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Sociological themes in freedom writers
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Sociological themes in freedom writers
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The Development of Escape Margaret Laurence 's novel A Bird in the House is a collection of independent and intertwined short stories written from Vanessa MacLeod 's point of view. As an adult looking back on her childhood, the protagonist examines how she, and essentially everyone in her life, experiences a sense of entrapment and a need to escape. Because the author begins and concludes the novel with the Brick House, the major theme of escape is shown to have developed in Vanessa as she matures through childhood and adolescence and becomes an adult. Firstly, Margaret Laurence emphasizes that freedom and escape are always within reach, even if one does not notice or believe it. For the majority of the novel, Vanessa 's greatest want is Because the Brick House is described synonymously with Grandfather Connor, their significance to the major theme of the novel – escape – is also interrelated. The two are often described as though they are one being. They are both “plain”, “in a perpetual gloom”, and “screened” (1). Grandfather Connor is characterized as the antagonist to Vanessa as he often seems uncaring and distant. When his daughter, Edna, and later Vanessa, bring a boyfriend to the Brick House, he is unable to “be nice, for her [his wife 's] sake” (75) Due to these intentional similarities and links between the Brick House and Grandfather Connor, the fact that the house is described at the introduction and the conclusion of the novel as something that Vanessa carries within her heart and as a “hurt... to see.. in other hands” (194) infers that her grandfather is a crucial piece of her growth and freedom. At Grandfather Connor 's funeral, she is unable to cry. As a woman in her early twenties at the time, Vanessa hears the recounting of her grandfather 's life and legacy – the Brick House – as told by the church minister, and “these familiar facts struck [her] as though [she] had never heard any of it before” (191). Vanessa 's development of thought interpretation and her feeling of freedom are finally apparent when her grandfather and his house, his monument, are both out of her life. Vanessa 's own freedom is finally found when she comes to the realization that despite the fact that she “had feared and fought the old man... he proclaimed himself in [her] veins” (194). Just as she spends a critical portion of her life in the Brick House, Grandfather Connor will live on inside of
Lily’s idea of home is having loving parent/mother figures who can help guide her in life. Because of this desire, she leaves T. Ray and begins to search for her true identity. This quest for acceptance leads her to meet the Calendar Sisters. This “home” that she finds brightly displays the ideas of identity and feminine society. Though Lily could not find these attributes with T. Ray at the peach house, she eventually learns the truth behind her identity at the pink house, where she discovers the locus of identity that resides within herself and among the feminine community there. Just like in any coming-of-age story, Lily uncovers the true meaning of womanhood and her true self, allowing her to blossom among the feminine influence that surrounds her at the pink house. Lily finds acceptance among the Daughters of Mary, highlighting the larger meaning of acceptance and identity in the novel.
An imposing character in A Bird in the House, Grandfather Timothy Connor’s power over his household is also a sign of his weakness. The house that he built is “part dwelling place and part massive monument” (Margaret Laurence 3). Grandfather Connor, a pioneer in Manawaka, is a monument himself and is often associated with his architectural feat. The title of Margaret Laurence’s novel is A Bird in the House; Grandfather Connor is the house that both shelters and entraps the people – especially the women – in his life with his actions. With a stranglehold on his household, Grandfather seems to fit into the traditional male role as the authoritarian but is plagued by guilt and loneliness. He uses his anger as a shield and a mask; he “demands strength because he is afraid of weakness” (Jon Kertzer 43). Early in his marriage, Grandfather Connor had an affair with a girl in Winnipeg but his wife Agnes “never told him she’d considered leaving him” (Laurence 85). This places Agnes in a position of higher power: she is virtuous, and Timothy knows that she may be too good for him. As Uncle Terence remarks: “Another person’s virtues could be an awful weight to tote around. We all loved her. Whoever loved him?” (86). Because his family loves Agnes and will happily obey her, Timothy attempts to reassert his power by being strict and demanding.
The story is about a friendly hunter who comes to a budding girl named Sylvia for help to find a bird for his collection. He offers her ten dollars. At first, she agrees because of the impression the hunter makes on her. Later, she has a revelation through her love for the forest and neglects to tell him where the bird is. Sylvia represents the purity of innocence and has a bond with the natural world. Many of Sylvia’s thoughts are associated with the ability to be free. This exemplifies the women’s rights activism that was happening in the 19th century. Sarah Orne Jewett develops her theme of the change from innocence to experience in her short story “The White Heron” through the use of imagery, characterization, and symbolism.
on turning her up in her nest with the plough. At the time this novel
“The House on Mango Street” was peaceful, easy reading for me. After trudging through many short stories documenting eye-narrowing love affairs, I was slogged down, and began to despair of ever finding a decent story that I could relate to. The main character, who is also the narrator, in Sandra Cisneros' story is never named, and the characters' physical and personality attributes are never described. However, their circumstances are made clear. Her family, like mine, has moved around to different rental houses, and now owns their own home. They had to leave their latest rental in a rush, due to plumbing issues, I too have fled a rental house because of complications with leaky pipes. Finally, the protagonist realizes that each time her family moves, another member is added, which I see as a potential allegory to my own life, as far as making new friends as a result of transitions in my life. I feel as though I can relate with her, due to our similar life experiences.
A person’s home is a good representation of himself or herself. The way one takes care of their home can tell a story about the owner of the home and its residence. The members of the home may also affect the situations that take place, creating good or bad circumstances. In a story, a character's home does just that. The more or less elaborate it is explained, the more detail is presented about how the character is or will be. In “The House of Usher” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the elaborate descriptions of the characters and their homes set the story and can predict the outcome. A writer’s home and view of life may have a profound impact on their idea of home and therefore their writing that is produced.
The central characters in both “The Yellow Wallpaper” and A Doll’s House are fully aware of their niche in society. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator’s husband believes her illness to be a slight depression, and although she states "personally, I disagree with their ideas,” she knows she must acquiesce their requests anyway (Gilman 1). She says, “What is one to do?” (Gilman 1) The narrator continues to follow her husband’s ideals, although she knows them to be incorrect. She feels trapped in her relationship with her husband, as she has no free will and must stay in the nursery all day. She projects these feelings of entrapment onto the yellow wallpaper. She sees a complex and frustrating pattern, and hidden in the pattern are herself and othe...
"In a little four-room house around the corner. It looks so cozy, so inviting and restful."(79) With this description Chopin introduces the reader to Edna’s new residence, which is affectionately known as the pigeon house. The pigeon house provides Edna with the comfort and security that her old house lacked. The tranquility that the pigeon house grants to Edna allows her to experience a freedom that she has never felt before.
and is entered by a fire escape, a structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth, for all of these large buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation” (3). “Human desperation” represents the problems that people face daily. These obstacles are like a “fire”, they keep getting larger. As the fire gets larger, Tom’s eagerness to leave gets stronger. The fire is a symbol of reality. Reality is full of difficulties which Tom chooses not to accept. He believes leaving will allow him to get rid of obstacles. One of his struggles is his mom’s criticisms. She always tells him what to do and gets in fights with Tom because she cannot forget about the past issues. He also feels trapped by his job. Tom works in a warehouse just for his family but does not want to live like this forever. He wants to do what his father did and be released from his restraints, but he is unable to. Each ...
... the novel. Ranging from clothes, to birds, to the “pigeon house”, each symbol and setting provides the reader with insight into Edna’s personality, thoughts, and awakening.
When Zora Hurston wrote this novel, she wanted to explain how a young women search for her own identity. This young woman would go through three relationships that took her to the end of the journey of a secure sense of independence. She wanted to find her own voice while in a relationship, but she also witnessed hate, pain, and love through the journey. When Logan Killicks came she witnessed the hate because he never connected physically or emotionally to her. Jody Starks, to what she assumed, as the ticket to freedom. What she did not know was the relationship came with control and pain. When she finally meets Tea Cake she was in love, but had to choose life over love in the end.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a harrowing and heartbreaking yet an inspiring memoir of a young girl named Jeannette who was deprived of her childhood by her dysfunctional and unorthodox parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Forced to grow up, Walls stumbled upon coping with of her impractical “free-spirited” mother and her intellectual but alcoholic father, which became her asylum from the real world, spinning her uncontrollably. Walls uses pathos, imagery, and narrative coherence to illustrate that sometimes one needs to go through the hardships of life in order to find the determination to become a better individual.
The birdcage represents how Mrs. Wright was trapped in her marriage, and could not escape it. The birdcage door is broken which represents her broken marriage to Mr. Wright. It also represents Mrs. Wright escaping her marriage from Mr. Wright. When the door is open it allows Mrs. Wright to became a free woman. At one point in time the cage door use to have a lock that locked the bird inside the cage. This represents how Mr. Wright kept Mrs. Wright locked up from society. Mr. Wright knew that by keeping Mrs. Wright locked up, she would never be able to tell anyone how he really acted. Mr. Wright was very cruel to his wife.
In A Bird in the House, Margaret Laurence is able to incorporate many themes and motifs into her stories such as, war, tragedy, religion, and faith. Another theme that is also shown throughout the book is identity, both national and individual identity. National identity is defined as “ a sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, etc.”, while individual identity is what makes a person unique, it is what a person believes, thinks and feels. Sometimes in life identity gets mixed up and can become a confusing aspect of life. People are a product of their environment, which is a factor in shaping identity. The protagonist in the book, Vanessa MacLeod, witnesses and experiences both types of identity. She sees the influence of the Canadian national identity in her Grandfather Connor, Scottish heritage in her Grandmother MacLeod, Irish heritage in her Uncle Dan, which ultimately influence Vanessa’s personal identity.
Once her husband, John, realizes the deepness of depression that his wife is in due to her birth of their child he decides to take action. He decides to isolate his wife from the world for her own betterment. Once arriving in her newfound place of isolation where there is no stimulation, except for her journal, the narrator is placed within a room that is lined with yellow wallpaper. This yellow room is meant to free her from any stresses, but her dislike for the wallpaper concerns her. The pattern of yellow begins to become more of an obsession, being this is her only stimulation due to her confinement. She begins to visualize a woman behind her yellow wallpaper, this woman she sees seems to be trapped pacing behind the paper as if she is trying to free herself. It is not long before the narrator begins with withdrawal pieces of this wallpaper from the wall in attempt to free this trapped woman. As the novel ends the woman who once was in such disgusted with this yellow room now traps herself, locking herself away from