Captivity narrative

Edgar Allan Poe often demonstrates a type of madness in his short stories. Many times it comes from the first-person narrator. While the narrators are similar in the fact that they are both insane, they also have a lot of differences in the way that they are insane. A great way to compare the way the insanity differs in the narrators, is to compare two of Poe’s stories. Stories such as “The Black Cat” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” do a good job showing the similarities and differences between the…

A dead cat, a bloody shirt and a field trip. Why, Honey? is a short story written by Raymond Carver. The story tells about a mother who's writing a letter about her son, who is a governor. In the letter she describes how her son had become the kind of person he is. The text consists of fear and long-lost trust alongside with the mother's various claims of the son. The author shows how some people can turn into something very different than what expected and how not trusting someone can change…

Point of View in ¨The Pit in the Pendulum¨ Edgar Allen Poe's first person narrator in ¨The Pit in the Pendulum¨ is a strong survivor but being in captivity is driving him insane. In first person the readers become the strong survivor, that is the unreliable prisoner of Poe's famous short story and they get a deeper, and more visceral experience because of it. In first person point of view the reader sees the story through the eyes of the narrator, their view and interpretation of the events.…

Characterization and conflict are two key scenarios that present themselves in most all literary works. Characterization is a struggle between two opposing forces. Conflict, on the other hand, will always involve the protagonist, and it can either be internal or external. Internal conflict, which is the conflict between person and self, is one that happens within the mind of the protagonist. Instances of internal conflict are whereby a person struggles between right or wrong, or where one has to…

While today the genders are relatively equivalent, this was not always true. In the story "The Yellow Wall- Paper" by Charlotte Perkins Stetson, the narrator witnesses the different gender roles while she is in the "summer home" for her "temporary nervous depression". The author uses symbolism throughout the story to show gender roles, as the significant characters represent the typical males and females in the current society of the story. Making decisions is something everyone does, and…

Analysis and interpretation of Rudyard Kipling’s short story “Lispeth” The short story “Lispeth” is about the Indian Hill-girl Lispeth, who, ever since her parents died of cholera, is a half-servant, half-companion for two Englishmen; a priest and his wife. The story deals with many issues, such as identity crisis and unrequited love, but most of all a critique of Christianity and on the Western mindset towards the natives. The point of view in this short story is a 3rd person point of view…

In Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman and “Metamorphosis” by Kafka, a heavy (and sometimes overwhelming) theme is alienation and dehumanization. While both texts discuss different topics and scenarios, their pivotal theme is what ultimately tie the stories together. Both authors use very different strategies to showcase the alienation and dehumanization based upon their story’s genre. Maus I & II is a very real and intense comic that gives a snapshot of what it was like to be a Jew in World War II…

Heart of Darkness is a modern novel written by Joseph Conrad. It is one of the finest works of Conrad which shows his power as a writer of great luminosity, passion and complexity. The story Conrad depicts in ‘Heart of Darkness’ is based on the real backdrop that happened during the time of ‘Leopold II of Belgium’. The second king, Leopold II set an eye on Congo and colonized Africa. He brings out the sufferance of the people of Congo under the rule of Leopold II. People were enslaved, exploited…

The contrast between “The Enchanting Shadow” and “A Chinese Ghost Story” The Enchanting Shadow in 1960, which was the first color film to participate in Cannes Festival. Compare to amount of the following Nie Xiaoqian story, A Chinese Ghost Story in 1987 was the most similar to The Enchanting Shadow in various respects, such as plot, setting and style of film making. For some of people, the neither familiar with nor enjoy The Enchanting Shadow. However, A Chinese Ghost Story was a remake of…

Throughout the book, the theme of loneliness - abandonment is seen, as he pushes people away when in reality he is only pushing himself away. Holden’s loneliness is derived from his lack of self-protection towards society and how he manages to obtain it by taking his anger out on others. J.D. Salinger conveys the theme of loneliness - abandonment using the technique of symbolism. This is seen when Holden uses his red hunting hat in the incorrect way, as it demonstrates his difference from…