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In the short story Where Have You Gone Charming Billy, Tim O’ Brien, examines a conflict with the main character Paul Berlin and his internal fear of dying. The story takes place around 1965-1973 during the Vietnam War. It is Paul’s first day at the war and he has been fighting his anxiety. He has already seen one of the twenty-six soldiers in his platoon die of a heart attack because of tripping a mine bomb. Many soldiers continuously tell Paul to just get used to the fear of the jungle however he is not able to do it. Paul was not able to stop giggling and when remembering the death of poor Billy he thinks to himself “while later poor Billy Boy stepped on the mine, and how it made a tiny little sound-poof- and how Billy Boy stood there with…
In T.C. Boyle’s short story “Rara Avis,” Boyle commands the craft of perspective to explore parental relationships and sexual repression through the symbol of a rare bird. It all begins when a strange bird appears on the roof of a local furniture store. Throughout the story, Boyle uses the rare bird to symbolize a woman and, on a more visceral level, the narrator’s own sexual repression. The twelve year old boy narrator provides a unique take on the events of the story, specifically because of the details he notices. Not only does he characterize the bird as feminine, he seems to notice almost exclusively the sexual aspects in the crowd of people that forms to watch the bird.…
* Find OR write a POEM (8 line minimum) that represents your book. Attach the poem, and write three paragraphs that explain how this poem relates to the theme, characters, and/or plot in your novel.…
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Where there is a marriage without love, there will be love without marriage.” (Benjamin) Marriage is the foundation for social order because it restrains us from self centeredness and self indulgence. However, with the wrong significant other, one can find themselves on the path to adultery. (Craven) Ethan Frome is a story of a family caught in a deeply rooted domestic struggle. In the novel, the main character Ethan is caught in a love triangle between his wife Zeena, and his maid Mattie. There are numerous themes and conflicts throughout the context. However, within the themes of weakness, isolation, poverty, loves and death, the author brings in five different symbols. A symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else, esp. a material object representing something abstract. (Symbolling) Moreover, they allow the characters to articulate their emotions more clearly to the reader, which is very useful in bringing light to the story, and it illuminates the meaning that cannot be expressed in words. For example, a dark room symbolizes darkness, depression, gloominess, and hopelessness; therefore we would link that part of the story with darkness. Although, some symbols are easy to define, others require more research and reading. Likewise, through reading Ethan Frome, the color red, pickle dish, cat, setting, and light and darkness all highlight the major conflicts that arise throughout the context. (Wharton)…
Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of “The Scarlet Letter” chooses to use a number of different symbols in vital scenes throughout his book. In the story, the reader will recognize a number of different images that have much deeper meanings contributing to the plot of the novel. Hawthorne produces a detailed image for the reader and makes the symbols clear in his writing. Symbolism is a major aspect of “The Scarlet Letter”, without it, the story would not be as highly regarded as it is today.…
In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates there is bad parenting and it costs Connie at the end. Throughout the entire story there is little or no parenting, or sometimes there is a little parenting but it is not very good parenting. For example, “their father was away at work most of the time and when he came home, he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed. He didn’t bother talking much to them” (Oates 1). So even with her parents at home it is like they are not home. When Connie and her friends go to town they get left with no parents “and when he came to pick them up again at eleven he never bothered to ask what they had done” (Oates 1). Connie has virtually no parenting in her life and it costs her in the long run. With proper parenting Arnold friend never sees Connie. That means he never comes to Connie’s…
Choose one key passage. Re-write it in the space below. Discuss the importance of your chosen passage with respect to character, plot development, symbol and/or theme.…
In the interpretation I will make a characterization of the protagonist and focus on the author’s literary style and choice of theme.…
• Must have a graphic representation: drawing, picture, or graphic that ties to the book you read and the quotes you chose…
1) Chopin heavily utilizes symbolism in her story. Describe three symbols in detail, making sure you discuss their relevance to the story's themes.…
Prompt: The meaning of some literary works is often enhanced by sustained allusion to myths, the Bible, science, history, art, or other works of literature. Select a literary work that makes use of such a sustained reference. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain the allusion that predominates in the work and analyze how it enhances the meaning of the work as a whole.…
2. One symbol- how is it important? What does the symbol reveal about the characters or themes of the memoir?…
Home is a place where most experience ultimate comfort, security, and emotional ties. As reading Joan Didion’s “On Going Home” you can feel the tone and passion she has towards home, especially proven when she states, “Days pass. I see no one. I come to dread my husband’s evening call, not only because he is full of news of what by now seems to me our remote life in Los Angeles, people he has seen, letters which require attention, but because he ask what I have been doing, suggests uneasily that I get out and drive away, instead I drive across the river to a family graveyard.”(141) She’s completely content on being satisfied by home with its simple ways and family surroundings. That’s why going home to Joan is the ultimate comfort, security, and emotional relief; because she’s with family.…
5. Based on careful review of your notes, and careful thinking about the course, share two key themes (an idea, image, or motif repeated or developed throughout a work) or ideas which seem to be present in different periods of literature.…
Option 4. Look below at the epigraph (lines of poetry at the beginning of the novel) written in the poem "Atavism" by John Myers O’Hara. Explain how the epigraph serves to highlight the themes and spirit of this novel. How does Buck’s journey reflect these words?…