Life Outside of Life in Hawthorne’s Wakefield
Efficacy lies at the heart of human desires for immortality. Characters throughout literature and art are depicted as wanting to step aside and see what their world would be like without their individual contributions. The literary classic A Christmas Carol and the more recent, but ageless, film It’s Wonderful Life both use outside influences (three ghosts and Clarence the Angel, respectively) to demonstrate Scrooge’s and George Bailey’s significance to the lives of others. Differently, however, is the desire of Mr. Wakefield, himself, to actually step outside and beyond the boundaries of his existence to see his own significance in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story Wakefield. Furthermore, the characters of the two aforementioned works are enlightened through the importance of their actions and their lives. Wakefield is altered through his experience, but has no such consciousness of his transformation.
A work of literature affects the reader by appealing to his or her matter of perspective. Though contrasting out of context, two particular assessments of Wakefield-- one derived from an existentialist viewpoint, the other stemming from a truly feminist archetype— do agree on the conflict of Mr. Wakefield’s actions versus himself and the inconclusive nature of that conflict. Furthermore, both points of view attack Wakefield for his insensitivity toward the good Mrs. Wakefield.
In a critique and analysis of the work (which has only recently been granted the attention it so deserves), Agnes Donohue addresses Hawthorne’s "castigation of Wakefield" for not knowing his own unimportance by asking questions of an existentialist nature. She proposes expansions on E.A.Robinson’...
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... in the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield. The evidence of this is the thesis that Wakefield’s status lies in his recognition by others. Once he is not recognized, he is belittled and not only sees the ridiculousness of his actions, but also his inefficiency in general; furthermore, through the ordeal he has only seen his wife’s proficiency in her ability to carry on with out him (Kelsey 20).
Although he should lose faith in himself as an effective human, husband, and master the absurdity of Hawthorne’s tale lies in the anomaly of Wakefield’s return home as if having been gone no longer than the week he intended to stay away. However, because Hawthorne judged not the actor but the actions, we still rally in the wonderment of knowing "each for himself, that none of us would perpetrate such a folly, yet feel as if some other might" (Hawthorne 76).
Deadly and helpful, science is a dual-edged sword. Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the first to emphasize this through his literary works. “Rappaccini's Daughter” and “The Birthmark” are two of his works where he teaches this lesson through the trials of his characters. Focusing on the motif of the “mad scientist”, Hawthorne brings to light the points that people struggle with humanity, learning to love themselves and others, and that science can be more harmful then helpful.
When the news came of his father’s death, Hawthorne’s mother withdrew into her upstairs bedroom, coming out only rarely during the remaining forty years of her life. The boy and his two sisters lived in almost complete isolation from her and from each other (29).
Lang, H.J.. “How Ambiguous Is Hawthorne.” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Since ours is an age that has found irony, ambiguity, and paradox to be central not only in literature but in life, it is not surprising that Hawthorne has seemed to us one of the most modern of nineteenth century American writers. The bulk and general excellence of the great outburst of Hawthorne criticism of the past decade attest to his relevance for us (54).
one's who stand alone with no one to look to for love or support. "For
The story of the great flood has been debated many times as far as its historical accuracy. Many experts seem to think that such an event would be unnatural while others believe that this great worldwide flood actually did occur. In today’s society, more people are beginning to question catastrophic events that occur in nature. This great flood seems to be a very common example of this. This research paper will investigate the Holy Bible’s reliability as scientific and historical literature by focusing on its recording of the great flood. Many people are interested in these world phenomena’s; this paper will aim to end some of the controversy about this particular phenomenon.
III. Comparable aspects of Hawthorne's characterization in The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables
Colacurcio, Michael J. The Province of Piety: Moral History in Hawthorne's Early Tales. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984.
The harmful carcinogens in cigarettes cause about 480,000 deaths each year. These amounts of casualties seem to me as a serious problem, which needs to be addressed and reduced immediately. Cigarettes are known to have a variety of chemicals inside of them ranging from acetone to tar. The chemicals inside of cigarettes have been directly linked to cancer related effects. Due to the poisonous effects and numerous complications involved with cigarettes, they should be made illegal to sell and consume within the United States. Although there are thousands of reasons why cigarettes should be illegal, in this argumentative essay I will closely examine three. The effects of carcinogens, stress of addiction and death prevention are the three main reasons why cigarettes should be illegal.
Smoking is the cause of numerous citizens of the United States dying prematurely. The CDC (2014) explains, “smoking causes more deaths each year than: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, and firearm-related incidents”. Some deaths are unavoidable such as a vehicular accident, but a death by a cigarette is because the results of the decision the user made. Cassidy and Tramarchi (2011) describe, “Ci...
Smoking is a current issue, it has been there and it is here till now. It is the second major cause of death in the world; it kills nearly 6 million people each year. That is one person every 6 seconds. It’s responsible for the death of a one in ten adults and kills up to half of its users. Since it’s the leading preventable cause of all deaths, there is need to prevent it. Despite the negative side effects of smoking like; smoking kills, its exacerbates poverty, contributes to world hunger by diverting lands use to its production, its production damages the environment and reduces economic productivity, many people still smoke tobacco every day. It...
Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.
What would you think of a man who left his family, moved over to the next street to watch their lives unfold, and then returned after twenty years as if nothing had happened? What could drive a man to such bizarre behavior? These are the issues that Nathaniel Hawthorne deals with in the story of Mr. Wakefield. The very idea that a man could possibly do such a thing makes the audience want to understand his intentions. It is hard for a modern audience to make sense of such a story because television shows and movies have made today’s society focus so much on easily apparent themes or morals. Hawthorne used this story to examine society’s motivations. In his short story “Wakefield,” it is necessary that Hawthorne uses the narrator as a tool to shed light on Mr. Wakefield’s motives as well as to emphasize the story’s theme, that an individual can only appreciate and understand his life by looking in on it from the outside.
Cigarette smoking has become a part of the daily life of many Americans. At every given second, someone somewhere is smoking a cigarette. Beginning in the early 20th century, institutions have been investigating the negative, and in some cases fatal, effects smoking tobacco products has on the body. Banning cigarette commercials from television and mandating warning labels on all sold tobacco products have not been enough to keep hundreds of thousands of people dying each year from the long term effects of tobacco. This country has taken a focus to begin to legalize marijuana; however, the focus should change to this negative element of our economy. Cigarettes should be illegal in the United States for its extensive damage to the body and it’s near guaranteed cause of death.
The Help describes white women to have a typical image by appearance and role. Aibileen describes Skeeter as "She wearing a white lace blouse buttoned up like a nun, flat shoes so I reckon she don’t look any taller. Her blue skirt gaps open in the waist. Miss Skeeter always looks like somebody else told her what to wear." (Stockett 4). This image is not typical for the American woman. Skeeter is not like the women in her town, so she looks funny from her hair to her feet. Unlike women of her age who wear their hair in puffs and bobs, Skeeter isn 't concerned about her frizzy hair. She dresses in ordinary clothes while the other women are fashionable and dressed in modern pleated and matched blouses, skirts and shoes. When Skeeter is not wearing common clothes people also get shocked, "And there Miss Skeeter in a red dress and red shoes, setting on my front steps like a bullhorn," her dress is too brightly colored for others (118). Skeeter doesn 't draw attention to her body when she dresses. However, Celia dresses different from