Alias Grace And Burial Rites: A Literary Analysis

The first paragraph in The Scarlet Ibis begins with rich floral imagery: “The flower garden was strained with rotting brown magnolia petals and ironweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox...The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted and their smell drifted… through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead” (p. 1). In Victorian times, flowers often were associated with secret meaning, to give a message to the receiver. For instance, magnolias symbolize longevity because of their place in ancient times. The magnolias in the narrator’s garden are described as rotten and disintegrating. This is connected to Doodle, his brother, because he died at a young age. Phlox represents innocence, something Doodle was full of, and the graveyard flowers’ lingering scent serve as an illustration for Doodle’s lasting spirit. Flowers in general also are utilized, such as when the narrator recounts Doodle and his endeavours in the early days of their occupation in Old Woman Swamp: “I would gather wildflowers, wild violets, honeysuckle, yellow jasmine, snakeflowers, and waterlilies, and with wire grass we’d weave them into necklaces and crowns… Then, when the slanted rays of the sun burned orange in the tops of the pines, we’d drop our jewels into the stream and watch them float away towards the sea” (p. 2). Flowers primarily exemplify childhood and purity, but can also connotate a continual state of

The theme death has always played a crucial role in literature. Death surrounds us and our everyday life, something that we must adapt and accept. Whether its on television or newpaper, you'll probobly hear about the death of an individual or even a group. Most people have their own ideas and attitude towards it, but many consider this to be a tragic event due to many reasons. For those who suffered greatly from despair, living their life miserably and hopelessly, it could actually be a relief to them. Death effects not only you, but also those around you, while some people may stay unaffected depending on how they perceive it.

Death is one of the most avoided topics because of the finality that comes with it and the fear of the unknown after death. However, there are quite a number of authors such as AtulGawande, Elisabeth Kubler-ross and Ira Byock who have attempted to go ahead and deal with death as a topic and other connected topics.Each of these authors have delved into one of the most revered topics that is death including related topics that come with it such as the dying process itself. Ira Byock’s Dying well: Peace and possibilities at the end of life is a book that looks at the moment prior to death when an individual is terminally sick and is at the point of death. A

The setting of Alice Walkers short story” The Flowers” is important for us, the readers to obtain a perspective of how life was like growing up for a 10 year old African American girl by the name of Myop. The title of the story is “The Flowers.” When you think about flowers, you instantly compare them to being beautiful, pure, and innocent. The title of the “The Flowers” is a symbolism that correlates to Myop who is the protagonist of the story. Myop is just like a flower in the beginning of the story. She’s a pure and innocent child but that pure innocence changes when she discovers something that’ll change her life forever.

‘The Grave’ by Katherine Anne Porter is a story that illustrates the initiation of a child from innocence to experience. The underlying theme behind the central idea of innocence to experience is the cycle of life and death and rebirth. This theme is illustrated in the young protagonist, Miranda, and her epiphany on the concept of the cycle of life and rebirth. The dominant tone in ‘The Grave’ is melancholic, and that tone is created through the language elements of symbolism, diction, and imagery. The story’s tone is also supported by the fiction element character.

No one can escape death. It’s one of so few unavoidable certainties in our lives and has held an important position in every human culture since time immemorial. Of course, this position has is different from culture to culture, and shifts over time. This is particularly evident in western culture. The shift is discussed at length in two essays: “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” by Jessica Mitford, and ‘The Fear of Dying’ by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Both explore different aspects of these themes – Mitford’s essay being deconstruction of a the uniquely North American process of embalming, and Kübler-Ross’ being an indictment of the clinical depersonalization of contemporary western attitudes toward death. Each utilize many different tools as writers, such as rhetorical modes. Rhetorical modes they share are exemplification, description, and compare-and-contrast.

Death has always been and will be a topic that just a few want to talk, but since time immemorial man has worshiped their dead, and this is reflected in the various rituals and forms of burial. The anguish of death has been considered the deepest anguish of man. Death is the inevitable companion of life, is the final stage. It can occur at any age, suddenly or after a long illness. Despite knowing that someday we will have to die the death of a loved one is a terrible fact, very difficult to accept, that affects everyone around the deceased person. When the link with the deceased breaks, the suffering is so great, that they put into question the fundamentals of being, of human existence and our deepest beliefs, affecting significantly the basic family and social relationships.

In Willa Cather’s, “Paul’s Case”, several different references are made within the story in relation to flowers. In many cases, the flowers resemble life and the journeys that one goes through. On the other hand, flowers resemble death and how easily it can creep up on a person. Both these symbols can be recognized in the story of the young protagonist; However, the true reason the flowers are so prominent in the story is to resemble, and therefore predict, the life of Paul. Like the flowers, Paul will bloom and prosper and be beautiful, but if the flowers spend too much time trying to live in a non-compatible season, the flowers will wither away and die like Paul.

Regardless of race, caste, religion, or age, every human has wondered about the one fact of life that unifies us all: What is death? Both poems, “Death of a Young Son by Drowning” by Margaret Atwood and “Because I could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson share a common subject of death. Using figurative language, both poems illustrate distinct takes on a similar topic.

Even though people have been dying since the start of life, we can never get use to the idea of leaving our loved ones behind. Therefore humans choose to disregard death and get pleasure from life, and consequently we tend to stray away from righteousness. Two works; Everyman by an unknown author, and The Pardoner’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer have been written to preach humans toward Christianity-the right way of living. These authors utilize plot to reveal the role of death in understanding life. This is achieve by drawing on the foolishness of mankind, their response to the inevitable death and the effect of death on protagonists which altogether helps the readers understand worldly treasures are temporary.

In the novels that I have chosen to study, several themes are prominent in both. Both novels deal with a brutal murder of a young female, and the impact surrounding her death. They also deal with the idea of the dead, directly or indirectly communicating with the living. The novels address the theory that ‘ghosts’ cannot move onto the next life until they have resolved unfinished business on Earth. The idea that the living are tied to those who die and untimely death is also present in both novels. As well as these themes which are present in both novels, the novels also share a similar non linear

Though set in entirely dissimilar countries at different points in history, Margaret Atwood’s ‘Alias Grace’ and Hannah Kent’s ‘Burial Rites’ possess significant comparisons. Both for instance, are fictionalized historical novels following the tribulations of a female protagonist convicted of murder and both have been widely acclaimed for their incredible literary style which merges classic poetry, epigraphs, folklore and historical articles with fiction. The most striking parallel between each novel that can be drawn, however, is the way in which authors masterfully craft the stories of untrustworthy, cunning and deceptive criminals to elicit sympathy from their audiences. Readers of the novel and secondary characters alike are gradually pulled into sympathising with ambiguous and untrustworthy female leads, Grace Marks (Alias Grace) and Agnes Magnusdottir (Burial Rites). Despite the heavy suspicions of others and a lack of evidence to support their claims of innocence, these characters present artfully manipulated features of their defence stories to provoke empathy, sympathy and trust from those within the novel, and those reading it.

Within the cultures created throughout history, it was and often still is an integral part for people to tell tales and stories involving supernatural phenomenons, dreams, and a vast number of these tales are often prevalent with the notion of death. Some of the most integral parts of these stories reference omnipotent gods and supernatural events, have dreams that are represented as a prophecy, and all deal with the idea of death in some form or another such as an afterlife or the event of reincarnation. These parts of society are a focal point of humanity's very cultural and societal existence that are succeeded by no other. Thusly, literary works such as Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children swells with themes of the

Losing a loved one can be such a difficult thing to accept. But what if you kept believing she was still there? Definitely not in body, but lingering in spirit. In The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, we dive into the mind of Susie Salmon; a 14 year old, dead girl. When Susie Salmon is murdered on her way home from school, she leaves behind a family and friends who care deeply for her. As each person deals with her death, most of them deal with a large amount of survivor’s guilt. The two characters that seem to have the hardest time accepting Susie’s death and their own survival are Lindsey Salmon and Ruth Connors. Lindsey deals not only with the

David Wiley’s Natural Born Quilter analyzes Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace to further explore the basis and deeper meaning of the novel. He uses Atwood herself to unleash the history behind the novel which laid the foundation of Alias Grace. Atwood also discusses what the novel means to her and how readers should interpret it. With Wiley analyzing Atwood’s dialogue, the reader’s comprehension of Alias Grace is amplified.