On reading Beloved by Toni Morrison and Don Quixote by Kathy Acker, there seem to be quite a few similarities in themes and characters contained in these texts, the most prevalent of which seems to be of love and language as a path to freedom. We see in Acker’s Don Quixote the abortion she must have before she embarks on a quest for true freedom, which is to love. Similarly, in Morrison’s Beloved, there is a kind abortion, the killing of Beloved by Sethe, which results in and from the freedom that real love provides. And in both texts, the characters are looking for answers and solutions in these "word-shapes" called language.
In Acker’s Don Quixote, the abortion with which the novel opens is a precondition for surrendering the "constructed self." For Acker, the woman in position on the abortion table over whom a team of doctors and nurses work represents, in an ultimate sense, woman as a constructed object. The only hope is somehow to take control, to subvert the constructed identity on order to name oneself: "She had to name herself. When a doctor sticks a steel catheter into you while you’re lying on your back and you to; finally, blessedly, you let go of your mind. Letting go of your mind is dying. She needed a new life. She had to be named" (Don Quixote 9-10). And she must name herself for a man – become a man – before the nobility and the dangers of her ordeals will be esteemed. She is to be a knight on a noble quest to love "someone other than herself" and thus to right all wrongs and to be truly free.
In another of Acker’s works she writes: "Having an abortion was obviously just like getting fucked. If we closed our eyes and spread our legs, we’d be taken care of. They stripped us of our clothes. Gave us white sheets...
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... the end of the text by a community getting in touch with a "language of their own," while Acker’s protagonist is subverting texts to find or create something this "primal."
Don Quixote is far more easily paired with the ghost of Beloved. They both are searching for a language they can use and understand and know with the "word-shapes" that they are given. They are both on quests to find love and freedom that are not a product of "slavery." They both are in search of a name, an identity, that is not a product of an "abortion." They are both childlike yet adult, trying to understand. And neither of them are asking for, or offering, forgiveness.
Works Cited:
Cervantes, Miguel De. Don Quixote. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces.
Ed Mack, Maynard et al. WW Norton and Co. New York, NY. 1992.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York, Penguin Books USA Inc, 1988.
The book and movie of Don Quijote de La Mancha has many differences and similarities. There are a lot of differences in the book and movie. First, in the movie Sancho is in the beginning of the movie with the scene of him about to shave. In the book, Don Quijote meets Sancho later on and starts the journey with him. Second, Don Quijote fights two other knights in the movie. He wins the first fight and then loses the second fight. In the book, there was no fight with any knight. Third, in the movie Don Quijote has more than one adventure. In the book he only has one adventure and it ends when Don Quijote is sleeping in bed at his home. There are many similarities in the book and movie as well. First, Don Quijote fights the bags of wine in both
...ce, although both writings are interesting in their own ways, the most interesting aspect of both writings together is that they both have a similar plot and theme. It is rare that two
This quote stood out to me because it offered a new perspective to the controversial issues on abortion. After reading this, I realized how abortion was always tied to the women, which not only isolates them in this problem but also unconsciously reduces them to their reproductive functions. The
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Marquis takes a different approach to the topic of abortion than most other people, he doesn 't try to establish that the fetus is a person, but instead tries to establish a reason for why killing us is wrong, and show that the reason also applies to fetuses; and thus
The Grapes of Wrath displays one of America’s greatest stumbles during the establishment of our country. The story follows a family hit with the struggles of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Drought, economic hardship, agricultural changes, and bank foreclosures rip the Joads from the quaint town of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, forcing them to take the dreadful journey across the country. Nevertheless, the Joads drag their feet along the trodden path, dragged on by an unassured perseverance. The Joads were driven by a burning fire of desperation, grounded by the hope promised by orange handbills laden with the deceitful lies of the rapacious. For the hopeless seek hope, an elusive destiny sated by lying promises. Steinbeck’s unique style of writing inculcates an abortive hope in the minds of the readers, instilling a lust for the untouched and unloved land which in turn reveals the impossibility of the “American Dream”; through complex symbols and innovative themes, Steinbeck also educates the ignorant, blinded by the vague history books that blot out the full intensity of the calamities and suffering endured by hopeful Okies on their treacherous journey into the unknown.
Abortion is an important and rather popular topic in the philosophical world. On one side of the argument, pro choice, Judith Jarvis Thomson argues that abortion is permissible because the pregnancy might not have been voluntary or the mother’s life is at risk if she continues on with the pregnancy. On the opposing side of the argument, Don Marquis argues that abortion is wrong because it takes away all the potential things a fetus could value in their future life. In this paper, I will argue against Don Marquis view of abortion. I will begin by explaining that Marquis does not take into consideration the effect the pregnancy may have on the mother, and I will talk about how Thomson does take the mother into consideration. Next, I will criticize
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Hiding behind the idea of “restoring” one’s menses, abortion was practiced throughout colonial America. However, abortions weren’t fully considered to be so until after the quickening in pregnancy. Quickening was marked by when the baby would kick, so in a time when not that much was known about the female body quickening was the only thing that confirmed if a woman was pregnant or not. The opinion on abortifacients changed over time and was dependent on who was taking advantage of them. People seemed to be more concerned about the fact that abortions were used to cover up the sin of fornication in the 18th century, whereas in the 19th century the more pressing issue was the fact that married upper- and middle-class women were now using abortifacients just to avoid childbirth.
Written in 1937, Of Mice and Men, by John Adolf Steinbeck Jr., American author and Pulitzer Prize winner, follows the lives of downtrodden farmhands, George and Lennie. As with many of Steinbeck's books, the themes in Of Mice and Men include his favored themes of class warfare and oppression of the working class. Steinbeck also focuses his literature on the power of friendship and the corrupt nature of mankind. In 1993, Professor Thomas Scarseth wrote a critical analysis of the novella analyzing many aspects of Steinbeck’s work including the presentation, themes, and writing style. In his essay, Scarseth explains the key themes of the Novella. He noted that the corrupted nature of man, the injustice of life, and the power of friendship were three important themes of the book. Much of Scarseth’s analysis contained numerous thoughtful insights. Were his insights and opinions valid, or were his, and Steinbeck’s, perspectives on these issues flawed?
Cantrell, Robert L., and Lionel Giles. Understanding Sun Tzu on the art of war the oldest military treatise in the world. Arlington, VA: Center For Advantage, 2003. Print.
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Even though bureaucratic administration principles were functioning efficiently for many years since its inception, it is claimed that inadequate to meet the current demands of citizens. Therefore, the New Public management (NPM) approach was developed in UK to substitute the traditional model of public administration in 1980s and 1990s as a response to the insufficiency