...De Maupassant’s and Dahl’s Methods of Theme Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader, once said that “appearance is something absolute, but reality is not that way.”This quote brings to light the theme that appearances can be deceiving, a theme in many stories. With their utilization of symbolism and figurative language, Guy de Maupassant in “Lamb to the Slaughter,” and Roald Dahl in “The Necklace,” convey the theme that looks can be deceiving. In both of these stories there are several examples of these authors using symbolism to convey the theme. After the party, in “The Necklace”, where Madame Loisel wore the necklace, de Maupassant said that “Madame Loisel was a success. She was the prettiest woman present”(de Maupassant 4). In this part of the...
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...main characters Holden and Mud. Salinger and Gowdy tell the stories of youth suffering from the loss of their innocence in similar ways but both uniquely saddening. In the novels the main characters are forced to mature far too early in their lives, causing loss of innocence and harm to their older selves. Sadly, Holden and Mud endure the absence of parents, the expectation that they engage in sexual activity and the death of loved ones at such young ages. Throughout the novels, both Holden and Mud do not have the support of their parents which is a major part of a child’s...
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...that the innocence once possessed as a child can dissipate. Innocence can be easily viewed as temporal due to its tendency to falter in a myriad amount of people. Loss of innocence is a prevalent archetypal theme in Star Wars, Grapes of Wrath, Lord of the Flies, A Separate Peace, and Swing Kids. Although all novels display this archetypal theme well, the character Tom in Grapes of Wrath suffers the greatest loss of innocence due to the tragic effects of the Great Depression and the crime he participates in. In Star Wars, a young man, Luke Skywalker, who has lost his parents, lives with his aunt and uncle and is brought into a world of violence on his mission to become a Jedi. He encounters the ultimate archetypal devil figure, Darth Vader. Darth represents the darkness humanity possesses. Although Luke’s encounters with supernatural beings and death are frequent in the film Star Wars, this sharply contrasts with the isolation Tom Joad faces in Grapes of Wrath. While Luke’s loss of innocence is accepted as a way of life in Star Wars, including killing clones and destroying an entire planet, Tom’s inability to tolerate injustice, resulting in violence, is a crime in the world of his character. Essentially, Luke’s loss of innocence brings him closer to the people in the world he is surrounded by; his destroying of the Death Star is an act of bravery. Tom kills men who displayed violence and evil, but it is a crime in his world. In this perspective, Tom’s loss of innocence, which...
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...The title of a novel is an important asset for the author to present their story in a way they see fit. By allowing the author to express their emotions, the title remains a significant feature. When examining the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader can see that the mockingbird is a metaphorical symbolization of the theme of innocence, or the loss of. Published in 1960 by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird has become a literary classic. This essay will explore the significance of the title “To Kill a Mockingbird” and will endeavor to explain to the reader why Harper Lee’s novel is called To Kill a Mockingbird while also touching on some of the themes that are connected to the title, such as the loss of innocence and injustice. Revolving...
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...the plot of the story, it does in fact have a lot of symbolic weight to it. In the book Ms. Maudie explains why it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but . . . sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” In the novel, a mockingbird symbolically represents purity, and innocence. And to kill a mockingbird means to rid some one “mockingbirds”, one for example is Tom Robinson, in the novel it stated that he was an honest hard...
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...In addition to bearing the title of the novel, Harper Lee uses “To Kill a Mockingbird” as an opportunity to convey the significance of moral veracity to depict the alleged Mockingbirds of May comb county. She uses the innocence of children such as Jem and Scout to experience the underlying reality of good and evil in society, as their father, Atticus Finch attempts to teach them the morals of killing shadowed innocent beings who are helpless to their own freedom. After the encounter with Atticus and being told that to kill a mocking is a sin, Scout asks Miss Maudie who explains that,” Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” In the novel, Mockingbirds symbolize harmless innocent people who have only ever tried to serve others but are destroyed by the evil around them. To terrorize a Mockingbirds security is deemed to be morally detestable, as it would be considered a “sin.” The concept of Mockingbird relate to those discriminated for complex past history and wellbeing, race and mixed orientation. Boo Radley, Tom Robinson and mixed children represent the innocent creatures that are deemed to be the harmless and helpless Mockingbirds of Maycomb County. Boo Radley is clarified as a greatly misunderstood troubled victim of society with an intricate past history involving an abusive parental figure devoted to his own selfish pride, resulting in locking his son away from society...
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...Greece’s Court of Law 3000 years ago was extremely strict and consisted of many people from a range of social classes. Murderers would be, at the very least, exiled from their community. At worst, they would be publicly executed. This historical context begs the question ‘Why wasn’t Odysseus punished for his crime of murdering the maids?’. This is most likely due to the distinguished status of the fictional Odysseus, who viewed the girls as insignificant and traitorous. More importantly, the answer to this may also be attributable to the fact that the maids were merely slaves, and Penelope’s deep love for them would prove to be ultimately irrelevant as the women are slain heartlessly. Atwood explores the maids’ rights and innocence in the courtroom setting featured in chapter XXVI of ‘The Penelopiad’, which features Odysseus as a defendant in the Court of Law, regarding Odysseus’ multiple killings. Here, he is trialled for his murders and shortly dismissed after evidence is heard from his figurative attorney. However, the twelve maids bring forward their case, which concerns their butchery. ‘You’ve forgotten about us! What about our case? You can’t let him off! He hanged us in cold blood… For nothing!’, the Maids protest the Judge’s decision and demand justice, which is something they never truly received during Odysseus’ lifetime. The conflicting ethics and morals in place during the times of ancient Greece compared to those of now is stressed by the quote ‘......
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...discrimination at the base of humanity. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, it becomes quite evident that growing up in a world full of hatred looks much different through eyes that have not seen prejudice. Through these innocent perspectives, the reader looks through a window to see the very raw core of human nature. Because of this purity, that Jem and Scout see Tom as a mockingbird. Tom represents a mockingbird in a few, yet significant, ways. First of all he ignites the children to sing their own song of youthful innocence; he is a minority and considered “crippled” in the eyes of many characters in the novel. Finally, Tom goes out of his way to be a hard-working and helpful man, even though his graciousness is not reciprocated. All of the way through the trial of Tom Robinson, many injustices become clear to both Scout and Jem. The unfair and biased treatment of Robinson leads to...
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...Feminism in “Lamb to the Slaughter” In the socially stagnant post-war United States of the early 1950's, Mary Maloney is content with the routine she has established for herself as a homemaker. She spends each day anticipating the return of her husband, police officer Patrick Maloney. In this waiting period, she tidies up his house, prepares his food, and periodically glances at the clock until he arrives. For Mary Maloney, her husband's return is "always the most blissful time of day" (Dahl 24). Patrick's presence completes Mary, in that she is dependent on him both economically and emotionally. In Roald Dahl's 1951 short story, "Lamb to the Slaughter," Mary Maloney comes to embody a feminist heroine by escaping her husband's oppression. Her behavior in the beginning of the story is docile and therefore socially acceptable; she is the willing and conscientious housewife that all women should be. She has no choice in the matter, for "the Western family structure helps to subordinate women, causing them to be economically dependent" (Bressler 186). As soon as her husband Patrick reveals that he is leaving her, Mary's whole character changes. She murders her husband, who has provided her with the security she has come to take for granted. The cultural, linguistic, and bodily elements that differentiate the female from the male are apparent in "Lamb to the Slaughter," therefore marking it as a highly subversive feminist text. It...
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...spirit of the native people. “They are by nature the most humble, patient, and peaceable, holding no grudges, free from embroilments, neither excitable nor quarrelsome. These people are the most devoid of rancors, hatreds, or desire for vengeance of any people in the world (Las Casas 1). The Native Americans are defined by their kindness, which makes their treatment at the hands of the settlers all the more devastating. With all of the innocence of lambs, Las Casas describes the fate of the Natives at the hands of Spanish settlers, “acting like ravening beasts, killing, terrorizing, afflicting, torturing, and destroying the native peoples, doing all this with the strangest and most varied new methods of cruelty” (2). Within near half a century, the once prosperous native population of the western isles is reduced to a shell of its former...
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...Everyone has their own conscience, although some views may be different than yours, these thoughts and opinions somehow coexist in the world we live in. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, she explains just how the actions and the rivalries existed in the small county of Maycomb. The ideas of existence and representations of both good and evil grow up with Scout and Jem, making them recognize early on in their young lives that the world is never fully good or evil. Early on in the novel, good and/or good people are symbolized by mockingbirds. By telling of the innocence and the faultless qualities of the Mockingbird, that they “...don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy”, the author really appeals to the emotional side of the audience towards the goodness of the mockingbird (103). Potential to be good is shown several times throughout the book. A bit of sincere thoughtfulness is shown when “the men of Maycomb, in all degrees of dress and undress, took furniture from Miss Maudie's house to a yard across the street”, they became completely selfless when a friend needed help (78). Their conscience found a emotional side that connected with the good in the men....
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...Harper Lee demonstrates the racism of South in the 30's. Tom Robinson's trial represents the racist atmosphere of Maycomb's society. The racial bias of the people of Maycomb makes them blind to see the fact of Tom's innocence and this brings about his murder. Tom's murder echoes Aimé Césaire sarcastic statement in his Et les chiens se taisent, that "in the whole world no poor devil is lynched, no wretch is tortured, in whom I too am not degraded and murdered" (qtd in Black Skin, White Masks 61). Darren Felty in "An Overview of To Kill a Mockingbird", states: "Lee wants to make explicit the consequences of racism. She accomplishes this goal by employing Tom Robinson's trial to allude to different historical events such as the famous 'Scottsboro Boys' trials of the 1930s". According to Felty, in these trials nine black men were accused of raping two white women. Despite a lack of evidence, the men were sentenced to death by the white jury. Unlike Tom, they finally escaped death after a long time (2). Tom Robinson's trial mirrors these historical events to illustrate the racial binarity and segregation that the black people suffered throughout the colonial history. Racial binarity is prevalent in the novel. The narrow-minded people of Maycomb are in favor of segregation in their society and they consider sexual relationship as a threat to their segregation. According to Adam Smykowski in "Symbolism and Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird", For example, "the red geraniums that...
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...Kite Runner Discussion Question 6 The sheep sacrifice ritual floods Amir’s memory while witnessing a rape incident taking place to Hassan in the alleyway. A sheep symbolizes fate acceptance, purity, innocence, and the blameless being left to suffer. Hassan is described to have “the look of the lamb” when the disturbing event is taking place. Additionally, Amir mentions that the sheep always seems to have a “look of acceptance” in its eyes before being slayed, which compares to Hassan’s eyes during the tragedy. Hassan made no attempts to fight back with Assef and he end up accepting the horrid situation he found himself in. The sheep serving as a sacrifice, correlates directly to Hassan making a sacrifice for Amir, in order to save the kite...
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...Sari Grosenbach Eng. 101 Mr. Powell Assignment 7 2/19/13 Kearney Examples This one example when I went to a group called Mens Retreat and they did all of these awsome adventure like skydiving, water sking, also going to laser tag and I wanted to join so badly I asked if i could go on there trip! They just looked at me and laughed and said that I cant't go because I'm a girl and its for men oly. My heart sank so far that I could throw up. My eyes just watered up intill i couldn't see no more. I was so hurt that day that I just did nothing but cry. Sari Grosenbach Eng. 101 Mr. Powell Assignment 8 2/19/13 Testomony My dad, who worked at wal-mart for 20 years says" I haven't seen so many people be so rude even when I was a kid!" We should really check ourself even for someone who worked at a grosery store for about 20 years and now rudness is out of control. My uncle, who pizza delivery for 10 years says " When I did this 10 years ago people would tip me from left to right and now I just get a door slammed in my face." This prove that people now that rudeness is way out of control and people 10 years ago would be nice enough to tip and now my uncle get a door slammed in his face and get rude comments. Sari Grosenbach Eng.101 Mr. Powell Assignment 6 2/19/13 She's Your Basic LOL In the essay She’s Your Basic L.O.L in N.A.D, author Kerri Klass’s main point is the languge she has to learn when becoming a doctor. According to Klass (passage 1) I didnt...
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...Ancient Literature Essay Ancient literature includes many themes that are relevant today. Many of these stories include a hero, villain, and epic battle or journey that leads to a resolve. Often, you can see similar characteristics among these ancient writings. These ancient peoples were not much different than we are today, and that is depicted by the themes that continue to be relevant in the Common Era. An analysis of the two ancient writings The Aeneid and Agamemnon show many similar themes and blatant differences apparent in each story. By examining these two stories in detail, a greater understanding and appreciation of ancient literature can be acquired. Since man first began engaging in religious practices, stories with religious elements and themes have resulted. These two stories are no exception. Ancient Greek and Roman religious themes are present in both The Aeneid and Agamemnon. Both stories revolve around the philosophy that what we do with our lives is controlled by the Gods and to disrespect and dishonor the Gods is blasphemy, which will automatically lead to punishment. Both stories are similar in that the Gods are the beholders of the ultimate supreme power and the deciders of our hero’s fates. In other words, if it is not written by the Gods, then it is not the will of the Gods, and is therefore not to be done. It is also apparent in both stories that pleasing the Gods is everything to the characters and ultimately a deciding factor in their roles...
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