Compare and contrast the two stories by R.K. Narayan. Which story do you prefer and why?
In all the stories and authors featured in "Global Tales", R.K. Narayan is the most respected and well-known author. From the short description of him at the end of the book, he created a space for himself called "Malgudi" and developed his own characters, like a puppet master making his own puppets from cloth and giving them life when he does the show. His stories are universal, probably because the themes and characters of the stories are easy to identify with. He should be ninety-seven this year (year 2000). From what I know, his other books include " Malgudi Days", where " An Astrologer’s Day" is taken from.
Narayan is a very observant man, sharp and sarcastic at the same time. His sarcasm become humour and it is not very obvious sometimes. We have to read between the lines to catch the joke. He is very descriptive in his writing and his world comes alive with the mood through the informative and colourful description, the characteristics and the internal thinkings of the characters, the suspense and the dialogues used. I especially admire the way he brings the story to a close, not too dramatic, yet satisfactory. Some writers often leave an unfinished ending where it is up to the reader to decide, treating this as their style and adding a sense of mystery to the story. However, these are sometimes the most horrible kind of ending, not only irritating, but also annoying. The ending is the element that wraps up the whole story, yet the writer left it out, like a jigsaw piece went missing. It is not a complete piece of writing. Lastly, I find R.K. Narayan to be naughty at times, from the way he phrased his sentence, and the sarcasm, but we like it.
In " An Astrologer’s Day", an astrologer meets a stranger and tells his fortune. Surprisingly, the "fake" astrologer managed to tell what was true for the stranger. Then, it is only when the astrologer reveals his secret, did we know how his "magic" worked.
We are brought into the world of the streets of India where there is little lighting but "a bewildering cris-cross of light rays and moving shadows". The in-depth description gives us the setting, which can be seen in our minds. Not
The author illustrates the “dim, rundown apartment complex,” she walks in, hand and hand with her girlfriend. Using the terms “dim,” and “rundown” portrays the apartment complex as an unsafe, unclean environment; such an environment augments the violence the author anticipates. Continuing to develop a perilous backdrop for the narrative, the author describes the night sky “as the perfect glow that surrounded [them] moments before faded into dark blues and blacks, silently watching.” Descriptions of the dark, watching sky expand upon the eerie setting of the apartment complex by using personification to give the sky a looming, ominous quality. Such a foreboding sky, as well as the dingy apartment complex portrayed by the author, amplify the narrator’s fear of violence due to her sexuality and drive her terror throughout the climax of the
Both stories are one of a kind and deserve to be read. They share both common and uncommon ideas, but in the end, both are nice.
Both stories were insightful about the harsh reality of war. They give the reader a view of war. The pieces are filled with visuals and symbolism. I recommend to all readers. Has a true message in both works.
both stories shared similar ending and moral which is receiving enlightenment in first hand. "The
The fabled American novels Walden and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin present two drastically different versions of successful lives. The past focuses on spiritual enlightenment, focused introspective, and the joys of isolated thought; the latter praises the Protestant work ethic, the ability to weather misfortune and continue working in set professions towards a future of wealth and comfort. While they differ entirely in their methods, both Henry David Thoreau and Benjamin Franklin and their individual books argue that people have complete mastery over themselves but differ on the implications of that belief.
Alfonso Arau has bathed his film in a mixture of a visual glow and a darkness not only to show us the differences in setting and characters, but to show us passions and repressions. Strong passions produce sparks and fire, despair is bathed in darkness. Arau also uses lighting to just enhance the beauty of the film. The night scenes are candlelit and have a certain glow. The day scenes are inside the houses have natural light pouring in through windows and cracks giving the film a beautiful look almost as if we were looking through the windows of the character’s souls.
Instead of helping, the public housing programs further concentrated the African-American community and “those who remained in the ghetto tended to become more distant” (Anderson), having access to an adequate education, resources required to obtain jobs, and also lacking protection under the law as violence grew daily amongst its inhabitants. Since “Socialization is the way in which people learn the norms and values found in their society, develop social skills, and participate in societal roles that will be continued throughout their lifetime” (Koepke)the “economic and social isolation emerged from the ghetto” (Hart)and in a sense cut its members off from the “real”
presence (Tablet I: 30-38). In addition, he emerges more divine than human (Tablet I: 50)
Adversity is commonplace for black youth in the inner city. In Patterson’s The Cultural Matrix, there are a plethora of examples that express these various facets of hardship and differentiate the institutional blockades from the cultural obstacles.
Throughout this unit, country and story have both played an important part in my development and understanding on Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.
The repetition of the word "blind" introduces the theme of light and darkness. The streets of Dublin are described as "being blind"(2236) suggesting they do not lead anywhere. The houses are personified as being sombre and having "brown imperturbable faces"(2236), creating the shift from a literal setting to a state of mind. The streets remain silent until the boys are set free from school (2236), comparing the school to a prison: mundane and repetitive, and comparing their departure from school to a type of liberation for the children.... ...
When asked the question, “what is world literature,” the typical response you get from people (mostly students) is, world literature is this boring college course in which students are forced to take, as it is a requirement for everyone’s education and is about what some dead guys wrote centuries ago. However, I personally do not have that same response because world literature is much more than that. In actuality, yes, world literature is composed of tremendous works of literature throughout the world that will forever be pasted down and learned from, although, it is much more important and serves as a bigger purpose. This purpose is to enlighten today’s society on how the world once was, making world literature important for three main reasons.
During this specific night, an army of mysterious, murky clouds seized control of divine sky, devouring the sun. Favored by the troops, the moon, displaying its glorious luminescence upon a shadowy city, wins a triumphant victory over the sun. A ferocious leader of the army activates the withdrawal then leads dedicated soldiers to west as if they are tracking down a wild dog. On the other hand, the city transmits its vivid and righteous illuminations back to the sky to let people in the “second floor” know that “era of tranquility” began. Imagine the astonishing night, rigid and bright buildings lie elegantly on the moonlight sky, bring lights gaze from the thousands of bulbs. It is beautiful, yet no one knows what beauty is upon them.
The Guide, a novel by R.K. Narayan is rooted in everyday, down-to-earth characters in which he believes depicts the Indian way of life. This Bildungsroman novel is told in chronological manner with two stories in one plot. It reflects upon Raju’s life since he was a little boy to the present day. Set in Narayan’s fictional town, Malgudi, Raju tells the story of his past in the first person narration while his experience as a swami is told in the third person narration.