ipl-logo

Examples Of Receptivity In Return To Hayneville

1877 Words8 Pages

In "On Habit", Alain de Botton observes that a "traveling mindset," to which receptivity, the notion of being open to new objects, is the key to the release of latent layers of value in our accustomed surroundings. In Gregory Orr's "Return to Hayneville," "receptivity" seems to be the key as Orr returns to Hayneville, 40 years after what had been the most tumultuous time of his life. Orr, traveling with his 2 other companions, tends to give them a recount of what he actually had to go through in Hayneville, and how his emotions get the better of him when they reach Hayneville. However, the real problems falls when de Botton seems to suggest that "receptivity" is the key to living a life worth living, as that helps one observe the beauty of his/her surroundings, Whereas in Gregory Orr's "Return To Hayneville," we are able to interpret the limitations to de bottons theories. The main problem lying in de Bottons assumption of "receptivity" being termed as perhaps the greatest thing in the world is the fact that he does not bother showing us the negative …show more content…

de Botton's whole essay "On Habit" is rounded up on the fact that "receptivity" is the key to living a happy life, disregarding its negative aspects and tinkering only with the positive ones. Contrary to de Bottons notion, Gregory Orrs's "Return To Hayneville" gives an indication that the grass is not always green when it comes to being receptive, as it has its limitations too, which de Botton fails to mention. Orr's "receptivity" comes into place when he notices the 3 martyrs laying on ground, observing that "They seemed at peace,

Show More
Related

  • Gender Roles In Sag Harbor

    1195 Words  | 5 Pages

    Formation of Gender Expectations Starting at the core development of our society, roles such as gender, race and class have formed into our perception of ourselves and others throughout several aspects of life. In the novel Sag Harbor, Colson Whitehead analyzes the importance of these roles and portrays how they structure our society. Benji, the main character of this novel is a teengager who is striving to fit in and trying to find his place in society. Benji has faced difficult times trying to fit in, as he is an affluent African American boy who goes to an all white school and lives in an all white neighborhood on the Upper East Side.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Dialectical Journal Chapter 1

    449 Words  | 2 Pages

    6/24, Chapter One: As the book begins, the readers are introduced to Scout, and her knowledge of Maycomb. I noticed how Scout’s narration sounded; she is telling the story as an adult but from a five year old’s point of view during the book, but her narrative included complex words such as “imprudent” (5) and “domiciled” (10), which is unlike what a child would say. Harper Lee uses the unique narration so that Scout would be able to provide background and context to Maycomb, but also so that readers would be able to see how Scout reacted and felt about the events in the book, and how it impacted her life growing up. Scout also used description and imagery as she told the story, which I found intriguing, since children don’t usually care for description and see things simplistically.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Strategies In Richard Louv's Last Child In The Woods

    698 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his passage from “Last Child in the Woods,” Richard Louv uses various rhetorical strategies in order to make his audience more supportive of his argument. The passage discusses the connection, or really the separation, between people and nature. On this subject, Louv argues the necessity for people to redevelop their connection with nature. His use of tone, anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and factual examples all help develop the pathos and logos of his piece.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Nicholas Carr's Is Google Making USupid?

    850 Words  | 4 Pages

    With this quote at the beginning, the reader automatically starts thinking about why he included this. What he explains next quickly answers any questions. Carr relates this feeling of a mind changing to him. He states “My mind isn’t going- so far as I can tell- but it’s changing.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Wendell Berry's An Entrance To The Woods

    524 Words  | 3 Pages

    “An Entrance to the Woods” is an essay by Wendell Berry about the serenity and importance of nature in his life. In this essay, the author uses tone shifts from dark to light to convey his idea of finding rebirth and rejuvenation through nature. In the beginning of the essay, Berry has left civilization for the first time in a while, and finds himself missing human company and feeling “inexplicably sad” (671). This feeling of sadness is in part from the woods itself, and partly due to Berry leaving the hustle and bustle of normal life in the cities, and the violent change from constant noise to silence causes him to feel lonely in the woods. As a result of feeling alone in the woods, the tone of the essay is dark and brooding, as seen through Berry’s somber diction and mood, as seen on page 671: “And then a heavy feeling of melancholy and lonesomeness comes over me.

    Read More

  • Last Child In The Woods Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    812 Words  | 4 Pages

    Richard Louv, a novelist, in Last Child in the Woods (2008) illustrates the separation between humans and nature. His purpose to the general audience involves exposing how the separation of man from nature is consequential. Louv adopts a sentimental tone throughout the rhetorical piece to elaborate on the growing separation in modern times. Louv utilizes pathos, ethos and logos to argue that the separation between man and nature is detrimental.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Forgiveness Analysis

    753 Words  | 4 Pages

    Compassion and forgiveness is not something everyone gives but is something you should give to everyone. Even when they don’t deserve it. Compassion and forgiveness is a theme in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee when Atticus tells Scout not to be angry at the people who are against him, when he defends Bob Ewell’s behavior after the Tom Robinson case, and when Scout saw the world in Boo Radley’s shoes. And in real life, when a woman pardoned a man on the gallows, before he was hung, even though he murdered her son, and a woman forgave two boys that pushed a cart over a railing onto her, causing many injuries When word goes around about Atticus’s decision to try to defend Tom Robinson, Scout becomes irked by everyone who mocks Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. Atticus tells her, “It’s different this time [...]

    Read More

  • Examples Of Allusions In To Kill A Mockingbird

    316 Words  | 2 Pages

    I can tell To Kill A Mockingbird takes place during the 1930’s because of the allusions made in it. In the book, they also use words that we do not normally use in our average daily vocabulary; Some examples would be on page 36 when they use words such as “fer”, “reckon”, and “ain’t”. Back in the twentieth century, they used multiple words that we do not use as much nowadays. Furthermore, I can tell the book takes place during the 1930’s is because of an allusion made on page 46 when Jem refers to Indian-heads. Indian-heads were pennies before the Lincoln penny came about.

    Read More

  • A Literature Of Place Barry Lopez Summary

    479 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay, “A Literature of Place”, by Barry Lopez focuses on the topic of human relationships with nature. He believes human imagination is shaped by the architectures it encounters within life. Lopez first starts his essay with the statement that geography is a shaping force for humans. This shaping force is what creates our imagination; the shaping force is found within nature. Everything humans see within nature is remembered, thus creating new ideas and thoughts for our imagination.

    Read More

  • On Seeing England For The First Time Rhetorical Analysis

    590 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Jamaica Kincaid’s essay “On Seeing England for the First Time”, she clearly voices her animosity towards the one place her whole life surrounded as a child in hopes of persuading her audience into understanding that there is a fine line between dreams and realities. As an adult, Kincaid finally is able to travel to England to witness firsthand what all the hype was about and why her childhood and education happened to be based around the fantasy customs of this country. Noticing that every detail of her life revolved around England, from the way she ate her food to the naming of her family members, Kincaid found her hatred growing more and more. Coming from a British colony, the obsession with England drove Kincaid crazy to the point that she finally traveled there one day. She says, “The space between the idea of something and its reality is always wide and deep and dark” (37).

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Testimonies Analysis

    358 Words  | 2 Pages

    The testimonies reveal how deep-rooted the racism within Maycomb runs, as it is present even in court rulings and how casually present it is. The court is taking place, and the order of prosecutor’s witnesses who are: Mr. Heck Tate, the sheriff; Mr. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father; and Mayella Ewell, the one who is accusing Tom Robinson of raping her. When it’s Mr. Ewell’s turn to speak, he does so with many racial slurs and slang embedded in his accusations. When relaying what he saw to the jury, he points at Tom and yells “―I seen that black n*gger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” Mr. Ewell, who, although, has never been a part of a court case or viewed one, doesn’t truly care, or notice, that so far into the formal case, not one person has used racial slang to talk about Tom, and uses the term n*gger quite casually.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Epiphany In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    860 Words  | 4 Pages

    The narrator begins to change as Robert taught him to see beyond the surface of looking. The narrator feels enlightened and opens up to a new world of vision and imagination. This brief experience has a long lasting effect on the narrator. Being able to shut out everything around us allows an individual the ability to become focused on their relationships, intrapersonal well-being, and

    Read More

  • Lord Henry In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

    668 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is outwardly evident the both John Stuart Mill, the author of Utilitarianism, and Lord Henry from Oscar Wilde’s classic novel Pictures of Dorian Gray believe that the purpose of human life is to engage in activity that is found to be the most pleasurable. The primary difference in the hedonistic constructs of Lord Henry and Mill is that Mill believes that this pleasure seeking lifestyle is in fact a moral one. Lord Henry not only recognizes the immorality of a hedonistic lifestyle, he basks in it. Lord Henry commonly has dinner parties with company who, at best, disdain him. In the novel these dinner parties often become his platform to pedantically rant about the joys of his hedonistic lifestyle.

    Read More

  • John Locke's Philosophy In Frankenstein By Mary Shelley

    709 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Locke is a philosopher believes that everything we do in our future is all determined by our past experiences. John Locke once spoke “That a child is a blank state that is formed only through experience”. He believes that everyone is born with a blank mind, and that how ever you were treated as a kid sets your personality for your whole life. Such as if you had a negative childhood you are more likely to have a negative future; however, if you have have a positive childhood then you are more likely to have a positive future. Locke’s philosophy can be applied to real world events and events in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein.

    Read More

  • E. M. Forster's Life In 'The Machine Stops'

    956 Words  | 4 Pages

    Have you ever wondered what life might be like in the future? In “The Machine Stops” E.M. Forster wrote about a dystopian society in the future. Society today is not what he thought it would be like. Life in “The Machine Stops” and life today have differences in how people travel, how people act around each other, and how people live.

    Read More

More about Examples Of Receptivity In Return To Hayneville

Open Document