Astrological Emptiness in Steve Almond’s “The Problem of Human Consumption

When a loved one dies, one usually displaces his/her love on an object that reminds him/her of the beloved in order to allay anxiety in the face of sexual impulses. In the text, the narrator is reminded of his lover by the large mirror when he states, “I felt

People one can never really tell how person is feeling or what their situation is behind closed doors or behind the façade of the life they lead. Two masterly crafted literary works present readers with characters that have two similar but very different stories that end in the same result. In Herman Melville’s story “Bartleby the Scrivener” readers are presented with Bartleby, an interesting and minimally deep character. In comparison to Gail Godwin’s work, “A Sorrowful Woman” we are presented with a nameless woman with a similar physiological state as Bartleby whom expresses her feelings of dissatisfaction of her life. Here, a deeper examination of these characters their situations and their ultimate fate will be pursued and delved into

The essay creates sympathy by reminding readers that the dumpster diving is necessity for his survival without asking for handouts. And furthermore Eighners draws on the logical reality that tons of perfectly edible foods are sitting in

The importance of cherishing the invaluable individuals in one’s life is apparent in Matthew Teague’s personal journey of his wife’s battle against cancer and a genuine friendship. “The Friend” depicts emotional appeal, comparisons, and vivid imagery to portray the significance of valuing loved ones. There is no single definition for a loved one. A spouse, children, family, friends, the reciprocated love can build everlasting bonds, but why is it so important to treasure the relationships we have? Just because they are family, it may not signify that we love them; just because they are acquaintances, it does not necessarily indicate that we have a type of love for them either. The pure love we possess for someone is rare and never chosen or obliged, so this valuable love should be nurtured, for people are bound within unpredictable time limits. Nichole’s, Teague’s wife’s, diagnosis of cancer was a realization for him that his days with her were numbered. Along the way, Dane Faucheux, the couple’s friend, was devoted to aiding the Teague family during their struggling time. Faucheux’s undisputed support for Teague and his family surprised him numerous times throughout their experience. This love in the sublime story is seeped with appreciation for those Teague values in his life. The realization and worth of his deep endearment for his family and friend is transferred to the reader, and he or she begins to realize the reality of the given time to value those who are most important.

This implies that something clicked within the man and woman that they cannot keep tugging back and forth living the way they had been. Lines 13-15 resembles a hyperbole that seems to exaggerate an x-ray, “we held ourselves up to a light that X-rayed our flesh to see if we were made for one another”. Though an X-ray does allow one to see inside their bodies, it cannot literally tell one whether or not they are a perfect match with someone. Throughout the stanza, the theme is represented in a way that the couple starts to question whether or not they are right for one another. This shows one of the many issues real relationships face in the real world—questioning whether what they have is real and worth

In the short story “Popular Mechanics,” by Raymond Carver there is a relationship between vanity and the human predisposition to rage when faced with loss. This is an analysis of the nature of human relationships and how tragedy tends to result from the vanity of certain individuals.

The imagery in the poem, specifically natural imagery, helps use the reader’s senses to develop a vivid depiction of the speaker’s connection to nature and dissatisfaction with the surrounding reality. The speaker’s continued use of the “moon” reflects her attribution of feminine identity and idolistic character to the moon. As opposed to referencing herself and her personal insomnia, she uses the imagery of the moon “beyond sleep” to convey her internal struggles with insomnia and her reality. Throughout the poem, the speaker also refers to shining, reflective surfaces, such as “a body of water or a mirror”, to describe the inverted reality in which the speaker experiences reciprocated love. Reflective surfaces often invert the image that is projected into them, seemingly distorting the true nature and reality of the projected image. The speaker’s reference to this reflective imagery highlights her desire to escape the burden of a patriarchal society and assume an independent and free feminine identity. Specifically, the use of natural imagery from the references to the “moon” and “a body of water” convey the speaker’s desire to take refuge within the Earth or in the feminine identity of the Earth, Mother Earth. Feminine identities are often related and associated with aspects of nature due to the natural cycle of the menstrual period and the natural process of procreation. The speaker takes advantage of these connotations to suggest Earth and natural imagery as an escape from the man-made terrors of male dominated society. In the second stanza, the speaker uses extensive imagery to develop metaphors conveying the speaker’s experience of jealousy of the moon

This metaphor of the stars goes from showing us the envy the narrator had to possibly just being her feeling left out, not necessarily a bitter feeling towards her sister. The metaphor continues by explaining that stars are corruptible, “Stars are not made of heavenly ether, but of the same corruptible elements that comprise earth” (357). This piece of the metaphor is in reference to the sister and how her beauty is waning and she isn’t treated as beautifully as she “should be” as we see the abuse she endured when she was raped, and from there she seems to cycle in and out of harmful relationships. In addition, the stars being corruptible show us the transformation of how the narrator from being childishly jealous of her sister to now her view of her sister is corrupted, she now feels bad and pities her sister. To conclude the essay the metaphor finalizes by stating, “You want to spin back light years from today, hold your sister on your lap, rock her luminous beauty in your arms until it stops hurting” (359). This metaphor brings the essay to a close and helps the reader realize that the author just cares for her sister, no longer envying her or wanting to be the star- but only wishing that all the wrongdoing she endured for being such a “luminous beauty” would dissipate.

▪ Psychological or Psychoanalytical Criticism – a leading tradition in psychological criticism is the Freudian’s. According to its followers, the meaning of a work of literature depends on the psyche and even on the neuroses of the author. Ray Bradbury wrote this short story in a very old age. And the significance of this story is also view from the point of view of the old person’s being aware of all the new technologies of the world. People shouldn’t live in their shells; they should go ahead together with the progress. Ray Bradbury, being in his late years understood and took the progress in a right way and probably wanted to show that people shouldn’t stop in their development.

Values are an important aspect of life. Having values is a representation of the individual of not only who they are but what they believe as well. Someone who does not have any values cannot have any respect for themselves These lack of family values are progressive, and have become a part of the postmodern. In both stories “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri and” The Storm “by Kate Chopin, the plot sets upon the characters having a lack of values, and as a result may encounter negative consequences.

Throughout the years, people think they have gained happiness from their materialistic things. In this story, Ray Bradbury creates a family that is particularly wealthy through material possessions and how they become dispersed through the possessions they own. However, in Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Veldt” he emphasizes that utilizing materialistic things can actually result in terrible harm. Through the use of symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing, Ray Bradbury establishes the idea that overindulging in materialistic possessions can result in grave consequences.

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

In his short story “The Hunger Artist,” Franz Kafka illustrates this prideful individual, who strives to starve himself to a disturbing and gruesome extent, losing his humanity. Kafka uses symbolism in order to fully create this idea of an individual’s, in this case the starving artist, estrangement from society.

In Susan Wood’s poem “Eggs,” she describes what her mornings were like growing up and how they later affected her parenting. She discusses that if she had sat down with her father to work through their issues rather than argue, they could have been happier people in the end. To emphasize these points, she uses repetition and pattern to create a feeling of hostility toward her childhood. Wood’s use of diction and allusion illustrates the speaker’s attitude toward mornings and her upbringing to shed light on how harboring feelings can create animosity toward family members.

In the writing “The Company Man”, the author, Ellen Goodman, gives us a brief, yet, fulfilling summery of a big company man’s attributes, life, and death. In this work, the author uses referential writing as her primary purpose of writing, while she also uses narration as her primary pattern for the analysis of the writing. She begins, opening up with “He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 AM Sunday Morning.” in order to grab our attention. She then goes into the different aspects of his life, starting with his devotion to his company and some of the different characteristics about him. Next, she lists, in chronological order, the different people in his family, and analyzes what he meant to each person listed. Finally, in closing, the author repeats some of her work, reflecting her writing in her introduction, closing with more elements about him and his work ethic, but also reminding us of how he sacrificed work for family. She then finishes her writing with “So when he finally worked himself to death, at precisely 3:00 AM Sunday morning, no one was really surprised”