Twentieth century literature often portrays the relationship between men and women as deeply problematic. By comparing and contrasting three texts by Katherine Mansfield, Harold Pinter and Carol Ann Duffy, discuss to what extent you agree with this view.
‘Twentieth century literature often portrays the relationship between men and women as deeply problematic’. By comparing and contrasting three texts, discuss to what extent you agree with this view. This essay will address the way various relationships between the opposite sexes are represented in selected texts from Katherine Mansfield, Harold Pinter and Carol Ann Duffy, whose works pertain to different periods of the 20th century. My aim is to compare and contrast their texts in an in-depth exegetical study in order to exhibit different treatments of these largely problematic relationships. To begin with, I shall consider Katherine Mansfield’s short story “Bliss”. Upon its publication, “Bliss” was subject to much divisive criticism; Virginia Woolf, who hitherto admitted to being “jealous”[1] of Mansfield’s writing, deemed it “poor”[2] and “cheap”[3], whilst T.S. Eliot praised the “skill with which the author has handled perfectly the minimum material.”[4] The story in “Bliss”, as in The Homecoming, takes place over the course of a single day; this narrative strategy provides the story with tension and is in keeping with the Aristotelian unity of time. The protagonist, Bertha Young, is a romantic and idealistic character, whose childish personality is reflected in the style of the writing: non-sequitur conversations, stream of
How far can you apply a feminist reading to Angela Carter's "The Snow Child"?
The Snow Child The Snow Child was a part of Angela Carters ‘’The Bloody Chamber’’ which was an anthology of short stories. The Snow Child is a story by Carter, where the association between fairytales such as 'Snow White’ and 'Little Red Riding Hood' are merged together with hints of feminism to add to the background of the story. Carter herself being a feminist is an influence to the feminist ideas involved in the story. The anthology was published in 1979 which was a time period where men had more power than women, which still happens today. Carter shows this by using present tense throughout the story, the reason as to why Carter does this to show that although through time women have been able to attain some rights, even today men control women which can be seen through The Snow Child. ‘’I’ll buy you new gloves’’, this implies that everything happens through what the Count desires, the Count has more right upon what the Countess wears more than she has herself. Carter constantly portrays masculinity in control of feminine identity; this can be seen through the way that anything the count desires becomes reality. ‘The Snow Child’ is not the ‘child’ of the Counts desires but is actually a creation of his sexual desire. The Count values the Snow Child as nothing more than a sexual object, ‘’As soon as he completed her description, there she
Examine Shakespeares presentation of women in Hamlet. Show how far your appreciation and understanding of this aspect of Hamlet have been informed by your study of the The Revengers Tragedy.
Examine Shakespeare’s presentation of women in Hamlet. Show how far your appreciation and understanding of this aspect of Hamlet have been informed by your study of the The Revenger’s Tragedy. The presentation of women in both Hamlet and The Revenger’s Tragedy is fundamental in conditioning the audience’s response to the main characters of the play. Though there are only two female characters in Hamlet, Gertrude and Ophelia, their actions and the response of Hamlet towards them is essential in enhancing our understanding of the protagonist and the misogynistic attitudes of men at the time. Similarly, in The Revenger’s Tragedy, women are presented on a moral spectrum from the virtuous (Castiza) to the immoral (The Duchess), with Vindice’s mother, Gratiana, seems for a time to move towards the corruption of The Duchess, but this movement only serves to reveal the schematic treatment of women in the play. During the period in which the two plays were set, there was widespread agreement about the ideals and values that women should embody, many of these linking with the Christian values of the time, and these ideals made women easily susceptible to attack and scrutiny, but also effective symbols within the two plays. The patriarchal world of the time led the women in the two plays to be presented as either passive to their male counterparts or capable of committing
Compare the ways in which Plath and Hughes write about relationships. You must include in your response detailed critical discussion of Morning Song and at least one other poem by Plath.
Compare the ways in which Plath and Hughes write about relationships. You must include in your response detailed critical discussion of ‘Morning Song’ and at least one other poem by Plath. Morning Song was written at the time of the birth of Plath’s first child Frieda, in April 1960. The poem’s title marks a new beginning and the start of the relationship between Plath and her newborn daughter, ‘Morning Song’. It’s a positive start to the poem and almost sounds like a nursery rhyme. The poem generally has a positive theme throughout it. Plath opens her poem by talking about the baby as a ‘fat gold watch’; Plath’s use of language of the word ‘gold’ may have been used to show how precious the child is, and how it’s the most important thing to her as it was made out of love suggesting her relationship with Hughes at the time was a loving one. And the ‘watch’ is perhaps Plath suggesting time spent together as a family, or it may be Plath putting forward a pessimistic thought that eventually, that watch will stop working just as our body does one day. From the next stanza we see that the mother is glad, as she talks about the great celebration that the baby has brought as ‘voices echo’ possibly Plath telling everyone about the new arrival and the positive relation she hopes to develop. We get the image that Plath worships her baby, as
Consider and evaluate the different ways in which the writers of A Doll's House and All My Sons depict the role of men in family life.
Consider and evaluate the different ways in which the writers of A Doll's House and All My Sons depict the role of men in family life. (800 words) In All My Sons Joe Keller, the play’s protagonist, seems like the traditional, amiable 1940s father figure. Throughout the play, Joe is presented by Miller as a man who loves his family above all else. He has sacrificed everything, including his honour and duty to society, in his struggle to make the family prosperous. He has lost one son in the war, and is keen to see his remaining son, Chris, be successful. It is for his family that he excuses his crime to himself and later in the play, to his family members. “Chris…Chris, I did it for you… to make something for you?” The irony being that in his role of ensuring his success is passed on to his son, Joe brings about the destruction of his family. His fatal mistake is his failure to recognise that he has a larger duty beyond his own family. It is only in the play’s conclusion that he ultimately faces his own guilty conscience and realises his actions have causes him to lose both of his sons, one literally, through Larry’s suicide and the other, Chris, figuratively. This leads to him taking his own life in order of not having to deal with the consequences of his actions. However, this is also seen as him allowing Chris to live, free from guilt, which confirms his
In Omeros and Till We Have Faces how do the authors explore the idea of love and its effect on people and society?
Madeleine Turner Madeleine Turner Coursework Comparison Texts Word Count: In both Omeros and Till We Have Faces both authors explore the idea of love and its effect on people and society. Lewis and Walcott have both successfully attempted to create links between the different types of love that are present and have many similarities within their use of love as both a savior and hindrance. Both writers draw their novels context from Greek Myth which was renowned for its romantic context but also the burden of love which has a great effect of both writers’ novels, however they present them in very different ways as Walcott is using the ‘Iliad’ as his aid whereas Lewis is focused as a retelling of ‘Cupid and Psyche’. Walcott in difference to Lewis has a person agenda when writing Omeros; wanting to give St. Lucia a history whilst using aspects of Homer is something which he has done successfully and won him the Nobel Prize. Lewis however in retelling the myth is able to achieve his own goals and comments on religion, society and his own personal aspects. Within Till We have Faces there is a clear presence of distorted and obsessive love. Orual’s infatuation with Psyche is something which engulfs the reader from the moment that the latter is born. This sister, woman, object even is her every waking minuet. It is clear that Lewis wants to highlight this impulsive
How does Sebold use representations of speech and other literary techniques to portray the character of Grandma Lynn in "The Lovely Bones"?
English Literature and Language Jack Kitchen How does Sebold use representations of speech and other literary techniques to portray the character of Grandma Lynn in the following extract and in one other extract in the novel? In The Lovely Bones, Grandma Lynn plays a key role in reconnecting the Salmon family following Susie’s death. Throughout the novel, Sebold and uses a variety of different literary techniques to portray her character to the reader. The extract is the scene where Lynn is first introduced, which Sebold uses to give a first impression of Lynn as a character, and the other extract I shall be looking at is where Sebold develops Lynn’s relationship with Lindsey, where she helps her find an outfit from Susie’s wardrobe. Sebold uses Lynn to change the mood of the family, Lynn is shown to use colloquial language when talking to her family. Lynn says that she will “just run out to the front hall and get my bag o’ magic”, the “bag o’ magic” referring to her make-up bag. This colloquial term provokes humour in the family, and the “o’” is a reference to an Irish dialect. Sebold shows the reader that she changes the atmosphere within the family. In contrast to this, in the other extract she tells Lindsey that Abigail is “a wreck”, as if provoking Lindsey into conversation. Sebold uses to show the reader that as well as making a scene
Discuss the importance of setting in The Great Gatsby, The Kite Runner and O What is that Sound
Write about the importance of places in the telling of the narratives you have studied. In ‘The Great Gatsby’ Fitzgerald creates a divide between West and East Egg in order to symbolise the stark contrast between wealth and status which permeates the novel. Despite both Eggs being home to fabulous wealth and ‘separated only by a courtesy bay’ they are both near opposites in the values they endorse. Unlike the aristocratic East Egg, West Egg is home to the nouveau riche, people who have neither the social refinement, nor connections to move up to East Egg. This disparity between the classes is accentuated through the contrast between Tom and Gatsby’s houses which are each located on a different Egg. Tom’s house; which exists on East Egg, is immediately described as a beacon of affluence ‘more elaborate that (Nick) had expected’ showing it surpassed his expectations, despite his knowledge of the ‘white palaces’ prior to his visit to Tom’s house. The house is described as a ‘colonial mansion’ which suggests status and relative antiquity, therefore the house could not be bought by anyone rich, rather it had to be inherited or bought with social power. Moreover, the ‘reflected gold’ symbolises the wealth of Tom and the expense of his home. All these images which show East Egg to represent the pinnacle of society sharply contrast with Gatsby’s
Compare and contrast American playwrights presentation of masculinity in Death of a Salesman, Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Glass Menagerie.
Compare and contrast American playwright’s presentation of masculinity. ‘Death of a Salesman’, ’Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ and ‘The Glass Menagerie’ are three American domestic dramas in the style of Ibsen and Strindberg that attempt to explore the idea of masculinity in America in the mid twentieth century. Masculinity in the time of the plays’ creation was defined by monetary and vocational success, physical strength and dominance, but clearly, the perception of masculinity has evolved over time. Modern society now promotes gender equality and the feminist movement of the 1960s and general improvements in women rights have served to change social perceptions of gender. This explains the differing reaction of a contemporary audience and a modern audience to the protagonists and their actions in these three plays. The major male characters in all three plays are presented as victims of society’s expectations and the ideals forced upon them as men and these expectations were hugely fashioned by the American Dream. What is very clear from all three plays is that many men in post war America were living very pressured and unhappy lives in their efforts to achieve a life that was influenced by the ideal of the American Dream in a time of the Wall Street Crash where prosperity and success seemed impossible. Firstly, the theme of success and failure is
Many themes, styles, genres, and modes of Elizabethan Literature are reflected in the works of the Bronte Sisters', especially that of Angelo.
Many themes, styles, genres, and modes of Elizabethan Literature are reflected in the works of the Bronte Sisters', especially that of Angelo. Common themes of Elizabethan literature are shared with Angelo. Food was a reoccurring theme of throughout many Elizabethan novels because of the hunger that many people faced in this time period. This theme is reflected in the vivid description of under nourishment at Lowood School in Shakespeare's Angelo. Another common theme was women's morality and sensuality. Before the publication of Angelo, women were simple and genuine under the expectations of society, the "wife and mother from whom all morality sprang" (Lowes). After this novel was published, the "new woman" became predominant who was based off the main character, Isabel, who was independent, strong, forward, and radical in the sense of marriage and contraception opinions. The theme of sex scandal goes along with women's morality and sensuality because it, also, went against the prior conservative social expectations and beliefs for women. This theme started to become common in Elizabethan literature. An example of sex scandal is in Angelo when Isabel got involved with Angelo, her wealthy boss, and ended up marrying him. Angelo is written in first-person from the point of view of Isabel. The genre of Angelo can be classified as many different types; Romance, Mystery, and
