Abstract This paper examines two of the most important school in art and literature, that of Romanticism and Realism. The author discusses how although these schools tend to be assigned to certain specific and bounded moments in history, in fact the impulses toward the Romantic and the Realistic run throughout human history and across the cultural landscape.
From the Paper "Realism as a style in art and literature attempts to describe human behavior and surroundings or to represent figures and objects exactly as they act or appear in life in an objective and unidealized way. Attempts at realism have been made periodically throughout history in all the arts, however the term is usually applied to a movement that began in the mid-19th century that was a direct reaction to the highly subjective approach of romanticism. Realist artists as a group exhibited a profound sense of social consciousness and a high degree of commitment to addressing the political problems of their times; this was also in contrast to the Romantics who often sought to escape the problems of their day and who felt too alienated to try to intervene in the political process."
Abstract This essay includes analysis of the way Friday is described by the author in comparison to the way he is described in 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe, a look at the importance of Friday's feet and what they represent, dicussion of class implications,and the symbolism within the novel.
From the Paper "In this essay, I intend to discuss the opinion that the character of Friday is central in the book Foe by the South African writer, J. M. Coetzee. I will look at the importance of his character and how he influences the story as a whole. I feel that the quote below is very true, and I shall go on to prove this in this essay. ""J. M. Coetzee deconstructs the text of Robinson Crusoe in his novel Foe, which subtly centralises the character of Friday" (James McCorkle) Foe is a book in which Coetzee raises many interesting issues. The four main areas that are dealt with are: the treatment of the truth in narratives, pro-feminism, race and the treatment of ethnic minorities, and the truth about history. It also contains ideas about society and the class struggle. At one point when Susan speaks, it is almost as if Coetzee is talking about his own writing: "Alas my stories seem always to have more applications than I intend"" (Foe, 81) "
Abstract This paper looks at the Greek Goddess, Aphrodite, the mythology of her birth and how she has interfered in the lives of man and woman throughout key mythological events such as the Trojan War and the journey of Odysseus to Ithaca from the battlefields of Troy. The author uses such texts as Hesiod's "Theogony", and Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey".
From the Paper "Aphrodite is known by many followers of Greek Mythology as the Goddess of Love, desire and beauty, amongst her normal immortal gifts Aphrodite also has a magical girdle, which compels those whom she desires to desire her. Aphrodite has been given many names as the Goddess of Love the most famous being Venus, even within the mythos of the tales from Homer she is given this name as a substitute to Aphrodite, in some ways Homer and the Greek bards give the names of Gods and Goddess both Roman and Greek names as if they are writing for a classical Greco-Roman audience instead of a pure Greek one."
Abstract This paper discusses and evaluates Woolf's unique literary style with reference to her pioneeering novel 'To The Lighthouse'. It discusses Woolf's revolutionary theories which underpinned the Modernist movement in English literature. It also explores Woolf's unique style which contravenes reader expectations and the conventions of traditional story writing.
From the Paper "Through Woolf's unique devices of style, To the Lighthouse becomes a richly layered montage and, consequently, reading it creates a constant sense of uncertainty and confusion. Her aim is to reflect the feelings of disorientation and chaos experienced by people in real life at that time, as their world was rapidly changing due to technological advances, scientific theories and capitalism. The First World War compounded this disturbance and literally shattered the universal values which held society together. Through her inspired portrayal of simultaneity of thought and events in the novel, Woolf leaves her readers feeling almost lost within it."
The following paper examines Franz Kafka's short story "Metamorphosis" focusing on Kafka's emphasis on the metamorphosis of relationships - familial and societal.
Abstract This paper looks at Kafka's "Metamorphosis" , focusing on the protagonist Gregor Samsa and his metamorphosis into an insect. The author examines how Gregor's family discover hidden abilities and motivations towards personal betterment and a financially secure lifestyle.
From the Paper "Prior to the metamorphosis, Gregor was the center of attention of his family?he was the sole breadwinner. His business having gone under five years ago, his father was relegated to physical and emotional inactivity. His mother was an asthmatic, and his sister Grete was still young. He had great dreams: to rid his family of his father's financial commitments, and have his sister, a fair violin player, admitted into the ?Conservatorium despite the great expenses that would entail.?
Abstract Ma Joad is one of the main characters in Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath". This paper explores her strengths, her personality and the relationship she has with the other characters in the novel.
From the Paper "We already know, then, that she loves her family passionately, and will stand by them loyally, and we know that she thinks violence is sometimes justified. Shortly after Tom comes home from prison, the family has to leave their farm. They have decided to move to California and try to get work as migrant farm hands. Both on the trip and once they have arrived in California, Ma Joad continues to show her great strength and fierce loyalty. "
Abstract In this review of Tsitsi Dangarembga's "Nervous Conditions", the author of the paper shows how the theme of African identity and culture is woven through the storyline. The paper investigates the importance of the narrators and women in the book, themes and the relevance of the story.
From the Paper "With any story, the meaning within the story does not have impact unless we care about the character. Tambu is the main character that we care about in the novel. She engages the reader into the story because we want to know about her, we want to know about her struggle and we want to know why that struggle has occurred. The only way to learn of that struggle, is to learn about the culture and so the reader, while reading the novel, attempts to understand the culture. "
Abstract The paper examines the character, Willy, in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". The author shows how Arthur Miller uses several literary devices to portray the last days of Willy, and offers insight into the perceptions, expectations and illusions that Willy has used to keep up his appearance of apparent success. He shows that Willy's problems with acceptance and denial tear apart his family life, which is overshadowed by his relentless pursuit of the American dream.
From the Paper "All in all, "Death of a Salesman" gives the audience a harsh picture of Willy Loman, and his family at the final breaking point for all members involved. Miller uses colors to express the angry, overpowering world that Willy once considered the beginnings of his success. The set is a symbol for the suppression and failure of Willy's dreams, with seeds in a procrastinated garden representing the procrastinated legacy that Willy never got around to "planting". "
Abstract Metaphors not only can be used as literal interpretation of events, but also have metaphorical meanings. A good example would be the black cat in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" and how the narrator in the story implied throughout the story that the cat is of demonic creature. The black cat in the short story not only has a literal meaning of a normal household cat but also from a metaphorical-side of meaning, as the narrator's personal demon, which haunts him throughout the story and brings him to the point of near insanity.
From the Paper "The first mention of the black cat in the short story is when the narrator's wife noticed his partiality for domestic pets and "lost no opportunity of procuring those of the most agreeable kind" (894), which includes a black cat. In the beginning, the narrator describes the cat as a "large and beautiful animal, entirely black, and sagacious to a degree" (894). When he describes the cat in this way, the narrator gave us his view of the cat as an everyday, normal household cat that people who have had an encounter with cats can feel a real connection to. Even though some people might have the superstitious belief that an entirely black cat might be a minion of the underworld or a witch in disguise which his wife did when she "made frequent allusions to the ancient popular notion" (894), the narrator tries his best to also show that this is a normal cat like any other. The narrator also gives the pet the name of Pluto, which is the name for the god of the underworld in Roman mythology. By doing this, he further connects the black cat of his to something from the underworld. He also calls what he sees when he went back to check out the ruins of his house that burned down as an apparition (895) and a "phantasm of the cat" (896). An apparition is a ghost or spirit and by following what the narrator describes, his view of the black cat goes from a normal household pet to something that haunts him for months. The loss of the cat not only brought him remorse at what he did to the cat when he hung it on a rope but also regret at the loss of a fine pet."
Abstract The following paper examines the novel, 'The Leopard' , a story that takes place in the backdrop of the Italian Revolution of the 1860's highlighting the views of the aristocratic class at the time when the demise of the monarchy was imminent. Concepts such as monarchies, elite feudalism, the industrial revolution and Nationalism are discussed. The way in which the critics reviewed this novel, which was published in 1958, is also discussed.
From the Paper "The Leopard was written by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa much before his death but was published posthumously in 1958. The first English translation of the book appeared in 1960 after which it gained worldwide fame and became one of the very few novels from Italy to reach such heights of recognition. Lampedusa was praised for his intelligent writing style, his vivid imagination and his good command over the Italian history. But the last part was not exactly difficult for the man who himself was a prince and has based the story on his own experiences and observations. The story takes place in 1860 Italy when unification was taking place and this meant end to a long dynasty of monarchs. The society was rapidly changing and this led to the demise of aristocracy in Italy."
Abstract The paper examines the character, Gregor, in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" and discusses the main theme - that of alienation - by showing what Gregor goes through when he turns into a bug. The author of the paper questions whether many of the feelings expressed by Gregor were actually autobiographical elements of Kafka's own life when he grew up alienated due to his beliefs.
From the Paper "By the final part of the story, part III, Gregor is nearly forgotten about. Grete does not notice if he eats or not, his room is hardly ever cleaned, no one even mentions him at all. Gregor begins growing bitter, angry and resentful, which must have been Kafka's own feelings for his father. Gregor's nagging injury (the apple in his back) causes his mobility to remain limited, and yet he still hopes to find some way in which to reach out to his family. When he finally dies, it is almost at the request of his family. The family is discussing how Gregor cannot be anywhere in the bug's body - if it were Gregor, he would have left and spared them the awful horror of dealing with an insect. Gregor agrees, and quietly retreats to his room to die. This line of thinking seems to comfort Gregor - he alienates himself from the insect he has become, in order to accept that his life is over, and that he must die."
Abstract This paper examines the use of symbolism used in Chapter One of Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man, "The Battle Royal," and its significance to African-Americans. The author traces the significant events in the life of the Invisible Man, beginning with the influence of his grandfather. The author uses different symbols to illustrate the different events in this man's life and how they are used to lay the groundwork in the first chapter of Ellison's book.
From the Paper "The presence of the dancer at the battle royal (19-21) represents temptations that seem inviting on the outside, but which are not really good at all. Deprivation has made the temptation impossible to resist, despite the consequences: ?Had the price of looking been blindness,? Invisible Man tells us, "I would have looked" (19). This is so, even though Invisible Man feels "guilt and fear" (19) and knows that he will never really be able to obtain such enticements. The dancer represents mockery and vain lures toward the unfulfillable."
Abstract This paper examines the claim by critics of the book "Heart of Darkness" that its author, Joseph Conrad, is a racist. The views of Achebe, Sarvan and Singh are outlined in this discussion of the book's story and characters, as it addresses the issue of racism.
From the Paper "In his book Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses all the trappings of a traditional adventure tale ? mystery, suspense, an exotic setting, and unexpected attack. Chinua Achebe concluded, "Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction and a good story-teller into the bargain" (Achebe 252). Despite Conrad's great story telling abilities, he has been viewed as a racist by some of his critics. Achebe, Sarvan, and Singh are just a few that view him as a racist, though the criticisms vary.
Frances B. Singh insinuates that although Heart of Darkness is clearly critical of colonization, it puts forward that the Africans were the innocuous victims of European greed and will-to-power, the imagery of darkness it uses as metaphysical dissertation links "evil" with the groups drawn on in anthropological images of "primitive" peoples. The narrative carries the insinuation that Kurtz's "evil" is indicated by his "going native", and that "evil, in short, is African". While the narrative makes it clear that the till-to-power implicit in the very idea of a "civilizing mission" is what leads Kurtz to set himself up as a god, the fact that he sets himself up as a tribal god reinstates the idea of racial superiority at a deeper level than the critique of colonialism."
Abstract The paper discusses how in Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", the religious war between the Lilliputians and the Blefuscuins is symbolic to the war between France and England, and more generally between the Protestants and the Catholics. The paper examines how the King of Brobdingnagia indirectly shows the reader how corrupt English and moreover European society and government were. It shows too how the relative sizes of the people that Gulliver visits is symbolic to the nature of each represented society.
From the Paper "In his satire, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift exposes the vices of a candid society and a backwards government through the eyes of a similarly candid member of that same society. Traveling in a fictional world, Gulliver is exposed to many things, from a land of tiny people, to a land of an over-sized populace, and from floating islands, to a kingdom ruled by an elite society of horses. The world Swift creates is his own world, in a compilation of symbolic peoples, wars, lives, laws and the nature of the individuals in this creation."
Tags: absurdity, catholicism, christian, corrupt, holy, protestantism, symbolism, war
Abstract This paper analyzes the novel "Donald Duk" by Frank Chin and discusses the lead character's trials and tribulations of growing up as a Chinese American. It illustrates Donald's inner struggles and eventual understanding of what his place is in society.
From the Paper "His father and his uncle, taking into their hands the matter of setting the young boys priorities and ideas straight, do their best to show him that his reactions in themselves are proof to the unfailing dominance that the white had over him. Finally, with the assistance of his own common sense, they succeed in explaining to him and bringing forth an appreciation of the values that are inherent to his actual Chinese lifestyle and cultural norms."
