One obstacle is gender equality, the ranch is a “male-dominant” society where women are seen as untrustworthy. The fact that Curly’s wife is the bosses wife is the true cause of her alienation. However, the simple fact that she is a female separates her from interactions with others as seen when the men refer to her as having “the eye” (28). Here the men refer to everything they think women are – a distraction and temptation for men, instead of actual human beings. Candy is also oppressed in a social inequality as he is afraid that when he is too old to work, he will be thrown out of the “ash heap”, a victim of a society that discriminates against the disabled and has no value for age or experience. The “Suitcase Lady” portrays a different social inequality that leaves the reader feeling sympathetic. Financial Burden. “We never got along well because I didn’t bring him up. I was too poor. He never call me mama”. Financial power is alluring in more that one way; ignorance and love - the two extremes, in this case it caused the suitcase lady to loose the only person she had. It is up to others to change the perspective of people in need, rather than listening to what society says. This is seen in both Of Mice and Men with Curly’s wife and Candy and in the “Suitcase Lady”. To get power, people take it from others, this creates
The novel also makes a unyielding point about the dangers of consumerism, emphasizing how creativity and individualism can be reduced by allowing the government and media to think for them. Perhaps the most important feature of the book is that readers understand the value of imagination and cultural heritage. These points would not be understood or accepted by readers if the novel failed to follow narrative structure, which is undeniably the most important aspect of any literary
The past is a time where most do not want to look back upon. It holds the memories of our blunders and triumphs, but most often the former is remembered with much more clarity than the latter. For the narrator of our story, his mistakes were clear as day. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, the author, James Hurst, utilizes the literary elements of flashback and dialogue to convey to the reader that throughout the story, the narrator feels guilt for his previous actions. Hurst does so by selecting key words with negative connotations to describe the narrator’s feelings in retrospect, as well as using dialogue to show that the narrator clearly remembers every wrongdoing he has done leading up to Doodle’s death.
Every person encompasses their own unique opinion. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck Finn possesses a conscience that makes him one of the most important and recognizable figures in American literature. However, Claudia Durst Johnson, a critic, believes that because of Huck’s actions the novel “is one of the most radical and darkly bitter books in the American canon. It represents the breaking of federal law as moral. It recommends disobedience and defiance on the part of young people.” This statement is disagreeable because although Huck does break the federal law as a moral, he does it for the right reasons. Therefore, making the great American classic not such a radical and darkly bitter book after all.
Mark Twain, well-known American author, ridicules the self destructive nature of greed upon man in his controversial novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry and Finn. Twain criticizes the society he lived in, noting the “superficiality and meaningless” lives of people. Mark Twain utilizes situational irony, farce, and exaggeration in order to compare two situations in the novel where characters illustrate upon themselves the negative effects of greed. Twain establishes a critical tone to bring attention to even modern day readers that greed will eventually result in punishments and consequences.
In American culture, there is a constant state of flux in regards to what is in and what is not. In John Leland’s study, Hip: The History, these fluxes are examined in depth and are thouroughly investigated. Leland establishes that being hip is not something that can be defined by some locals hanging out in a coffee shop in a rainy city wearing combat boots and flannel but rather by centuries of cultures in what was the mxing pot of America all melding together to create a unique yet unified sound. Through his anaylsis of the Beboppers, Leland sets up a premise for Hip that had previously not been established.
The movie, In Time and the narrative “Repent Harlequin” Said the Ticktockman are perfect examples of technological dystopias. Both are societies being controlled by time, with In Time having a more complicated system.
In “Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman,” Harlan Ellison depicts the differences between an authoritarian ruler and a constructive revolutionist in a dystopian society. The Ticktockman, who controls the timeframe of all civilians who prevail in the city, is challenged by the perilous and advancing viewpoints of an insurgent named the Harlequin. This character, identified as a revolutionary, attempts to transfigure the city towards freedom, yet struggles to overthrow the leader and thus conforms to the society enforced by the Ticktockman. Through his use of repetitive diction, allusions, characterization, organization, and syntax, Harlan Ellison conveys the inevitability of conforming to a society imposed by a powerful, authoritarian regime.
Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” revolves around the manipulation of time through the conflict of man versus nature. Bierce uses time in his favor as he switches between the past and the present life of the main character, Peyton Farquhar, as he lives his last moments. He uses this to show how time can be “subjective and phenomenal during times of emotional distress”. (BookRags). The manipulation of time that is unnoticeable whilst reading the story strengthens the themes that are present in this work, such as man’s denial of mortality, and the conjuring of irrational situations.
Life is overfilled with messages, like weeds in a sea in unmaintained grass. Whether it’s warning a person, or pointing out a flaw; these little lessons are there to further grow the positive parts of that person’s personality. A simple demonstration of this is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. An old, children’s book serving no meaningingful purpose is what it may seem, nevertheless, it actually is a novel that offers a unique outtake on all aspects of human life. In the book, two children Jem and Scout, who learn about equality, racism, and social class through court cases, tea parties and more. The story offers many ideals, whether to improve upon something that is exist, or throw a new concept into the the air with various techniques,
Prejudice not only harms those who have it, but serves as an effective hindrance to society’s advancement as a whole. In the short stories Baby in the Airmail Box by Thomas King, and The Man Doll by Susan Swan, the reader is shown great similarities on the impact of prejudice, and great contrast upon the treatment of said prejudices. These two authors help educate the reader on not only the harms of prejudice, but the consequence of inaction as well. The two stories explore prejudice in different manners, King creates a sense of satire through the comedic and exaggerated objectification of the “Baby”, whereas Swan creates a futuristic setting and uses science fiction to establish the “Dolls” as part of society. Both authors use an improbable
Victory gin is one of the few vices which the party endorses. However, the decision to drink gin is not an act of rebellion as other vices often are in this society. Rather, it is another form of control by the party. Winston describes that after the initial pain from ingesting the victory gin, “the world began to look more cheerful” (8). Here, the victory gin is a form of emotion suppression. By suppressing unhappy feelings and making the world more cheerful, the victory gin allows the party to prevent rebellion and control an individual’s desire to act out against the party. By using the symbol of victory gin to represent control of the individual, Orwell highlights the extremes to which governments will go in order to maintain power over their
All of us grow, develop, and adapt to our surroundings according to what we see and learn. However, we don’t always only the just induce the positive values, but also adapt to the disadvantageous values, as well. To Kill a Mockingbird is a unique novel written by Harper Lee, which tells about a sophisticated family living in a small town. The focus of the book is Scout, the main character and an innocent child, and the story is presented from her perspective. The structure of the book shows the shaping of the Scout’s character of innocent behavior to maturity. Scout develops her empathy and maturity throughout the book by the reflection of other characters and occurring events.
In A Clockwork Orange, the dystopian England envisioned by Burgess serves to exaggerate the evils of both youth and adult society as a way to highlight the futility and the recklessness of youth rebellion. Given that the interactions between the young and the grown up words is one of the primary reasons for the development of rebellious youth cultures, the most effective way of communicating the opposing worldviews of both sides is to take them to their logical extremes. Youth culture is not just carefree and naive, but anarchic and infantile. Adults are not just reactionary and strict; they are antipathetic and authoritarian. It is this extreme clash between the generations that serves to perpetuate and even encourage the rise of youth counterculture
According to the en.oxforddictionaries.com satire means “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues” and a satirical fiction is “a literary work in which human foolishness or vice is attacked through irony, derision or wit.”