Realism in Patricia MacLachlan’s Sarah, Plain and Tall
A book that has a clear understanding of what is “real” is often thought to be a quality book. Although what is thought to be “real” is different for everyone, for me it is how easily I am able to relate to the characters in the book. If I can sympathize and understand what they are going through on an emotional level and can put myself in their shoes, I am more apt to enjoy the story. Narrative style and structure play a very important role here; because it is through these that we get a sense of what type of realism is being portrayed. For example, in Sarah, Plain and Tall, the realism displayed is emotional realism.
In Patricia MacLachlan’s Sarah, Plain and Tall the narrative style is apparent. We know that it is the character Anna whose point of view this story is from. It is essential that it is told from her point of view, because the arrival of Sarah will ultimately affect her the most. We get a sense of the pain that she has undergone, as well as the over-whelming sense of love and pride she has for her family. As Anna explains, “…I didn’t tell him what I really thought. He was homely and plain, and he had a terrible holler and a horrid smell. But these were not the worst of him. Mama died the next morning. That was the worst thing about Caleb” (MacLachlan 4). It also reveals to us the tremendous amount of responsibility that is resting on her young shoulders.
In addition to the point of view, in what realm it was written is also important. Is it written as a fantasy, as a truth, or as a fable? Sarah, Plain and Tall was written as realism, meaning it has a feeling that it actually happened. Although we aren't directly told when and where this story takes place, we get at good sense of it by the descriptions of their everyday life. It is these descriptions that give the book its sense of realism. For example, in chapter seven Caleb describes plowing to Sarah: Papa needs five horses for the big gang plow,’ Caleb told Sarah. ‘Prairie grass is hard’” (MacLachlan 39). Despite the lack of an in-depth depiction, we still gain a feeling of what kind of life these characters led, as well as in what time period the story takes place.
After Sarah escapes the unsanitary camp with Rachel, the two run until they find a place of beauty. “In the late afternoon, they came to a forest, a long, cool stretch of green leafiness. It smelled sweet and humid….a mysterious emerald world dappled with golden sunlight….The water felt wonderful to her skin, a soothing, velvety caress. She wet her shaved head, where the hair had started to grow back, a golden fuzz” (Rosnay 99). This description places images in the mind of the reader that allow for the reader to experience this moment in the forest with Sarah. Vivid descriptions of places and events are more common within Sarah’s story, as she is experiencing the horrors of the war, allowing the reader to visualize the tragedy through the descriptions in a book. Soon after the arrest, Sarah and her family are thrown into the Velodrome d’hiver with other Jews, where a woman jumps from “the highest railing” with her child in hand: “From where the girl sat, she could see the dislocated body of the woman, the bloody skull of the child, sliced open like a ripe tomato” (Rosnay 33). This description captures the horrifying sight Sarah has just witnessed, darkening the mood and tone of the book alike to the depressing events that occurred within the
I believe stories such as “A Simple Heart” greatly mimic genuine life, actions and the personalities of people in real life. In this story, there is no place where Flaubert spends time exaggerating Félicité’s story, yet he elegantly mimics it as her reality: gritty. Such as with the story, “A Simple Heart,” it has been found that realistic authors take great inspiration from their surroundings, and thereby, creating a more realistic novel. By relating characters inside a novel to real life people and having a proper mindset, I do believe realism can be an achievable goal for these realistic writers who choose to focus on the unadulterated picture of
"How Tatiana De Rosnay Turned French History Into ‘Sarah’s Key’." Speakeasy RSS. N.p., 14 July 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.
Sears, William. Nighttime Parenting How to Get Your Baby and Child to Sleep. Franklin Park Illinois. Le Leche League International, 1990. Print.
Realism is a style of writing which shows how things are in life. It showed how mostly every person thought life was just perfect. They were not seeing the
... Method: An Evidence-based Guide to "cry It Out" Sleep Training." The Ferber Method: An Evidence-based Guide to "cry It Out" Sleep Training. N.p., 2008-2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
There are several different types of sleep training methods, and within each type, there may be more than one variation. In my experience as a Sleep Coach I have seen that the more gentle the method, the longer the training may take. This is something important to consider when deciding which sleep training method to use.
Methods: The research was conducted by the use of multiple types of surveys which were conducted by telephone. The first was a sleep survey called the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) which is a forty-five item questionnaire that examines the previous w...
Realism is a literary style in which the author describes people, their actions, their emotions and surroundings as close to the reality as possible. The characters are not perfectly good or completely evil; they exhibit strengths and weaknesses, just as real people. The characters often commit crimes or do immoral things, and are not always just good or just evil. In a realistic novel, aspects of the time period or location are also taken into consideration. Characters dress in clothes that befit them, and speak with local dialects. Most importantly, characters are not sugar coated or exaggerated. The characters do things as they would normally do them, and are not worse or better then their real life counterparts.
Oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface. The talk of climate change can often seem to focus on what is happening in our atmosphere, but there is a lot of change going on in our oceans. The oceans have absorbed 90% of the excess heat and 28% of the carbon pollution generated by human consumption of fossil fuels (Nuccitelli 2015). The purpose of this paper is to show how the effects of climate change effect the coral reefs in our oceans, with a focus on the coral reef systems in the Caribbean and of the Great Barrier Reef. The Caribbean coral reefs are well known to have suffered more damage between the two reef systems. That’s not to say that the Great Barrier Reef has not suffered its own damage. It has and will continue to suffer in the future.
...es Should Not Be Offered in Public Schools.” Opposing Viewpoints: Religion in America. Eds. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. 123-127. Print.
The use of realism versus illusion is very evident through multiple characters within the works The men in the Loman family in “Death of a Salesman” live in a dreamlike state waiting for the American Dream to influence their lives for the better yet they never complete any actions that would lead them to the success they so desire. . In “A Streetcar Named Desire” the women are in an elusive state as they look for the perfect relationship, but cannot grasp one due to the events that took place in their
Sleep disorders are defined as a group of syndromes characterized by disturbance in the patient's amount of sleep, quality or timing of sleep, or in behaviors or physiological conditions associated with sleep. To qualify for a diagnosis of sleep disorder, the condition must be a persistent problem, cause the patient significant emotional distress, and interfere with his or her social or occupational functioning. (Frey p265). Some sleep disorders can effect children of all ages. The sleep disorder that children are subject to often depends on their age and development. Sleep disorders change most frequent in the middle-school years. Children often experience more anxiety at this time. (Burcum). The source of the certain sleep disorder cannot normally be pin pointed in every case. Many factors come in to play when dealing with the cause of a sleep disruption. Parental characteristics, personality, psychosocial influences, education, parenting skills, stress, trauma, school, culture and personal health can all bring about sleeping disorders in young to middle-aged children.
Writers like Mark Twain wrote about what really mattered to the majority of the population. His stories were not considered fairy tales, but narratives. Realism was an important change in literature, because it allowed the average Joe story to be alright. Instead of paying or reading a story about something you will never have, a person will read about the everyday problems. People saw that humans had more in common than they taught. Mark Twain’s narrative, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn expose the literary movement that is known today as Realism. Mark Twain also criticizes the “ills” of the American society, which he hopes he could be able to correct by raising awareness to the problem.
Gavin argues, “During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, empirical philosophy recognized a perilous disconnect between knowledge and the actual existence of things in the world” (Gavin 301-325). These ideas of knowledge, and those of the real world, were shaped by Descartes’ theory that reality is perceived by the individual and is not attached to previous ideas of reality. Unlike the novels before, realistic novels appealed to middle-class readers who wanted to read about ordinary people; they could see themselves as main characters in the story (Mario). With the influence of Descartes, novels and the genre of realism came together forming realistic novels. Realism is the attempt to depict all characteristics of human life with such attention to detail that the events seem as realistic as possible, as if readers could perhaps know the characters personally or even be them. Regarding Crusoe, he faces many realistic chall...