Ian Buruma Essays

The short story “The Lottery” is written by Shirley Jackson. This story takes place in a small village where everybody knows each other. In this story all the villagers gather around town for their annual lottery. Everyone in the village is compelled to follow this tradition even if the outcome ends up with someone dying. In “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson uses conflict, theme, and irony to develop this suspenseful short story. One literary device used by Jackson is conflict. A conflict is a problem

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help develop and inform the text's major themes. One of the prominent themes in the novel The Catcher in the Rye and one of great interest to the narrator himself, would be the omnipresent theme of death. It could be argued that the novel is not only full of references to death in the literal sense, physical disappearance, but also in the metaphorical, taking the form of spiritual disappearance, something which Holden often

Identity is composed of not only self-perception but also the perception of others. Consequently, relationships are vital in the forming and expressing of one’s identity. Healthy relationships allow for the expression of oneself without fear of consequences, whereas unhealthy relationships put pressure on one to change for one’s partner. Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God explores the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, focusing on how each affects the expression

Tragic heroes always suffer from a tragic flaw in their character. Whether it be the refusal of help or unwavering pride, that tragic flaw always brings about the character’s downfall. In William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Macbeth, readers witness the deterioration of both Scotland and its unjust leader. While the witches and Macbeth himself hold some responsibility for Macbeth’s downfall, Lady Macbeth holds the majority of the blame. At the beginning of the play, three witches make a plan

MOBY DICK AND SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY Moby Dick is a revenge tale about the revengeful quest of a wounded man for the powerful force of nature; Moby Dick; and the perishing memories of the questors and the wounded questor into the deep perils of the sea, who engulfs all; leaving one as the sole survivor and witness to unveil and unfold the awful revenge tragedy of stubbornness that outlived the American imagination. Richard Chase in his book describes Moby dick as “the most startling and characteristic

The Use and Abuse of Power in Measure for Measure and The Tempest William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Measure for Measure are similar in that they both raise controversial questions on the theme of power. Shakespeare displays many forms of power in different ways through Prospero in The Tempest and through the Duke in Measure for Measure. These forms of power include the power of compassion, the desire for power amongst men, the power of an authority over his subjects, and the power of magic and

Bowling for Columbine is a political documentary that was released in 2002. Directed, Produced, and narrated by Michael Moore, we follow him as he explores the causes to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 as well as other acts of violence throughout America’s history. The film provides background information on the massacre as well as public opinions on the situation. It goes further in to compare America’s gun violence to other countries such as Canada, and poses reasons for this dramatic

Much like in Ian McEwan’s atonement, Disney’s Frozen is a story about a wrongly accused hero and the repercussions that follow. In both texts, Context and perspective dictate how the reader views any specific character at any given time, this is shown in atonement when Robbie is falsely accused of the rape of Lola, much like when at the beginning of Frozen when the reader see’s Hans as a well-meaning prince, but as the context and perspective changes it puts these characters into the spotlight in

Briony Tallis: At the start of the story Briony is a young, naive, 13 year old girl. She is the youngest of her siblings. She enjoys writing and performing stories, and plays to impress her family. At the time she is working on a play The Trials of Arabella to be performed for her eldest brother Leon when he returns home. She does not understand the feelings of others and gets very upset when people do not behave as she wishes. She does not yet understand certain things about the world and mistakes

Ian Fleming famous novel “Casino Royale” was the beginning of what I know today as the famous, unstoppable, and amazing 007 agent, James Bond. I believe even though Casino Royale was an amazing and well written book, the story’s value is just merely the cultural artifacts that inspired the famous Bond movies that everyone know of today. Casino Royale was the birth of James Bond, a great British secret agent who is a brave and hard core man who seems to love nice things like his classic Bentley

In act 5, the assigned scenes, the overall tone or mood is unexpected, dismal and relentlessly gloomy. Although, Cordelia who had just been reunited with Lear, her father, which gives the audience a sliver of hope and justice; Shakespear than rips the carpet right from under his readers, by writing that Cordelia loses the battle against her evil sisters, Goneril and Regan,who fought alongside Edmund and Albany. To make matters worse, Cordelia and Lear are then captured and have been taken as prisoners

Jurassic Park By, Michael Crichton Characters: Dr. Alan Grant- famous paleontologist, athletic, likes children, down-to-earth, professor at University of Denver, unbiased, wife died, studies baby dinosaurs Dr. Ellie Sattler- Grant’s partner, attractive, 24, paleobotanist, marrying a doctor from Chicago, blond hair John Hammond- owner of InGen, dinosaur fanatic, wants to clone dinosaurs, wants a huge profit from Jurassic Park, greedy, old, rich, annoyed by Malcolm, dies b/c of the dinosaurs, wants

With just a simple use of flattery, both Goneril and Regan’s are able to win over their father’s favor by receiving land and power as well as ignite a long and agonizing war of emotions within King Lear thus beginning the fight for the domination of King Lear’s mind. Greed is the first emotions in the play that begins as a tiny seed but continue to grow and engulf one’s heart so much so that it becomes an unstoppable force that pushes the daughters to create a battle for dominance over King Lear

In act four, Lear is finally able to reunite with Cordelia and expresses his new self in humbleness symbolizing repentance. When Cordelia addresses Lear as “royal lord" since the last time she has came in front of him, it is clear that she refers to Lear with the respect that he deserves as a king, as well with the admiration she still holds for her father. In comparison to Goneril’s and Regan’s formal “my lord”, it is evident that they do not display the same love and respect that Cordelia has

King Lear, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, describes the betrayal and deceit within two families in turmoil. Lear, the elderly king of Britain, decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based upon their filial love. Immediately Lear’s two eldest children proclaim their affection. However, Cordelia, the youngest and most sincere, explains that words cannot express her love, so she will not even try. Angered by her response, Lear banishes her, and his elder daughters, Regan

The mistreatment of elders is a serious issue seen throughout “King Lear” by William Shakespeare. Children are seen abandoning their parents who have taken care of them for years. The elderly are manipulated in order to benefit others. There are a few loyal people who do stay to take care of the elderly. This mistreatment can be linked to America in the present. In “King Lear” both Regan and Goneril abandon their father who has sheltered them for years. Once the sisters take all of their inheritance

Shakespeare’s King Lear is an emotional and bizarre play witch tells a moving story about the unfortunate decisions which are made by two fathers whose choices run close to each other as the play unfolds. While the main plot is about France and England at war and mainly involves King Lear’s family, the main theme which reoccurs multiple times throughout the play is blindness and is portrayed most evidently by both Gloucester and Lear. In Lear's case, two of his daughters, Regan and Goneril fool him

Insight through Blindness in King Lear Throughout Shakespeare's play write King Lear the constant theme of intellectual blindness reveals moral understanding. King Lear and Gloucester both have uncertainties that derive their moral understanding and relationships with those around them. King Lear shows a descent into blindness from the very beginning. This is shown in the first scene when he banishes Cordelia and Kent. His frustration and ego blind him from seeing Goneril and Regan’s dishonest intentions

James Bond is a fictional character that was created by Ian Fleming in about 1962. James is the most superficial, powerful, and adaptable fictional character. His ability to adapt and reinvent himself in multiple cinemas is why he is so suave, sophisticated and cool. Bond is a skilled spy whom often finds himself in tight spots with many villains, gadgets, and women. Bond franchise wasn’t just in the cinemas but they were on the business side as well in which he was such a pervasive character and

Elizabeth Bishop is an American poet and short story writer from the 1900s. During her lifetime she became a well respected woman who intertwined her poems with ambiguous meanings that have drawn the attention of many critics for interpretation. . Her extraordinary ability to reflect common topics in her poem creates a thought provoking atmosphere which enables her to convey lucid, complex ideas through her poetry. Bishop’s ability captures the fascination of many critics, thus leading to an in depth