Character Analysis: A New England Nun

Presenting literature to the public that is meant to be a commentary on social or political issues, masked under the guise of entertaining and fictional, is a tool implemented by authors and activists for centuries. While not all satire is as overt as Jonathan Swift’s suggestion that we eat the babies, it does not diminish the eyebrow raising suggestions that are conveyed once the meaning has been discovered. In Aphra Behn’s The History of the Nun and Eliza Haywood’s Fantomina, the established expectations of the female role within society are brought into question then directly rejected. These expectations establish that women should be deferential to men, morally unblemished, and virtuous at all times. Men, however, are not held to these expectations in the same way. The masculine roles assumed by Isabella and Fantomina demonstrate a private rebellion against the established patriarchal society as it warns against the under-estimation of women and proves that women exist independently.

It is a well known fact that experiencing war changes people; there is an innocence that is forever lost. In Tim O’Brian’s, “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, Mary Anne Bell is an unusual example of the innocence that is lost in war because unlike the rest of the soldiers, she is a woman. Mary Anne’s transformation from innocent “sweetheart” to fierce warrior left readers with mixed emotions because although Mary Anne felt at peace with her transformation, she was also disconnected from reality.

The Book of Martha by Octavia Butler portrays a black woman, Martha, who is affected by society. God visits Martha and gives her a task to help save humankind from their destructive ways. Throughout the short story, Martha struggles to help find a solution that will be less disastrous and through this, she discovers more about herself. The book opens with God saying, "You're truly free for the first time", showing that Martha was free from society's input, barriers, and judging eyes. Society is the source of Gods transformations, how race, class, and gender.

Mental disorders can hinder a person’s ability to make proper decisions and therefore influence their lifestyle, behavior, and actions in most situations. Triggered by Fletcher Wortmann is a memoir about the negative effects of obsessive compulsive disorder can have on a person. The mental state of a person with obsessive compulsive disorder is one of uncertainty most of the time. Though a mental disorder determined many decisions in his life so far, his goal is to prove that mental disorders do not define who a person is. Through long stories about things that typically wouldn’t matter to an average person, it is clearly evident Wortmann is a male author who is very young, but also not as experienced. There is a specific writing style to

In each of these selected pieces, the woman’s position is dependant in some form to the male figure. Each work deals with conflicting views of the female protagonist and the expectations of their male counter-character, though each has a differing outcome that correlates to the woman’s reaction to this male supremacy. “A New England Nun” features Louisa and Joe Dagget, who come to a mutual agreement to call of their engagement. This ending follows closely with realism, as there is a healthy development and closure to the conflict. Then, Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” has possibility of development, however, the loose end does not establish any sort of progress. This piece ends with the American asking if Jig is alright, to which she smiles and states she’s fine (. Despite the fact that there is no closure to this particular ending, there is a chance that Jig does defy the American’s wishes. Lastly, Brooks’s poem “A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi. Meanwhile, a Mississippi Mother Burns Bacon” follows the chaos and self-conscious characteristics of postmodernism, as the white woman’s thoughts of the “Fine Prince” evolve from submissive denial to hatred, over the course of the piece. Although these pieces end quite differently, each portrays a woman that is submissive in some way or another at a point in the story.

2. Topic sentence: Throughout the story, readers can see how Margaret’s character is characterized as cruel.

How does the diary or journal-entry form affect the emphasis of the narrative? How dependable is Charlie as a narrator as he progresses through his various stages? Discuss Charlie’s capability of providing insight to the other characters.

After Scout returns home from her first day of school, Atticus notices her sulking behavior. She confides in him that Miss Caroline punished her for explaining the Cunningham’s poor financial situation. Yet, due to the fact that Miss Caroline was new and unfamiliar to the townspeople, she only became confused and frustrated by Scout’s explanation. Atticus explains that “…They could not expect her to learn all Maycomb’s ways in one day, and we could not hold her responsible when she knew no better” (Lee 40). Miss Caroline’s ignorance compared to Scout’s knowledge demonstrates how what may come easy to some is actually harder to come by for others. Thus, it’s not fair to expect one to know something nobody had ever taught them. Instead, the use

In this short story, Louisa’s internal independence plays a major role in who she is as a woman. Mary E. Wilkins Freeman describes Louisa as an introvert because she is someone who enjoys being alone. She spends fourteen years of her life being isolated at home, waiting for her fiancé to come back from his job in Australia. During those years, she learns how to be by herself through the hard times and the pleasant ones “Louisa’s feet had turned into a path, smooth maybe under a calm, serene sky, but so strait and unswerving that it could only meet a check at her grave, and so narrow that there was no room for any one at her side” (Freeman 66). This demonstrates how she is so use to not having anyone by her side. This is why she creates her own path through all the dark times she had to face on her own. In many ways this can foreshadow the ending of the short story. This shows how she always counted on herself and

She tells John that she wants to visit Henry and Julia, her cousins, but he tells her that “she wasn’t able to” (Gilman 45). She is left feeling helpless: “what is one to do?” (Gilman 39). By suppressing her feelings, the narrator slowly “creeps” (Gilman 52) towards insanity.

About 60% of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients have multiple obsessions. Not only does Melvin display behaviors associated with his fear of contamination, but also he presents compulsions under the symmetry/exactness/”just right” symptom subtype. This subtype deals specifically with the need for symmetry, in which things are put in a certain order and rituals are repeated. Melvin has very specific expectations of order in his daily routine. Every

C. Case: Carla was the driver of a car that was involved in an accident. Her friend, who was in the car with her at the time, was killed. After that, Carla became very preoccupied with her health and thoughts of death. She reports that her health anxieties came in waves and describes one of the worst episodes. Shortly after college, Carla became convinced she had lupus and the idea totally consumed her. She says that all she could think about was dying, lupus, and being sick for the rest of her life. Though her doctors and friends and family tried to reassure her, Carla’s thoughts persisted.

Mr. Udall shows his compulsive traits by feeling the need to lock his apartment door three times, turns the lights on and off five times and cannot step on cracks or lines in the flooring or street. These repetitive behaviors are normally not intrusive to others, but Mr. Udall does involve others in his compulsion when he is trying not to step on the cracks in the sidewalk. We do not know the exact rationale behind his compulsions, but many people fear that something bad will happen if they do not engage in their compulsion.

“In people with (OCD) obsessive- compulsive disorder, there is an excessive need for orderliness and attention to detail, perfectionism, as well as overly rigid ways of relating to others (Nevid and Rathus 293).” Martin is a very demanding individual and has an obsession to have everything in order. For examples, towels have to be evenly spaced with the same length on the towel rack and canned foods have to face label forward, as well as neatly stacked in the cabinet. Martin’s overall main crisis is his obsession with his wife, Laura, is he cannot live without her and he won’t let her live without him. He

I chose to write a research paper on OCD because it is a disorder I am very interested in. I think this disorder can have a huge impact on people’s functioning. I could relate to the research I found on this topic, because I experience similar obsessions and compulsions. Although, I have never been diagnosed with this disorder. Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether or not the symptoms are affect daily functioning, because in some ways it does and in some it does not. For example, when I use the stove in the morning I will worry about turing it off. I do not have compulsions like explained in the research. I will only have obsessive thought about the outcomes if it was left on all day. In this case, there is only obsessive thoughts, but I think this might be related to the disorder. Even though I know I turned the stove off, this causes anxiety for me which could be considered to impact my