The Virgin Suicides

John Updike originally conceived his novel The Centaur as a companion piece to Rabbit, Run, published two years before. If the earlier novel was about a life-embracing man constitutionally unable to sacrifice himself for any person or idea, the later one is its opposite: a novel about a man obsessed with his own death who is nevertheless able to sacrifice himself for the betterment of his family. He thus exchanges his literal, physical death for a series of smaller, spiritual, daily deaths—the…

Many people fear death at the back of their mind, unconsciously dwelling over the surreal fact that they would have to come face to face with it some day, yet most do not bring themselves to explore it completely until it lurks in the corner or appears on their doorstep. The sonnet “And You as Well Must Die, Beloved Dust” and the dramatic monologue “Identification”, explores the concept of death and how each writer comes to grips with it. Both poems express reactions to the inevitable nature of…

"The feeling of nothingness isn't the nicest feeling, then again, how would one know what it feels like, if it feels like nothing? How does one explain what feeling like nothing feels like? Do you feel sad? Scared? Angry? A mix of all these emotions? I could show you if you like. Just follow me to the edge of the cliff but beware, the ground can be slippery. I wouldn't want you falling into nothingness the way I did. Before you get too close to the edge, let me explain what nothingness felt…

In life, a person can feel morose, with the whole world crashing on top of them, or content. When people are unhappy about their situation, they can deal with their emotions in different ways. Many resort to methods that require them to think about something else, but some will do the exact opposite and find an activity where they can ignore their problems. An accessible way to forget about the gloomy aspects in life is music. Stephen Dobyns poem, "Loud Music", addresses how songs and their…

Preeti, the daughter -in -law is young, charming and attractive lady who has the focus on the property of Mehta. She is the wife of Ajit, a shrewd, cunning and manipulative woman. She changes Hasmukh’s medicine which leads to his death. She is caught red handed by Kiran while getting rid of the evidence. When she is confronted by Kiran she is given a chance for reformation at the end of the play. Like Sonal to Hasmukh, Preeti is a counterfoil to her husband Ajit. She is quite calculative and…

The “The Yellow Paper” wall paper is a short story written in 1899 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The short story is about a middle-aged woman that suffers from depression has a mental breakdown during her stay at a rental house. During her stay at the rental house there is a yellow wallpaper in her bedroom that initially disgusts her but becomes her obsession before she breaks down. The yellow wallpaper plays an important role in this story because it causes the narrator to break down and…

Death of a Salesman: Symbols Miller uses symbols in Death of a Salesman to show meanings behind specific people, places, and objects. The symbols that are used are Alaska, University of Virginia sneakers, Dave Singleman, the flute, Bill Oliver’s Pen, seeds, and stockings. The theme of the play was the death of the American dream. Each of the symbols support the theme, because all of those have a cause of death, or crushed dreams. Ben (Willy’s brother) went to Alaska , and he became rich because…

The character of Horatio is often overlooked and underappreciated to readers’ of Shakespeare, as he only appears in the play three times. His actions do not have a hugely significant importance in Hamlet, but his role in the play is still pivotal. The character of Horatio is seen at the beginning and the end of the play, even after the deadly poisoning and sword fight, resulting in the deaths of everyone in the court. Horatio is also one of the only characters to remain sane for the entirety…

Can death be dignified? Is death the only thing that can be dignified? There are three tragedies that deal with the concept of dignified death and what makes it dignified. In the Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles, King Creon indirectly causes the deaths of many because he selfishly keeps a girl from honoring her dead brother. In the tragedy Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Brutus kills his best friend for the good of the majority. In the biography Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris…

Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers who want to love each other freely, but in the end, it concludes that they both die by committing suicide. Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers who can’t be together because of the families that they live in. Juliet is a Capulet, and Romeo is a Montague. The feelings that Romeo and Juliet had for each other were feelings of true love because they killed themselves because they couldn’t be together, they love each other over their own families, and…