The themes in “Xeethra” by Clark Ashton Smith can be described as cautious. The main theme of this short story is the allure of the forbidden. Pornos had warned Xeethra about certain caverns, but to Xeethra, “it seemed that the tales had faded now from his mind, leaving only a dim sense of things that were perilous, forbidden and magical” (Smith p. 89). Xeethra knows he should not continue, but the appeal of something marvelous and beautiful is too powerful. Another way to describe the theme is through the idiom of “be careful of what you wish for.” In order for Xeethra to transform into King Amero, he needs to sell his soul to Thasaidon. Xeethra allows the idea of a royal and rich life to overcome his sense of logic. As an inexperienced
king, his kingdom soon became one where “troubles of the realm multiplied upon him; uncurbed by authority, the wild peoples of the waste grew bolder, and the pirates gathered like vultures of the sea” (Smith p. 101). This is a clear example of how he should not have impulsively changed his life. Both these examples describes the theme as cautious because Xeethra would not have sold his soul to Thsaidon if he had been more cautious.
Many thematic issues are found in modern plays from classic myths in the book Nine Muses by Wim Coleman. Long ago, when life was full of mysteries, myths, or explanations, helped people make sense of a perplexing world. Myths also explain deeper questions. Such as, how did the world itself come to be? How did life begin? How were human beings created and why? And why is there suffering and death in the world? People of ancient cultures all over the world puzzled over such questions, and they created stories to answer them. One of the main thematic issues in Nine Muses is the tragic effect of engaging in actions which are forbidden. Some plays which express this thematic issue are “Pandora”, “Phaeton and the Sun Chariot”, and “Eros and Psyche”.
Isobelle Carmody’s short story, “The Pumpkin-Eater”, portrays a middle eastern woman, a lone rider and former princess in the days of the crusades, retelling her story of her childhood living in a tower with her mother and maid, leaving to accept the engagement proposed by a prince, only to discover that in this, she is to be exchanging one prison for another. The discovery of self-reliance is seen through her leaving to take care of herself, to not be locked up and kept hidden away to preserve beauty. Foreshadowing of her journey is utilised through the drawing of tarot cards to set the story in motion. “I remember drawing the card of long journeying the year my firstblood came. The bird of my heart, caged for so long, beat its wings against my chest” The mention of her “firstblood”, a significant component to becoming a woman, as a normally hidden bodily function attends to the process of maturity, and the metaphor of the caged bird of her heart symbolises the anticipation and excitement to escape her tower prison to find love of her own. The drawing of this particular card acts as a catalyst to the protagonist’s story, providing reason for her to leave and start anew. The world the protagonist is confined to the tower, with her mother and her maid warning her from love, therefore, forming her basis of rebellion, challenging the views of the world seen through other’s eyes. “ ‘Was it love then?’
Many people lose things everyday, but the truth is you never know how much you need something until it’s gone. In the books “Going Over” by Beth Kephart and “brown girl dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson the theme; you never know how much you need something until it’s gone is perfect for both books because of the tragic loss of Jackie’s grandfather and the separation of Ada and Stefan. This theme is supported by Jacqueline’s move to New York, Ada and her deep longing for Stefan since the wall separated them, and Jacqueline losing her grandfather.
In “Imani All Mine”, we see 15-year-old Tasha Dawson having to face the adversity of not only being a teenage mother but also being poor, female, and black. The name Imani is an Arabic name and means belief or faith. The name that Tasha chooses is symbolic for the faith that she has for and in Imani. She has faith that Imani will live a life more fulfilling than her own by prospering in all that she does. In “Imani All Mine”, Tasha Dawson is forced to overcome obstacles that no teenager should have to overcome. She has to raise Imani, while nervously observing her neighbors drug-dealing and trying to keep up with her schoolwork. At times it seems the only thing holding Tasha together is the remembrance of her days before diapers.
One of the strongest emotions inherent in us as humans is desire. The majority of the time, we are unable to control what we crave; however, with practice, we learn not all things we want are necessary. As a result of this mature understanding, we are able to ease our feelings and sometimes even suppress our desires. Something even more mature is understanding that when we give in to our desires, we become vulnerable. In a harsh, brutal world, vulnerability will not work to our advantage. In Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market,” she writes about a sister who succumbs to her desire and pays dearly for it while the other sister resists her desires and receives the ultimate reward of her sister’s life. By creating such a spectacular tale, Rossetti stresses the importance of being in touch with one’s desires and being able to prevail over their strong hold because in the harsh world we live in, we cannot afford to let our desire get the best of us.
In almost all works of literature, people have used the concept of themes to further deepen the meaning of stories. Themes give stories dimension and allow the stories to have some sort of deep and philosophical lesson. If you look at Homer’s Odyssey and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, you will find that there are many relatable features concerning the two. Both of these works give themes about life and death to keep the main point of each passage interesting to the readers. One of the major life lessons and themes we see numerous of times throughout each of the texts is the rules of manipulation. Manipulation is very crucial to the survival of the characters in both the Odyssey and play, Julius Caesar. In this essay, I will use evidence from both works to demonstrate how manipulation is used within these texts and why it is used as a strength and a weakness.
Everyone has foolishly deceived themselves when reading fairy tales. Morgenstern’s satire in The Princess Bride contradicts many fairy tale elements. Prince Charming is non-existent, true love is a made up concept, and nothing ends with a happily ever after.
A Thousand and One Nights is a tale about the over-sexed east which is favored by the sexually repressed west when applied to and analyzed under the lens of Orientalism. This translation of the text, while not as sexually explicit as Sir Richard Burton’s translation, has its fair amount of sexual promiscuity which paints the middle eastern characters as dishonest, violent, and sexually deviant. These traits were seen as socially taboo to the west, especially those in Victorian Europe who helped the tale gain its reputation as a popular exotic story. The two main scenes where these traits come into play both take place within A Thousand and One Nights’ frame story with Shahrayar and Shahzarman. Shahzarman
There is a point in life where fleshly desires can have a tremendous hold on a person, that it causes a back fire of a forced humbleness to the heart. King Eurovan is an example of someone who can relate to this topic. He is a character from the short story “The Voyage of King Eurovan” in which he is a cruel king who had a hankering for being in power. After abusing his power of being king it was finally taken away. In the story, Eurovan held the wrong prisoner and as a result lost his crown to the gazolba bird. In order to get back his crown he had to journey to a foreign land, and fight for it. Though the outcome of his voyage was the opposite of his motive. Instead of gaining his power back and finding his crown, he was humbled while trying to obtain his crown during the battle. He comes to an unexpected change of heart and realizes he is just a man that is not entitled to anything.
Fantasy has been used for countless generations as a way to escape the uncertainty and confusion of reality. Instead of searching for the scientific cause of plague or bad harvest it was easier to blame an unsavory neighbor or start a witch hunt. However even in modern times fairy tales are still utilizing the same common tropes such as “the princess in distress” and the stereotypical Viking journey. ”Bones” and “Snow, Glass, Apples” adapt classic fairytales for modern day by destroying these stereotypes. In the text “Bones” by Francesca Lia Block the protagonist is in the hands of a ruthless killer. However unlike the original folktale where she is saved by her brothers the protagonist in this story must subvert the damsel in distress
King Midas and the Golden Touch, is one of the most famous myths in western lore. It details the story of one man’s greed and lust for wealth leading to his ultimate downfall. Initially written by Ovid, in his Metamorphoses published in 8 A.D, it has been adapted and analyzed even in modern times. Written in Dactylic Hexameter, as customary of great mythological works of the time period, the poem effectively served as a part of a guide to life for the ancient Romans. The morals the story teaches are still applicable in this day and age. As the story is intertwined with the rest of the epic, it is important to evaluate the myth in an educated and modified light. In King Midas and the Golden Touch, Ovid deftly illustrates the importance of restraint by detailing King Midas’ suffering from his greed.
Janwillem Van De Wetering says, “Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough.” Guy De Maupassant’s “The Necklace” tells of Mrs. Mathilde Loisel’s longings for the finer things in life. Her desires are so intense she risks her husband’s affections, the friendship of an old chum, and even her mediocre lifestyle to pursue these cravings. One small decision based on an ill-placed desire causes a slow drawn out death of the spirit, body and relationships.
Throughout the Shakespearian plays, particularly in those that explore the issues of kingship, the theme of foresight runs strong. A king must have considerable levels of foresight within his nature in order to retain the kingship. He must be able to identify potential threats to his throne by recognizing unhealthy lusts for power and ambition in the men and women that surround him. If a king does not have this foresight within his nature, or if he ...
An old Norwegian folk tale once told the story of a queen who, because she couldn’t have children, looked to an old hag for wisdom and magic to help grant her wish. The woman agrees, telling the queen that she must place two cups face down in her garden before going to bed. When she wakes up the next morning, a white flower should be growing under one and a red flower under the other. Depending on which one the queen decides to eat, she could either have a son or a daughter. However, the old woman warns her that under no circumstances should she eat both. The queen does as she is instructed, but she cannot decide which flower to eat when the time comes. She wants a daughter because a boy could die in war, but she wants a son because a girl is married off to another family. In the end, she eats both flowers due to her own greed, even though the old woman warned her against just that. Nine months later, the queen gives birth to a handsome baby boy and a disgusting snake-like creature called a lindworm. Although this fairy tale has a happy ending, the queen herself is the catalyst of this story. More specifically, her self-defeating behaviors, which range from simply not following directions to greed. However, The Lindworm is not the only story that has characters with self-defeating behaviors. In fact, they are present in many pieces of literature. Boys of Baraka is a film about a group of boys who are taken out of their homes and away from negative influences so that they can learn and go to school in a fitting environment, and it has multiple examples of self-defeating behaviors because several of the boys who've attended the school are prone to fits of anger and have trouble with letting their feelings control them. The book, D...
Overall, both Gustave Flaubert and Isabel Allende use their specific genres, their characters’ dialogue and narration, and their writing style to promote their feelings towards destiny. Flaubert, unfailingly anti-fate, believes that the idea of something being destined to happen is silly and goes along with the bourgeois he hates so much. Allende, his exact opposite, judges that fate is an important part of life and should not be muddied up with anything other than what is destined to occur. Even though Flaubert and Allende have differing views on whether fate should be minimized or promoted, they both use the theme of suspense or anticipation in addition to the literary techniques to fully emphasize their beliefs on destiny.