Erin Morgenstern’s novel, The Night Circus, is enchanting with its unique and captivating storyline, featuring two young illusionists, Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair, who are bound together in a sophisticated competition. The narrative is centered around the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, revolving around a mystical circus that arrives without warning and exclusively runs during nighttime. Celia and Marco have undergone thorough training since childhood for this duel, which was meticulously arranged by their instructors to ascertain the supremacy of their respective magical methodologies. As the circus journeys across the globe, it becomes evident that the battle has serious repercussions not just for the contestants, but for all …show more content…
The beautifully written romance between Celia and Marco captivates me the most, giving the narrative a great deal of emotional depth. Morgenstern adeptly shows their relationship, turning their love story into a compelling and crucial aspect of the book. The impenetrable desire they feel for one another is evident when Marco confesses, “It is destroying me that I cannot ask you to dance” (Morgenstern 229), emphasizing the strong passion that underlines their connection and creating a palpable feeling of tension and expectation. Furthermore, Marco’s unwavering dedication to Celia is exquisitely depicted: “Marco’s attention., belongs only to Celia” (Morgenstern 229), highlighting their deep bond. Additionally, Morgenstern’s exceptional writing style significantly contributes to my admiration of the novel, leaving me with a mesmerizing experience. Her poetic and expressive prose fascinated me, immersing me in the enchanting realm of the circus right from the beginning of the book. Morgenstern’s evocative depictions evoked sensory experiences, inviting me to “smell [the] caramel wafting through the evening breeze” (Morgenstern 4), hear the “popping sound” (Morgenstern 4), feel the “subtle sweetness at the edges of the cold” (Morgenstern 4), and those “apples dipped in caramel” (Morgenstern 50) which are “light and crisp and sweet” (Morgenstern 50). These sensations intensify my attachment to the narrative and its engaging setting. The sensory experience is tangible, as evidenced by one of the circus patrons: “You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you [feel] more awake within the confines” (Morgenstern 387) of the circus’ “white and black” (Morgenstern 3) “towering tents” (Morgenstern 3), thereby, highlighting the feeling of being more alive and conscious while your presence at the circus than in the actual world.
Literary devices are used by Sandra Cisneros throughout the vignette “The Monkey Garden”, to highlight the mood of the piece. For instance, Cisneros uses symbolism to encompass feelings of mysticality when she describes the Monkey Garden as a place the kids can go too “far from where our mothers could find us.”(95). The garden is symbolized as a haven, that can seemingly alleviate the characters problems. Cisneros also uses juxtaposition to further develop mystical emotions the in the audience. When the author compares two objects like “a dollar and a dead mouse.” (95), she is juxtaposing two inherently disconnected objects to emphasise the range of feelings in the garden. By using literary devices to establish the mood, Sandra Cisneros can
In the short story “Circus in Town”, it depicts the life a young girl named Jenny who grows up in the improvised section of town. Despite her poor lifestyle Jenny stays positive through her use of imagination and clear mind. All it took to change her perspective of her life was a simple piece of paper from the circus. Despite her family’s circumstances, she does not try to avoid her lack of money or social status but rather creates her own ideal lifestyle she believes is perfect. Her life would be filled with horses that wore “silver bells on reins and bridle”(para 24) and her very “own circus”(para 22). This shows how Jenny is trapped in the fabricated
As the play opens, there is much merrymaking and festivity in preparation for the play. The sheer happiness of all of the colorful characters is transferred to the reader almost instantly. The mood is portrayed very well as being light and bubbly, an overall good feeling. The next major shift comes when Cyrano enters and, after riding himself of Montfleury, puts on the spectacle wherein he demonstrates not only his impeccable verbal dexterity, but also his fencing abilities - and both at the same time. This whole scene causes a strong reaction from the audience, and in turn, the re...
...us, and various dignitaries enter the dining room, Goldenfall inserts a muted Italian aria, like one heard in a fine Italian restaurant. Considering the nature of the scene and the audience's knowledge of what is to be served, the aria serves to increase audience disgust. And as the beautiful music wafts through the background of the scene and Tamora eats the flesh of her own sons, the revulsion is intensified. It is almost a relief when the scene erupts into violence.
As an audience member of playwright Edmond Rostand’s renowned production of Cyrano de Bergerac, one comes to adore the heroic, witty, affectionate, poetic, and honorable French soldier, Cyrano; however his unique qualities are overshadowed, literally, by his rather gargantuan nose. It is through discussions and insults concerning this physical attribute that the audience discovers he is in fact in love with the woman he has held close to his heart for many friendly years, his cousin Roxane. Completely unbeknownst to Roxane, Cyrano’s love and admiration for her is not simply on a relative scale as she perceives it to be, but rather the much more drastic level of physical, emotional, and intellectual attraction. As the play’s focal point is the life of Cyrano, the audience effectuates in the idea that he, being the sincere and devout man he is, is deserving of Roxane’s love. However, the true question is: is she worthy of him even though her afflictive unattainability and major faults?
Edmond Rostand, a very distinguished and illustrious French author, is renowned to be an accomplished writer on culture and society, particularly the way culture plays a key role in how characters live their lives, and how society and societal ideals ultimately determine the fate of the characters. An audience can best observe Rostand’s abilities in his most famous play, Cyrano de Bergerac, written in 1897. Through the characters and their interactions in this play, Rostand sheds light on the realities of love, the dangers of deception, and the perception of inner and outer beauty. Love is a powerful word, deception is a quick way to gain little things and lose big things, and beauty is not always something the is visible to the eyes.
The details of intense experiences are often times not easily lost to others who acknowledge secondhand wonder when it is conveyed passionately. In other words, there are stimulating occurrences within even the most mundane lifetime that provide incredible sensory and a life changing incentive. Furthermore, this experience has the overwhelming power to convince others to pursue that event’s awe. An example of such an influential event is expertly playing an instrument and marching deliberately within The Pride of the Devils in front of a populous crowd. The primary reveal of The Pride’s strength is portrayed within the time-withstanding moments of the pregame exhibition as well as the enduring image of the half-time show. Because of the precise
Like Water for Chocolate—a novel rich in history, culture, food, and scandal; a breathtaking portrayal of a love affair, of the strength of character of desperate women, and of humbling traditions—captivates both the soul and mind, enchanting its readers by way of causing them to become immersed in its story-line. Prominent among its themes is that of finding an identity—or a lack thereof—which seems to pervade the lives of those most engaged in the process of self evaluation and discovery, and as such Laura Esquivel’s novel is comparable to Haruki Murakami’s The Elephant Vanishes, in which the characters from several stories seem to be in a state of perpetual dislocation and disconnection from the world around them. Tita in Esquivel’s novel, best portrays this struggle of gaining personal identity and freedom amidst repressive, external forces, while specific characters from stories in Murakami’s collection such as “Sleep”, “The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday’s Women”, or “A Slow Boat to China”, reflect a struggle that arises instead from both external and internal forces. Particularly important however, is Esquivel and Murakami’s contrasting approach to addressing the theme—be it through symbolism, language or characterization—that requires close critique.
her grandmother) and grief, Viramontes successfully paints an endearing tale of change. “The Moths” emphasizes the narrator’s oppression by her
What initiated the tragic occurrence in Celia’s life was when the death of Newsom’s wife occurred; once his wife passed away he craved the need for sexual fulfillment. Coming
Christopher Priest’s novel of the everyday miraculous, The Glamour, deals with invisibility so as to intertwine plot and story in a way that seems relatively straightforward at the beginning, only to turn into a tangle, a conundrum, at the end, much more so than the flashier (hence, more reassuring) experiments of the nouveau roman or overtly experimental fiction.
In this novel, the society is centered around dichotomies; “youth and dotage” (Balzac 67), “the young man who has possessions and the young man that has nothing” and “the young man who thinks and the young man who spends” (87). Any person who falls outside of either box is called a “[child] who learn[s]… too late” or can “never appear in polite society” (87), essentially meaning they are undesirable in a formal society because they cannot follow expectations. The titular character, Paquita, is an “oriental” foreigner, from Havana, domesticated in Paris when she was sold to a wealthy woman who desired her. She fits into no culture entirely, as she is “part Asian houri on her mother’s side, part European through education, and part tropical by birth” (122). She is bisexual, choosing neither men nor women over the other. She is controlling, dressing Henri in women’s clothing (119), but controlled as she is reduced to a possession. However, there are ways in which a person can still be desired even if they are not easily pigeonholed. With her golden eyes and sensuality, Paquita fulfills both of the main pursuits of this society, “gold and pleasure” (68). Consequently, unlike the Marquis and his irrelevance in society, Paquita is highly sought after, thus making her a valuable commodity. Her desirability is not because of who she is as a human, but instead what
The climax of the story has a few layers of drama that really bring out the problems between the characters. We see Santiago and his half brother Cheche battle about the future of the factory; this affects Santiago's relationship with his wife who doesn't know about all the debt and risks he has taken. Then there's Conchita and her husband Paloma, who are experiencing marital issues which become heightened by the seductive lector Juan Julian. Both couples have personal conflicts with one another as well as external issues that affect their lives. The play had interesting parts to it such as infidelity and abuse of sexual nature. some very sensual parts; like infidelity and sexual abuse but were carried out by the cast with immense care and genuineness. Gomez does a really good job of bringing out emotional performances from the actors. This really took me on an emotional/visual roller coaster. The characters moved from happy to angry and from night to day with great ease. Scenes were so realistic and I found myself really engrossed in the story. Gomez interpreted the script really well and I think he related to the story. The story felt natural and cohesive,like it was his
Countless dozens of Ph.D. theses must be written about Mozart's The Magic Flute, and yet it is so lively with elements of fantasy and free-flying imagination that it is often the first opera to which children are taken. It has a plot of such complexity that it takes several viewings for all but the most studious opera buffs to sort out the characters and follow the ins and outs of the multilevel story. At the same time, it has so much easily accessible charm and so many glorious Mozart tunes that even the novice will be captivated. There is a large cast of characters including the priest Sarastro (a very serious, proselytizing basso), the Queen of the Night (a mean, angry, scheming coloratura), and her daughter, the beautiful and courageous Pamina. There is the handsome hero, Tamino, on the quintessential road trip, and his cohort in misadventure, the bird seller, Papageno.
Another management technique is Performance Improvement tools. When developing an improvement project, various diagnostic tools are used to detect the causes of undesirable performance and to design solutions. Do not confuse performance improvement models with the analytic tools used throughout an improvement project. The author provided the analogy for example, “think of the improvement model as the recipe for instance, the steps you follow when baking a cake. Analytic tools are the ingredients the materials you use while following the recipe. When baking a cake, you want to use the correct ingredients and add them to the cake mixture at the right time.” The same was accurate for the analytic tools used during an improvement project (Health Administration Press, 2013).