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France imperialism in africa
France imperialism in africa
France imperialism in africa
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Paris through the Eyes of an African
An African in Paris by Bernard Dadié describes a black man’s experience of Paris. The narrator, Tanhoé Bertin, is given a free ticket to Paris from the Ivory Coast, his home. The novel is written in first-person as a letter to a friend. The style is informal, and the reader gets to see Paris through Bertin’s writing and experience his reactions to his observations. Since the main theme of the novel is discovering Paris through an African’s perspective, the city of Paris itself is an important aspect of the novel. Paris, in Bertin’s eyes, is analogous to a beautiful woman, desirable but out of his reach. He’s impressed by Paris’ long history, and he marvels at the Parisians’ pride for their city and their
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He tries to strike up a conversation with a Parisian woman (after first sharing his admiration of her perfection with the reader), but his attempt fails. Not only does this happen once, but twice! He recounts two episodes in which he attempts to engage a young, attractive female in discussion, but both attempts fail. After he speaks, “she withdraws, her face darkens,” (49-50). Not only is his representation of Parisian women degrading, with its multiple mentions of women’s attractive bodies and features, but his representation is analogous to how he feels about Paris. He loves Paris, which is evident in his excitement about visiting and his thrill at every aspect of Parisian life. But he’s not allowed to live there permanently, and as a tourist, he must leave after 2 weeks. By visiting Paris, he is close to the city physically, yet he is far from being Parisian. Similarly, he is close in proximity to Parisian women, but due to social restrictions, they do not interact with him and essentially live in an alternate world. His affections for Parisian women are representative of his feelings for Paris: he loves and desires both Paris and its women, but they are both out of his permanent …show more content…
In tones of awe and wonder, Bertin references centuries of Parisian history from the Crusades to the reign of Louis XIV (the Sun King). He solemnly discusses St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who saves the city from the invading Normans. The scholarly centers of Notre-Dame, the Latin Quarter, and the Sorbonne are described proudly by Bertin, asserting that “Paris has forever been a great intellectual center,” (102). Parisian political, social, and intellectual histories are incredibly interesting to Bertin, as are all other aspects of Parisian life. His passion for Paris is evident as he describes his joy in taking walks by the Seine, visiting Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, Tuilerie Gardens, and Versailles. He’s intrigued by the passion with which French approach basic rights, such as freedom and free speech. The French hold their rights above all else, according to Bertin. “For them, nothing is worth more than freedom—the right not only to call themselves Parisians but to be Parisians, and to know that one of their kind sits in the town hall and fights for those rights,”(89). He respects them for regarding their rights as extremely important and taking freedom seriously. He describes the independent, secret newspapers that were published (throughout French history) to inform French citizens of the truth (88), and he considers the revealing of truth to be the
Approaching the coast of France, Martin rebukes the idea of visiting Paris for the city’s deceptive persona. Paris, as described by Martin, is a perpetual site for chaos and empty desires. While recounting Paris, Martin is also iterating the cycle of his and Candide’s life such as Candide losing his profits and Martin being used by his family. The context of chaos and pleasure is subtly revealing the internal conflict of Candide’s optimism. His philosophy allows him to suggest that when he is dosed with good fortune, all is good. However, Candide immediately is struck with ill-fortune and chaos. This leads to him pursuing pleasure once more, just to be placed in another chaotic environment. Adding onto the cycle of Candide’s life, the contrasting
Paris has often been run by rumor. The driving force behind both Sarah Maza’s history book Violette Nozière: A Story of Murder in 1930s Paris and Jean Renoir’s film The Crime of Monsieur Langue is a crime and its proceeding trial. While Violette Nozière documents an actual crime and trial and The Crime of Monsieur Lange depicts a fictitious crime and de facto jury, both are heavily influenced by public opinion. Analyzing these two different source genres can help historians better understand Paris in the 1930s. Public opinion is always changing, and it is important that we understand how it is applied in multiple aspects to be sure the correct assumptions are found.
Maupassant, Guy De. “An Adventure in Paris”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Cassill, RV. New York: Norton & Company, Inc. 2000. 511-516 Print.
Another implication is the insatiable consumer appetite created by Mouret results in the development of kleptomania, exemplified in the latter stages of the book by a bourgeois wife of a Magistrate, Madame de Boves, as well as long time employees of the department store. Mouret is the quintessential renaissance man of France with his dashing ways of charming women and subduing them to his desires whilst having them believe that his actions are in their favor and interest at all times. Monsieur Mouret had the utmost respect for women and their habits; this is the case until his boredom with them in his private life overwhelms his desires for them, in which case he moves on to the next victim. In the public arena he continually portrays himself as a gentleman of gentleman, when in fact he is more like a modern day Agro-Rancher feeding and herding his chattel and releasing them when he is through with their whims, fully knowing that they will return to him when they are hungry.... ...
...s bored and turns to violence or drink or sex or drugs to relieve the pain. After his short vacation, he wakes up and sees he’s still in the banlieues. He’s still unhappy, he’s still desperate. The cycle repeats itself again and again, and death looks sweeter and sweeter. The despair settles, and happiness becomes an impossible ideal. In “La Haine,” this despair leads to death and more violence. Tea in the Harem, however, offers one slight redemption: friendship. At the end of the book, Majid gets arrested, and Pat manages to get away. As the cop car with Majid drives up the road, though, Pat emerges and hands himself over to the police. Although these two men are surrounded by heartache, they find some promise in each other, and this just might be their final escape. For the rest of the residents of the suburbs of Paris, though, despair will haunt them and linger.
To Didion,“Imprecise expression was not just sloppy; it was harmful” (Daugherty, 443). This thorough and emotional expression throughout the text leaves the impression that all the memories she makes caused her nostalgia. For example, in the well-written essay “Goodbye to All That,” Didion mainly focuses on place and setting, particularly shedding some light on her experiences and feelings in both New York City and Los Angeles. She exposes the reader to the aspects of New York City that she misses, aspects which made her think twice about living in California afterwards. Specifically, things as small as specific smells, the foods, the random encounters with strange people, and the “young and fresh feeling” of everyday life in New York City, are what made her reminisce on her time there. Traces of different perfumes she smelled in New York brought her all the way back. Didion explains, “For a lot of the time I was in New York I used a perfume called Fleurs de Rocaille, and then L’Air du Temps, and now the slightest trace of either can short-circuit my connections for the rest of the day” (4). Even the mixture of spices which was used for boiling crabs in New York City stuck with her mind. Then, Didion gives a detailed description of the wild parties that took place on Saturday
The relationship shared by Pierre and Helene is best described as a lustful charade. It is no coincidence that Pierre, one of the most introspective characters in the novel, first marries a shallow, inwardly-ugly adulterer. His first recorded attitude towards Helene is one of admira...
seems to find, but is always longing for. While on the other hand, Comte de Reynaud is a mayor
Zilia offers her critique of French society – its love of luxury, social customs, the disparity of rich and poor, how it’s all looks great and beautiful but in really it’s all artificial. Even their politeness is not real, the more you look at their life and exterior aspect, the more you discovers
The can-can, cabaret and prostitution dominated Paris in La Belle Epoque. Sex was a commerce, an escape, and a way of life. It's prominence in Parisian culture made sexuality synonymous with power and a tool for obtaining it. The combination of beauty and assertiveness could get you places that hard, honest work simply could not. Both men and women took advantage of this lustful commodityprostitutes and mistresses were seen as status symbols, while flirtatious "femme fatales" had their way with the rich and successful. But love, illustrated in Guy de Maupassant's Bel-Ami, was far from romantic. It was a well-planned out ritual, full of lies, deceit and infidelity. However, the power of sexuality in La Belle Epoque does not stray far from its place in today's society"sex sells," after all.
Being on a boat as well entices the idea of women as vessels bearing gifts. Until the point of pregnancy, a woman should be a little promiscuous and is assumed to be always craving for sexual relations with men and reveals it in subtle ways. However, being to openly sexual results and not reserving one’s pureness is frowned upon by society. This contradicting standard is challenged by the character, La Rue, who “rejects social codes” and achieves “independence and power through the art of seduction.” (Garden 43).
In the audacious nineteenth-century novel Madame Bovary, author Gustave Flaubert shamelessly challenges the social expectations of 1800’s France through the experiences of the fiery protagonist Emma Bovary and her acquaintances. Emma’s actions and thoughts, viewed as immoral and unbecoming for a woman in her time, express Flaubert’s opinions concerning wealth, love, social class, morality, and the role of women in society. Additionally, Flaubert’s intricate writing style, consisting of painstaking detail and well-developed themes and symbols, places Madame Bovary in a class of its own in the world of classic literature. Flaubert’s character the blind beggar develops as one of the most complex symbols in the novel, as he represents most prominently
Madame Bovary, a novel by Gustave Flaubert, describes life in the provinces. While depicting the provincial manners, customs, codes and norms, the novel puts great emphasis on its protagonist, Emma Bovary who is a representative of a provincial woman. Concerning the fundamental typicality in Emma Bovary’s story, Flaubert points out: “My poor Bovary is no doubt suffering and weeping at this very moment in twenty French villages at once.” (Heath, 54). Yet, Emma Bovary’s story emerges as a result of her difference from the rest of the society she lives in. She is in conflict with her mediocre and tedious surroundings in respect of the responses she makes to the world she lives in. Among the three basic responses made by human beings, Emma’s response is “dreaming of an impossible absolute” while others around her “unquestionably accept things as they are” or “coldly and practically profiteer from whatever circumstances they meet.” (Fairlie, 33). However, Emma’s pursuit of ideals which leads to the imagining of passion, luxury and ecstasy prevents her from seeing the world in a realistic perspective or causes her to confuse reality and imagination with each other.
Flaubert’s characterization of the male characters in this novel accentuates the weaknesses of the woman during this time period. The author believes that the behavior towards women during this time has been immoral and he portrays this through the men. The progression of the subtopics: starts with the description of Charles’ clothing and posture, to Rodolphe’s possessiveness of money, Leon’s unbreakable bond with his relationships, and finally Homais’s conversational skills. Progressing from physical descriptions to social interactions, these subtopics show the authors views on the mistreatment of women during the time period, by giving the female characteristics to the male characters.
Kaufman depicts Madeleine as a chamber maid who smuggles de Sade’s erotic manuscripts out of Charendon. She also gives the viewer a glimpse into female sexuality as watch her response to his literary outpoint. Strangely, Kaufman ignores that the historical truth that de Sade had a companion, Mme. Quesnet, who had a residence in Charendon, and was the agent who smuggled the transcripts to the publishers. Incidentally Madeleine’s relationship with de Sade, while flirtatious, is mostly asexual.