Over time the once utmost valued institution, the institution of marriage, has devalued over time. The pensive observation of this devaluating institution has led Marvis Gallant to provide social commentary in her excerpt; “The Other Paris.” Gallant has employed satire to convey an image representing the martial tie between her two characters Carol and Howard; she also uses a narrative voice employing vivid imagery, cliché symbols and fine details.
With each character being a delegate to the gender roles in modern married couples, Gallant uses characterization to explicitly describe the characters’ symbolic representation. She expounds on Howard and Carol to note that marriage has debased from finding true love to just being content with someone compatible.
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Gallant uses imagery as her first narrative technique to state her subtle views on society’s value of marriage.
Imagery is initially utilized in the title, Paris is often inferred as the ‘city of love’ hence is heavily romanticized for being the perfect proposal scenario. Within Paris is the misty background of the Eiffel tower, a cliché symbol for romance. She further uses imagery such as the “barrows of violets” and “acacias in flowers” to convey the essence of proposal. The next technique is the fine detail such as “tuna fish” and the three weeks Howard and Carol had known each other.
Gallant illustrates societal impact and influences over an individual’s actions through the use of characterization and satire; she also infers that marriage is no longer focused around affection and altruism rather it is conformed to the social norm. Gallant also reasons that marriage basically has lost its esteem considering the fact that the people who get married don't get married out of true
love. For better understanding, Gallant gives fine details about Carol and Howard. She starts with how Carol has the “business of falling in love” giving the feeling that loving a spouse is just another chore among the daily squabbles of life. Next she narrates Carol’s naive thinking about how love can grow under “a good climate, enough money…” But the epitome of characterization is reached when she shows Carol had taken classes in the local college offering marriage lectures emphasizing “a common interest—such as a liking for Irish settlers” as the true basis for a happy lasting marriage. This comical lecture claims that something as insignificant as liking the same pizza is the key to happiness for the rest of your life while true love is something “imposed by the film industry.” Through the description of Carol’s character, she has made the statement that love is just another subject of scrutiny in higher institution of learning. When one reads this excerpt, it can be understood that Howard was a “discontented bachelor” trying to ease his discontentment by marrying Carol. Howard is getting married to Carol only because his sister had told him to do so. Force plays a major role in matrimonies and Gallant recognizes the effect through Howard, who is under pressure to marry someone quickly. Mavis Gallant points out that love is absolutely necessary for a successful matrimonial relationship. Simply finding a spouse and wanting to sustain love only if in the right conditions such as a “good climate, enough money, and a pair of good natured intelligent people” is fallible, the first sign of discontent will wither the relationship and quite possibly lead to divorce due the lack of emotional attachment. The social commentary Mavis Gallant has given in her excerpt is only possible through a narrative voice, which enables her to provide exemplary statements that the sanctity of marriage is diminishing as time progresses.
Human beings are not isolated individuals. We do not wander through a landscape of trees and dunes alone, reveling in our own thoughts. Rather, we need relationships with other human beings to give us a sense of support and guidance. We are social beings, who need talk and company almost as much as we need food and sleep. We need others so much, that we have developed a custom that will insure company: marriage. Marriage assures each of us of company and association, even if it is not always positive and helpful. Unfortunately, the great majority of marriages are not paragons of support. Instead, they hold danger and barbs for both members. Only the best marriages improve both partners. So when we look at all three of Janie’s marriages, only her marriage to Teacake shows the support, guidance, and love.
In the end, readers are unsure whether to laugh or cry at the union of Carol and Howard, two people most undoubtedly not in love. Detailed character developments of the confused young adults combined with the brisk, businesslike tone used to describe this disastrous marriage effectively highlight the gap between marrying for love and marrying for ?reason.? As a piece written in the 1950s, when women still belonged to their husbands? households and marriages remained arranged for class and money?s sake, Gallant?s short story excerpt successfully utilizes fictional characters to point out a bigger picture: no human being ought to repress his or her own desires for love in exchange for just an adequate home and a tolerable spouse. May everyone find their own wild passions instead of merely settling for the security and banality of that ?Other Paris.?
In today’s society, the notion and belief of growing old, getting married, having kids, and a maintaining of a happy family, seems to be a common value among most people. In Kevin Brockmeier’s short story, “The Ceiling,” Brockmeier implies that marriage is not necessary in our society. In fact, Brockmeier criticizes the belief of marriage in his literary work. Brockmeier reveals that marriage usually leads to or ends in disaster, specifically, all marriages are doomed to fail from the start. Throughout the story, the male protagonist, the husband, becomes more and more separated from his wife. As the tension increases between the protagonist and his wife, Brockmeier symbolizes a failing marriage between the husband and wife as he depicts the ceiling in the sky closing upon the town in which they live, and eventually crushing the town entirely as a whole.
She ties the downfall of men to the changing patterns in modern relationships and marriage to a
Is marriage really important? There is a lot of controversy over marriage and whether it is eminent. Some people believe it is and some people believe it is not. These opposing opinions cause this controversy. “On Not Saying ‘I do’” by Dorian Solot explains that marriage is not needed to sustain a relationship or a necessity to keep it healthy and happy. Solot believes that when a couple gets married things change. In “For Better, For Worse”, Stephanie Coontz expresses that marriage is not what is traditional in society because it has changed and is no longer considered as a dictator for people’s lives. The differences between these two essays are the author’s writing style and ideas.
In the short story “An Adventure in Paris” by Guy De Maupassant an unnamed woman seeks for adventure, love, and excitement. An unnamed narrator starts to explain the inner nature and curiosity of a woman. The story transitions to the point of view of an unnamed lawyer’s wife which allows us to see her deepest desire to travel to Paris and be part of the lavishing life she has seen in the magazines. To escape her regular routine she makes a plan to go to Paris; however, her family members are only middle class and cannot help her fulfill her desire to live the life of a celebrity, fame, and fashion. Just when her trip seems to be monotonous she comes across the chance to live the life of an extravagant person. This chance happens when she meets Jean Varin, a wealthy author, in a store wanting to purchase a Japanese figurine. When Varin decides that the figurine is too expensive the lawyer’s wife steps up to buy the figurine which causes Varin to notice her. She flirtatiously invites herself into Varin’s daily activities which intrigue Varin. As the day closes she invites herself to Varin’s house and has an affair with Varin; however, she doesn’t feel she is satisfied because of his many needs. She anxiously waits till morning to come so that she can leave which only confuses Varin. When Varin asks her why she is leaving after all they have been through she states that she wanted to know what depravity felt like; however, it was not what she expected. The central idea of the story is about a woman’s psychological desire for romance, adventure, and an opulent lifestyle that leads to curiosity and the immoral act of adultery.
Marriage is an important theme in the stories Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. When someone hears the word “marriage”, he thinks of love and protection but Hurston and Chopin see that differently. According to them, women are trapped in their marriage and they don’t know how to get out of it so they use language devices to prove their points.
With the use of hyperbolic characterization and settling diction, Mavis Gallant creates the theme of modern day romance being the wrong Paris in her short story “The Other Paris.” This short story is used to commentate that romance ceases to exist in modern day relationships as they become based on material desires on societal pressures. Gallant is commenting that society sets the rules for marriage to the point that “I do’s” are not answered to the question of love but rather of financial
In Western culture, it is understood that marriage is based on an equal partnership and not one person controlling the other. On the contrary, in the early 19th century, women were usually in unions that were male dominated. Women were meant to be seen and not heard. Likewise, in the short story, “The Story of an Hour” and the play “Trifles”, two women from very different circumstances share the same fate of being dominated by their husbands and lose their identity while married.
Marriage can be seen as a subtle form of oppression, like many things which are dictated by social expectations. In Kate Chopin’s The Story of An Hour, Louise Mallard finds herself in distress due to the event of her husband’s death that makes her question who she is as a person. The author cleverly uses this event to create the right atmosphere for Mrs. Mallard to fight against her own mind. As the short story progresses, we see that Mrs. Mallard moves forward with her new life and finds peace in her decision to live for herself. This shows that marriage too is another chain that holds oneself back. Not wanting to admit this to herself, Louise
... This woman suffers a tremendous amount from the commitment of her marriage, and the death of her husband does not affect her for long. A marriage such as this seems so unbelievable, yet a reader can see the realistic elements incorporated into the story. This begs the question of how undesirable marriage was during Chopin’s life. The unhappiness felt by Mrs. Mallard seems to be very extreme, but Chopin creates a beautiful story that reflects upon the idea of marriage as an undesired relationship and bond to some women in the nineteenth century.
Since the beginning of time, marriage exists as a large part of life. The values of marriage change on a year to year basis and as trends continue to change so will marriage. There have been numerous reasons for marriage throughout time such as arranged, wealth, love or many others. In the 18th century, many marriages were based on one’s class and wealth and not true love. Today, many marriages do not take wealth or class into account they focus on that person’s inner self and love. Marriage exists as an overlying theme throughout Pride and Prejudice and every marriage appears for a different reason.
To give a little background on the play, the pursuit of marriage is the driving force behind the play. “I now pronounce you, man and wife.” This traditional saying, commonly used to announce a newlywed couple during a wedding ceremony, marks the happily ever after that many dream of today. In today’s society, marriage is an expression of love between two individuals. Marriage has not, however, always been an act of love.
“There is no perfect relationship. The idea that there is gets us into so much trouble.”-Maggie Reyes. Kate Chopin reacts to this certain idea that relationships in a marriage during the late 1800’s were a prison for women. Through the main protagonist of her story, Mrs. Mallard, the audience clearly exemplifies with what feelings she had during the process of her husbands assumed death. Chopin demonstrates in “The Story of an Hour” the oppression that women faced in marriage through the understandings of: forbidden joy of independence, the inherent burdens of marriage between men and women and how these two points help the audience to further understand the norms of this time.
My belief on marriage is a sacred vow taken by two people which joins them in union. Most people carry the belief that marriage should occur only when two people are in love; although this belief is common it is not always the case and people marry for a variety of reasons. In the short story "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin suggests that in the case of Mrs. Mallard and Mr. Mallard, love was not a deciding factor for their reason to get married. Though the response of three readers, one being myself, we will explore the character of Mrs. Mallard and the idea of love in her marriage. Kate Chopin has given little detail about the Mallards and therefore left much to the imagination of the reader. Although there are similarities in details between readers such as: point of view, setting, and character, each reader brings new perspective and ideas. This type of analysis of the text allows a richer and more knowledgeable outlook; not only by enhancing ones own ideas by introducing new ones.