Category: Literature

Literature is one of the main treasures of modern art. Literature helps people relax, helps them come into the new world of imagination and fantasy. Literature may also give some food for thought and present some ideas about problems. There are a lot of great writers who made an invaluable contribution to world literature. One of them is William Shakespeare. He is a famous writer, who created lots of plays and sonnets. Hamlet is one of his tragedies, which was created in the Elizabethan time. Our task is to indicate the effect of the play on the audience of those times.

It is not a secret that there is a relationship between dramatic works and their target audience. The social, cultural, and economic values and perspectives of the audience also influence the themes and interpretations of a text. The modern audience is rather different from Elizabethan one. Hamlet makes rather a different impression on modern viewers than on that audience. The language was different, the time was different, and so it is impossible to compare the impression which creates Hamlet on the modern viewer and Elizabethan one if the modern viewer does not take into consideration the historical events which occur in the time of the play appearance.

The understanding of Hamlet is impossible without understanding time, peoples cultural and political views of the time when the play was created. Hamlet was directed at that viewer, the target was the Elizabethan era. So, the modern understanding of the play may be a little bit different from what the author wanted to tell if the audience does not take into consideration the historical background of the play.

Turning to history, we may find out that women were dependent on men in the Elizabethan era. The patriarchal society of that time is presented best of all on the character of Ophelia. The people of those times were very religious.

The Elizabethan playgoer required that dramatic form of the well-known tale should contain all the most popular episodes (Draper 1999-8) from the life of that society. Shakespeares Hamlet was the first that portrayed the political problems of a court fully and realistically. The center of Renaissance society was the court, its power, and its success. In creating Hamlet, Shakespeare wanted to depict regicide, revolt, dynastic succession, intrigue, and accompanying police of the court system in the Elizabethan time. (Draper 1999)

The play tells us the story about the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, who wants to take an act of revenge on his uncle, who had killed his father and became a King. The attitude to the revenge was different than we perceive it now. The contradiction between the official code and the undercurrent of feeling derived from feudal tradition caused the audience to have mixed feelings towards the revenger in the revenge plays (Nicoll 2002-17). The revenge, presented in the play could be understood by the audience in different ways, as the average spectator at a revenge play was probably trapped in the ethical dilemma  a dilemma between what he believed and what he felt (Nicoll 2002-24).

Shakespeares audience was not well behaved as modern. There were two ways to involve the audience in the play: the actors play and the script, the actors had to work harder. There are a lot of differences between modern viewers and the audience of those times, but there is one common trade  people of all times went to the theater to be entertained by the play they have chosen and they had come to love. (Bowlers)

The words, the behavior, the clothes of Hamlet are different from the other characters in the play. Hamlets soliloquies are emotional, full of sense and information. Every word that is said has some aim or profit. When he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again (Shakespeare 2000), these words about the double nature of King, his usage of people, have the metaphorical meaning. The audience understands his idea as they lived in the era of Kings and knew their habits and sins.

The text of the play could be interpreted in different ways by the Elizabethan audience. The perception depended on peoples cultural, political views, on their financial and social position in that society. Every layer of people had their own understanding of the play.

So, the plays target has reached the Elizabethan audience with the help of several items. The first one is the expressive means and stylistic devices which abound in Hamlets speech. The others depended on the social position of people. The present understanding of the play cannot be correct without the understanding of the historical background, of the time when the play was written. The play wanted to show lots of items and life examples. The tragedy was supposed to reach the viewer not just as an entertaining play, but as a play with great social and moral meaning.

References

Bowlers, Samuel. Shakespeares Elizabethan Audience. 2009. Web.

Draper, John William. The Hamlet of Shakespeares Audience Routledge, 1999.

Nicoll, Allardyce. Wells, Stanley. Shakespeare Survey. Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Courier Dover Publications, 2000.

The poem is an elegy in nature in the sense that its mourning the death of Malcolm. The poem setting is in a ballroom where it talks about how Malcolm was murdered by a bullet.

His shooting was meet with disbelief as pounding thunder describes how the whole place was quite as Malcolms journey to the dead began to the extent that the poet uses exaggeration to explain that even the cockroaches in the vicinity were paralyzed by the happenings (Malcolm X 1).

The poem explores how the news on Malcolms shooting spread so fast to all those who knew him as everyone was concerned because his death was a major setback. The poet compares his death to water running out of faucets meaning he was a very influential person.

The poem ends on a sad note because the police arrived too late to save him as he had already died (Patterson 1). In this write up, I will discuss the diction and rhythm of the poem and how the poet has utilized the poetic tools to emphasis on the effect of Malcolms death at that moment.

According to Oliver, diction refers to how a poet uses words to illustrate the underlying meaning of the poem (76). This also includes the use of symbols to explore on the poems theme.

With reference to Malcolms poem, the poet has used symbolism in form of water, power and gas to symbolize that Malcolm had a great bearing on the society that he was living in meaning he was an dominant person who can be equated to a leader.

The use of the mentioned three elements is significant in the sense that the three are essentials in our everyday life thus Malcolm was a very important person.

Further the poet uses narration to symbolize the effect of the shooting by explaining in detail how his blood found its way on the floor by penetrating the concrete and cellar floor. Again this also gets to indicate the devastation of the shooting to Malcolms surroundings.

According to Drury rhythm is the art of creating similar sounds by using identical words that generate a repetitive effect (14). In this case, the words follow a regular form in order to work as an ornamental element to the poem or to insist on the theme illustrated within the repeated stanza.

With reference to Malcolms poem, the poet has repeated the words those who four times to symbolize that people who knew Malcolm from all works of life were greatly distressed by the news of his shooting (Malcolm X 1).

It also symbolizes the popularity of Malcolm as the poet tries to capture all individuals who are likely to have been impacted by Malcolm when he was alive.

The poet also repeats the words running out two times to illustrate the effect of Malcolms shooting to people who were close to him (Malcolm X 1). In this instance, the poet tries to demonstrate that the life of people who were left behind by Malcolm seized to be the same after his death.

The last line It had already happened in at that moment in literal sense means that something has happened but it also has a hidden meaning which implies that Malcolm was already dead by the time the police arrived to take him to the hospital (Malcolm X 1).

Based on the tone and diction of the poem, it is very clear that the writer of this poem was an individual who was very close to Malcolm because the death of Malcolm signifies the end of something very important in the poets life e.g. water Running out of faucets water is life and thus the death of Malcolm was like the end of the poets life.

Further, the poet cannot come to terms with Malcolms death thus he/she refers to it as It had already happened meaning Malcolm was a close confide of the poet and thus am inclined to believe that the poet and Malcolm belong to the same nuclear family in this case a sister or a brother to Malcolm (Malcolm X 1).

Works Cited

Drury, John. The poetry dictionary. 2nd ed. Cincinnati: FW publishers, 2006. Print.

Malcolm X. Poetry Written for Malcolm X: At That Moment. malcolmxonline, n.d. Web.

Oliver, Mary. A poetry handbook. Orlando: Harcourt, 1994. Print.

Patterson, Raymond. At That Moment, for Malcolm X. malcolmxonline, n.d. Web.

The language of stories, as used in novels, is quite a different medium than the medium of film. Each can be used as a different tool, each having different effects as tools, just as a screwdriver and a wrench each have different functions as real tools. The words of a language can serve as powerful tools for the details and specific imagery, especially when it is best that the reader apply the specific imagery or situation to themselves as it best relates to them. In film, the imagery is immediate and is powerful in that it forces the reader to confront any number of issues. While little is left to the viewers imagination with film, any themes relevant in the telling of the story can be displayed and expressed immediately rather than through the slow implications as is commonly necessary with language. The power of language is personal relation, while the power of film is immediate and specific conveyance.

Brokeback Mountain and The Lover are both tales of love and human development that have been portrayed in both books and films. Both films and books seem to each portray different elements better than each other in different ways, for such stories are rich in the variety of ideals relevant. All themes mentioned are relevant to some extent to either story, especially love, prejudice, passion, sex, and coming of age. Both films depict the characters in such a way that the development is more apparent, while the language in the stories better describes the mental development of the characters.

Brokeback Mountain has many underlying themes of morality and general humanity. The conflicts of life with regards to man versus himself are portrayed in the story. The main characters in the story, struggle with circumstances of sexuality. This, in turn, forces them to seek a new moral basis and make decisions that can be seen as basic human choices between right and wrong or good and evil. As such, many themes are relevant such as family, dysfunction, parenting, love, and more as homosexuality has at least some influence on all of these areas. The characters in the story start at different points of morality in their journey through humanity however most of them come to the same basic moral conclusions. The characters of Jack and Ennis have unusual developments throughout the story as they must deal with their sexual relations. The dysfunction of the relationships in this sense is more evident in the book as the imagery is more indicative of the concept of dysfunction, however in the movie this takes on a more personal tone as the visualization of the characters evokes emotions in a unique way which the book does not do (Freeman).

The morality in the general sense of the western culture of America is evident to some degree in this work as the novel takes place in classic western cowboy culture. While family relationship development and dysfunction play a certain role in the characters in the story the most drastic changes and conflicts are within the internal aspects of the characters. The reader is placed in the perspective to witness the cowboys develop and face conflict. In the book this situation is less mysterious but more concrete due to the level of detail. In the film, this has somewhat of a different feel as the mystery is stronger initially while the sense of openness and normalness of the characters is shown through the medium of film; while forced on the viewer is more of an obligation of understanding as the viewer is forced to physically look at the otherwise normal demeanor of two homosexuals. As such the reader or viewer must witness the situation of classical ethical, moral, and family relationship problems that occur when a situation such as this takes place as homosexuality is such unusual topic in that culture and even in the modern culture of America. While the reader of the story has a better perspective to consider how age and background play a role in moral development throughout life, the viewer of the movie is better placed in a perspective to consider how characters can develop their own moral code when they must in the absence of an already-present code. Sexuality and developing relationships are equally relevant to both the book and the film (Drudge; Freeman).

The morality of America in the time of the story was not in existence in the same manner in which it is in existence today. Although people in such situations as the characters of the story would believe themselves to be part of a moral culture, in more modern standards the culture would be lacking morality and a more virtuous existence. The readers are more prone to believe this mentality and behavior is a result of the way life was before and prior to them, while the movie viewer is presented with the idea that characters ultimately have the potential to digress into amoral behaviors because of their environment simply allowing for it. Both imply that the characters needed stronger influences in some manner to force and encourage them to have stronger relationships and standards. Homosexuality in the story is best shown as secretive in the book and strange but satisfying in the film. In both cases the dysfunction becomes apparent while the overlying tones of development and character development are evident (Colly; Drudge).

In The Lover love, passion, and other topics are more relevant in unique ways which differ somewhat from Brokeback Mountain. This story, is similar in theme however in that is a rebellion against the stereotyping and classic view with regards to the comprehension of love and relationships. The traditional view of the ideal lover is challenged in the story; in the book this is more evident in the narrations and descriptions of the characters while in the movie this is made more evident visually, in showing the expressions and actions of the characters. While homosexuality is no factor, young forbidden relationships are while coming of age is a somewhat unique theme. At the same time, the young girl developing a youthful relationship while coming of age does not correlate the relationship with love. This view never changes and the young womans feelings actually become unique in that there is an absence of love as she separates it completely from the life of her relationship (Bikerton; White).

The traditional themes of love are commonly associated to be stronger with the feminine. The Lover is unique in that it challenges these stereotypes while the women play a unique role in the relationship by having no feelings whatsoever. Also a challenge to the stereotypes in love is the male in the relationship, as he allows himself to have and show a fair amount of emotion in the development of their relationship. While the relationship is arguably dysfunctional from the beginning, in either case it is apparently a survival tactic built-in to the woman. The language of the book best describes the womans feelings and reactions to this as well and the stronger feelings of the mans. The perspective of the viewer of this movie is unique as the film shows how different such characters seem in such a reverse role (as far as stereotypes are concerned) with regards to such a human relationship (Bikerton; White).

Overall, nearly all themes are relevant in both stories. The films tend to better show the human expression and physical manifestations of human actions and emotions, while the languages of books better depict the specifications of any developments. While the language of the books tends to give a better sense of background and influence based on that background, the films show more of an immediate sense of such effects. The Lover and Brokeback Mountain are great examples of the differences between books and films. Aside from the structural differences (which are apparently common no matter what the adaptation is) the relevance and portrayal of major themes through the various tools are immediately evident. While it seems the books made better use of available tools to portray the themes, another potential advantage with film as a tool is the ease and length of time with which it can be viewed, and as such it is likely that the films of each story were able to reach a significantly larger amount of people with its themes than would have been with the books alone.

References

Bickerton, E. The Timeless Marguerite Duras: an article in the TLS by Emilie Bickerton, 2007.

Colly, G. Brokeback Mountain: a timeless struggle. Planet Papers. 2009. Web.

Drudge, M. Hollywood rocked: Gay cowboy movie becomes an Oscar front runner. 2005 Drudge Report.

Freeman, J. If it aint broke, dont fix it. 2006. Web.

White, E. In Love with Duras an essay in The New York Review of Books. 2008.

Fiction works are approached by readers in different ways: whereas certain audiences believe learning the facts about themselves and the world around them is an integral aspect of reading fiction, others view literary works merely in terms of distraction and entertainment. In fact, one of the main purposes of fiction is embedding real-life truths into a series of imagined facts. The present paper argues that fiction works contain truths, reflect the objective reality and support people in understanding complex human behavior and society; moreover, through crafting interesting plots, fiction writers highlight specific psychological and social issues and present in a grotesque way.

For instance, one of the works of the 19^th-century literature, The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane, focuses on the relationship between marital responsibility and maturation of boy-men and shows the triumph of family values over those of the community and person. Jack, the main character, who works as a marshal from Old West town called Yellow Skies, creates a family, despite the commonly shared belief that the inhabitants of the wild frontier territories are not expected to get married. As an inexperienced husband, Jack behaves like an adolescent in attempt to impress his beau with luxury; for instance, he buys her a beautiful dress with puff sleeves she never wore before and arranges a trip in the first-class compartment decorated with sea-green figured velvet, the shining brass, silver, and glass (Crane, p.2).

As Jack realizes family life does not belong to the category of his boyish games, he feels guilty for betraying his community. However, when the main character faces even more infantile creature, drunk man named Scratchy planning his regular practical jokes, Jack decides to meet him unarmed. In his encounter with Scratchy, who is referred to as innocent drummer ( Crane, p.7) and behaves like a capricious and aggressive teenager during his puberty, Jack comes to the idea that he is not willing to resemble this local Peter Pan. In order to assert his new social identity, Jack explains to Scratchy that he has no arms, as he is now a family man. In fact, such psychological transformation often happens in newly-married men who face the situations in which it is necessary to choose between the realization of personal and family interests. In fact, responsibility in the context of marital life is learned in the life events that are similar to Jacks case with Scratchy.

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, a Modernist fiction work, closely touches on the problem people were concerned about in all epochs and generations, which is the relationship between love and belonging. The main character, Miss Emily, falls in love with a careless womanizer who decides to abandon her after a short affair. In order to retain her lover, Emily poisons him, puts his corpse in her bed and spends night with the dead body in the following forty years. Although the author does not explicitly describe the details of her family life with the corpse, it is clear that the woman is ultimately content with the fact of her physical ownership of Homer. By depicting selfish and possessing love through such a thrilling plot, the author obviously implies that love cannot be imposed and the other half should not be viewed as property. Such model of building romantic relationships is relevant nowadays as a deterrent for excessively authoritarian and domineering lovers.

The Post-modernist short story by T. Coraghessan Boyle entitled Greasy Lake depicts the reverse side of the society, whose life is regulated by laws, namely outrage and deviance. One of the major themes of the literary work is human behavior in the dimension where no rules are active and whose functioning is based upon the basic natural law proclaiming the survival of the fittest. The group of adolescents, the major characters of the short story, overtly reject authority, as they are still too young to comprehend the importance of following the basic rules of peaceful coexistence among human beings, yet strong enough to wound a man and rape his girlfriend. Given their limited ability to understand the consequences of their actions, the boys cruelly batter a strange man named Bobby; moreover, after noticing his girlfriend in his car, they commit violence against her out of pure interest. However, at the end of the short story, they face the direct result of moral nihilism, finding their coeval dead and floating in the dirty lake. Thus, the dimension where humans define their behavior on the basis of their inner driver and principles is destructive as long as these individual norms do not comply with those embedded in the societal consciousness.

The contemporary work entitled The School and created by Donald Barthelme is instrumental in understanding the problem of modern individualists. Through showing the class as a dead zone where every living being inescapably perishes, the author implies that a number of contemporary people are not capable of true devotion and thus lose their sense of existence, as human being is essentially a social creature and fully actualizes themselves through contributing to the others lives. At the end of the narrative, the schoolchildren discuss the ideas of life and death with their teacher, they refer to individual physical pleasures such as making love, replacing feelings with sensations. Thus, if viewed from a broader perspective, this group of extraordinarily mature and smart children represents our modern individualistic society, whose members, having dedicated a significant part of their life to creating their comfortable personal world, once wake up find themselves incapable of building constructive, warm and deep relationships with others and the community.

Thus, the analysis of the four short stories from the different epochs suggests that fiction reflects a variety of interpersonal and social issues, which appear to be relevant in the present day, in particular, socialization and maturation through marriage, belonging and freedom in romantic relationships, the importance of order and social organization and the destructive effect of individualism on human perception of the meaning of their existence.

Works cited

Crane, Stephen. The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky.

Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily.

Coraghessan Boyle, Tom. Greasy Lake.

Barthleme, Donald. The School.

People consciously or unconsciously fit into the social framework of the culture in which they live in. John Updikes short story demonstrates the destruction of these social and cultural canons, using a sharp collision between conformity and nonconformity. John Updike tells the story of an ordinary cashier, Sammy, who quit his job after his manager shamed three girls who came to the supermarket in swimsuits. Sammys action is a deliberate defiance of conformity, while the girls violated the policy of the supermarket without intent. Updike confronts conformity and non-conformity using the literary devices of contrast and symbolism to emphasize this opposition.

The first technique that Updike uses to reveal the topic of confrontation between conformity and nonconformity is contrast. This literary device serves as a sharping frame for the entire short story, revealing itself in the vocabulary and system of characters images. At the level of characters, the story introduces two classes of people, reflecting conformity and nonconformity. The first class includes the manager Lengel, responsible for the policy of the supermarket, Sammys disapproving parents and his colleague Stokesie. The second class of characters represent nonconformity, and includes three girls in swimsuits led by Queenie and Sammy himself. To the first, larger social class, the author ascribes the qualities of constraint by obligations, children and marriage, and their appearance, like that of Stokesie and buyers, is unsightly. The second opposing class demonstrates freedom and dissent, all of them are young and do not want to live in imposed social norms. Two opposing classes of social norm-breakers and norm-observers collide at the storys climax when Sammy quits in defiance of social morality.

To emphasize the contrast between conformity and nonconformity, Updike uses a contrast at the level of the vocabulary of a short story. Updike describes the protagonists surprise by clashing opposing concepts: Its one thing to have a girl in a bathing suit down in the beach&and another thing in the cool of the A&P, under the fluorescent lights (Gioia and Kennedy 21). With the help of this phrase, it is possible to imagine two opposite coexisting worlds with their own laws. For the main character, the beach is associated with a sunny place and freedom of expression. The supermarket is a cold, alien place; fluorescent lamps not only emphasize the coolness of the room, but also refer to rigor and restraint. It is a type of light that brings out imperfections and inconsistencies through its brightness and coolness. For Sammy, this world is alien, and he resists against its rules and norms. The protagonist comes out of a cold room with artificial light, and he is bathed in the warmth of the sun, which symbolizes his craving for freedom from prejudice against the severity and restraint of the established order.

The second device that Updike uses to emphasize the opposition of conformism and nonconformism is symbolism. The author introduces several archetypes of animals into the short story to correlate them with the characters: sheep and pigs belong to the class of adherents of social norms. Updike compares supermarket shoppers to the sheep, pushing carts down the aisle (Gioia and Kennedy 20). Another simile is introduced at the end of the story: like scared pigs in a chute and checking the sheep through (Gioia and Kennedy 23-24). This symbolic series associatively relates to restrictions, causing an intuitive comparison with farm animals in pens or cages. The walls and shelves of the supermarket are frames that restrict freedom of movement, like fences on farms. Captured in the moment, neither the customers nor the second cashier and manager can get out of these restrictions by accepting this order of life.

Three girls in bathing suits, representing nonconformists, are symbolically compared to bees. The author describes their thoughts as little buzz like a bee in a glass jar (Gioia and Kennedy 20). The bees, in the context of the short storys symbolism, represent freedom from restrictions. Like bees, girls fly into the traditional world that opposes them and just as freely leave it. The bees can break out of the imposed frames and fly over the fence that limits the other characters in the story. Introducing the symbolism of the animal world into the narrative, Updike emphasizes the limits of the prevailing social order. It seems to be imposed and simplifies the actual state of affairs. The only way to get free is to challenge the rules and leave the metaphorical fence, which is what the main character does.

In conclusion, A&P is an allegorical narrative about the opposition of conformity and nonconformity. To emphasize this struggle, Updike uses literary devices of contrast and symbolism. The contrast in the narrative is expressed through the opposition of images, the classification of characters and the use of emphasizing vocabulary. Updikes symbolism refers readers to animal comparisons, that conformists represent sheep and pigs, and nonconformists are compared to bees. Within the framework of a short story, the author manages to show the dynamic struggle of the supporters of the social order and the fighters against it.

Work Cited

Gioia, Dana, and Kennedy, X. J. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Pearson, 2019.

Ernest Hemingway emerged as one of Americas more colorful writers in the early to mid-1900s, presenting himself as the ultimate mans man, worldly traveler, mighty hunter, and hard-drinking spinner of tales. Within a short span of time, 1925-1929, he had established himself as having produced some of the most important literary fiction in his century. His short stories focused on the virtues held by men a generation or two earlier than him as well as the effects and aftereffects of war. Yet each story contained a deeper message within the lines if the reader felt the desire to go searching for it. He believed in omitting extra details as a way of strengthening his stories. He compared this to an iceberg. With an iceberg, only the top 1/8th can be seen above the water. The rest remains below the surface, providing it with its momentum and dignity. Hemingway believed his stories should follow this same structure. Although some critics loved him, others said his stories were shallow. He had no sympathy for women, they said, portraying them either as manhood-destroying bitches or as mere objects of sexual domination (Lynn, 1987, p. 10). A close reading of his stories reveals not only the messages the author intended to send but also some insights as to the way he felt about things. Hemingways preoccupation with machismo can be seen woven throughout the story The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

Machismo is a term that requires some form of definition before one can have any serious discussion. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the term as a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity or as an exaggerated or exhilarating sense of power or strength (2009). The idea of a certain form of male identity or behavior is at the center of the concept, while how this male identity should be defined varies widely. Behaviors associated with the machismo attitude include an abusive, controlling, and violent approach toward women and children, but this is not necessarily the case. Drunkenness, abusing women, raising hell & are some mistaken conceptions of what machismo means & And yet the uninformed often point to such behavior and call it machismo. In fact, much of this negative behavior is aped by a new generation, because as young men, they are not aware that they are being conditioned. Young men acting contrary to the good of their community have not yet learned the essence of maleness (Anaya, 1996). Machismo is derived from the term macho, which originally was used to refer to the simple fact of physical gender and grew to include ideas of respect, honor, and responsibility (Rodriguez & Gonzales, 1997). The outward forms of respect given to men who had earned honor and proven responsibility were assumed to be the end goal, and the means of achieving it changed. However, for those who lived by the code, it was well-understood that a nobleman & is a man of his word; should have a sense of responsibility for his own well-being and that of others in his circle; he rejects any form of abuse & physical, emotional, mental or spiritual & to himself or others; should take time to reflect, pray, and include a ceremony in life; should be sensitive to understanding; should be like a mirror, reflecting support and clarity to one another; lives these values honestly, and with love (Rodriguez & Gonzales, 1997). These concepts, very closely associated with the Latin American community, would have been very familiar to Hemingway, who had shared these beliefs even before he became a part of the Key West community where he did much of his writing. This somewhat confused understanding of machismo as something that can be abusive and violent, but that is really about being honorable, responsible, and respected, is fully explained in The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

The negative elements of the machismo concept are brought out at the beginning of the story as the reader slowly begins to understand the scene. The idea that a real man is someone who is abusive and violent toward women is seen early in the story as the main character, Harry, verbally abuses the woman who sits with him. He coldly informs her of the things that have led them to the point they are now as he slowly builds up to blaming her, telling her, if we had hired a good mechanic instead of a half baked Kikuyu driver, he would have checked the oil and never burned out that bearing in the truck & If you hadnt left your own people, your goddamned Old Westbury, Saratoga, Palm Beach people to take me (Hemingway 55). When she protests against his accusations, he tells her he doesnt love her and doesnt think he ever had. Although he seems to be drifting in and out of consciousness, his next conversation with her again brings out this abusive, angry side of him. When she tells him hes already hurt her, he gives in: All right then. Ill go on hurting you. Its more amusing. The only thing I ever really liked to do with you I cant do now (Hemingway 58). In this statement, he is probably telling the absolute truth that he has only ever enjoyed her company as someone to have sex with, but at the same time, he realizes that she does not deserve to be treated so cruelly. This realization seems to come to him through another element of machismo often considered in a negative light  the element of bravado. In recognizing his current situation for what it is, Harry does what he can to take a casual attitude toward his death. He calmly watches the vultures gather around the tree he rests under, he considers the actions of the hyena as it makes its way around the camp, and this enables him to concentrate on what would be best for the woman at his side.

This consideration of the womans position opens the way for a consideration of the more positive elements of machismo, as it might have been understood by Hemingway himself as a form of masculine honor. After drifting back to another episode in his earlier life, Harry wakes up to discover that his wife has gone hunting to make sure that they have enough food to eat while they wait for the rescue plane to arrive. He considers how thoughtful this action is, particularly since she went to the other side of camp so as not to wake him with her shot, not to scare away the game she knows hes enjoying watching from his coat, and so as not to bring death too close to his bed. With these thoughts, he enters into a period of self-reflection. Why should he blame this woman because she kept him well? He had destroyed his talent by not using it, by betrayals of himself and what he believed in, by drinking so much that he blunted the edge of his perceptions, by laziness, by sloth, and by snobbery, by pride, and by prejudice, by hook and by crook (Hemingway 60). Within this statement, he acknowledges that the animosity and anger he has harbored for his wife are, in reality, feelings he has for himself. In taking responsibility for his own disappointment, he expresses other elements of true machismo, such as rejecting abuse and showing concern for the well-being of others. This is an idea expressed at least superficially at the beginning of the story when he tells her, There is no sense in moving now except to make it easier for you (Hemingway 53). However, the sentiment seems much more sincere later in the story as he struggles to keep his last words with her pleasant. He treats her with gentleness by acquiescing to drink the broth from the ram she had shot even though all he really wants is a drink, and his words to her are deliberately tempered with his knowledge of deaths presence.

Whether considered and practiced from a negative or positive approach, machismo will undeniably have an effect on the type of interpersonal relationships one might form with others. Harrys thoughts reveal that he had long stopped loving women before he ever met his wife after having been hurt in relationships too many times in the past. With the women that he loved, he had quarreled so much they had finally, always, with the corrosion of the quarreling, killed what they had together. He had loved too much, demanded too much, and he wore it all out (Hemingway 64). Considering why Hemingway might have placed his character in such a position, some scholars have suggested that it may, in some ways, reinforce his concepts of masculinity. The subject needs to display himself in an exposed or helpless position before the beloved. Many masochists report fantasies of wishing for an audience to witness their disgrace. Ironically, this very humiliation reinforces the masochists sense of his masculine identity (Fantina 19). However, Harrys thoughts continue to drift to other times and events in his life as he consistently wishes he were the indifferent company for these final days of his life. The memories he lingers over are characterized primarily by relationships as they were defined by men. His happiest memories seem to center on times when he worked mostly with men, helping others, participating in outdoor sports, and winning girls from other men. In this final instance, there is a realization that he was never that interested in the women as much as he was interested in winning, as his memory focuses on the details of a fight he once had over a loose woman.

By tracing through Hemingways life in conjunction with his stories such as The Snows of Kilimanjaro, one can begin to trace some of the ideas that characterized Hemingways life and thinking. One of the defining principles of his life was the idea of machismo and living up to a mans definition of the self. While most of Hemingways work can thus be seen to contain a great deal of biography within them, it is important not to miss the applicability of these stories to the universal human experience in the Western world of the early 1900s. Issues of alcohol as an escape mechanism, relationships based on convenience rather than love, and a changing society in which men were expected to be more feminine, and women were becoming more masculine threaten Harrys own sense of identity and the identities of men throughout the country. Placed in slightly different terms, the use of substance abuse as a means of escape, relationships based upon mutual benefit rather than sentiment, and continuously changing social and gender roles around the world continue to be significant issues in todays world as individuals struggle to discover how to identify themselves in relation to traditional ideals.

Works Cited

1. Anaya, Rudolfo A. Muy Macho: Latin Men Confront Their Manhood. Ray Gonzales (Ed.). New York: Anchor Books, 1996.
2. Fantina, Richard. Ernest Hemingway: Machismo and Masochism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
3. Hemingway, Ernest. The Snows of Kilimanjaro. The Short Stories. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986: 52-77.
4. Machismo. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. (2009). Web.
5. Rodriguez, Roberto & Patrisia Gonzales. Deconstructing Machismo. Chronicle Features. San Francisco, (1997). Web.

Still Falls the Rain by Edith Sitwell is a poem on the sufferings in the world. The poem, written during World War II after the Germans bombed England, begins with the reference to the event.

It then spins to describing the sufferings on humankind throughout the history of the world. The theme of the poem is on human suffering through the ages. The poems theme is the pain and suffering that futile war inflicts on humankind. The poem depicts war as the possessor of pain and sin that humankind cannot bear. The religious undertone of the poem is evident:

Still falls the rain

At the feet of the Starved Man hung upon the Cross.

Christ that each day, each night, nails there

Have mercy on us 

On Dives and on Lazarus:

Under the Rain the sore and the gold are as one.

The poem is dominated with themes and ideas from religion and the mingling of war, showing war as the creator of human sin. Man cannot endure the suffering caused by war and it can be washed away through the sufferings of Christ. Rain is used as a metaphor for war and bloodshed through war.

In the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde the most intriguing part is the setting of the novel in the Victorian London and its binding with the plot of the novel.

The duality in the character of Dr. Jekyll through his Other in form of Mr. Hyde expresses the lingering revolting attitude of the Londoners in the Victorian age, which was essentially an age of conformism to the prevalent ways of the time. The duality in the protagonists is actually a revolt to the constraining social discourse and norms of the Victorian era.

Realism in literature is an essential part as this shows what part of the real world is close to the fictional world shown in literature. For instance, in case of the novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the realism lies in the frustration of Victorian intelligentsia with the constraining norms of the era.

Masao Myoshi points out that the idea of the social ideals of the Victorian era and literature is reinstated in the novel wherein the book is essentially a vision of the late-Victorian wasteland to remove all Hyde-like elements from the society to establish an honorable public life and a joyful private one.

Fiction is a shield with two sides, the silver and the golden: the study of manners and of character, on one hand; on the other, the description of adventure, the delight of romantic narrative. . Realism in literature is apparent through the works of Stevenson, Haggard, Lang, and others . Realism in literature was very high in the Victorian era in British literature, which many believe was due to the Victorians desire to show the mimetic capacity of literature.

Realism is often described as the desire of the Victorians to frame the plot and ideas of the novel in order to contradict the reality. In other words, realism was stressed by the Victorian writers in order to present a parallel or subjective truth that can be considered as no truth at all .

Therefore, realism in literature in the Victorian age was essentially a way to contradict the reality, which has been defined as the excesses, both stylistic and narrative, of various kinds of romantic, exotic, or sensational literatures . Therefore in a novel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that would make one feel that it is unrealistic, actually brought forth the realism of the novel by portraying the lingering dualism in the Victorian minds .

Literature is a history book that shows the mind and heart of the people of the time and not just the events. Literature has the capacity to demonstrate the heart of the age and the interpretations of the conditions of the time. As observed in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there was a constant dilemma in the protagonists and the duality is essentially the duality in the character of Jekyll to Hyde allows the former to do things that the polite society would consider scandalous.

The movie adaption of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reviewed in the earlier essay shows the changes brought forth from the Victorian era to the modern times in order to infuse the vibe of realism . The language of the literature and the closeness of literature too is an important aspect as this result in the development of realism in literature .

The parallel drawn between the movie and the novel shows that there is a case for witness literature as in case of the Victorian social rigidity is apparent in the novel however, is lost in the film . However, it is apparent that in Stevensons novel the drive was to bring forth the anti realism through the development of the duality in the Dr. Jekyll character . Therefore, the purpose of literature as a bearer of realism, even if through the portrayal of anti-reality is essentially to bring forth the reality in the fictional world.

Works Cited

Brantlinger, Patrick. Rule of Darkness: British Literature and Imperialism, 1830-1914. New York: Cornell University Press, 1988. Print.

Byerly, Alison. Realism, Representation, and the Arts in Nineteenth-Century Literature. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Corkin, Stanley. Realism and the Birth of the Modern United States: Cinema, Literature. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1996. Print.

Graff, Gerald. The Politics of Anti-Realism. Salmagundi, 42 (1978): 4-30. Print.

Jakobson, Roman, Krystyna Pomorska and Stephen Rudy. Language in Literature. New Yrok: Harvard University Press, 1987. Print.

Miyoshi, Masao. Dr. Jekyll and the Emergence of Mr. Hyde. College English, 27(6) (1966): 470-474. Print.

Sitwell, Edith. Still Falls the Rain. 1940. Web.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. London: Harper Collins, 1895. Print.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . Dir. John Carl Buechler. Perf. Tony Todd. 2006. DVD.

White, Hayden. Figural Realism in Witness Literature. Parallax, 10(1) (2004): 113-124. Print.

Introduction

The book American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies proposes an interesting narration and vision of American culture and its formation. Joseph J. Ellis underlines that the War of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase were turning points in American history and emotional identity. The course of the war and its outcome were shaped and determined by the governments of the USA as well as by their armies. Some of the problems confronting the leaders, both North and South, were similar in nature, The book consists of six chapters devoted to different problems and events during this historical period and analyzes these events from different points of view.

Discussion section

Ellis creates an interested and detailed narration about the causes of the Civil War and its beginning. He states that the American state was faced with the task of financing the war; political leaders met with internal opposition; and foreign relations were largely focused on gaining, or preventing, recognition of the Confederacy by European powers. It suffers from the same fate as its European predecessors (Ellis 101). Other issues were unique. The paradox of increasing the power of a central government in a nation established on the doctrine of States rights placed Jefferson Davis often in disagreement with State authorities.

President Lincolns great problem was to place and maintain the support of the war on as broad as possible; and his great home affair was the election of 1864, one of the most important in American history. Inextricably involved in the issues to be met was the overriding moral issue of human slavery (Ellis 113, 127). Any recognition of federal jurisdiction over domestic policy placed slavery at risk (Ellis 185). The main concepts of the book relate to injustices and inequalities faced by common citizens and soldiers who protected the US land and oppose slavery and segregation policies of the state. For many people, great metropolitan empire also implied national identity (Ellis 23).

I agree with Ellis that internal struggle and opposition had an impact on national values and principles. The Emancipation had vast and useful consequences. In Europe the people devastatingly approved Lincolns action, and their support effectively ended any chance of intervention by their states on behalf of the Confederacy, which, by its continued conflict, was placed in the untenable position of appearing to fight to preserve slavery. During the Civil War, within the South slaves flocked into the Federal lines as the armies advanced, depriving the Confederacy of much of the laboring force it so desperately needed to support its armies.

I am amazed by the fact that a Union soldier reading the proclamation to a group of slaves. It is possible to say that President Lincoln was denounced by many in the North because the Emancipation freed only those slaves within the Confederacy and did not permanently end slavery as an institution. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution abolished forever human slavery within the United States and its geographical boundaries. A Congressional resolution calling for the amendment failed to get ahead of the House of Representatives, and in a message to Congress delivered the following December Lincoln asked again for the legislation. It is evident that two of the most troublesome of the national problems which faced the Lincoln administration are reflected in this letter from Lincoln to Stanton. In both the Union and Confederacy, there were elements who opposed the war and sometimes worked against its successful prosecution (Ellis 93-94).

I believe that the strong point of the book is that it creates a vivid and impressive account of historical events and their impact on the American nation. Ellis describes soldiers conditions and political problems of this historical period in order to create a full picture of the historical age. It has been mentioned that without the soldiers vote in 1864, which went awesomely for Lincoln, he could not have been reelected. These political events, the first instances of absentee voting in the United States, were not held totally without confusion. It is possible to say that the Confederate railroad system was in a weak position by a lack of skilled labor and of supplies, especially nails, to repair lines and equipment as they deteriorated or were ruined (Ellis 28, 30). Blacks and whites could never live together in harmony (Ellis 237).

I suppose that the main weakness is less of maps and illustrations related to the period. Thus, Ellis vividly describes that In the early years of the war an inefficient logistic system, under which the Federal Government and the individual States bid against each other for supplies, led to notorious contracts and shameful consequences. Unscrupulous contractors, often abetted by corrupt officials, furnished the armies, at inflated prices, with worthless foreign guns; substituted sand for sugar and paper for leather; sold spoiled food; and supplied tents and blankets which rapidly disintegrated. Clothing, known as shoddy, was delivered to the soldiers, who had to pay for it themselves from their meager clothing allowance. Under the administration of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton a exhausting effort at reform was made, but throughout the wartime the US army contractors were somewhat suspect. It is evident that it provided the Union armies with writing materials, reading rooms, and reading matters, gave assistance to transient soldiers, and arranged for religious services. This was a difficult period of time for the state and the people involved in the military operations and those who stayed at home (Ellis 223).

It is important that the author gives a special attention to p9litical leadership and career of Abraham Lincoln. For example, he mentions that at Gettysburg and at his second inauguration, Abraham Lincoln, in two addresses unique in their eloquence and insight, defined the rationale of the war and looked beyond it to a nation reunited. I agree with Ellis that as a national we have national objects to promote and a national character (Ellis 89). While others, influential in their opposition, demanded retribution and the complete subjugation of the South, Lincoln worked to establish a policy toward both individuals and States which would make the restoration of the Union as quick and as free from bitterness and cruelty as possible (Ellis 87).

It is not definitely known when and where Lincoln wrote this draft. Ellis believes that Lincoln wrote it in Gettysburg on the morning of the ceremony and that it is the manuscript that he held in his hand while he spoke. Ellis mentions that: they would never sell Louisiana to another country (Ellis 221). These beliefs may or may not be correct (Ellis 3-4). Ellis vividly portrays that the Civil War was a period of injustice and oppression against the civilian population and peaceful laborers. It is possible to say that it was an important process in social change and national formation of the state and its culture. Ellis criticizes the founding fathers because of their policies and strategies towards the Native population and politics of oppression against Native Americans. The Life of Native Americans was doomed to extinction (Ellis 237).

Conclusion

In sum, I would recommend this book to everyone interested in history of the USA and formation of the American nation. Historical events had a great impact on self-identity of the nation and its cultural values. Wartime and labor relations were the main factors that determined American identity and relations between people and the world. As part of the cultural conditioning process, society imparts and enforces ethnocentric values and beliefs on its citizens through the programs, policies, practices, structures, and institutions of the society. American identity was shaped by capitalist elations and the accumulation of wealth as the only possible tools to conquer the continent and prosper in foreign lands. The American Civil War was one of the most important historical events which had a great impact on all spheres of political, social and economic development of the nation. The Civil War was caused by a number of different factors that affected the South and the North. The Civil war influence national beliefs, ideals, and values coined in military operations, national struggle, and opposition against slavery and segregation.

Works Cited

Ellis, J. J. American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic. Knopf; 1 edition, 2007.

Writing for children can prove to be a daunting task especially for an artist unarmed with the necessary skills of handling his or her work. The claim follows because childhood is a very sensitive stage in the development of human beings and it is one of the stages in human development where one gets to learn a lot.

Shel Silverstein and Eloise Greenfield are two poets who have excelled in writing poetry aimed at developing the young minds of children. The two poets appear similar based on the way they portray the issue of childhood in several ways. For instance, the both focus on the role played by imagination, as seen in their depictions of children in their poetry.

The two poets portray children as having minds that are active and able to get new concepts introduced to them with ease.

The fact that their poetry aims at introducing these new concepts such as the theme of love in Greenfields poem and the meaning of sadness and other emotions in Silversteins work is clear indication that according to these poets, the childs mind is ready to receive new concepts when they are able to read poetry.

One can introduce weighty matters of social concern to children through poetry as revealed in the works of the two poets. The childs mind is ready at this time to receive the new knowledge considering that some of the poems by the two poets have taught children advanced lessons such as philosophy.

For instance, the nature of motherhood as a subject seems introduced to children using the poem Karen by Greenfield. In the poem, the little girls mother is not present to put her to bed a role that is taken by her sister who gives the persona mamas kisses when she wants to sleep (Greenfield 45).

Both poets write in free prose, which makes it easy to the children of that age to identify with the narrators in the poem. In order to understand clearly the happenings in the poem, the child readers need to identify with the persona such as to break the barrier that may exist in between them as suggested by the poets.

The child reader easily discerns the messages conveyed in the poems upon the communication of matters in a manner that he/she understands well. Since children are not conversant with the complicated conventions of poetry, the use of the free verse by the two poets conveys a clear and informed understanding of the childrens minds, which help the poetry to serve its purpose effectively.

There is a fear of the unknown that is prevalent in children as portrayed by some of the poems by the two poets. For instance, in Eloise Greenfields Buddys Dream, the young boy has fear emanating from his dreams in that in the dreams he sees four other children who share his identity.

In other words, he sees four other Buddies (Greenfield 140). Shel Silversteins A light in the Attic shows several fears portrayed by children.

For instance, What if I flunk that test&What if green hair grows on my chest&What if nobody likes me&What if a bolt of lightning strikes me (Silverstein lines 5-8) shows the fears that children have at that tender age of their development.

The poems of these artists therefore play a great part in dealing with the fears that children have at that age by helping them to deal with them as well as to differentiate the real fro the surreal.

Therefore, through effective use of imagination, the two poets, Greenfield and Shel Silverstein succeed in the purpose that they attribute to their works: Introducing new realities into the minds of the young children. Using a child persona in the poems, the children audience gets to identify with the persona whose experiences they identify with.

Works Cited

Greenfield, Eloise. Honey, I Love and other love poems. New York: Harper Collins, 1986.

Silverstein, Shel. A light in the Attic. Ed. Moyer, Larry. New York: Harper Collins, 1981.

The Nara period (710-794) in Japan was marked by the rise of the capital city, Nara, and the introduction of Buddhism to Japan. Poetry was an important form of expression during this period, and the Manyoshu, a collection of over 4,000 poems, was compiled as a testament to this. On the contrary, the Heian period (794-1185) was marked by the transfer of the capital from Nara to Kyoto and the development of the imperial court and aristocratic culture. During this time, the Kokinshu, a collection of poems, was compiled, showcasing the refined and sophisticated style of poetry that had developed.

One poem from the Manyoshu is On spring and autumn, which reflects on the transience of life and the passing of time. The poem is written in the traditional waka form and uses vivid images to describe the changing seasons, depicting spring as a time of growth, and autumn as a time of decline. The poem ends with a melancholy tone as the speaker reflects on their mortality and the inevitability of death.

In contrast, the poem I fell asleep thinking of him, and he came to me from the Kokinshu reflects the sophisticated and romantic style of poetry that had developed during the Heian period. The poem is written from the perspective of a woman who has fallen asleep thinking of her lover and is filled with longing and desire. The use of metaphors, such as the dream being described as a fantasy and the speakers awakening as a painful sorrow, adds depth and emotion to the poem.

In conclusion, Nara-period poetry, as found in the Manyoshu, showcases the reflective and philosophical nature of the time, providing a window into the cultural and artistic expressions of the period. On the other hand, Heian-period poetry, as found in the Kokinshu, reflects the sophisticated and romantic style that had emerged, painting a vivid picture of the aristocratic culture of the time. However, both collections are an invaluable record of Japans rich literary heritage and are a testament to the countrys rich artistic heritage. They offer a unique glimpse into the cultural and artistic expressions of the Nara and Heian periods, providing insight into the history and evolution of Japanese poetry.