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Feline Companionship in Cat in the Rain
I chose to write about Hemingway's "Cat in the Rain" in part because it is one of the few of his stories I have read which has an "ending." There is a specific event at the end of the story which wraps up the story's events and gives the reader a sense of finality not found in most of Hemingway's short works. Written in his characteristic sparse style, "Cat in the Rain" is seemingly simple in plot and character, but a careful reading reveals deeper meaning behind its elements. The American wife's quest to save a kitty from the pouring rain becomes a more complex statement about her frustration and her isolation from human comforts. I think the portrayal of the wife captures these feelings which many women can recognize.
In the first paragraph, the theme of isolation is introduced, as the author tells about the American couple on foreign soil with no friends or acquaintances. He also describes the beautiful park below the window and the many people who come to enjoy it, only to add that it is now raining and the wife may only look out the window and dream. The wife soon sees the poor cat, getting drenched in the rain and feels sympathy for it. Her reading husband is indifferent to her discovery, except to volunteer half-heartedly to get the cat (most likely to keep her from complaining). The woman can not seem to connect with her husband, who treats her almost like an annoying child, as much as with the pathetic cat outside.
As she ventures out of the room to rescue the cat, she first passes the hotel-keeper in his office. In a series of parallel phrases, the author describes the hotel-keeper, or padrone, and what the woman likes about him. This passage sho...
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...he husband's complacency about his wife and her desire for respect, admiration, and emotional fulfillment. A related but more direct contrast is between the husband and the padrone, who represent the status quo and the desires of the wife, respectively.
In the final few paragraphs, Hemingway mentions that it is getting dark outside, and later that "it was quite dark and still raining in the palm trees" (170). Then, just before the maid comes to the door with the cat, a light comes on in the square. The amount of light seems to correlate with the hopes of the wife and the chance she has to change her situation. The light near the end is a signal for the arrival of the cat, a gift from the hotel-keeper. The reader is left to wonder whether the woman will demand more respect from her husband now that she has experienced a feeling of importance and self-worth.
In addition, she always talks about the moonlight during these times of night. When the moonlight is not present, the narrator is not active. Her husband comes to visit and she does not do much. But at night, when her husband is sleeping, the narrator wakes up and starts walking around the room. The protagonist believes that there is a woman trapped by the wall, and that this woman only moves at night with the night light. The allusion to this light is not in the beginning of the story, but in the end. “She begins to strip of the wallpaper at every opportunity in order to free the woman she perceives is trapped inside. Paranoid by now, the narrator attempts to disguise her obsession with the wallpaper.” (Knight, p.81) In the description of the yellow wallpaper and what is seen behind it there are sinister implications that symbolize the closure of the woman. It implies that any intellectual activity is a deviation from their duties as a housewife. Her marriage seems to be claustrophobic as her won life, a stifling confinement for a woman's creativity. As imaginable, such treatment and "solitary confinement"(Knight, p.86) will do nothing but worsen her condition, affecting
“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen” (“Brainy Quotes” 1). In Edith Wharton’s framed novel, Ethan Frome, the main protagonist encounters “lost opportunity, failed romance, and disappointed dreams” with a regretful ending (Lilburn 1). Ethan Frome lives in the isolated fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts with his irritable spouse, Zenobia Frome. Ever since marriage, Zenobia, also referred to as Zeena, revolves around her illness. Furthermore, she is prone to silence, rage, and querulously shouting. Ethan has dreams of leaving Starkfield and selling his plantation, however he views caring for his wife as a duty and main priority. One day, Zeena’s cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to assist the Frome’s with their daily tasks. Immediately, Mattie’s attractive and youthful energy resuscitates Ethan’s outlook on life. She brings a light to Starkfield and instantaneously steals Ethan’s heart; although, Ethan’s quiet demeanor and lack of expression causing his affection to be surreptitious. As Zeena’s health worsens, she becomes fearful and wishes to seek advice from a doctor in a town called Bettsbridge giving Ethan and Mattie privacy for one night. Unfortunately, the night turns out to be a disastrous and uncomfortable evening. Neither Ethan nor Mattie speaks a word regarding their love for one another. Additionally, during their dinner, the pet cat leaps on the table and sends a pickle dish straight to the floor crashing into pieces. To make matters worse, the pickle dish is a favored wedding gift that is cherished by Zeena. Later, Zeena discovers it is broken and it sends her anger over the edge. Furious, Zeena demands for a more efficient “hired girl” to complete the tasks ar...
The narrator is trapped by their past, and the poem describes it affecting their daily life. They have a black cat they are envious of, because the cat is carefree and does not make the same mistakes that the narrator does. “He refuses to be snared by a single love the way I did” (319). The narrator had gotten trapped by a love that went badly, and left them being broken from it. Their cat does not make this mistake, and is also carefree, “He leaps from the rooftop . . . doesn't dread crossing bridges or dark alleyways” (318). He just lives his life out and is not concerned about any sort of danger, and because of this the narrator is envious of the cat. They cannot act the same way as the cat does, they are too concerned about their life and what happens with it, “He doesn't cling to life as I do” (318). The narrator seems to be trapped by their past, and because of this, it affects the way they live now. They have shut themselves off purposefully, they let their past affect them this much, they corrupted themselves. They know this, and they wish they had not let it happen, this is why they envy their
When it comes to punishing criminals, people have a variety of ideas-especially when murder becomes a part of the discussion. Although there are plenty of options proposed, from torture to life in prison, one of the most debated methods is the death penalty. The death penalty, defined simply, is the practice of allowing the imposition of death as a punishment for those convicted of certain crimes, usually murder. While thirty-one states allow capital punishment, an argument that has been raging since the early 1970s is still going on. There are many aspects of the argument, but the two main groups involved in the argument are those in favor of the death penalty, and those opposed. Supporters of capital punishment typically believe that society
The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is when someone convicted of a crime is put to death by the state. This practice has been around for centuries. The death penalty has evolved from acts like public hanging, to the more “humane” lethal injection used today. Many people view this as the only acceptable punishment for murderers, mass rapist, and other dangerous crimes.
Gray, James P. "Essay: Facing Facts On The Death Penalty." Loyola Of Los Angeles Law Review 44.3 (2011): S255-S264. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
As an American citizen, a person should be entitled to marry whoever they choose, regardless of gender or sexual preference. Gay marriage is something that some people consider to be taboo while other people are very supportive of it; I am one of the latter. The ability to marry someone is a basic human right and it should not be taken away from someone because they love a person of the same gender. One of the main reasons that gay marriage is illegal in the United States is because of what the Bible says about it, regardless of the fact that the first Amendment of the US Constitution says that there is to be a separation between church and state. Approximately three point eight percent of the United States population is made up of people
This is added to by the fact that she is isolated from others. She lives in “a lonesome-looking place” with poplar trees around it that were also “lonesome-looking.” She has no visitors and does not visit others. This isolation is because of her husbands wishes. So not only does he not provide her with love or affection, he prevents her from getting companionship elsewhere.
Capital punishment is the most severe sentence imposed in the United States and is legal in thirty-eight states. The death penalty is a controversial subject, especially because the U.S. is the only western democracy to retain this consequence (Scheb, 518). I personally believe that the death penalty is a valid sentence for those who deserve it. Some believe it is not constitutional, but those who face this penalty are clearly suspect of a savage offense and therefore should be at a loss of certain rights. The arguments don’t end there once one considers that “the controversy over capital punishment becomes more heated when special circumstances arise” (Sternberg, 2). This issue brings up more arguments against the death penalty because of the constitutionally protected ban on cruel and unusual punishment which is protected by the Eighth Amendment. There have been nearly 15,000 executions that have taken place in America, the first in 1608 with the death of Captain George Kendall (Siegel, 410). Most of these were sentenced to death because of their own action of killing others. However, more and more crimes are now able to be punishable by death. This is the result of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which “dramatically increased the number of federal crimes eligible for this sentence” (Scheb, 520). Even so, the federal government has yet to put someone on death row for a non-homicidal case. The arguments for and against capital punishment are lengthy and strictly opinionated, but are also important to see the evolution of our society as the majority view changes and new influences come about.
... seemingly simplistic. Hemingway discovered a way to demonstrate the complexity of the human spirit and identity through simplistic diction, word choice, and sentence structure. The story is only a small part of the deeper inner complex of the narrative. The short story allows a fluidity of thoughts between the individual and the characters without ever actually describing their thoughts. With no ending the story is completely left to interpretation providing no satisfactory ending or message.
I think that the narrator feels much alone in life, even though she has a family who cares for her. She is clinically depressed so naturally she is going to feel isolated from the world. Speaking about a house that the narrator grew up in, she writes, 'and there was one chair that always seemed like a strong friend.
A majority of American citizens view the death penalty as a morally justified form of punishment for criminals, even though there is growing discontent. Despite it being such an avoidable discussion topic, nearly every American has his own opinion on the matter. The death penalty has an uncanny knack for polarizing even the closest of friends. The inner turmoil that comes with the idea of capital punishment is enough to deter most average Joe 's and even politicians away from facing the truths. Because of this, capital punishment is an important yet untouched subject. The death penalty balances life and death so it mustn 't be ignored.
Have you ever been treated so unfairly, but knew there was very little you could do to change it? If so, then you know exactly how many of the homosexuals in the world feel about the right to marry. Many homosexuals feel that this right has been kept just out of reach for them, due to others who despise them. These individuals believe that being gay is wrong, immoral and disgusting; but this is definitely not the case. Gay marriage should be allowed in the United States because this decision supports the idea of equal rights, the effectiveness of children with homosexual parents, and this act would do no harm to society.
The death penalty has been an ongoing debate for many years. Each side of the issue presents valid arguments to explain why someone should be either for or against the subject. One side of the argument says deterrence, the other side says there’s a likelihood of putting to death an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder itself. Crime is an unmistakable part of our society, and it is safe to say that everyone would concur that something must be done about it. The majority of people know the risk of crime to their lives, but the subject lies in the techniques and actions in which it should be dealt with. As the past tells us, capital punishment, whose meaning is “the use of death as a legally sanctioned punishment,” is a suitable and proficient means of deterring crime. Today, the death penalty resides as an effective method of punishment for murder and other atrocious crimes.
There are several reasons why homosexuals feel strongly about wanting to be legally married, why wouldn't there be? One reason that is probably the most commonly heard is, they want to legally show their love for each other by having a marriage license. Gay people want the right to marry like anybody else, and for the same reasons too. They are in love and want to be with this person for the rest of their lives. Even though it is possible to do this without being married, they want to be able to honor their relationship with their partner publicly. There should be absolutely no reason for two people not to be able to marry despite their sexuality. If a man and woman get to get married because they love each other, why can't a man and a man marry each other? What about a woman and a woman? They love each other too, isn't that a valid reason to get married? Isn't it also a valid reason to let them?