Within The Other Paris, Canadian writer Mavis Gallant’s satirical portrayal of modern society progressively reveals humanity’s current reliance on procedural thought to accomplish all tasks. Identifying both Carol and Howard Mitchell as severely misguided characters through her blind trust in college courses and his desperate attempt to live according to society’s expectations, the passage illustrates the cold logic that begins to encroach on the community’s mind, eliminating the basic nature which makes humans humane. Utilizing a mocking narrative voice and ironic characterization, Gallant illustrates society’s departure from humanity while also constructing a social commentary urging the community to escape from the unfeeling reason that
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Describing Carol as one who learns from “helpful college lectures on marriage… and [not] that illusion of love [imposed] by the film industry,” the passage highlights her blind trust in academia as she learns about marriage from unemotional textbooks that have the same credibility as the Hollywood portrayals that she condemns. As she hypocritically criticizes the deceit of movies, the work utilizes the ironic circumstance to emphasize the depths to which humanity has depended on academic logic. The excerpt further illustrates the humorous paradox of the situation as Carol “blamed [the lack of love] on the weather,” suggesting that she trivially assigns fault to mundane occurrences while she fails to realize her own mistake in approaching marriage without sentiment. This lack of awareness highlights the irony of the piece, contrasting the character’s logical expectations with the inevitable failed future of the marriage and underscoring the need for emotion for a successful relationship. The excerpt further investigates this irony through the characterization of Howard as an “uncommonly cautious” individual that rushed the proposal out of desperation, illustrating the rash and irrational decisions that concrete judgment without sentiment induces. Through the ironic characterization of Carol and Howard with their exceedingly logical thoughts, Gallant emphasizes the necessity for society to incorporate emotion with reason to achieve
Describing Carol as one who learns from “helpful college lectures on marriage… and [not] that illusion of love [imposed] by the film industry,” the passage highlights her blind trust in academia as she learns about marriage from unemotional textbooks that have the same credibility as the Hollywood portrayals that she condemns. As she hypocritically criticizes the deceit of movies, the work utilizes the ironic circumstance to emphasize the depths to which humanity has depended on academic logic. The excerpt further illustrates the humorous paradox of the situation as Carol “blamed [the lack of love] on the weather,” suggesting that she trivially assigns fault to mundane occurrences while she fails to realize her own mistake in approaching marriage without sentiment. This lack of awareness highlights the irony of the piece, contrasting the character’s logical expectations with the inevitable failed future of the marriage and underscoring the need for emotion for a successful relationship. The excerpt further investigates this irony through the characterization of Howard as an “uncommonly cautious” individual that rushed the proposal out of desperation, illustrating the rash and irrational decisions that concrete judgment without sentiment induces. Through the ironic characterization of Carol and Howard with their exceedingly logical thoughts, Gallant emphasizes the necessity for society to incorporate emotion with reason to achieve