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The role of imagination in literature
Analysis of the short story Birthday Party by Katherine Brush
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In the short story “Birthday Party” by Katherine Bush, Bush uses an intriguing effect of observation and imagination. The purpose of writing the essay is for the audience to imagine themselves being the “us” that sits on the opposite side of the “little narrow restaurant.” Bush begins her story by introducing the audience to the characters and setting. She writes, “the man had a round, self-satisfied face, with glasses on it” while “the woman was fadingly poetry.” Bush’s use of the imagery vividly allows her audience understand the characters and setting. In addition, Bush adds more detail that reveals builds the plot:”when it suddenly became obvious that this was an occasion-In fact, the husband’s party, and the wife had planned a little
The meal, and more specifically the concept of the family meal, has traditional connotations of comfort and togetherness. As shown in three of Faulkner’s short stories in “The Country”, disruptions in the life of the family are often reinforced in the plot of the story by disruptions in the meal.
Katherine Brush utilizes diction and atmosphere to convey the mood’s shift throughout the story. Her choice of words and the aura they create demonstrate the transition from a seemingly jovial occasion, to a tense and uncomfortable reaction. “The Birthday Party” takes a seemingly normal couple and uncovers the troubles that lay just beneath the surface.
In her short story, "The Birthday Party", Katharine Brush depicts the cruelty that many people in this world so curtly reveal. Through her use of imagery, diction, and point of view she is able to send this message across to her audience.
He incorporates parallelism in his statement that “we have important work to do – real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, real security matters to face”, through the consistent use and placement of the word ‘real’. He uses this to express the real danger that our country is in, and that we need not to be focusing our attention on his act of adultery, but rather to the national security. He also uses irony in this statement, as the issues with the President and how trustworthy he is become present before issues like foreign affairs surface, and with the now-present, untrusting nature of the American populace, Clinton will have a hard time regaining their trust to handle such large scale issues. President Clinton then incorporates his last tone shift, where he shifts from being annoyed to wanting everyone who is listening to him to be dismissive of the affair and to forget what happened. Here, he asserts that he believes it would be best if everyone involved would act as if it never took place. He does not use this solely for the purpose of national security reasons, but primarily to clear his name, in hopes that if he is no longer gossiped about, the issue will be
In Mara Sapon-Shevin’s short story, Widening the Circle, she uses the dinner party scenario on how she can use inclusion and make sure each person is accommodated
In two passages of Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, she describes a party at 124. Everyone become so full from the food that flows endlessly that they become angry at Baby Suggs extravagance. Baby Suggs thinks it was this overfullness that caused them all to not notice the coming of Schoolteacher and his sons. The narrator of one passage is Stamp Paid and he recounts to Paul D. what happened at the party – what they ate and how it made everyone feel.
There are three major events that the rhetor, Bush, talks about throughout the course of the speech. In addition to major events, Bush also includes minor stories which, according to Foss, are known as “satellites” (p. 313). These satellites, while not essential to the rhetoric in terms of purpose and content, are important because they elaborate and complete the main event, also known as the “kernel”, of the narrative (p. 313). These are used by the rhetor, President George W. Bush, in order to form a connection with the
Most of us can easily picture a typical child's party, loud and hyper boys running about, noise and fun and screaming kids and chaos, but this party seems to be viewed differently by the mother. It is a more serious and quiet event. She sees the boys as "short men" gathering in the living room, not as children having fun. The children seems subdued to us, with "hands in pockets". It is almost as if they are waiting, as the readers are, for something of imp...
The husband was also selfish in his actions. With good intentions, the wife had planned a surprise for him, but he was not pleased. “Instead, he was hotly embarrassed, and indignant at his wife for embarrassing him” (13). When the narrator describes the husband at the beginning, he has a “self-satisfied face” (3). Embarrassment is a result of feeling self-conscious. Because of his self-conscious nature, he assesses first how the few people in the restaurant will view him because of his wife’s actions. He does not prioritize appreciation for his wife’s effort and care, but rather sees the worst in her misguided actions. The husband’s selfishness causes him to be prideful, which in turn causes him to destroy his relationship with his wife through his actions.
In the story “Two Kinds”, the author, Amy Tan, intends to make reader think of the meaning behind the story. She doesn’t speak out as an analyzer to illustrate what is the real problem between her and her mother. Instead, she uses her own point of view as a narrator to state what she has experienced and what she feels in her mind all along the story. She has not judged what is right or wrong based on her opinion. Instead of giving instruction of how to solve a family issue, the author chooses to write a narrative diary containing her true feeling toward events during her childhood, which offers reader not only a clear account, but insight on how the narrator feels frustrated due to failing her mother’s expectations which leads to a large conflict between the narrator and her mother.
... 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.
Marie and Callie both value motherhood and the sale of the puppy. Yet, their beliefs towards these concepts vary greatly. These two women are symbolic to the differing perceptions of all human beings because no two individuals have identical experiences or values. George Saunders emphasizes, in the short story “Puppy”, that perception is not a unanimously decided meaning of a concept because every individual’s past inspires an exclusive outlook on life. These unique views are evident in the many distinctive preferences that individuals express. What makes one person excited may enrage someone else. How we see the world, other people, and ourselves is reliant on on perception.
“Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven”(Yiddish Proverb). These words apply to Katherine Mansfield’s short story, “Garden Party” as she touches on some very controversial points about the social inequality of the Sheridan family with its surrounding neighbors. A great internal and external quarrel over social class rises in the Sheridan family as Laura Sheridan, the daughter, sympathises with the less-fortunate neighbors while her mother, Mrs. Sheridan is the opposite. Mansfield illustrates to her readers the conflict within Laura in various ways, namely, using foil characters between Mrs. Sheridan and Laura, using multiple symbols and appealing to emotion to emphasize her main message of social equality.
Planning a Party The process of planning a party takes a lot of time and focus to get every detail covered. First of all, you must decide where you will have the party, maybe a club house or your own home. When you have that decided, then there are several other steps you must take in order for your party to be successful. You have decided on a location, and now it is time to make a list of the people who will be attending.
Katherine Mansfield explores profoundly the world of death and its impact on a person in her short story, "The Garden Party."