Compare And Contrast Accidental Time, And 'The Pedestrian'

This definition highlights the two dominant markers of the form: the use of fantasy and the counter-hegemonic disruption of cultural and social realities. Fantasy can imagine justice into the reality of an unjust world, which is why it has been so useful in postcolonial contexts and has interesting possibilities for metropolitan life. Yamashita’s novel fits squarely in this tradition, and I suggest she leverages the form to imaginatively transform Los Angeles from a plethora of racially, socially and economically distinct and, at times, antagonistic neighborhoods connected yet separated by freeways and bound within the borders of the U.S., to an embattled yet impossibly and transnationally interconnected utopian urbanity located literally on the freeway. Conventions of causality and materiality are regularly violated as the city physically and socially changes shape, congregating and collapsing distinct worlds, nations and cultures into one metropolis. Under the spell of magical realism, Yamashita’s Los Angeles becomes a

Throughout life, one faces with many experiences, and how one deals with those experiences shapes one’s life. Laurie Channer’s “Las Mantillas” and Margaret Atwood’s “It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers” share the same theme of action versus inaction however, they define it from opposing perspectives. Action and inaction are complete opposites thus leading to completely different results. Whether taking action or remaining passive, strong feelings occur that can impact one’s life. Distance is also a huge factor in whether a person takes action or not, which is explored in both texts. While Channer’s “Las Mantillas” emphasizes the positive impact taking action has on an individual and society and Atwood’s “It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers” critiques the effects of inactivity, both agree that when faced with injustice it is vital to take action for one’s beliefs.

“The Street”, and “Small Variation.” Within his literature, Octavio Paz displays the dark aspects in one’s life. Throughout his literature, Octavio Paz uses emotional diction to develop the ideas of loss, regret, and death.

In the short story, “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, is an example of dystopian literature. First and foremost, a characteristic of dystopian literature is that citizens live in a dehumanized state. This is shown in the story when, “In the ten years of walking by night or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not once in all that time.” This quote supports the thesis in that people are not allowed to do the simplest task of walking without reason, or acting without reason. This is a dehumanized state of life, due to there being such a thing as cabin fever, and that it is one of the most common activities of humans. To add to this, “The tombs, ill-lit by television light, where the people sat like the dead,

In “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, the author uses simple, but powerful similes as a gateway to the reader understanding the setting of the story. “The Pedestrian” is the tale of a lone wandering man walking down the street at twilight. The man is then accused of being a criminal and taken back to his home, also known as “The Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.” The similes used in the story help readers fully understand and see the setting of “The Pedestrian”.

The short story The Pedestrian is an intriguing story that takes place in the future. This story suggests that if the world continues the progress that it is now then we will become no more than humans who are doing nothing with our lives. It shows how people would seclude themselves from others and begin to stop caring for others. Is this actually a possibility in the future?

“Where Worlds Collide” is an essay by Pico Iyer who talks about the expectations and reality of Los Angeles through the perspectives of travelers from different backgrounds. In “Where Worlds Collide,” Pico Iyer argues that even though Los Angeles is depicted as a vicinity to receive wealth, happiness, and many opportunities- it is actually the antithesis, and instead, many harsh prejudice and unending craziness will occur instead; Iyer argues this by using allusions, anaphoras, and juxtapositions to help convey what he is saying.

Throughout life, one is faced with many experiences, and how one deals with those experience shapes one’s life. Laurie Channer’s Las Mantillas and Margaret Atwood’s It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers share the same theme of action versus inaction, however they define it from opposing perspectives. Action and inaction are complete opposites thus leading to completely different results. Whether taking action or remaining passive, strong feelings occur that can impact one’s life. Distance is also a huge factor in whether a person takes action or not, which is explored in both texts. While Channer’s Las Mantillas emphasizes the positive impact taking action has on an individual and society and Atwood’s It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers critiques the effects of inactivity, both agree that when faced with injustice it is vital to take action for one’s beliefs.

Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Pedestrian” is a dramatic illustration of the dangers of living in a world where contact with nature is deemed so abnormal that even walking alone at night is a crime. The dystopian story revolves around the tale of a man named Leonard Mead, living during a time period not so far away from our own, in 2053 CE. In the story, a robotic police car is so suspicious of Mead’s walking behavior during one pleasant night that he is taken away to a psychiatric hospital.

In the opening of the novel The Street, author Ann Petry carefully establishes the bitterness and stressfulness between Lutie Johnson’s, and her relationship with her environments’ urban setting. Petry develops this relationship through the use of imagery, personification, selection of detail, and figurative language. With the use of imagery Petry establishes the stressfulness in which the wind causes between her, and the pedestrians around her. In the beginning of the opening Petry commences her first paragraph with a lengthy sentence which causes a stressfulness in a reader's breathing; similar to the way in which the wind causes in a person’s breathing.

While today Los Angeles is prided on being one of the most diverse cities in the United States, there was (and still is) a tremendous amount of resistance that had to be overcome. Society’s inclination to maintain homogeneity along with the testing of loyalties and allegiance through pressures of war have proven great obstacles in the evolution of what is now a majority-minority city. Nina Revoyr’s Southland gives a historic fictional recount of Los Angeles’ most tested times from perspectives looking in to the past, present, and future. The discovery of unpleasant truths through grave social injustices provide a painful reminder of Los Angeles’ history and consequently a warning for future setbacks. Southland is an emotional testament to the inescapability of discrimination within stratified cities and the unspoken necessity of assimilation that occurs as a result.

The reader sympathizes with Enrique as he is making his seventh attempt to reach his mother. It is this small glimmer of hope that propels him through his treacherous journey all though he, yet again, fails. The author uses “pathos,” the emotional appeal, heavily throughout this chapter in order to grab the audience’s attention. She wants the reader to empathize with Enrique, an archetypal martyr with heroic behavior. The narrator describes the cruelty and suffering of the gangsters, bandits, “la migra” and others. “Enrique thinks of his mother…she will never know what happened.”(Nazario) Nazario uses stream-of-consciousness reflections such as this to cause the reader to subsequently reflect on their own families, and how one would react to this circumstance. Although Nazario uses pathetic writing, she does not make a fully-pathos driven argument such as that of Leslie Marmon Silko’s “The Border Patrol State.” In fact, Enrique’s Journey is written in exposition mode with anecdotes within narratives, which purports as journalistic rather than objective, or biased, writing. It is through this writing style that Nazario builds her credibility, or “ethos.” The exposition mode lays out the effects throughout Enrique’s path as well as brings extent of the hazards to fruition for the

Cities are generators of economic life and source of changes in the world. Thereby, Jane Jacobs in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities puts into relief the role of cities on the social and economic levels, while denouncing the disastrous consequences of urban renewal programs. To that extent, in chapters 2 and 3, she discusses "The Uses of Sidewalks”, arguing that over all people need safety and trust in their city. Therefore, first she claims the necessity of keeping streets and sidewalks safe because they are the “vital organs” of cities (29). Secondly, she argues that the functioning of cities should be organized in order to foster human interaction in which “casual public

Both Walking in Sixteenth Century Venice by De Vivo and Coffeehouses by Ozkocak are both very interesting in a sense that they focused on ordinary people’s ordinary lives instead of authority and illustrated history in the view of ordinary people. By focusing on the streets, De Vivo was able to specifically explain all different status of people on the street and Ozkocak was also able to describe the change in public space and its users by exploring the coffeehouses. In Walking in Sixteenth Century Venice, the author is suggesting that by following people’s walking path, the society’s societal, cultural, and political style and values could be clearly shown. De vivo gave several examples but one thing which caught my eyes was the War of the Fist—young boys gathered together on the bridge and fought in order to show their power.

Additionally, Estragon throws away his boots. The act of ‘throwing away’ his boots is an act of giving up, reiterating futility of life. This dismal view of life contrasts significantly with Lorca’s passionate view on life, as expressed through his portrayal of Adela as a vivacious, hopeful young woman. When mother was in mourning, Adela gave her a ‘round fan with green and red colors ’(Lorca 164). The color green and red signifies vitality and courage. In Hispanic Culture, green is symbolized as hope. When everyone’s wearing black, she chooses to wear her ‘green dress and go walking in the streets’ (Lorca 173). Mainly through the colors she wears, characterizes her as a very passionate person. While others stays at home and sew, Adela ‘walks in the streets’. Lorca views life as a precious gift that possesses outstanding variety and possibility. In contrast, Beckett characterizes life as meaningless. Time shouldn’t be labeled. One day a person 'went dumb… went blind… go deaf…were born…shall die, the same day, the same second” (Beckett 103). The repetition of diction choice ‘the same’ is used to discard differences between ‘day’ and ‘second’. It is pointless to label time because our lives are cyclical and at end, everything will die. This is a big contrast to Adela’s life, which its events are full of importance. The