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Early american literary themes
Early american literary themes
Early american literary themes
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Themes are a huge part in any novel. In The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells he uses many themes in the novel which he expresses through the actions of the characters. In the novel, a business story dominates a secondary love triangle. Silas Lapham earns a fortune in the paint business through opportunism, greed, and driving ambition. He wants his daughter to marry into the high class Corey family to gain the high social status the backwoods Laphams have never attained. Silas' conduct in managing his business and Irene's love affair are based on the same materialistic set of values which draw the two stories together. In the Novel, The Rise of Silas Lapham, the author William Dean Howells uses themes to develop the characters with both Silas and Irene.
Through the character of Silas, Howells illustrates the themes of affluence, ambition, rise/fall as Silas undergoes challenges with social standings throughout the novel. One would think that as a result of Silas’ huge fortune attained through his work in the paint business, that he would rank high in the social standings. However, in giving the reader a clearer sense of the Lapham’s wealth, Howells states, “They went upon journeys, and lavished upon cars and hotels; they gave with both hands to their church and to all the charities it brought them acquainted with; but they did not know how to spend on society” (pg. 25). Howell’s parallel structure in repeating “they” followed with a distinct action- evidenced through the words went, lavished, and gave— emphasizes and builds momentum to the contrast seen in the phrase “they did not know” in referring to their inability to connect with society. Due to Silas’ extreme wealth in addition to his exceedingly strong desire to ...
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...g to their pride than the idea that Lapham should not have been able to do everything for his daughter that the Coreys might have expected.” (pg.307-8). Nevertheless, because Irene’s moral renewal, she recovers from her downfall to rise again. Therefore, through the themes of hope, marriage, and rise/fall, Howell is able to display Irene’s journey as she experiences hope and rise and falling.
The author, William Dean Howell, writes the themes in The Rise of Silas Lapham to develop the characters with both Silas and Irene. So overall the author uses themes throughout the book to express the characters. Both the characters Irene and Silas are parallel with each other and both express themes in the novel through their actions. The big idea is that both Silas and Irene were developed as their own characters but also came together at the end and helped each other.
In William Dean Howells’ novel, The Rise of Silas Lapham Silas is a very greedy selfish person who does not care about anything except climbing the social ladder. He has false social aspirations and his lust for power help his business to flourish as he rips people off and steels people’s money. As Silas begins to get higher and higher on the social ladder he begins to realize that his dreams are empty and have no real value as he achieves them. His greed and selfishness then come back to haunt him causing him to feel pain over things that he had done and while trying to rectify his wrongs he goes too far and fails his business. Silas Lapham’s character shift from selfish greed to honest unselfishness caused the collapse of his business and the loss of his money.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby recounts a love story of fortune, sacrifice, and passion. Mystified by the foreign land of excessive capital and immense material possessions, the narrator, Nick Carraway, judges or exalts numerous inhabitants of the East and West Eggs, especially Jay Gatsby, whose mystery and secrecy attracts many. Although it seems like Mr. Carraway obsesses about Gatsby, strictly, for his wealth, a careful look at craft choices and his characterization reveals that Jay Gatsby captivates Nick because he is one of the only characters, who, unclouded by prosperity, recognizes his own fascination with money.
To conclude, by creating distinct class structures between the traditional upper class, new wealth, and the poor in The Great Gatsby, it is shown that the desire to maintain or change socio-economic status leads to immoral behaviours and corruption. The competing desires of the emerging class structure in The Great Gatsby cause destruction and loss of vitality to ensue. This eventually leads to immoral activities such as Gatsby’s bootlegging and murder, Wilson’s suicide, and the death of Myrtle. Fitzgerald warns with the emergence of punitive class structures and roles, unethical behaviour will fester which could lead to a polarized society if left unbalanced.
Wilson and Mrs. Wilson, reside in the Valley of Ashes, home of the literal “foul dust [that] floated in the wake of [Gatsby’s] dreams.” (2) The Valley of Ashes, besides hosting the dust that sullies Gatsby’s ability to chase Daisy, also contains the waste products of the high paced society on either side of the valley. Mr. Wilson’s livelihood depends on his business, which supports itself on the remains of the rich. Tom dangles a car in front of Wilson, promising to sell it, someday. Wilson needs the money from the car “to get away… to go West” alongside his wife. In spite of all that Mr. Wilson does to please his wife out of love, Mrs. Wilson has other ideas, calling him “[unfit] to lick my shoe.” (34) Like Daisy, Mrs. Wilson chooses to subjugate herself to the richest man possible, to acquire wealth. Apparently, the lower classes pines for wealth, believing that it will bring happiness. One example of such comes from Gatsby’s father, who comes to take excessive pride in Gatsby, using the wealth that Gatsby acquired as the core of his self-esteem. In fact, Mr. Gatz doesn’t appear to feel the least bit depressed by his child’s death, and instead flaunts Gatsby’s wealth, especially the mansion, in order to impress Nick. Like Mr. Gatsby as a boy, who maintained a rigorous schedule of study and work always having “some resolves like this or something” (173), Wilson also cannot get ahead despite ten years of hard labor for his business. Mrs.
Wealth can be a noble thing or a dangerous thing, depending on who does what with it. In The Great Gatsby, the wealth of Jay Gatsby was used for a multitude of reasons, the main one being to get the attention of Daisy. In contrast, the Joad family’s wealth, in The Grapes of Wrath, was staying together throughout the loses and hardships. One of the aims of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was to show how money and materialism could change a person again and again until they were hardly the same person anymore. In comparing their work it is clear that Fitzgerald and Steinbeck felt that materialism changed people for the worse. While both of their novels deal with wealth and poverty, each novel conveys its message from a very different perspective-
themes. One that stuck out to me is Fitzgerald expressing how the idea of true love is just a
Last of all, in the end of the novel, Irene’s loyalty snapped. Irene, Clare, and Brian were attending a party(hosted by African Americans), when Jack showed up. Jack was now aware of Clare’s race and was furious. Clare, on the other hand, remained calm during the confrontation. The calmness drove Irene over the edge, resulting in her pushing Clare out the window she was standing near. Irene expressed, “One moment Clare had been there, a vital glowing thing, like a flame of red and gold. The next she was gone.”(Larsen,111). Irene realized, when Jack showed up, that Clare might end her relationship with Jack, and Irene feared that. She feared that if Clare left Jack, then she might take Brian away from her. That fear made her forget her loyalty
Gatsby’s wealth did not bring him happiness nor did it bring him Daisy. Gatsby was so devoted to his love for Daisy that when she ran over her husband’s mistress, he took the blame. It was that last act of gallantry that cost him his life. In a mad rage the husband of the woman Daisy ran down killed Gatsby. It was only then that the truth that Gatsby’s new life was superficial came to light. His so called friends were users. His love affair a farce. Instead of staying by his side Daisy returned to her husband. None of the hundreds of people who came to his parties ventured to his funeral. Not even his partner in crime, Meyer Wolfsheim, cared about him in the end. He was no longer of value to any of
After an unfortunate series of events that shaped Silas into a withdrawn and jaded soul, he cannot trust anyone or anything beyond the guineas in front of him. For example, Silas conducts day-by-day activities "in solitude . . . [and] his life [is] reduced to the mere functions of weaving and hoarding." These menial tasks engage Silas' mind and keep him from thinking about his troubles and worries. In addition, by placing value on money and weaving, he convinces himself that there is little time to "[seek] man or woman, save for the purposes of his calling or in order to supply himself with necessaries." As a result of his hermit-like behavior, Silas becomes a lonely and depressed outcast of his community. Moreover, Silas judges his happiness by "his guineas rising in the iron pot, [while] his life narrow[s] and harden[s] itself more and more into a mere pulsation of desire and satisfaction." This cycle thrusts him further into an impenetrable state of mind that will seemingly be his downfall if he continues in this manner. Fortunately for Silas, a life-changing event causes him to reevaluate his miserly goals and aspirations.
Irene is an ambitious oriented professional with strong people skills and the ability to learn new concepts quickly. She has been a stay at home mom for the past two and half years but is excited to reenter the workforce with a company where she can call home. Irene owned her own business prior to moving to Portland where she managed the day to day budget, forecasting, payroll, collections, accounts payable, accounts receivable, as well as resolving any customer concerns or issues. In 2013, Irene relocated to the Portland area where she married and they began a new family.
Much like in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, society treats views and treats people with money differently than those without it. For example, Tom and Daisy get away with the death of Tom’s mistress because of their wealth “His family was enormously wealthy – even in collage his freedom with money was a matter for reproach” (Fitzgerald,23). Further the reason that Daisy had not married Gatsby all those years ago was because he was poor, it was not until he had an enormous house and lots of money “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me” (Fitzgerald ,367). It was not until Gatsby became wealthy did Daisy want to marry him “After she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house” (Fitzgerald, 311). Moreover, Gatsby’s own personal success was based on how Daisy perceived his house “He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well loved eyes.” (Fitzgerald, 260). Critic Karielle Stephanie Gam agrees with this view of success “His wealth is never cloaked; from the mansion, to the weekly parties, to the countless dress shirts and expensive cars, it is evident that Gatsby is rich as sin and is initially, though his inclusion in the nouveau riche, the epitome of the American dream.” (Karielle Stephanie
...rom the elite rich, who possess old money. Tom also claims that Gatsby “threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s”, (142) and can be said to be using his false wealth to mislead and confuse Daisy and Nick into thinking he is someone of their standards, which shows that Gatsby is not recognised as one of their class. This undercuts the glamorous wealth associated with Gatsby, and the ideal of equality in the American Dream.
Social class and status is also emphasized through the barrier that exists between East Egg and West Egg which symbolises “old money” and “new money” effectively, and the corruption of morals as witnessed and expressed by the narration of Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald shows that for all the lavishness of society there is ultimately unfulfilled dreams, corruption and separation, and in the case of Gatsby a tragic end to a tragic hero of the lower class.
I don't know why some people calling Irene is fake. I dont think she's fake, she just shy or have timid personality, Irene is beautiful and she's bae , so please stop calling her fake.
For an abundance of authors, the driving force that aids them in creation of a novel is the theme or number of themes implemented throughout the novel. Often times the author doesn’t consciously identify the theme they’re trying to present. Usually a theme is a concept, principle or belief that is significant to an author. Not only does the theme create the backbone of the story, but it also guides the author by controlling the events that happen in a story, what emotions are dispersed, what are the actions of characters, and what emotions are presented within each environment to engage the readers in many