World renown author, Isabel Allende’s “An act of Vengeance” and “The Address” by the Marga Minco are two thought-provoking short stories that share common themes. One significant theme that both pieces of text carry out is the tragic consequences of war. Although both works adequately construct this theme through the use of interpersonal conflict, intrapersonal conflict, and loss, Allende was able to more effectively take advantage of these criteria in order to better convey the theme.
Within both works, interpersonal conflict plays a role as a major type conflict that assists in constructing the theme of war’s consequences. In Allende’s short story there are multiple cases of it. One case of this conflict is demonstrated when Dulce Rosa Orellano is unable bring herself to kill the man who wronged her when they reunite after 30 years because“She could no longer continue to deceive her own heart. She knew she could not carry out the vengeance she had planned because she loved the killer, but she was also unable to quiet the Senator’s ghost”(Allende 5). This moment illustrates an internal conflict that Dulce Rosa is battling. She is psychologically stressed because she had
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This type of conflict is intrapersonal conflict, conflict that occurs between one or more individuals. In Allende’s “An Act of Vengeance”, the havoc that Tadeo and his army wreak upon the town of Santa Teresa brings intrapersonal conflict between the victims and the oppressors. This type of conflict has various occurrences throughout Allende’s story. In “An act of Vengeance”, the most large scale occurrence of intrapersonal conflict happens at the very beginning of the story which was “Tadeo Cespedes’ … punitive expedition against Santa Teresa”(Allende 1). This is considered the most large scale because it is a group of people who are opposing another group of people, rather than two
When viewing the Mexican Revolution, a dichotomy between destruction and creation appears. When it kicked off in 1910, it was in the pursuit of noble goals. But at its core, the Revolution was a rebellion and at the heart of all rebellions is war. And with war comes destruction and death. While the Revolution last for at least a decade and perhaps longer, for the individuals involved life was often, as Thomas Hobbes once wrote, nasty, brutish, and short.
O’Brien presents a variety of stories to present the complexity of war. “On The Rainy River” is a pre-war
Chris Hedges, a former war correspondent, has a memory overflowing with the horrors of many battlefields and the helplessness of those trapped within them. He applies this memory to write War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, where he tutors us in the misery of war. To accomplish this goal, Hedges uses impactful imagery, appeals to other dissidents of war and classic writers, and powerful exemplification. Throughout his book, Hedges batters the readers with painful and grotesque, often first-hand, imagery from wars around the globe. He begins the book with his experience in Sarajevo, 1995.
“Happiness consists in giving and in others,” (Henry Drummond). This quote effectively describes the character Clarisa in the short story, “Clarisa” written by Isabel Allende because of her giving nature and adherence for helping others. In this story, Allende depicts Clarisa as the model of affection and compassion by giving absolutely everything she owns and even spends “... the last cent of her dowry and inheritance,” (Allende, 434) and, “In her own poverty, she never turned her back on the poverty of others,”(Allender, 434). It is this very reason that she is held in high esteem and portrayed as saint like by all those who know. Through the use of similes, diction, and imagery Allende does an exceptional job helping readers understand
People commonly act out of emotion and not thought. “Unwittingly, like partners in a marriage that has soured, many people are challenged to look beyond their own immediate interests,” states Bernard Golden, Ph.D. An example of person versus self conflict is when Eragon visits Yazuac. While visiting, he suspects people are following him, so he turns into an alleyway. It turned out to be a dead end, and he trapped himself, like a scared rabbit going to the first hole they find.
In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, the author retells the chilling, and oftentimes gruesome, experiences of the Vietnam war. He utilizes many anecdotes and other rhetorical devices in his stories to paint the image of what war is really like to people who have never experienced it. In the short stories “Spin,” “The Man I Killed,” and “ ,” O’Brien gives reader the perfect understanding of the Vietnam by placing them directly into the war itself. In “Spin,” O’Brien expresses the general theme of war being boring and unpredictable, as well as the soldiers being young and unpredictable.
In Sherman Alexie’s short story, “War Dances,” the narrator unravels in thoughts and takes us through events in his life. He picks up by speaking about a cockroach that ends up dying in his Kafka baggage from a trip to Los Angeles. The cockroach still appears many times throughout the story. The narrator spends quality time in the hospital with his father, who is recovering from surgery due to diabetes and alcoholism, all along the way while he, himself, discovers he might have a brain tumor, leading his right ear to talk about his father. Using a style of tragedy and care both incorporate together a symbolic story that would make even a plain reader feel touched, leading to the major occurrence of a theme of the importance of family.
In Allende’s novel The House of the Spirits, Esteban Trueba is the only character to survive the entirety of the novel. In the commencement, the reader witnesses how his rigorous childhood plays a key role in foreshadowing how his violence develops the themes throughout the novel. Furthermore, the reader additionally grows with Esteban as an adult, and witness how his volatile relationships with characters conform the theme of society and class. Lastly, throughout the novel he plays a central role as the antagonist in numerous conflicts, which develop the recurring theme of violence. From a zealous young man, to the main antagonist in various conflicts; examining Esteban’s growth throughout the novel involves the reader in the core of Esteban,
Title Killing Mr. Griffen Author Louis Duncan Publication Date april 1978 Vocab - Choose 15 words that you are not familiar with or that are challenging. Write the definition of the word.
The Wars is a symbolic masterpiece that illustrates the great impact war brings on the microcosm of society and how individuals juxtaposed to the war are affected. The novel itself requires active reading; because without it, the novel would seem very simplistic; however, after further examination, readers can evidently recognize the complexity of Robert’s character with the aid of many heteroglossic components, techniques, devices, and the reworking of literary conventions. Robert’s physical, mental and emotional journey he endeavours, followed by the constant re-evaluations of his truths and becoming a more proficient soldier, can be seen through a formalist perspective with the use of foreshadowing to signify Robert’s transition from a sane to insane soldier; the utilization of animal imagery highlighting Robert’s development through the horrific experiences of war; and the several themes in the text to illustrate Robert’s evolution as a soldier through his inner
In conclusion the story ‘The Sniper” written by Liam O Flaherty and “Cranes” WRITTEN BY Hwand Suwon and translated by Peter H. Lee. These two stories show the true effects of war. The negative are shown but some postive effects are shown as well. In “The Sniper” the lesson learned was “War know no boundaries age, sex ,location, time of day, or family ties.
Vengeance has been an ongoing problem for many centuries. In the long run, with the new generation, they have been following the same pattern to get revenge, without knowing the reasons why. If no one is willing to stop and think it over, to evaluate if it’s worth the risk, then the act of vengeance will be ongoing at the cost of many lives. Many people do not realize that having to avenge the death of a loved one will take so much time and patience in their lives. In the short story, “An Act of Vengeance,” by Isabel Allende, the issue involves a young girl who gets raped by Tadeo Cespedes, whom also killed her father on the same day.
Conflict can be described as the struggle between two opposing forces, whether the forces being person vs person, person vs self or person vs society. Good examples of conflict can be found in almost any book. Margaret Atwood’s novel, the Handmaid’s Tale is a source of all three types of conflicts. The Handmaid’s Tale is about a society where females are given specific duties and are restricted from reading, writing, talking to others and looking at themselves in mirrors. The protagonist, Offred whom is also the narrator in the novel faces conflicts with herself, with other people, and the society that she lives in.
In O’Flaherty’s “The Sniper” and Hardy’s “The Man He Killed” both works use plot, irony, and theme to portray the idea that war causes you to kill those you care or may have cared about. There are many similarities and differences In the plot of both “The Sniper” and “The Man He Killed”, there are many similarities and differences.
Humans do not control war, rather, war controls humans. In less then ten words, the reader understands that The Yellow Birds is not a glorified memoir of a soldier’s accounts in Iraq. Bartley is not a hero, and Powers never destines him to be one. As Bartley, the main character of the novel, confesses, the American soldiers “were not destined at all” (Powers, ch. 1). Bartley is the war’s prey.