Two faces, One coin “Sunday in the Park” by Bel Kaufman, is a short story that illustrates the contrast and conflict of human behavior through a typical family's encounter with a barbaric man. Contrast is emphasized by conflicting pairs of opposing behaviors: civility, rationality, and harmony against barbaric, instinct, and turmoil. The author continuously develops a positive atmosphere, promptly to shatter the image. Through the story, Kaufman implies that humans conflict between their two sides of contrast, either it is the viewer, between characters, or within oneself. The title of the story is the first appliance of this "Sunday in the Park" Kaufman deliberately uses the words "Sunday" and "Park" commonly associated with holiday and …show more content…
relaxation; to immediately create the impression of calmness and peacefulness to the viewer. Nicolas Lockhart describes the opening of the story with "The story starts off with the narrator scanning her environment. She is at a park on a Sunday afternoon, with her husband and child. She does a very good job of painting a picture in the reader’s mind by being so descriptive and specific. She mentions people leaving the park, and includes the time and day of the week. It is slightly warm, and she can hear the city noises far off in the distance." (1) Kaufman continues to enforce this feeling to the viewer through most of the first paragraph by describing the atmosphere of the scene using words that convey a similar feeling. "Warm in the late-afternoon sun, and the city noises came muffled through the trees in the park." "...a faint breeze fanned her hair softly against her cheek." "...tucked away in a corner of the park, was all but deserted" The feeling of Harmony is then also implied using the line "The swings and seesaws stood motionless and abandoned, the slides were empty and only in the sandbox two little boys squatted diligently side by side." Kaufman intelligently mentioned games playable by multiple children together and actually playing together to intensify the feeling of harmony. The unnamed mother then directly mentions the feeling Kaufman has created in the viewer "How good this is, she thought, and almost smiled at her sense of well-being." The viewer image is then reassured by the unnamed mother having the same feeling. The Illusion is broken at the end of the first paragraph when "The other boy suddenly stood up and with a quick, deliberate swing of his chubby arm threw a spade full of sand at Larry" As Larry is suddenly hit by sand, the viewer is suddenly hit by an unexpected twist in the plot. Kaufman has made the viewer their first victim of human conflict and contrast, leaving them with the feeling of shock, surprise, and disbelief. The viewer is then conflicted about the contents of the story, and no longer certain about its direction. Continuing this event the boy who threw sand "... remained standing, shovel raised, stolid and impassive." now forcing the viewer, the new idea of turmoil on the viewer. In an instant, the smiles turned upside down and are frowns now. The father of Joe referred to as "Man" or "Big man" does not show any conflict within himself, but instead with Morton, the unnamed woman's husband. The man is the personification of barbaric and instinct with an equally fitting appearance described by Kaufman as "He was a big man, and he seemed to be taking up the whole bench as he held the Sunday comics close to his face." Kaufman deliberately made him hold a Sunday comics to create the idea the man is instinctive and acts as he pleases; as opposed to Morton who was reading the Times Magazine to symbolize civility and rationality. Morton is described as having a "...fine, lean face" and implied he is much smaller than the man, being able to comfortably share a bench with the woman as described by "Morton was reading the Times magazine section, one arm flung around her shoulder." The conflict starts between these two extreme opposites when Morton notices what is happening between Larry and Joe and the man encouraging Joe to act according to instinct. Morton acting as his own civilized self-tried to intervene but to no avail, and was merely replied by humiliation. Kaufman again reinforces both character roles as civilized vs. barbaric. Morton "...spoke to the man, it was with his usual reasonableness." meanwhile the man spoke as "His insolent voice was edged with menace." After the argument Morton and his family retreated in shame and humiliation, meanwhile "the other man stood up. He took a couple of steps toward Morton, and then stopped. He flexed his great arms, waiting." A dynamic image of rationality and civility broken by barbaric and power was created within the viewer’s mind as the scene concludes. As described by Kyle Jaworowski "Morton and Joe’s father come dangerously close to fistfight over the thrown sand. Our family leaves, broken and shattered, as Morton backs down from the larger man." (2) Throughout the scene, Kaufman uses words and phrases to widen the gap between the two metaphorically. Morton speaks in a very formal tone addressing the listener every time he spoke, even at his peak of anger, illustrating his dolce attitude "Smiling the shy" and "Pleasantly." In contrast, the man speaks very crudely and casually, using words such as "Yeah?" and "Aw, shut up," a lot of effort has also been done by descriptions to get this point across: "insolent voice was edged with menace" and "He looked at him from head to foot" Notice how Kaufman created more contrast between the two characters by animating Morton with mainly with adjectives, meanwhile the man is described by lines of descriptions and using informal words in his speech. The unnamed mother a character the viewer feels closest to because the mother is not only a character in the story but also the narrator.
The mother's thoughts and feelings are clearly described, creating a much more relatable character for the viewer. Her conflicts are shown using this method. The mother is on both sides of the spectrum being civil, rational, but also being barbaric, and instinctive. The first sign of this is after Joe has thrown his second shovel of sand at Larry. "Her first instinct was to rush to her son, brush the sand out of his hair, and punish the other child, but she controlled it. She always said that she wanted Larry to learn to fight his own battles." She wanted to act out of instinct and help Larry, but stopped herself with her rational thinking; but right after she did the opposite ""Don't do that, little boy," she said sharply," Her chains of action went from Instinct to rational then back to instinct. Another case of this happened when the "... other man stood up. He took a couple of steps toward Morton," Notice the thought she had about a potential fight "How dreadful, how incredible..." and the action she took "She wanted to put her hand on her husband's sleeve, to pull him down, but for some reason she didn't." As another viewer has explained, "Her sub consciousness is split into two. On one hand, the mother's rational self does not want Morton to fight Joe's father, knowing that he (Morton) will lose any fight with the bigger man. But on the other hand, her 'baser' instinctive self relishes the possibility of the fight -a show of strength in order to prove a point and restore "justice” (3) After leaving the park Morton explained using his typical rational analysis that the fight "...wouldn't have proved anything." The mother initially agrees rationally and wanted to forget about it by "...busy herself with her familiar tasks; perhaps then the feeling, glued like heavy plaster on her heart, would be gone." However,
as her thoughts kept cycling through her mind she had a change of heart to the contrary instinctive side. She said sharply, "I'm ashamed of you!" Supposedly aimed at Larry and most likely Morton too as Larry's tender and defenseless body resembled Morton's own. Eventually becoming barbaric and quoted the man to symbolize and show her contempt towards Morton's weakness. "Indeed?" "You and who else?" In conclusion, Kaufman told a story of a typical family facing distress using different literary elements to illustrate the differences between humans and their behavior. By creating contrast, the viewer easily can imagine how two sides are different; and by conflicting them how the two sides do not work together, but must exist together.
These days the money and personnel that go into creating a movie is scandalous. It is almost unbelievable that every time they don’t come out with anything less than a classic. Luckily this is true in the case of "Ferris Buller’s Day Off", which features some of the best casted actors for a long time and costs in the region of $5.8 million. Luckily, it is fantastic - and this is why.
Conflict arises in several aspects of life. We often have conflicts with ourselves, with other people, and even with nature. These three main conflicts, which bring Louie to redemption are seen in Hillenbrand’s Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. These conflicts are between the man and nature, Louie and the Bird, and the internal conflict as Louie struggles with alcoholism
Kurt Vonnegut, a modern American writer, composed stories about fictional situations that occurred in futuristic versions of today’s world. His stories included violence, both upon oneself and one another, and characters who sought out revenge. In “2BR02B” and “Harrison Bergeron”, Vonnegut conveys physical violence most likely experienced while a prisoner of World War 2, as a way to show how war brings pain and destruction.
...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.
The mother is a selfish and stubborn woman. Raised a certain way and never falters from it. She neglects help, oppresses education and persuades people to be what she wants or she will cut them out of her life completely. Her own morals out-weight every other family member’s wants and choices. Her influence and discipline brought every member of the family’s future to serious-danger to care to her wants. She is everything a good mother isn’t and is blind with her own morals. Her stubbornness towards change and education caused the families state of desperation. The realization shown through the story is the family would be better off without a mother to anchor them down.
The children also argue with their mother often. The children think that their mother, with no doubt, will be perfect. They idealize their mothers as angel who will save them from all their problems, which the mothers actually never do. The children get angry at their false hopes and realize that their mothers aren’t going to...
Junot Diaz's short story “Fiesta, 1980” gives an insight into the everyday life of a lower class family, a family with a troubled young boy, Yunior and a strong, abusive father, Papi. The conflict, man vs. man is one of the central themes of this story. This theme is portrayed through the conflicts between Papi and his son. Papi asserts his dominance in what can be considered unfashionable ways. Unconsciously, every action Papi makes yields negative reactions for his family. Yunior simply yearns for a tighter bond with his father, but knows-just like many other members of his family-Papi’s outlandish ways hurts him. As the story unfolds it becomes obvious that the conflicts between Papi and himself-along with conflicts between Yunior and himself-affect not only them as individuals, but their family as a whole.
Gwendolyn Brooks' poem "The mother" tells us about a mother who had many abortions. The speaker is addressing her children in explain to them why child could not have them. The internal conflict reveals that she regret killing her children or "small pups with a little or with no hair." The speaker tells what she will never do with her children that she killed. She will "never neglect", "beat", "silence", "buy with sweet", " scuffle off ghosts that come", "controlling your luscious sigh/ return for a snack", never hear them "giggled", "planned", and "cried." She also wishes she could see their "marriage", "aches", "stilted", play "games", and "deaths." She regrets even not giving them a "name" and "breaths." The mother knows that her decision will not let her forget by using the phrase "Abortions will not let you forget." The external conflict lets us know that she did not acted alone in her decision making. She mentions "believe that even in my deliberateness I was not deliberate" and "whine that the crime was other than mine." The speaker is saying that her decision to have an abortion was not final yet but someone forced her into having it anyway. The external conflict is that she cannot forget the pain on the day of having the abortions. She mentions the "contracted" and "eased" that she felt having abortions.
Conflict is an important part of any short story. The short story, “On the Sidewalk Bleeding,” contains three major conflicts: man vs. man, man vs. nature, and man vs. himself. In this essay, I intend to explain, prove, and analyze these three struggles.
By doing this, the child would save her parent’s from years of heartache and regret but would ultimately lead to the end of her own existence. Although if she chooses not to tell her parent’s the whole family will face inevitable sadness, hatred and despair. One example of conflict shows the thought process and the strain the child is experiencing, “I want to go up to them and say Stop…but I don’t do it. I want to live.” (Olds). This is a strong example of internal conflict, which is described as “the psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character, the resolution of which creates the plot 's suspense” ("Internal Conflict"). The poet chose to use internal conflict to show and emphasize the emotional distress and emotional fight she is experiencing with deciding her parent’s and her own
Early in the film , a psychologist is called in to treat the troubled child :and she calmed the mother with a statement to the effect that, “ These things come and go but they are unexplainable”. This juncture of the film is a starting point for one of the central themes of the film which is : how a fragile family unit is besieged by unusual forces both natural and supernatural which breaks and possesses and unites with the morally challenged father while the mother and the child through their innocence, love, and honesty triumph over these forces.
Throughout the film a focus on family and the dynamics is prominent. A traumatic event, the loss of a son, brother, and friend, has influenced the Jarrett greatly. Due to the circumstances in which Conrad, a severely depressed teenager and the main character, was present during the death of his brother, feelings of guilt had built up in this young man. A great deal of stress and tension is built between the family members because of this tragic accident. Here is where the concept of, change in one part of the familial system reverberates through out other parts. (Duty, 2010) The relationship between the Conrad and his mother become even more absent because, in the film it is presented to show that the mother blames and has not forgiven Conrad for the death of his brother Buck. Six months after the death of his brother Conrad attempts suicide with razors in the bathroom of his home. His parents commit him to a psychiatric hospital and eight months later, he is trying to resume his “old” life.
Furthermore, understanding the fact of how the villagers in that village practiced and participated in such a barbaric ritual and archaic event were not accepted by people. In addition, people who read the story commented that the modest people of the Midwest are superstitious and backward. Here, Jackson conveyed successfully with her subtle writing style that something is about to happen. She also used a third person point of view when writing this short story. The third person point of view permitted the author to keep the outcome of the story an exposure. This therefore led to the reader to consider everything is well but actually there is something wrong somewhere. Furthermore, what could be seen from the story is people were different compared to present, there is a huge difference in cultural practices. Therefore the actions of the story go in the opposite direction of people’s opinion in the present in terms of value of life, violence and the development of respect in a family.
Beyond the shield of civilization and into the depths of a primitive, untamed frontier lies the true face of the human soul. It is in the midst of this savagery and unrelenting danger that mankind confronts the brooding nature of his inner self.
William Faulkner’s Light in August (1932) is an investigation of the dilemmas of the modern Man. Faulkner examines the psychological as well as the social motives behind humans’ confused identity and weird behavior through the portrayal of his different characters in a constant search for their true selves. Alwayn Berland in his book Light in August: A Study in Black and White states that Faulkner “dealt directly with the largest human dilemma: what gives value and worth to human life? Why, and for what, do human beings strive?what is the nature of virtue? of evil? What are the limits of human freedom”. This novel, centered basically on the character of Joe Christmas, illustrates best these ideas. Joe Christmas represents the most complex character in this novel; he stands as the vehicle through which Faulkner introduces his views about human psyche and the anxieties of the modern era in the post-bellum southern society. The complexity of this character represents a source of confusion and mystery for critics because of his “confused identity, ambiguous sexuality, volatile temperament” (Walsh, 2), and often violent behavior. There were always conflicting critical views in relation to this character, when some consider him the victim of his traumatic childhood experiences and the Southern society’s cruelty; others perceive that he is the novel’s villain and the embodiment of evil. Relying on the ideas of the German psychiatrist Alice Miller, this paper aims at stressing the importance of childhood memories in defining the mystifying character of Joe Christmas as well as accounting for Faulkner’s use of such character.