In the passage from the opening of “The Pupil” by Henry James, the author’s portrayal of the three characters, Mrs. Moreen, Pemberton, and Morgan Moreen, and the odd relationships between them set the mood of the story. James’ satirical tone, indirect characterization, and third-person limited point of view depict these relationships as one where all are involved somehow to manipulate and use each other.
The satirical tone of the piece highlights the self-absorption of the characters and shows the author’s view that judgment equalizes people of all classes, which inhibits conversation and positive interaction. The lack of dialogue, for example, portrays a satirical tone resulting from the inability to create conversation and positive interactions. The only time Morgan speaks is to make a mocking comment, “Oh, la-la!” The irony of certain excerpts in the passage reflects James’ contempt for the class system of the time; lines 33-35, “And all over-clouded by this, you know---all at the mercy of weakness!” , and Lines 61-64, “At any rate, when Mrs. Moreen got up as if to intimate that, since it was understood he would enter upon his duties within the week
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Because only Pemberton’s thoughts and feelings are shared, this allows the reader to form a bond to Pemberton.James characterizes Pemberton’s point of view by explaining his relationships with Mrs. Moreen and Morgan. Pemberton describes Mrs, Moreen as ill-mannered and impolite, giving the reader the feeling that Pemberton is tutoring her son just to earn some money. The relationship between Pemberton and Morgan is infancy, since master/pupil have not bonded yet. However, the first impression given by Morgan is about his ill manners in presenting himself in front of his mother. A statement about this by Pemberton suggests that the boy will be trained well in all walks of
After reading the passage, “Clover”, by Billy Lombardo, a reader is able to describe a particular character’s interactions and analyze descriptions of this individual. In the passage, “Clover”, is a teacher, Graham. He, in his classroom, shares something that had occurred that morning. In this passage, the author, Billy Lombardo, describes interaction, responses, and unique characteristics and traits of the key character, Graham.
The tone of this essay is sarcastic and humorous. The way the author present himself in order to be famous or impressive, turn out being a situation where people was making fun of him. It is illustrated in the text when the author describe the scene where he wanted to impress girls. “I acquired a pipe, which I chewed on ostentatiously ...even at school basketball games, pretending to be absorbed by books of daunting significance.” an example presenting the humoristic tone is when the Richler instead of being seeing as an intellectual people were mocking him. This is illustrated when the author says” The sweetly scented girls of my dreams, wearing lipstick and tight sweaters and nylon ...they would call out , giggly, nudging
In the novella, Apt Pupil by Stephen King, the author illustrates and explains to us what his concept of evil is by showing us the ways society only see's and accepts the superficial aspects of people, like Todd the "All-American kid" (111) who is acceptable in every way and although Todd seems like the American ideal that most people view as what America should be like, society and people ignore or pretend that a person perfect like Todd or a man like Dussander who "exuded a certain courtly charm that all the young ladies responded to" (247) could get the nurses to blush, was actually able to think that killing "winos were fun" (210) and that "they made him feel alive" (210). Todd's grandfather was the type of man who had a "Left Hand Book" (185) where he helps out the people who go to his store. Todd's father soon grows to hate those people for causing him to wear Good will pants and the values that Dicks father has is twisted by Todd's father and the hate Todd's father has transferred to Todd, but in a more extreme manner.
Henry James’s Turn of The Screw has long been hailed as one of the most classic and genre-defining novels that has ever been written; the complexity, supposed insanity, and eventual downfall of the main character of the governess creates an engaging plot defined by the mental stability and moral ambiguity of the governess. Throughout the entirety of the novel, the governess increasingly becomes a more conflicted and morally ambiguous character whose unreliable narration suggests a larger introspection into the destructive nature of heroism and the effects an unreliable narrator has on the story as a whole.
In “The Pupil” by Henry James, we are able to travel with Pemberton as he searches for answers to his thoughts. Through fluctuations of tone and the interesting point of view from Pemberton, James allows readers to experience his hesitation and unravel his relationships with Mrs. Moreen and Morgan Moreen. The comprehensiveness of this passage helps portray Mrs. Moreen’s physical qualities as well as Morgan’s social well-being as readers learn how the smallest connection can forever impact a life.
Thoughtful laughter is a technique used frequently in satirical pieces in literature. It allows for the audience to enjoy the wittiness of a work, later ponder on the meaning, and then apply the message to reality. Thoughtful laughter is often an inner experience that can only be achieved by authors who write meticulously. Two examples of satirical works in literature that display this concept explicitly are Voltaire’s Candide and C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. Both authors explore the depths of satire and simultaneously deliver an important message to readers through skillful technique.
Oscar Wildes ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’’ is believed by many to be his most genius work and certainly has withstood the test of time. The play is set in London during the 1890’s in which time frame aristocracy and upper class held the majority of the countries wealth. Many of the comical aspects question the morals of the upper class in which he satirises throughout the play. One method of this, for instance is through one of the main protagonist, Algernon Moncrieff. Algernon is an upper class individual who is oblivious to the world around him in such an exaggerated manner that it makes his character comically adjusted for Wildes own views. Many aspects of the time period are made a mockery through puns and witty remarks from the main protagonists, most if not all are portrayed in a sense that makes them undoubtedly a laughing stock. Wildes methods are not discrete; nor are they obvious, many of the comical comments made are by none other than the protagonists themselves. This furthermore enforces the corrupted morals of the time periods prestigious upper class by showing their sheer inability to acknowledge hypocrisy. For example, in act one; Algernon states “ Lane's views on marriage seem somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.” This is especially amusing as Algernon believes that the lower class have a duty to set an example when in reality the matter of fact was quite the contrary. Algernon states that he believes the lower class are lacking in morals, he being arguably one of the most morally distorted characters Wilde created makes the double standards more prominent.
Oscar Wilde’s, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, play carefully uses satire as a didactic tool to mask the underlying social commentary with the help of comedy through characters theme and dialogue. Wilde uses satire to ridicule class and wealth, marriage and the ignorance of the Victorian Age. Audiences are continually amused by Wilde’s use of linguistic and comic devices such as double entendre, puns, paradox and epigrams, especially in the case of social commentary and didactic lessons. Characters portrayed in the play such as Jack, Cecily, Algernon and Lady Bracknell, allow Wilde to express his opinions on the social problems during the Victorian Age.
...d longs for her elder sister and mother. Frances is a good person – at heart – and is always looking out for her younger sister. Moreover, even though she has different views that her father and will always do the opposite of what is expected of her, it is seen that this insecurity is caused by James indeed. Frances feels that in order to gain security in her life, she must perform these actions. She feels compelled to live her life the way she does. Frances’s naughty and mischievous behaviour can be viewed as a weakness she possesses, and she longs to correct these weaknesses by her actions. She is not a role model by any means, but she is by no means the Devil’s advocate. A sincere heart – compelled by circumstances – does its best to make the situation turn out for the better than the worse, and Frances, through her love for her mother, inevitably does just that.
changing attitudes toward life and the other characters in the play, particularly the women; and his reflection on the
Throughout the world of written literature there have been times when the author perceives the characters of their story in many different ways. For instance, at the beginning of a story a character could be portrait as a hero by the author. However, as the story unfolds and the story line develops, the character could suddenly be realized as being a villain. In the play written by Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons, the character Thomas More is just such of an example of a character that is perceived in different ways.
I will argue that it is the narrative frames enclosing The Turn of The Screw that are largely responsible for the reception the book has received. They serve two main purposes; one, to build up an element of suspense and tension before the governess's account actually begins, thus heightening the potential for horror and terror in the text; and two, to cast uncertainty on the reliability of the narrators and hence to increase the ambiguity and scope for interpretation of the text. In fact, I will argue that these frames do not assist the reader in interpreting the action, but are actually used by James to deliberately confound the reader and foster an ambiguous atmosphere.
...ntain her social class, and only worrying about wealth and style over the life and death of others. The art of manners and social discussions are expressed through the dialogue between Gwendolen and Cecily. Although both women showed hatred towards each other, it is done in a civilised manner. Wilde shows this by creating a stylised and artificial atmosphere by making the dialogue repetitive and parallel, thus making their dialogue and comments on insignificant subjects as part of having a polite conversation. Jack also shows the significance of high society and manners by showing that he has a high sense of duty and responsibility in the country; and being serious about Cecily’s education as it can help better her current position as well as his own. Hence, Wilde’s criticisms on high society and manners are expressed through the characters and their dialogue.
Jane Austen's Persuasion is a dark novel. From the jolting breaks in the romantic drama--the falls of little Charles and Louisa Musgrove--to the heroine's depressing existence--Anne Elliot has a "great tendency to lowness" (Austen 66)-- to the overall autumnal mood, the work is at times a gloomy, though always interesting, read. Perhaps its darkest facet though is the ubiquitous presence of an antagonist. While Mr. Elliot appears, most blatantly, to be the villain, in actuality, it is Lady Russell, whose persuasions are both manipulative and, frighteningly, pervasive, who should truly bear that stigma.
Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue. Often times I find myself looking up on a clear day, pondering over that question? Why isn’t it green, or red or pink for even that matter. Every day, the human eye blinks more than 23,00 times. The human eye is a complicated organ that performs one of the most important tasks for our body. There are many questions about the eye however. What function do they perform? What happens if we don’t take care of them? How exactly do they work together to help us form images? Exactly how far can they human eye see?