Literary devices

Joan Turner from Old Dominion University wrote an article about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story “Babylon Revisited”. In the article, she demonstrates how the frequent time references in the story help support an important theme. Turner begins her article by pointing out what that theme is. She says that Fitzgerald’s use of words relate to time, which in turn reinforces that the past cannot be escaped. This is one of the main themes throughout the story. She continues on by noting each…

Mutability and Permanance: An Analytical Exploration of Epigrams 4-6 in Spenser’s Translations of Theatre for Worldlings Reading literature by Edmund Spenser requires a keen eye and a willingness to investigate beyond the text. You are not simply able to read Spenser and somehow acquire what each line means as a first-time reader of his works. Reading Spenser peaks ones’ interest to explore common themes, similarities, imagery, and the allusions which bring forward the meaning behind the text.…

I will be analyzing and comparing how Jose Saramaga and Max Brooks portray multiple perspectives in their novels, Blindness and World War Z, and the importance the literary element had on the work as a whole. The novel, Blindness, was originally written in a different language and had been written much earlier than the novel, World War Z so it is important that we gain an understanding of how different languages display and bring to life different point of views, because both books heavily rely…

Some people say that ignorance is bliss. In some cases, however, that may not be true. In Sophocles’ tragic play Oedipus Rex, the author uses a motif of sight and blindness through foreshadowing, in conjunction with Oedipus, and through irony to convey the idea that when someone thinks they know what is right but are actually ignorant to the truth, that will most likely cause their downfall. Sophocles foreshadows Oedipus’ future using the motif of sight and blindness through prophecies and…

Fiction reflects the thoughts, aspirations, and struggles of its author. Through literary works, one can come to understand a cultural consciousness previously unbeknownst to them. With this in mind, historians have learned to use rather than ignore literature as an aid in their studies. Vernacular and modern tales of the Congo region capture both the fantastical and factual elements. Epics, like The Mwindo Epic, echo the foundation of Congolese culture form which thereafter conflict has arisen…

After our class discussion with Dr. Greenberg—regarding William Blake’s background and the societal context that influenced his poetry—I began to form various connections between Blake’s Introduction to the Songs of Innocence and Jean-François Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. With regard to The Postmodern Condition, I was intrigued by Lyotard’s argument that examined the method by which individuals acquire knowledge through their own societal perspectives. Lyotard’s…

Gender Performativity: Reading Mahasweta Devi?s Draupadi and Luisa Valenzuela?s Other Weapons In this paper I propose to read and discuss two short stories, Luisa Valenzuela?s Other Weapons and Mahasweta Devi?s Draupadi under a comparative spectrum. This apparent unlikely comparison from two distinct social, political, linguistic and cultural paradigms, as diverse as Latin America (Cuba?) and Bengal, is the result of my curious attempt to decipher Laura and Dopdi on the lines of Judith…

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl is a short story that creates a wave of emotion to the reader. Mary, the protagonist, is a complex character and seems to be a different person as the story progresses. The story’s involvement with a murder scene, a gruesome story would be expected, but instead Dahl puts a twist to the story which makes it not horrifying. The story begins with Mary shown as a devoted and loving wife. This and the constant reminder that Mary is pregnant makes me feel as…

Allusion is a "reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture" (Schemer). Allusions are very obvious in Huxley's Brave New World. Shakespeare is the one who inspires Huxley while writing this novel. The name of the novel is taken from Shakespeare's the Tempest as John says "o brave new world, that has such people in it" when he is forced to discover the new world (139). This is originally Miranda…

Taran Bedi Mr. Curnett English 9 Feb 17th The Correlation of Ignorance, Sight and Truth in Oedipus Rex Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex was written over 2,500 years ago. Although this play may seem ancient and irrelevant to today’s society, its themes and actions are relevant to modern society. Sophocles’ play Oedipus revealed many ideas that are now used in western drama. Sophocles’ use of dramatic irony became a new method for artists who wanted to create tension in the plots of their work.…