The Omen

In The Alchemist, Santiago, a shepherd boy, is plagued with recurring dreams about a young child who directs him the the Pyramids of Egypt in order to find hidden treasure. He learns about his Personal Legend, and leaves behind his comfortable life to journey towards the Pyramids. During his adventure, he meets several people that will not only change his way of thinking, but his life as well. Set in Andalusia, Spain, Santiago travels across the land as a shepherd with a herd of sheep. He stops…

Erik Larson is argued to have a difficult time creating realistic details for a book about a time period he could only research about. In The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson uses brilliantly constructed figurative language in order to insightfully display his interpretation of the story (entailing the events of the Chicago World Fair and the serial killer H. H. Holmes) and realistically and informatively describe the details of people, places, and events in the novel. The first figurative…

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it is contended most that hate is a force more indomitable and pervasive than the simple powers of love. In the majority of the text’s cases, there is constant depiction of hate and the magnitude of which it outstrips love. The spiteful instances of Tybalt’s contempt for Romeo, the young Montague’s resultant exile, in addition to the general Montague and Capulet opposition – that of which hinders the “star-crossed lovers” from their romance, present a multitude…

rise to the stratospheric feeling of love and plummet back down to the low feelings he once had. What brings him back down from his cloud nine state of mind was the horrible nightmare of death and misery that the woman laid in the knight’s mind. This omen warned him of “The Beautiful Lady Without Pity”, who had played with the man’s mind but also heart during the…

Love is blind. When a man and women develop feelings for one another, diverse factors like ethnicity, nationality, cultural background or even age gap would be looked over upon. However based on Clawford's essay, having a partner with huge age gap could arise some problems. She mentioned that it would affect the people's perception towards the couple and roused some gossips such as suspecting their relationship as a 'foul play'. (Jessica Clawford, Handling Big Age Gap Relationships.) Not only it…

refuses to believe Tiresias, saying he will not allow Polynices to be buried “out of fear of this pollution” (Sophocles 1048-1049). The “pollution” symbolizes the curse of Oedipus’ family and the city of Thebes because it represents all of the ad omens that have occurred recently throughout Thebes. Through this symbol, the author conveys Creon’s stubbornness and inability to solve problems with poise and rationality. Antigone already pointed out that Creon’s decision went against the gods, and…

William Shakespeare’s late 16th Century ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a tragic romance story sprung from the hate and mutiny of two families feuding in the city of Verona, which results in the death of their children. Despite the play being a tragic and ill-fated tale, the story itself is not entirely dire, as there was both dark and light in the story. Throughout his play Shakespeare attempted to advise his audience that there is a double nature to all aspects of life. Friar Lawrence stated “For nought…

The Apologies of Plato and Xenophon have many differing aspects that greatly impact their retellings of Socrates’ trial. In particular, the two interpretations of Socrates’ daimon alter the two works in many ways. Not only does it change Socrates’ defense itself it also changes how Socrates views death. Therefore, the most important difference between the Apologies of Plato and Xenophon is in how the two works view Socrates’ daimon. In Plato the daimon is viewed as a voice which “…ἀεὶ…

superstition in actions. The Vicario’s house, is painted yellow in preparation for the wedding, which Marquez believes brings good luck. Also, Bayardo is identified with gold, a color that Marquez has a “pathological fear” of. Superstition appears in the omens that predict Santiago’s death and its brutality. Many townspeople point out how Santiago looks like a “ghost” or “dead man.” In addition, the cook feeds the guts of the rabbit to the dogs, foreshadowing his cruel autopsy. Also, the bishop…

and parodies the common motifs of the Gothic as she offers a buildup of fictionalized gothic moments of suspense only to clash them against a humorous mundaneness of actuality. This is seen when Catharine arrives at the Abby. Instead of receiving an omen of murder increasing the suspense and danger surrounding a dilapidated castle, “the breeze had not… waft the signs of the murdered to her” (117). It goes on humorously breaking the suspense by splashing water into the heroine’s face causing her…