Ted E. Boyle argues in his essay “The Death of the Boss: Another Look at Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’” that the boss in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Fly” is in fact spiritually dead. According to Boyle, the boss has been consumed by materialism after his son’s death and is no longer really alive. This whole argument, while overall a valid interpretation, seems slightly questionable at times, especially when it comes to the ample attention paid to the boss’s materialism. Boyle takes the boss’s thoughts – specifically his declarations of grief and love – at face value, missing the notion that the boss in his conflicted emotional state is not entirely reliable as a narrator and has not actually been mourning for his son as deeply as he thinks he has. However, Boyle does take up one key point: the fact that the boss clearly tries very hard to grieve for his son despite being unable to do so. Throughout the story the boss makes considerable efforts to feel something at the thought of his dead son, not because he wants to keep himself spiritually alive, but because he has not yet fully processed the fact that his son is dead, and his grief is his way of keeping the son alive. The key thing to note in the beginning of the story are the parallels …show more content…
Six years on, he is still stuck in denial, the very first stage of grief, and is unable to truly move on with his life. He is afraid of finally losing his son completely if he accepts the fact that he is dead, so instead he goes to great pains to keep him alive by arranging to grieve for him even when he cannot spontaneously do so. Even in the end, when the reality is forced upon him by the fly’s death, the boss immediately reverts into his previous state of mind as if the realization had never happened. After all, “we cling to our last pleasures as the tree clings to its last leaves” (926), and the boss is no
Though viewed as such an important figure to the public and to himself, the most important event in his life, his death, occurs without notice, despite his conspicuous position when it occurs. In the end, the truth catches up to him and he is finally able to remember the reality of his past in the final moments before his
With knowledge, there's always room for knowledge that is not wanted, meaning knowledge that there are bad people, things, etc. in life. This can cause a sense of hopelessness, because when new, horrible experiences occur in people's lives, it gives them knowledge that they don't want: the knowledge of problems and failures. People don’t want to know that they have failed, or are in a situation out of their control, so they feel like they dont have the power or means to change it. The Man know he can't change how the world they live in is, and knows that all he can do is make sure his child is safe and alive. He feels like there is no point to this life full of hunger, cold temperatures, and murder, but keeps going for The Boy.
In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Golding vividly illustrates the descent of the deceased pilot in the middle of the night. Golding does this by intertwining several rhetorical terms to add depth to the writing and imagery, so the reader could picture every sentence in their minds, making it come alive. Golding also incorporates different styles of syntax to enhance the overall effect of the writing. The combination of these techniques allows Golding to recount the pilots flight with immense detail and depth, which not only amplifies the events occurring, but also creates a detailed images in the audience’s head. Golding is able to incorporate life into his writing, despite the focus of the piece being a deceased pilot, by continuously using rhetorical terms, specifically personification and juxtaposition.
He believes that if he has dreams that were pleasant, that would be dangerous because such dreams would soften him from making the tough choices he needs to in order to survive and keep his son alive. The relationship with his wife is of importance to the man. Although she abandons him during a time of dire circumstance, he holds no resentments toward her, instead, he deeply misses her.
The Boss lambastes the man for trying to move up in the world and argues that he is less than human. The Boss is the Boss because no one can rise to his level in his own eyes. He is not corrupt in that he is drawn to
It gives the reader the sense that the main character may be experiencing some depression because as it is stated she is waiting for her feelings to surface, and she might be feeling down that she is not reacting as normal people should be. She is convincing herself that she is not worthy and she doesn’t love her father, even though on the inside she loves him . The main character needs to realize that she is taking it in her own way. Furthermore, the second grief in the story is the
By removing the images of what it meant to truly live, placed there by his environment, and looking within himself, his attitude towards death changes to allow a more holistic acceptance of what is to
He lives in the past. His behavior over his death is the same way he reacts when anything else goes wrong in his life. He blames himself so his life resolution is to be the catcher in the rye. He dreams to save children from losing their innocence to make up for his remorse and regret of not being able to save his brother, the most innocent in his life. That’s all he focuses his life on.
Chapter 2 - Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion Choose a meal from a literary work and apply the ideas of Chapter 2 to this literary depiction Answer: Quentin Tarantino’s films are all known for having significant meal scenes, and Pulp Fiction is no exception. In Pulp Fiction, many memorable scenes involve food. Although, the meal scene that sticks out the most is the one between Mia Wallace, Marsellus’s wife, and Vincent Vega, Marsellus’s bodyguard. Even though the characters come from two different worlds they share something in common.
It is first and foremost the grief of one person over the death of his son. Here the author accepts that he has grief because he has loved his son and that son is no more. As much he loved his son, so much is his grief. When we go through this book keeping in mind Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief, we find that the development of the thoughts of the author is also almost the same.
This action shows that the boy obviously misses his father and wants him to come back. He had no one else and now is all alone in the world. The boy is sad because his father died, but also because of his desolation from life. The boy is so secluded from life, he weeps for his
Since The Road is more about the Boy’s journey than his father’s, the supreme ordeal at the end of the novel is the death of the Man. The death of the Man, who acted as the Boy’s mentor during the many challenges faced by the duo, represents the largest and most devastating challenge faced by the Boy. Not only is this due to the fact that the Boy feels unprepared to continue on without his father, but it is also because the “reward” and “road back” are not immediately apparent to the Boy. Compared to even the most challenging obstacles the Boy faced in the past, the death of his father leaves him both physically and mentally pained and exhausted. However, relief from his situation arrives promptly in the form of the stranger who claims to be a “good guy,” though the Boy’s future remains forever uncertain.
Today, most people would assume that the reaction to a loved one’s death would be immediate grief; however, that would not be the case in the late 1800s. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” women were expected to grieve differently than men. The story conveys the main character Mrs. Mallard’s distress and joy after she discovered the supposed death of her husband. The story does not demonstrate Mrs. Mallard following the stages of grief that would be expected when grieving over her husband. In spite of the fact that Mrs. Mallard was grieving she was likewise encountering joy and satisfaction since she then realizes that she is currently free.
Louise’s victory in accepting her husband’s death is a feeling that she now cannot live without. The ultimate death of Louise Mallard is one that represents physical and emotional defeat. In this dramatic short story, Chopin uses imagery to sew together a tapestry of emotions all encompassed in an ill-stricken widow. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.”
When Richard’s heard the news of her husband’s death, he assumed Mrs. Mallard would be devastated. While everyone knew Mrs. Mallard was “afflicted with heart trouble” (57), him and her sister, Josephine, wanted to give her the news with “great care” (57). Josephine broke the news to Mrs. Mallard in “broken sentences”