Analysis of Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
In J.M. Coetzee’s 1999 novel “Disgrace” we can see the life of a father and a daughter who both go through life changing events. While the father, David Lurie, is accused of rape because of sleeping with a student, his daughter Lucie Lurie is actually raped by three black men.
The setting of this book is in post-apartheid South Africa, where we can see that the problem this setting faces is how blacks and white can live together. In this book there is the use of several literary devices to communicate the theme. David Lurie represents the old, white South Africa through out the entire book. Unlike Lucie, who gives a good representation of how is the new white South Africa. We can see how animals play an important part of the characters in this book and also how dogs are the most important ones mentioned. How is the use of literary devices important to communicate the theme in this book? “In Disgrace Lurie’s sens of quilt for his exploitative attitude towards women symbolically configures a sense of collective responsibility of oppressors generally - and of the white writer in particular - for a history of abuse.” David Lurie is a fifty two years old divorced professor who lives alone in a city, he likes reading books and teaching but he also likes the company of women. He used to spend time with a woman who he would pay her for her company but once the woman ended things with him, he started to notice one of his students. Melanie
There are many ways authors include literary devices to not only express their position on certain things, but also to evoke emotion and thought from readers for them to fully understand the reason for them being presented. The author may drop hints through tone, style, symbolism, and motifs. These four elements help lead the reader to infer reasoning, meaning, and significance behind aspects of every story.
In a world where showing a bit too much shoulder was forbidden, came Susan Glaspell. Glaspell was an American playwright, born in the cruel times of oppression. This influenced women’s opinions on certain subjects which caused them to be silenced by fear of rejection from society. “A Jury of Her Peers” was based on an era where women felt as though it was unreasonable to speak up if they felt it was not absolutely dire. Harboring these pent up feelings could cause a person to act antagonistic. Minnie Wright was an example of this. She killed her husband and was subjected to the judgement of her peers. As the group investigated Mr. Wright’s death, there were two stories unraveling. The in depth explanation that the women figured out and the simplistic version the men had seemed to pick up (Glaspell). People would benefit from reading this story to begin to understand the struggle of what this and other women had gone through. Penn Manor American Literature students would benefit from having Susan Glaspell’s story “A Jury of Her Peers” in their curriculum because of how she expressed feminism through her writing at a time when it was new and discouraged; her ability to emphasize the themes with her settings and characters; and her literature that follows a protagonist that navigates through a sexist world.
What is the point of literary devices in stories, books, and poems? What do they accomplish? Could you use them properly if you knew what they were? In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, author Richard Connell uses many of these devices, namely: simile, metaphor, personification, imagery, foreshadowing, irony, and allusion. Some well used devices in this story are personification and irony.
Identify a theme in the story. How does the author use symbolism and imagery to establish his message?
Sitting on the bus, an African American woman was viciously barked at by the white bus driver to give up her seat to a white man. The woman was Rosa Parks and this event sparked the beginning of the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the U.S and labeled her as the “first lady of civil rights.” For years, Parks and people of color were seen as detestable in the eyes of white Americans. They were forced to work dehumanizing jobs and follow rigid social predestinations. Women, in particular, carried these fates with them long after this era as they were seen as inferior to men; women were given limited rights and were expected to comply to the stereotypical duties. It would thus be apparent that they would wish to be liberated from such dehumanizing work. Such an opportunity came during the Harlem Renaissance when these downtrodden females were ultimately given a voice. African American writers, such as Georgia Douglas Johnson, emerged and finally had the power to exploit their years of pain in an attempt at reform. Georgia Douglas Johnson wrote about oppression in her poems “Common Dust,” “Black Woman,” and “The Heart of a Woman” to expose society’s unjust treatment of African American women and inspire change.
For decades women have been belittled by men. However, history shows that men ain’t sh*t. . Who stripped women of their rights? Men. Who degraded women for centuries? Men. Who did not want women’s rights? Women. Who continue to objectify women based on how many people they are involved with? Women. The objectification of woman has been proven to not be one sided but come from women themselves also. Kurt Vonnegut's short story of “Miss. Temptation” displays the life of a ravishing young woman named Susanna. Men desire her; Woman despise her. She is portrayed as a loose promiscuous woman. Despite the fact that these individuals know nothing of her personal life. Showing how easy people
Women yearn for their voices to speak loud enough for the entire world to hear. Women crave for their voices to travel the nations in a society where they are expected to turn the volume all the way down. The world expects females to stay quiet and ignore the pain brought onto them from sexual crime. They do not dare stand up for what they believe in or discuss their experiences that bring them pain. Poets such as Ana Castillo and Lawrence Ferlinghetti describe parts of life that society often ignores. E. E. Cummings supports the ideas of Castillo and Ferlinghetti by appropriating a more disturbing mindset. These poets demonstrate the way in which women obtained a supposable to behave and react to situations that have caused them harm or have the potential to.
Throughout the “Genesis of Shame,” David Velleman, expresses his concerns about our culture’s lack of privacy. Velleman states his ideas throughout the passage, however, most describes our culture’s dependence on honesty adversely by stating, “ They assume that honesty requires one to express every inclination and impulse. Velleman’s statement implies people should move away towards total honesty. Although this passage was written in 2001, Velleman’s claim is still applicable in today’s society. People in our culture should make more of an effort to keep things private as it would place ordinary people at risk from fraudulent crimes.
Also in the book, the author is uses many literary devices. Some of these devices include: symbolism, motif, and irony. These devices are used to help the reader become more involved in the
Sexuality has an inherent connection to human nature. Yet, even in regards to something so natural, societies throughout times have imposed expectations and gender roles upon it. Ultimately, these come to oppress women, and confine them within the limits that the world has set for them. However, society is constantly evolving, and within the past 200 years, the role of women has changed. These changes in society can be seen within the intricacies of literature in each era. Specifically, through analyzing The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, one can observe the dynamics of society in regards to the role of women through the lens of the theme of sexuality. In both novels, the confinement and oppression of women can be visibly seen as a result of these gender roles. Yet, from the time The Scarlet Letter was published to the time The Bell Jar was written, the place of women in society ultimately changed as well. Hence when evaluating the gender roles that are derived from sexuality, the difference between the portrayals of women’s oppression in each novel becomes apparent, and shows how the subjugation of women has evolved. The guiding question of this investigation is to what extent does the theme of sexuality reflect the expectations for women in society at the time each novel was written. The essay will explore how the literary elements that form each novel demonstrate each author’s independent vision which questions the
Jacobs’ narrative is open and honest in its depiction of sexual harassment, describing the nature of the abuse and the tortured emotional state it leaves its victims in. Though the narrative tells of a girl’s life over one hundred and fifty years ago, it remains timely in its reminder that many suffering women do not have the ability to safely end the harassment they face every day, and yet, they continue to endure the consequential
Linda Brent shares the recount of her life in slavery in first person. She begins her autobiography with this forward statement, “Reader, be assured this narrative is no fiction… I have not exaggerated the wrongs inflicted by Slavery; on the contrary, my descriptions fall far short of the facts.” Brent directly speaks to her readers telling them to “be assured” by doing this she asserts herself as a real and confident narrator. Although Brent is taking control of her readers, she also creates an intimate bond by directly addressing them. By creating a realistic narrator, she lowers the likelihood of the readers to instinctively interpret her story as implausible or debauched. It is well known that the white women of the 1800’s were often very
Both Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants and John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums portray oppressed female characters in the early 1900s. In Hemingway’s short, Jig is oppressed by her lover known only as “The American,” whereas, the main character in The Chrysanthemums, Elisa Allen, feels the weight of oppression from society (male dominated) as a whole. Although the driving force of the two women’s subjugation varies slightly, their emotional responses to such are what differentiate the two.
One of the most influential writers Adrienne Rich once said, “She is afraid that her own truths are not good enough.” Adrienne Rich talks about women’s role and issues in her essay called “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying”. She describes how women during the 1977 lied about everything. They lied about their appearance, their job, their happiness, and even about their relationship. Adrienne Rich is one of the most powerful writers, who identifies herself as lesbian feminists. Her work has been acknowledged and appreciated mainly in her poems. Throughout her decades of work as a writer-activist, Rich uses essays, speeches, and conference papers, magazine, articles book reviews, and personal reflection to articulate with
Many of your favorite authors bring their successful literature to life with the use of literary devices. For example, in The Book Thief, the author, Markus Zusak conveyed a story from death’s perspective of adversities faced during World War II. On the other hand, in “The Monkey’s Paw,” author W.W. Jacobs told his audience about a magical paw that revealed the meaning of fate to the White family. In another work, “The Plot Against People,” Russell Baker took a humorous spin on his frustration of inanimate objects. Although these three authors tell three completely different narratives, they all used literary devices to enhance their stories. Some of the most compelling literary devices used in these works include irony, mood, and personification. By using these literary devices, the authors effectively convey their purposes.