Decisions, fear, self-worth, hope, life, and morality—all words that contribute to the wavering tension Laura faces in “Flowering Judas” by Katherine Anne Porter. Laura is a white, American women who by harsh circumstances, ended up in Mexico with the punitive, selfish Braggioni as her admirer and reason for employment. Laura is struggling between two overwhelming fears, and the decision of whether death or life is more sacred. She finds herself conflicted between running with Eugenio or staying near Braggioni, which seems as it would be a clear-cut decision, but Laura struggles to make a choice. The conflict in the story leads to death, guilt, and lives saved. Laura is afraid of death, but also hates her life. She is completely and utterly confused, conflicted, and calamitous. In “Flowering Judas”, Katherine Anne Porter emphasizes how feelings of grief and betrayal of beliefs cause conflicting emotions through the symbols of the story—the characters, the setting, …show more content…
It is clear from the story Laura has a religious background. She has encased herself with an “iron load of moral accountability” (Redden). Her deep religious beliefs are the cause of her elevated sense of guilt. Laura feels as though she betrayed Jesus and this is the cause of her unfortunate life. Leaving Braggioni would be taking a bite of the forbidden fruit, once again betraying her savior. Laura blames her misfortune on outside forces, not taking accountability for her actions. But, she believes that she must help others and takes their weight on her shoulders. Perhaps she feels as if her kind and gentle actions will allow her to pay off her debt to Jesus. Examples of her caring actions include “teaching Indian children” and visiting “the prisoners of her own political faith in their cells” (313). Laura struggles with the grief caused by betraying her religious beliefs and the constant battle to not betray them
Is a woman's strength determined by her endurance to stay in a hurtful relationship or is it determined by her ability to move on? The early twentieth century is known to women as the "era of exuberance." (Gilbert 1205) During the early twentieth century women began to find the answer to the question at hand deeply rooted within themselves. The answer for Katherine Anne Porter seemed to be her ability to move on based on the actions she chose in her real life. Does her literature tell a different story? Born in Indian Creek, Texas on May 15, 1980, Callie Russell Porter spent most of her life outside of the state of Texas. In 1915 after nine years of marriage to John Henry Koontz she divorced him claiming "nothing in common and physical abuse." (Davidson) At this point she changes her name to Katherine Anne Porter, her late-grandmother's name. At the young age of 25 Porter had already broken the role of a traditional woman that was known to that time period.
In Katherine Anne Porter’s, “The Future Is Now,” the author develops her argument through the use of rhetorical devices, as well as varying points of view, which greatly help emphasize her argument. In the second paragraph she notices a siren going off outside her home, she then starts to wonder about all the different things the siren could represent. As she considers all the possibilities she notices a man across the street who is consumed by a table he is carefully building. She fails to understand how a person can be so absorbed by something that they fail to notice something so alarming surrounding them. The primary argument the author is trying to make is that it is more important to exist and cherish life rather than always worry about
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is a phrase that has been uttered numerous times to children by their parents. This aphorism has been used to not only apply to books but also people. In The Black Walnut Tree by Mary Oliver, the speaker faces a conflict between the literal and figurative meaning of a tree in her yard. In the beginning of the poem, the mother and daughter “debate” selling the tree to “pay off their mortgage.” But with a shift from literal language to figurative language comes a symbolic representation of the tree, one that represents family heritage and their ancestors’ hard work.
Joseph Porter’s, “A River of Promise” provides a detailed report of the first explorers of the North American West. The piece engages in a well written secondary source to argue that the expedition of Lewis and Clark, the two famously known for exploring the American Western frontier, were credited for significant findings that were not completely their own. Joseph C. Porter utilizes text from diaries and journals to highlight the help and guidance from the natives and prior European explorers which ultimately allowed the Lewis and Clark expedition to occur. The document by Porter also reveals that Lewis and Clark at the time were establishing crucial government documents which were the structure for scientific, technological and social understanding
2. Wright, James. "Saint Judas." Approaching Poetry, Perspectives and Responses. Ed. Meg Spilleth. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1997. 70.
Of the two sisters Lizzie and Laura, Laura is the one whose curious desires get the best of her. She and her sister encounter the goblin men and Lizzie just “thrust a dimpled finger / In each ear, shut her eyes and ran” (67 – 68); however, Laura’s curiosity gets the best of her and she chooses to stay: “Curious Laura chose to linger / Wondering at each merchant man” (69 – 70). These goblin men are selling fruit, and once Laura gets her hands on it, she is hardly able to stop herself. Quenching her desire is overwhelming for her, so much so that when she is finally done she “knew not was it night or day” (139). When she arrives home later, she tells her sister, “I ate and ate my fill, / Yet my mouth waters still; / Tomorrow night I ...
Does Amy’s beauty and mystique represent something deeper? In Katherine Anne Porter’s “Old Mortality,” there is an obvious obsession amongst most of the novella’s characters with Amy’s beauty. Most of the female characters throughout the novella are often compared to Amy by her family’s elders. These characters are often described as coming close to embodying Amy’s beauty (or not at all), but it is generally recognized that no one will ever be able to be quite as beautiful as Amy was. While there are a few descriptions of Amy’s physical appearance throughout the novella, there seems to be more of a focus on her careless behavior. Many of the novella’s central figures identify this kind of behavior as something that contributed to her charm
Laura unable to survive in the outside world - retreating into their apartment and her glass collection and victrola. There is one specific time when she appears to be progressing when Jim is there and she is feeling comfortable with being around him. This stands out because in all other scenes of the play Laura has never been able to even consider conversation with a "Gentleman Caller."
Additionally, a young man appears in Laura’s life that sings outside her bedroom window, writes poems to her, and follows her around town to demonstrate his passionate love for her. Porter states, “She tells herself that thro...
It is said in the character description that Laura “[has] failed to establish contact with reality” (Glass 83). This illustrates how Laura is childlike and naive, in that, Williams literally says that she has not established contact with reality. Laura is naive because she refuses to face life and all that comes with it, she is also childlike because she has sheltered herself and is unaware of her surroundings much as a child would be. Early on in the play the reader discovers that Laura had affections towards Jim when they were in high school. This, of course, will prove to be part of Jim’s easy manipulation of Laura. Shortly after this discovery, Laura’s gentleman caller, Jim, is invited over for dinner with the family. After having completed their evening meal, Laura and Jim go to another room and being
When he asks what she gives it to him for, she replies, “A—souvenir.” Then she hands it to him, almost as if to show him that he had shattered her unique beauty. This incident changed her in the way that a piece of her innocence that made her so different is now gone. She is still beautiful and fragile like the menagerie, but just as she gives a piece of her collection to Jim, she also gives him a piece of her heart that she would never be able to regain. Laura and her menagerie are both at risk of being crushed when exposed to the uncaring reality of the world.
... not as they conceptualized. As adulthood is commonly linked with age, the shift from adolescence to maturity arises with experience. In Joyce’s “Araby”, the emotional journey for the narrator, begins with the infatuation with his best friend’s sister, and ends with his disillusionment for love. In Mansfield’s “The Garden-Party”, Laura acts as a tie between the brightness and wealth of the Sheridan’s contrasted with the darkness and sorrow of the Scotts. While struggling with inner confusion, she attempts to build a unique identity for herself. Her emotional journey culminates with the viewing of the deceased man, and her powerful realization of life, where her life is put into perspective of life on a universal level. Both main characters experience major changes in their personality, as well as their psychology, and these insights change both of them incredibly.
Following Laura's submission to her desires, the young girl loses all orientation to the domestic sphere, which is exemplified by her blatant neglect of her duties. Additionally, Laura begins to physically deteriorate, as "her hair grew thin and gray" and essentially becomes very reminiscent of a corpse The process of restoring the character to her former pure and virginal self is initiated by a fellow woman, her sister Lizzie. Thus, contrary to Tennyson's implication that women require the protection of a man, Rossetti's parable espouses the idea that a woman's savior can indeed be a member of the sex. Lizzie's mission to prevent her sister from sharing the same fate as the deceased Jeanie, despite its clear risks, is motivated by familial affection as opposed to the circumstances in The Lady of Shallot, which suggests that the "protection" rendered by the series of illusions, symbolic of a man's meditation of reality, is merely a stipulation of the Lady's "curse" (42; 1205) and not the manifestation of genuine
Laura suffers from an "inferiority complex," much like how Jim described. She feels burdened with
Laura started off in a bubble, and has lived in it all her life. She has been protected from the real world, so she has never experienced the effects of betrayal, poverty, or labor, let alone death, which she does get to experience, by the end of the story. Laura meets face to face with death, and the results of it will change her look on life forever. It is a wonder she ever had a chance to be a caring, sensitive person with a sibling like Jose. Jose is an unfeeling, heartless and self-absorbed person who is completely clueless to those around her who don’t have lots of money or expensive assets. She sings songs with mock passion: