Cognitive style

Conflicts of Stress “A Brief Encounter with The Enemy,” by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh is a short story about a young man named Luke and his experience in the United States Army. The story begins with Luke describing how he felt getting to “the hill,” through a path that terrified him. While traveling through the path, Luke starts to think about his crush Becky, who takes an interest in him right before deploying. She gives him her email to keep her up to date on his adventures during deployment.…

John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums,” establishes an explicitly ironic and dismal tone towards female empowerment in society through the contradictory characterization of Elisa and her duality as both a strong, independent woman, and a wife who is constantly being socially oppressed by the world around her. Steinbeck reinforces this idea through constant, selective detailing of the environment surrounding Elisa, and the inclusion of symbolic visual imagery throughout the text.…

Otsuka uses the novel’s structure to highlight the function of the narrators, the Japanese picture brides, as Other in both the historical context and more specifically in the novel, The Buddha in the Attic. The Other, a term used often in Feminist theory and critical analysis is essentially “a person or group of people who are perceived to be different in some fundamental way from oneself and the group one perceives one belongs to” (“Other”). That is, the Other is a group of people that are…

What is/are the themes revealed in the literary piece? The three stories have its own uniqueness and style in telling and showing a lesson that a man/woman could get. As I read through the story, THE PILGRIMS PROGRESS catches my attention, and somehow the story is where I can relate with. THE PILGRIMS PROGRESS theme may differ from other individuals, based on how they understand and process the story. For me there are three themes that I could conclude in the story, as listed: JOURNEY- Bunyan…

O’Brien’s usage of rhetorical elements such as narration from different point of views (which is “made up” or exaggerated) and several rhetorical techniques provide support to the various arguments he makes in his work of The Things They Carried. The rhetorical mode of this book is mainly narration. It is made up of the viewpoints of several different characters and the story that follows. This “jumping” of several viewpoints is one of the things he argues about; and that is, the fact that…

In his short story Blankets, Alex La Guma takes us through the life story of Choker. He makes use of the blankets as a motif and flashbacks to help us understand the past, which intern help us to understand the present. The essay will show how the story of Choker can be seen as tragic, and how the onlookers are antagonistic toward Choker and vice versa. It will also show how the readers can show both sympathy and antipathy toward Choker, and will indicate a reversal of initial assumptions.…

Characters within fictional narratives exist in a space that is created through elements such as the time and location, referred to as the setting of the story. These elements help to set the tone that the rest of the story will fall under. Some narratives reveal only minimal details concerning the setting, but given the opportunity, a rich setting can play a significant role in shaping the story and the lives of the characters. Dana Gioia supports this in the following quote: “But often, in an…

“Meditation” is also one of the Cyril Wong latest poems. This poem discusses the social issues in Singapore. The first stanzas underline a typical perception of a Singaporean on viewing any issues. Wong explains that most people in Singapore will only observe social issue without using their judgment. In other words, Singaporeans tend to view an issue only on exterior basis and they not even bothered to use their reasoning behind any social issue. He support his argument in the second stanza…

In Robert Frost’s blank verse poem “‘Out, Out-,’” the speaker recounts the story of a young boy who loses his hand, and ultimately his life, while working with a buzz-saw, presumably on his family’s farm. The speaker remains an observer throughout the narrative, presenting the poem in the first person. The use of first-person narration establishes an intimacy between the speaker and reader, so that the reader sympathizes with the speaker and not the “they.” “They” remain ambiguous throughout the…

The Cask of Amontillado “The truth of your character is expressed through the choice of your actions” (Dr. Steve Maraboli). Edgar Allan Poe had a gift for making his characters come alive in his stories. Not only is this quote relevant for society today, but it also correlates perfectly with the main character, Montresor. Throughout “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor shows the reader numerous times that his character is vindictive, manipulative, but yet shares a valuable learning opportunity…