Remembering: The author of Wicked, Gregory Maguire, was born in Albany, New York, in 1954. After receiving a degree in English from the University at Albany, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University. The very popular broadway musical “Wicked” is based on the first book written by Maguire (also called Wicked). He also wrote Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, Mirror Mirror, and Son of a Witch. Currently, he lives near Boston, Massachusetts, with his family.
Understanding: The only true main character was Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Arguably, her most unique and defining characteristic was her green skin. I use the preterite because, as we all know, Dorothy melts her, the Witch is no longer alive. Elphaba had also been afraid of water her whole life, when she cried, her tears burned, when it rained, she found a dry nook or an umbrella. She did not have a concept of religion, even though her father was a minister, and she frequently found herself subject to social inconvenience due to her skin condition. This slowly molded Elphaba into a detached, aloof, reclusive type, but still able to maintain (somewhat) social stability. No other character appears in more than half of the book.
Applying:
Analyzing:
Melena, the wife to a minister, is pregnant. When a mystical, magickal, clockwork clock and “puppet theatre” falsely predicts the minister as corrupt, an angry mob forces the minister and Melena to separate and hide. Melena hides in the clock while also being in labor. She gives birth to Elphaba, and days later recuperates with her husband. They are shocked by the baby, for it is green.
Some years later, Elphaba, now a to...
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... awe of its excellence, but afraid to go near, that it might reveal itself to be of a lesser design.
I felt sympathy for Elphaba in the end, she was simply a victim of circumstance, and admired her courage in standing up for what she believed in (which was pro-Animal civil rights and anti-Wizard). I admire people who stand up for others and help them, especially if it is against the evil tyranny of a wizard.
Creating: In the final hours before the witches demise, she concocts a plan to create a copy of herself, that Dorothy might kill the copy and not the original. Elphaba contacts Glinda, who takes pity on Elphaba and helps create the copy. When Dorothy arrives, the events that take place are the same is in The Wizard of Oz, but instead of the Wicked Witch of the West dying, her copy dies, and Elphaba becomes a hermit, living in a cave for the rest of her days.
Introducing a character that will be seen in the story is one of the most vital parts when creating a piece of literature. Whittier begins his story by writing, “Woman’s attributes are generally considered of a milder and purer character than those of man.”(348) Right of the bat, the reader has a stereotypical idea in his or her mind about how a woman should act and what characteristics she should hold. Whittier does this to show how different and unique his main character, Hannah Dustan, will be seen throughout his piece of work. Whittier then goes on to say, “Yet, there have been astonishing manifestations of female fortitude and power in the ruder and sterner trials of humanity; manifestations of courage rising almost to sublimity; the revelation of all those dark and terrible passions, which madden and distract the heart of manhood.”(348) Here, Whittier romanticizes Dustan’s journey and the events that occurred by stating that the actions were actually manifestations that occurred because of the situation she was in. Before even beginning the story, Whittier gives the reader an idea that Dustan did what she did because the situation overpowered her.
Living in Maryland, the narrator and her little brother Joey lived a very simple life. There mother had job that required many hours, and her father was unemployed and still in the process of trying to find a job. They lived in a very run down house in a very small poor community. One summer day, the narrator , Joey, and a group of kids from the community were bored and wanted to do something different. So,the narrator and the kids went down to one of the elders home, Miss Lottie. Miss Lottie was the old woman that everyone made stories about and for the kids they knew her as the witch. In the summer time Miss Lottie would always be in her front yard planting marigolds, which were an easy target to destroy. The kids all took part in throwing rock at Miss Lottie's marigolds, and the narrator was the coordinator. After they sprinted back to the oak tree, the narrator started to feel guilt for what she
As the story of Tituba unfolds, it reveals a strong and kind hearted young woman, very different from the Tituba we meet in The Crucible. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem unveils for the reader, Tituba's life, loves, and losses. Her long and arduous journey through life is inspired by her many female counterparts, yet also hindered by her insatiable weakness for men, who also press upon her the realities of life.
The theme that has been attached to this story is directly relevant to it as depicted by the anonymous letters which the main character is busy writing secretly based on gossip and distributing them to the different houses. Considering that people have an impression of her being a good woman who is quiet and peaceful, it becomes completely unbecoming that she instead engages in very abnormal behavior. What makes it even more terrible is the fact that she uses gossip as the premise for her to propagate her hate messages not only in a single household but across the many different households in the estate where she stays.
Whenever Sira, Aminata’s mother went to help women deliver their babies, Aminata would go along too. She would watch and help her mother, eventually le...
Dorothy Gale, the protagonist of the story is a young, optimistic girl who lives on a farm in Kansas, which is a place in Midwest America that lacks colour and mainly consists of flat country land and has minimal trees. The films overall theme is illustrated by Dorothy’s famous line that ultimately
Although the other characters in the novel symbolizing religious acts are not main characters, they do play an important role in the thread of the theme. An example of such a character would be the woman that shows up when Grandma is dying. The woman, who Ma refers to as a "Jehovite" is dressed all in black, the skin on her face sagging, and she has loose lips that hang over her teeth. She expresses to Ma and Rose of Sharon that they should pray for Grandma, and that they should have faith to move on. Steinbeck introduces this woman to the readers to symbolize death and the ability to move on in peace.
To understand fully the implicit meaning and cultural challenges the film presents, a general knowledge of the film’s contents must be presented. The protagonist, Tita, suffers from typical Hispanic cultural oppression. The family rule, a common rule in this culture, was that the youngest daughter is to remain unwed for the duration of her mother’s life, and remain home to care for her. Mama Elena offers her daughter, Tita’s older sister Rosaura, to wed a man named Pedro, who is unknowingly in mutual love with Tita. Tita is forced to bake the cake for the wedding, which contains many tears that she cried during the process. Tita’s bitter tears cause all the wedding guests to become ill after consuming the cake, and Tita discovers she can influence others through her cooking. Throughout the film, Tita’s cooking plays an important role in all the events that transpire.
Looking at Wicked from a child’s point of view, you only see the surface. A surface full of brilliant colors and magical beings. But instead, there is much more to the story than just that. Looking at the story from a feminist/gender critic’s view, you begin to see the layers unfolding one at a time. You understand that there is more to it than just what is on the outside. They see masculinity as well as sexism tied into the story of the Wizard of Oz, as well as Wicked. They are able to find a more elaborate meaning as to why the books are written, and why the stories are told.
Scene: This scene in the film comes just after the house has been picked up in the twister. Dorothy's house has been lifted up into the sky and suddenly dropped back down to earth in the middle of the Land of Oz. In the scene itself, Dorothy leaves her home to see that she is "Not in Kansas anymore," and finds the new and amazing world of the munchkin city in front of her. She also meets Gwendela the good witch as her journey in Oz begins.
When Elphaba was born, she was expected to be a curse to her family. For example, her father, Frex said, "It's the devil," and "The devil is coming" (Maguire 10). He is very unhappy, cruel, and neglected her ever since birth because of her physical appearance. She gets the center of attention from everyone because of uncommon characteristics such as having green skin, allergenic to water, and having razor-sharp teeth. Even though she portrays a role being the Wicked Witch of the West, she can still be a caring and loving person. When she was a college student, she deeply cares about all animals in the land of Oz and is willing to endanger herself to save them. She saved a monkey from drowning in the w...
In the book each character had their own characteristics and personality. There was something special about each character in the book. Each of them had their strong points and weak points for example Grant was always running away from his problems. There were a lot of things in his life that he could not handle and he just wanted to run away. He didn’t know what to do about Jefferson at first and wondered why he had to teach him. He didn’t really know how to handle his job as teacher in the Quarter. He couldn’t make his mind up about God so he just decided to leave it alone. Aunt Emma was a very strong character in the book. She would do almost anything to help Jefferson before he died. She begged to the Guidry’s on several occasion to help Jefferson feel more comfortable while he was in jail. She begged Grant for his help even though Grant did not want to help Jefferson. She got Mose Ambrose and Grant to finally work together to help Jefferson instead of always arguing.
To conclude, the characters Jeannette Walls and Melba Patillo display both similar and different characteristics. The traits that they retain effected their stories in many ways, and ultimately determined the outcome of them. Since Jeannette showed ambition towards her future, it lead her to become successful, making the story end positive. As for Melba, her courageousness and determination towards ending segregation created an inspirtational environment to readers. Overall, the characteristics of a character can create vivid images for readers, making reading an interesting experience.
The nurse believes that she may harm the children and foreshadows their actual death. After she hears Medea cursing her sons she tries to sway Medea to more logical train of thoug...
In the novel, women were affected by racism and gender role equality more than men. Pecola is one if the main characters, and she deals with the figure of a man who violates her. The female characters in the novel were apprehended by females roles that made them feel like they were non existent. Each character had their own personality. Claudia, another character in the novel escapes her suffering by pulling apart from Shirley Temple dolls. The expectations of theses women in the novel have been created through our society, and how we view our gender