A Comparison of Susan Hill's The Woman in Black and M.R. James' Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad
In Susan Hill's introduction to 'The Woman In Black' she mentions M.R.
James' short stories as some of the greatest ghost stories ever
written. Her appreciation of James' writing is one of the reasons for
the many similarities and differences between the two texts. Hill was
greatly inspired by the setting of 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You,
My Lad' and this results in her novel being a similar reading
experience to James' story. One of the most obvious influences on
Susan Hill's novel is the similarity between the title of M.R. James'
story and one of the chapters in 'The Woman In Black', titled 'Whistle
and I'll Come to You'.
There are also many differences in the writing style and technique
between the two texts; Susan Hill uses her own techniques for the
novel as well as using ideas from other writers. And although the two
texts are individual in their own right, the influence of 'Oh,
Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' by M.R. James on Susan Hill's
'Woman In Black' is evident not just in the introduction to the novel,
but similarities linking the two are common throughout the text.
At the beginning of both texts we meet the first similarity between
the two, the setting. Both are set in unfamiliar or unknown places,
which is the first step to create a small sense of mystery in the
story. Moving away from the familiar adds effectiveness to the eerie
storylines, the less we know about something, the more scared we can
be by it. In 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' the setting
of a seaside symbolises the edge...
... middle of paper ...
...ars many times throughout the text, sometimes
passively and sometimes aggressively.
M. R. James' 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' and Susan
Hill's 'Woman In Black' share a lot of the same qualities, due to the
large amount of influence Hill took from the James short story. The
main characters have a lot in common and the setting of the two
stories is very similar. Conversely, there are lot of differences
between the two; M.R James chose to have a passive spectre while Susan
Hill's story contains a vengeful, dangerous ghost. On the whole, they
are two very effective ghost stories that employ several writing
techniques to add effectiveness to the plot.
Comparative [Social/Cultural/Historical]
M. R. James: Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You,
My Lad [1931]
Susan Hill: The Woman In Black [1983]
For Kingston, The Woman Warrior signifies more than five chapters of talk-stories synthesized together. Within each chapter of the memoirs, Kingston engraves the method in which she undertook to discover her discrete voice. The culture clash between her mother and Kingston accumulated her struggles and insecurities, resulting in Kingston’s climax during her tirade. However, what Kingston accentuates the most is that the a breakthrough from silence requires one to reject a society’s
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Rick Moody's "Boys" and Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" are both written I a stream-of-consciousness style of writing. They both offer an inside glimpse into the feelings of a parent as they watch their children grow into adulthood. While they are similar in style the point of view of the narrators differs greatly. In “Boys” the narrator is simple writing an account of what is happening in the life of the boys. There is no judgment or personal opinions expressed just a running tally of events in the boys’ lives. In “Girl” the narrator inputs her feelings about how her daughter is growing. It is an account of all the things the girl is doing wrong, and how she should go about fixing those mistakes. In some ways the poems collectively represent a strong
I'd like to read Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man as the odyssey of one man's search for identity. Try this scenario: the narrator is briefly an academic, then a factory worker, and then a socialist politico. None of these "careers" works out for him. Yet the narrator's time with the so-called Brotherhood, the socialist group that recruits him, comprises a good deal of the novel. The narrator thinks he's found himself through the Brotherhood. He's the next Booker T. Washington and the new voice of his people. The work he's doing will finally garner him acceptance. He's home.
The U.S. saw the rise of the many groups during the Progressive Era which began in 1890 and continued through 1920. Specifically, there was social activism associated with the women during this time period. This turn of the century was characterized by what are now considered great works of feminist literature. Examples of such are “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gillman and “A Jury of her Peers” by Susan Glaspell. Both short stories were written during this Progressive Era, during which feminism peaked. These two short stories are similar because they both present women within a patriarchal society but they differ in their presentation of sisterhood, process used to resist the patriarchy, and the political functions that take effect within.
...re many similarities when it comes to technique, characterization, themes, and ideologies based on the author's own beliefs and life experiences. However, we also see that it appears the author herself often struggles with the issue of being herself and expressing her own individuality, or obeying the rules, regulations and mores of a society into which she was born an innocent child, one who by nature of her sex was deemed inferior to men who controlled the definition of the norms. We see this kind of environment as repressive and responsible for abnormal psyches in the plots of many of her works.
Leonard, K. D. (2009). African American women poets and the power of the word. The Cambridge Companion to African American Women's Literature, 168-187.
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“Identity” is often perceived in terms of one’s fingerprint, that is only unique to us. Consequently, people tend to feel that they must create their own identities, achieving this by the decisions and actions they make. When people are influenced by others, their own sense of identity will be at risk. However, both the novels in consideration problematize this notion of independent self-creation. Alice Walker and Toni Morrison have presented in their novels the issues of personal
Bakerman, Jane S. “Toni Morrison.” American Women Writers. Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgrat. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 2000.172-174.
Hall’s prose lulls the reader, contrasting a growingly eerie mood with an overall calm tone. Hall has no great love for her characters in the tone of the narrative, though she shows some sympathy for the woman’s plight. Only at the climax does the prose become fast-paced, and then only for a moment before a terrible calm once again takes over. This too, shows where the real priorities lie. There is no mournful pause for a dead man, but there is a solemnness to the woman’s retreat, allowing the reader to process what the woman’s safety has cost
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