A perfect life can change for the worst in an instant. In The Old Bird, A Love Story by J. F. Powers, Mr. Newman is an old man who has recently lost his job, and is forced to give up his white-collar life for a strenuous labor intensive job. Throughout the story, he meets certain individuals who make a difference in his new lifestyle. Due to changes in his life, he becomes a changed man physically and mentally. The first evidence of a throwback to his old life is his first conversation with the information worker. Wanting to be employed, he resorts to applying for low level jobs. When asking for an application, he states, “Got an application there for a retired millionaire?” The information girl knew what he was after and was already on a personal basis with him due to the friendliness towards one another. This statement is not made out of spite, but rather as a sentimental anecdote about his old life. The author in the beginning of the story is being sympathetic for Mr. Newman, considering he has been unemployed. This sentimentality continues on with his interviewer later on with Mr. Shanahan. …show more content…
Mr.
Shanahan was the person who was receiving and looking over the applications for the job. He was a proud and courteous individual, who wasted no time. When Mr. Newman gave him his application, J. F. Powers added in that he “surrendered his well-loved white collar.” Mr. Shanahan asked for Mr. Newman to start his job right then as a test since Mr. Newman was so old compared to his peers. Powers had sympathy while being sentimental for the poor old man, with examples that remind the reader about his office job that he retained until being unemployed. He is now turning in his white collar for a blue collar, which represents manual
labor. The only person that understood Mr Newman and read him like a book was his own wife, Mrs. Newman. She was able to deal with his outbursts and his fits. She changed her strategy to be passively aggressive to combat his rudeness, and it calmed him down. Mrs. Newman was his only comfort in the world that he could confide in his troubles. She was the only audience he had, as there would be no more people looking up to him considering he has a blue collar job at a line firm. This is also the only place where Powers does not show sympathy towards Mr. Newman, as she shows no remorse or feeling towards his situation. She supports him in whatever he does, whether it is a high paying job or a low paying job. Mr. Newman accepted his surrender. In this story by J. F. Powers, Mr. Newman goes from the top of the hierarchy to the very bottom in a quick series of events. While being apprehensive about his new life, he endures it with the help of his wife, who is supportive with whatever his endeavors bring the family. His unemployment only brought hurt to himself, and brought out his other side, relatable to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby explore the themes of trauma and redemption through the creators unsystematic stories. Traumatic events and it’s effects on both protagonists are the main focus of the texts. Sant’s troubled genius, Will Hunting has difficulties connecting with individuals due to a history of emotional abuse. Fitzgerald’s famous romantic comes in the form of, Jay Gatsby, a financially successful man that has difficulties moving on from his former lover, Daisy. Both Jay and Will are on the path to self actualisation. Equally notable is the negative effects of the past on their personal lives and the different methods each character takes to overcome these experiences and grow. The creators
The story describes the protagonist who is coming of age as torn between the two worlds which he loves equally, represented by his mother and his father. He is now mature and is reflecting on his life and the difficulty of his childhood as a fisherman. Despite becoming a university professor and achieving his father’s dream, he feels lonely and regretful since, “No one waits at the base of the stairs and no boat rides restlessly in the waters of the pier” (MacLeod 261). Like his father, the narrator thinks about what his life could have been like if he had chosen another path. Now, with the wisdom and experience that comes from aging and the passing of time, he is trying to make sense of his own life and accept that he could not please everyone. The turmoil in his mind makes the narrator say, “I wished that the two things I loved so dearly did not exclude each other in a manner that was so blunt and too clear” (MacLeod 273). Once a decision is made, it is sometimes better to leave the past and focus on the present and future. The memories of the narrator’s family, the boat and the rural community in which he spent the beginning of his life made the narrator the person who he is today, but it is just a part of him, and should not consume his present.
In ‘Paul’s Case’ Paul has created a fantasy world in which he becomes entranced, even to the point of lying to classmates about the tales of grandeur and close friendships that he had made with the members of the stock company. This fantasy falls apart around him as “the principle went to Paul’s father, and Paul was taken out of school and put to work. The manager at Carnegie Hall was told to get another usher in his stead; the doorkeeper at the theater was warned not to admit him to the house” (Cather 8). The fantasy fell apart further when the stories he had told his classmates reached the ears of the women of the stock company, who unlike their lavish descriptions from Paul were actually hardworking women supporting their families. Unable to cope with the reality of working for Denny & Carson, he stole the money he was supposed to deposit in the bank to live the life of luxury in New York. Only a person who felt backed into a corner would attempt something so unsound. After his eight days in paradise, he is again backed into a corner by the reality of his middle class upbringing, and the dwindling time he has before his father reaches New York to find him. The final way out for Paul is his suicide, for which an explanation would be “In the end, he fails to find his security, for it was his grandiose “picture making mechanism” that made his life so deardful.” (Saari). With all the securities of his fantasy life finally gone, his mental instability fully comes to light as he jumps in front of the train to end his
An imposing character in A Bird in the House, Grandfather Timothy Connor’s power over his household is also a sign of his weakness. The house that he built is “part dwelling place and part massive monument” (Margaret Laurence 3). Grandfather Connor, a pioneer in Manawaka, is a monument himself and is often associated with his architectural feat. The title of Margaret Laurence’s novel is A Bird in the House; Grandfather Connor is the house that both shelters and entraps the people – especially the women – in his life with his actions. With a stranglehold on his household, Grandfather seems to fit into the traditional male role as the authoritarian but is plagued by guilt and loneliness. He uses his anger as a shield and a mask; he “demands strength because he is afraid of weakness” (Jon Kertzer 43). Early in his marriage, Grandfather Connor had an affair with a girl in Winnipeg but his wife Agnes “never told him she’d considered leaving him” (Laurence 85). This places Agnes in a position of higher power: she is virtuous, and Timothy knows that she may be too good for him. As Uncle Terence remarks: “Another person’s virtues could be an awful weight to tote around. We all loved her. Whoever loved him?” (86). Because his family loves Agnes and will happily obey her, Timothy attempts to reassert his power by being strict and demanding.
Even when Jim is in this awful war-stricken place, one thing that he can still find comfort in, and which reminds him of his peaceful home is the birds, which are everywhere, still living their lives unaffected by mans war. This shows how nature is unaltered by mans cruel antics against other man, and how life and nature must, and will go on through all circumstances.
With the use of flowery language the Agent glorifies and propagates the factory work in order to convince the family that they should feel honored that he has decided to recruit their daughter; “We are recruiting only the most skillful and loyal mill workers, [...] not
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, portrays the hard–done-by life of two California labours, who form an unlikely bond and cling together in the face of alienation. The Novel exhibits the idea of the thirst for companionship when cast into the abyss of loneliness, while unveiling the horrors and strife that the labours of the south endured during the 1930’s. Throughout the plot, one of the protagonist, George, continuously carries through with several decisions that define him as a character and subsequently, as a human being. For example, at the beginning of the story, Geo...
“The Great Gatsby” and “The Love Song for J. Alfred Prufrock” are two pieces of writing written in the 1920’s. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald and T.S Elliot were able to express the overwhelming force of the most powerful human emotion. Although the two eponymous characters seem vastly different from each other in, it can be seen when analyzed in greater depth that the two hold more similarities than differences. Both Prufrock and Gatsby live more in their own minds than the actual world. This causes them to become isolated from other people and become captives by their own illusions. Both men will eventually allow love and fear to corrupt their lives and lead them to make decisions which will ultimately bring about their demise.
The Scarlet Ibis is a tragic short story written by James Hurst. This heartfelt piece of literature takes place mainly in Old Woman Swamp. A place that was surrounded by a cotton field, rubber grass and various wild flowers. The narrator who is referred to as Brother, wants to teach his invald little brother, whom he named Doodle, how to perform normal everyday tasks that started with walking. Doodle was very dependant, but loved his brother and would try anything he asked just so he would accept him. The brother, by his own admission would push Doodle beyond what he should have, knowing there was a list of don'ts because of his unhealthy condition. This was done as a selfish act for his own reasons, which included his pride. This put great stress on Doodle’s tender body and made it grow increasing weak throughout time. One day while the family was eating lunch a tropical bird from South America called a Scarlet Ibis made its way to their home during a tropical storm that had recently passed through inland. It was badly wounded very sick. As it tried to fly away, its weak wings fluttered, gave way and it fell to its death. After lunch, the boys went back out and continued to work on the regimen that Brother had prepared for Doodle. The day was very long and grueling for Doodle, as Brother made him row the oars of the boat against the tide. Suddenly a storm started to move in and they headed back as fast as they could towards home, racing against the storm. Fear of being left behind, Doodle was pushing himself hard to keep up with his brother even though he was very weak. Trying to beat the rain, Brother began to run. Doodle cried out for his brother not to leave him behind, however he ignored him and kept running even f...
A transformation took place during the story and it is evident through the narrator?s character. In the beginning he was lacking in compassion, he was narrow minded, he was detached, he was jealous, and he was bitter. Carver used carefully chosen words to illustrate the narrator?s character and the change. Throughout the story his character undergoes a transformation into a more emotionally aware human being.
The couple in the story is a couple that has been together a long time and persevered through life together. When they first see the whooping cranes the husband says “they are rare, not many left” (196). This is the point in the story where the first connection between the couple and the cranes are made. The rarity of the cranes symbolizes the rarity of the couple’s relationship. Although they have started developing anomalies in their health, with the husband he “can’t smoke, can’t drink martinis, no coffee, no candy” (197) ¬—they are still able to laugh with each other and appreciate nature’s beauty. Their relationship is a true oddity; filled with lasting love. However this lasting love for whooping cranes has caused some problems for the species. The whooping cranes are “almost extinct”; this reveals a problem of the couple. The rare love that they have is almost extinct as well. The wife worries about her children because the “kids never write” (197). This reveals the communication gap between the two generations, as well as the different values between the generations. These different values are a factor into the extinction of true love.
Embedded within the syntax of “The Company Man”, Ellen Goodman uses syntax to create a nostalgic tone. Between her combination of tactical dashes and specific details, the columnist manages to fabricate a tone that signals remembrance and passive aggression towards Phil. The manner that Ellen describes Phil in, with phrases including how he “worked himself to death” and putting quotes around “dearly beloved” as if he didn’t actually love his children is very passive aggressive. Ellen recalls Phil in such a descriptive tone, writing how he’s, “overweight by 20 or 25 pounds” and knowing about his “golf outings” as work for him is proving her negative nostalgia.
Jay Gatsby, the central figure of the story, is one character who longs for the past. Surprisingly he devotes most of his adult life trying to recapture it and, finally, dies in its pursuit. In the past, Jay had a love affair with the affluent Daisy. Knowing he could not marry her because of the difference in their social status, he leaves her to amass wealth to reach her economic standards. Once he acquires this wealth, he moves near to Daisy and buys a house there across the bay, and throws extravagant parties, hoping by chance she might show up at one of them. He, himself, does not attend his parties but watches them from a distance. Gatsby's personal dream symbolizes the larger American Dream where all have the opportunity to get what they want.
This old man and woman had been together for quite a while. They had been through thick and then. After the crash, they had been admitted to the hospital at which Mel works at, and they were given a less than likely chance of pulling through. Despite the odds, both of them pulled through, but the old man became depressed (Carver 157). The old man confides in Mel, telling him that he was depressed "because he couldn 't see [his wife] through his eye-holes." Mel continues, " '[T]he man 's heart was breaking because he couldn 't turn his goddamn head and see his goddamn wife." (Carver 158). These two old geezers have true love. They cannot live without one another, for they have true
In order to condemn Gatsby, Fitzgerald guides the reader to discern the idea that the characters of the story are unable to find happiness from reinvention and money because the only way to find true happiness is to look to their past. By including the failure of money and reinvention in the life of Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald is able to effectively paint a clear picture that happiness does indeed come from the past. Although the past no longer exists, it is capable of providing lessons to further peoples present and future lives.