Cultural Context in How Many Miles to Babylon, Sive and 32a

    In the early twentieth century, Ireland, and more specifically Dublin, was a place defined by class distinctions. There were the wealthy, worldly upper-class who owned large, stately townhouses in the luxurious neighborhoods and the less fortunate, uneducated poor who lived in any shack they could afford in the middle of the city. For the most part, the affluent class was Protestant, while the struggling workers were overwhelmingly Catholic. These distinctions were the result of nearly a century of disparity in income, education, language, and occupation, and in turn were the fundamental bases for the internal struggle that many of Joyce's characters feel.

Which would you value more-knowledge, or truth? Stephen Vincent Benét explores this question in his short story “By the Waters of Babylon”. However, Benét doesn’t answer this question exactly, instead “By the Waters of Babylon” focuses more on a singular theme that knowledge and truth are intertwined. Benét brings the reader into a post-apocalyptic world where humans have resorted to a more primitive state after the “Great Burning”(310). Now the only humans left with any knowledge are the Priests, and John happens to be the son of one. John has been exposed to the only remaining knowledge that he’s been told his society has at that the time and now quest for more. This burning desire that John has to know more of

Compare and contrast the similarities and differences of the way each text portrays rebellion and revolution, taking into account context, audience, language and textual form.

When we want to look for New Historicism in a novel or in a movie it is important to first have a look at the author’s biography as well as the social background and it is lastly important to look at the ideas that was circulating the cultural era of that time as well.

When reading literature we often attempt to use particular threads of thought or lenses of critique to gain entry into the implied historic or legendary nature of literature. To accurately process a tale in the light in which it is presented, we have to consider the text from multiple viewpoints. We must take into consideration intentional and affective fallacies and the socioeconomic circumstances of the presenter/author/narrator. We also have to consider how our personal experience creates bias by placing the elements of the story into the web of relationships that we use to interpret the external world. There also is the need to factor in other external pressures, from societal norms, cultural ideals, and psychological themes, and how

Comparative Literature & Culture: A Wwweb Journal, vol. 17, no. 5, 15 Dec. 2015, pp. 1-6. EBSCOhost, www.bpcc.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=118185843&site=lrc-live.

Context affects ideas and the way ideas are portrayed in text. The parallels seen between the contexts of the two texts causes both to contain ideas about similar themes, including the progression of society, and man’s place in

In this review, I will explain the historian’s thesis and/or argument, show a summary of the sources the historian consulted, write and overview of the way the book’s chapters (topics) were organized, have an in-depth discussion of the two to three main components of the argument, and finish up with a conclusion that explains the “So what” (the point) of the book. the sources the historian consulted, write and overview of the way the book’s chapters (topics) were organized, have an in-depth discussion of the two to three main components of the argument, and finish up with a conclusion that explains the “So what” (the point) of the book.

Joyce 's novel demonstrates a city and a society full of contradictions, parochial ideas, and paralysis. The Dublin inhabitants are divided by the river Liffey, into 'North and South ', 'rich and poor classes

The 1500’s play focuses more on marriage, as like teenage dating in this modern era, for the play’s intended audience, it was marriage that the Elizabethan era society was preoccupied on, and was something they felt they “had to do”. The difference between relationships and marriage is shown

This restricted view that details how one’s life can be alerted when they experience different social stages is explored in Heliodorus text tilted “An Ethiopian story “. There is a similar storyline that explores the experience that is comparable to the journey that one has when experiencing social change in Apuleius text titled “The Golden Ass”. These two text are comparable by shared concepts they both detail a struggle that the characters experience as they go through different levels of the social hierarchy. Therefore, simultaneously holding different status level which they can internalize with their selves and their

For the first time it is possible to closely examine ancient civilizations. Historians can now see past the individual person to the life of a society as a whole. Using this new insight, we are able to study new paths that the literary forms did not present. We will continue to use the literary sources for personal details, but the new discoveries uncovered give the literary sources a new angle. Therefore, for the first

Kevin Barry portrays the economic growth that the Irish society lived during the time he was writing Dark Lies in the Island. “Wifey Redux” depicts the easiness and flexibility that let young people to be owners of, for instance, their own house, and it was due, principally, for the Celtic Tiger, also known as the Irish economic growth fuelled by foreign investment between the 1990s and the 2000s. The young couple could even afford one of them staying at home without working, thus “Hubby went to work, and Wifey stayed at home” (9), but they were an “absolutely equal partnership.”

Understanding the cultural context within which a text is written can help readers experience things that they may never experience in their lives. Culture leads readers intellectually and emotionally and deepens their understanding of the character’s history, the society that they live in and their individual lives. Learning culture plays a fundamental role in making readers understand the social and political context in which the novel is written, the people the author associates with, and the larger society that frames the whole work. It is hard to read literature without a solid comprehension of the work through its cultural context. In light of this information this essay will explain how culture influences the plot line, character development,

Then identify the main themes/ideas being compared. E.g. Justice (and the idea) and the noble lie(and idea)