...This extract is taken from the autobiography ‘Father and Son’ by Sir Edmund Gosse, meaning the extract has a personal and meaningful tone. The autobiography would have been available to all those who can read, notably the middle and upper classes, and in particular, those with a vested interest in the life and beliefs of Gosse’s father. The autobiography aims to portray Gosse’s developing crisis of faith, and shows how their differing beliefs divide Gosse and his father. The extract details the desperate attempts of Gosse’s father to reconcile his Christian faith with his own scientific theories. Gosse opens the extract by exploring his father’s crisis of faith, as he explains the “mournful admission” that due to “every instinct” in his father’s “intelligence”, he could not help but “greet the new light”, and consider the validity of the scientific discoveries. The adjective “mournful” implies a sorrowful and deject tone, as if his “admission” is something to be ashamed of. This is because the works of Darwin and Lyell caused outrage and tumult within the Victorian society, and to voice the “admission” of understanding their theories, was deemed outrageous. This sense of acknowledgement is similar to that in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, “In Memoriam”. Both this poem and Gosse’s autobiography would have been read by middle and upper class citizens, and therefore would have received a hostile reception. The middle and upper classes viewed the scientific discoveries in a humorous...
Words: 395 - Pages: 2
...after the deaths of her father and Piquette, she realizes that the loons are no longer there. The loons become associated with death and loss, and while symbolic of Piquette, they are also an allegory of Canadian history. 4. What does Vanessa mean by the last sentence of the story? When Vanessa encounters Piquette as a young woman, she recognizes in Piquette what she hears in the loons' cries—“self-pity” (192) and “terrifying hope” (193); when Vanessa learns of Piquette's death soon after, she responds with silence. Vanessa's personal loss—of her father and of Piquette—is connected through the symbol of the loons with the Metis' loss of their land and their culture. Vanessa's realization at the end of the story, that only Piquette “had heard the crying of the loons” (194), signals the loss of her political innocence. Vanessa faces the reality of Canadian history at a direct personal level. 5. How does Laurence connect the personal with the political in “The Loons”? 6. How does Laurence...
Words: 4556 - Pages: 19
...introduced to a depressed father, who takes his son on a trip, in the hope of achieving a stronger relationship with his son. The father appears to be very attached to his previous/past experiences with his own father, and in that context a theme such as the relationship between father and son can be related/connected to the text. The story is told from a 3rd person limited narrator. The limited view is seen by the author’s attachment to the main character, who is the father. The story is described through the father’s point-of-view, which can be seen by the big insight the reader is given, on the father’s thoughts and feelings, during the story. The narrator use ‘he’ in relation to the father, which clarifies that it is a 3rd person narrator. The narrative technique contributes to create a personal impression of the father, and creates a relationship between the reader and main character because of the knowledge that readers are given during the story. “For some reason it made him happy, and he hadn’t been happy for a while” The techniques also force the reader to feel compassion for the father, because we know his thoughts and feelings. The readers do not get an insight on the son’s thoughts and feelings, and we do not know what his attitude towards the situation is, therefor it creates a distant relationship between the son and reader. Another narrative technique, that contributes to create distance to the son, it the narrative mode of description. The short story contains...
Words: 1230 - Pages: 5
...multiplicity on the other. Final Paper Notes/Outline Thesis: Something about using the medium of a novel (text and language’s role (both as a signifier and signified) to per petuate Bechdel’s story and reveal plot of her dad’s motive motive for killing himself Fun House Explore the medium of a comic Fact that she wrote everything herself, does this relate to self realization, etc. Notes from Youtube Video: Words don’t illustrate pictures… writing in a drawing program. Can say that my hypothesis for her motives, including the literature was this… but actually only she (as the author) can know Role of Literature in Alison’s coming out… Handwriting all the poems, what does this have to do with memory, and can she fully replicate her father’s signature? Daedalus mytch and Ulysseus…starts out book with it Passage 1: Page 140: Because of her obsessive-compulsive spell she started a diary… But, because of the questioning of memory, the words “I think” popped in her comments. Page 141: How did I know that the things I was writing were absolutely, objectively true? She’s doubting what she writes down to be true… Specfic kind of text: the kind that’s in the boxes, speech bubbles bring you back into the moment, Square ones are superimpositions, narratively offering her own interpretation Two different times: reflecting back she’s interpreting the events as a crisis The “curvy circumflex as a symbol” helps her get closer to the truth, what actually is happening but leads...
Words: 1976 - Pages: 8
...The Gender Politics of Narrative Modes I want to challenge two linked assumptions that most historians and critics of the English novel share. The first is that the burgeoning of capitalism and the ascension of the middle classes were mainly responsible for the development of the novel. The second is that realism represents the novel's dominant tradition. [note 1] I want to propose instead that, as surely as it marked a response to developing class relations, the novel came into being as a response to the sex-gender system that emerged in England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. [note 2] My thesis is that from its inception, the novel has been structured not by one but by two mutually defining traditions: the fantastic and the realistic. [note 3] The constitutive coexistence of these two impulses within a single, evolving form is in no sense accidental: their dynamic interaction was precisely the means by which the novel, from the eighteenth century on, sought to manage the strains and contradictions that the sex-gender system imposed on individual subjectivities. For this reason, to recover the centrality of sex and gender as the novel's defining concern is also to recover the dynamism of its bimodal complexity. Conversely, to explore the interplay of realist and fantastic narratives within the novelistic tradition is to explore the indeterminacy of subjectivities engaged in the task of imposing and rebelling against the constraining order of gender difference. ...
Words: 5434 - Pages: 22
...Hamlet by William Shakespeare shows how lies and deception go against one another as well as rejection to self doubt. Shakespeare uses various forms of conflict to project his opinions and explanation of his ideas relating to the themes of the play. Internal conflict, as well as external conflict are dominant features in the narrative. Shakespeare merges the ideas of lies, deception and self doubt resulting in shall we say a “domino effect” of moral dilemma and personal complications. This gives way to the continuous concept of revenge, broken family relationships, and the questioning of life. In the form the play is written it assists in creating tension and raising questions about revenge and lies. Shakespeare uses external conflict in order to explore the theme of revenge in this play. This leads Hamlet into a state of internal conflict as he agonizes over what action and when to take it as to avenge his father’s death. Using the idea of external conflict, the play is able to demonstrate the aftermath of a difficult decision, leading to personal moral dilemma. Hamlet is presented as thinker who takes a lot of time contemplating how to avenge his father’s death. He plots against Claudius and schemes to kill him. We see that Hamlet is a man of logic; we also see his weaknesses such as his procrastination and his self doubt. The play, like many tragedies concludes with the death of many of the characters. “Of carnal, bloody and unnatural acts, Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters...
Words: 741 - Pages: 3
...In Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, Art Spiegelman presents not only his father’s Holocaust narrative but also his own personal narrative, especially with regards to his relationship with Vladek. Readers learn that Artie and Vladek do not always get along, and there is a palpable tension between them. Vladek seems frugal and argumentative, while Artie appears self-centered and uncaring. In both cases, the characters’ faults are not glossed over. They are portrayed realistically, with positive and negative traits on full display. These portrayals accomplish two different goals for Spiegelman: one, they emphasize Artie’s interest in accuracy as opposed to sentimentality, and two, they allow the audience to discover Artie’s own personal trauma—namely,...
Words: 692 - Pages: 3
...arena where ice hockey is played. The majority of the novel takes place in the car where the danger and the son sit and talk and discuss how far they will achieve it or not. For the son's point of view, it is not a disaster, whether they reach it or not, but in the father's heart, it is different. But getting through the text hints that there is a reason to believe that this incident has happened something cruel. In the text do you get as a reader to know that the father in the past have lost a son, and that he has gone to therapy. You may be able to call it his earlier life when this occurred. Through the short story will be told that the father has got a new wife, and thus also a new child. Although he is married, and "happy" there are still some different traits that makes you as a reader, becomes aware that he is not happy. It will be told in the short story, to his father's new wife is very similar to his previous wife. This can be a symbol of unrequited love and need. I believe that his new wife is a symbol of his old wife. He would like to have the Lady, which he lost, and the closest he comes to this is to get a corresponding wife who looks just like him. Through the course of action, we see that the son tells his father that it is not the big problem that they come too late. Which, of course, is perfectly normal. But on the other hand, will be the father by saying that they will reach it, and he obviously should not come too late. I believe, therefore, that this trip in your...
Words: 815 - Pages: 4
...arena where ice hockey is played. The majority of the novel takes place in the car where the danger and the son sit and talk and discuss how far they will achieve it or not. For the son's point of view, it is not a disaster, whether they reach it or not, but in the father's heart, it is different. But getting through the text hints that there is a reason to believe that this incident has happened something cruel. In the text do you get as a reader to know that the father in the past have lost a son, and that he has gone to therapy. You may be able to call it his earlier life when this occurred. Through the short story will be told that the father has got a new wife, and thus also a new child. Although he is married, and "happy" there are still some different traits that makes you as a reader, becomes aware that he is not happy. It will be told in the short story, to his father's new wife is very similar to his previous wife. This can be a symbol of unrequited love and need. I believe that his new wife is a symbol of his old wife. He would like to have the Lady, which he lost, and the closest he comes to this is to get a corresponding wife who looks just like him. Through the course of action, we see that the son tells his father that it is not the big problem that they come too late. Which, of course, is perfectly normal. But on the other hand, will be the father by saying that they will reach it, and he obviously should not come too late. I believe, therefore, that this trip in your...
Words: 815 - Pages: 4
...gothic tales between an over protective father, a psychotic spoiled daddy’s girl, and her lover. The relationship shown here between the girl and her father can be perceived as a typical father-daughter scenario played into today’s society. As most fathers, Emily’s dad never saw anyone up to his standards for his beloved daughter. With this being said Emily was never allowed to date or find a man’s love beyond her father’s. This put her in a distressful emotional state when she had to come to terms with her father passing away. Emily was an extremely over-bearing individual when it came to love. Her family and father had always been highly overrated people. They looked at other human-beings who did not fit their upbringings as “outsiders” and below them. In this narrative, the citizens of the town which Emily resides in are very judgmental when it comes to her personal life. Once her father died a new man came into her life named Homer. Homer was Emily’s lover and friend whom she fell madly in love with after her father’s death. He is a foreman from the North said to be tall with a dark complexion, with a booming voice, and light colored eyes. He was a beloved man in the town because of his sense of humor and lovable nature. He would later...
Words: 1361 - Pages: 6
...protagonist Hamlet. His character is so complex that this essay will scarcely present an adequate portrayal of his character. John Russell Brown in “Soliloquies and Other Wordplay Let the Audience Share Some of Hamlet’s Thoughts” explains the interplay of dialogue, soliloquies and narrative in Hamlet’s role: By any reckoning Hamlet is one of the most complex of Shakespeare’s characters, and a series of soliloquies is only one of the means which encourage the audience to enter imaginatively into his very personal and frightening predicament. The play’s narrative is handled so that a prolonged two-way chase is sustained between him and the king, during which the audience knows more than either one of them and so thinks ahead and anticipates events. In interplay with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Polonius, and perhaps with Claudius, Gertrude and Ophelia, Hamlet has asides to draw attention to what dialogue cannot express(55-56). Marchette Chute describes the opening scene of the drama: “For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. [. . .] The hour comes, and the ghost walks” (35). Horatio and Marcellus exit the ramparts of Elsinore intending to enlist the aid of Hamlet. There is a social gathering of the court, where Claudius pays tribute to the memory of his deceased brother, the...
Words: 1599 - Pages: 7
...Hamlet’s Revenge It does not matter how old a person is or if that person likes literature or not, it is very probable that he or she has heard these words pronounced by Hamlet: "To be or not to be; that is the question..." (Act III, Scene I). This quote is not only one of the most popular quotes in history of literature, but also one that describes Hamlet’s dramatic situation after his father’s death, when he contemplates suicide as an option. This dramatic story is considered one of the greatest in history and, for many people, the best book written by Shakespeare. The influence of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in many modern narratives can be easily identified. Scott Leslie’s presentation is a good example of how Hamlet’s tragedy has influenced modern authors to write similar stories like “The Lion King”. In fact, Scott literally said, “The Lion King is the light version of Hamlet”. The story of Hamlet is based on revenge and Hamlet’s internal conflicts. Revenge is a concept that is not well considered today due to the strong moral values the society seems to have. However, anyone with my same perception of both modern justice and honor will claim that Hamlet’s revenge is justified. The first point to be discussed in order to demonstrate that Hamlet’s revenge is justified is the concept of justice. Many people will state that revenge has nothing to do with justice and it is nothing else than a primitive behavior. However, what is justice? According to Oxford’s dictionary, “justice...
Words: 851 - Pages: 4
...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a definite page-turner due to Fitzgerald’s passion, and emotion that he has captured. The novel was published on April 10, 1925; however, did not sell many copies until his death. Before his death he was believed to be a failure, but is now considered one of the best American writers of the 20th century. The story takes place in New York City and on Long Island. More specifically, the West and East Egg during the roaring 20’s. Fitzgerald reflects on his own life making The Great Gatsby more of a personal narrative. F. Scott Fitzgerald was born Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life has influenced his writing on the novel The Great Gatsby....
Words: 620 - Pages: 3
...through after his mother died. The story builds around the main character, Oliver, who just one week ago had to bare with the death of his mother who had died due to a cancerous brain tumor. Now, one week after his mother has died, Oliver’s father sits across from him and tells Oliver that throughout the many years of his parent’s marriage, his father has secretly been gay. Oliver’s father, Hal, has been living in secrecy for the entirety of his life, because homosexuality was not socially accepted when he was younger and later his marriage prevented him from being free. Hal, now that he is unbound, tells Oliver “I don’t want to be just theoretically gay, I want to do something about it” (Beginners, 2010). Confronted with this Oliver reflects on his life growing up with two parents that never seemed to be the way he thought they should have. Writer and director Mike Mills experienced precisely this, when his father, shortly after his mother died because of brain cancer in 1999, opened up to him about being gay throughout his entire life. At this point, Mills’ father was at the age of 75 years and had been married to his wife for 45 years. Five years later, his father died due to cancer of the lungs. Mills wanted to share this story with the world, because he was so baffled by the adventure that he had lived through, as well as the uplifting and humorous sides that go hand in hand with even such sad topics as death. “The concrete details of my father’s life, the real struggles...
Words: 2890 - Pages: 12
...they feel like it is too restrictive in nature. That is merely just a common misconception though, there are several different styles of essays and the two that are going to be discussed are descriptive and narrative essays. The narrative essay's main purpose is to tell a story using characters and a plot, where perhaps a problem is given, and the events that unfold eventually explain a solution to the problem or issue presented. In contrast the descriptive essay can be very powerful in the fact it is written using the five senses (visual, audible, taste, tactile sensations and smells) this allows the author to bring a scene or object to life in the mind of the reader. While narrative essays are almost like a movie that is played out in the judgment of the reader, the descriptive essay paints a vivid photograph or place the reader can experience and this is why descriptive essays are the superior of the two styles. One of the best qualities that narrative essays are able to offer over descriptive essays is they are structured to appeal to the simplest of mankind's urge to share a good story. There are various forms in which we can find a narrative writing example such as a poem, play, novel and the obvious essay. There are times when the purpose behind a narrative essay is to simply hold the reader, providing an escape from the everyday stresses of work, and then there are times when it is the author's intention to share a valuable lesson learned that might help others...
Words: 2121 - Pages: 9
