The Grotesque

be a person, behavior, or a task. The people in the Modern era were so focused on this theme of futility because everyday lives were changing rapidly. One work that exemplifies this really well is “S.I.W” by Wilfred Owen. His poetry describes the grotesque reality of the front-line of WWI. This poem concentrates on the meaning of existence, and the futility, or pointlessness, of war and inevitability of death. Another work that exemplifies this is “Dead Man’s dump” by Isaac Rosenburg. Both…

unwillingness to stand up to her husband. The repetition in Winesburg is not as obvious as The Yellow Wallpaper to me. I noticed the repetition not of certain phrases but of a constant theme of isolation in the stories and the reoccurring word of "grotesque." Both authors manage to make the reader feel sympathy for the characters. Majority of the characters are too weak, sad, and damaged to stick up for…

What makes these tests so grotesque is that the animal subjects are rarely given painkillers or anesthesia, because doing so would “contaminate” the experiment. Thus, the animals must suffer in their undeserved pain, and the vast majority of the animals die due to the testing or side…

him with the lingering threat of harming her family if she does not comply. I included a quote in this essay by Joyce Wegs where she states, “Arnold is far more than a grotesque portrait of a psychopathic killer masquerading as a teenager; he also has all the traditional sinister traits of that arch-deceiver and source of grotesque terror, the devil”. Arnold can either be seen as the devil or a serial killer, but both are obviously sinister and malicious beings, and with that being said, I…

This could have been a way Kafka describes how Samsa was unhappy throughout his life. Samsa was a grotesque figure; comically or repulsively ugly or distorted. Samsa might have been a grotesque being but, he might have been a beautiful creature in his own way. Samsa may be vividly dreaming about this life that he now lives as monstrous insect. As mentioned in “Kafka 's Ruins in Popular Culture:…

Francisco Goya (1746-1828) was a prominent Spanish painter and printmaker of the mid-18th century. He is labeled as the first truly modern artist with his Romanticism elements portrayed in his artwork, such as imagination, subjectivity, and emotion. Goya was artistically gifted, with the capability to portray real life situations by using imagination and emotion. Goya’s earlier pieces are lighter and more carefree, while his later pieces focuses on the harsh reality of war with components of…

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “death” as the cause or the occasion of loss of life. Since the beginning of motion pictures and the rise of gothic literature, people since have been infatuated with the ideal of death. From the grotesque movies that center around characters dying or with authors centering books around the theme, death has been increasingly popular in the arts. Death is portrayed through simulated worlds and real-life scenarios, both are attracted by those who want a…

death and (assuming his status in the war as active on the battlegrounds) he saw others die as well. Seeing so much war brutality and death right before their eyes, leads to the massive shock that both, Septimus and the soldiers experience. The grotesque and detailed violence and blood they both saw in their own ways also directly links to the trauma. These similarities exist because trauma has the same underlying rule which basically states that you get to re-live a specific event multiple…

ashes and New York City shows that the endless drive for wealth can lead to the distortion of society. The valley of ashes represents absolute poverty and hopelessness. It is a desolate place where, "Ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens"(23). Everything about it is miserable and grey. In contrast, the city is full of promise of wealth and a hope for a better life. “The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild…

At any given moment, millions of people find themselves striving for the ever elusive American dream- the perfect life. However, many find themselves struck with disillusionment including characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and the beings in W.D. Auden’s “19”. Both The Great Gatsby and “19” convey disillusionment through a variety of symbols and examples, three of which are life, religion, and the colour green. Firstly, in “19” Auden frequently uses two different locations- the…