Ambiguity In Running In The Family

William Saroyan uses numerous literary devices such as symbolism and characterization throughout his short story, “Gaston”. He uses them to convey that parents have an influence on their children, who look up to them. He includes several details in each instance of the literary devices, to expand on the theme he is trying to convey.

In Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion, the play of light and shadow are reoccurring motifs that identify and relate to the general themes of remembering and forgetting. H. Porter Abbott has defined motif as “a discrete thing, image, or phrase that is repeated in a narrative”, where in contrast, a theme “is a more generalized…concept that is suggested by… motifs” (237). Abbott emphasizes that “Themes are implicit in motifs, but not the other way around” (95). In In the Skin of a Lion, Ondaatje emphasizes the class struggles endured by the immigrant workers and the internal struggles faced by the central characters. The motif of chiaroscuro, the play of light and shadow, reflects how the characters try to forget their past and personal burdens, and strive to recall joyful memories, which aides them in embracing new beginnings and creating new memories. I will argue that the motif of light relates to the theme of remembering and the motif of shadow identifies with the theme of forgetting. I will show these relationships by analyzing the imagery and context of four central scenes in which light and shadow play a significant role. Firstly, I will discuss the event of the nun falling off the unfinished bridge. Secondly, I will consider the candle-light vigil held for the deceased bridge works. Thirdly, I will discuss the working conditions of the tunnel workers in the section “Palace of Purification”, and lastly, I will analyze the concluding scene in which Patrick and Hana

The critic begins with a nice summary of the plot and then moves on to the inconsistencies in the novel. An inconsistency he mentions is the apparent rapid development of the creature’s “habits” and “faculties” such

Thus, the narrator’s father dealt with the same struggle that the narrator and Sonny are facing now. The narrator wants to protect his brother from the darkness of the world that has always threatened to invade their lives but he fails to do so as he is torn by his emotions, which shift quickly from love to hate and he is also unable to express his emotions, feelings and concern towards Sonny.

The essay goes into great detail of his relationship with his father. He describes his father as cruel (65), bitter (65), and beautiful (64). He does mention the bad in length. On the flip side, he tells us some of the good as well. Throughout his storytelling, the reader gets a glimpse into his life and the way he feels. His feelings evolve during the extent of the essay.

He depicts his transformation into an animal from an outside perspective and describes, “I let the spit fly, nostrils wide -- my body spasmed in their grip. My voice spiraled up into coughing hysteria” (Torres 118). As the narrator loses control, he remains cognizant of his actions, but the reader realizes that his actions are no longer control by him. While his father eventually faded into his steady beat, the narrator loses himself in the hatred, pent up for all of those years where he kept silent. Through vivid imagery, the narrator depicts how this creature attempts to destroy itself. While his father’s loss of control exhibited itself as a steady pounding, the narrator unleashes the animal who was tethered down for all those years with his constructed walls modeled after those of his father. His father exhibited similar characteristics in that they were unsuited for him. The narrator remembers, “When we thought he would stop, he didn’t; when we thought he would speak or scream or cuss, he was silent” (Torres 58). The narrator’s explosion of emotion was marked as out of character for the boy who never expressed himself, even to voice his fear. The brothers had expected their father to yell or be violent, so when

The author’s melancholic, yet, optimistic tone arouses mix feelings from his readers. Bragg clouts his readers’ perception of his father with harrowing, however, coveted recollections of the past. In the author’s comparative recount of the Father’s demeanor, he paints an unsettling, yet a hopeful life of his father:

Hayden uses the juxtaposition of the cold of the outdoors to the warmth of the home that the writer creates to present the father’s love for his child. Although the father did not demonstrate conventional love for the narrator but proved his unconditional love by putting a roof over the child’s head. The winter night is metaphor for the absence of love. Though the child did not comprehend the love the father had for them, they reminiscence upon how the would be left in the cold if the father did not meet the provisions. So the father’s love was not evident in displays of affection but meeting the needs of the child. Most fathers demonstrate their love in what seems like a harsh manner, working most of the time and not spending quality time to fulfil their first role as a father - the provider. Nevertheless as a transformation take place the role of the father or parent become replicated in the adult child. Through understanding the contribution of the caregiver; once empathic response to the parent increases. Hence it closes the gap of differences that exist within the child parent

In any great work of literature, each action and thought should contribute to the underlying meaning of the entire work. No action should exist for its own sake; it must instead advance the plot and reinforce the symbolism of both the characters’ actions as well as the truth of what the composer or author is trying to convey. This is especially true of acts of violence; great literature must carefully articulate the violence into a logical meaning. Most importantly, violence and acts of extreme passion work best when communicating a character’s inner-struggles as they relate to the motive and effect of each scene and action.

Automatically, the reader knows that serious issues are about to be discussed and that the outcome may not be positive. This novel challenges the material ideology discussed above. It does this by bringing the issues to the forefront and reporting on them in a fictitious yet realistic manner. The reader is not led to believe that the ending will be happy, he is supposed to expect the consider the harsh realities of the world throughout the piece.

To truly understand a great novel and its author, the reader must dig deep inside the life

People experience different emotions that can drastically change within seconds and, cannot remain controlled. During the course of “The Most Dangerous Game”, “Scarlet Ibis” and “The Use of Force”, the author demonstrates how a person can change from calm and collected to an assailant. Sickness comes in many forms, both physical and mental. Together both can affect emotions, actions which those two then lead into flaws and faults being revealed. All humans have flaws and the authors are attempting to aid the reader in understanding flaws and that can be embraced or overpower a person. The narrators and characters of these stories have many flaws these faults which are both extremely subtle and obvious.

“The Book Thief” presented a story filled with various themes that comprised a powerful plot line. Although there were many themes in the story, there was one that stood out to me more than others. In the process of reading the book, the theme of suffering affected me the most. The definition of the word suffer is to experience or be subjected to something bad or unpleasant. Different characters within the story are subjected to dreadful feelings and are therefore suffering. Through my analyzation, I observed the three different types of suffering that the characters experienced: guilt, feelings of emptiness, and anxiety. The characters of “The Book Thief” experience these three types of suffering in different ways.

This essay will explore the function of the narrative which helps the readers to perceive the meaning of the narrative. It will do so in terms of the point of view, narrative voice as well as the structure of the narrative. Furthermore, the setting of the story will be another focus which exploits the generic convention which reflects the social anxiety behind the story at the time. I

The peculiarity of the first two paragraphs is a wide usage of such stylistic devices, which author employed in order to create the tense atmosphere of a tragedy. The text under analysis is very emotive and causes the reader a sense of terror.