Category: Literature

The reviewed chapter from The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King is titled Too Heavy to Lift. The name of the chapter is taken from a quote once said by the authors sons girlfriend, Nadine Zabder, who once described sheep as an unruly lot  saying that they will often not follow a sheepherder willingly, while also being too heavy to lift with the strength of ones own arms (King, 2017). This quote describes the main problem with Native Americans, from the perspective of white colonizers (King, 2017). The chapter describes three types of Indians  Dead Indians, Live Indians, and Legal Indians.

The first element constitutes the collective views on Natives based on stereotypes. Feathers, national clothes, the idealized version of the noble savage, and other elements that often have very little to do with reality (King, 2017). Live Indians, on the other hand, are described as people from different walks of life, many of whom have either meshed into the contemporary American culture or were absorbed by it (King, 2017). One of the big points of aggravation for King (2017) is that white people often describe living Indians as not real Indians, due to them being different from the idealized Dead Indians. Finally, Legal Indians are defined as individuals who hold the status of an Indian. King describes those people as reviled by states, which see them as a threat to a vision of a united nation.

The readings are tied to many specific areas that were covered in class. Namely, the tragic history of Native Americans becoming strangers in their own land. This was achieved by centuries of colonist expansion, which involved making treaties with Indians and violating them immediately, to claim more land (Saunt, 2020). There has not been a single treaty that the nation that now calls itself the USA did not systematically break (Saunt, 2020). The reasons why Natives are allowed their reservations are a means to an end  the quality of life in those areas is significantly worse than in the rest of the country. The choice before the legal Indians becomes the following: Either stays and suffer, or leave and dive into the smelting pot of the American society, potentially losing ones own national and cultural identity (King, 2017). This strategy has worked, so far  the numbers of Indians in reservations have been steadily decreasing over the years.

The objective of the state, it appears, whether explicitly or implicitly, is to turn all legal Indians into Live Indians, and eventually into Dead Indians. The media, as we see it for the past 30 years, has been hard at work for cultivating the positivity of such an image. They have been present in Westerns, often as faithful allies of the main hero (more often than not, a white man), or, later, as a token minority alongside a black and an Asian actor (Benshoff & Griffin, 2021). This is done to demonstrate that the film or whatever other piece of media is inclusive. Doing so does very little to educate the masses or promote genuine Native American heritage, culture, and identity.

It must be very difficult for a Live Indian to fit into the existing society. Their culture has been made a shallow mockery of, while the attempts to blend into the dominant white European-based culture will be met with scorn by the descendants of the same people who have taken away their lands (Saunt, 2020). Not because they despite Indians, but rather because they were raised on the predetermined cultural notions about Indians, and any differentiation from it is viewed as stepping away from the roots. This trend has been seen with blacks, Hispanics, and Asians as well. In the name of cultural diversity, the most significant cultural group (whites) have been pushing people into celebrating their heritage. With Indians it is the feather dress and the Mohawk, with blacks it is the black culture, which is often defined and derived from gang ghetto existence (Saunt, 2020). Asians are supposed to be the best at everything, and care about family honor. The list goes on, as it is possible to see.

To conclude, in chapter 3 King brings up very important points about how the inconvenient Indians are treated now, with three axes of existence being dead, live, and legal natives. Despite the talks about how the US ought to be a more inclusive country, repair old wrongs, apologize for past crimes, and acknowledge its historical guilt, the process of eroding Indian culture keeps going. Even those forces who view themselves as progressive might be to blame for the trend. Not knowing what actual Natives are like, they try to force stereotypes or even associate themselves with cultures that they do not belong to (Benshoff & Griffin, 2021). One must acknowledge that culture is not a static construct. As people change, so too does it. Modern Live Indians are very different from their ancestors, and many vestiges of the original culture have been lost forever. They should be allowed to form their own culture as is, and practice it, without the implicit expectation from the state to become real Americans, or the diversity crowd to adhere to their idealized Dead Indians.

References

Benshoff, H. M., & Griffin, S. (2021). America on film: Representing race, class, gender, and sexuality at the movies. John Wiley & Sons.

King, T. (2017). The inconvenient Indian illustrated: A curious account of native people in North America. Doubleday Canada.

Saunt, C. (2020). Unworthy republic: The dispossession of Native Americans and the road to Indian Territory. WW Norton & Company.

The stories are bleak yet beautiful, and the language is poetic and powerful. The narrative structure is well-crafted, and the stories are filled with symbolism and vivid imagery. The themes of love and loss are explored in a deep and meaningful way, and the stories are ultimately uplifting. The book is a powerful and moving exploration of the human condition and inspires the reader. It is an engaging and thought-provoking read that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned. Jesus Son by Denis Johnson is essential because it uniquely and powerfully explores the human conditions struggles. This book serves as both a striking reminder of the human spirits capacity for optimism in the face of misfortune and a tribute to how resilient the human spirit can be.

The book has very strong quote, which demonstrates the main narrative of the book. As such, it stays: I dont mean that we all end up dead, thats not the great pity (Johnson, 1992, p. 9). It speaks to the pain of loss and the reality of death, yet it also speaks to the hope that can be found even in the darkest of times. The quote conveys a sense of optimism and resilience in the face of adversity, a reminder that life is precious and should be cherished. The quote also serves as an important reminder that life is unpredictable and that it can be taken away in an instant. It is a powerful message of hope and compassion, inspiring readers to find joy and beauty in life despite its challenges.

The stories focus on the inner thoughts and motivations of the protagonist and provide insight into the complexities of love, loss, and hope. The language is poetic and evocative, and the imagery and symbolism are vivid and meaningful. Ultimately, the book is uplifting, and the reader will be left with renewed hope and understanding of the human condition. The book Jesus Son by Denis Johnson was written in the 1990s, a time of significant social change. The stories explore the struggles of the human condition during this period and provide insight into the complexities of love, loss, and hope. The stories have a timeless quality and resonate with readers today, offering a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of the human condition.

The symbolism in Jesus Son by Denis Johnson is profound and powerful. In the first story, the protagonist is almost like a modern-day Jesus figure, suffering from addiction, loneliness, and desperation. The imagery of Jesus eyes and how he is described in the story suggest a powerful connection between him and the reader. This connection is reinforced throughout the book, as Jesus Son symbolizes hope and resilience in adversity. The imagery of the protagonists journey is also significant. The journey to find meaning and hope in a dark and unforgiving world is a powerful symbol of the human condition. This journey is filled with symbolism, from the darkness of the night to the light of day and from moments of despair to moments of joy.

The imagery of darkness and light is an essential theme throughout the book. The protagonist struggles to find light and hope in a world filled with darkness and despair. He often finds himself in dark places but also has moments of joy and hope as he searches for meaning and understanding. This duality is a powerful symbol of the human condition and the struggle to find hope and compassion in a chaotic and uncertain world. The symbolism of water is also significant in Jesus Son. Water often symbolizes emotions, such as sorrow and joy, and the protagonists journey is filled with moments of both. The water is a powerful symbol of the fragility of the human condition and a reminder that life can be unpredictable and fleeting. The imagery of birds is also essential in Jesus Son. The birds represent freedom and hope, and their presence in the story often signifies joy and understanding. They symbolize the potential for hope and fun in the most unexpected places.

The symbolism of fire is also significant in Jesus Son. Fire often symbolizes passion and energy, and the protagonist finds himself in moments of love and joy. Fire is a powerful symbol of the human spirits capacity for resilience and hope in adversity. Finally, the imagery of the moon is a powerful symbol in Jesus Son. The moon symbolizes hope, and its presence in the story often signifies moments of hope and understanding. The moon is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is a potential for joy and compassion. The symbolism in Jesus Son by Denis Johnson is profound and powerful. It is a reminder of the fragility of the human condition and the potential for hope and joy to be found even in the darkest times.

Readers embark on profound discovery and contemplation in the acclaimed novel Jesus Son by Denis Johnson. Through vivid imagery and meaningful symbolism, Johnson conveys the complexity of the human experience, exploring themes of love and loss, loneliness and addiction, and desperation and hope. This captivating story is a profoundly uplifting and thought-provoking read, demonstrating that joy and redemption can be found even in the darkest of times. With its poignant exploration of the human condition, Jesus Son is a timeless reminder of the potential for hope and joy in each of us. This powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a reminder of the potential for renewal in each of us, making this book timeless exploration of the human condition.

Reference

Johnson, D. (1992). Jesus Son.

Making repairs, Karina found a narrow, unlocked door under the wallpaper, behind which there was a niche. It was a small room with no windows, about a meter by a meter in size. Inside were some newspapers, rags, dishes, perhaps something valuable because the house was built many years ago! Karina stepped into a niche; something crunched under her feet; looking down, the girl found that the entire floor was littered with small salt crystals. Although this surprised the girl, she did not attach much importance to this but simply swept the floor and took out everything she found. Her interest was hooked on a personal diary, which apparently belonged to a teenage girl. Karina immediately put it aside and decided to read it later to avoid being distracted.

At the end of the day, the tired girl looked around her room: bare walls, several bags of garbage, all the furniture covered with a film, from which she freed only a bed and a chair. Karina did not notice how she fell asleep while reading the previously found diary with the desk lamp on.

However, in her sleep, the girl heard the switch click.

Opening her eyes, Karina realized that the light, which she had definitely not turned off, had disappeared. Perhaps a problem with the switch? The girl sat up on the bed, not fully understanding what to do now. Her eyes fell on the dress she threw on the chair. In the darkness, the outlines of a light thing were clearly visible. It suddenly seemed to the girl that someone wore the dress. Perhaps she is still sleeping? Through the darkness, the outlines of the figure, and the curves of the real body, were very clearly visible.

Karina peered hard into the darkness, afraid to turn on the light.

She was sure that the dress was not just lying in a shapeless rag. Someone or something put it on and sat on a chair in front of Karina.

The girl gathered her courage and turned on the light abruptly. The dress lay the way Karina put it before going to bed. She suddenly remembered that the girl from the diary had seen an eerie dark figure. Perhaps Karinas imagination played a trick on her? In the morning, she told her landlady, Mrs. Feed, about her find and read the extract from her diary that impressed her the most.

***

July 20.

Tonight was the worst night of my life. I woke up with my bed shaking. I saw a dark figure at my feet when I opened my eyes. She shook the bed and, more and more with every second. I screamed out loud. The figure was gone when my mother ran into the room and turned on the light.

Mom did not believe me; she said that it was a nightmare. However, she stayed overnight in my room. We are almost asleep. Suddenly, my mother says, Darling, do not shake my legs. I will not be able to sleep like that. And really quietly, so that no one could hear us, I answered: It is not me!.

Mom grabbed my hand, and we quickly ran out of the room. Unfortunately, all the neighbors have gone to their dachas and sanatoriums. Mom and I are alone in the apartment. Now we are sitting on the balcony and waiting for the morning. And Im writing everything down in my diary.

21 July.

Mom called her friend in the morning and took from her the address of a woman who could help us. My mother did not take me with her, and I played in the yard with my girlfriends. By lunchtime, she returned and brought some kind of spell with her. She said that it must be read, and all the terrible will disappear.

Mom went home alone and read the spell. Im dreading the night.

22 July.

The night passed quietly. So the spell worked! I wrote it down in my diary just in case. Maybe it will still be useful.

***

Mrs. Feed was the first witch of her kind to complete the ritual.

The essence that was supposed to bring the demon to this world was enclosed in a niche in the diary itself. Additionally, it was restrained by the salt that Mrs. Feed had spilled on the floor. While the diary is closed, the entity is asleep.

Karina broke the protection of salt and, opening the diary and reading the spell, let the entity into the room.

The Entity is a short fictional story in the genre of thriller and fantasy. The target audience for the story is people of all ages; even though the genre feature tends to create tension, the story is short enough to scare children a lot but can also cause a feeling of excitement in an adult. Despite the variety of subgenres, the thriller as a genre is easily identified based on its inherent features:

• the composition of the work is closely connected with the chronotope: as the plot develops, references to the future occur, due to which a tense expectation of future events is created;
• inability to predict the course of events;
• the personal qualities of the protagonist facilitate the development of the plot;
• the theme determines the choice of artistic means;
• a combination of elements of various genres in work (Chase, 2022).

The main purpose of a story, as a thriller, is to create a sense of excitement in the reader; and share the topic of the randomness of fate and coincidence. It is important to understand that anyone could be in place of Karina, the main character. If this story had been published professionally, it would have appeared on the bookshelves next to Edgar Allan Poe and Neil Gaiman since these authors usually write short stories and novellas with a dark, terrifying atmosphere. It is worth noting that the main source of inspiration for the story was the work of Neil Gaimans Coraline.

The narrative in a story represents the sequential development of events at the beginning of the story when the actions occur in chronological order. Although the story is interrupted by a diary entry, the structure of sequential development is preserved in each passage of the text. However, the story contains disruptions to the standard narrative. In the first part of the story, the reader is presented with a traditional story about a girl. The action is described in chronological order and demonstrates the hook. The author then switches to first-person narration so the reader can better feel the tension as if trying on the role of the girl who wrote these notes. In the final part of the story, the omniscient author moves from the subjective, that is, untrustworthy, to the objective point of view, fully revealing the riddle they created at the beginning and middle of the story.

The above story explores the idea of an old house, typical of thrillers, and a hidden entrance to another world, which can be found in Gaimans Coraline. The main difference from the plot lies in its further development. In terms of style, instead of using various metaphors to convey the setting, I use the description itself so that the reader can imagine an empty, uninhabited room with a creepy creature in it. For example, in the episode when Coraline looks out the window at rainy weather, the author describes the garden located in the courtyard of the house as a dirty, wet mess: It was the rain that meant business, and currently its business was turning the garden into a muddy, wet soup (Gaiman, 2002, p. 3). Such a comparison helps to imagine how terrible the weather was that the main character decides to stay at home and not experience the happiness of walking through the garden, in which, judging by the description, everything that was on the ground was mixed up. In my story, there is a simple description of the setting, such as bare walls, several bags of garbage, all the furniture covered with a film.

Although the work uses simple vocabulary, it helps to easily immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the ordinary situation and take the place of the main character. There is also a deliberate use of paragraphs in the story to emphasize the sentence, that is, the action, as there will be a long pause during the reading. It allows adding tension to the story as if the main character and the reader are left alone with fear. In addition, alliterative rhetorical questions are in italics and answered at the storys end. Even though the narration is conducted on behalf of the author, I do not abstract from the main character but prescribe her emotions and sometimes even thoughts. For example, maybe there was even something valuable because the house was built many years ago!; the exclamatory sentence, in this case, allows one to convey Karinas excitement. Thus, the chosen techniques focus more on feelings than on the plot.

References

Chase, J. (2022). Elements of story: How genre impacts the importance of five story elements. The Write Practice. Web.

Gaiman, N. (2002). Coraline. Harper Trophy.

Introduction

John Cheevers short story The Reunion is considered an initiation story because the protagonist of the story shifts from the viewpoint of a child to that of an adult during the action of the story. The story is very brief, detailing the hour and a half-long reunion meeting between a young man named Charlie and his father, whom he hasnt seen for three years. Through a series of progressive events, Charlie, who started the story illustrating how proud he was of being with his father, is disillusioned about the man he discovers during his visit.

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The protagonist learns the truth about his father as the two of them make their way from one restaurant to another in an attempt to share lunch. Although Charlie is happy to be with his father, it doesnt take long before he begins finding fault with the older man. In the first restaurant they enter, the father begins to make a great deal of noise in an attempt to attract the attention of the only waiter in sight, despite the fact that the restaurant is empty.

Charlie comments, His boisterousness in the empty restaurant seemed out of place while his behavior is successful in provoking a negative response from the waiter, who refuses to serve them.

While the father isnt so immediately irritating at the second restaurant, his tendency to kick up a fuss apparently at random also drives the father and son out of this restaurant. In the third restaurant, Charlie tells the reader, We sat down, and my father began to shout again, this time not even managing to slur his way through the order before losing patience with the waiter and dragging Charlie into the street again. The fathers obnoxious behavior is carried out in Italian in the fourth restaurant. Based on the type of food they serve, the father refuses to believe that no one there actually speaks Italian. Upon leaving this restaurant, Charlie has had his fill and has noticed that it is now time for him to get back to the train.

In spending this brief time with his father, it is clear that Charlie becomes disillusioned regarding the greatness of the man. At the beginning of the story, he is thrilled to be associated in any way with the man he would someday resemble. I hoped that someone would see us together. I wished that we could be photographed. I wanted some record of us have been together. However, the rude behavior of his father as they pass through all these restaurants begins to give Charlie a sense of the actual smallness of the man. By the end of the story, it seems Charlie just cant wait to get back on the train.

While his dad stops to buy a paper for him to read on the train, Charlie continues to rush forward. This is partly because of the way his father initiates his conversation with the newspaperman by asking him for one of your God-damned, no-good, ten-cent afternoon papers and, finally and perhaps unnecessarily, making his intentions perfectly clear to his son: Just wait a second. I want to get a rise out this chap.

Summary

The progression of father and son through the restaurants of New York forces the transformation of Charlie from the young idealist he is when he arrives at the disillusioned self-enlightened individual who leaves without ever returning.

Having his hopes and dreams of the real man his father had been in his mind, Charlie gets a glimpse of his father as he really is  a petty man attempting to provoke reactions out of others as a means of demonstrating his power and importance. Charlies simple statement at the end of the story, that was the last time I saw my father emphasizes the importance of this meeting in terms of opening Charlies eyes.

Works Cited

Cheever, John. Reunion.

The late Essex House initially published this vicious but undoubtedly artful artifact of the late sixties. His theme, the deadly intersection of eroticism and violence, is not so often explored in American fiction, which probably explains why so little is known about the Evil Companions (Perkins, 1993). This is the first novel by Michael Perkins, written when the author was 25 years old. It contains a lot of the nonsense that one would expect from such a young novelistoverly superficial descriptions, shaky narration but a genuinely mysterious, witchy quality elevates it far above the type of shoddy exploitation one would expect given the subject matter. However, the book also has a dark, driving energy generated by the upheavals of real life during its writing. Much of this is quite outdated, but at its core, it is as radical and shocking today as it was back in 1968.

It all starts with the fact that the young actor is scalded with hot coffee by Ann, a colleague whom he has just scolded. This sets the tone for their subsequent relationship, which is deeply perverted from the beginning and inevitably involves torture and murder. Ann resorts to tricks to make ends meet, and a couple of her clients end up falling victim to the psychosis of this depraved couple; one guys corpse becomes a human plant, raped in every conceivable way by his captors, who even cut holes in the torso to create new sexual holes. About how our not-too-heroic heroes fall out of society, grow long hair, and unite with a coalition of scoundrels who share their taste for murderous debauchery.

In short, these Evil Companions became everything that honest America was afraid of back in 1968. Nevertheless, events take an unexpected turn with the appearance of some researchers who want to use the main characters as guinea pigs in a series of experiments based on sex. The penultimate chapter, in which the main character takes to the streets of New York after his already overly excited libido has intensified even more, is impressive.

The fusion of pornography and the noir crime novel is tough to achieve without erasing the noir themes of guilt, loss of identity, or sinister reaction to internal needs or social injustice and replacing them with language and behavior aimed at stimulating the sexual curiosity or arousal of the reader. Suppose the writer depicts the self-realization of two people discovering sensual and spiritual reciprocity, discarding their social and religious sexual taboos. In that case, he describes a pagan holiday of feelings as soft primitivism. However, the main characters have freely expressed their desires but can only look into the void they have created within themselves; their will to exist is paralyzed. An example from Evil Companions is the narrators strategy of referring to his mother when he commits sadomasochistic acts (Perkins, 1993). Its the example of opposite primitivism where ego release, resulting in the individuals lust, preys on other peoples bodies, destroying both body and soul and, ultimately, his prerogative to exist in any human group. Perhaps the essence of the vision in all porn noirs lies in rigid primitivism.

The action of Evil Companions takes place in the East Village during the Vietnam War. Its plot involves several murders and mutilations of people lured into the apartment shared by Nameless and Ann. The story mainly consists of sexual mutilation and humiliation, rape, torture, necrophilia, castration, and, finally, the implantation of male genitalia into female genitalia. Events unfold on the verge of predatory sensuality, turning a sexual partner into dead meat. This is a kind of cannibalism if it means having the body of another in hatred and not feeling like a part of a divine universal living organism, as soft primitive peacefulness suggests. If the characters were not so amazingly wild, they would be overshadowed by scenes featuring anarchic mixtures of bodily fluids: urine, feces, semen, milk, vomit, and blood.

Porn noirs usually focus on extreme, psychopathic, neurotic, dysfunctional mental states. Identity doubts and paranoid insecurities are inherent in studies of sexual restrictions and their violations. Evil Companions combines this noir aspect with harsh criticism of the American society of the 1960s. Perkins puts forward arguments against how average citizens use money, the media, and lower-class outsiders to meet needs they are afraid to express openly. Dirty streets, begging children, alcoholics and poor representatives of the working class, office workers looking for earnings, and underage prostitutes are an example of the average persons disinterest in the social injustice and repression surrounding him, which people from the real world apply to their psyche. In the background is hypocrisy about Vietnam and its war crimes.

Evil Companions is an ambiguous book of the 60s. In New York, in the turbulent years, a young couple explores the lower regions of the erotic unconscious. Exploring the connection between pleasure and pain, Perkins creates a scenario of what would happen if the hippie generation was as depraved and perverted as conservative observers imagined. Plunging into forbidden sexuality is shocking and intriguing. It is a delightfully pernicious play through the sexual taboos of mid-twentieth century America.

References

Perkins, M. (1993). Evil Companions. Masquerade Books

Introduction

The passage from Butler: An individual depends in countless ways on being recognized as a social being  as a person with feelings and rights, enjoying fellowship in social groups, relying on institutions to provide support, to safeguard our rights, and to care for us when we are in need (Shelley 38). This quote reflects on Mary Shelleys childhood when her mother died soon after labor. Hence, the girl was raised by her father, who gave her the best but informal education and taught her anarchist ideas. In a way, she was more advanced in her beliefs and worldviews compared to her female counterparts of that time; thus, she seemed isolated from society.

Discussion

Mary Shelley met a famous anatomy and surgery professor, William Lawrence, several times when she accompanied her father. She could see the opposition between Lawrence and his colleague John Abernethy regarding their theories and understanding (Shelley 25). This debate between two professors inspired Mary to write about her main character, Victor, relationships with two university instructors. Furthermore, since Shelley supported Lawrences radical science ideas, she utilized the idea that Frankenstein-type experiments should be allowed for the sake of scientific progress since the human body is just needed to perform specific functions.

The passage from The Novel 1: A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived (Shelley 43). This quote accurately represents what can happen to a human being if one is raised in isolation from society since one may or may not become a monster, literally or figuratively.

The quote from The Novel 2: But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy; and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection (Shelley 6). This passage elaborates on the protagonists fears that one isolated himself and his creation, generating a monster.

Conclusion

Furthermore, the author claims that despite the fact the man lacks interaction with people, the only thing he wishes is to have a friend by his side. The author of the letter laments that he has no one to share the joy with and be supported during failures.

Work Cited

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds. MIT Press, 2017.

Most of the action in the narrative takes place aboard a small open boat, where the shipwreck survivors flee from certain death at sea. There would be fewer drownings at sea if men could only prepare for shipwrecks and have them occur when the men had attained pink condition (Crane, 1897). The interaction between man and nature is at the heart of the storys fundamental conflict. The novels backdrop allows the author to illustrate how cruel nature can be towards helpless individuals. The natural force is still stronger, and even though modern humans can benefit from natural resources, they will never be able to control nature fully.

The main rising action occurs when survivors make a decision to swim toward the shore, and as the men prepare for their final confrontation with natural forces, the combat becomes tenser in this section. Although the Correspondent could tell by watching the others that they werent terrified, their expressions were ambiguous (Crane, 1897). It represents the start of the final test the characters had to pass in mens decisiveness and confidence before the last step to release from water captivity. The narratives ultimate climax is the point at which the boat endures the final storm and arrives at the shore. The scenes turmoil and chaos contribute to the desired effect by only depicting the Correspondents sense of doom and probable death, omitting the other crew members emotions.

The description of the boat colliding with the shore and the crowd rushing in to save the crew serve as a resolution example. The episode that darkens the mentioned phenomena is understanding the oilers death which is depicted to highlight the surviving crew members luck and the unpredictability of human life (Crane, 1897). The transition from the climax to the declining action is made easier by the lack of speech and the emphasis on detailed emotional descriptions. In conclusion, a man can consider himself a master on the land, but in the middle of the sea, nature may have mercy on particular individuals, but nothing can be taken for granted.

Reference

Crane, S. (1897). The open boat [eBook edition]. lulu.com, Web.

Introduction

William Shakespeare is a renowned English playwright, actor, poet and dramatist.

Records about his baptism indicate that he was born in the English town of Stratford in England being the eldest son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Many people have referred to him as the most famous dramatist that ever lived and some of his plays such as Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet are viewed as among the greatest pieces of literature in the world. Shakespeare is reputed for a large vocabulary so unlike a person of his time, having used roughly 29,000 different words while writing his plays.

But William Shakespeares identity, poetry and authorship have become a topic of great controversy that has been going on for a long time. No other life of a re-known literacy figure has been studied, researched and debated like that of William Shakespeare (Vickers 2003).

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Many critics argue that Shakespeare was neither a poet, playwright or actor and that he wrote none of the plays that have famously been attributed to him.

There are even claims that the name Shakespeare was the assumed name for a group of playwrights and poets.

Critics argue that although there are assumptions that this great playwright was educated at Stratford the works attributed to Shakespeare display a level of writing too high for his standard. But even with the possibility that Shakespeare may not have been the author of all those literary writings, many people some of whom lived during his time like Meres (1598) and Johnson (1623) have credited him as a writer worthy of recognition (Malim&Imlay 2004).

From a brief history about his personal life, critics have expressed doubts that this man was truly the real playwright, poet and dramatist that are today referred to as William Shakespeare. Documents from the life of William Shakespeare of Stratford describe him as a businessman and investor in real estate and there is no given evidence that this man was a playwright and very scanty information connects him to theatre.

No evidence exists from the time he lived that relates Shakespeare to poetry and a playwrights life and whatever information that has been provided came much later after his death and is questionable. Critics argue that during the writing of William Shakespeares works, playwriting was a very lowly profession and that Shakespeares name could have been used as a pseudonym by the actual authors as they tried to protect their names. Close to sixty candidates have even been proposed as the most probable authors of his works (Ready and Kathman 1996).

Records about the life of the man from Stratford spelled his name as Shakespeare or something less different and this contrasts the name that appears on the poems and plays that was at most times spelled as Shake-speare. Although the man from Stratford is widely known as an actor, there is no written evidence about any regular theatre performances that he was involved in, and no records give indication that he had any roles in plays at the time, not even in those that he supposedly wrote.

The record gave about his life also fails to square; up with the deep knowledge about Italy and Frances aristocratic attitude and deep classical education that has been portrayed in William Shakespeares work (Vickers 2003).

Information about his early life has been derived from baptism, marriage and legal documents and there is no information about his early life as an artist despite the fact that the first 30 years are most important in an artists life. Extensive records about his life as a businessman and also detailing his legal affairs contrast the scattered and sparse documents about his involvement in theatre. Worse still, these are not theatre records and in of those is he referred to as a playwright.

Some scholars have had tremendous difficulty trying to reconcile the dull life of the man from Stratford with the stupendous geniou8s who shines in William Shakespeares work. Critics also argue that there are no existing records indicating that Shakespeare was a writer despite the fact that records appear that link other writers of the time to their works. They also argue that there are no existing manuscripts that have survived from that time to give proof that he ever wrote all those works attributed to him (Whalen 1994).

But for scholars like Richard Whalen and others, Shakespeare lived as a person and playwright as is evident in the life and works of other poets like Edward de Vere. There are many references to this earl of Oxford in Shakespeares works. Besides, the authorship of Edward de Vere is disputed in William Shakespeares works because of evidence about several works that were written after his death in 1604. Those who support the authorship of Shakespeare also argue that Edward de Veres writings were quite inferior as compared to Shakespeares works. No written evidence exists of any charges brought forward by his contemporaries that he did not write his works and there was also no speculation about his doubted authorship until much later after his death (Whalen 1994).

Scholars have argued that Shakespeare authored his books because there exists no written evidence from that time that such works could have been related with anyone else and besides, no author of that time was known by the name William Shakespeare. Further arguments dictate that the printed editions for his works have his name endorsed on them and no other names have been given in these editions.

Ample evidence from the works of William Shakespeare also clearly indicates that the writer or author of these works had gone through standard training in an Elizabethan grammar school and received good classical education. It is likely that he also acquired a some knowledge of the Greek language and Latin at the Stratford grammar school. Shakespeare must have been introduced to plays of the five-act structure and to classical comedy at such schools (Ready & Kathman 1996).

From documented records, there is no evidence that Oxford and Bacon, two of the most suggested authors for Shakespeares works, were ever associated with production and acting in any of his plays. An attack from a fellow playwright by name Robert Greene in 1592 accusing him of trying to compete with others is evidence that William Shakespeare was indeed a playwright and that he was well known in the London stage.

In 1594 William Shakespeare is documented by have given a live performance before Queen Elizabeth, evidence that he was indeed an actor and in 1598 his poetry was attacked by Francis Meres, meaning that Shakespeare was a poet. Records dating as far back as 1599 that give information about the ownership of Globe theatre have the name William Shakespeare s one of the owners (Ready & Kathman 1996). Evidence from his will indicates that Shakespeare had some gifts left for actors in the London company an indication that Shakespeare of Stratford is likely to have moved to London and become a playwright and actor.

The lively world that he got exposed to in Elizabethan London could have provided a good background on which to create those poetic and dramatic works that have become so popular over time. Critics however argue that this will make no mention of personal items such as letters or papers and that it lists no plays, manuscripts or any unfinished works (Whalen 1994).

From historical records, no person that lived in the Jacobean and Elizabethan eras seems to have any doubt that William Shakespeare the playwright, poet and actor was the same as William Shakespeare, the man from Stratford. In various writings from that time, this man was often praised for his poetry and playwriting and during his life was named as author for most of his works. There are also several manuscripts that refer to the death of William Shakespeare in 1616, meaning that such records were clearly referring to the William Shakespeare of Stratford whose date of death is similar (Ready & Kathman 1996).

Conclusion

As the controversy about the authorship of Shakespeares works continues and more and more scholars delve into the issue, no amount of criticism seems to erode the fact these are great literary works. William Shakespeares work has been and continues to be widely read worldwide.

Works Cited

Malim, Richard and Imlay, Elizabeth. Great Oxford: Essays on the Life and Word of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Stratford. Parapress Limited, 2004.

Ready, Tom and Kathman David. How we know that Shakespeare Wrote Shakespeare: The Historical Facts.

Whalen, F. Richard. Shakespeare: WHO WAS HE? The Oxford Challenge to the Bard of Avon. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994.

Vickers, Brian. William Shakespeare. Routledge, 2003.

Transfigured is an article by Thomas Mallon published in the New Yorker on April 5, 2010. The article is a review of a new biography of Muriel Spark, a Scottish novelist, and poet. The article describes Sparks life, highlighting her early years in Edinburgh, her time in London, and her eventual move to New York City. Mallon also discusses Sparks writing style and the themes that recur in her work, such as the nature of identity, the power of religion, and the role of women in society. The article concludes by praising the biography as a well-written and informative account of Sparks life and work. It states that it is a fitting tribute to one of the most original and enduring voices in British fiction.

Muriel Spark was a Scottish novelist and poet known for wit, intelligence, and unconventional storytelling. She was born in Edinburgh in 1918 and spent her childhood and early adulthood there. She attended James Gillespies High School for Girls, one of Edinburghs oldest and most prestigious schools, where she developed a love for literature and writing. After completing her education, Spark worked various jobs in Edinburgh, including as a governess and a clerk. She also wrote poetry and short stories and began to make a name for herself in the literary scene in Edinburgh. In 1944, she moved to London, where she worked as a secretary at the Foreign Office and began to write more seriously.

In London, Spark became a part of the literary and artistic circles, and she began to publish her poetry and short stories in literary magazines. Her first novel, The Comforters, was published in 1957. The novel was well-received and established her as a significant new voice in British fiction. Spark continued to write and publish novels, poetry, and essays in the following years. She was known for her wit, intelligence, and unconventional storytelling, and critics and fellow writers highly praised her work. Some of her most well-known novels include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Memento Mori, and The Drivers Seat.

In the early 1960s, Spark moved to New York City, where she lived for the rest of her life. She continued to write and publish novels, and her work was widely read and admired in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Throughout her career, Spark wrote about a wide range of themes and subjects, including the nature of identity, the power of religion, and the role of women in society. She was also known for exploring the darker side of human nature, and her work often dealt with themes of death, decay, and the fragility of human existence.

In his article Transfigured Thomas Mallon mentions that Sparks personal behavior and artistry were nervy and, at times, could feel boorish. In his middle period works, Spark attempted to completely remove the unnecessary, as shown in The Drivers Seat, Not to Disturb, and The Hothouse by the East River. In the 80s, the books regained some of their weight and approachability, but Spark remained persistently unyieldingly uncourteous and disapproved of the way translation tended to sweeten her writing. According to Mallon, it was not her fictions interest in God that made it extraordinary, but rather her identification with Him and the conviction that, as an artist, it was her duty to behave as He would. He also points out that Spark did not address the issue of whether the key characters in the book are still alive. He believes Spark understands the paradox of seeking both independent vision and commercial success, but she still indulges her imagination.

In the latter portion of her writing career, Spark frequently adapted newspaper articles and bizarre tabloid events into books, which she handled using her most indirect and nonjournalistic methods. She was drawn to Watergate in The Abbess of Crewe (1974), a comedic drama, but only as something she could climb upward and downward on her terms. The majority of the novel was burlesque, but there were unavoidably some teleological moments since in Sparks cosmos, God has more Nixonian possibilities than gently Franciscan ones. Harold Macmillan inspired Spark to put microphones in trees. Spark was tense and depressed after spending several years in New York. Rome felt rooted and mysterious despite its disarray, and she was moved by what she described as the direct touch of antiquity on ordinary life. Nevertheless, she fiercely guarded herself against any conventional creature attempting to capitalize on her success or put out the pyrotechnics of her vision while she resided there from 1966 to 1985.

The author of the article, Thomas Mallon, admires the thoroughness and patience of the biographer in his attention to a writer who was challenging in many ways and whose life needed to be filled with specific biographical details. He calls the image of Sparks latter years sad but not unexpected. Stannard emphasizes that she never stopped changing the way she looked and dressed, not to attract men but to keep her independence. Additionally, according to Mallon, Sparks works have proven what they had been most adamant about denying: that character determines destiny, that a persons power is limited, and that a persons visionary ticket is nontransferable. He ends by saying that reading the biography helps one recognize that her success was mostly dependent on how vivid and impossible she was.

Introduction

The theme of conflicting loyalties is brightly shown in the Arthurian legends, especially in Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart. The contents of all Arthurian legends are based on real historical events and that is why all stories are truthful being backgrounds for thousands of myths. The story about Lancelot as many other legends of the medieval period discloses the theme of love. It shows a deep conflict between courtly love and chivalric loyalty based on some established regulations, excepted rules and norms of behavior common for that period of time.

Main body

Typical behavior and relationships between the members of loyalty are shown in the story Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart. The author wanted to disclose the feelings of Lancelot, to be more exact the combination of feelings to his dear friend, King Arthur, and to the beloved woman Guinevere. The description of the love triangle between the close people transfers the reader to the antic times of kings and queens. The conflicting loyalties theme is centralized by the author highlighting the main rules excepted for the loyalties which should be compulsory followed whatever the cost.

Due to the medieval nature of the legend style, it abounds in different expressive means and stylistic devices, that is why it is so emotional and deeply involving. The author managed to use a great number of epithets in order to show the relations of the characters to the historical events and loyal nature.

Approaching knight (p.126); vile, low-born dwarf (p.127);

fortified town (p.128); comely maidens (p.128); scornful word (p.128); miniver-lined cloaks (p.128);

The author wanted to illustrate the exaggeration of some ancient event with the help of hyperboles. These literary techniques are also used to show the presence of love in the story and reflect the feelings of the characters.

Everyone asked, how& (p. 128);

He remembered nothing at all& he forgot all others& (p.131)

The text is rather emotional and expressive because of the great usage of metaphors and metonymies. The usage of cognitive metaphors makes the story more lively and involving.

The cold water awoke him& (p.132)

Love frequently reopened the wound& (p.138)

The legend under analysis abounds in such a variety of literary techniques as a synecdoche in order to avoid ambiguity in the text. The author used synecdoche very often to underline the class division and social inequalities of that time.

&rich and poor, young and old mocked him& (p.128);

All three entered through a gate (p. 128);

To show more expressiveness of the stories the author tried to use different forms of similes in order to make some moments of the historical events a bit ironic and close to real life.

&you drive around like a cripple? (p.128)

The problematic points of Arthur legends are especially stressed by the symbolism in the form of prohibitions that should be followed and temptations that should be ignored by the characters of the stories.

The Knight of Cart was lost in thought& (p.131)

The character of Lancelot is considered to be one of the most prominent among all other characters of Arthur legends. Lancelot is the obsessive lover being beloved by most ladies, and is known as a great fighter& The story of love between Lancelot and Guinevere is really tragically described as it managed to bring a lot of considerable damages not only to their own fates but to the whole kingdom, to the hopes and dreams of King Arthur and his knights.

The author wanted to underline the role of Lancelot in the downfall brought by him to the Round Table. The chain of Lancelots success as a brave and skilled warrior is contradicted by his numerous trials. The cart was considered to be the symbol of his love for Guinevere. It meant curses usually made over criminals who used to break the law, no matter what kind of law it was: whether the law of God or law of their land.

From the very beginning, one can notice that the sense of Lancelots existence was concentrated on his feelings to Guinevere despite all kinds of prohibitions and loyal rules. The author shows that nobody existed for Lancelot just but his only love Guinevere and he never paid attention to the possible rise of conflicts or some threats of betraying. Guinevere was not only his love; she was his life and the only person he could see before him. The tragedy of their love is considered to be one of the most significant in the whole history of literature. The unexpected consequences of their mutual feelings resulted in the suffering of the whole society.

All Arthurian legends disclose the tragedies of love showing difficulties of feelings and mutual understanding. The author illustrates the fact that it was impossible to understand the feelings of different people to one woman who was considered to be like property of a man in that time that is why such situations resulted in great conflicts between the members of royal families and knights.

The problem of loyalties is especially stressed in the relationships between King Arthur and Lancelot. It is important to stress that Lancelot was always in the state of constant war with himself trying to understand how he can overcome his treason of the King and be together with Guinevere. Their hidden feelings were opened to everyone and it led to the global conflict of best friends. It can be explained by the fact that Lancelot got in the power of love and human feelings, which cannot be overcome even for the sake of great friendship.

Taking into account rules and views of the ancient times and its society the question of loyalty was considered to be the most important in human relations, even more, significant than love; knights who betrayed their land were ready to give their lives for the sake of forgiveness and safety of their families.

Conclusion

As one can notice from the analysis carried out all legends of Arthur are considered to be prominent and unique with the detailed description of their characters with their fights, trials, feelings, temptations, loyalties, and betrayals. The tragedy of love and the problem of conflicting loyalties closely interact in all legends of Arthur. The author wanted to underline the main values of that time such as trust, just, love and loyalty. For the sake of these qualities, people were ready to fight and give their lives.

The character of Lancelot will always be regarded as an example of a strong-willed and brave knight who was covered by the power of love being unable to get rid of it and never wanted to do it. The author managed to show the great power of love which is stronger and more powerful than any other human feeling. He proved that only love can build and ruin at the same time& It fills our soul and brings some sense to our life but can ruin the fate of other people and be the reason of conflicting loyalties&

References

Wilhelm, J. James. The Romance of Arthur: Lancelot, or The Knight of the Cart. Garland Publishing, inc., 1994.