Abstract This paper discusses the book "Notes of a Desolate Man" by Zhu Tianwen and relates that the author's way of fitting in so many non-Chinese influences, past and present, his homosexuality, and the death of an old friend in Japan due to AIDS, fit together to produce a deliberately disjointed psychic environment in which the narrator can only feel thankful for small reminders of a world that seemed normal. The writer points out that throughout "Notes on a Desolate Man", the past continues to be mixed up with the present. The writer believes that this book leaves the reader with no doubt as to the narrator's emotions, sense of being displaced and that his life has been rather pointless, though one wishes the narrator could also see through this state of ennui to find the answers of purpose that were suitable for modernists.
From the Paper "Like many a post-modern character, the narrator, Xiao Chao, can observe his own isolation, well aware of what is happening, amid Western consumerism and media influences. His friend, Ah Yao, is a former lover, a person with whom he has been able to discuss Chinese poetry but also the culture arriving from the West including 1960s avant garde films and thought. Set in the 1990s, Xiao Shao reflects on his 20s as a well to do young Taiwanese in Europe and in America just as countless other persons at mid-life tend to reflect on how they spent this earlier interval in their lives. Like Ah Yao, he had known the gay scene in New York, Paris and Rome, and also the complications of being a gay Chinese male in a conservative Taiwanese society where both men's families were known in Taipei."
Tags: homosexuality, Japan, Chinese, post-modern, change, society
Abstract The paper looks specifically at two poems by T.S. Eliot, "Murder in the Cathedral" and "The Cocktail Party", in which the characters are instruments in conveying his recurring theme of man's need-- a return of faith in God to combat the desolate state of society. The writer argues that the themes that Eliot was facing in his day are the same concepts with which we struggle today.
From the Paper "Most people move on the rim of the wheel, on the level of time. They are born, marry, grow old, and die without ever achieving a consciousness of life as anything greater than the flow of time But some.. .seek to move beyond the level of time to the still point at the center of the wheel where time and timelessness intersect and they experience the eternal presence of God. (McCormick 774-75)
Thomas Becket in Murder in the Cathedral and Celia Coplestone in The Cocktail Party are two characters who tragically attempt to transcend worldly restraints of emptiness; they are the noble ones amidst societies of intolerant chaos and shallow meaninglessness. (An in-depth discussion of their fateful characters and lives is provided later in the paper.) A stark contrast to Thomas and Celia are the people surrounding them, those who live within the superficial realm of the wheel's outer rim."
Abstract This paper discusses how in the poem "Root Cellar", author Theodore Roethke uses immensely visual and concrete imagery. It looks at how the reader not only experiences going down into the root cellar through the intense description, but also experiences the imagery, along with a few powerful metaphors, which gives life to the root cellar's contents and creates a sense of awareness and defiance to the reader. It analyzes how the poem creates an outstanding image of a desolate and surreal environment usually overlooked, but deserving of attention and careful consideration. It also demonstrates how the descriptive diction and musical alliterative qualities add to the affective power of the piece not only as an image but also as a thought-provoking meditation.
From the Paper "In line six, the focus shifts from the visual to the olfactory, focusing the readers? attention on the "congress of stinks" (6) emanating from the room. The smell is not one of the death, but life that festers, or it perhaps only half-dead, like "old bait" (7). The half-rotten stems are already "pulpy" (8)-shadows of their former robust and erect selves. Their perfume is "silo-rich" (8), like that of grain left too long after harvest. The "Leaf-mold, manure" and "lime" (9) provide contrasting images against one another-the manure is used to foster growth, but not in this environment. The leaf mold continues to spread, despite the presence of the lime, long used to quicken decay of dead bodies to hasten their passing from the memories of the living. But despite the dark and damp, and the utterly desolate conditions, "Nothing would give up life" (10). So strong is the persistence of the contents of the root cellar that "Even the dirt kept breathing a small breath" (11)."
An analysis of the representation of war and politics in Pablo Neruda's poem "Keeping Quiet", Nathalie Handal's "The Lives of Rain" and Bei Dao's "The Answer".
Abstract The paper examines the works of the three poets, Pablo Neruda, Nathalie Handal and Bei Dao, and shows how they all portray the disaster caused by war and politics in the lives of ordinary people. The paper discusses how each author depicts the scene of the modern world as a desolated landscape on which the signs and effects of war and fighting are openly visible, where death usurps life and the cruel political games make the normal, innocent people into victims. The paper highlights the poems' symbolic imagery, which hints at the terrible effects of war on our contemporary lives.
From the Paper "War and politics have always been two pervading themes in literature. If in the ancient times however war was introduced and depicted in long, heroic poems, in modern poetry the writers deplore the violence and savagery caused by the war. Many modern poets and artists have also played an important role as political militants and have been involved in the political life of their countries either directly or indirectly through their writings. Contemporary poetry especially is extremely preoccupied with politics and the way it influences modern life at all levels. The three poets Pablo Neruda, Nathalie Handal and Bei Dao have all been involved in the political life of their countries. Their poetry thus expresses the social and political disturbances and the conflicts which affect the lives of the individuals."
Abstract An in depth look at the writings of poet Stanley Kunitz with focus on his poem "Night Letter". The author analyzes this poem about the tragedies of WWII and compares it to a creative piece written by the author, "Desolate Whispers" about the tragedies that occurred on September 11th.
From the Paper "Stanley Kunitz's "Night Letter" inspired me for many reasons. Towards the beginning of class, soon after the terrorist attacks, we dedicated a portion of class to poetry and tragedy. After a tragedy like the one that took place on September 11, many people turned to poetry as a way of morning or even understanding. We read an excerpt of the "Night Letter" by Stanley Kunitz and the first line of the excerpt read, ?Violence shakes my dreams; I am so cold.? This one line was etched in my mind for days. I really did not understand a whole lot of the poem, but this one line kept drawing me back."
Abstract In this paper Mary Shelley?s, "Frankenstein" is compared to Fyodor Dostoevsky's, "Notes from Underground". The writer of this paper focuses on the language and imagery that were used to paint society's picture in the stories.
From the paper:
?Notes From Underground is a favorite classic worldwide. The story of a lonely and desolate man unnerves almost all who read it. The story is extremely effective in its purpose and it draws the reader into the society that the man lived in. The author takes great care not to describe the society with a blatant description, but instead uses talented imageries to paint the picture for us. In addition the language used creates an understanding of the time and place of the storyline. Written in first person the story produces a full rich bodied grasp of society at the time.?
Tags: authors, talents, language, imagery, descriptions, society, characters, story
Abstract The author states that despite critics? sometimes negative reviews, Hemingway was a major American writer, a winner of the Noble prize who could claim literary greatness. He continues that many of Hemingway's works are classics of American literature. The selected reviews refer to some of these classics. The author writes that Hemingway's ability to capture the essence of the despair and desolation of his generation is his major achievement.
From the Paper "Although critics have offered praise and blame for Hemingway's writing, raved about successes, and panned failures, the consensus must be that he is a major American writer who can claim literary greatness. In 1925, when he was not yet twenty-six, his first short story collection, In Our Time, was reviewed in The New York Times. An anonymous critic described his prose as "lean, pleasing, with tough resilience," "fibrous," "athletic," "fresh," "hard," and "clean," as if an athlete, not a book, was being reviewed. Hemingway's style was so different, that new ways had to found to describe it. Hemingway's 1961 New York Times obituary echoed the early review, describing his "lean and sinewy prose," and his "laconic, understated dialogue"."
Abstract This paper discusses how the lives, passions and destinies of Dorothy Day, who co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement and Saint Augustine of Hippo have close resemblances and are strikingly parallel. It looks at how they were both born into comfortably well-off families and how both were in search of something they vigorously sought from their youth. It examines their strong links with their parents and similarities in education. It shows how Augustine had received a Christian education, although his father was baptized into Christianity only before his death and shows how Day spontaneously found serenity and beauty in the desolate and drab streets of Chicago's south side at the time. It discusses how both possessed sharp intellect and unbreakable will and how both went through great and varying tests in their commitment to the commandments of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ and in fulfillment of their inner calling.
From the Paper "Augustine's mother brought Christianity very close to him, and although he was already searching for answers in his youth, he did not perceive the connection his search had with his mother's Faith (Knight). When once seriously ill, he asked for baptism, but when he recovered, he refused it and immersed himself in the current of licentiousness, idleness and worldliness of his time. He also associated with "men of prayers", who impressed him with the concepts of Divine Providence, the future life, and Christ the Savior. But the fires of these concepts and his deep search were doused for 15 years by "every circumstance" (Knight): his success in school, insincerity in prayer, vices of youth, competitiveness and sensuality, which bore him a son. His pride also subjected him to gross error by falling into the snare of the Manichaeans, Oriental thinkers, who enticed him with a philosophy without the entanglement of faith."
Abstract This paper focuses on the use of location as a metaphor in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby". The writer points out that the first metaphor used involves West Egg and East Egg, which are used to show the distance between the two main characters, Gatsby and Daisy. The writer then looks at the location of the valley of ashes as a metaphor for desolation and loneliness. The paper concludes that the metaphors are used to represent either the qualities of the characters or the themes of the novel.
From the Paper "The first metaphor occurs with West Egg and East Egg, two egg-shaped islands lying opposite each other and separated by a bay. West Egg is the island where Gatsby lives and also the less fashionable of the two islands. While West Egg is less fashionable, it is also the more real of the two islands. This includes that it is the island where the narrator Nick lives in a small rented bungalow. West Egg still has its share of mansions but there is also a sense of reality to the place. In contrast, East Egg is all mansions, with the sense of elite making it the least real of the two islands."
Tags: west, east, egg, ashes, valley, daisy, location, metaphor
Abstract This paper examines "The Things They Carried" by Tim O' Brien, the story of 12 soldiers, members of the Third Platoon, Alpha Company, Fifth Battalion of the 16th Infantry, 198th Infantry Brigade of the American Division in the Vietnam War of 1969. It looks at how O"Brien relates his and his companions" desolate and fatal experiences during that war and how he uses those experiences to explore the complications of memory and trauma, the most lasting of the things he and his companions endured, and which have remained with him to this day. It examines how it lists the many things they carried into war that were more real and terrifying than bullets, guns, grenades, and disease, such as the deaths, injuries, and sicknesses, and the overall brokenness they had to face in fighting.
From the Paper "O"Brien gives major focus on the death of his closest friend, Kiowa throughout the book. It was a freak incident in that his own platoon killed him by mistake when it camped in a latrine on the banks of the song Tra Bong. It was plain to see why the author held Kiowa closest to his heart: Kiowa shared his sentiments about the cruelty of war. Kiowa was also a very compassionate and intelligent man, but precisely because of the kind of soul he was that O"Brien gave greater coverage of Kiowa's very costly death than his life. It was a gutting loss he carried with great pain and could never get over with."
This paper discusses the history of the Afrikaners, the descendants of mainly Dutch settlers who established the first permanent settlement at the southern tip of the African continent.
Abstract This paper explains that the Afrikaners developed a separate identity, identifying themselves as Africans rather than Europeans, adopting a separate language called Afrikaans, which is a dialect of the Dutch, and developing a distinct culture based on Calvinist beliefs honed by the harsh environs of the South African landscape. The author points out that, ever since a group of native Khoikhois first encountered the white men who had briefly disembarked to look for fresh water in about 1488, the relationship between the Europeans and the local inhabitants had been hostile. The paper relates that the politics of the Afrikaners, based on the assumed superiority of the white people, was an interpretation of the Calvinistic philosophy of a "chosen people", meaning the Boers were chosen by God to conquer the desolate land of South Africa and to rule over its "uncivilized" indigenous inhabitants.
Table of Contents
Background
The First Dutch Outpost
The Freeburghers and the Beginnings of a Race-based Society
Interaction with the Natives
The Afrikaner Identity
The Afrikaans Language
Afrikaner Culture and Society
Politics and Apartheid
Significant Events in Afrikaner History
The Great Trek
The Second Boer War: Oct 1999-May 1902
From the Paper "There are different theories about how Afrikaans developed. One is that it arose as a bastard tongue out of a clash between Dutch (the language of the white settlers) and Malay Portuguese (the language of the imported slaves). However, Afrikaans does not show large scale influence of Malay-Portuguese and has incorporated only a few of its words into its fold. The more convincing theory about the origins of the language is that it gradually evolved from Dutch as a result of the interaction among people of various nationalities who settled at the Cape. It later gathered loanwords from other languages such as English, French, German and some African languages, and adopted a simplified grammatical structure to evolve into a separate language. As we have already observed, most of the early settlers at the Cape were Dutch."
Abstract The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche has been one of the most misunderstood and contorted value systems in history and what he considered to be a 'prelude to a philosophy of the future.' Nietzsche was a tragic and skeptical figure, as well as a narcissist. He was a desolate observer in the corner, 'trapped in his head,' watching the progression of humanity drive towards an apocalyptic nightmare. Using a multitude of original sources, this paper illustrates the thoughts of Friedrich Nietzsche and his view on ethics and morality.
Paper Outline
Prelude: Life and Attack upon Christianity
Epigrams and Interludes
The Will to Power
Conclusion
Works Cited
From the Paper "Kaufman notes that the best way in which one can define the ethical or moral code of Friedrich Nietzsche is that, "Such a code could not place restraint on the individual and would have to permit him to act on impulse." Nietzsche was deconstructing morality, as opposed to constructing. In fact, his entire argument against morality is that it has been constructed. Nonetheless, it appears to me that a moral code of Nietzsche would also entail the individual's inherent responsibility to sublimate impulses in order to overcome oneself at some point in the individual's life."
Abstract This paper explains that "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman explores the desolate position of women in the nineteenth century. Specifically, it focuses on postpartum depression before it was recognized as a serious disease. The paper relates that the deterioration of the nameless narrator in this story is deprived of everything she needs, which make her condition worse. Her relationship with her husband, a doctor, is primarily responsible for her downturn. it explains that as a result of this, the theme of freedom and the use of symbolism become effective tools that Gilman uses to help us understand the narrator's debilitating disease.
From the Paper "The narrator's freedom is directly linked with her failing relationship with John because he is in control of practically every aspect of her life. He does not take her seriously, he treats her like a child, and even tries to manipulate her when he thinks it will get him what he wants. John does not think her illness is serious and insists on treating her like a little girl. John barely lets his wife move about without special direction having some sort of control over where she goes and what she does. He also offers no kind of support or compassion for his wife at all. An example of this can be seen when he tells her that her "imaginative power and habit of story-making . . . is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies" (Gilman 764). He laughs when she tries to discuss the paper with him and when he knows that different paper in the room might lift his wife's spirits, he declares, "nothing was worse for a nervous patient than to give way to such fancies" (764). He indicates that she is making up all of her problems and then he refuses to do anything that might help her. John reinforces the insignificance of his wife's condition by working late most of the time."
Tags: doctor, relationship, woman, symbolism, post, partum
Abstract This paper describes the plot and the characters of Flannery O'Connor's novel about a family from Georgia taking a trip together to visit a plantation. The paper analyzes the theme and the characters in the story and tells us that O'Connor's story is a cautionary tale to those of us who live in the present; those who do not live by their words will die by them.
From the Paper "Within Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" the reader is taken on an emotional trip filled with irony and foreshadowing which ends in tragedy and death. The beginning of the tale starts off as a typical trip with a dull Georgia family. Little sympathy is evoked from the readers through these distasteful characters: an emotionless son and father, a homely mother, and two disrespectful kids. The impact of O'Connor's work comes through her restraint of action in the first part of the story. In the second half of the story all the pieces come together to quicken the story's pace when the reader realizes the implications past events will have on the bearing of future events."
Abstract This paper explains that "The Death of Ivan Illych" by Leo Tolstoy is a story inspired by the death of the writer's own brother. The author points out that this novel, written in Russia in 1886, is about a man's realization of the worthlessness of his life due to his impending death. The paper relates that Ivan Illych, who was a man of apparent wealth and status according to external standards, was an ideal of success; however, despite what was assumed by the surrounding community, Ivan Illych's life was empty and hollow--he felt desolate and abandoned.
From the Paper "When the annoyed Peter Ivanovich, one of Ivan Illych's dearest friends, went to the funeral scheduled for one o' clock that day, he was somewhat surprised at the attitude of Mrs. Ivan Illych. Figuring he would be needed to comfort her, Peter was essentially desired by Praskovya to discuss the possibility of obtaining a grant of money from the government on the occasion of her husband's death. Even Praskovya Fedorovna Golovina could not help but to expose her selfishness; rather than speaking sympathetically of the agonizing pain her husband endured during the last days of his life, ..."
