The Color Purple
English Essay The color purple Extract - 142 - 143 In this extract, Nettie is the first person narrator. She is writing to Celie from the Olinka encampment. She describes a lot of the Olinka's beliefs and attitudes, as well as telling Celie about her relations with Corrine, and the children. She also describes the setting, she tells Celie about the hut, and the camp. One major idea presented in the novel is the idea of sisterhood. In this extract, sisterhood is illustrated between Nettie and Corrine; however, the extract does not emphasize the common view of women's attitudes at the time, and how they should stick together, but rather demonstrates the breakdown of this sisterly relationship, because of jealousy, one emotion that destroys bonds between women throughout the novel. Corrine is clearly bothered by Nettie, and the way she spends time with Samuel, and how the Olinka people see Nettie as Samuels's wife as well as Corrine, following their beliefs of polygamy. Another thing bothering Corrine is how the children look so much like Nettie, the Olinka think they are Netties. So jealousy breaks down the relationship, and this is illustrated by dialogue. Corrine confronts Nettie, and tells her they should call each other sisters, they should not borrow each others clothes, and the children can't call her 'Mama Nettie'. Nettie tells us she is bothered by this, but does
Analyse how Seamus Heaney uses language to convey his childhood experiences to the reader in his poems
Analyse how Seamus Heaney uses language to convey his childhood experiences to the reader in his poems "Death of a Naturalist" and "Blackberry Picking." Both poems are similar in their content as they are both written by Seamus Heaney about his childhood experiences. I also believe that both his experiences have a similar content. In "Death of a Naturalist" we find that the poem is about being out in fields collecting frogspawn. In "Blackberry Picking" the poet is speaking again about his childhood experiences in the fields. This time he is collecting blackberries. This is similar to "Death if a Naturalist" as it is in the wild at a young age enjoying nature. The titles are not so similar; "Death of a Naturalist" is a symbolic title. The title is not literal, no one actually dies in the poem. The death is of the way the poet feels about the frogs. In the first verse the poet feels for the frogs but in the second verse he almost fears them. "Blackberry Picking" on the other hand is not a symbolic title it is literal. In the poem the poet goes blackberry picking and this is explained in the title. Although the title could be considered symbolic also as perhaps the simplicity of the title portrays the simplicity and innocence of the child's mind. The mood between the two poems is also very similar. In "Death of a Naturalist" the mood changes between the two verses. In the
HOW DOES FITZGERALD TELL THE STORY IN CHAPTER 1 OF THE GREAT GATSBY?
"HOW DOES FITZGERALD TELL THE STORY IN CHAPTER 1 OF 'THE GREAT GATSBY'?" The opening chapter of any novel is fundamental in setting the tone for that which follows it: Fitzgerald therefore ensures that the first chapter of the 'The Great Gatsby' firmly imprints certain key themes into the mind of the reader, using a variety of devices to do so. The very first thing that Fitzgerald makes clear to the reader is the perspective from which the novel will be presented. From the first sentence, it is plain that there is a first person narrator, meaning that the narration will opinionated and cannot be taken as fact. The narrator is a man called Nick Carraway, and the first thing the reader learns about him is something which his father told him when he was younger, which he has been "turning over in (his) mind ever since" (i.e. something essential to our understanding of his views and actions: a core part of his psyche). This turns out be his father telling him that "all the people in the world haven't had the advantages that (he has) had". As a consequence of this advice, Nick tells is, he has always been "inclined to reserve all judgements", showing the reader that he will not tend to present his views on a person before he has had a chance to learn more about them. This appears to make him an ideal narrator for a story, because all of his views will be given after
Critical Commentary - Mariana
Critical Commentary Mariana 'Mariana', written by Lord Alfred Tennyson - a poet of the romanticist era - revolves around one character only who awaits the arrival of her renegade lover who never arrives: Mariana. She is alluded to the character of the same name and demeanour in Shakespeare's play 'Measure for Measure'. The simplistic title consisting of only the character's name suggests that she is indeed the main subject of the poem. It begins with an epigraph, 'Mariana in the moated grange', taken from the aforementioned Shakespeare play. The epigraph offers the readers a glimpse of what is to come in the poem, and it does shed light on the fact that Mariana is an isolated figure (physically so, because she is surrounded by a moat) on a dilapidated grange. The concept of a dilapidated grange is emphasised in the first eight lines of the poem. The first line paints a picture of a dark, gloomy surrounding, as 'blackest moss' suggests. Not only is there moss, but also it is black. The colour black often connotes evil and strange nightly mysterious deeds. It 'thickly crust[ed]' the flower-plots, suggesting a long time has passed since the garden and the house was tended to, as does 'rusted nails'. Tennyson also describes the 'unlifted' clinking latch, therefore suggestive of the fact that nobody has entered or been out of the house for a considerable length of time.
Walker's presentation of Sofia and Harpo.
English essay Walker's presentation of Sofia and Harpo Alice walker uses a variety of techniques to present the characters of Sofia and Harpo during page 60 of 'The Color Purple'. I will be exploring a number of lexical, grammatical and phonological choices, as well as other techniques, in the order they appear in the letter and will be discussing how these can lead to the development of attitudes and values. The introduction to the Sofia and Harpo relationship shows the reversal of the fixed stereotype perpetuated by other couples in the novel that a man should lead and a woman should follow. Previous letters depict Harpo as the feminine, subservient man, "...crying like his heart gon break." While Sofia is much the dominant figure in the way she is "marching" like "going to war". In not conforming to the basic male-female stereotypes we see Sofia "working on the roof" while Harpo is happy to "hold the baby" and "give it a kiss". However, once Harpo sees that he is losing face he begins to eat gluttonously as he believes that physical strength leads to power. Although this gluttony could in fact be comfort eating and so is associated with his feminine image. Harpo's need for control then extends to the bedroom, where Sofia says "once he git on top of me I think bout how that's where he always want to be." The situation here - as well as the previously accumulating
A critical appreciation of 'to my mother' by George Baker.
Sonnet To My Mother Most near, most dear, most loved, and most far, Under the huge window where I often found her Sitting as huge as Asia, seismic with laughter, Gin and chicken helpless in her Irish hand, Irresistible as Rabelais but most tender for The lame dogs and hurt birds that surround her,- She is a procession no one can follow after But be like a little dog following a brass band. She will not glance up at the bomber or condescend To drop her gin and scuttle to a cellar, But lean on the mahogany table like a mountain Whom only faith can move, and so I send O all her faith and all my love to tell her That she will move from mourning into morning. George Barker A critical appreciation of 'to my mother' by George Baker This sonnet by George Baker is, as the title suggests, a tribute to his mother, evidently, at the time of the aerial bombardment of Britain by the Luftwaffe in the Blitz during the Second World War. The poet was then, apparently, living in a far distant part of the world, as he refers to his mother being 'most far'. This was probably some time between 1942 and 1943 when Baker was living in the U.S.A and Canada. The poet's intension is not only to pay tribute to his mother but, more specifically, as the poem is addressed 'to' her, to send her his love and expression of his firm belief that she will 'move' from 'mourning to morning', in
"The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke: Language, theme and treatment of the subject matter
"The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke: Write a critical appreciation of the poem, paying special attention to the language, the theme and the treatment of the subject matter. "The Soldier" is an Italian sonnet written in iambic pentameter. It has an English rhyme scheme for the octave and an Italian rhyme scheme for the sestet. The sonnet is about a soldier's somewhat idealistic view of war of how people should not mourn for the dead of a war but instead be proud that they have done their country proud. The mood of the poem is blissful and reminiscent. The two main themes of the sonnet are about patriotism and war. At the beginning of the sonnet, the poet states that one should "think only this of me". The choice of the word "only" shows how the poet believes that the following is what is worth thinking about and that they should not bother about anything else concerning his death. This already shows how he ignores the fact about the cruelty of war and how he believes that personal loyalty to the country overrides everything else, even the losing of large numbers of young men's lives. In the next line, he writes about how, if he dies, there would be "some corner of a foreign field/ That is for ever England". The use of "corner" and "foreign" brings with it a sense that the area is hidden and insignificant and this makes the reader feel distant from that place. However, this
The Lady Of Shalott Feminist Reading
IT CAN BE ARGUED THAT "THE LADY OF SHALOTT CHALLENGES THE ROLE OF WOMEN WITHIN A VICTORIAN SOCIETY." DISCUSS. Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott portrays the role for women during the Victorian era and the desire for the main character of the poem to relinquish her female restraints and enter a male dominated society. The Lady of Shalott is set during a period when society was restrained by the Victorian chain-of-being which deemed women to unequal to the supreme male dominance for example they had limited access to education and married women of higher classes were forbidden to work. It can be argued that Tennyson uses his main character to represent the increased activity of women activists who were petitioning for equality between the genders and most importantly the right to vote and were ultimately punished for doing so. The character's rejection of the Victorian values of femininity leads to her ruin as she refuses to accept the boundaries her gender enforces upon her. As a result, the male dominated society destroys her because there is no place for an assertive female. Tennyson presents the Lady of Shalott as an outsider who is to remain on the verge of a patriarchal society, isolated on her own "silent isle" through use of setting. With the use of dismal imagery, Tennyson constructs the setting to resemble a prison with "four grey walls, and four grey towers" entrapping
Explore Walkers Portrayal of Female Identity - The Color Purple
Explore Walkers Portrayal of Female Identity "Teach only the boys."1 (Page 146) In many cases this term would be considered sexist: However, when reading The Color Purple it becomes evident that the men as well as the boys are the ones who are in need of education. This education is not confined to the academic sense, but Walker rather emphasises their need to acquire the understanding of equal rights. The women may not receive any academic education but they were still equal to men in their ability to work, as Walker shows through several strong female role models throughout The Color Purple. The things that the women have experienced have taught them things about life that no man would ever understand: The gift of tolerance, understanding and a positive mind. Celie has to undergo a lot of traumatic experiences throughout The Color Purple. Walker uses this to mould her into the "stereotypical" submissive woman. Walker then continues to develop Celie's stereotypical role of mother and wife by forcing her into another destructive relationship, both emotionally and physically. This relationship affected her attitude towards men but also her self-confidence towards women and children who possess the confidence she does not. Although Walker has portrayed Celie as a weak individual, Mr calls her "You black, you pore, you ugly, youa woman." Quotations like this show just what
Dulce Et Decorum Est and The Soldier: A comparison
Dulce Et Decorum Est and The Soldier: A comparison It is quite possible that never have two poems offered such contrasting opinions on one subject as Dulce et Decorum Est and The Soldier. And the subject, war, is their only connection. Whether or not it is right to die for your country, both poets are vehement in their convictions. It is through the various facets of poetry writing that the authors show their opinions. This is what I shall explore in this essay: which poem more effectively lays down its author's stance on war. In both poems, use of language is paramount to their effectiveness. However, Dulce Et Decorum Est uses a particularly stylised form of tactile language. Where The Soldier is more reflective, Dulce Et Decorum Est is as graphic as it is bitter. Its vivid images stun the reader with one intense depiction after another: "He plunges at me, guttering, choking". This vivid imagery is reinforced by the poet's almost excessive use of onomatopoeia. This onomatopoeia is in keeping with the dark, bitter tone of the entire poem. Words such as "writhing", "sludge" and "trudge" all convey this sense of resentfulness from the poet. The negative comparisons used in the poem correspond with the tone. Lines such as "knock-kneed, coughing like hags", evoke this bitter tone. Another difference in Dulce Et Decorum Est is that it is a lot more emotive because of
