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Essays on symbolism in literature
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En la breve historia Semejante a la noche, escrito por Alejo Carpentier en el año 1952, pasa veinticuatro horas en la vida de un joven soldado, a la vez que cuenta la esencia del ser humano tras tres mil años. Carpentier divide el relato entre cuatro secciones marcadas por números romanos a través de las cuales salta entre seis distintas épocas de guerra. Superficialmente es un relato sencillo de un joven soldado preparándose para embarcar en una gran expedición guerrera naval. Detrás de esta fachada, la narración del cuento es mucho más detallado y complejo. La voz narrativa salta entre seis soldados que narran el cuento desde tiempos históricos y lugares diferentes. Es posible identificar las cambias de perspectiva porque Carpentier deliberadamente menciona personajes, lugares, y hechos de fechas determinadas en la historia. Al resultado, el lector puede identificar la guerra de Troya, la conquista de las americanas por los españoles, las expediciones colonizadores de Francia, la Cuarta Cruzada, la Gran Guerra y la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Tras estas épocas, la narración del relato esencial sigue ininterrumpido para construir un sentido de metáfora entre las seis vidas. El título del texto, "Semejante a la noche" es una referencia al Canto I del la epopeya traducido al español por Alfonso Reyes. La elección de un título que tiene raíces en la Ilíada sirve para subrayar la continuidad y la universalidad temporal del cuento. La yuxtaposición de las historias y construcción de una coherente sirve para identificar las similitudes y la esencia del ser humano.
A primera vista, el cuento empieza con un joven soldado que mira el mar con ojos llenos de esperanza y el espirito de aventura. "El mar empezaba a verdecer entre los promont...
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...es jerárquicas no pueden existir sin la pobreza y la ignorancia que los conflictos armados pueden causar. De esta manera, la guerra se libra por el grupo dirigente contra sus propios súbditos tanto que contra los enemigos oficiales. Las guerras modernas no son nada más que versión más brutales de las antiguas con intenciones iguales.
Parece que la visión del futuro Carpentierano es desolado, pero hay unos rayos de esperanza si podemos entender su mensaje. La primera época que menciona ocurre durante la Ilíada, un texto conocido como uno de los más fundamentales de la cultura europea, y las otras épocas son conmemoradas en obras de literatura y textos históricos. Si la gente puede aprender de la literatura y las experiencias de las personas del pasado conmemoradas en nuestros textos de historia, puede ser posible construir un futuro sin la guerra insensata.
Homer’s Iliad has been a European myth for many millennia , the long poetic narrative written in the 8th century B.C. recounts a fearsome war fought over a beautiful woman. The reliability of Homers Iliad as a true historical document has been challenged for hundreds of years and only through archaeological studies can the truth be deciphered. The Iliad was written five centuries after the war, where the stories had been passed down through the oral tradition, therefore the type of society reflected within the poems resemble much more the time of Homer . The fact and fiction of the Iliad has been uncovered through archaeology. Archaeologist found a site in which they thought to have been ‘Troy’ destroyed by the powerful country of Mycenae in the late Bronze Age. They found large amount of material culture from where they could reconstruct the society, this included pottery, engravings, murals and clay tablets. A reason for the Trojan War has always inspired great controversy. The Trojan War according to Homer was fought over the abduction of a beautiful women but this theory appears improbable. Other causes which could have sparked a war is Troy’s geographical positioning. This made it extremely opulent, where other countries of the Aegean would trade there goods and use its harbour. The Mycenaean’s being an extremely imperial, violent and militaristic country would have seen Troy as a great opportunity to gain territory and wealth, on this motive the war took place.
Starting with the first chapter, Deverell examines the racial and ethnic violence that took place in the wake of American defeat. In no more than thirty years or so, ethnic relations had appeased and the Mexican people were outnumbered quickly (as well as economically marginalized and politically disenfranchised), as the second chapter discloses. The author examines a variety of topics to further his case but the most compelling and captivating sections of the book come into the third, fourth and fifth chapters. The third chapter focuses its attention
“The Conquest of New Spain” is the first hand account of Bernal Diaz (translated by J.M. Cohen) who writes about his personal accounts of the conquest of Mexico by himself and other conquistadors beginning in 1517. Unlike other authors who wrote about their first hand accounts, Diaz offers a more positive outlook of the conquest and the conquistadors motives as they moved through mainland Mexico. The beginning chapters go into detail about the expeditions of some Spanish conquistadors such as Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, Juan de Grijalva and Hernando Cotes. This book, though, focuses mainly on Diaz’s travels with Hernando Cortes. Bernal Diaz’s uses the idea of the “Just War Theory” as his argument for why the conquests were justifiable
War is cruel. The Vietnam War, which lasted for 21 years from 1954 to 1975, was a horrific and tragic event in human history. The Second World War was as frightening and tragic even though it lasted for only 6 years from 1939 to 1945 comparing with the longer-lasting war in Vietnam. During both wars, thousands of millions of soldiers and civilians had been killed. Especially during the Second World War, numerous innocent people were sent into concentration camps, or some places as internment camps for no specific reasons told. Some of these people came out sound after the war, but others were never heard of again. After both wars, people that were alive experienced not only the physical damages, but also the psychic trauma by seeing the deaths and injuries of family members, friends or even just strangers. In the short story “A Marker on the Side of the Boat” by Bao Ninh about the Vietnam War, and the documentary film Barbed Wire and Mandolins directed by Nicola Zavaglia with a background of the Second World War, they both explore and convey the trauma of war. However, the short story “A Marker on the Side of the Boat” is more effective in conveying the trauma of war than the film Barbed Wire and Mandolins because of its well-developed plot with well-illustrated details, and its ability to raise emotional responses from its readers.
In Matthew Restall’s book The Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, he argues that many of the widely accepted modern beliefs about the Spanish Conquest are misguided or skewed. These myths more importantly show how dependent history is on the perspective of the one who is writing it, and how the writer perceives the events happening around them. One example, is the myth of white Spaniards going to a foreign land on the decree of a king and finding barbarous natives who are inferior to these so-called great men. Using documentation written from both sides, and taking into account the context of the time period, Restall explores the myths of the Spanish Conquest in order to frame a less romanticized, well-rounded view of what actually happened
In Daniel Richter’s essay War and Culture, he uses a mix of primary sources and his own comprehension of history, to formulate a general understanding of the native experience. In our experience watching The Black Robe we were able to analyze history through a chain of sources. There are many similarities to analyze from these sources. Harmony and balance is the root of many aspects in Native culture including: dependency on Europeans, warfare style, rituals and customs, mourning, population maintenance, and ultimately adoption-torture.
Throughout an individual’s life-time, he/she has a vision as o what his/her should be. But when things do not go as planned and the unexpected occurs, does that person face it, or run away? In “An Act of Vengeance” by Isabel Allende, running away is not an option at well. Through the usage of plot, character and irony, Allende illustrates the cost of war.
El Recado es un cuento de la esperanza y amor. La protagonista viene a visita Martin, pero el no esta en su casa. Entonces ella esperas en peldano, y esperanza que el aparece pronto. Esperanza es una palabra muy importante en el cuento. La palabra es usado directamente tres veces en la obra 26, 31, y 39. Tambien en el principio de el cuento todo es de un afecto sensual. Mientras ella esta en el peldano vea el jardin de Martin. Da caracteristicas humanos (personificacion) a los flores en el jardin ( 6-7), estos caracteristicas como honesto y graves probablamente tambien de su amante. Luego ella hace una comparacion directa entre el y el jardin “Todo el jardin es solido, es como tu, tiene una reciedumbre que inspira confianza.” Este oracion no solamente tiene un simil, pero tambien ayuda en mostrando la comparacion a un mujer de un hombre. El hombre es personificado con palabras de fuerza, mientras todo el cuento muestra una mujer debil.
Bartolomé de Las Casas begins by providing a vivid description of each land being invaded by the Europeans and the type of peopl...
The consequences and effects of war, may be psychological, physical, or emotional. Can effect directly, for example, a solider or indirectly, for example, that soldier’s relatives and friends. “The Things They Carried” and “The Red Convertible” exam these matters. “The Things They Carried examines the psychological, physical, or emotional side of destruction that the Vietnam War bought. While “The Red Convertible” focuses on the psychological strain on soldiers they endure after the war as well as their families. These stories raise the questions is really war really necessary and can a solider back out of duty. Both stories are initiation stories or coming of age stories. These aspects are most effective when analyzing these works. The pieces may go deeper into the issues and questions at hand. The Centering on characterization, the point of view, symbolism or imagery, and significance of the title all help support the theme of these works and develop thoughts and opinions on the stories issues.
The Vietnam War and the Trojan War were two separate tragedies that took place in very different time periods yet. They have many things in common such as their senselessness, the brutality shown, and the way the soldiers were treated when they returned to their homeland. In this paper we will touch on those three topics explaining the petty causes of the war and how cruelly the opposing potencies attacked the enemy. Also, we will discover the great similarity in how the soldiers were treated upon returning from the war and how the war affected their lives.
The corrido has been identified as having distinctive characteristics that make up its theme and plot. First, the corrido has a “context of hostile relations between Anglos and Mexicans along the border and the establishment of a scenic structure, geographical locale, and opposing social forces” (Mendoza 146). The corrido’s hero “is a hard-working, peace-loving Mexican, who, when goaded by Anglos, outrages into violence, causing him to defend his rights and those of others of his community against the rinches, the Rangers” (Saldívar). This hero “is quickly introduced in legendary proportions and defiant stature” and many people must die before the hero reaches his triumphant, but tragic, demise (Mendoza 146). The Anglos in the corrido, meanwhile, are not one-dimensional villains but “complex figures who contain positive as well as negative qualities” (Mendoza 146). These distinctive traits of a corrido – setting, conflict, and characterization, among others – ...
...ento de Productos artesanales de plástico en el Ministerio de Educación. Con la ayuda de José Orozco y David Siqueiros, Rivera creó el Sindicato de Trabajadores Técnicos, Pintores y Escultores. Rivera y sus ayudantes pintaron 235 paneles al fresco individuales que cubren 15.000 metros cuadrados. Estos paneles mostraron sus puntos de vista políticos de México cultural, histórico y popular.
In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and in Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, both authors commentate on the romanticism of violence that is often associated with war. Because of this, the authors are able to dispel misconceptions surrounding war. Furthermore, the memoirs allow the authors reflect upon their own experiences of war during their childhoods, as well as examine how cultural shifts perpetuated by both war and the increased influence of western culture that took place within their cultures shaped who they became. Through their memoirs, the authors portray the reality of war and violence through cultural experiences.
Artists portray gruesome events in many ways including poems and videos. Gruesome events are portrayed in similar ways and also different ways including what is put in and what is left out. Whether it be leaving out who started the war, telling the whole story, or emphasizing elements in different ways the artist clearly portrays the Civil War of Spain as a gruesome and horrifying event. Both mediums clearly show how life was before the war and how people have been hurt. Both artists give the reader a sense of how the war affected everyone in Spain and eventually give the rest of the world a reason to “come and see the blood in the streets”(1/5 voices).