Shattered “There is not much room in the world for glass roses.” On a daily people attempt to live their lives in accordance with their own values but can be constrained towards certain actions because they feel obligated and/or forced to do so. Alden Nowlan’s short story “The Glass Roses” demonstrates the role of self-preservation in response to competing demands through a “willowy fifteen-year-old” protagonist who is faced with conflicting views on the true meaning of manhood. Throughout the story Stephens beliefs are detained and tested by the pulp-cutters, the Polack, and his father. Initially when Nowlan introduces the readers to the protagonist it is clear to see that Stephen strives to achieve this idealistic manhood that’s been forced upon him by his father and the “burly, red-faced me,” the only way to make this transition into a man is to strip himself of anything remotely childish. …show more content…
Leka, the polack contributes towards Stephens embracement of the harsh reality of life as he can’t seem to escape his enthrallment with fairy tales and stories. Leka is imaginative, apologetic and friendly, he has more experience in the real world unlike any of the other men, because of this he creates a conflict to the social norms the others live by. We can see that for Stephen “the boyish daydreaming that he was expected to scorn now that he was becoming a man,” is complicated as he still feels this fascination in hearing the polack’s stories and has his own dreams of the future. Yet he is so far gone into his crisis of manhood that he is “not certain what he [feels].” In the short story Stephens need to be more ‘manly’ for acceptance among the pulp-cutting men, becomes of less importance once he meets the
In the novel, Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the reader is able to notice many characteristics about Jeannette and her father such as Jeannette being optimistic and her father being a little off. One quote that shows these character traits is, “‘We’re not poor,’ I said. She had used that word one too many times. ‘Of course, you’re not,’ the lady quickly replied. ‘I didn’t mean it that way.
In literature and in life, misunderstandings create a divide in society. In “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls, the Walls live a reckless lifestyle and frequently move around the country, as a result of their denial towards society. “Poetry” by Marianne Moore describes Moore’s complicated relationship poetry because it is often not true, raw emotion. “The Glass Castle” and “Poetry” are representative of the constant battle between self and society.
Kindness is often overlooked in society yet it still manages to hold a great deal importance in the lives of many. Kindness is an empowering emotion that can change perspectives and alter destinies. In The Glass Roses by Alden Rowan the true importance of kindness is personified throughout the story. In the story Stephen is encapsulated by the kindness of his fellow worker and greatly impacts Stephan’s ability to determine his own destiny. The Glass Roses shows that individuals tend to hide their true emotions in order to gain respect from their peers however kindness, once truly unveiled can play a huge role in determining ones destiny.
Chrysanthemums are beautiful, delicate flowers, which often symbolize happiness. In the short story, “The Chrysanthemums,” John Steinbeck walks the readers through the lives of Elisa and Henry Allen. They live on a foothill ranch in Salinas Valley, California, where they spend most of their days living a simple lifestyle. The Allens focus their time on maintaining their ranch, but in the eyes of Elisa, this meant more time for her to tend to her beloved chrysanthemums. Steinbeck incorporates quizzical diction and repetition to characterize Elisa and to define happiness, to convey the message that it is more important to be happy than to try to please everybody else.
The chapter evaluates how the physical traits of a character are a representation of their personality, as well as their past and future in the story. Considerably ironic in part of Doerr, Marie-Laure’s blindness, a part of herself usually perceived as a burden, is what marks her for greatness. Commonly utilized by writers and film directors when presenting orphan children or virtuous and endangered heroines, the blindness of a character serves to draw sympathies from an audience. Although disabilities often dictate a character’s helplessness and incapability to do anything meaningful, Doerr went beyond such portrayal in his depiction of Marie-Laure. Blind from the age of six, Marie-Laure, fortunate to have a compassionate and loving father,
Layers of illusions are burned away and all Paul has left is reality. In Willa Cather’s tragic short story “Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament,” the flowers capture the reality world Paul departs from. For instance, critic Sherry Crabtree asserts that the red carnation symbolizes Paul’s alienation from the world of Cordelia Street (Crabtree 206). Crabtree observes the patterns of how the flowers reveal Paul’s negative outlook on life. On the other hand, some critics claim that the flowers capture the fantasy world Paul envisions.
How hard is it to risk one’s life just to keep a promise? The short story Magpies by Thomas King is about a promise made by a character named Ambrose, and how he must keep the promise he made, even if it causes distress. Magpies is written in a first person point of view so that the story is being told directly to the reader, which helps the reader to further understand the archetypes within the story. King delivers the message to always keep a promise through his utilization of archetypal characters, archetypal themes and archetypal symbols throughout the story Magpies.
When Stephen’s father tells Stephen to stay away from Leka he decided to go against him by waking Leka up from his nightmares. Therefore, Stephen begins to realize the importance of his friendship with Leka. He is showing compassion towards Leka despite his father’s words. Therefore, When Stephen hesitates before waking up Leka it is a moment of internal conflict where he struggles to choose between following his own values/beliefs and giving into his father’s expectations. By waking Leka up, it becomes clear that he has decided to stay true to himself and that he has gained the ability to choose who he wants to
He resides and works at a pulp-saw mill, alongside with his father and the pulp-cutting crew. Stephen’s “willowy fifteen-year old body” juxtaposing with the“faintly humped backs and ox-like shoulders” of the pulp cutting crew causes Stephen to hold the conviction that he is a weakling. Furthermore, his father’s
In life we all have goals and aspirations. So what we do is we spend our whole life searching for this satisfaction. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God the main character Janie was on an exhibition to find happiness. This exhibition was called “the pear tree goal”. Janie’s ambitions in her life were sexuality, marriage, freedom, maturity, and Family.
In John Steinbacks “The Chrysanthemums,” the shift of the setting from the ranch to the road plays an important role in the development of the main character, Elisa. Therefore, in the first setting, Elisa is in her garden attending to her the chrysanthemums, which she loves and cares for. Immediately, we’re placed in a rural setting, where women happen to live in isolation and man is manly. Elisa sneaks quick glances towards the men by the tractor shed, who is talking to her husband, waiting for them to leave, so she can throw aside her gloves and work her fingers into the soil of the garden. However, Elisa shows her fearless side by quickly digging in the garden, with her eagerness to grow her chrysanthemums, right after the men leave.
Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of foreign people or ideologies, and is the forefront theme in the short story The Glass Roses by Alden Nowlan. Deeper than the idea of unsolicited hatred in society, is the idea of support and understanding which is heavily influenced by the aforementioned prevailing theme: xenophobia.
Alice Walker uses imagery and diction throughout her short story to tell the reader the meaning of “The Flowers”. The meaning of innocence lost and people growing up being changed by the harshness of reality. The author is able to use the imagery to show the difference between innocence and the loss of it. The setting is also used to show this as well.
In some cases, the main characters of two very different books can share many similarities and differences. One example of this was shown in the novels, Of Mice and Men and Flowers for Algernon. In Of Mice and Men, the novel took place during the Great Depression. Lennie, the main character, and his best friend George conquered this toilsome time together. They found work at a farm in California.
In the short story “The Flowers”, Alice Walker sufficiently prepares the reader for the texts surprise ending while also displaying the gradual loss of Myop’s innocence. The author uses literary devices like imagery, setting, and diction to convey her overall theme of coming of age because of the awareness of society's behavior. At the beguining of the story the author makes use of proper and necessary diction to create a euphoric and blissful aura. The character Myop “skipped lightly” while walker describes the harvests and how is causes “excited little tremors to run up her jaws.”. This is an introduction of the childlike innocence present in the main character.