The Lie of the Land
This is a list of explications--things a North American reader might need to know in order to make most sense out of Haydn Middleton's The Lie of the Land. I re-read the novel and made a list of unclear references or ambiguous words or terms. I included the page number and a short explanation of the context; I then proffered each word with the definition I was able to find!
Before delving into my textual explications, let me add a short "preface" first. As I re-read Middleton's novel, I found myself intensely interested in the cultural differences between North Americans and the English from (you guessed it...) England. My fascination with the inexplicable difference, yet explicable intertwining of our two cultures is probably provoked by a book I'm reading for another class, Cultural Misunderstandings by Raymonde Carroll, a French anthropologist. Carroll has extensively studied the differences between Americans and Europeans, mainly French. She gave an interesting analysis concerning Americans and our way of conducting or cultivating relationships. Well, I was reading the novel again, and if you caught it, Rachel offers Alasdair an invitation to dinner. This might not strike you as significant at all, but hold on--note that here in the United States, we will frequently end a conversation with, "Call me!" or "Let's get together, sometime, okay? I'll call you sometime!" These advances are never realized, of course, but are merely conversation climaxers. Rachel says to Alasdair, "Look . . . you should come round some time with Maggie. We'd love to see you . . . " (25). A couple of chapters later, the dinner scene is a very significant addition to the story, hmm? Carroll made the comment that Americans portray themselves as superficial and flighty with their many unrealized invitations. Europeans, on the other hand, tend to extend invitations and set the date in the proceeding avenue of discourse. Details. Dr. Gilgun taught my Fiction class last semester, and we learned that details develop ordestroy the story. Details divorce me from the story or seduce me, leaving me wondering where reality ends and the surreal begins. Details characterize the culture behind the author, the culture in and within where delight is reached, found, discovered and eventually shared. But anyway . . . enough of diversion!
TEXTUAL EXPLICATIONS--please feign acquiescence, and pretend that this list is complete and can stand alone; there were so many more textual nuances that I wanted to include! Hmm .
Wilson had some important roles in World War I that took a tole on his health. Just the fact of being a president is enough pressure. What stands out most after much research is the fact of how much he wanted peace. One would not underestimate by saying he spent his life by trying to have world peace. He was a remarkable president and benefited our nation tremendously by his works.
Using the detail,“Dinner threw me deeper into despair,” conveys the painful feelings caused by her family at dinner (Paragraph 5). This detail indicates that Tan was continuingly losing hope that the night would get better. Tan reveals these agonizing feelings to make the reader feel compunctious. In making the reader feel sorry for her, Tan knows she can continue to misreport details in the passage without being questioned. The detail,“What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners,” emblematizes the dishonor Tan feels towards her relatives and cultural background (Paragraph 2). This detail implies that due to Tan’s attraction to Robert, she will detract her feelings of others to better her relationship with Robert. Tan used this detail to reveal that if Tan cannot better her relationship with Robert, she will become despondent. As a result of distorting details, the passage illustrates Tan’s dishonorable feelings towards her cultural
Between 200 B.C.E and 800 C.E., there was a large development and spread of Universal Religions. The definition of a universal religion is a religion that has these characteristics: believes in one God, promises a type of salvation or after life, and a religion that is open to all people no matter what social class, race, or gender. Two of the large universal religions, Christianity and Buddhism were spread because of Syncretism. Syncretism is the adaptation to a religion by the religious leaders so that their beliefs are close to those of the local population. Although Syncretism is arguably the most important factor for the spread of these universal religions, there were other key reasons as to why these religions spread.
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
Contrary to popular belief he was not the “machine-like psychotic,” so many people make him out to be. In his inaugural speech, given in March 1913, he stated, “This is a not a day of triumph, it is a day of dedication. Here muster, not the forces of party, but the forces of humanity. Men’s hearts wait upon us; men’s lives hang in the balance; men’s hopes call upon us to say what we will do. Who shall live up to the great trust? Who dares fail to try? I summon all honest men, all patriotic, all forward-looking men, to my side. God helping me, I will not fail them, if they will but counsel and sustain me.” This was the attitude that Wilson carried out all of his activities with. He jumped into the Presidency with complete dedication. He truly loved the executive responsibility.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson, twenty-eighth president of the United States, might have suffered from dyslexia. He never could read easily, but developed a strong power of concentration and a near-photographic memory. The outbreak of World War I coincided with the death of Wilson's first wife Ellen Axson, who he was passionately devoted to. Seven months after her death his friends introduced him to Edith Bolling Galt, a descendant of the Indian princess Pocahontas, they were married nine months later. By 1912 times were good for most Americans. Farmers were enjoying their most prosperous period in living memory, the cost of living rose slightly, unemployment was lower than it had been for several years, and working conditions were improving. By 1913 when Wilson was inaugurated, American industries were in a flood of consumer goods, including automobiles, telephones, and movies. However, Wilson almost did not appear on the presidential ballot, the leading contender for the Democratic nomination was House Speaker Champ Clark. It took 46 ballots before the delegates swung to Wilson. In the election, the Republicans were split between Taft and Roosevelt, almost guaranteeing a Democratic, and Wilson victory. He sought ways to build patriotism and to reshape the federal government to govern the nation more effectively. Wilson was a conservative, in his books and articles, he often displayed hostility to reformers and rebels. Although Woodrow Wilson is mostly remembered for his success in foreign affairs, his domestic reform and leadership abilities are notable as well. Commemorated by the public mainly for his success in guiding the nation during it's first great modern war, World War I, for getting out of the Mexico/...
When initially asked about the morality of lying, it is easy for one to condemn it for being wrong or even corrupt. However, those asked are generally guilty of the crime on a daily basis. Lying is, unfortunately, a normal aspect of everyday life. In the essay “The Ways We Lie,” author Stephanie Ericsson makes note of the most common types of lies along with their consequences. By ordering the categories from least to most severe, she expresses the idea that lies enshroud our daily lives to the extent that we can no longer between fact and fiction. To fully bring this argument into perspective, Ericsson utilizes metaphor, rhetorical questions, and allusion.
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.
After Woodrow Wilson earned his Ph. D. from John Hopkins University, he later became the president of Princeton University in 1902. He was a scholar who was valued and known for his intelligence and writing ability. In 1910, he was chosen to run for governor by the Democratic Party because of his great reputation as a profound public speaker. Although he won the election, he surprised the Democratic Party by welcoming reform. He directed Legislative to t...
Woodrow Wilson, Born in Virginia in 1856 and raised in Georgia and South Carolina, was the 28th president of the United States. He enacted significant reform legislation during his two terms. Surprisingly, he was a political novice who had held only one public office before becoming president, but fortunately enough possessed considerable political skill. He was a brilliant and effective public speaker, but he found it difficult to work well with other government officials because he did not deal well with disagreements. Wilson developed a program of progressive reform and asserted international leadership in building a new world order. In 1917 he proclaimed American entrance into World War I a crusade to make the world "safe for democracy" (similar to George W. Bush, who has used this phrase in his war against terrorism).
Why do people lie? There is not one specific answer to this puzzling question. Millions of people lie every day for many reasons. Whether it is to cover up insecurities or to protect yourself, lying is a habit that people often retreat to, to mask their feelings. In The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old teenager who constantly lies in situations where he does not have to, in order to cover up his insecurities and to create a false identity for himself due to his low self-esteem.
Wheeler, Kip. "Literary Terms and Definitions M." Literary Terms and Definitions "M" Carson-Newman University, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
Baldick, Chris. The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of Literary Terms , New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Wilson was heavily influenced by his family and war during his young life. His earliest memories were of the Civil War. He would constantly see Union soldiers marching through town, while his mother would tend wounded Confederate soldiers in the local hospital. Many of his later philosophies began at an early age and were heavily influenced by witnessing the poverty and destruction that war brought. Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856 in Staunton, Virginia, to parents of a primarily Scottish heritage. Woodrow’s father was a Presbyterian pastor so Woodrow was raised in a very pious and academic environment. Woodrow was taught the skill of oratory at a young age and grew to enjoy it immensely. After high-school, Woodrow spent a year at Davidson College in North Carolina and three at Princeton University where he received a baccalaureate degree in 1879. (Clements)
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.