Character Analysis on Jing-Mei in "Two Kinds"
Michelle Callaham Mr. Asbill English 102 24 February 2005 Character Analysis on Jing-Mei in "Two Kinds" "Two Kinds," by Amy Tan is a story in which a Chinese mother believes that her daughter can do anything in the United States as long as she puts her mind to it and decides to push her daughter, Jing-Mei, into being a prodigy. Unfortuantely, Jing-Mei and her mother do not share the same views on things. Jing-Mei wants to establish her own identity apart from her mother and feels that she can be successful through her own efforts and determination. Jing-Mei's desire to be an independent person leads to her stubbornness, hardness, and cruelty. At the beginning of the story, Jing-Mei's mother attempts to dominate and control her daughter's life. Jing-Mei's mother presents her with many tests from stories of amazing children. The test include: knowing the capitals of states, multiplying numbers in her head, finding the queen of hearts in a deck of cards, trying to stand on her head without using her hands, predicting the daily temperatures in cities, and looking at a page from the Bible for three minutes to see what she remembers. After many failed tests in knowledge and skills, Jing-Mei quickly begins to lost interest in her mother's dream of being a prodigy and becomes stubborn. "I won't let her change, I promised myself. I won't be what I'm not" (213,
The Joy Luck Club - Rice Husband - What signs are there that Lena's relationship with Harold is under stress?
The Joy Luck Club WORKSHEET 3 Rice Husband . What signs are there that Lena's relationship with Harold is under stress? There is slight animosity between Lena and Harold and she was "secretly glad to watch his discomfort" at holding up the traffic. This shows that she cannot love him that much if she wants him to suffer. The couple also argues over who should pay for a flea exterminator, this petty behavior shows cracks in their relationship. However, their problems are so "deep [she does not] even know where the bottom is", their relationship appears to be on the rocks. The couple also do not share and have a detailed accounting system to split their expenses, without the joy of giving, their relationship cannot survive. Len challenges Harold about the fact that he earns much more money than her and yet they pay the same. The tension is manifested is this argument. However, Harold does not understand and is not sensitive to her needs. 2. How is this reflected in their house? There are "flaws" in the structure of the house which reflect the flaws in Lena and Harold's relationship Lena has little energy and this is reflected in the "running down" of the floor. The two "lopsides" of the roof perhaps represent Lena and Harold sloping away from one another with separate interests and goals. Lena says that her mother can see that "underneath all the fancy details
Compare and contrast the writers' presentation of Gatsby and Heathcliff.
ENGLISH LITERATURE A2 UNIT 5: LITERARY CONNECTIONS COURSEWORK: COMPARING TEXTS COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE WRITERS' PRESENTATION OF GATSBY AND HEATHCLIFF Fitzgerald's novel 'The Great Gatsby' is a short American tale arising out of the jazz age during the 1920's. It is full of love, expectations and ultimately loss. The eponymous Gatsby is, as the title suggests, the focal point around which Fitzgerald presents his story, through the narrator Nick Carraway. In much the same way that 'The Great Gatsby' was a product of its era, Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights' is largely a result of the romantic movement that was sweeping Europe, intellectually and artistically in the late eighteenth to mid nineteenth centuries. The focus on freedom, emotion and the individual come cross strongly during the novel, with the protagonist, Heathcliff's name conjuring images of the wild Yorkshire moors in which the tale is set. Bronte implements the use of a narrator in her novel. The role is split between the pompous Lockwood and the pragmatic servant Ellen Dean (Nelly). Lockwood's judgement, and therefore Bronte's presentation of character through him, is made doubtful to the reader by a series of blunders. An example being where Lockwood, upon encountering Heathcliff's dogs: 'indulged in winking and making faces at the trio' after previously being warned 'to let the dog alone'- showing that he
The House of Pride and the House of Holiness - The Comparison.
THE HOUSE OF PRIDE AND THE HOUSE OF HOLINESS - The Comparison - The House of Pride and the House of Holiness dramatically differ from each other in the 'Faerie Queene', being epitomes of the absolute good and the absolute evil. They also show the path which the Redcrosse Knight took on a spiritual and literal level. He travels from the House of Pride, straying the farthest from the path of righteousness and falling into sin, to the House of Holiness where he faces redemption and is completely recuperated and returned to the path of righteousness. The paths leading to the House of Holiness and the House of Pride are very dissimilar. The path to salvation and righteousness is harder to find as it is narrow, less traveled by. The path to damnation, though, is easy to find being very wide and beaten flat by all the travelers. The House of Holiness was built on rock foundations, in logical opposition with the House of Pride. This symbolizes that the holiness and righteousness are strong, everlasting and constant as the rock itself. It is also an allusion to St. Peter whose name means 'rock' and who is in the New Testament regarded as the guide to the people of God. The House of Pride, on the other hand, was built only on sand without any mortar and as such is only superficial, temporary, only an illusion. The old proverb teaches that 'not everything that shines is gold',
Obsession: A Devastating State
Carmen Galzerano English 111 Wilkinson July 27, 2004 Obsession: A Devastating State At one point or another almost every person has experienced obsession. Obsessions come in all shapes and sizes and in varying degrees. In The Rocking Horse Winner, by David Lawerence, and The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne readers witness the bizarre, and often shallow, obsessions people can have. These obsessions become great sources of pain for the characters and lead to devastating consequences, including death. By analyzing the cause and effect relationship of Paul's obsession, luck and money, and Aylmer's obsession, perfection and control, we can better understand how these characters developed these obsessions and why they could not overcome them. As a young boy Paul was highly aware that his parents never seemed to have enough money to satisfy their expensive tastes. Both parents refused to live by their means "so the house was haunted by the unspoken phrase: there must be more money! There must be more money" (399)! Paul and his sisters could always hear it although nobody dared speak it. Paul's obsession with luck and money develops when he inquires to his mother as to why they do not have a car. His mother says it is because they are the poor members of the family and they have no luck. She then explains to Paul that luck is not money; luck is what causes you to
Discuss the presentation of social status in Desiree's Baby and The Necklace.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 'Desiree's Baby' was written by Kate Chopin and it is set in the American southern states in the late 19th century when it was written. Chopin lived in Louisiana which had many rich, white plantation owners. Chopin's stories were controversial because she was white and it was unheard of for people to write about such topics as the one covered in 'Desiree's Baby'. The author of 'The Necklace' was written by Guy de Maupassant and he also lived in the late 19th century but he lived in Paris. Most of his stories were set in France, but to be more specific, most of his stories were set in and around the capital, Paris. Both stories show different aspects of social status and what effect it has on people and their aspirations for higher status. 'Desiree's Baby' is set in Louisiana which is a southern state of America. Where society is portrayed as racist which meant that the rich, white plantation owners thought that the black slaves were inferior. The slaves are all black there are no white slaves; the slaves are treated like animals; to have a black heritage was like carrying a disease. When Armand finds out that his child is black he cannot bear to even think that he is related to a race that is branded with slavery; he says, "the child is not white, it means you are not white", to his wife, he does
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; ...
The Unexpected by Kate Chopin
The Unexpected by Kate Chopin In this short story that is set in the Victorian ages, Dorothea the traditional Victorian women is married to her husband who works and Dorothea stays at home. Her husband Randall gets sick in the story and has to go to his home and get better. Dorothea cannot bare the separation, however when she next sees him in an ill state she decides this isn't what she wants and flees. She runs away to somewhere she or any other Victorian women has ever been to... freedom. Kate Chopin explores the position of Victorian women very well in this short story and it starts right at the beginning when Randall has to part because of him being ill. The short and snappy descriptive words creative a good impact on how Victorian women were. It creates this impression that would not be normal to any other Victorian women reading this story. We have always thought of the marriage between any other Victorian couple to be plain and simple but the affection and emotion that Kate Chopin writes steers us from this. In the opening paragraphs Chopin creates this impression of mutual attraction between the couple of Dorothea and Randall by saying the "parting was bitter" stating that when they said goodbye it was hard for them. Already straight away we did not expect this and for there to be more the reader is shocked in the opening paragraph. By shocked I mean this because
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 Life and relationships of Virginia Woolf.
The Life and relationships of Virginia Woolf VIRGINIA WOOLF AND HER MOTHER Perhaps the greatest influence in Virginia's life is her mother, Julia Stephen. "Julia Stephen was the most arresting figure which her daughter [Virginia Woolf] tried to resurrect and preserve" (Gordon 4). Woolf, a manic-depressive, found herself constantly searching for approval. "Virginia needed her mother's approval in order to 'measure her own stature" (Bond 38). Battling with a sense of worthlessness, Virginia's mother helped her temporarily rid herself of self-criticism and doubt. This however was short-lived. When Mrs. Stephen rejected Virginia, she felt her mother's disapproval directly related to the quality of her writing. "Virginia Woolf could not bear to reread anything she had written... Mrs. Stephen's rejection of Virginia may have been the concept of her failure to meet her own standards" (Bond 39). With the death of her mother, Woolf used her novel, To the Lighthouse to "reconstruct and preserve" the memories that still remained. According to Woolf, "the character of Mrs. Ramsey in To the Lighthouse was modelled entirely upon that of her mother" (Bond 27). This helped Virginia in her closure when dealing with the loss and obsession with her mother. VIRGINIA WOOLF AND HER FATHER Although Virginia clung to the relationship with her mother, she favoured her father, Leslie Stephen.