Determinism in Nella Larsen’s Quicksand Essay

Hester was in a situation she could not escape and also had no support from the father

Though Helga finds “peace and contentment” (1553) in Harlem, she establishes here her flight from anxiety that is to become characteristic. When she meets Dr. Anderson again, Helga notes the return of her “vague yearning” (1558) for the man. She does not precisely explain why she runs away from him despite her “long[ing] to stay,” (1559) but she probably chooses to leave instead of testing the reality of her feelings. Though Helga seems to regret this decision in retrospect, citing her “disappointment” (1559) over the missed opportunity, she does not take responsibility for her actions and consequent feelings, as she

The aim of this essay is to prove the reliability of and why Libertarianism is the most coherent of the three Free Will and Determinism views. It refers to the idea of human free will being true, that one is not determined, and therefore, they are morally responsible. In response to the quote on the essay, I am disagreeing with Wolf. This essay will be further strengthened with the help of such authors as C.A. Campell, R. Taylor and R.M. Chisholm. They present similar arguments, which essentially demonstrate that one could have done otherwise and one is the sole author of the volition. I will present the three most common arguments in support of Libertarianism, present an objection against Libertarianism and attempt to rebut it as well as

Most people achieve a sort of protective immunity, a kind of callousness, toward them. If they didn’t, they couldn’t endure” (273). After this speech, Helga becomes silent, and begins to realize that she does not want to leave. Her respect, and perhaps desire for Anderson, “this man who was talking so earnestly of his work, his plans, his hopes” (273) has caused an immediate change in her attitude. Many readers would feel this is fickle and indecisive. But what human has not committed these same actions? It is not here where she has made a mistake. Later on in the conversation, Anderson mentions her childhood. Here, Helga acts on immature instincts, and becomes selfishly engaged in her own self-pity, “The shamed feeling which had been her penance evaporated. Only lacerated pride remained” (273-274). It is here where Helga Crane walks out and quits. Thus, she left Naxos not because of its less than liberated environment, but purely because she was ashamed of her childhood and prideful of herself. This incident is reminiscent of the fatal personality contradiction that marks her life.

In nearly everything she does, as a young child, she finds immense pleasure. However, the forest is also a safe place. the unhappy culprit sustained herself as best a woman might, under the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes all fastened upon her, and concentrated on her bosom. Her existence came from what Puritanism deems “evil”. Hester demonstrates human naturalness by obeying her instinctual urges and having a relationship with Reverend Dimmesdale.

Hawthorne once again displays an indignant Hester, through his description and choice of words that give us an idea of how Hester was “provoked her to little less than madness”(Para 7), as the dispute between Hester and the governor men continued over Pearls well being in terms of having her apprehended from Hester. With no doubt having this discussion

Helga lives a life that is oppressive in Alabama, her husband's congregation disapproves of her, and she "felt alone, isolated from all other human beings" (Larsen 101). During her third pregnancy, Helga could not stand to live her life in that manner, but still tries to make the best of her situation. But once she loses her fourth child, she falls into a deep depression; she "felt herself so broken physically, mentally, that she had given up thinking" (Larsen 101). Afterwards Helga wants to "escape from the oppression, the gradation, that her life had become" (Larsen 125), but now that she has children she has to think about them. "She couldn't desert them" (Larsen 125) because she did not want her children to have the childhood that she had, a "lonely, unloved" (Larsen 125) childhood. She tries to formulate a plan to escape with her children, but in the end, there was no solid plan, so she stays where she was because she has responsibilities so her

I believe Larsen should be considered a major American writer because her work overlap between the Harlem Renaissance and the American Modernism. The primary idea of “Quicksand” is that Helga is pursuing her racial identity. She desires to create something fresh, something that is contrast from the stereotypes. Helga 's quest for racial identity signifies the notions of race assumption in the Harlem Renaissance. It is a necessity for Helga to explore to improve her understanding of her identity through the perspectives of cultures. She acknowledges there is a racial factor, which exists in her consciousness and she does not attempt to conceal or refute it. Her presence demonstrates the interpretation of racial accepting as a fundamental part of her identity, expressing one of the core concepts of the

2013530960 Ask Dai American Literature Christina Davis February 21, 2016 The Failure of Construction of African American Female’s Subjectivity from Quicksand The awakening of the consciousness of black women’s subjectivity drives them to construct their own subjectivity. However, they are often constrained by the body both physically and mentally. In Quicksand, Helga migrates frequently to find a place to fit in, yet she finds no room for her.

Then again, it is easy to see that Helga is more continuous than anything. As previously discussed, throughout the whole novel it is evident that she stays continuously discontent. Wherever she goes, she always ends up tired of where she is in life and decides to make a change just to be discontent with that eventually. Whether this attitude can be justified by her environment, the time period she is in, a personality flaw, or another factor, Helga’s unhappiness about where she is is a running theme throughout the novel. Eventually the reader should be able to predict that nothing will make her happy and nothing will come as surprising. The continuity presented is what can keep the novel going though, because it can always be counted on that

On the contrary, Hedda is a character who deeply desires control and freedom, yet has neither due to her fear of scandal. At 29 years old, she married George Tesman, whom she does not love, but felt she had, “danced [herself] tired,” (Act II). Hedda is subsequently disappointed with the dullness of her role in marriage, where she was hoping for a new adventure outside her father’s control. Similarly, she refuses to even consider the possibility of an affair with Brack, even as he pressures her so; she reacts with repulsion at the suggestion. Hedda’s deeply-ingrained fear of scandal prevents her from living up to her potential; she resorts to following a path of unemployment and

Through this she beings to understand that if six weeks was a struggle then the rest of her life with Tesman would be “unbearable”. This increases her feelings of entrapment and her need to escape through death. Hedda also holds a strong desire to achieve success. Hedda’s desire for this success and recognition is so strong that when she is unable to achieve this she begins to feels as if she has no self-worth or reason to live. As she is unable to work herself she images her success upon her husband,

Hedda tears down everyone throughout the play, with Lövborg and Brack as the only exception. After being born to a high standing family, her expectations of power are high, but due to her biologic form as a woman she is trapped and unable to take control, “because Hedda has been imprisoned since girlhood by the bars of Victorian propriety, her emotional life has grown turbulent and explosive” (Embler). However, after succumbing to marriage with Tesman, whom she only marries for money and respect, she loses her place in society as she, as a mere woman, cannot retain it. This slowly unwinds Hedda and eventually leads her on to her fatal path. By

Hedda arouses sympathy from the readers through her own personal conflicts. She is a woman trapped by herself in a loveless marriage to an “ingenuous creature” (52 Ibsen) named George Tesman. Tesman is a simple soul with very little to offer. Not only is he an entire social class below Hedda, but he is oblivious, insecure due to his own banalities, and overly reliant on his Aunts’, despite being thirty-three-years-old. Hedda married George due to a “bond of sympathy. . .” (31 Ibsen) formed between them and she “took pity. . .” (31 Ibsen) on George. This brings a sense of sincerity to Hedda that was not turned to such a high magnitude preceding this discussion between Judge Brack and herself. Hedda is a lonely, yet independent, soul that wants sexual freedom without

Hedda grew up in affluence and august stature thanks to her famous father who was a respected military general, and this social standing attracted both fear and admiration from her peers. This simultaneous glorification and consternation brought about by “the beautiful Hedda Gabler… [with] so many admirers” caused everyone around her to do everything they could to please her [Ibsen 225]. Since Hedda Gabler was so diabolically intelligent, she took full advantage of these devotees and got every possession and confession she could ever hope to obtain by utilizing her masterful control of language. This control is evident when she swiftly and easily convinces Eilert Løvberg to kill himself by handing him her prized pistol and requesting that he “arrange that - [the suicide] is done beautifully” [Ibsen 288]. Through her obsession with the beautiful, her ability to evoke feelings from people, and her intelligence, her status as a romantic character is produced despite her many shortcomings with morality. This romanticization causes the reader to look at Hedda through rose-colored glasses and, like many of the characters, admire her by overseeing her worst faults; therefore, when Hedda’s self-induced plight surfaces, the reader feels much more sympathetic toward her than they should (given her callous