liked the story because the Prince and the Swallow didn’t think of themselves and helped the poor. They show how we should behave when someone is in misery. Please write your opinion here: Elisabeth: I think that the story is very nice to read and easy to understand. I...
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...TITLE V Major Assignment Major Assignment The Happy Prince The Happy Prince Lecturer: Saint Metrey Student: Yeng Vithavath Class: M2.5 Academic Year: 2014-15 Lecturer: Saint Metrey Student: Yeng Vithavath Class: M2.5 Academic Year: 2014-15 Submission Date: 23/12/2014 Word Count: 575 Submission Date: 23/12/2014 Word Count: 575 The Happy Prince (By Oscar Wilde) The Happy Prince is a story written by author Oscar Wilde and was published in 1888. The story talks about a statue that can talk and then asks a swallow to do tasks for him. It is a simple yet meaningful story; therefore, this essay will first be about the summary of the story then it will discuss the symbolism of the statue of the Happy Prince, next it will show the contribution of the statue in the story, and the last paragraph will be the reflection of the whole story. The story took place in a city where the statue of the happy prince, which was coated in gold, was placed in the middle of the city. One day a little swallow went to the city and then stayed on the statue. Night after night, the statue of the Happy Prince would ask the swallow to take the valuable things on his body and give them to the poor people until the statue had no jewel left. In the end, the swallow died, the statue was removed, and the swallow’s body and the statue’s heart were taken to heaven. When the prince was still alive, he lived a happy life without knowing any misery outside his castle...
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...Oscar Wilde Birth and early life Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, short story writer and Freemason. One of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day, known for his barbed and clever wit, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned after being convicted in a famous trial for gross indecency. Birth and early life Wilde was born into a Protestant Anglo-Irish family, at 21 Westland Row, Dublin, to Sir William Wilde and his wife Jane Francesca Elgee. Jane was a successful writer and an Irish nationalist, known also as 'Speranza', while Sir William was Ireland's leading ear and eye surgeon, and wrote books on archaeology and folklore. He was a renowned philanthropist, and his dispensary for the care of the city's poor, in Lincoln Place at the rear of Trinity College, Dublin, was the forerunner of the Dublin Eye and Ear Hospital, now located at Adelaide Road. In June 1855, the family moved to 1 Merrion Square, in a fashionable residential area. Here, Lady Wilde held a regular Saturday afternoon salon with guests including Sheridan le Fanu, Samuel Lever, George Petrie, Isaac Butt and Samuel Ferguson. Oscar was educated at home up to the age of nine. He attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, Fermanagh from 1864 to 1871, spending the summer months with his family in rural Waterford, Wexford and at...
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...The story opens with $1.87. That's all Della Dillingham Young has to buy a present for her beloved husband, Jim. And the next day is Christmas. Faced with such a situation, Della promptly bursts into tears on the couch, which gives the narrator the opportunity to tell us a bit more about the situation of Jim and Della. The short of it is they live in a shabby flat and they're poor. But they love each other. Once Della's recovered herself, she goes to a mirror to let down her hair and examine it. Della's beautiful, brown, knee-length hair is one of the two great treasures of the poor couple. The other is Jim's gold watch. Her hair examined, Della puts it back up, sheds a tear, and bundles up to head out into the cold. She leaves the flat and walks to Madame Sofronie's hair goods shop, where she sells her hair for twenty bucks. Now she has $21.87 cents. With her new funds, Della is able to find Jim the perfect present: an elegant platinum watch chain for his watch. It's $21, and she buys it. Excited by her gift, Della returns home and tries to make her now-short hair presentable (with a curling iron). She's not convinced Jim will approve, but she did what she had to do to get him a good present. When she finishes with her hair, she gets to work preparing coffee and dinner. Jim arrives at 7pm to find Della waiting by the door and stares fixedly at her, not able to understand that Della's hair is gone. Della can't understand quite what his reaction means. After a little...
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...“Biography lends to death a new terror.” This is a quote from the famous writer of the 19th century Oscar Wilde, and the irony is that in this paper I will be shedding some light on the life and times of this controversial artist. Wilde was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian Era. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and numerous poems, short stories, and essays. He was a supporter of the Aesthetic movement, which emphasized aesthetic values more than moral or social ideals. This movement is most clearly summarized in the phrase “art for art's sake.” The main focus of this paper will be Wildes early life, his various works and controversial lifestyle, and a bit of my personal opinion on this man and his effects on the world today. Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on October 16, 1854 to Sir William Wilde and his wife Jane. Oscar's mother, Lady Jane Francesca Wilde, was a successful poet and journalist; she wrote many successful Irish verses under a pseudonym. His father, Sir William Wilde, was a surgeon and also a gifted writer, who wrote books on archeology and folklore. Oscar was educated at Portora Royal School until 1871, and then attended Trinity College in Dublin as well as Magdalen College in Oxford until 1878. It was during his stint in Oxford that he became an advocate in the aesthetic movement and while at Magdalen, he won the 1878 Newdigate Prize for his poem Ravenna...
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...One of the most poignant sentences in the story of The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde, and one which can sum up the essence of both story and character is when, at the end, the Art Professor at the University says: As he is no longer beautiful he is no longer useful The prince was once a very happy one, and had been modeled in gilt gold leaves for all the world to see. Everything about him was materialistically perfect: Bejeweled eyes and fingers, gold all over, and so on. Yet, the prince was only superficially happy and perfect. From his height and position he could see how the poor lived and how miserable their conditions were. Hence, he asked a swallow that rested on him to start giving out his gold and jewels to the poor so that they can have a better life. This right here tells us the nature of the prince: He is an individual idealized by society, put on a pedestal by his peers, and wrapped in luxury by his own destiny. Yet, far from wanting all this, there is a side of him that advocates in favor of the least lucky, and wishes for equality for all. He is obviously sensible to the needs and wants of others, and he opts to self-sacrifice in order to save those who have less than he did. For this, we could say that he is altruistic, kind, and sacrificial. Hence, the prince is more of a martyr than any other thing. Once his gold was all gone, he was considered...
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...Paragraph 1: (100 words) change grammar later One of the best written works by Oscar Wilde, an Irish playwright, poet and author of many short stories as well as novels, is The Happy Prince published in 1988 as a series of children story. Although aimed for kids, the story addressed issue concerned in adult society which deems it to be worthy for discussion. This essay shall provide the background summary of the story, literary analysis regarding the symbol of statue of the happy prince, and thematic analysis relating to the contribution the price offered his people and a reflection of lesson learnt from the story. Paragraph 2: Summary (100 words) change grammar later In the story, when the happy prince was alive, he lived in a palace where sorrow was not allowed to enter. However, when he died, he saw all the misery of the city on a tall column as a statue. A swallow who came from afar stays with the statue of the happy prince and helped the poor with the ruby, the sapphires and the gold covering of the happy prince upon the happy prince’s request. At the end, the swallow died frost. The heart that was made of leaden of the happy prince also broke. Paragraph 3: 150 words. Change grammar later The statue of the Happy Prince in the story symbolized that outward beauty was nothing; it was just a show. The real beauty was the love and sacrifice. The Happy Prince had a lead heart, but this heart was full of sympathies for the poor and the needy. He sacrificed his eyes and...
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...THE HAPPY PRINCE Literature study is a book consists of many useful short stories. Each of them is very beneficial for the reader. One of the stories in that book that caught my attention was “The Happy Prince”. This short story was written by Oscar Wilde in 1888. In this story, it talks about the generosity of a talking statue. I really love reading this book. In addition, I am going to analyze the whole story: a summary of the story, an analysis of a symbol of happy prince, and my idea toward the contribution of the happy prince toward his people. Happy prince was once a human whose life was full of exhilaration and happiness. He never gets to see what life like beyond that thick wall of his palace. When he died, they built him a status and put him up high in the middle of the town. There, he saw a lot of misery, starvation, and poverty. Next he made a friend with a swallow, whose friends are leaving to Egypt to escape the frozen season, and begged him to be his massager. The swallow continues to help the happy prince doing the charity job by talking the valuable stones and gold from the happy prince status—the happy prince status was made of god and rare sapphires. The little bird continues to take those priceless stuffs from happy prince status to help the poor until there were none left. Next, the winter strive, the swallow died because of the cold. Then, the major of the town order his servants to remove the happy prince status from his place since the status was not...
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...HAPPY PRINCE by Oscar Wilde The prince in the story is no living prince. He is the statue of a dead prince decorated with gold leaves and precious stones. He is known as the Happy Prince because there is a smile on his lips. But the smile gradually gives way to tears. The Happy Prince cannot help crying over the scenes of misery in the houses of the poor. He decides to help them with his gold leaves and costly stones. The little swallow acts as his messenger, and he gives away all his wealth. The Swallow was on his way back to his homeland when the prince had detained him to help the poor. He still wished to go back but now it was too late. The intense cold killed him. Thus the little swallow lost his life in helping the poor. His death broke the prince’s heart. So the swallow and the prince perished for a noble cause. But their death was not the end. It made them immortal. That is why the angel selected the dead swallow and the lifeless heart of the prince as the noblest things on earth. Haircut by Ring Lardner The narrator of the story is the town barber, who talks about a man by the name of Jim Kendall. Jim was a man who played cruel pranks on children and adults. Jim goes hunting with a 10-year old mentally handicapped child. When it is discovered that Jim was shot, many people in the town believed that it was an accident, although the author of the story indicates that the shooting was planned by the child, who had been tormented by Jim and wanted to get revenge...
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...The short story The short story -- Alice Munro an exception, (perhaps) -- is an illustration of one facet of human nature. Often a character undergoes some event and experiences something which offers him change. This is why it's said that short stories usually "say something", often a narrow or small something, but sometimes delivered with such precision that the effect is exquisite, even a life-moment for the reader, something akin to a religious experience or seeing a never-to-be-repeated scene in nature. For a minute, let me remind you that, for me, the perfect short story is written with a poet's feel for language, with a poet's precision, and that the shape and sounds and rhythms of the words are more commonly part of the work's effect than is usually seen in the novel. In a poem, the bare words are virtually never the complete meaning. They interact, their sounds do things, and how they are placed on the page matters. The poem tries to create a nugget of truth, an insight into being human and the form is so tight, so sparse that we can argue over exact meanings long into the smoke-laden night. Elements and Characteristics of Short Stories Short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually, a short story will focus on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a limited number of characters, and covers a short period of time. In longer forms of fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic structure: exposition (the introduction...
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...What is literature? * Creative writing of recognised artistic value. * Written works of fiction and non-fiction in which compositional excellence and advancement in the art of writing are higher priorities than are considerations of profit or commercial appeal. * Literature is literally "an acquaintance with letters" as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning "an individual written character (letter)"). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts. The word literature as a common noun can refer to any form of writing, such as essays or poetry; Literature as a proper noun refers to a whole body of literary work, world-wide or relating to a specific culture... * lit·er·a·ture n. 1. The body of written works of a language, period, or culture. 2. Imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value:"Literature must be an analysis of experience and a synthesis of the findings into a unity" 3. The art or occupation of a literary writer. 4. The body of written work produced by scholars or researchers in a given field: medical literature. 5. Printed material: All the available collected literature on the subject. 6. Music: All the compositions of a certain kind or for a specific instrument or ensemble: the symphonic literature. Good literature has something important to say about life. If we take the time to read and understand the literature...
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...1. W. Shakespeare « Hamlet» (Renaissance) Character List Hamlet - The Prince of Denmark, the title character, and the protagonist. About thirty years old at the start of the play, Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet, and the nephew of the present king, Claudius. Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his uncle’s scheming and disgust for his mother’s sexuality. A reflective and thoughtful young man who has studied at the University of Wittenberg, Hamlet is often indecisive and hesitant, but at other times prone to rash and impulsive acts. Hamlet is extremely philosophical and contemplative. He is particularly drawn to difficult questions or questions that cannot be answered with any certainty. Faced with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, evidence that any other character in a play would believe, Hamlet becomes obsessed with proving his uncle’s guilt before trying to act. Claudius - The King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle, and the play’s antagonist. The villain of the play, Claudius is a calculating, ambitious politician, driven by his sexual appetites and his lust for power, but he occasionally shows signs of guilt and human feeling—his love for Gertrude, for instance, seems sincere. Gertrude - The Queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s mother, recently married to Claudius. Gertrude loves Hamlet deeply, but she is a shallow, weak woman who seeks affection and status more urgently than moral rectitude or truth. Polonius - The...
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...Enotes… Arms and the Man | Introduction Shaw was already a celebrity arts critic and socialist lecturer when he wrote Arms and the Man in 1894. One of Shaw’s earliest attempts at writing for the theatre, it was also his first commercial success as a playwright. Although it played for only one season at an avant-garde theatre, thanks to the financial backing of a friend, it was later produced in America in 1895. Accustomed to the melodramas of the age, however, even sophisticated audiences often did not discern the serious purpose of Shaw’s play. Thus, Shaw considered it a failure. True success did not come until 1898, when Arms and the Man was published as one of the “pleasant” plays in Shaw’s collection called Plays: Pleasant and Unpleasant, and it subsequently gained popularity as a written work. Included in this collection of plays are lengthy explanatory prefaces, which note significant issues in the plays and which have been invaluable to critics. In place of brief stage directions, Shaw’s plays also included lengthy instructions and descriptions. Another unique aspect of Arms and the Man was its use of a woman as the central character. Set during the four-month-long Serbo-Bulgarian War that occurred between November 1885 and March 1886, this play is a satire on the foolishness of glorifying something so terrible as war, as well as a satire on the foolishness of basing your affections on idealistic notions of love. These themes brought reality and a timeless lesson...
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