Lessons Learned in Kate O’Brien’s Land of Spices
Kate O’Brien’s Land of Spices is a good read especially if the bookworm is from a catholic school upbringing. The story’s contents complete with the antics of the girls and the lack of patience in the sisters is recognizable from memories drawn on similar events. The nuns’ softer emotions were hidden away from the students and only their hard-heartedness evident in the school’s classrooms. In sixth grade during the fall of 1963 after President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas, a Dominican sister was seen at school with tears in her eyes. At this moment the realization descended upon the enrolled that there was flesh and blood under that habit and not an alien being. O’Brien addresses Catholicism, homosexuality and love in her novel with creativity and realism for the times. On a negative note, the liberal use of the French language is a reminder that this book was written with the rich and cultured person in mind and becomes aggravating to this unenlightened one.
In reading the excerpt from The Land of Spices by Kate O’Brien contained in “The Penguin Book of Irish Literature”, this reader is at once aware of the descriptive words with which Helen (the eventual Reverend Mother of the novel) depicts her father, Henry Archer. She presents him in the passage as a man who is “very beautiful…different from other men…with curly, silky hair and eyes that shone like stars” and goes on further to say that “his face grew more beautiful as one drew nearer to it”. 1[1] Perhaps, this feminine portrayal is a less than subtle hint into Henry Archer’s being for in revealing him as a man with a feminine countenance and inevitably finding him locked in a loving embrace...
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...ontrol to temperance to love. Despite the rocky relationship between Helen and her father she inadvertently learned patience from him as he continues to love her despite her attitude and she in turn awaits Anna’s realization of her interest and love. Helen and Anna learn temperance in their everyday dealings with Mother Mary Andrew. The greatest lessons are those of dedication and commitment as Helen in the role of Reverend Mother becomes the best nun she can be despite a decision made under duress.
Notes:
[1] From The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction p. 475.
[2] From The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction p. 475.
[3] From The Penguin Book of Irish Literature p.485.
[4] O’Brien, Kate. The Land of Spices, p.20.
[5] O’Brien, Kate. The Land of Spices, p.252.
[6] O’Brien, Kate. The Land of Spices, p104.
[7] O’Brien, Kate. The Land of Spices, p. 110.
Kinnell, Galway. “After Making Love We Hear Footsteps.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Portable 10th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2011. 490-491. Print.
Although Rivka Galchen’s “Wild Berry Blue” and James Joyce’s “Araby” have some differences, there even more similarities. The narrators, their journeys, and their conclusions at the end of their journeys are analogous. Both attempt to win over the object of their affection through a gift, and yet thorough the purchase of that gift they realize their folly in love. As Joyce wrote “Araby” in 1914, yet Galchen did not write “Wild Berry Blue” until nearly 100 years later, Galchen may have written “Wild Berry Blue” as a modern retelling of Joyce’s classic short story.
“Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel, is a beautiful romantic tale of an impossible passionate love during the revolution in Mexico. The romance is followed by the sweet aroma of kitchen secrets and cooking, with a lot of imagination and creativity. The story is that of Tita De La Garza, the youngest of all daughters in Mama Elena’s house. According to the family tradition she is to watch after her mother till the day she does, and therefore cannot marry any men. Tita finds her comfort in cooking, and soon the kitchen becomes her world, affecting every emotion she experiences to the people who taste her food. Esquivel tells Titas story as she grows to be a mature, blooming women who eventually rebels against her mother, finds her true identity and reunites with her long lost love Pedro. The book became a huge success and was made to a movie directed by Alfonso Arau. Although they both share many similarities, I also found many distinct differences. The movie lost an integral part of the book, the sensual aspect of the cooking and love.
Included within the anthology The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction,1[1] are the works of great Irish authors written from around three hundred years ago, until as recently as the last decade. Since one might expect to find in an anthology such as this only expressions and interpretations of Irish or European places, events or peoples, some included material could be quite surprising in its contrasting content. One such inclusion comes from the novel Black Robe,2[2] by Irish-born author Brian Moore. Leaving Ireland as a young man afforded Moore a chance to see a great deal of the world and in reflection afforded him a great diversity of setting and theme in his writings. And while his Black Robe may express little of Ireland itself, it expresses much of Moore in his exploration into evolving concepts of morality, faith, righteousness and the ever-changing human heart.
The concern of this paper is the “happy ending,” typical in Women’s Fiction according to Harris (46), present in A New England Tale, in which Jane Elton sacrifices her autonomous self through marrying Mr. Lloyd. I will critique this ending by applying several of the points Harris makes, including the conflict between theme and structure, the “extended quest for autonomy” (50), and the issue of the self-willing and “socially determined self” (54); also, I will discuss the sexual and religious politics Jane faces, as well as the importance of her role as educator. Readers can understand the autonomous self to which I refer in a nineteenth-century context: this do...
The story is center around a small cast. In it Mrs. Hopewell and her daughter Joy, who had her name changed to Hulga, live on a farm with their tenants Mrs. Freeman’s and her two daughters- Glynese and Carramae. Interestingly, Mrs. Hopewell calls the Freeman Girls, Glycerin and Caramel while refusing to call her own daughter anything but Joy. “Good County People”, is told through the interactions of this dysfunctional gaggle of ladies, and their chance encounter with the Bible selling con-artist Manley Pointer. It is a story of a few not so, “Good Country People.”
Cisneros, Sandra. "My Friend Lucy who Smells Like Corn", "Barbie-Q", "Mericans." The Norton Anthology of American Litertature. 6th Ed. Vol. E. Eds. Nina Baym. Et.al. New York: Norton, 2002. 2556-2561.
“In place of the real mother, Enright had observed that Irish Writing traditionally either appointed ‘the iconised mother figure’, or posited an absence” (Mulhall, 2011, p. 69). Secondly, Enright uses the Irish motherhood as a very significant role in the story and the readers could relate to...
The tales were rediscovered around 1880 inspiring the Irish literary revival in romantic fiction by writers such as Lady Augusta Gregory and the poetry and dramatic works of W.B. Yeats. These works wer...
At present there are numerous regulations and restrictions on firearms imposed by the government. However there are no national mandated requirements or all encompassing legislation. The laws in place vary from state to state and are in some cases are poorly enforced. Hard evidence as to the effectiveness of these present regulations is ambiguous. The question as to how the government and society deals with gun control is unique to the USA. In a complex issue such as gun control both sides of the equation have valid arguments to be h...
Gun control has been a controversial issue for many years. A vast majority of citizens believe that if gun control is strictly enforced it would quickly reduce the threat of crime. Many innocent people feel they have the right to bear arms for protection, or even just the pleasure of hunting. Americans have a constitutional right to own hand guns and stricter laws and licensing will not affectively save lives.
In America guns have been a part of the country since its birth. Throughout history, people of the US have used guns to protect our nation, their families, to hunt for food. The issue of guns and gun control takes on a fraction of problems in the world. Weighing the rights and liberties of individuals against the welfare and safety of the public has always been a risky balancing act. In the United States, gun control is one of these issues that has both sides firmly stated in their positions.
There is an American consensus for some form of gun control. “…[F]irearms were involved in two-thirds of all murders in the United States and [t]he United States leads the world's richest nations in gun deaths…murders, suicides, and accidental deaths due to guns - according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the International Journal of Epidemiology” (Lepore). There might be some far extreme people who think that all guns should be banned but most sane Americans do not think that gun rights should be abolished. Americans regard self-defense as the most compelling reason to have a gun and twenty-two percent of households have handguns in the United States. However many people do think that gun control laws must be enacted and enforced. Pro-gun extremists and the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) must understand that there is a real for many people at the uncontrolled s...
The persuasive attempts in both literary works produce different results. The effectiveness of the mother’s guidance to her daughter is questioned since the girl cannot recognize the essence of her mother’s lesson. Despite that, the mother’s beneficial instruction serves as a standard for the daughter to reflect her future behaviors in order to live up to the community’s expectations. On the other hand, Anne’s value of candid expression and lasting relationship dissuades her from obliging to her family’s meaningless duty to place her love and interest above to experience fulfillment in life.
Alcohol is a way for humans to escape their reality. Though that sounds fun and exciting, it can be very dangerous. Alcohol is a very common drug that is used by teenagers and adults. Alcohol can affect our brain, heart, pancreas, immune system, cancer risk, and much more (“Alcohol’s Effect on the Body”). Alcohol is contained by people to usually have a good time, but some people can abuse the use of alcohol and become addicted. At first, alcohol often makes people feel relaxed and happy. Later, it can cause drowsiness or confusion ("Alcohol Use and Older Adults”). Alcohol can also be used as an anti-depressant. The consuming of alcohol if not of age can cause people who are younger than 21 to