Willa Cather’s, “The Sculptor’s Funeral” portrays the theme of spirituality vs. materialism. This is shown through the process of Harvey Merrick, a very talented sculptor, who died of tuberculosis at age 40. Merrick was one of the very few people who escaped his hometown of materialism. He wanted to tap into his creative spirit and he simply could not do that if he stayed at home. This is depicted throughout the story with the characters that attend Merrick’s wake. Specifically the characters Jim Laird and Henry Steavens. Jim Laird, a man who grew up with Merrick and went to school with him. Laird became a lawyer to make his town proud, but they did not care unless he could twist the law in their favor. Ironically, that is why they feared …show more content…
him, the text says, “They were all afraid of Jim; he was a drunkard, but he could twist the law to suit his client’s needs as no other man in all western Kansas could do; and there were many who tried.” They grew up in a town where creativity and independence were frowned upon. They pulled down anyone who was succeeding in their lives. Laird attests for this in the end. He had finally had enough of the poison that the town fed people. He said, “‘Harvey Merrick and I went to school together, back East. We were dead in earnest, and we wanted you all to be proud of us some day. We meant to be great men. Even I, and I haven’t lost my sense of humour, gentlemen, I meant to be a great man. I came back here to practise, and I found you didn’t in the least want me to be a great man. You wanted me to be a shrewd lawyer—oh, yes!’” He was finally holding them to what they had done to him and to Merrick. He was jealous that Merrick had the courage to run to a place where he could succeed. Laird knows why Merrick stayed away now, as he was pulled down by the people who were supposed to love him. He said, “‘Well, I came back here and became the damned shyster you wanted me to be. You pretend to have some sort of respect for me; and yet you’ll stand up and throw mud at Harvey Merrick, whose soul you couldn’t dirty and whose hands you couldn’t tie.” Henry Steavens, the apprentice of Merrick, was appalled by his master’s hometown. Steavens was sure that he had arrived at the wrong place, where there was no sculptures in sight, “Steavens, sitting by the window, watched him turn down the glaring lamp, still its jangling pendants with an angry gesture, and then stand with his hands locked behind him, staring down into the master’s face. He could not help wondering what link there could have been between the porcelain vessel and so sooty a lump of potter’s clay.” This was not the only thing that vexed Steavens, he noticed that the people there were rude, vulgar, and violent. He was specifically, disturbed by Merrick’s mother, “Steavens had never heard anything in the least like it; it was injured, emotional, dramatic abuse, unique and masterly in its excruciating cruelty, as violent and unrestrained as had been her grief of twenty minutes before.” The bust sculptor that Steavens recalls Merrick bringing home in the story, realizing then that it was of Merrick and his mother, who ignored his creativity and tried to stifle it. Steavens just couldn’t understand how his family could stifle something that was so beautiful in its nature. Steavens, of course, didn’t dare speak these thoughts aloud, “Upon whatever he had come in contact with, he had left a beautiful record of the experience—a sort of ethereal signature; a scent, a sound, a colour that was his own.” Laird and Steavens had frequent conversations throughout the story and they are extremely important to the theme of the story. Steavens having only known Merrick outside of his hometown, was confused at how wonderful he turned out. He expresses this when he said, “‘He was wonderful…wonderful; but until to-night I have never known how wonderful.” Laird replied immediately, understanding what Steavens meant, saying, “‘That is the true and eternal wonder of it, anyway; that it can come even from such a dung heap as this,’ the lawyer cried, with a sweeping gesture which seemed to indicate much more than the four walls within which they stood.” Laird, curious as to how Merrick turned out, asked Steavens, “‘Was he always a good deal of an oyster? He was terribly shy as a boy.’” Steavens response confirms the reader’s thoughts, how could a kid who grew up in such terrible conditions not have shyness like that about him. Steavens said, “‘although he could be very fond of people, he always gave one the impression of being detached. He disliked violent emotion; he was reflective, and rather distrustful of himself… He distrusted men pretty thoroughly and women even more, yet somehow without believing ill of them.” This was Steavens understood now the real tragedy of his master’s life; neither love nor wine, as many had conjectured; but a blow which had fallen earlier and cut deeper than these could have done—a shame not his, and yet so unescapably his, to hide in his heart from his very boyhood. And without—the frontier warfare; the yearning of a boy, cast ashore upon a desert of newness and ugliness and sordidness, for all that is chastened and old, and noble with traditions. Towards the end of the night, Laird overwhelmed with grief for his friend, had finally reached his end. He became angry at what these men had inevitably done to him and their “beloved” Merrick, whom they were ridiculing throughout the night. Laird said, “’I’ve been with you gentlemen before,” he began in a dry, even tone, “when you’ve sat by the coffins of boys born and raised in this town; and, if I remember rightly, you were never any too well satisfied when you checked them up. What’s the matter, anyhow? Why is it that reputable young men are as scarce as millionaires in Sand City? It might almost seem to a stranger that there was some way something the matter with your progressive town. Why did Ruben Sayer, the brightest young lawyer you ever turned out, after he had come home from the university as straight as a die, take to drinking and forge a check and shoot himself? I’ll tell you why. Because you drummed nothing but money and knavery into their ears from the time they wore knickerbockers; because you carped away at them as you’ve been carping here to-night, holding our friends Phelps and Elder up to them for their models, as our grandfathers held up George Washington and John Adams. But the boys, worse luck, were young, and raw at the business you put them to; and how could they match coppers with such artists as Phelps and Elder? You wanted them to be successful rascals; they were only unsuccessful ones—that’s all the difference.’” Merrick’s creative spirit overpowered his childhood oppression.
Steavens provided insight into this, saying that Merrick “‘was surefooted enough there [regarding his artwork]. He was determined, indeed, to believe the best, but he seemed afraid to investigate.’” Merrick’s fierce independence helped him power through his past with great discipline when it came to his art. Steavens shared his admirations for Merrick’s wonderful dedication to his work. Laird was so proud of Merrick for escaping the labyrinth that was their town. He yelled at the people at the funeral saying, “‘There was only one boy ever raised in this borderland between ruffianism and civilization who didn’t come to grief, and you hated Harvey Merrick more for winning out than you hated all the other boys who got under the wheels. Lord, Lord, how you did hate him!” It took a lot of bravery for Merrick to leave his town, his friends and family to pursue what he loved. This determination worked in his favor, as he became a famous sculptor mentioned in newspapers and magazines worldwide. Even with all his fame and confidence, he was quite humble and showed it up until his last breath, when he told Steavens about his town. Merrick told Steavens, “‘It’s not a pleasant place to be lying while the world is moving and doing and bettering,” he had said with a feeble smile, “but it rather seems as though we ought to go back to the place we came from in the end. The towns-people will come in for a look at me; and after they have had their say, I shan’t have much to fear from the judgment of God. The wings of the Victory, in there”—with a weak gesture toward his studio—“will not shelter
me.”
Mr. Bannister - one of the men of the town who admires Brady greatly. He is chosen to be on the jury because he does not know how to read.
There were many of artists and writers, who demonstrated symbolism and imagery within their work of art, set in nineteenth century New Mexico. Willa Cather and Georgia O’Keeffe were best known as an author and an artist in the nineteenth century. Willa Cather had a long memorable career writing novels, short stories, poems, and essay, and contributing to any newspapers, editor, and journals as writer. She travels at length to gather material for her narrative and characters, and was recognizable with and respect by many other popular writers in the nineteenth century. In one of her novel, “Death Comes for The Archbishop”, Willa Cather demonstrates her unique ability to show remarkably compound landscapes within delightfully expressive writing. She brilliantly includes symbolism and imagery to express lowest point of emotions that are generally applicable, while artfully portraying the victories or failures of her characters. Georgia O'Keeffe spending most of her summer in New Mexico, delighted by the desolate landscape and extensive atmosphere of the desert, would explore the subject of animal bones in her paintings while she in New Mexico. The flowers, she painted the bones puffed up and captured the stillness and isolation of them, while expressing a sense of beauty that lies within the desert. She explored the symbolize and imagery in her magnified paintings of flowers that attract people emotionally, although her purpose was to express that nature in all its beauty was as powerful as the extensive of the period. As an author, Willa Cather demonstrated a history of New Mexico through her writing. As an artist, Georgia O’Keeffe was using paint and canvas to verify the loveliness scene of New Mexico. Even though, Willa Cather and...
P. McMurphy. He was a con man who faked his insanity and was asigned to the mental ward. He was wild and did not listen to authority at all. The entire time he was at the asylum, he challenged Nurse Ratched's authority. I thought of him as some sort of an out-law.
In As I Lay Dying the Bundren family faces many hardships dealing with death and physical nature. Nature plays a major role in moving Faulkner’s story. Nature takes a toll on the family in their time of despair of losing a loved one. They are challenged by human nature and the nature of the elements. Throughout the story the family overcomes the human nature of emotions and the nature of the weather. They face nature in the most peculiar ways, like a flood that keeps them from crossing, the decaying body of Addie, and how they all grieve over the death of Addie; Dewey Dell said, “I heard that my mother is dead. I wish I had time to let her die. I wish I had time to wish I had” (Faulkner 110). The forces of nature compete with the Burden family.
As Lindsay Wagner once said, “When we shift our perception, our experience changes.” (Lindsay Wagner) Similarly, in the “The Funeral” by Gordon Parks, the speaker matures, realizing the beauteous environment he once saw is nothing more than a couple streams, hills, and dirt roads. As a child, he remembers being in awe while looking upon the stunning world around him. He saw everything through an elegant eye valuing it almost more than life itself. However, when the speaker returns home “after many snows,” (Parks, line 1) his surroundings didn’t have nearly the same effect on him. The magical place that brings elation to his childhood no longer exists. In its place, the speaker now sees gently trickling streams where raging rivers once were,
From the short story “The Dead”, Gabriel the character shows us how his point of view of a certain thing is seen. His wife has passed away and his attitude in the story is well seen as neutral.
In some stories, symbolism can play a significant role in coming to understand the overall moral of the story. One of the best examples of this is found in Raymond Carver's “Cathedral”. This story centers around the theme of the differences between physically looking at something, and truly seeing it. In the final section of the story Carver gives his readers a wonderful example of symbolism as the readers discover along with the narrator, that seeing something through understanding can be much more powerful than the physical sense of the word.
Common among classic literature, the theme of mortality engages readers on a quest of coping with one of the certainties of life. Katherine Anne Porter masterfully embraces the theme of mortality both directly and indirectly in her story, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Understanding that all mankind ultimately becomes subject to death unleashes feelings of dread and anxiety in most people; however, Granny Weatherall transitions from rushing to meet her demise in her sixties to completely denying she is on her deathbed when she is eighty. Readers have seen this theme of mortality reverberated over and over in literature, but what makes this story stand the test of time is the author’s complexity. In Katherine Anne Porter’s
In this group of authors, the writers use their own unique personalities. They added into their writing the parts of their lives that has influenced them the most. Grouping the authors together hardly seems relevant, at least not all of them. Kate Chopin, Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman, Robert Frost, and Edwin Arlington Robinson all experienced death within his or her personal lives. Whether it was his or her parents or his or her spouse, this in some ways, showed in their writings.
The short story, “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and the painting, by Ground Swell by Edward Hopper are similar in certain aspects, even though they take place in different settings. There is major conflict in each piece of art that creates a confusion in the tone.
Overall, the cathedral that the narrator draws with Robert represents true sight, the ability to see beyond the surface to the true meaning that lies within. The husband’s insecurities makes him emotionally blind. His inability to see past Robert’s disability ultimately prevents him from seeing the reality of any relationship or person in the story. The husband becomes more sensitive and accepts the moment of being blind has allowed him to become a better man. Finally, the cathedral drawing ironically reveals blindness to be an important factor. As a result, Carver gives interesting lessons to powerfully assess how we can find beauty and free ourselves from prejudgments and see the real world with our minds, not only our eyes.
Gabriel García Márquez, a Colombian author who specializes upon story themes exchanging realistic events with elements of the impossible, magical realism. In the circumstances and environment in which he was raised, his influences derived upon tales of a superstitious reality, stories involving unexplainable elements. Márquez, born in the late 1920s, eldest of twelve children, developed under the care of his maternal grandparents. As a child, his grandmother provided him with the knowledge and exposed him the the world of magical realism in stories with her stylistic, straightforward spoken word. His inspirations and views revolves around the culture and environment around him, as his background and knowledge
The Theme of Death in Poetry Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson are two Modern American Poets who consistently wrote about the theme of death. While there are some comparisons between the two poets, when it comes to death as a theme, their writing styles were quite different. Robert Frost’s poem, “Home Burial,” and Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I felt a Funeral in my Brain,” and “I died for Beauty,” are three poems concerning death. While the theme is constant there are differences as well as similarities between the poets and their poems. The obvious comparison between the three poems is the theme of death.
Although, I find the ending somewhat predictable, I would use Gordimer’s short story, “A Beneficiary,” to highlight how the author uses figurative language and rhetorical devices to develop characterization. Not only did I enjoy examining the protagonist’s journey to enlightenment, I also appreciated studying how Gordimer utilizes certain figures and strategic devices to bring the deceased mother to life. For instance, Charlotte notes that her mother, Laila “had baptized herself professionally” as an actress since she lied about her age, her name, and her marriage (568), suggesting that she worshipped the superficial and the artificial just like her career. This concept is reinforced as Charlotte and her friends clean out Laila’s apartment and one her carries on about “the
Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden is a short poem that illustrates the emotions that he is dealing with after the love of his life passes away. The tone of this piece evokes feelings that will differ depending on the reader; therefore, the meaning of this poem is not in any way one-dimensional, resulting in inevitable ambiguity . In order to evoke emotion from his audience, Auden uses a series of different poetic devices to express the sadness and despair of losing a loved one. This poem isn’t necessarily about finding meaning or coming to some overwhelming realization, but rather about feeling emotions and understanding the pain that the speaker is experiencing. Through the use of poetic devices such as an elegy, hyperboles, imagery, metaphors, and alliterations as well as end-rhyme, Auden has created a powerful poem that accurately depicts the emotions a person will often feel when the love of their live has passed away.