Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace, written by Joseph Kesselring, is a play that takes place in Brooklyn New York. The opening scene takes place in September of 1942, in the Brewster living room. It is the home of Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha Brewster they both may seem perfectly sane, but we find out they are both crazy murderers. Together, they have 12 dead bodies in their home. The women think they are doing their victims favors, because all of their victims were lonely and death would be better than that. In the Brewster house, with the two aunts, lives Teddy, Teddy believes he is the president of the United States (Teddy Roosevelt) and provides comedic relief during the show through his “presidential behavior”. Also living in …show more content…
Falling action includes the cops walking inside in the middle of Jonathan trying to murder Mortimer. The production comes to a halt when more cops and Mr. Witherspoon come in much to Jonathans dismay. The Denouement is when all the papers are signed and Aunt Martha, Aunt Abby and Teddy all go to Happy Dale. The theme of Arsenic and Old Lace is generosity is in the eye of the beholder. All of the Brewsters think they are doing people a favor or helping throughout the play when in reality their actions are not entirely generous. For example the Aunts don 't believe they are doing a bad thing by killing these people, instead they think they are helping old men find peace. Aunt Abby expresses this feeling when talking to Martha saying, “ He sat dead in that chair looking so peaceful- remember, Martha-we made up our minds right then and there that if we could help other lonely old men to the same place we would” (26). Though Abby had her reasons for doing such a “ kind” thing and she truly believed she was helping, she still killed him. Mortimer also goes out of his way to be kind to Elaine. After Mortimer learns about his family 's history he tells Elaine he will not marry her because he doesn 't want to burden her with the inevitable fact that he will be crazy too. He tells Elaine, “I love you very much , Elaine. In fact I love you so much I can’t marry you” (55). Mortimer is trying to help
A vampire is defined as “a prenatural being of a malignant nature, supposed to seek nourishment, or do harm, by sucking the blood of sleeping persons;” (1). Whereas a parasite is defined as “a person who lives at the expense of another, or society in general;” (2). A sleeping persons can be interpreted as an innocent person, this is due to countless stories and lore depicting vampires stealing the blood of conscious innocent persons. Therefore, by doing harm to the innocent, a vampire is living at the expense of the humans whose blood it steals, making vampires a form of parasite. In The Good Lady Ducayne, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Ducayne is genetically a human, but her mind has become fixated on life. By exploiting technology, her moral and ethical standards change, allowing for her personal relationships to become meaningless in her search for an elongated life. She goes so far as to steal the blood of young girls; this act of stealing innocent girls blood at their own expense, makes her a special parasite, human vampire.
The poem Fifteen by William Stafford, describes the ideas of a young teenager and imaginations when he sees a motorcycle at the side of the rail, It tells us of how the main character gets familiar with adulthood and starts getting mature, it gives us changes. The author in his poem describes the ideas and temptations that a fifteen year old would have, and it gives us a message of how when you are blinded of your teenage dreams, at the same time to take and decide the correct paths and decisions.
falling action · Lt. Rooney was called because they found a dead body. Lt. Rooney recognizes Johnathan as a convict and sent him to happy dale, along with teddy who is clinically insane.
The short story, "My Last Duchess," by critically acclaimed, Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, is an intriguing and thought-provoking work of prose. Though it ties considerably to the famous work by the same name, written by Robert Browning, it also brings its own ideas, and symbols to the table. The most prominent symbolic link within this story is the representation between the characterization of Miss Bessie--the high school english teacher--and the narrator 's ideas, thoughts, and fears about life. The term life -- for the purposes of this essay -- is defined as the existence of an individual person and their course through the world. In “My Last Duchess,” the narrator 's life is symbolically represented through Miss Bessie by the character traits of a positive reputation, overcoming obstacles, and the solitary nature of people.
FALLING ACTION: Mimi finds out that the man she was going to marry had died on the Titanic and decides that she should take a trip to Hati and invited Jane to go with her. Thad holds Jane's hadn the whole ride
Accused witches were forced to admit to various practices believed to be witchcraft. Details from the French Court of Rieux and the insanity that ensued are jaw dropping by today’s standards. Suzanne Gaudry’s judgement confession was no different, being forced and tortured into confessions including having given herself to the devil, renouncement of God, lent and Baptism. Moreover, Gaudry was also forced to confess that she had cohabited with the devil as well received the devil’s mark on her shoulder and being at dances. Of note however, the judgement confession seems to acknowledge Gaudry having technically only confessed to having had killed by poison, Philip Coine’s horse. Nevertheless, Gaudry’s confession was made
The Cask of Amontillado is the story of and envious man by the name of Montresor who has devised a plan to kill one of his long term friends Fortunato. Montresor devised this plan in the beginning of the story after Fortunato had pulled one joke to many while at a party surrounded by many of their close friends. Montresor while at the party remained calm however while still laughing and cheering with Fortunato he started to develop his plot to get his revenge on Fortunato. In the story Montresor while plotting his crime says, “I had to keep my true feelings to myself for not only must I punish but punish with impunity” (Poe). While Montresor plans the murder of Fortunato, Fortunato is simply enjoying life and his wealth. During carnival Montresor sees a drunk Fortunato and ceases his opportunity. A drunk Fortunato walks over to Montresor and gives him a friendly greeting. Montresor sees this as an opportunity to take Fortunato away from the festivities by using both his weakness for wine and his pride against him. Montresor does this by tricking Fortunato into thinking that he had recently brought a cask of Amontillado and he needed Luchesi to distinguish if it was actually Amontillado. Fortunato, who feels that he is the best wine tester in all of Italy quickly replies, “Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry” (Poe) . Montresor knowing the pride and arrogance of Fortunato then says, “"And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own." (Poe) . That
Mothers are pictured as the care giver of the families and the ones who love their children unconditionally no matter the situation. They’ll do anything to support their family and raise their children right. In “The Queen of Mold” by Ruth Reichl, the mother in the story is pictured as the one who makes a meal almost out of nothing, just to provide and have something on the table for her family. Even though the food she cooks is moldy, this is how she demonstrates her motherly love.. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the mother is portrayed at first as an over excited mother waiting for her over achieving daughter Dee. As the story progresses the excitement for the daughter starts to go away and her motherly love towards Dee becomes complicated because Dee thinks she is greater and much smarter than the rest. Both of the stories depict complex motherhood, in Reichl story her mother’s love becomes complicated when she cooks food for the guest and her daughter tries to save the guest from being killed, while by the end of Walker story she only has love for the one daughter that has always been by her side and that’s Maggie.
In ‘Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich, the main claim made by the author was that the low-working class are, in general, forced into an inescapable cycle of poverty. The low paying jobs they have to take are barely enough to pay rent, buy food, and other necessities. This doesn’t even include those in less favorable conditions than those Ehrenreich mimicked in her experiment. In general, Ehrenreich was trying to prove that the “living wage” offered by entry level jobs is not, in fact, “livable”. The significant supporting evidence provided in the book included Ehrenreich’s first hand experiences of mimicking (to her best abilities) what low-wage workers live everyday, as well as a plethora of supporting facts and statistics. All of Ehrenreich’s evidence was heavily supported with reliable resources. Based on the facts she presented, I agree with her claim that the majority of low-wage workers get stuck in poverty as a result of the entry-level workforce system as a whole. The evidence regarding statistics was very valid and well cited, and her first-hand experiences, while with possible flaws, only worked to further support what she was claiming. Ehrenreich’s methodology of obtaining evidence was very direct, and proved to show a plausible experience that most of the low-class would have in a best-case scenario. By that I mean in some of the best circumstances (no children, no serious medical needs, ect.), it is reasonable to assume that Ehrenreich’s experiences are
Black Widows bare similarities to the unnecessary evil in our world. Showing excessive violent tendencies, these creatures represent a broader inspection of our society. Through many examples of literary devices in Gordon Grice’s essay “Caught in the Widow’s Web”, black widow spiders are compared to these evil tendencies in our world..
Almost everyone faces some kind of hardship in their lifetime; however, only specific people can rely on their spirits to help them survive. Perhaps one of the greatest hardships started in 1619 when the first African American slaves were brought to the US settlements. Millions of slaves were treated horribly, even more were brutally killed in many different ways. In the book, Copper Sun, Sharon Draper proves that only certain individuals are given the strength of spirit needed to endure the difficulties of life by comparing how some slaves survived the “death ship” and others did not, how some became pessimistic but Amari stayed faithful, and finally how the people of Fort Mose were living freely even though each individual faced tragedy
Let the Circle be Unbroken portrays an african american family’s hardships against powerful white landowners and family tragedies. All in the perception of the strong-willed Cassie Logan. Let the Circle be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor is an enjoyable book with engaging characters, unpredictable plots, and an amusing genre.
World War II is an important key point in history that addresses to young adolescents. The novel, T4 is based on a true story, in which the author, Ann Clare LeZotte is portraying a novel that is based on the theme of survival. It appears to be that the author’s argument in writing this novel is to simply maintain awareness of the past. Generally speaking, a story about survival is a difficult genre for young readers, “The majority of war stories for children are about World War II and the Holocaust.” (Huck 482) The reason war stories are mainly about World War II and the Holocaust is because it was the most recent, largest, and horrifying war during the twentieth century in Europe. Our textbook also states that these historical novels help children experience the past. Meaning, that it is important for a child to learn about the past including all the wars, conflicts, sufferings, and great happiness that had occurred so they can apply that to the present and to the future.
A commonality that can be made between every assigned writing is the use of everyday life as inspiration or motivation to write. Maria Browning writes of her experience at a Thanksgiving dinner, expressing her surprise that a group of strangers had the ability to push aside their differences to enjoy a meal together. This experience motivated her to write. Baye McNeil writes of his experiences with racism and his emotions towards the Japanese "WE." This experience motivated him to write. Even in Maria Browing's "Addendum," her experience of reading opposing interpretations caused the "Addendum" to be written. These authors feel that their experiences are important enough to potentially become subject to public scrutiny. Each piece is the outcome
“In a Dark time” by Theodore Roethke gives a retrospect into the inner turmoil’s of finding oneself through a haze of doubts in till reaching a moment of clarity. Each section of the poem describes a different emotion, or inner thought that spirals from fear of death, to emotions of desire. The use of imagery between nature and uncertainties of the narrator give a glimpse into Roethke’s own mind during the time he wrote this poem. Without hundreds of pages Roethke created a poem that connects readers to their own self-doubts and struggles of finding ones way again.