In ''The Masked Marvel's Last Toehold'', Dr. Richard Selzer nimbly and ably, even, dexterously, recounts a sad account of one of his patients, though it's tinged with happiness and youthful innocence lost. The ''toehold'' makes a repeat appearance, from the wrestling position that the wrestler 'Angel' performs on the 'Masked Marvel', which even as a boy, Richard Selzer feels is unfair, unjust, and terrible, to the second and last foot that he has an elderly patient that he is set to remove in the ending lines. Is it all just a metaphor, I thought, as I read it and realized that in fact, there are so many metaphors and relationships between people, words, and events in this short essay that it's remarkable. Is the 'Angel' a symbol, especially with the ''attitude of supplication and suffering'' that the Masked Man defers to him while he is the losing opponent of the wrestling match? …show more content…
Tear off a leg'', to his heart and angina - or perhaps damaged or lack of an emotional heart - a representative or metaphor of the callousness of life and sometimes savage sports fan/male psyche/cruelty to people, ending with his disappointment and silent stillness when The Masked Man rallied from near defeat? I don't even feel as though it's melodramatic to wonder, because every thing, every detail, and every word in this essay seems to have a purpose and a plan for extending and detailing the story and the people within it. Richard, in a way, lost his childhood and his innocence that night, from his early accounts of the evening and how he was just ten years old and it was his first ever night out, to his realization and fear as the night begins to take a turn he realizes he is unhappy and uncomfortable with. Perhaps that night stirred his beginning interest to becoming a surgeon and helping
Diane Urban, for instance, was one of the many people who were trapped inside this horror. She “was comforting a woman propped against a wall, her legs virtually amputated” (96). Flynn and Dwyer appeal to the reader’s ethical conscience and emotions by providing a story of a victim who went through many tragedies. Causing readers to feel empathy for the victims. In addition, you began to put yourself in their shoes and wonder what you would do.
Upon the dancer’s departure, “the dancer, who though older was still languid and full of grace, reached out and tapped me with two fingers on the cheek, turned, and walked away” (185). Krauss uses this odd gesture by the dancer helps reinforce the strange quirks of the dancer and the author’s thought of the gesture containing “something condescending in it, even meant to humiliate” (185). The use of the words, “languid and full of grace” continues to strengthen the narrator’s fascination in the dancers beauty but also how the narrator feels uncomfortable with her interactions with the dancer. After the narrator’s encounter with the dancer, she walks by a crowded park “until a cry rang out, pained and terrified, an agonizing child’s cry that tore into[her] as if it were an appeal to [her] alone” (186). The author’s use of the painful and terrifying cry reintroduces the theme of a screaming child from the first passage which reinforces the author’s incapability to manager her guilt. The use of the word “agonizing” in this context suggests the overwhelming amount of guilt the author contains but in form as a youthful shrilling scream. Towards the end of the short story, the agonizing
...was a desperate act of a lonely, insane woman who could not bear to loose him. The structure of this story, however, is such that the important details are delivered in almost random order, without a clear road map that connects events. The ending comes as a morbid shock, until a second reading of the story reveals the carefully hidden details that foreshadow the logical conclusion.
[1] I suppose that characterization is not particularly necessary in this story, as one is able to ‘connect with’ a character given the generality of his or her experience (having blood drawn, for example).
Another prevalent symbol to me is the idea of sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper just suddenly one day shows up to church wearing a veil. At first the people are sort of angered by it. People soon start to flock to his congregation to view the spectacle, and go so far as to test their '"'courage'"' by seeing who will go and talk to him. I think that the veil could represent sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper was either trying to hide his sin from the people so that they could not judge him, which is god"'"s job, or maybe he was trying to protecting his self from the sins of the people. In the end of The Ministers Black Veil Hooper dies, and sees his congregation all wearing black veils, which would probably hint that maybe it represented the sin in all of us. In The Birthmark Georgiana"'"s birthmark could represent, as some religions believe, the original sin which is bestowed on all by the '"'hand'"' of god. But, unlike Hooper, Georgiana could not help her markings.
Consequently, Andy’s soul withered further into hopelessness as each and every person who came to his rescue, turned their backs on him. Through a final desperate ambition, Andy broke free of the bonds that were pinning him down: “If it had not been for the jacket, he wouldn’t have been stabbed. The knife had not been plunged in hatred of Andy. The knife only hated the purple jacket. The jacket was a stupid, meaningless thing that was robbing him of his life. He lay struggling with the shiny wet jacket. Pain ripped fire across his body whenever he moved. But he squirmed and fought and twisted until one arm was free and the other. He rolled away from the jacket and layed quite still, breathing heavily, listening to the sound of his breathing and the sounds of rain and thinking: Rain is sweet, I’m Andy”. In these moments, Andy finally overcame his situation, only in a way not expected by most. Such depicted scenes are prime examples of human nature at it’s worst, as well as the horrors that lay within us. However, these events, although previously incomprehensible by his limited subconscious, led to a gradual enlightenment of the mind and heart. Furthermore, the experiences taught him
In the beginning the narrator concentrates on a typo on the hospital menu saying “…They mean, I think, that the pot roast tonight will be served with buttered noodles. But what it says…is that the pot roast will be severed…not a word you want to see after flipping your car twice…” (Hempel 53) as if he’s trying to keep his mind off of everything. Nevertheless, the narrator continues on to speak regarding his memory, the realization of eventual death, and the duality of experience. Although from time to time, as a coping mechanism, he restrains himself from getting too serious—by means of making jokes on the surface—he finds himself plunging into deeper meaning.
Forthright emotions are not necessary in this piece for the reader to connect, understand, or empathize with the plot. Johnson created a character who clearly has emotions, but chooses to safeguard them for a realistic feeling and the ability to concentrate on the more important purpose of the novel: to expose the difficulties a man with dual identity may face in a time period determined on separating and segregating who he is. Detached and emotionless, in this well-crafted and well-thought-out scenario, expresses more emotion and creates a more realistic novel than a complex examination of his inner feelings may have
First, the speaker is revealed to be “sobbing”, which subsequently causes him to “swing harder and harder” while he murders Danny (54). This lack of emotional control demonstrates the speaker’s complete inability to deal with hardship.
In her book, The Critical Difference: Essays in the Contemporary Rhetoric of Reading, Barbara Johnson explains that deconstruction “is closer to the original meaning of the word, analysis, which etymologically means ‘to undo’ - a virtual synonym for ‘to de-construct’” (5). A clear aspect of deconstruction is presented by examining and analyzing the equivocalness of sanity and insanity in the characters of Robert and Rodwell. Throughout Robert’s journey, his affinity for animals is established as one of his main qualities and priorities. Additionally, at the beginning of the novel, Robert’s character is shown as being a completely nonviolent and innocent young boy. However, as the novel progressed and reached its climax, Robert’s character developed and morphed into a violent, aggrieved and agonized one. It was through this change, that the insanity and sanity of his character is explored. In particular, Robert’s need to save the horses from being bombed and his struggle with Captain Leather is a vital example of the ambiguity of his sanity and madness. Specifically, when Devlin admitted he was scared of Captain Leather when Robert was trying to convince him to saving the horses, Robert explains that “Leather is insane” (Findley 183). This signifies the blurred distinction of sanity and insanity as while Robert thinks Leather is insane because he will not allow the horses to be freed when they will be needed right after the bombing is over; one can also say that Robert is insane himself as he is actively disobeying the higher officials. Furthermore, when Robert asks Devlin to help, he is deliberately putting him in danger of either being seen by Captain Leather or being hit by a bomb. This further enhances the proof that Robert cherishes the life and safety of the horses more
For example Poe states “While none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all” (Poe). The masked figure represents the red death and how the people that thought they were safe were not safe. They figured if they stayed inside they would not be exposed to the red death. The supernatural figure represented the red death. The prince got killed in the black room showing death in that room.
Suffering from the death of a close friend, the boy tries to ignore his feelings and jokes on his sister. His friend was a mental patient who threw himself off a building. Being really young and unable to cope with this tragedy, the boy jokes to his sister about the bridge collapsing. "The mention of the suicide and of the bridge collapsing set a depressing tone for the rest of the story" (Baker 170). Arguments about Raisinettes force the father to settle it by saying, "you will both spoil your lunch." As their day continues, their arguments become more serious and present concern for the father who is trying to understand his children better. In complete agreement with Justin Oeltzes’ paper, "A Sad Story," I also feel that this dark foreshadowing of time to come is an indication of the author’s direct intention to write a sad story.
It is the first time that Lizabeth hears a man cry. She could not believe herself because her father is “a strong man who could whisk a child upon his shoulders and go singing through the house.” As the centre of the family and a hero in her heart, Lizabeth’s dad is “sobbing like the tiniest child”She discovers that her parents are not as powerful or stable as she thought they were. The feeling of powerlessness and fear surges within her as she loses the perfect relying on her dad. She says, “the world had lost its boundary lines.” the “smoldering emotions” and “fear unleashed by my father’s tears” had “combined in one great impulse toward
Emotional discomfort can sometimes be perceived as mental instability. A person may look, act, or feel insane, when in truth they are just very uncomfortable in their own skin. The narrator has a genuinely difficult decision to make which far outside his comfort zone. He is choosing between a woman who has been like a mother to him and much needed job that he feels he may enjoy. This choice is tearing him apart from the inside out. From the ringing noises that interrupt his every thought to the skin he is scraping off. The author uses diction, syntax, and extended metaphors to express the complete and utter discomfort of the narrator, both physically and emotionally.
In the play “Click” by Brighde Mullins, the character Man can be described as a rehabilitating alcoholic that expresses loneliness and anger towards Woman in their short conversation, and loses part of who he was. Man’s anger is reflected by his inability to bare the sound of the click he hears in the background of their conversation, and then later impulsively hanging up. Additionally, the reader can see that Man has become less of who he was before his rehabilitation because of his low tolerance for Woman’s metaphors, and has been overcome by loneliness.