Understanding the cultural context within which a text is written can help readers experience things that they may never experience in their lives. Culture leads readers intellectually and emotionally and deepens their understanding of the character’s history, the society that they live in and their individual lives. Learning culture plays a fundamental role in making readers understand the social and political context in which the novel is written, the people the author associates with, and the larger society that frames the whole work. It is hard to read literature without a solid comprehension of the work through its cultural context. In light of this information this essay will explain how culture influences the plot line, character development, …show more content…
As a 20th century work, "A Murder is Announced," was written at a period when the number of Alien residents doubled due to the Second World War. The plot of "A Murder is Announced," is held stable by the fact that characters are invading the tranquility of the idolized small community Of Chipping Cleghorn (Christie, 1950). Christie brilliantly deploys Miss Marples as her detective. Miss Marples plays her role at a time when the Spinster stereotype was high. Unmarried women were considered lonely, nosy and judgmental. Miss Marples is described as a being, “benignant and a good deal older” (Christie, 1950). The cultural beliefs during Miss Marples time situate Miss Marples in a position where she can observe the society as an unnoticed and unimportant character. Miss Marple's ambiguous position at a time when a woman’s role was predominantly domestic gives her peculiar power to move the plot forward and develop important …show more content…
“The Sign of Four,” was written at a period when Britain was experiencing success in colonial expansion. Besides the exciting characters that are presented in “The Sign of Four,” the novel provides significant insights to help readers learn and appreciate the Victorian culture. Doyle presentation of India as an exotic sphere is a major characteristic of the British colonial perceptions. Miss Morstan’s valuables, including “a small turban of the small, dull hue, relieved only by the suspicion of a white feather on the side," attract the attention of Watson and motivates his attraction to her (Doyle, 2000). Watson description of Sholto’s apartment shows the Western tendency to link foreign objects with dissipation, he says, “The carpet was of amber and black” (Doyle, 2000). Doyle’s depiction of Holmes as a credible detective represents British society’s demand for government protection against foreign
Cultural differences is a big contradiction in this novel. Sekky details his teenage babysitter's clandestine love affair with a Japanese student and her death as a result of an abortion attempt after her boyfriend is sent to an internment camp.
Literature is the window to realizing the negatives of society and how destructive certain norms can be. Readers are brought into a completely different story than their own, but by using similar issues in today’s world, the readers can actually learn from the story and its overall message. All writers write for a purpose, whether it’s for a new meaning to life, to live a different life than our own, or to impact others on an emotional level by teaching them to see the importance of the little things. As a reader, you search for pieces of literature that interest you whether you find the story like your own, or wish you lived the life in the story. By using issues in today’s within their works, authors are able to grab the reader's attention long enough for them to get across what they wanted to get across. Often in many works of literature, writers use societal issues as their basis for the work’s themes and symbols. By doing so, this allows the reader to question the morality behind social norms and how impactful certain ideals can be in people’s lives.
An author's cultural background can play a large part in the authors writing. Amy Tan, a Chinese-American woman, uses the cultural values of Chinese women in American culture in her novel, The Joy Luck Club. These cultural values shape the outcome of The Joy Luck Club. The two cultural value systems create conflict between the characters.
Abbott, Randy L. "Murder On The Orient Express." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010):1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 1 June 2016.
The British Empire in the 19th century was flourishing, and no colony was more important to the British than India, especially the unsuccessful 1857 Indian rebellion against British rule, which plays an important if beneath-the-surface role in Arthur Conan Doyle’s mystery novel, The Sign of Four. It follows Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they try and solve the mystery of Miss Morstan’s father’s disappearance and the mysterious pearls she has been receiving for the past six years. In Conan Doyle’s London, the influence of imperialism and Britain’s colonies are visible in the décor of the home of Thaddeus Sholto, in the form of artwork, rugs, and tapestries, all referred to as “eastern luxuries”. The imperial theme does not stand on its own, however; the “Agra Treasure” also influences gender roles and masculinity by affecting the relationship between Watson and Miss Morstan. In particular, it threatens Watson’s masculinity and largely determines whether or not he can marry Miss Morstan. Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four upholds traditional gender norms through the love story of the simple governess, Miss Morstan and the insecure Dr. Watson, but at the same time, he denounces love as an emotion that leads people astray.
Life is not fair to everybody. Most people learn this before they even reach their teenage years. Sometimes things work out well for some people, but not so much for others. Laws and regulations passed and enforced by the government can greatly affect how things work out for people. It has happened where people who should have had consequences from breaking the law have gotten off scot-free because the way the justice system is set up. When this happens, some people have been known to take control of the situation themselves and do what they think is morally right. In both And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie uses plot to reveal that the administration of justice by the government is not always fair
“The narrator’s concerns about “dignity” and “potential” are significant because they announce the search for a culturally sanctioned identity that will dominate the novel until
“Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, or creed.
This paper will present a compare and contrast of the short story, "Witness for the Prosecution" to the screenplay of the same name written by Agatha Christie. The focus of the similarities and differences will be, a review of the characters and the story.
Murder is often an occurrence in the novels of Agatha Christie and have plots that change the views of the characters as well as the reader. But how does she do it? In two of her most famous novels And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express compare to each other through an overpowering psychoanalytic possession of many people at once. Psychoanalytic possession creates the characters to do what they though they would never do. It comes to them in a mindless way through their egos and super-egos knowing what they want to do through inner most desires and making them come to life. Due to the careful wording of Christie, common illnesses of
Agatha Christie uses the technique of foreshadowing to help the reader make predictions. When Mr. Blore exits the train in Oakbridge Station, he is greeted by an old man who gives him a message that a squall is coming. “He’s nearer the day of judgement than I am! But there, as it happens, he was wrong…”(Christie 17). This quote helps the reader make a prediction that death could possibly be in the near future. I learned that while reading books, mystery novels in particular, making predictions is necessary to form a connection to the text.
In the play “Foghorn” by Hanay Geiogamah the stereotypical thoughts that Americans possess are shared in obscure ways of outrageous commentary. The claims that are brought up are shared in different ways of storytelling with each individual circumstance being displayed way over the top in offending the Indian’s way of life. This play was meant to raise awareness to the hurt felt by the Native Americans by using sarcasm and laughing it off in a playful way. By analyzing this play using the influence of pop-culture there will be connections made in modernized ways of thinking.
Morals are principles which help people to behave rightly. Also, they need to protect the rules. However, in Agatha Christie’s novel, Murder on the Orient Express, the characters act dishonestly: twelve passengers on the Orient Express murder Cassetti, they lie to the Belgian private detective, Hercule Poirot and the protagonist overlooks the passengers. Agatha Christie wrote these intensions fairly. From Murder on the Orient Express, the readers can learn that some set of morals are endorsed.
In this paper I will begin by defining personal culture and national culture. After, I will then elaborate my own personal and national culture. I will continue to talk about the subject with the person that I have chosen for my cultural group, my mother, and I will identify her personal and national culture. Lastly, I will talk about my own personality and how it has a connection with my own natural culture; knowing this is important, it lets us know who we are, and how we act with people who are from different cultures.
Agatha Christie is one of the most successful crime novelists and theater writers of the 20th century. Agatha Christie's shy life led her to a world of fantasy and has helped her to evoke many personalities, including famous detective such as Hercule Poirot and Miss Marble.