One of the most important aspects of “grit lit” is the violence that occurs in almost every novel. The violence that reoccurs throughout all of the “grit lit” novels allows for a more exciting plot and character conflict throughout the novel. One of the most influential and famous southern writers is Harry Crews. Crews is responsible for many different novels, short stories, and autobiographies, and almost all of his works include some type of violence. The main reason for violence in southern literature is due to the unordinary, low-life characters that the author includes to allow for a violent plot. “The “violence” that must take place in Southern literature is often a final resort of the character when all other alternatives have failed”
Sykes Jones is physically and emotionally abusive to Delia. He is immoral and unfaithful. Sykes takes the money that is earned from Delia's hard work to spend it away on his mistress, Bertha. Sykes in can be compared to evil because like everything evil he drained Delia of her beauty, joy and happiness that she once had. Once their marriage starts to fall apart, Sykes uses Delia’s deadly fear of snakes
Irony is an extremely important literary element that Hawthorne uses in “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Throughout the story, many different examples of irony are evident. First off, the
Puritan’s harsh beliefs represented the beginning of the Nineteenth Century in the newly colonized America. Their community ruled with an iron fist: unforgiving, pitiless, stern. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses his disagreement with puritan priorities by revealing the hypocrisy widely practiced throughout their community. Hawthorne’s utilization of dim diction aids in the establishment of his scornful tone, while inclusion of symbols and intricate juxtaposition all serve to accentuate the Puritan’s duplicity. All these factors combine to develop a critical tone which rebukes puritan society. By negatively depicting the Puritans with his depressing diction, Hawthorne establishes a scornful tone that highlights the Puritan’s
This piece of the novel is extremely important. It shows the reality of the situation. It is important to the readers to understand that every family has flaws. Capote goes on about how loved and cherish the Clutter’s are and how well known they are. It proves to society that even the most popular, the richest, the luckiest, and the prettiest people out there do not have perfect lives.This piece of literature is filled with irony. Verbal, dramatic and situational irony can all be found throughout the novel. Dramatic irony is especially found in the lines “Tonight, having dried and brushed her hair and bound it in a gauzy bandanna, she set out the clothes she intended to wear to church the next morning: nylons, black pumps, a red velveteen dress- her
For example, in chapter three,3 Douglass uses irony to describe the excessive attention his master, Colonel Lloyd, pays to his horses. Because they were his prized possession, Lloyd would beat the slaves in charge of taking care of them if the horses misbehaved in any manner. Obviously, it was not the slaves fault, but the horses. Douglass uses irony here to show that Lloyd treats his animals better than he treats the human slaves. What Lloyd did not realize was that slaves were not animals but men, with thoughts and emotions of their own. Similarly, Douglass implements irony in his tone as he describes Mr. Gore in chapter four4 as “what is called a first-rate overseer” (32). Those with no sense of the injustice of slavery see Mr. Gore as a good overseer because he was “artful, cruel, and obdurate” (32). However, those with an awareness of the immorality of slavery saw Mr. Gore as being a truly cruel man. Douglass frequently uses this ironic tone in the nNarrative to highlight the discrepancy between fictitious and actual
Mark Twain, an 18th century humorist, was known for his critical and satirical writing. In one of his most famous essays, “ Fenimore Coopers Literary Offenses” Twain addresses Coopers inability to realistically develop a “situation” and his failure to effectively back up his stories in order for them to be more plausible. To dramatically convey his unimpressed and sarcastic attitude, he applies biting diction, metaphors and hypophora throughout this work .
Zora Neal Hurston’s Sweat tells the story of a woman, Delia, who is in an abusive relationship with her husband Sykes. At the end of the story she lets him die from a rattlesnake bite in defiance to him after everything he has done to her, including beating her constantly and cheating on her. Delia’s actions at the end of the short story were completely justifiable.
Zora Neale Hurston is a prolific writer famed for numerous award winning plays, novels and short stories. In this paper, I will be elaborating on a character from the novel Sweat. Her novel Sweat was first published in 1926. Sweat is a novel that tells a story about the good, evil, and domestic abusive husband. This essay will critically evaluate the fictional character named Sykes. It will analyze Sykes Jones individual qualities with a focus on at least more than three traits. The traits I will speak on is, abuse, laziness, and disrespect.
In the short story Sweat written by Zora Neale Hurston, she tells the story of a hard-working woman named Delia Jones and her abusive, cheating husband Sykes. Delia and Sykes are drastically different characters. Delia is an honest, church going woman, who cleans white people 's laundry to make ends meet and Skyes is a low-down womanizer who uses his wife 's income to support not only himself but also Bertha the woman he is having an affair with. After years of putting up with her husband 's mistreatment, Delia finally holds her ground. She defends her job with a skillet. For the first time Sykes backs down. This is the beginning of the end for their relationship. Hurston lays the foundation for a story of good versus evil.
Going back to the quote at the beginning, loyalty is a key part of this story. It is Sarty’s undying loyalty to his terrible father that drives the story forward. The first scene we come to where Sarty displays loyalty to his father is when Abner is on trial for the crime of burning down a black man’s barn. The court decides they want Sarty to testify. Sarty decides that he must defend his father because loyalty to family is very important
There are many unmistakable parallels between the two-short story’s “The Lottery” and “Barn Burning.” “The Lottery” is written by Shirley Jackson and takes place in a small town in America. The lottery is an annual ritual where all the families get together, the man of each family takes a paper with the possibility of that being marked which then means someone in the family will die. That is to say, a villager winning the lottery results in the other villagers stoning he or she to death. William Faulkner wrote the short story “Barn Burning.” Not to mention, the story starts off in a courtroom because Abner Snopes burned down the property of Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris is landowner, who is left with a burned barn and no legal option. Snopes is advised to leave the country because the court can’t find enough evidence to sentence him. His son Sarty Snopes chooses to warn the owner. “Barn Burning” offers a helpful picture of how Faulkner sees the economics of the postbellum South, where the poor whites remain the underclass rivals of black sharecroppers (Pierce).
William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, with both works chronicling the adventures of Anse Bundren and Odysseus, respectively, as they strive to complete their great journeys. The similarities between the two end there, as Faulkner’s world of Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, is a grim portrayal of Southern society. Anse certainly not the archetypal Greek Hero, but rather a sleazy, lazy man. This attitude infects the rest of the Bundren family as they traverse through Faulkner’s Southern Gothic South to bury their mother, Addie. Pride, defined as being satisfaction from staying true to one’s own identity and dignity, unfortunately, shares a similar fate with Addie Bundren as pride being tarnished as the Bundrens turn their backs on the very same identities they once held in high regard.
Defiance might be the only way to advance through life. The attention that defiance brings starts a new chapter in life that might throw the mind into a new state. “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner is about starting a new path. A path to the unknown which will be better than the past. Satoris, the young boy that the story portrays, has a tough life due to his dad. His dad does not display the love for his family like most fathers should. Satoris shows that he must defy his parent rule to get away from his corrupt family. He does this, because he requires hope just so he can get a life that he demands. Faulkner uses the last two paragraph to show that even though Satouris is going against everything he knows; he will benefit more to go into
“Beasts of England”, “Ode to Napoleon”, the sheep’s chants, revised anthem, “Animal Farm, Animal Farm” are among the most relevant songs mentioned in this allegory. All the animals at the farms sing these songs together at the same time and by commanding this, pigs evoke an atmosphere of grandeur and nobility. The animals on the farm feel satisfied when singing together because it brings them a sense of community, but the animals do not realise that the real purpose of the songs is to keep them focused on the tasks.