Experiment in Literature in My Life with the Wave
Octavio Paz’s extraordinary tale of "My Life with the Wave" is exactly about what the title states, a man’s life with a body of water. Paz experiments with the norm and takes literature to a higher level (Christ 375). He plays with our imagination from the start and lets us believe the man has stolen "a daughter of the sea." These two beings try to establish a relationship despite their extremely different backgrounds and in so doing take us on a journey of discovery. The way these two characters react to one another represents the friction found in so many types of relationships. This is a love affair doomed from the beginning but destined to be experienced.
Like so many other wonderful tales from Hispanic cultures, this story blends imaginative events with realism. Just as the filmmakers did in "The Milagro Beanfield War" and "Like Water for Chocolate," Paz encourages you to believe in the incredible. You can almost visualize the wave as a self-contained cubicle of water frothing and pumping itself up against invisible walls.
There are impossible passages that the male character takes in this story that you can enjoy through your imagination. He calls them "his troubles" (Paz 852). Events that revolve around this relationship become his secrets which leads him to alienate himself from the life he once may have had. His relationship with the water develops slowly and the water’s strong and passionate character is revealed. It is clear that the man’s troubles are directly related to the existence of the wave in his life.
Paz presents the wave as real. She is immortal. This is proven when she is left behind on the train when her man is arrested for smuggling...
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...to becoming run-off to the sewer, the wave knows her destiny will eventually return her to the sea because that is the nature of water. Since she escaped the train’s water tank, her life has proven to be cyclical. In this way she is self-serving, which is much more like the true character of water.
Paz distances the reader from the norm, arriving in a seemingly alternate universe. He demands that the reader bring the level of comprehension to a higher one (Christ 375). "My Life with the Wave" is a successful experiment in literature that celebrates the ability to view the many combinations of relationships in our world.
Works Cited
Christ, Ronald, CLC, Vol 3. Ed. Carolyn Riley. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, Co., 1975.
Paz, Octavio, and "My Life with the Wave." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1981.
One way that the author develops the theme is with the use of similes. Murakami writes: “A wave like a huge snake…”(362). This quote is describing the huge wave that is about to strike the beach. The purpose of this simile is to make the wave seem alive
The story describes the protagonist who is coming of age as torn between the two worlds which he loves equally, represented by his mother and his father. He is now mature and is reflecting on his life and the difficulty of his childhood as a fisherman. Despite becoming a university professor and achieving his father’s dream, he feels lonely and regretful since, “No one waits at the base of the stairs and no boat rides restlessly in the waters of the pier” (MacLeod 261). Like his father, the narrator thinks about what his life could have been like if he had chosen another path. Now, with the wisdom and experience that comes from aging and the passing of time, he is trying to make sense of his own life and accept that he could not please everyone. The turmoil in his mind makes the narrator say, “I wished that the two things I loved so dearly did not exclude each other in a manner that was so blunt and too clear” (MacLeod 273). Once a decision is made, it is sometimes better to leave the past and focus on the present and future. The memories of the narrator’s family, the boat and the rural community in which he spent the beginning of his life made the narrator the person who he is today, but it is just a part of him, and should not consume his present.
The main arguments in this source is the old man 's dependents on the boy, feminizing the sea and the respectful engagement of its feminine presents, and Interspecies kinship—brotherhood between man and animals, as well as with nature. The purpose of this source is to show the reasons why the old man feels defeat with old age. This source relates to The Old Man and the Sea because many times throughout the novel when Santiago was in the sea, he wished Manolin was there to help him because he has a rough time doing some things nowadays, but his old age still does not stop him from catching that
The Black Death was a disease that affected most of Europe's population during the 14th century. It led to many deaths within a short period of time of 8 years after the original outbreak in Central Asia. Furthermore, throughout the epidemic Europeans quickly found out there were different strings of the disease and also that they had different characteristics. Additionally, with this disease, many had tried to cure it with treatments that proved to be unsuccessful. During the 14th century, spreading quickly throughout Europe, the Black Death led to different types of the disease with their own symptoms and led to a positive outlook for survivors by giving them better opportunities in life.
In the library she would alternate what types of books they would read. Whenever she would read to him she would read in a way that made you cling to every word the author wrote. In times like these, Rodriguez would become engaged in these books. “I sat there and sensed for the very first time some possibility of fellowship between reader and writer, a communication, never intimate like that I heard spoken words at home convey, but nonetheless personal.” (Rodriguez 228). During this part of Rodriguez’s life, his view towards books changed.
This came off as an embarrassment to doctors for not being able to help their patients. Most people had no confidence in doctors. The rich simply fled from the plague, but most could not. In the modern world, doctors would be able to isolate themselves from the disease while trying to find a cure via a hazmat suit. With today’s technology, if an outbreak similar to the Black Death was to happen, a lot less people would die of the disease. In comparison to the Plague of Medieval Europe, today we have the Ebola virus. In West Africa where 3rd world countries are common the virus has killed thousands of people, but in America, where technology and medicine is more advance, not many people have died from the virus. The victims were able to be treated and therefore not spread the virus among the
The ocean is the center and foundation of this story. The ocean is also part of the scenery and the background, without the ocean, there would be no story. Not only is the ocean the center and the foundation, it is also a symbol of many things in this story. To me, the ocean in this story takes on human characteristics in that to me, it symbolizes a seducer or seductress. The ocean also becomes an escape from reality and symbolizes life itself. The ocean is important because it is what helps bring Edna into her awakening and that is good, in the sense that it helps Edna into finding herself. However, the ocean is evil in that it is responsible for Edna’s demise.
Swanson, Philip. "The Critical Reception of Garciá Márquez." The Cambridge Companion to Gabriel Garciá Márquez. New York: Cambridge UP, 2010. 25-40. Print.
Mishima, Yukio. The Sound of Waves. Trans. Meredith Weatherby and Yoshinori Kinoshita. New York: Vintage, 1994. Print.
Productivity in the United States, due to new innovations (that are coming together after years of investment), is growing to levels not seen since the 1960’s. For example: productivity growth has averaged 2.3 percent from 1996 to 1999, doubling the 1.1 percent average productivity growth from 1973 to 1995. At a rate of two percent from 1996 to 1999, labor has also increased, as unemployment fell and welfare recipients have gone to work. The economy has been growing at a rate of about 4.5 percent each year, due to this.
Confusion, embarrassment, and guilt can all be found throughout João Guimarães Rosa's short story "The Third Bank of the River." Rosa forces the reader to analyze his words and delve deeply into the hidden meanings behind them. Upon first glance, a story unfolds of a father who seemingly abandons his family and chooses to live out the remainder of his life rowing a small boat back and forth along a river. There are circumstances leading up to this behavior, which new insight to the author's psychological meaning.
The great stories behind The Old Man and the Sea are what make it so wonderful. Because of this novels success released in 1952, it helped Hemingway ring in the Nobel Prize for 1954 for Hemingway (Hurse). He had a way of writing a good hearted, high spirited hero, who seemed in many ways to be at one with nature and himself. It is believed that Hemingway conjured up the character Santiago from a 92 year old man who crossed to Florida with other Cuban refugees (Baker 910). This makes sense considering Santiago is the main character, who is of old age. His characters although having many great qualities, still had struggles. Santiago is the man of hour, when speaking of The Old Man and the Sea. H...
The Old Man and the Sea has been a time old classic by a both beloved and occasionally despised author Mr. Ernest Hemingway. In the Old Man and the Sea Symbolism and references that reflect Hemingway’s own life can be seen in many different lights, he had many ups and downs similar as Santiago’s struggles and as I have chosen to explore the suffering that can be seen in Santiago and in relation to Hemingway’s own life.
The main arguments in this source is the old man 's dependents on the boy, feminizing the sea and the respectful engagement of its feminine presents, and Interspecies kinship—brotherhood between man and animals, as well as with nature. The purpose of this source is to show the reasons why the old man feels defeat with old age. This source relates to The Old Man and the Sea because many times throughout the novel when Santiago was in the sea, he wished Manolin was there to help him because he has a rough time doing some things nowadays, but his old age still does not stop him from catching that
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a story of the relationship between an old fisherman named Santiago and nature. For eighty-four days Santiago has set out to sea and returned empty-handed. On the eighty-fifth day, he set out determined to catch a fish. Santiago catches a marlin, but sharks attacked the fish leaving only scraps and bones. Santiago views the sea as the source of life and meaning. The old man has an unique relationship to and understanding of the natural world. He talks about the sea as though it is a woman and he dreams of lions. He views the birds and fish as his friends. The creatures and the natural world become lens to understand his character.