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Amanda Mann's Death In Venice '

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Amanda Stevenson
Wilson High School: 0838
Works in Translation Written Assignment
Word Count: 1326

Amanda Stevenson
IB English
Works in Translation Written Assignment

Death in Venice: Works in Translation Written Assignment
Throughout Death in Venice, Mann uses geographical locations and natural occurrences to prove that external conflicts are caused by a man’s internal conflict and reflection and that one event in can parallel and possibly characterize a protagonist.
Although Aschenbach is an acclaimed artist, specifically a writer, he has a very structured life throughout his development. He supposedly has great self discipline, which leads to him withholding certain things and details when he gets older. His younger years of …show more content…

Earthquakes in nature are caused by the moving of tectonic plates and the inner layers of Earth, and Aschenbach’s sight of Tadzio parallels this, because it is as if Aschenbach’s inner emotions are changing (“The Science of Earthquakes”). He is beginning to think differently, and he describes Tadzio with so much detail, that only another artist would understand. Right before Aschenbach sees Tadzio, he gazes at the water, seeking comfort, as evidences by, “His love of the sea had profound roots”(Mann 318). Venice is known for its many waterways. In the context of Death in Venice, the waterways parallel the different pathways people take during their lives. The waterways could also parallel the veins within Aschenbach’s body. The actual altitude of Venice, Italy is much lower than that of Munich, Germany, which supports the idea that Venice was a better place for Aschenbach as far as for creativity (“A View On Cities”). The higher altitude of Munich parallels the higher barriers that Aschenbach faced while he was there. Being at a higher altitude, would mean there is less usable air to breath, which can be compared to Aschenbach’s lack of inspiration. In Munich, Aschenbach was expected to be an excellent writer, because of his previous works. There were more scenarios for Aschenbach to fail in Munich, whereas in Venice, he was free to experiment with his new found feelings. Venice served as …show more content…

Aschenbach tries to approach and impress Tadzio towards the end of the novel. Tadzio dies soon after this, which is a clear form of rejection, thus symbolizing the metaphorical “earthquake” for Aschenbach. This rejection really hurts Aschenbach and all of his inner feelings. At this point, Aschenbach sees the crater that has formed between him and Tadzio. Once craters are formed with natural earthquakes, they cannot be fixed with nature, they must be patched up with the methods only man provides. This image of division created by Aschenbach shows him that Tadzio will never accept him and there is nothing he can do about

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