Sex, Shame and Guilt: Reflections on Bernhard Schlink's der Vorleser (the Reader) and J
Sex, Shame and Guilt: Reflections on Bernhard Schlink's der Vorleser (the Reader) and J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace. by Martin Swales The occasion for this paper was twofold. One had to do with the fact that I happened to read Bernhard Schlink's Der Vorleser (The Reader) (1995) and J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace (1999) in close proximity to each other. This, in itself, is not particularly remarkable because the novels themselves were published within a few years of each other. But there are proximities and proximities; and in my case the closeness was made of months rather than years. The second catalyst was a recent article by William Collins Donahue which, as its title makes clear--'Illusions of subtlety: Bernhard Schlink's Der Vorleser and the moral limits of Holocaust fiction' (1)--takes a very sceptical view both of Schlink's tale and of the almost unanimously enthusiastic response to which it has given rise. Let me turn to the two novels: to the similarities between them, and to a particular thematic issue common to both of them which is not without its problematic implications. Both The Reader and Disgrace, in terms of the story that they recount, fall into two distinct sections. The first half is a detailed description of a sexual relationship which is skewed by a crass imbalance of age, moral maturity and intellectual sophistication. Michael Berg, the narrator of The
Specters of Totalitarianism: Representations of Power and Control in Twentieth Century Dystopian Fiction (English Dissertation)
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From Hobbit to Hero- Frodo's Quest as an Examplary Monomyth
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The Harlem Renaissance What and when was the Harlem Renaissance? 919-1934 (After WW I to the Middle of Great Depression) The Harlem Renaissance was more than just a literary movement: it included racial consciousness, "the back to Africa" movement led by Marcus Garvey, racial integration, the explosion of music particularly jazz, spirituals and blues, painting, dramatic revues, and others. The Renaissance was originally called "The New Negro Movement." African-Americans were encouraged to celebrate their heritage and to become "The New Negro," a term coined in 1925 by sociologist and critic Alain LeRoy Locke. Harlem is vicious Modernism. BangClash. Vicious the way it's made, Can you stand such beauty. So violent and transforming. --Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) Harlem was the “largest Negro ghetto in the world” (E. Johnson 11). The Negro’s “métier is agriculture. To this economy his mental and social habits have been adjusted. No elaborate equipment is necessary for the work of the farm. Life is organized on a simple plan looking to a minimum of wants and a rigid economy of means. The incomplex gestures of unskilled manual labor and even domestic service; the broad, dully sensitive touch of body and hands trained to groom and nurse the soil, develop distinctive physical habits and a musculature appropriate to simple processes. Add to this groundwork
Using Evelyn Waughs, A Handful of Dust and Isabel Allendes Daughters of Fortune, as a starting point discuss the relationship between gender and movement.
ESSAY Using Evelyn Waugh's, 'A Handful of Dust' and Isabel Allende's 'Daughter's of Fortune,' as a starting point discuss the relationship between gender and movement. ?t th? turn of th? century? moderniz?tion of tr?ditions ?lso incre?sed f?mily bre?kups ?nd infidelity; however th?se situ?tions were not seen to be th? norm. Th? ch?r?cters in th? novels ? H?ndful of Dust ?nd Wh?t M?isie Knew show th? evolution of f?mily bre?kups ?nd infidelity due to th?ir depr?ved ?ctions. Brend?? ? ch?r?cter from Evelyn W?ugh's ? H?ndful of Dust shows th? depr?ved mind in women during this period ?nd M?isie F?r?nge's p?rents from Henry J?mes's Wh?t M?isie Knew show th? evolution through th?ir depr?ved ?ctions. Both novels ?lso show th? evolution by th? r?re ?nd sc?nd?lous divorce between th? ch?r?cters. M?ny events in ? H?ndful of Dust? such ?s Brend?'s beh?viour tow?rd her f?mily ?re so disgusting th?t th?y ?re considered 'funny' by m?ny critics ?nd book reviews. Her ?ctions help in sh?ping her person?lity for th? re?der ?s she builds on to her corrupt mind. Her first most inhum?n ?ction is when she discovers her son? John ?ndrew has died in ? horse riding ?ccident. Her first re?ction: " 'John?'... 'De?d?'... She s?t down on ? h?rd little empire ch?ir ?g?inst th? w?ll? perfectly still with her h?nds folded in her l?p? like ? sm?ll well-bought-up child introduced into ? room full of
Discuss the image of the doubled female in Charlotte Bronte's Shirley, Villette and Jane Eyre.
The central theme of Jane Eyre, Villette and Shirley lies within the complex issue of the doubled female. Bront� persistently returns to this theme in order to vocalise her personal fears on the representations and expectations of the woman in a patriarchal society. As Jennifer Gribble suggests, this vocalising is apparent through, 'a recurrence of images and patterns that seem to define prevalent social and cultural beliefs and traditions.'1 In order to portray the strain under which women were placed in the nineteenth century, Bront� repeatedly fractures the emotional and physical state of her protagonists and in doing so 'explore(s) the potentialities and limits of a central reflecting consciousness.'2 This fracturing of the self creates the 'double female' in these novels, the female as consciously and emotionally split, either implicitly through the mirroring of the self by other characters, for example Caroline and Shirley or metaphorically, for example Jane and Bertha. Bront� seeks to illustrate in Shirley, Jane Eyre and Villette the impossibility of obtaining knowledge of self and of reclaiming self hood, faced by all of her female characters. In doing so, Charlotte Bront� viscously attacks not only patriarchy, but also the actual act of defining the woman, and suggests that in an effort to define the female to exact proportions, patriarchy
Oscar Wildes The Nightingale and the Rose, similar to other Oscar Wildes short stories, is written in an aesthetic voice. Throughout the story, Oscar Wilde employs various stylistic devices for the expression of aesthetic concept. In order to show h
A Stylistic Analysis on the Nightingale and the Rose Abstract Oscar Wilde's The Nightingale and the Rose, similar to other Oscar Wilde's short stories, is written in an aesthetic voice. Throughout the story, Oscar Wilde employs various stylistic devices for the expression of aesthetic concept. In order to show how Oscar Wilde engross readers in this incredible story through stylistics analysis, this paper firstly presents an overview of stylistics based on the textbook English Stylistics by Xu Youzhi and gives a brief introduction of Oscar Wilde and some knowledge on The Nightingale and the Rose. Then, with the basis of stylistic theory, a comprehensive stylistic analysis of the story in phonetic, lexical, syntactic, semantic and contextual aspects will be carried out. Finally, this thesis will try to summarize the stylistic features, which help Oscar Wilde create a story that successfully absorbs and shocks whoever reads it. Key words: stylistic analysis, The Nightingale and the Rose, Oscar Wilde, aesthetic voice Comment: . A table of contents is needed to show the organization of your ideas. 2. A literature review on the previous studies of the story by critics is a must, so that you can find the features and limitations of their studies, and then decide on your own aspect of study. 3. You failed to indicate the theme of The Nightingale and the Rose. 4. For a story,
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE NOVEL MRS DALLOWAY BY VIRGINIA WOOLF AND THE FILM THE HOURS
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE NOVEL MRS DALLOWAY BY VIRGINIA WOOLF AND THE FILM THE HOURS With this work I want to analyse the novel in its main characteristics and to compare these elements to the way they are treated in the film which, although it is not a screen adaptation of the novel, can be seen as a great work on the book, and also one of the most particular ways to interpret it. VIRGINIA WOOLF Adeline Virginia Stephen was born in London in 1882, the third of four brothers. Leslie Stephen, her father, began his career as a clergyman, but soon became agnostic and he took up journalism, becoming an important Victorian literary critic; he and his wife provided their children with a home of wealth and comfort. Virginia’s approach to her art was greatly influenced by the highly intellectual atmosphere she breathed at home. During her lifetime she suffered through three major mental breakdowns; her compulsive drive to work, the fact of feeling herself overshadowed by her parents, combined with her fragile nature, contributed to these breakdowns. The first crisis began after her mother’s death in 1895: Virginia may have felt guilty over choosing her father as the favourite parent. Two years later, the death of Stella, her stepsister, born from Leslie’s first marriage, made Virginia feel sick again. The following years she began to write, until 1904,when her father died
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A close comparative literary and linguistic study
A close comparative literary and linguistic study of how the theme of family bereavement is treated in the works of a selection of 20th Century poets, and in particular, by Les Murray in his trilogy of poems written in memory of his mother. Poems discussed in this essay: * Les Murray's trilogy of poems in memory of his mother: 'Midsummer Ice', 'Weights', 'The Steel'; * Tony Harrison's 'Long Distance II'; * Seamus Heaney's 'Mid-Term Break'; * 'Dust As We Are' by Ted Hughes; * Elizabeth Jennings's 'For My Mother'; * 'In Memory Of My Mother' by Patrick Kavanagh. Throughout the Twentieth Century, the theme of bereavement features in the work of many of the major poets. The treatment of this theme is especially poignant when poets deal with death within the family. Les Murray's trilogy of poems written in memory of his mother - 'Weights', Mid-Summer Ice' and 'The Steel' - exemplify how varied the treatment of this theme may be, given the range of emotions expressed and the scope of Murray's reflections on his mother's death. It is my aim, to compare and contrast a selected body of poems written by various Twentieth Century poets that deal with the theme of family bereavement with Murray's treatment of the theme in his trilogy. To keep this study concise, I have selected a body of poems from the Twentieth Century that deal only with the death of a parent or child. In