Examine how cultural context is established in two of the texts on your comparative course
When examining the topic of cultural context, one must become immersed in the world of the texts under discussion. The historical and geographical setting of a work creates a world that the characters can credibly inhabit. They are influenced and shaped by the customs, moral values and social structures of that society. The cultural environment created offers the reader a context in which to explore thematic and character development. We may also appreciate the literary techniques that allow such a vivid world to be set before our imaginations.
Credible and vivid environments are created in the two texts I wish to explore in this essay. In "How
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("When am I goanna be a wife again Eddie?"). The Moore's relationship is long dead and reduced to formal sniping across the dinner table, where the humiliated Alec "watched the daffodils and kept my mouth shut".
We see the consequence of sexual repression in a family context in both texts: In Babylon, we learn that the source of Mrs. Moore's bitterness is the fact that an unexpected pregnancy forced her into a marriage of convenience. She cruelly "disinherits in a sentence" and tells Alec as a way of convincing him to go to war. The social conventions are strict and innocence is maintained through ignorance. Alec and Jerry are both virgins and on a balmy night before embarking for France, Jerry longs to be with a girl once before he goes to war. We also see Eddie's marked discomfort at any evidence of Catherine's growing sexuality and he struggles to repress the inappropriate feelings he has towards her. He cannot discuss his intimate feelings with his own wife and like the Moores, much remains unsaid between the couple and the silence only widens the gulf.
The authoritarian, rigid class-bound nature of society can be seen in how Mrs Moore seeks to end Alec's friendship with Jerry. Alec is socially isolated and constrained by the obligations of his class. His father tries kindly to explain the reasons why he cannot remain friends with Jerry: "
The responsibilities and limitations of the class into which you are
"The American Dream is the largely unacknowledged screen in front of which all American writing plays itself out," Arthur Miller has said (Galvin). To many people Arthur Miller is known for his role against communist accusations and using his writing to portray what has happened during McCarthyism. From Miller’s struggles as a child to his first big break as a playwright to his fight against the government, he has still been able to maintain integrity in his writing and captivated many audiences over the years.
Three specific examples of how setting influenced the actions and attitudes of the characters are: The isolation from a civilized world, the mysteries of an unfamiliar place, and different social types being forced to live with one another. How these examples are to be proven will be developed in the following paragraphs.
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.
A typical novel, flooded with the complexities of the author’s creative mind, conveys the plot amidst vivid descriptions of the setting and
In the process of writing, regardless of the form it takes, thesis or narrative for example, the purpose of the piece has several lenses that shape how the reader perceives the material. Of the less important lenses that shape the piece, mood, word choice, and rhetoric are only a few. These elements of the work, while minimal in a relative sense, accomplish the same as other, more important components, they influence how the reader perceives the material, how it is understood. If one is to effectively convey the message of the piece, one must first look at how the any reader perceives any text. This idea of how the reader perceives is a culmination of all the devices employed by the author. The idea is for the author to craft an aggregate
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.
When Edwin’s daughter in law brings home chicken he gets angry that they constantly have chicken instead of something nice. This shows how he cant be happy for what life he has, he always reminisces on better times or complains about the life he currently has. He also complains about the household compared to nursing home that he got kicked out of. What Edwin can’t seem to understand is that it was his actions that put him in in the situation he is now. His inability to realize his own mistakes and ultimately confess his problems makes him irresponsible and selfish. Furthermore, he constantly states that it doesn’t matter that he does heroin or isn’t married. This can reflect on his generation, that were baby boomers. Baby boomers are often recognized as being addicted to drugs, having unprotected sex, and disregarding government rules. Edwin demonstrates these traits without thinking how it might affect the family. Edwin’s theory is that since he is old he should do whatever he wants to do to enjoy the rest of his life. But Edwin doesn’t realize that hurting himself will also hurt the family. When Edwin eventually and inevitably overdoses on heroin, Richard says, “God Damnit Dad.” The entire family is
Despite Buckley’s young age when Susie first disappeared, his life is greatly affected by the loss. He is extremely angry and resentful towards his parents. Buckley feels that his relationship with his father is shadowed by his inability to move past the loss of Susie. The tension between them peaks when Jack tells Buckley he cannot use Susie’s old clothes in his garden, but it is not simply about the garden. The garden is symbolic of new life and growth in the future and Susie’s shirts symbolize her existence. Although Susie’s clothes would no longer be intact, they would become part of the garden, just as Susie will always be part of the family even though she is no longer with them. This scene is also important for Jack and Buckley’s relationship because Buckley finally tells his father how isolated he feels. Abigail and Buckley’s relationship, on the other hand, is not so easily patched. Buckley is bitter that his mother missed so many important events in his life. The
For instance, a significant factor contributing to the evident contrast between the two works is each passage’s tone. The author of the first passage uses a factual and informative tone, unlike the author of the second passage. Relying mainly on logic and facts, the author of the first excerpt produces
“You’re a blank, a cipher… a zero.” (Albee, 1962, p.18). With these words, Martha the main character in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” showed her husband, George, that he was nothing. Edward Albee, the writer of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” talked mainly about Martha and George who pretend to have different identities just in order not to face reality. Moreover, Arthur Miller, the author of “A View from the Bridge” presented the idea of identity in a different way. Miller used the character Eddie to show how people’s identities are constantly changing due to some changes in their lives. Modern playwrights question the idea of a definite identity.
noise was used to give a sense of tension. But later when is honour is
Arthur Miller was an American playwright who wrote plays such as “The Crucible” and “Death of a Salesman” because he thought theatre could change the world. He wrote his works based on friends, his own life, and family. People believed he was a man of integrity and a hero because of the ways he portrayed himself.
'A view from the bridge' by Arthur Miller is a tragic intense play about family struggle, lust, passion and deceit. My aim is too look at the relationship of Catherine and Eddie. To understand the relationship, we must understand the atmosphere and culture. To do this we need to know why Miller wrote the play, background history and why this is significant to understanding the relationship between Catherine and Eddie.
According to Iser, any literary text which is a product of the Writer’s intentional acts part-ly controls the response of a reader; however, this includes an abundance of gaps. In order to comprehend more clearly, the reader must take action in active participation in attempting to cre-atively fill these gaps with the given information of the test put before him; Thereby allowing the Reader and the text to undergo a transactional process.
What are some of the salient characteristics and differences between high and low context cultures?