Abstract This paper examines how Michelle Cliff's novel "Abeng", about Jamaica, lights the pathway to self-discovery through characters such as Clare and makes the pathway brighter through characters like Zoe. It looks at how on the pathway to self-discovery, with the help of family, Zoe and society, Clare is able to grasp a better understanding of who she is and how Zoe is able to see more clearly what sets her apart from her own people and walks away understanding who she is and who she is to become.
From the Paper "In the Jamaican society people are classified by color, race, gender, class, and even language. Race serves as another identity crisis for Clare because she does not know if she is considered black or white by other people in Jamaica. She comes to find that her father is superior to her mother because he is both male and light-skinned where her mother is female and dark-skinned. She sees that she is classified by race because she becomes her father's daughter, because he, like her is light skinned. Clare's sister is considered her mother's daughter because she, like her, is dark skinned. This challenges Clare's interior identity."
Abstract This paper looks at how Michelle Cliff's "No Telephone to Heaven" takes the truism that human beings tend to seek or derive a sense of identity from family, race, peer group recognition, nationality, and the social strictures of the world at large and applies it to the struggle of a young Jamaican woman, Clare Savage. It discusses how, by virtue of her skin color, education and experience of living in the United States and England, she is caught between three different worlds as she searches for her sense of identity. It shows how, ultimately, the novel's main message is to demonstrate that, though nationality, race, family, sex, social class and education are strong influencing factors on an individual's identity, a true sense of self and identity can only really be formed through a process of self-discovery and development achieved through gaining knowledge and acceptance of the truth.
From the Paper "Michelle Cliff uses Clare's search for her identity to trace parallels to Jamaica's search for its own identity and to comment on the effects of colonization on the colonized. For one, the difference created between "black Jamaica" and ?white Jamaica,? is in itself a deterrent to any forming of a national identity. It is here that interesting parallels can be drawn between Clare and the island itself. Clare is motherless and infertile. So is Jamaica. Jamaica does not have a mother (England is too different) and cannot be a mother itself as it is so torn within itself with too many different influences preventing the formation of a concrete national identity (Western Michigan University Web site)."
Abstract This paper examines how Larsen's novels "Quicksand" and "Passing", focus much of their attention toward the enigmatic, frustrating confines of race in early 20th century American culture. It looks at how racial identification and awareness becomes complicated and ultimately causes life-changing conditions for the three main characters in Larsen's novels, Helga Crane, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry.
From the Paper "Born to a Danish mother and Caribbean father, Helga Crane's mulatto complexion, which allows her access to both white, upper-class European society and the upwardly mobile confines of black culture during Harlem's Renaissance, ultimately leads her to motherhood in the deep South, embroiled in the same inner-racial conflict and unhappiness that has plagued her entire existence. In each of Quicksand's various settings, from an all-black schoolhouse in Alabama to Copenhagen's patronizing social scene, Helga finds that "if you couldn't prove your ancestry and connections, you were tolerated, but you didn't "belong"" (Larsen 12). While she is undoubtedly met with cautious acceptance in each of her various habitats, it is Helga's own misgivings surrounding her background, however, which are most important in determining her constant, self-imposed alienation. "
Abstract The paper discusses the character Uncle Tom in Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and describes him as an almost Christ-like character. It also discusses the central theme of slavery and how it is justified through the 'white' characters of the book. The paper shows how, by using repeated references to Christianity and the Bible, Stowe appeals to the reader's sense of morality that should transcend stereotypes.
From the Paper "Perhaps Stowe's message in using Quakers as the benefactors is the emphasis on true Christian values. Juxtaposed against a false sense of religious superiority that most slave owners perpetuated, the Quakers exhibit kindness and compassion to all people. Stowe, in her final chapter, tells the true story exemplifying the kindness of the Quakers. These are benevolent qualities they share with the protagonist, Tom. When Eliza and her son and husband are all reunited under the care of the Quakers, Stowe paints a picture of a true home, where they feel 'free,' even rich."
An essay comparing the character of Tess in Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D?uberville" to the character of Beatrice in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter".
1,800 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 0 sources, 2002, $ 57.95
Abstract The paper shows how the characters Tess in "Tess of the D"uberville? by Thomas Hardy and Beatrice in "Rappaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne are both victims of man's ego and immorality resulting in the loss of their innocence, dooming them to a tragic fate. Both stories revolve around the love of the women and their losing of this love, because of the immoral plans and actions of a third person.
From the Paper "Both books "Tess of the D"uberville? and "Rappaccini's daughter" are written in the third person and contain even amounts of dialogue and description. Thomas Hardy has been more descriptive than Hawthorne has, while Hawthorne's work is more didactic.
"Tess of the D?uberville is different from most other books as in this case the campaign of the protagonist begins with an event in her life which is generally treated as fatal and as the end. In this case, when the book ends, Tess is a superior human being in the eyes of the reader because she bounces back from this virtual finality to find true love."
From the Paper "The main characters in the novels The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Passing by Nella Larsen are both passing in the sense that they are trying to be something they are not, creating for themselves an illusion that they believe convinces other people that they possess an identity. Both books are set in the 1920s but in very different worlds, Gatsby in the world of the rich and would-be rich on Long Island, and Passing in Harlem in New York City. Each of the main characters--Jay Gatsby in the Fitzgerald work, Clare in the Larsen novel--is in the process of passing, of making a journey from one world to another, a journey that is thwarted in each case because it is a journey that is ultimately destructive.
Larsen is clear about what passing means to her as she writes about Clar...",
Abstract This paper provides an analysis of the book "The Passing", written in 1929. It shows how, in this period, people were still mainly classified by their skin color. The book deals with the issue of how African-Americans themselves were divided, with the lighter-skinned people being accepted by the "white" society and the darker-skinned people being rejected even by their own.
From the Paper "Passing refers to the practice of light skinned black people trying to ?pass ? in white society. If a black person passed, they were thought of as rejecting their own history and heritage. If they could not or chose not to pass, then they were giving up a whole host of privileges and rights that came from being white. These were the Days before the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, everything was separate, but not any where near equal. If everything was equal, it is hard to imagine a black person who would want to ?pass.? There was this tug of war then, between heritage and rights that played on the people. Indeed, at the beginning of the novel, Irene runs into her childhood friend Clare, while they are both passing at a fancy Chicago hotel, Clare as a matter of course, and Irene, to avoid the summer heat of Chicago."
Abstract In the history of literature there have been many a Christ-like martyr, appearing flawless in order to save the damned human race. The paper shows that Harriet Beecher Stowe goes beyond this clich? in "Uncle Tom's Cabin", creating an image of an angelic female child who embodies within her the supernatural strength needed to overcome the forces of sin. The paper shows that in the novel, slavery is doomed through Eva's lasting effect on the reader's emotional response to slavery. Little Eva's fervent examples of compassion convey her power to reform the people whose lives she touches, while her sacrificial death leaves slavery in demand of urgent justification. The paper shows that lacking a valid excuse, the powerful metaphor of the scene of her death holds the readers responsible for letting her legacy of good will be instrumental to our own sense of righteousness, thus preventing outrages such as slavery from ever again being created.
From the Paper "Despite the inadequateness of the world we live in, Stowe offers a strong plea not to judge all mothers by the example of Marie, and not to give up the all-American ideals of freedom on the basis of one defect occurrence such as slavery. We see the hope for a better future come to life in the character of Eva, a daughter born out of necessity for redemption. Eva's name Evangeline reveals her function in the novel, as it is ?based on the root evangel, which means "gospel" and is derived from the Greek euangelion, "good news"? (Donovan 76). Indeed, Eva acts as an apostle of good fortune to all she comes in contact with, the most important event being her influential urging that St. Clare buy Tom, thus saving Tom from the auction. This will be counter balanced in the novel by Marie's cold determination to ignore her late daughter and husband's passionate resolutions to free Tom, because the "despicable"selfish "belle"? cannot be troubled by such trivialities while suffering from her own sense of loss (Donovan 81)."
Abstract This paper deals with the role of material desires in the novel "Tess of the D"urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy. The writer focuses on the individual characters, starting with Tess's parents, Alec D"urberville, Angel Clare, and Tess Durbeyfield. The paper reveals the material desires of the characters which lead to tragedy of the heroine in despair. Moreover, this study presents Hardy's world of desires through the eyes of Hardy's critics. The paper concludes with Hardy's understanding of love, sex, and material desires and effects of those elements on human life.
From the Paper "Tragedy is formed in a number of forms and influences people's life in different ways. Most of them suffer the tragedies with a lot of pain ; but people also contribute to the tragedy unconsciously , as well as consciously. Ignorant of the consequences that would subsequently follow , lustful characters play crucial roles in the life of the scapegoat.As Goethe says in his masterpiece Faust ; "While man's desires stir, He can not choose but err." In the novel of Thomas Hardy , Tess of the D'urbervilles , tragedy be falls on the protagonist ,Tess Durbeyfield. Despite her innocency and poor decisions which lead to her destruction; Tess's parents, Angel Clare, and Alec D'urberville contribute to the tragedy."
Tags: desires, material, urbervilles, literature, english
Abstract This paper discusses the transformation of the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin", by Harriet Beecher Stowe into a cultural icon. It looks at how the creation and recreation of the text by its readers, adapters and its foremost opponents, helped to polarize the abolitionist debate. The paper suggests that the responses to and adaptations of the text of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" provided a means by which the novel assumed a principal role in American culture through various media--the theatre, film, posters, paintings, follow-on writings, essays and press coverage. Finally, the paper suggests that the articulation and reconstruction of the text by its readers brought on a range of social and political meanings and results.
Background: The Origins of a Living Document
Introduction
North and South Polarized
Critics Respond
The Abolitionist Debates
The Tom Caricature
The Greatest Impact
From the Paper "In what way did this text change the traditional relationship between reader and the novel? The reader became the author, interpreter, director, actor, witness and part and parcel of the story. The story, instead of being about life, became life, and life in turn became its own version of the story. In this context of slavery, religion, melodrama, and family crisis, Uncle Tom's Cabin can be viewed as a cultural pattern instead of an isolated work. Almost as soon as it was published as a novel, Stowe's story was adapted for the American stage; from 1852 until well into the twentieth century, adaptations of Uncle Tom's Cabin were among the most popular productions that a theater company could stage. Stowe, however, never condoned nor participated in developing the productions, nor did she earn any money from these adaptations."
Abstract The subtitle of Thomas Hardy's novel, "Tess of the d?Urbervilles", is ?A Pure Woman.? By choosing this title, the author suggests that the ideas society has about purity are fundamentally misguided. The paper shows that, while society says that Tess is not pure because she is not a virgin, Hardy suggests that Tess is the only pure and good human being in any of the societies in which she moves.
From the Paper "The novel is structured upon two revelations"the first about Tess" ancestry, the second about Tess? status as a woman who has engaged in sexual relations. Ironically, her claim to an old name would never have impressed Alex, had she not been a beautiful young girl who could be taken advantage of. Thus, Tess? goodness and her beauty is taken advantage twice?first by her family, who places her in Alex's hands in the hope of enriching their own coffers, and second by Angel, who gives her hope for a better life, encourages her to trust him, and then cruelly discards her until it is too late."
Abstract When French internet service provider Wanadoo offered to acquire Britain's Freeserve for 1.65 billion Euro ($2.4 billion) in stock in 2000, investors looked forward to the French company providing access to Europe's second-largest internet community. They hoped the move would push Wanadoo's share price into the realm of Yahoo's. This report therefore examines the effect of the takeover. From the perspective of the share price of both Freeserve and Wanadoo, it looks at whether any associated wealth for shareholders and investors grew since the take-over. The report explains the trends of the share prices of Dixon, who at the time was the majority share holder of Freeserve, in addition to any effect on France Telecom who held the majority of Wanadoo. The paper includes graphs.
From the Paper "When Wanadoo first made their offer, as expected, Freeserve shares rose sharply. Most experts saw Freeserve as an organization that was cash poor and they were not managing affairs well from an international perspective. Yet, the experts also seemed to believe that the acquisition would be a bad deal for the Freeserve investors. There was a silver lining of course, Wanadoo would provide a badly needed cash infusion and the combined company proved to be cash strong with well over 2 billion ($1.76 billion) which made the long-term investors see green. "It's a great fit, they don't have any overlap and Wanadoo's parent has great assets in Britain, and above all a strategy." (CNN Money, 2000)"
Abstract Doubles (identical counterparts of a character) have been used throughout history, as they are easily related to essentially any audience. Although they are effective in terms of creating a thrilling atmosphere and haunting story, authors can also use them as a means to reveal social truths and probe the depths of the human psyche and its capacity for duality, a theme which can be identified by anyone, provided the right context. This paper describes the various ways in which storytellers use doubles to tell a larger story. Compared here are Edith Wharton, Elizabeth Gaskell, Robert Louis Stevenson (author of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde") and the film, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".
From the Paper "In both Edith Wharton's "Triumph of the Night" and Elizabeth Gaskell's "Poor Clare," the authors address the issue of doubles, but more specifically, those seen in other people. What makes these stories especially unique and disturbing is how the people affected by these horrific atrocities are viewed as such good and admirable characters. In "Poor Clare," for example, Lucy is described as "sweet" and "innocent." She is viewed as being filled with "goodness," aside from "the loathsome demon soul" surrounding her, and although Mr. Lavington, in "Triumph of the Night" is initially described as a bit distant and "intensely negative," he nonetheless clearly cares greatly for his nephew and goes to great lengths to ensure his health and happiness (Gaskell)".
Abstract The two main characters in Nella Larsen's "Quicksand" and "Passing" have fundamental similarities in being mulatto women from Renaissance Harlem in the early 20th century. The paper shows how both Helga Crane and Irene Redfield were well-educated women whose identities were more black than white, a product of their social environment.
From the Paper "Irene, on the other hand, had little conflict about being of mixed race. She married a "dark" man, had his children and lived proudly as a black woman. While often curious about what it might be like to "pass" as white (as her friend Clare Kendry did), she never seriously considered it an acceptable lifestyle. Being black was not painful for Irene as it was for Helga. Irene did, however, seem to take vicarious pleasure in the notion of "passing" through Clare, pondering about the inherent difficulties of living such a life."
Abstract This paper examines how the topic of sin is viewed in various works of literature. The texts explored are Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles", Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter", D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover", "Hippolytus" by Euripides and "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer.
From the Paper "Their growing love is deliberately contrasted with Clifford's unhappiness in spring, a time of year he views as disrupting the industrial order that he values. Lawrence often compares the mechanistic world of industrialize Britain with the world of nature, and the fecundity and sexuality of the natural world is seen as distorted by the mechanistic world that has developed in this century. In such a comparison, Clifford is on the side of the industrial world, while Connie comes out on the side of the natural world. Yet, this is not what society wants women to be, and yet it is also the reason women were so restricted by society, because they were viewed as dangerous threats to the natural order because of their inherent sexuality."
