“It is impossible to really understand why people react as they do to difficult situations”.
Discuss the ways in which two of the stories reveal this.
In The Bet by Anton Chekov and The Cathedral by Raymond Carver, the authors use irony to show that “It is impossible to really understand why people react as they do to difficult situations”, because they do not even know themselves. In, The Bet, two men, both impulsive and proud, enter into a foolish bet to prove whether capitol punishment or life imprisonment is more humane. In the conclusion, irony takes over, the characters’ last acts free one another. Instead of killing the lawyer, the banker plants a kiss on his head. Then the prisoner escapes, freeing the banker from having to pay his debt. Checkov uses irony to reveal that neither man is aware of his true nature. In The Cathedral two 'blind' agnostics, seek to communicate, while drawing a cathedral. Carver uses irony to show that the narrator is incapable of understanding another person until he learns
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He maintains that “the death penalty is more moral', later revealing complete moral bankruptcy when he plans murder to avoid honouring the bet. While the banker is emotionally affected by the letter, when he feels “so great a contempt for himself” that he weeps, Chekov is ambiguous about the nature of his remorse. Is his contempt for his murderous heart or for the rashness which almost led to financial ruin? Is he weeping tears of shame or relief? The dramatic irony of “he took from the table the writing in which the millions were renounced, and when he got home locked it up in the fireproof safe” suggests that his moment of self-awareness has not been life changing. He still doesn't know
At the end, the characters accept their motives, ambitions, hopes and fears which determine their actions
Concluding, readers witness the irony between his choices; suicide or risk trying to survive
In addition, the narrator shows how his own thoughts assist the person himself not to accept the victory of his enemy, as in the text narrator states, “the arrow could not have killed the bear. Blinded him, yes enraged him, but not killed him”, which shows that how that man fights with a bear till the end and wins the battle. Therefore, it shows that how acceptance play an essential role in the life, and it entirely depends on the situation in which the person is trapped. In other words, it is just up to the person how to react to that specific
In this poem, the Indian Agent creates irony when he claims that he always understands the Indians. An example would be when the Indian Agent calls the old man lazy due to the fact that he doesn’t fix the fence. In reality, the old man appreciates the fence as it is because it has fallen in such a way that it reminds him of a sentence written in an old language. From this, we learn that it’s important for people in a position of authority to try their best to understand others before they exercise power over them. When a person attempts to make someone do something that is against their values, it can make them feel misunderstood and cause them to become resentful. Another example of how the Indian Agent creates irony is when he “steps all thru the milkweed and /
In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”, the short story is told by a character within the story. The first-person point of view gives us a transparent visual of an important time in the narrators’ life. The narrator, who is “un-named” in the beginning of the story, uses blunt, flawless and a particular choice of words. This gives us as the reader a deeper connection with the narrator. The narrator begins this story by taking us through the changes he go through with the uneasy feeling of having a blind-man coming to his house to visit.
Gothic Cathedral, while most notable for its pointed arches, stained-glass windows, slendered piers, and flying buttresses, is also recognized by its lancets, rose windows, and triforiums, as well as other identifiers. Although most Gothic architects of the great cathedrals are unknown, those that we do know have a sense of fame attached to them and all those who worked on these grand projects. In reference, unlike “Romanesque”, whose name derives from modern architectural historians, the term Gothic was originally used in a derogatory manner by 16th Century Italian architect, Giorgio Vasari who viewed the style as “monstrous and barbarous,” accrediting its ugliness to the barbaric Goths, who are held accountable for the collapse of Rome and the break in classical art and architecture. However, during the 12th and 13th century the term “Gothic” was never used to describe the style of the time, instead it was quickly referred to as “opus francigenum” meaning “French work” or simply “opus modernum” meaning “modern work.” While Giorgio’s view resembles that of renaissance artist Lorenzo Ghiberti, of the previous century, most late medieval and modern views consider the Gothic era a high point in history for Western art and architecture.
In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” the narrator is seen to show ignorance and bias towards blindness throughout the story, however towards the end he realizes his flaws and the difference between looking and seeing. From the beginning of the story to the end you can see a change within the narrator after his encounter with the blind man. At the end of Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” the narrator hopes to accomplish a change in his understanding of himself, and his experience with Robert flickers this change towards the end of the story.
In dramatic Irony, occurs when the readers are aware about what is going to happen, but the characters do not have any clue about what is going on. In “The Black Cat”, the story begins with the main character sentenced to death, but with one story to tell. The Irony here is that he was not aware about how his life was going to change. In the beginning he is describing how happy was his childhood and how much he loved his pets. In the second paragraph of the story the main character describes his personality as a child in the first sentence “From my infancy I was noted for the docility and humanity of my disposition. My tenderness of heart was even so conspicuous as to make me the jest of my companions” (3). He was a lovely child with an uncertain future. Another irony finds it on the story is how he describes the fidelity and love that the man can own “There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute, which goes directly to the heart of him who has had frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man” (3-4). When the story is progressing he is transforming to a violent man without any act of compassion towards his faithful pet, which actually represented faithfulness. He is represented himself as a child with a lovely personality, but he is not aware that the lovely child was going to transform in an alcoholic man with a violent personality willing to kill mercilessly.
In the article, “The Calm,” “a Small, Good Thing,” and “Cathedral”: Raymond Carver and the Rediscovery of Human Worth, by Mark A. R. Facknitz, states “In fictional terms, he learns to shift point of view. In emotional terms, he learns to feel empathy” (295). This means that the husband had preconceived notions about blind people. These made him narrow minded which added to his negativity. Perhaps this is the reason he is isolated. He did not accept difference, like the way he didn’t accept and expect a blind man to have a beard. After having met Robert he now has a better understanding and can connect more to the world outside his comfort zone. It’s one step in the direction of accepting others and learning more about the real world. He can
In the short story, “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov, a banker and a young man make a bet with each other based on capital punishment and whether the death penalty is better or worse than life in prison. The terms of the wager state that if the lawyer can live in solitary confinement for fifteen years, he will be given two million dollars. When examining the story, the Marxist lens would offer an insight to the ability of symbols and its forms, styles and, meanings. Chekhov connects these themes by utilizing the literary elements of Power. More specifically the power of money, knowledge, language, and competition.
Furthermore, irony shows the contrasting effects of education by revealing how Douglas reacts to this concept of knowledge. One
Irony begins within the narrator’s introduction to his confession by telling the reader that he will tell his story
The Cathedral and Everyday use were both enlightening and intriguing stories. Written by two renowned authors and differs in numerous ways, set out to explain and disseminate its readers to dissimilar characters and themes. Whether fiction, non-fiction, there were meaningful lessons learned from reading both stories. The Cathedral is a story about two friends, a blind man Robert and his female friend who reunited after ten years, even though they communicated by sending tapes and poems. While Everyday use was a story about a woman who had two daughters, Maggie and Dee, with two different personalities. Maggie, who lives at home with her mom was shy and scar by burns she had sustained from a house fire, while her eldest sister
The Canterbury Cathedral may be one of the most historic and well-known buildings in England, hosting many events and tourists every year, but most do not remember it being one of history’s most infamous crime scenes (“Walsh, Robert). In Medieval England, the Canterbury Cathedral was the most important center of pilgrimage. Ever since 597 AD, there has been a cathedral in Canterbury when St. Augustine ordered the construction, where he has been the most religious figure in England (“Canterbury Cathedral”). The Canterbury Cathedral, located in Canterbury, Kent, is not only one of the most famous and oldest Christian buildings in England, but is popular for the history and murder of Thomas Becket.
The author portrayed the banker as a foolish and greedy man, and since Chekhov characterized him as static, he never changed. His inability to alter his ways resulted in him making an extraordinarily rash bet and later on him wanting to kill a man in cold blood. “That is not true! I bet you two million that you