The texts ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese’ (1845) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ (1926). Both explore the universal values of idealised love, limitation of time and hope of restoration. As such inherently reflected through their relevant contexts of the Victorian Era and 1920’s Jazz age value systems. Even though the text share similar themes their interpretation completely differ influenced by diverse historical context, personal experiences and human values.
It is often said that a new definition of a woman arose in the 1920s. But is that true? While most women experienced many newfound freedoms in the 1920s, black women could not explore these freedoms as easily as white women. In the novel Passing by Nella Larsen, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry grew up in Chicago together and are now both two wives and mothers in New York City during the 1920s, but there is a big difference between them. The novel’s title refers to light-skinned black women masquerading as white women for social benefits. Irene and Clare are both light enough to “pass”, but only Clare chooses to pass everyday. Irene passes in trivial situations like getting a cab, buying movie tickets, or getting a table at a restaurant, but
We then see the farmer’s unrequited ‘love’ throughout the poem where his bride is neglecting the idea of a husband “Not near, not near!’ her eyes beseech” the only words we hear from the bride show begging and trepidation, he notices her androphobia and it seems to impact his emotions when we reach the fourth stanza which stands out as a sensual, admiring description of the wife by the farmer. The poet uses sibilance (‘Shy…swift…/Straight…slight/Sweet…She/…Self.’) to convey the farmer’s whispered appreciation and leads on to compare her to nature ‘Sweet as the first wild violets,’ strengthening the farmer’s positive opinion of his wife, however, she does not show him the affection he desires, contrasting the predator-prey relationship I discussed in the first paragraph where only the farmer benefited. She is ‘Sweet.../To her wild self. But what to me?’ ending the stanza with a rhetorical question strongly suggests his unhappiness however the poet’s use of caesura, breaking the monotonous rhythm, and forcing the reader to take note of the phrase that proceeds the caesura further enforces the farmer’s deprived feelings in our minds. On the contrary, readers may interpret the farmer’s sudden outburst of affection towards
Examine how either text represents either class or gender. Are these representations problematic or contradictory? How do they relate to the plot and structure of the novel?
The selections Bless Me, Ultima, The House on Mango Street, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream share the common theme of “People often make illogical decisions against reason when they ambitiously pursue a goal and are blinded from seeing reality.” In Bless Me, Ultima the characters illustrate the struggle which arises from the conflict between their personal dreams and their unseen reality. Likewise, in The House on Mango Street, the main character’s hopes and dreams for the future blinds her from seeing and appreciating her current life. Moreover, in A Midsummer’s Night Dream the characters’ actions demonstrate how love and ambition can blind people from the concerns of others and cause them to make irrational decisions. With common themes binding works of different genres and eras, it is mesmerizing to see how certain life truths do not vary, even over great times and
Desire is a consuming force that causes the body to act without consulting the mind. Anne Carson’s translation of Sappho’s fragments in, If Not Winter, creates experiences in which, eros produces a gap between the subject and the desired object. With the use of vivid imagery and overt symbolism within fragment 105A, Sappho allows her readers to experience the uncontrollable forces of desire and attraction which govern a person who is in love; even if such feelings are irrational. This ultimately creates a tangible distance between the subject and the object she desires. In this paper, I will argue that longing after an unattainable person becomes so consuming that it eventually produces madness within the desiring individual. It is important
The end of the eighteenth - beginning of the nineteenth century England was characterized by the downfall of the revolutionary “Jacobin” movement which advocated for freedom and equality, and symbolizes a return to, as well as an empowerment of the conservative British patriarchal system. This was the context in which Amelia Anderson Opie wrote “her most political novel”(King and Pierce, viii) Adeline Mowbray, a tale which provides a case study about, as Roxane Eberle notes, “progressive ideas that heterosexual relationships can and should exist outside of marriage”(1994: 127). As a result the clash between these innovational type of relationships and the English legal and social norms collide in their representation of models of proper conduct
Women through history struggled to fit in a life were men have the most important roles and the whole world in their hands. The battle for a woman to be seen as a person in her own privilege, characterized her own terms, by her own judgment and achievements, wishing the same open doors as men have and practice. There is no role for women in the society back then even in marriage, she can’t choose whom to marry, and basically women role is forgotten in the society at the Restoration era. So in this research paper I will discuss one of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s poem Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband. In which a woman blamed for infidelity lashes out against her glaringly double-crossing spouse, against the patriarchal lawful framework that permits
“To the Ladies”, written by Lady Mary Chudleigh, is a poem that expresses feminism, and gives women a taste of how they would be treated in a marriage. Chudleigh displays this poem as a warning to women who are not married yet, as she regrets getting married. She uses such words that compares to slavery, and negative attitudes toward future wives to warn them. Back in this time period when the poem was published in 1703, women were known as property of men and you won’t have an opinion or a say so. The poem expresses a life of a naïve woman, who is bound to marriage by God, and she cannot break the nuptial contract. She must fear her husband and listen to his every command.
“Social oppression is a concept that describes a relationship of dominance and subordination between categories of people in which one benefits from the systematic abuse, exploitation, and injustice directed toward the other.” This quote, stated by Ashley Crossman on Thoughtco, perfectly describes what oppression is especially from a feminist point of view. As Britannica stated, Feminism is “the belief in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes.” In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many relationships. However, none of them are based on love and in most of the relationship, the women are also being oppressed. They are either oppressed physically, socially, psychologically, or politically, in some way or another.
In the avid pursuit of happiness, an individual can feel compelled to fabricate the truth about themselves in order to achieve the joy that they believe they deserve. The harsh truth of reality can force us to turn to the warmth of a fantasy to ease us in our search of contentment. Such is the case in Tennessee William’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire”, where sisters, Blanche and Stella both lie to themselves and others in order to become satisfied with their lives. Through the eyes of the beholder, happiness is measured differently; to Blanche, happiness is measured in wealth, particularly a wealthy man, whereas to Stella, happiness is in the comfort of a husband whom she refuses to call abusive.
Margret Atwood’s short story “Lusus Naturae” is known as a work of fiction in which a monster uncommonly plays the role of the protagonist. Discussing character dynamics, it is interesting to examine the symbolic meaning behind the girl as a monster in this story. Is this text simply a fantasy created with the goal to serve solely as a horror story with a typical ending, or does this tale have a deeper meaning encompassing the treatment of women and their sexuality throughout history. Through close reading of “Lusus Naturae,” I plan to use evidence from the text to illustrate symbolic parallels between the unusual protagonist and the known historical role women held in society.
Ann Radcliffe is normally associated with the school of ‘Conservative gothic’ literature. Her works, laden with aspects of the gothic, are developed in a way that explain the supernatural events and dispel any belief of an ‘otherness’ that is central to most gothic works. Despite this, Radcliffe’s novel ‘The Italian’, can be analysed for its gothic aspects through the ideas and concepts of the Burkean sublime. This essay aims to analyse the work of Radcliffe through the ideas of Burk such as his understandings of how a work is made sublime.
The continuing shift on the representation of women embodies the changes that occur in American literature. Each period in the American history seemed parallel to showcase the degree of which acknowledgement and acceptance were given to portray the roles of women. Dating back in the16th century, Svoboda (2013) argues that writings in American literature contained little reference to women at all thus illustrates the harsh reality of society's treatment of women. Women in American literature before the 18th century were inexplicit and almost non-existent. The chief literary work that portrayed woman character was Cabeza de Vaca’s The Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition that was written during
“The Ruined Maid” by Thomas Hardy is a satirical poem which uses closed form and anapestic lines to emphasize the importance of complying with society’s ideals while the tone and meaning oppose conforming to society.