Honoré de Balzac

Honore de Balzac’s ending to Peré Goriot is astonishingly effective as it confirms that moving up the social ladder takes priority over all other aspects of life. The author’s effectiveness with this theme is furthered through the use of motifs and descriptive language with the purpose of aiding the readers development as to what the conflict is, why it is inescapable, and how it affects the character’s lives. The first chapter establishes a motif in the form of a metaphor that is the root of the conflict throughout the reading, as Balzac describes a character who “seemed to have been one of those donkeys who help grind our great social mill, one of the underlings who never see their masters, some cogwheel on which public misfortune or disgrace depends” (Balzac 15) outlining the vast distinction of the lower class from the upper class, but yet how “we couldn’t manage without them.” (15). This is effective as it establishes the idea that higher society “grinds” the lower class, therefore enhancing the reader 's understanding of the setting by outlining the society that exists in Paris during the the 19th century. Not only is this metaphor true in society, but…

to be taught not forced.”30 Las Casas condemned the Christians’ method of evangelization and proposed a new and more patient approach to conversion. Las Casas was one of the first and most prominent activists for the protection and human rights of the Native Americans. His concept of the ‘other’ completely contradicted and rejected the accepted paradigm of the time. He rejected not only slavery but also every form of discrimination and dehumanization exhibited by the conquistadors and the…

Lord Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King was written in Victorian England and the latest version was published in 1885, though the actual writing process covered a span of almost 50 years. Tennyson bases the series of poems comprising the Idylls on the European myth of King Arthur and the court of Camelot and various other adaptations of that legend. The evolution of Tennyson’s female characters to their final stages underscores an undermining of traditional Victorian gender roles by…

Idylls of the King, written by Alfred Lord, Tennyson, is a poem about King Arthur’s knights and his kingdom succumbing to corruption. It is also a tale that elaborates on the famous love triangle blossoming between King Arthur, Guinevere, and Sir Lancelot. Lord, Tennyson wrote his widely famous poem as a social commentary of the industrialized Victorian era and its supposed corruptness versus a time of no industrialization. Alfred Lord, Tennyson uses the power of motifs to describe the immoral…

This article attempts to appeal to the emotions of the reader, as shown in the following quote from Claire, “When you first hear that you have it, right away you can feel it inside of you. You can almost hear it laughing at you. And if you’re not already the most upbeat, the most optimistic person in the world, right away you’re going to feel like you’ve already lost the war.” Later we find out that this story was just one of Smith’s creations, and all interviews and quotes were fabricated. This…

The Saint Mary’s seminar classes are so unlike traditional teacher-centered learning. The Western Tradition II focuses on three learning goals; shared inquiry, critical thinking, and written and oral communication. These three learning goals really help students explore the Western Tradition by examine the themes written by the authors we discussed. De Las Casas, Rene Descartes, and Voltaire really influenced the way I thought about how our culture started and the major flaws we stay face today…

The identity of individuals in post-European-colonization Latin America is simultaneous fragile and dynamic. Previously clear ethno-racial lines and national allegiances began to blend in the nineteenth century, contributing greatly to an increasingly poignant dilemma in selfhood. The lives of two prominent Latin American revolutionists, Simo ́n Boli ́var and Jose de San Marti ́n, uniquely demonstrated the dichotomous nature of having both European and Latin American connections of a political and…

While the suitor knight and Meleagant are portrayed as arrogant antagonists, Chretien notably qualifies those portrayals, as both characters exhibit characteristics of worthy knights. Before beginning the episode of the suitor knight and his father, Chretien begins by clarifying that “the customs and practices at this time were such that…if [a lady] were being escorted by another [knight], and [a] knight chose to do battle with her defender and defeated him at arms, then he might do with her as…

approach to independence than Mexico (Chasteen 97). It wasn’t until 1817 when patriot army leaders Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin began fighting for independence in northern South America eventually Peru. Between 1817-1822, Bolivar had gained the support from llaneros in northern South America. With the help of the llaneros and Bolivar’s own patriot army, he successfully gained control over all of northern South America (Chasteen 105). During these same years, Jose de San Martin had been…

Arthurian Romances: Chretien De Troyes Idea 1: Women in Romances Masculinity and femininity were set-in-stone standards of society during this time period and played a large overall role in De Troyes works. The typical “damsel in distress” archetype that we all know and love today dominated the literary world during the first baby steps of this genre. The protection and courting of these types of women drives the majority, if not the entirety, of Arthurian romances. As in “The Knight of the…