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Stephen Crane literary analysis
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In “In the Desert”, by Stephen Crane, the author explores the theme of self-acceptance. Some of the devices that he uses to convey his idea are imagery, specific word choice, and metaphors.
The author starts off with in the desert. He specifically picked the desert because of its connotation to lack of vitality since there is scarcely any water in the desert; Because all humans are composed of water and lack of it implies that the scene contains lack of life and somewhat desperation for survival if there are any humans at the scene. In the next line, the author states that he saw a creature that is naked and bestial. The word bestial here implies savagery while the word naked implies vulnerability because clothing is seen as a defense against
When the author was describing the petrifying appearance of the creature, she made sure to use words that would make us sick to our stomachs in order to get a really good idea across about how simply disgusting this now-animate creature was. She does this by explaining to us how the creature’s “yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath”. The thought of seeing something so sickening even makes us make a wry face and try to get the image out of our heads – and that’s exactly the reaction the author is hoping to see from us. This also helps us know how Mr.
In life, everyone experiences a time of hardship, and for the most part, those affected find methods of overcoming the adversity. The idea of getting through hardship is best reflected in; Sherman J. Alexie’s story “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” (274). In the story, victor whose father had recently died from a heart attack has to travel to phoenix Arizona to reclaim his father’s ashes and his truck. Victor is joined by his former childhood friend “Thomas Builds-the-fire”, who finances the trip to phoenix since Victor did not have the means. They drove back truck from phoenix to the reservation. Throughout the trip, Thomas is always telling stories mostly reminiscing about their childhood. It is through Thomas stories that we learn much about Victor’s father. Through the use of symbolism, and character development, Alexie conveys the idea that, when someone is experiencing an adversity, reconnecting and embracing the past may lead to a discovery of a brighter future.
The author uses diction in the passages to signify the effect of the author¡¯s meaning in story and often sway readers to interpret ideas in one way or another. The man in the story arrives to a ¡°[dry] desert¡± where he accosts an animal with ¡°long-range attack¡± and ¡°powerful fangs.¡± The author creates a perilous scene between the human and animal in order to show that satisfaction does not come from taking lives. With instincts of silence and distrust, both of them freeze in stillness like ¡°live wire.¡± In addition, the man is brought to the point where animal¡¯s ¡°tail twitched,¡± and ¡°the little tocsin sounded¡± and also he hears the ¡°little song of death.¡± With violence ready to occur, the man tries to protect himself and others with a hoe, for his and their safety from the Rattler. The author criticizes how humans should be ¡°obliged not to kill¡±, at least himself, as a human. The author portrays the story with diction and other important techniques, such as imagery, in order to influence the readers with his significant lesson.
The imagery in this passage helps turn the tone of the poem from victimization to anger. In addition to fire images, the overall language is completely stripped down to bare ugliness. In previous lines, the sordidness has been intermixed with cheerful euphemisms: the agonizing work is an "exquisite dance" (24); the trembling hands are "white gulls" (22); the cough is "gay" (25). But in these later lines, all aesthetically pleasing terms vanish, leaving "sweet and …blood" (85), "naked… [and]…bony children" (89), and a "skeleton body" (95).
A narcissist is one who believes “he or she is ‘special’ and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special” people. They exploit others for their own advantage, lack empathy, and are “preoccupied with fantasies” or ideals that can be unrealistic. They believe they are the “primary importance in everybody’s life”. (“Narcissistic Personality”) Henry James’ theme in his short story, “The Beast in the Jungle”, is about a man, who is so egotistical and self-absorbed that he misses what life has to offer him, in particular, love, because of the narcissistic behavior he is doomed to live a life of loneliness and misery. John Marcher, the protagonist of “The Beast in the Jungle”, is about a narcissistic upper-class man who believes his life is to be defined by some unforetold event. He focuses only on himself and as a result, he neglects everything and everyone in his life. Marcher meets May Bartram, a woman who knows his secret, and instead of pursuing a romantic relationship with her, or even a genuine friendship, he uses her for his own benefit. Henry James utilizes a variety of literary devices to convey this theme in his story, such as the title, symbolism, dialogue, and the use of a limited third-person narrative. Henry James leaves us our first clue to the theme in the title, “The Beast in the Jungle”. When one thinks of a beast, they typically imagine something big and ferocious; Marcher’s ego was just that.
‘Instantly, in the emptiness of the landscape, a cry arose whose shrillness pierced the still air like a sharp arrow flying strait to the very heart of the land; and, as if by enchantment, streams of human beings-of naked human beings – with spears in their hands, with bows, with shields, with wild glances and savage movements, were poured into the c...
In Me, Myself and Them: A Firsthand Account of One Young Person’s Experience with Schizophrenia (2007), Kurt Snyder provides his personal narrative of living with Schizophrenia with Dr. Raquel Gur and Linda Andrews offering professional insight into the disease. This book gives remarkable insight into the terrifying world of acute psychosis, where reality cannot be distinguished from delusion and recovery is grueling. However, Snyder’s account does offer hope that one may live a content and functional life despite a debilitating, enduring disease.
The essay How You See Yourself by Nicholas Mirzoeff discusses the evolution of art. The author discusses the use of art to represent changing identities over the years including cultural practices and societal expectations. The selfie, according to Nicholas Mirzoeff’s essay, is the equivalent of a self-portrait in the previous centuries preceding the technological development required for the present day selfie. The essay explores the different periods and the significance of art, particularly self-portraits, the selfies of the time, and their development over time. The author focuses on different themes including heroism, gender definition, and the focus of an image. Mirzoeff effectively provides examples illustrating and reinforcing the themes he highlights in his essay.
He describes how the sun “bakes” the earth, the grasshoppers “consume the parched grass,” and how the prairies are full of “endless desolation.” The word “bakes” exhibits nature’s hostility to its surrounding lands. The grasshoppers eating the “parched grass” convey how on top of the grass slowly starving and dying, it has to deal with the grasshoppers devouring it as well; which emphasizes nature’s unforgivable attitude towards the land. The words “endless desolation” reveal that the land is nothing but despair, and that it is full of endless agony and suffering. This bleak description expresses a miserable tone that deduces the reader’s mind to believe the landscape is barren and
Everybody wants to be accepted, yet society is not so forgiving. It bends you and changes you until you are like everyone else. Society depends on conformity and it forces it upon people. In Emerson's Self Reliance, he says "Society is a joint stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater." People are willing to sacrifice their own hopes and freedoms just to get the bread to survive. Although the society that we are living in is different than the one the Emerson's essay, the idea of fitting in still exists today. Although society and our minds make us think a certain way, we should always trust our better judgment instead of just conforming to society.
"The Blue Hotel" by Stephen Crane is a story about three travelers passing through Fort Romper, Nebraska. Pat Scully, the owner of the Palace Hotel, draws the men to his hotel that is near the train station. In the hotel the three men meet Johnnie, son of Scully, and agree to play a game of cards with him. During the game, the Swede declares Johnnie as a cheater; this gives rise to a fistfight between Johnnie and the Swede. The Swede wins the fight but leaves the hotel with a false sense of confidence. He goes to a nearby bar and boasts about his victory and eventually gets himself in a fight with a gambler; and Swede eventually is killed. The central idea behind the action in the story is that a person might play a minor role in a terrible act and think that it's ok, but when the outcome is seen it can be that the person who play minor roles may be equal to the persons at large.
Guilt coupled with remorse is debilitating in most individual 's lives. People 's mindsets are completely altered to solely revert back to the action committed. This is explicitly portrayed in Khaled Hosseini 's The Kite Runner as Amir cannot break free of a mind trap imparted upon his thoughts by his past actions concerning Hassan. His eventual liberation is not complete as he will always bear the consequences of his engagements, but he does gain a sense of relief in finality. Comparatively, Tim O 'Brian similarly weaves a comparative story-line in "The Things They Carried" as Lt. Cross is enslaved by the prospect of a young lover across the shores. Ultimately, Cross seeks restoration in his life as he desires to alleviate his remorse by forgetting
Choice and Individual Freedom in The Stranger Camus's The Stranger is a grim profession that choice and individual freedom are integral components of human nature, and the commitment and responsibility that accompany these elements are ultimately the deciding factors of the morality of one's existence. Meursault is placed in an indifferent world, a world that embraces absurdity and persecutes reason; such is the nature of existentialist belief, that rationalization and logic are ultimately the essence of humanity, and that societal premonitions and an irrelevant status quo serve only to perpetuate a false sense of truth. Meursault's virtue, as well as his undoing, lies in his unique tendency to choose, and thereby exist, without computing objective standards or universal sentiment. His stoic, de facto existentialism is a catalyst for endless conflict between his rationalization- and logic-based existence and that of others, which focuses on an objective subscription to "the norm" ; such is evident in heated discussions with the magistrate and prison minister, who are seen as paragons of invalid logic and the quixotic, quasi-passionate pursuit of hackneyed conformity. No windmills are slain1 in this simulated existence; absurdity of a different ilk dominates the popular mentality, one which would alienate a man based on his perceived indifference towards the mundane, and try, convict, and execute a man based on his lack of purported empathy towards the irrelevant.
Questions around personality often refer to a person’s identity, or what “makes that person unique” (C.G. Boeree, 2006). Santrock defines personality as a pattern of distinctive thoughts, feelings and behaviours which characterise the manner in which an individual interacts with the world (2005). The word ‘person’ has Roman origins, referring to the masks worn by actors in order to portray a character (W Meyer, C Moore, H Viljoen; 2003). This definition is significant when attempting to unpack the personality of a ballet dancer in the movie Black Swan (D. Aronofsky, 2010), as there are a few levels of interpretation which can be applied here. There is the actor (Natalie Portman) who portrays the character (Nina Sayers) who struggles with her
Some kinds of utterances which have an indicative grammatical form seem, for different reasons, to be unable to say something true of the world. Logical contradictions are only the prime example of something the author baptizes impossible descriptions. So-called performative contradictions (e.g., "I do not exist") make up another kind, but there are at least two more such kinds: negating affirmations and performatives which cannot be explained within the philosophy of language. Only philosophical anthropology can explain their feature of "impossibleness," and a distinction between unreflective and reflective consciousness is central to the explanation. Particularly important here is G. H. Mead's distinction between two aspects of the self: the "I" and the "me." Each of the four kinds of impossible descriptions distinguished has its own contrary opposite. These are, in turn, logical tautologies, performative tautologies, affirming negations, and omissive performatives. The last three types as types have not received the philosophical recognition that they deserve. All four fit a general characterization which is given as a definition of the concept of superfluous description.