The Mermaid Chair

Mainly channeling the well-known ideals of feminism (Kidd NP). Kidd wrote many short stories and even was awarded citations in “Best American Short Stories’ 100 Distinguished Stories.” One of these short stories she turned into her bestselling novel, The Secret Life of Bees (“Author” NP). Her first significant novel, The Secret Life of Bees, spent over two and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list. Furthermore, its success has been widespread, now translated into over 30 languages with over 6 million copies sold (“Author” NP). Kidd’s second novel, The Mermaid Chair, sold over a million copies and had much success in the literary world, winning multiple awards and even being adapted into a movie (“Author” NP). Sue Monk Kidd’s third and most recent novel, The Invention of Wings (2014), was awarded literary awards including the SIBA Book Award, even being chosen for Oprah’s book Club 2.0 (“Author” NP). Kidd’s hard work was acknowledged not only by the people of America, but by the literary world as…

Barnum made his first investment in what he called, Barnum’s American Museum. He had everything a typical museum would have, from paintings to sculptures to mummified bodies. Arguably, the most popular installment at P.T. Barnum’s museum was the Feejee Mermaid. Barnum claimed that he had found a mermaid and was exhibiting it at his museum. Evidently, this brought hundreds of people to the Barnum American Museum eager to see what this mermaid looked like. They could hardly believe that such a…

The “ravishing” yet “fatal” cries of the ever mysterious Sirens are described by Margaret Atwood and Homer in strikingly conflicting ways. Homer’s description of the Sirens portrays them as mystical, yet fatal creatures, while Atwood insightfully depicts the same Sirens as bored yet deceitful human-like seductresses. Homer and Atwood make use of intense tones, powerful points of view, and bold diction to show the contrast in the two portrayals. With great intensity in their tones, Homer and…

Three authors used the song of the sirens and how they took men in under their magical spell. In both texts and the video, information is being emphasized and things are absent. However, they're being emphasized and absent, there is differences also.The song is lovely yet deadly. The sirens are “beautiful” creatures of mysterious, lovely music. In these 3 texts, different ideas are emphasized.Homer's story “The Odyssey” emphasizes, Odysseus heroism, the magic powers of sirens, and the…

The Siren’s In life we face many temptations. Often times Sirens are seen as a symbol of temptation. Both the poem The Odyssey by Homer and the song “The Cave” by Mumford and Sons depict this, but in different ways. The song portrays temptation as almost a past temptation where as in the poem they are more of an instant threat. The sirens in the poem The Odyssey are portrayed as half-bird monsters that are used to lure sailors into the sea, but in the song “The Cave” temptation is seen as an…

Both Homer’s epic The Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s poem “Siren Song” underscore the enchanting but deadly temptation of the alluring, mythical Siren’s. While both poems incorporate first-person points of view, their perspectives, as well as their tones, differ drastically. The former, making use of aggressive diction, and the latter, making use of subtle diction, shows the difference between objectivized and humanizing women and men. Although the tones of the passages are thoroughly…

two-tailed mermaid, it was love at first site. From that day forward, the mysterious mermaid would be the face of a company that everyone would come…

The mermaid achieved this either by drowning or, in other stories; eating the sailors in an act that is similar to the concept of cannibalism. Prufrock states: “I do not think that they will sing to me,” further suggesting his low self esteem; he does not even think himself worthy to be killed by such a beautiful creature. The suggestion of fantastical creatures such as the mermaid and the reference to drowning when awakened by human voices suggest that Prufrock feels like he is “drowning” in…

The Good and Evil Mermaids are majestic and beautiful creatures that are often misunderstood by humans. When one sees a mermaid they are usually struck in awe. With their superficial beauty, they can take advantage of people in good ways and bad through manipulation and deceit. In Richard Van Camp’s short story ‘Mermaids’ the author depicts the mermaids with duo personalities. They are seen as both angels and devils using their beauty through the use of symbolism. In the story, the mermaids…

Both Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse, and “The Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood use the myth of the sirens, to show how alluring they can be. The sirens can lure someone because they sing a song and even in some myths are said to give visions of what a person wants most. Both in the painting and in the poem the sirens are the main characters. The only difference is that in the poem the sirens are tricking the readers without their knowledge, and Ulysses is listening to them…