Thesis: In “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” Shirley Jackson portrays social discrimination between the Blackwood family and the Village, and this is a key source of tension. Through this tension, we can see that Jackson is suggesting a critique of small towns that harbor unfair toxic feelings towards people that go against societal norms. Shirley Jacksons’ “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” carefully crafts a story that has elements of horror, fantasy, and mystery all in one. The story explores various themes through different characters, and each one is unique. The Blackwood family lies at the center of the story and within the first page, Jackson creates tension by showing the different ideologies. On a surface level, we can see …show more content…
She emerges as a beloved character who can do no wrong. However, as the oldest Blackwood sister, Constance carries the burden of both caring for her family and being the one to face the village the most often. The first real glimpse of Constance is when she tends to her family. The text says,” Outside was Constance's chestnut tree and the wide, lovely reach of lawn and Constance's flowers and then, beyond, the vegetable garden Constance tended... "Will you let Uncle Julian have peanut brittle?" I asked Constance what she wanted. After his lunch, Constance said. She took the groceries carefully from the bags; food of any kind was precious to Constance, and she always touched foodstuffs with quiet respect.” (Jackson 17) The mention of Constance’s chestnut trees and the garden serves as a symbolic representation of her will to uphold normalcy despite her family burden. Zooming even further into this excerpt, we see that Constance assumed the role of caretaker. The fact that she is the one to decide whether Uncle Julien gets to eat Peanut Brittle or not illustrates her unwavering commitment to her family and aligns with the traditional values that the village upholds, which is that women take care of the family behind the scenes. Even though from a surface level Constance is more like the village than her family, a point later in the story proves this to be false and creates tension. Further in the text, when we get to the scene of Helen Clarke visiting and Mrs. Wright visiting, the text says, “People _will_ gossip," Mrs. Wright said reassuringly. "I've been saying right along that I was a close friend of the Blackwoods and not the least bit ashamed of it, either. You want to come to people of your own kind, Constance. They don't talk about us." I was a good friend of your mother, Constance. That's why I feel able to speak to you openly, for your own good. Your mother would have wanted... I am
Passage Analysis - Act 5 Scene 1, lines 115-138. Shakespeare’s ‘King Henry IV Part I’ centres on a core theme: the conflict between order and disorder. Such conflict is brought to light by the use of many vehicles, including Hal’s inner conflict, the country’s political and social conflict, the conflict between the court world and the tavern world, and the conflicting moral values of characters from each of these worlds. This juxtaposition of certain values exists on many levels, and so is both a strikingly present and an underlying theme throughout the play.
Just like Tom Joad, Jeannette Walls must learn the power of community and its importance on perseverance. However in the Glass Castle, the aspiration of leading better lives leads the children to unimaginable goals. “He carried around the blueprints for the Glass Castle wherever we went, and sometimes he 'd pull them out and let us work on the design for our rooms. . . (Walls 25).” This drive to lead more promising and fulfilling lives results directly from the abusive living conditions Jeannette grew up in. In this way, the Glass Castle differs from the unfortunately difficult lives of the Joads in Grapes of Wrath. “No child is born a delinquent. They only became that way if nobody loved them when they were kids. Unloved children grow up to be serial murderers or alcoholics. . . (Walls 83).” With this realization, Jeannette learns that she must strive to get out of the metaphorical
Christopher Paul Curtis wrote The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 throughout the course of 1995. The novel follows the Watsons, a black family living in Flint, Michigan during the Civil Rights Era. In a historical context, 1963 and the early 1990s have far more in common than one would expect. The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 following the church bombing in Birmingham, and yet race-based discrimination remains a problem even in our modern society via passive racism. This paper will analyze the ways in which Curtis’ The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 draws parallels between the time in which his is writing during and the time in which he is writing about. This analysis will also shed light on what can be called the “white standard,” wherein all things white are “good” or “better” and anything not-white is “bad.”
Standing completely frozen in the 19th century, Belle Isle, an estate that shelters the Grierson family in the novel represents a more traditional, yet tremendously odd, depiction of the familial unit. The household holds Grandmother Grierson, brothers Richard and James, and two African-American servants Johns and Maisie. The presence of these two servants clearly differentiates the residence from the modern day, illustrating a more peculiar, backwards way of thinking. The family chooses to shield themselves from the surrounding undead by pleading pure ignorance. Characters such as the Grandmother and Richard reside in fantasies of the old world, while also ...
Australia has the terrible condition of having an essentially pointless and prefabricated idea of “Aussiness” that really has no relation to our real culture or the way in which we really see ourselves. We, however subscribe to these stereotypes when trying to find some expression of our Australian identity. The feature film, The Castle, deals with issues about Australian identity in the 1990’s. The film uses techniques like camera shots, language and the use of narration to develop conflict between a decent, old fashioned suburban family, the Kerrigans and an unscrupulous corporation called Airlink. Feature films like The Castle are cultural products because they use attitudes, values and stereotypes about what it means to be Australian.
Every story, every book, every legend, every belief and every poem have a reason and a background that creates them. Some might be based on historical events, some might be based on every culture´s beliefs, and some others might be based on personal experiences of the authors. When a person writes a literary piece, that person is looking for a way to express her opinion or her feelings about a certain situation. A good example is the poem “Southern Mansion” by Arna Bonptems. The main intention of “Southern Mansion” could have been to complain, or to stand against the discrimination and exploitation of black people throughout history. However, as one starts to read, to avoid thinking about unnatural beings wandering around the scene that is depicted is impossible. The poem “Southern Mansion” represents a vivid image of a typical ghost story which includes the traditional element of the haunted house. This image is recreated by the two prominent and contradictory elements constantly presented through the poem: sound and silence. The elements are used in two leading ways, each one separate to represent sound or silence, and together to represent sound and silence at the same time. The poem mixes the two elements in order to create the spooky environment.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir about Jeannette’s childhood experiencing many difficult situations. It is an excellent example of contemporary literature that reflects society. This story connects with social issues relevant to our time period, such as unstable home life, alcoholism, and poverty. Many of these issues, as well as others, are also themes of the story. One major theme of the story is overcoming obstacles, which is demonstrated by Jeannette, the Walls’ kids, and Rex and Mary Walls.
The Castle, directed by Rob Sitch, is an Australian comedy, which delves into the lives of a stereotypical Australian family, the Kerrigans. The film touchs on issues close to home in a humourous way. The audience is introduced to the classic Aussie family, narrated in the viewpoint of the youngest of the Kerrigans, Dale.
The novel The Glass Castle, written by Jeannette Walls, brings to the surface many of the the struggles and darker aspects of American life through the perspective of a growing girl who is raised in a family with difficulties financially and otherwise. This book is written as a memoir. Jeannette begins as what she remembers as her first memory and fills in important details of her life up to around the present time. She tells stories about her family life that at times can seem to be exaggerated but seemed normal enough to her at the time. Her parents are portrayed to have raised Jeannette and her three siblings in an unconventional manner. She touches on aspects of poverty, family dynamics, alcoholism, mental illness, and sexual abuse from
Mary Katherine, a young adult with sociopathic behavior, displays her disorder with frequent outbursts, lack of remorse and disregard for social norms throughout the novel We Have Always Lived in The Castle by Shirley Jackson. Her sociopathic tendencies are constant in the novel with mention that this behavior has been consistent since she was a child. Mary Katherine progressively shows her volatile actions in the story and her actions cause way to a multitude of problems for anyone in her path, especially her close older sister Constance. Her personality disorder coupled with her schizotypal disposition is inherent and not due to being spoiled or temperamental despite her being raised wealthy in a large household.
In conclusion, the novel The Glass Castle was an attempt to represent the challenges we face throughout our life. Every challenge should be confronted and solved. Family matters contribute to why many individuals have difficulties, but at the end we should know that they’ll always love us. No matter what happens we face the unknown and deal with it. We forgive many people who are significantly associated to us and most of all we take the responsibilities. It is important to always take action and solve the challenges we
In this book, it shows examples of racial strife including segregation, physical attacks and emotional abuse. The Logan family was treated indescribably. The book starts showing racial strife when the children of the black family have to go to a different school than the white children for that very reason. This book shows the way racism started in the 1930’s and how much it’s changed compared to today.
In paragraph three of James Baldwin's 'Stranger in the Village' (1955), he alludes to emotions that are significant, dealing with conflicts that arise in the Swiss village. Of these emotions are two, astonishment and outrage, which represent the relevant feelings of Baldwin, an American black man. These two emotions, for Baldwin's ancestors, create arguments about the 'Negro' and their rights to be considered 'human beings' (Baldwin 131). Baldwin, an American Negro, feels undeniable rage toward the village because of the misconception of his complexion, a misconception that denies Baldwin human credibility and allows him to be perceived as a 'living wonder' (129).
Fear is an unexplainable feeling that is caused by a certain someone or something. Fear plays a significant role in the novel We Have Always Lived in The Castle. With tiny details she gnaws away at things that seem unimportant until the ending of the book. As Shirley Jackson first introduces Merricat, making the reader love this strange, broken girl, then revealing her true nature, one will see how everyone fears Merricat. Constance’s fear of Merricat, the fear that the villagers have for the Blackwoods, and Merricats fear of being without Constance, shows it is evident that fear caused all the major issues in this book.
The social conventions that are set up in this book play out in a small black community in Ohio called "the Bottom." The community itself formed when a white slave owner tricked his naïve black slave into accepting hilly mountainous land that would be hard to farm and very troublesome instead of the actual bottom (fertile valley) land that he was promised. The slave was told "when God looks down, it's the bottom. That's why we call it so. It's the bottom of heaven-best land there is" (4), and on the basis of this lie a community was formed. Its almost as if the towns misfortune is passed down ...