From the moment when he first appeared at the British literary scene in 1973, with his novel The Rachel Papers, up to this point, Martin Amis firmly holds the title of one of the most innovative and influential writers of the 20th and 21st century. His first novel was awarded the prestigious Somerset Maugham Award, and though he did not gain many awards in his life, his novels represent the constant inspiration for many critics worldwide. Along with writers such as Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, and many others of the middle generation, he holds a position of a well read and inspiring author. For many years, he worked as a journalist and a critic for the London Observer, and then as literary editor of many magazines, such as Times Literary …show more content…
It also deals with the absurd destruction of identity, where the meaning and purpose of life are completely misunderstood. By using his dark humor and parody, Amis brutally takes us into the darkness of human existence, forcing us to deal with the false dreams and drugs delusions of his characters, who forgot how to live their lives outside the pornography and television. The main protagonist of the novel, John Self, is presented as a plain miserable creature who completely lost himself in the world of consumerism and reduced his existence to the striving for money, sex and stimulants. He does not know and does not live for anything, except money, being his only religion and the only obsession. With his business partner, Fielding Goodney, they try to tame the ruthless world of the film industry, having only a material motivation and lust. His love affairs are everything but love, and the female characters such as Selina Street are nothing but the portrayal of the self-destruction for the sake of money and power. The novel is located in two cities, London and New York, which, according to Amis, are the perfect examples of the places where lies, violence, evil and blatant pornography flourish and conquer …show more content…
His strive to write a melodrama for the end of the millennium took him 10 years ahead, regarding the fact he wrote the novel in 1989, setting the action in London, 1999. Similarly like in the previously mentioned novel, he used different characters to emphasize the notion of the decline of the society, though here the voice is given to four of them, on contrary to John Self who was alone. Through the eyes of the unreliable narrator, Samson Young, a writer whose mind has been blocked for twenty years, the readers get to know about the many issues that tormented and still torment the people who trapped themselves into the whirlpool of their existence. There is a story of femme fatale, Nicola Six, a character who is preoccupied with the idea of how to organize and prepare her own death. A carefully chosen killer in this case could be Keith Talent, who in a way resembles John Self, with his constant passion for pornography and the material world. There is one more option, embodied in the venerable and somewhat romantic character of Guy Clinch, whose dissatisfaction with his wife and son brought him to searching for the amusements outside. This book can also be regarded as the black comedy about a murder or an apocalyptic or urban satire, but also as the detective story, which explores
"Suicide, what a terrible concept. There are two types of suicide: physical, and theoretical. Physical suicide is the more commonly heard type of suicide. It entails the person actually, physically killing himself or herself. On the other hand, theoretical suicide is when the person does something that will, in turn, get him or her killed. For example, in “All About Suicide” by Luisa Valenzuela, Ismael, a man that works at a minister’s office, murders the minister, a high-ranking public official. Ismael has been forced to be quiet by the government; therefore he lashes out by killing the minister so that he can reveal the truth about the government. In doing this, Ismael technically “kills himself” because he knows the government will eventually find him and execute him. The theme of this story is that quite often, the truth is misconstrued or is hidden from the public. In order to reveal the truth, action must be taken to bring the truth to the people. Valenzuela reveals this theme through flashbacks, pronoun usage, and imagery.
“As I Lay Dying, read as the dramatic confrontation of words and actions, presents Faulkner’s allegory of the limits of talent” (Jacobi). William Faulkner uses many different themes that make this novel a great book. Faulkner shows his talent by uses different scenarios, which makes the book not only comedic but informational on the human mind. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is a great book that illustrates great themes and examples. Faulkner illustrates different character and theme dynamics throughout the entire novel, which makes the book a humorous yet emotional roller coaster. Faulkner illustrates the sense of identity, alienation, and the results of physical and mental death to show what he thinks of the human mind.
Emile Durkheim’s theory paints a clear narrative for the type of suicide used by suicide bombers, so the question is - is suicide acceptable under Islamic religion; one answer is how it is illustrated and how you interpret the Qur’an. Radical Islamists have convoluted the traditional Islamic laws of warfare to make suicide bombings reasonable. According to the website TheReligionofPeace.com, “the point of the bomber isn’t suicide – it is to kill infidels in battle. This is not just permitted by Muhammad, but encouraged with liberal promises of earthly rewards in heaven, including food and sex.” Zarein Ahmedzay pleaded guilty to terrorist charges involving a possible suicide mission on the United Sates in 2009. He quoted the Qur’an during his plea to justify his decision, “Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and wealth for the price of Paradise, to fight in the way of Allah, to kill and get killed. It is a promise binding on the truth in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an.” (New York Post) Some Muslims feel suicide bombings are a sin and a recent development of the twentieth century. They claim suicide bombings are not
Socrates could easily be viewed as suicidal due the portrayal put forth in Plato’s Five Dialogues. First, there is the Apology. Numerous times Socrates was given the opportunity to defend himself in a manner that would be persuading to the jury, but he seemed to have sullied each and every chance. A compelling argument for why his actions were not the crimes he was accused of committing was given, yet he did so with harsh logic and never with an appeal to emotions. He believes such appeals, for instance, bringing his family to court, would be beneath him while acknowledging it would have aided his case with, “you will more readily convict a man who preforms these pitiful dramatics in court… than a man who keeps quiet” (Plato 39). Socrates also
author of this book. He has also has written many other good books such as The Grapes
Depression is the most common mental illness and the reason why many people commit suicide. It is commonly found when people fail to cope effectively with stress or experience painful, disturbing or traumatic events that overwhelm them. Suicide has become one of the main cause of death for young adults in Canada, leaving only tragic incidents behind; around 4000 Canadians die every year by committing suicide (“Canadian Mental Health Association”). America, by E.R. Frank, is about a young child, who goes through a lot of emotional and physical pain due to the people around him. When he is older, America hesitates to tell anyone about the traumatic events that he had gone through. America’s emotional state is damaged by his mother, Browning, and the whole system. In general, these people caused America to suffer emotionally and mentally. They did not take good care of America, forced him to think
As a parent, Deputy Chief Michael Beckman’s talk about his son’s suicide was very moving. To stand in front of a group of complete strangers and discuss the hardest thing you can face as a dad, shows great resiliency and character. Even more difficult is to stand in front of the group and admit your own faults and how they possibly played a role in some of your son’s behaviors. Steven’s life began to spiral out of control and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He admitted he made repeated empty threats to his son, however never followed through with the consequences.
First of all, the book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity through the setting. In
In ‘Paul’s Case’ Paul has created a fantasy world in which he becomes entranced, even to the point of lying to classmates about the tales of grandeur and close friendships that he had made with the members of the stock company. This fantasy falls apart around him as “the principle went to Paul’s father, and Paul was taken out of school and put to work. The manager at Carnegie Hall was told to get another usher in his stead; the doorkeeper at the theater was warned not to admit him to the house” (Cather 8). The fantasy fell apart further when the stories he had told his classmates reached the ears of the women of the stock company, who unlike their lavish descriptions from Paul were actually hardworking women supporting their families. Unable to cope with the reality of working for Denny & Carson, he stole the money he was supposed to deposit in the bank to live the life of luxury in New York. Only a person who felt backed into a corner would attempt something so unsound. After his eight days in paradise, he is again backed into a corner by the reality of his middle class upbringing, and the dwindling time he has before his father reaches New York to find him. The final way out for Paul is his suicide, for which an explanation would be “In the end, he fails to find his security, for it was his grandiose “picture making mechanism” that made his life so deardful.” (Saari). With all the securities of his fantasy life finally gone, his mental instability fully comes to light as he jumps in front of the train to end his
Suicide is the third leading cause of teenage death in the United States. If this is the case why wouldn’t there be more prevention programs out there for these teenagers? Suicide prevention in schools is up for debate on whether or not it would have a positive effect on teenagers, or a negative impact on their state of mind. According to the study “A Review and Application of Suicide Prevention Programs in High School Settings,” by Gregory Cooper, Cooper declares that in the long run prevention programs in schools would be beneficial to suicidal students. However, Dena Wanner the author of the study “The Impact of a Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program on Knowledge, Attitudes, Awareness, and Response to Suicidal Youths,” believes that
The boy is haplessly subject to the city’s dark, despondent conformity, and his tragic thirst for the unusual in the face of a monotonous, disagreeable reality, forms the heart of the story. The narrator’s ultimate disappointment occurs as a result of his awakening to the world around him and his eventual recognition and awareness of his own existence within that miserable setting. The gaudy superficiality of the bazaar, which in the boy’s mind had been an “oriental enchantment,” shreds away his protective blindness and leaves him alone with the realization that life and love contrast sharply from his dream (Joyce). Just as the bazaar is dark and empty, flourishing through the same profit motivation of the market place, love is represented as an empty, fleeting illusion. Similarly, the nameless narrator can no longer view his world passively, incapable of continually ignoring the hypocrisy and pretension of his neighborhood. No longer can the boy overlook the surrounding prejudice, dramatized by his aunt’s hopes that Araby, the bazaar he visited, is not “some Freemason affair,” and by the satirical and ironic gossiping of Mrs. Mercer while collecting stamps for “some pious purpose” (Joyce). The house, in the same fashion as the aunt, the uncle, and the entire neighborhood, reflects people
I will give place the suicide letter of a young French girl, namely, Bertrande. She is daughter of a farmer family, the Guerre family. This family never join the revolution movements even though they had sympathetic feelings about revolution. The reason of their passive standing was Martin’s (father of Pamela) fear of to be labelled as traitor, to be judged and persecuted when king again takes the power. Due to his big fear, he did not allow to his wife and children to attend the revolution and they were not so willing too. Their passive standing ended in war in Vendee in 1793 because all of them persecuted except Pamela. In this subject, I will give place to the letter of Pamela that she wrote before her suicide.
"I believe that no man ever threw away life, while it was worth keeping." In David Hume's essay "Of Suicide," the philosophical argument of justified suicide is pursued. However, the underlying argument focuses on the injustification of the government and society condemning and forbidding such an action and the creation of superstitions and falsehoods of religion and God.
The novel is set in 1980s London at the time of Margaret Thatcher's political rule. More precisely, the book follows Thatcher's second term in office from 1983 to 1987. The general idea of the 1980s is that it was a time of great change, both political and social. Young people were enjoying their excessive lifestyles, exploring their sexualities, indulging in casual sex, drugs and excessive parties thrown by
We as humans, according to Camus, seek meaning. As humans we look for answers in a meaningless universe that yields no such comfort to our questions. Camus says it is absurd to shout into this void for answers. Since there is no such meaning, you as a free agent can choose to find meaning by taking a leap of faith, placing your hopes in a god, or choose to conclude that life is meaningless which results in suicide. Those that judge life as unworthy of living commit suicide. Since there is no such meaning, you as a free agent can choose to find meaning by taking a leap of faith, placing your hopes in a god, or choose to conclude that life is meaningless which results in suicide. Is suicide always the result of a