...understand that life is not so and has to face reality. The author understands that she has to “live with power and honour circumstance[s]”. Jenny’s heart is pure, and the author is afraid of how she will react when she is exposed to reality. She’s been penetrated with thoughts that life is perfect, and when mistakes are made, they are fixable. Some examples of tales that have been told to Jenny include: “birds speak the truth”, “beauty proves a royal mind”, and that “death is a small mistake, where [a] kiss revives”. At the end of his list of tales, he says “Jenny, we make just dreams out of our unjust lives”, which clearly means that we only make up fantasies to fulfill a bit of hope and happiness because we suffer through stressful lives. Overall, I assume that he doesn’t want Jenny to worry so much by telling her happy lies. Other than the main idea of how role models tend to make others not worry and be happy, I’ve noticed a lot of contrast within the story. An example is at the beginning of the poem; “Jenny, your mind commands kingdoms of black and white” meanwhile the author’s description of the “real” world is full of “gray...
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...Greek and Roman legends have always been very similar to each other. For example, they have all the same gods and goddesses, but under different names – Jupiter and Zeus, Mercury and Hermes, Diana and Artemis. But the two myths The Odyssey and The Aeneid parallel each other so severely that it’s fairly disarming. Their plots, adventures, romances, and time periods all coincide with one another. They have the potential to be compared and contrasted endlessly. The similarities of these two works begin in the titles themselves. The main characters of these two works are Odyssey and Aeneas – their stories’ respective titles reflect their names. These tales both take place shortly after the Trojan war. Odysseus, a Greek, was on the winning side, and is leaving victorious. Aeneas, however, has lost the war, and is fleeing Troy as he was instructed to by the gods. Odysseus believes he is finished with his adventures for the time being. It has been prophesized to Aeneas that he is to discover Rome. Both these men are seeking a home: Odysseus is trying to make his way back to Ithaca, whist Aeneas is looking for a new one. Both of them are surrounded by crew members. Both of them will be alone by the time the stories draw to a conclusion. Odysseus and Aeneas both have a god – or goddess – working against them. Odysseus, after injuring the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon (Neptune, Roman form), has made an enemy in the god of the sea. Aeneas, on the other hand, has done nothing wrong...
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...HL309 Comparative Literature August 2011 semester Description The module will examine the binary categories ‘modern’/‘traditional’ (and/or the ‘primitive’) as they appear in modernising societies. First, we look at representative literature from (what was until recently known as) Great Britain. The question is: why did the world’s homeland of the Industrial Revolution have a fascination with adventure, feats of derring-do and the primitive? We look at a young reader’s Victorian adventure novel, the long-enduring The Coral Island, and the later short stories of Rudyard Kipling (the ‘Bard’ of Empire), and examine the (contradictory?) lure of the primitive, even as British modernity is taken for granted. Second, the module will proceed to examine some major Chinese and Japanese writers and intellectuals (and an Indian poet and critics, the Nobel Prize-winning Rabindranath Tagore) and see how northeast Asian culture was broadly affected by their sense of Western modern superiority in technology, political organisation and literary (and other forms of creative) culture. Both China and Japan, the major countries in East-Southeast Asia, were never colonised, but they were intimidated by the presence of the Great Western Powers (and their colonies) in the region. Japan after the Meiji Restoration (1868) became the first modern Asian nation-state, and their attempts at intensive (and disruptive) modernisation of their culture had a profound impact on the whole region – and this desire...
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...wavy hair. He has a pale and hollow face. In Irving’s version, Ichabod is a schoolteacher, but his occupation doesn’t pay very well. He lives with his pupils, as he cannot afford a home. Proof of this occurs when Irving states that, “With these he lived successfully a week at a time; thus going rounds of the neighborhood, with all his worldly effects tied up in a cotton handkerchief,” (Irving 10). His profession influences his beliefs. In the short story, as a well-read teacher, Ichabod becomes fascinated by the stories about the supernatural. The author mentions that, “His appetite for the marvelous, and his powers of digesting it, were equally extraordinary; and both had been increased by his residence in this spellbound region. No tale was too gross or...
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...Social identity is a very prominent feature that individuals learn to develop over the course of their life. In Shakespeare’s play, The Taming of the Shrew, Pertruccio, a wealthy businessman from Verona, has a very strong social identity that stems from his inner confidence in himself, and that explains his misconstrued outlook on women. On the other hand, in Shakespeare’s play, The Winter’s Tale, King Leontes, the king of Sicily has very little self-confidence and can be seen as a skeptic in most cases, which ultimately leads to his uncharacteristically low self-esteem for being a king. Tying these two together, it was fascinating how Pertruccio and King Leontes have such contrasting social identities given their respective roles in a society that is centered on hierarchy and social status. In The Taming of the Shrew, Pertruccio’s social identity plays a vital role in the outcome of the play. Overflowed with confidence, which can be easily viewed as arrogance, Pertruccio prides himself on being the master at taming women. From the beginning of the play it is apparent that his character is fairly predictable. As an example of the undeniably strong faith he has in himself, he claims that he can and will tame Katharine. He follows that definitive statement by saying, "Thou mush be married to no man but me; /for I am he am born to tame you, Kate; /and bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate conformable, /as other household Kates. Here comes your father; /never make denial; /I must and...
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...Kumar Professor Padma Baliga English Literature Upto 1900 13 September 2010 The Canterbury Tales and the Panchatantra: Two Frame Narratives contrasted The East has a wonderful tradition in teaching morals through interesting tales; India has given the world the earliest such tales in the form of the Panchatantra, the Hitopadesa and even the Puranas. The Canterbury Tales and the Panchatantra are both frame narratives- often known as ‘story within a story.’ Yet the target audience of both these works is different. And this arises from the nature of these works. Whilst The Canterbury Tales was written by Chaucer originally for a courtly, upper class audience, the Panchatantra was written to teach the high morals and sensibilities of Vedic literature to three disinterested princes in the simplest language, using animals as symbols and characters. Indeed, the Panchatantra and its derivative work, the Hitopadesa are often dismissed as stories for children. Though these fables are indeed vastly instructive, they also teach a way of thriving in the material world and a way of life itself; the Panchatantra is referred to as a niti-shastra. This paper attempts to contrast the Canterbury Tales with the Panchatantra and illustrate the manner in which the latter is a niti-shastra without being merely populated by abstruse, pithy phrases. We know that in The Canterbury Tales, a group of about 30 pilgrims gather at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, across the Thames from London...
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...Angelica Adams Mrs. McMullen English 200: World Literature November 17, 2007 The Power of Woman Women are often thought of as mild, weak, and gentle creatures; with characteristics like these, how can a woman co-exist in the world of her more brazen counterpart and still be influential? The answer to that question is simple; by using their milder qualities women have been influential in the many bold feats of man. Women have made great impacts throughout history through the use their of intellect, sexuality, and passive demeanor. The women in the following works, “Oedipus the King”, by Sophocles, The Iliad, by Homer, and Confessions, by Augustine, were influential in politics, war, and religion all male dominated. Politics has always been a male dominated arena in which women have recently joined, or has it? While men have been in the forefront of many political accomplishments, it has been many times a woman’s idea that brought home such victories. One example of this is Jocasta. In the story of Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Jocasta is the wife of the king, Oedipus. She is a very mild-mannered woman and gives no signs of being harsh and brash, yet and still she is the most powerful person in the kingdom. An example of her docility is when Oedipus is threatening to put Creon to death; she saves his life by asking Oedipus to believe him for her and the sake of the people of Thebes by being a voice of reason (635). Her influence is noted in the by a specific...
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...Connie Jara HS101-51 Professor Tangeman November 29, 2015 Connie Jara HS101-51 Professor Tangeman November 29, 2015 Chivalrous Actions in the Battle of Agincourt Chivalrous Actions in the Battle of Agincourt The word chivalry is often associated with knights of the medieval ages. This term was used during the 11th and 12th century. The code of chivalry is a code of conduct that reflected bravery and service to others. This code of conduct was expected of the medieval knights. In his book, La Chevalerie, Leon Gautier wrote the ten commandments of chivalry which were the following: 1. Believe the Church’s teachings and observe all the Church’s directions, 2. Defend the Church, 3. Respect and defend the weak, 4. Love your country, 5. Do not fear your enemy, 6. Show no mercy and do not hesitate to make war with the infidel, 7. Perform all your feudal duties as long as they do not conflict with the laws of God, 8. Never lie or go back on one’s word, 9. Be generous, 10. Always and everywhere be right and good against evil and injustice (author, page). The knights were soldiers on horseback. They were soldiers that underwent years of training. They were highly respectable, intelligent and agile fighters. They wore full armor and used swords as weapons. They were once the best soldiers an army could have but the Battle of Agincourt changes every aspect of medieval warfare. With these knightly qualities in mind one can examine the actions that occurred in the Battle of Agincourt...
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...revolution and democracy. The so-called revolution at core was an attempt to activate a particular type of religious vote bank in the heartland of Punjab that would benefit the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), whose fortunes in this politically powerful province are fairly precarious. Since their opponent, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, seems to be drawing on the strength of more hardcore Deobandi and Alh-e-Hadith voters, the softer religious variant, the Barelvis, could be given a cause to rally around the PML-Q-PPP combine. This primarily explains the overflowing enthusiasm of the Q leadership to champion the cause of the Long March Declaration, whose real worth is less than the paper it is typed on. The international backing to this illusory tale of fictional revolution of the people, by the people and for the people, had to be there because a ‘softer mullah’ holds irresistible charm for the policy of promoting (or inserting) winning moderates in the world of Islam. So, it came to be — the four-day long saga, with its dazzling contradictions and exceptional media hype. In the beginning, even the most educated among us thought it to be real: such is the desperation to find an instant solution to our wide-ranging problems. They thought the day of final judgement is finally upon this terrible system of pelf-based on plunder, not realising that the system is so well-entrenched that no individual — certainly not Dr Qadri — shall...
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...Explore how Faulks presents the different ways in which the characters cope with the realities of war in his novel Birdsong Sebastian Faulks uses the impact of the war to shape and add depth to his characters. The ways in which they cope with war, and the reasons for them to cope in this way, give detailed insights into the characters themselves. Faulks manipulates the character of Stephen Wraysford to begin the war as an extremely cold Officer, particularly towards Jack Firebrace, sending him for a court martial instantly, after a minor offence. Faulkes makes use of short, curt sentences in Wraysfords initial dialogue like “I doubt it.”This suggests harsh qualities, reinforcing the opinion that Stephen is a cold, removed character. Faulkes shows that Wraysford’s character softens towards his men, particularly the tunnellers, feeling empathy with their strange, but no less difficult path. This is shown in the contrast between the early parts of the novel where Stephen is almost exclusively referred to as “he” or “Stephen” and the later chapters where Stephen is referred to in a group with the tunnellers or other soldiers, making use of the pronoun “they” or “we” more often. Faulks presents Stephen as losing some of the isolated exterior by the end of the war that was the defining feature of his character at the beginning, This is shown in Stephen’s attachment to Jack Firebrace, presented by Faulks in the end tunnel scene. The strength of this partnership is shown in...
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...fate and destiny in life of common people. This novel depicts life experience of a common sailor Ishmael through the lens of fate and destiny. The journey around the world serves as a symbol that represents dilemma and the knowledge retrieval, the desire to find old truth, and the symbol of maternity. Thesis Using the painting at “The Spouter Inn” Melville gives some hints to readers symbolically portraying hardship and tragedy, a struggle between life and death awaiting the main character of the novel. From the very beginning, Ishmael cannot understand the meaning of the picture. He tries to find different interpretations of the image described as “there was a sort of indefinite, half-attained, unimaginable sublimity about it that fairly froze you to it, till you involuntarily took an oath with yourself to find out what that marvelous painting meant” (Melville, Chapter 3). In a moment, the image “bears a faint resemblance to a gigantic fish” or “even the great leviathan himself” (Melville, Chapter 3). It is possible to assume that the picture represents eternal existence, so it is difficult find the right meaning of the painting. Nature and the sea theme in particular are used as a symbol to describe deep personal feelings and life experience of a human being. This symbol gives only some hints to the reader to comprehend the meaning of the story development. Ishmael reflects: “It’s a blasted heath. – It’s a Hyperborean winter scene. – It’s the breaking-up of the...
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...of fate and destiny in life of common people. This novel depicts life experience of a common sailor Ishmael through the lens of fate and destiny. The journey around the world serves as a symbol that represents dilemma and the knowledge retrieval, the desire to find old truth, and the symbol of maternity. Thesis Using the painting at “The Spouter Inn” Melville gives some hints to readers symbolically portraying hardship and tragedy, a struggle between life and death awaiting the main character of the novel. From the very beginning, Ishmael cannot understand the meaning of the picture. He tries to find different interpretations of the image described as “there was a sort of indefinite, half-attained, unimaginable sublimity about it that fairly froze you to it, till you involuntarily took an oath with yourself to find out what that marvelous painting meant” (Melville, Chapter 3). In a moment, the image “bears a faint resemblance to a gigantic fish” or “even the great leviathan himself” (Melville, Chapter 3). It is possible to assume that the picture represents eternal existence, so it is difficult find the right meaning of the painting. Nature and the sea theme in particular are used as a symbol to describe deep personal feelings and life experience of a human being. This symbol gives only some hints to the reader to comprehend the meaning of the story development. Ishmael reflects: “It’s a blasted heath. – It’s a Hyperborean winter scene. – It’s the breaking-up of the icebound...
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...A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Questions: 1. The title was an indicator of the story being about something fantastical because old men, or any men don’t usually have wings in real life. Marquez’s play on words and the imagery with which he writes with is very detailed. Like the way he describes something so mundane like the beach saying that it “had become a stew of mud and rotten shellfish.”(352) Right from the first paragraph of the story where we meet the old man with the enormous wings was when I realized that it was a fantasy. In the first sentence of the story, Marquez describes the rain saying “On the third day of rain they had killed so many crabs…” (351) I think the second sentence is his whimsical way of saying that it had been raining for a while. Later in the story we see more elements that indicate this story as a fantasy for instance, the woman who was turned into a spider for disobeying her parents or the “leper whose sores sprouted sunflowers.” (355) 2. The old man with the enormous wings represents an Angel; however, the family was skeptical as to whether he was even an Angel at all. The family thought that he was a pretender or maybe even the Devil and they treated him like an animal. He became a carnival act that the family made money off of. It seemed like when the family was in need, he showed up and even though they became wealthy because of the man with enormous wings, they don’t see him as someone who helped them reach that level of fortune...
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...2014 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a quirky tale about a man that seemingly is growing bored with the same routine activities that occupy his daily life. In order for him to deal with his frustration, he frequently drifts off into a fantasy sometimes unbeknownst to his wife and sometimes he isn’t aware because he is simply going through the motions of doing the same thing he has every day for years. What makes this story captivating for me was the connection I was able to make personally with the main character, Walter Mitty. There have been numerous times throughout my life I found myself bored with the routine day to day actions and would drift off into a daydream imagining myself in a different era or setting acting out some alter-ego I manifested with my head. Right away the urgency as the Commander yelling commands to his Lieutenant as they are obviously in the heat of battle. Instantly I was drawn into Walter’s Dreamscape imagining the scenario unfolding with my imagination. Even though in that respect are some dramatic themes to set the tone of a more severe nature, we are promptly taken back to reality where he sees himself being called down for having yet another reoccurring fantasy by his seemingly nagging wife who has become rather tired of his lack of control when it comes to letting himself drift away. The vivid metaphors help let everything unfold showing that his daydreams are a stark contrast from his real life. At first I didn’t know how to apply the required...
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...Lone Star Nation Book Written By: H.W. Brands Published By: Anchor Books Published in: New York in February 2005 Book Review Written By: Meg Murphy H.W. Brands is very good at bringing to life all the famous characters and events that walk through the founding of Texas. Despite years of tall tales, movies and others taking liberties with the facts, on its own the story is a good one. This book is not just about the history of Texas, but details the accounts of the individuals' lives and struggles during the colonization and fight for the independence of Texas. H. W. Brands brings to the reader vivid portrayals of such great men as Andrew Jackson, Stephen F. Austin, and Sam Houston along with a host of lesser known individuals whose pioneering spirits brought them to the Texas borders only to face opposition from Spaniards, marauding and hostile Indian attacks, and ultimately an army of power-hungry Mexican leaders, fearful of the growing numbers of American settlers. He begins by painting a picture of Moses Austin, a failed businessman who, like many others, was driven to this remote border province of Mexico. Austin and his brother successfully operated a lead mine in Virginia, borrowing heavily to finance the venture. A bank downturn left him holding worthless bank notes, starting his push to the Western borders to do business. He ends up over five hundred miles from the United States border at San Antonio de Béxar, the capital of Texas. He negotiates with a hostile Spanish...
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