In this extract from Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism, imagery and point of view to depict Goodman Browns eventual journey from naivety
In this extract from "Young Goodman Brown", Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism, imagery and point of view to depict Goodman Brown's eventual journey from naivety in man's purity of faith to recognition of man's disposition to evil. It reveals Brown's misplaced faith in man, who is deficient, instead of God. In the dialogue that ensues between the minister and Deacon Gookin, we learn of an impending meeting expecting participants hailing from "Falmouth and beyond... Indian powows" (Hawthorne 26). The geographical listing hints at the far-reaching influence of the devil. By including the Indians, Hawthorne subtly contrasts the inclusiveness of this heathen community versus the exclusivity of the Puritan community. This perhaps also alludes to the dogmatic view of the Puritan doctrine of predestination which regards all outside their community as doomed therefore limiting the influence of the Christian faith. In addition, the sacrosanct act of ordination is undermined suggesting the meaninglessness of such appointments and celebrations when true faith is missing. Brown clearly holds the two men in high esteem as he was concerned about facing the minister and Deacon with "a clear conscience" (25) if he consorts with the devil. This chance encounter destabilises Brown's fundamental belief system. He realises that he has been deceived by the appearance of piousness and purity of
Comparing Julian Barnes A History of the World in 10 Chapters to Elisabeth Wesselings descriptions of the postmodernist historical novel
A Voyage through History Comparing Julian Barnes’ A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters to Elisabeth Wesseling’s descriptions of the postmodernist historical novel A.M. Hoogenboom - 9628525 Doctoraal scriptie Engelse Taal en Cultuur – augustus 2005 e begeleider: dr. P.C.J.M. Franssen 2e begeleider: dr. R.G.J.L. Supheert Cijfer: 7 Table of Contents 2 Preface 3 . Introduction 5 2. The Historical Novel: From Scott to Postmodernism 8 The Origination of the Historical Novel 8 Imitation and Emulation 10 The Passing of Scott’s Popularity and other Changes in the Literary Field 12 Changes in the Early Twentieth Century 15 The Development of Alternatives 16 From Modernism to Postmodernism 18 Postmodernist Self-Reflexivity
Sorting, Longing, Seeing and Saving: An Analysis of Magical Devices in Harry Potter Books One and Three
Sorting, Longing, Seeing and Saving: An Analysis of Magical Devices in Harry Potter Books One and Three Within the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling creates an entirely new world, and within that world are significant magical devices that become crucial to character development, the individual novels, and the storyline as a whole. In the first volume, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the two most significant magical devices are clearly the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and the Mirror of Erised. Both of these not only help further the plot, but play hugely important roles in Harry’s growth from boy to teenager. Similarly, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Marauder’s Map is introduced, as well as Harry’s Patronus. Though not quite a physical object, the Patronus ultimately proves to be a magical device unto itself, and becomes the most significant agent. Upon Harry’s first arrival to Hogwarts, he awaits sorting into one of the four Hogwarts Houses. The decision is made by the school’s Sorting Hat, an ancient hat owned by Godric Gryffindor himself, enchanted by the four Hogwarts founders to choose those most worthy of their respective houses. The Sorting Hat’s song describes the school’s four houses and the character qualities associates with each: …There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see, So try me on and I will
How Should Great Expectations End?
Popescu Cristina Prof. Dr. Adina Ciugureanu Seminar: Nicoleta Stanca British Literature 2nd year January 16, 2007 How Should Great Expectations End? Many of the events from Dickens's early life are mirrored in "Great Expectations", which, apart from David Copperfield, is his most autobiographical novel. Pip, the novel's protagonist, lives in the marsh country, works at a job he hates, considers himself too good for his surroundings, and experiences material success in London at a very early age, exactly as Dickens himself did. During this metamorphosis, Pip neglects his friendships with Biddy and Joe. Pip ultimately matures when he takes care of Magwitch after the accident at the river. He discovers the importance and the goodness of what Magwitch had done for him. The relationship between Magwitch and Pip grows due to the Pip's maturity. The relationship between Pip and Joe also develops once Pip realizes how valuable friendship is. The ending of "Great Expectations" is more controversial than it may seem at first. Not everyone knows that for Great Expectations are two endings, this is because the most encountered ending is the romantic one. But before writing the scene in which Pip enters back into Estella's life at the very right moment, as she has led "a most unhappy life, and as being separated from her husband, who had used her with great cruelty, and who had
Discuss the treatment of female alienation as it is presented in The Color Purple and one other prose text from Literature and Gender.
T M A 0 5 Question: Discuss the treatment of female alienation as it is presented in The Color Purple and one other prose text from Literature and Gender. In this essay we will be conducting a critical analysis of two literary texts with gender on the agenda. In specific, we will explore the way the theme of female alienation is presented in two pieces of work written by two African American women writers: The Color Purple by Alice Walker and 'Girl' by Jamaica Kincaid. Both texts belong to the African American literature of the 20th century and deal with the experiences of working-class black women. Both authors write from a contemporary Western perspective and they work within a cultural context liberated to some extent by feminist approaches to literature. Of course, their individual position within their culture comes into play. Gender becomes visible as a factor in their writing and if we are to read these texts with 'gender on the agenda', we will have to keep this issue in mind while reading and interpreting them. Alice Walker was born in Georgia in 1944. Much of her work is focused on African American women who struggle to achieve independent identities, as she did herself, beyond male domination. The Color Purple, which was published in 1982, is a full-length novel and, this too, deals with the emotional suffering inflicted upon women, both by individual
Great Expectations. The main character I will explore in this essay is the central character Pip. Although events are portrayed through an adult Pips perspective, at times the narration is mediated through the views of the child Pip.
Great Expectations Great Expectations is set in early Victorian England. Society at this time had a strong sense of morality and this was evident in their attitude towards, for example, crime and punishment. In Great Expectations Pip's decisions are constantly influenced by the strict rules and expectations that governed Victorian England at this time. It is this background of moral codes, along with the writer's use of realist and narrative techniques, which invite the reader to make moral judgements and become sympathetically involved with the characters' experiences. The main character I will explore in this essay is the central character Pip. Although events are portrayed through an adult Pip's perspective, at times the narration is mediated through the views of the child Pip. Dickens' use of first person narration allows the reader to be more sympathetic towards Pip. From the very beginning of the novel sympathy for Pip is already building. The 'telling' of how he 'pleaded with terror' for his life during his encounter in the churchyard with the 'fearful man' (Magwitch), along with the fear instilled by Mrs Joe, evident from Pip's perception of being 'brought up by hand' (p.8), immediately evokes sympathy in the reader. As Pip recalls the 'mortal terror of the young man who wanted [his] heart and liver ... mortal terror of [the] interlocutor with the iron leg; ...
Madness need not be all break-down. It may also be break-through. It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death. R. D. Laing (The Politics of Experience) Discuss this quote in relation to at least one of
6. "Madness need not be all break-down. It may also be break-through. It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death." R. D. Laing (The Politics of Experience) Discuss this quote in relation to at least one of the texts from the module. One of the most important aspects of the relationship between gender and madness is dominantly displayed in both texts, examining issues of the nature versus nurture debate and flaws in personal identity, as well as the misogyny of dominant ideals in a patriarchal society. 'What a man is is an arrow into the future and what a woman is is the place the arrow shoots off from...' [1] states Buddy's mother, confirming her submissive role as 'housewife' and dependency on men. Gender and madness are used to define both protagonists' identity; through the use of binary opposition they are able to identify themselves against 'the other'. Bank's The Wasp Factory focuses predominantly on the power of gender, associating masculine power and feminine weakness. According to Frances, women are weak and stupid consequently they will always be inferior. "My GREATEST ENEMIES ARE Women and the Sea. These things I hate. Women because they are weak and stupid and live in the shadow of men." [2] 'His' views of women are that they posses no power of identity, building their identities on that of the men they are with, and
The figure of the child, and the nature of childhood, as seen in the works of Lewis Carroll and Beatrix Potter
JOHN BOLTON BA Childhood Studies yr. 2 The figure of the child, and the nature of childhood, as seen in the works of Lewis Carroll and Beatrix Potter Something detrimental happens to literary criticism when children's literature is separated into a wholly disconnected genre. It is detrimental because there is such richness, meaning, and insight in children's literature which mostly will go unnoticed. An unsurprisingly small amount has been written about children's books compared with the broader spectrum that constitutes 'grown-up literature'. This, perhaps, is because children's books are not seen as academically important, the works are not of scholarly interest. An ideology of childhood where literature pertaining to it would be considered important has not, perhaps, been in existence for sufficiently long. Beatrix Potter's contribution to children's literature is unquestionable. She wrote about "feelings and adventures that are part of every child's imagination (Tucker, 1981, p.57). Her tales are timeless, whether detailing exciting escapades or "eventless catalogues of animal domesticity" (Ousby, 1988, p.740). Of equal importance and interest is Charles Dodgson (hereafter referred to by his pseudonym, Lewis Carroll). Writing at a time when society's ideologies of childhood were realising the rights of children as individuals, Carroll opened the door to whimsical child
"Hilditch is mad, bad and dangerous to know" Does Trevor endorse this view in the novel? Discuss with particular reference to the narrative techniques deployed in Felicia's Journey?
"Hilditch is mad, bad and dangerous to know" Does Trevor endorse this view in the novel? Discuss with particular reference to the narrative techniques deployed in Felicia's Journey? Trevor uses narrative style to great effect on his novels, this essay attempts to show how Trevor uses narrative style to portray the character of Hilditch in Felicia's Journey as 'mad, bad and dangerous to know'. One of Trevor's most interesting narrative style's that he uses throughout this novel is free indirect style, he uses it for implication, not telling the reader too much all at once and occasionally not at all, but letting the reader think for themselves about the characters and events in Felicia's Journey. Trevor likes to leave his readers with just enough information to get them started. He then lets the story and characters develop without being overly descriptive or spoiling the freedom of interpretation that the reader is presented with in this story. 'Free indirect style gets us immediately close to Trevor's characters while keeping their deepest thoughts or fears unspoken. It is a means of concealment as much as disclosure.' (The Guardian, 10 July 2004) John Mullan said this about Trevor's narrative style in his collection of short stories The Hill Bachelors, Trevor also uses this style in Felicia's Journey, implying all and saying very little. Martin McQuillan in his book The
Tragedy of Tess of the D'Urbervilles
6.6.2008 Guided Text Production SS Aija Korhonen Benjamin Wright 0620782 Term Paper Tragedy According to Tess of D'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy's (1840-1928) novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891) was Hardy's attempt to take a closer look upon the ideals of his era, and through Tess and her story, criticize it. Hardy himself said of tragedy; "It may be put thus in brief: a tragedy exhibits a state of things in the life on an individual which unavoidably causes some natural aim or desire of his to end in a catastrophe when carried out." There are many ways to perceive a text as a tragedy, beginning from Aristotle who was the first to define the term and concept of tragedy as "the imitation of an action which is serious, complete and substantial" and "by evoking pity and terror it brings about the purgation of those emotions". During the Renaissance, however, the concept of tragedy experienced a reformation and was fitted to express the qualities admired by the society, and later, England during the Victorian era also reformed Aristotle's ideas to accommodate their religious as well as largely accepted social norms and views. This essay will take a closer look of those ideas at tragedy raised by Aristotle, some of the times when tragedy went through reformation, and Hardy himself, all in connection to Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles and the questions, and