Dignity In The Remains Of The Day

In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, there are many literary devices in which create significance in the story. One as such, is characterization. “Reverend Mose Ambrose was a short, very dark man whose face and bald head were always shining. He was the plantation church’s pastor. He was not educated, hadn’t gone to any theological school; he had heard the voice and started preaching. He was a simple, devoted believer. He christened babies, baptized youths, visited those who were ill, counseled those who had trouble, preached, and buried the dead” (100-101). By using this rhetorical device the author is descriptive of

No mention of a character within a story can be unintentional. Every word counts and contributes to an image of the character both directly and indirectly. In the short story “Ray” by Guy Vanderhaeghe, protagonist Ray Matthews is an example of how no word goes unused to maximize a character. Ray is an average, middle aged man, with an average wife, an average accounting job, and an average life. Nothing sticks out that is unique to him, and his inability to understand anything without others explaining it to him creates issues throughout his life. Vanderhaeghe develops Ray's character through his physical description, how others speak of him, and his social interactions to exemplify how important characterization is in a story.

In Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion, the play of light and shadow are reoccurring motifs that identify and relate to the general themes of remembering and forgetting. H. Porter Abbott has defined motif as “a discrete thing, image, or phrase that is repeated in a narrative”, where in contrast, a theme “is a more generalized…concept that is suggested by… motifs” (237). Abbott emphasizes that “Themes are implicit in motifs, but not the other way around” (95). In In the Skin of a Lion, Ondaatje emphasizes the class struggles endured by the immigrant workers and the internal struggles faced by the central characters. The motif of chiaroscuro, the play of light and shadow, reflects how the characters try to forget their past and personal burdens, and strive to recall joyful memories, which aides them in embracing new beginnings and creating new memories. I will argue that the motif of light relates to the theme of remembering and the motif of shadow identifies with the theme of forgetting. I will show these relationships by analyzing the imagery and context of four central scenes in which light and shadow play a significant role. Firstly, I will discuss the event of the nun falling off the unfinished bridge. Secondly, I will consider the candle-light vigil held for the deceased bridge works. Thirdly, I will discuss the working conditions of the tunnel workers in the section “Palace of Purification”, and lastly, I will analyze the concluding scene in which Patrick and Hana

the characters. The story reminds his audience that a man is more than a father. He is

Characterisation is a vivid description of a person's appearance and character. This is presented through their actions, speech or thought. The novel 'A New Kind of Dreaming' by Anthony Eaton uses characterisation to portray the issue of abuse of authority and power through the antagonist Sergeant Butcher. Sergeant Butcher is a powerful high ranked policeman in the isolated town Port Barren. The author urges us to question whether we would report the crimes with the repercussions that would follow, or to keep quiet.

The author reveals the character/narrator by using indirect characterization. In the story, the character is describing his actions and thoughts, telling what type of person he is in the process. For example, in the story, the character says “In the enthusiasm of my confidence…”(Line 17). This is revealing that the character can be prideful and that it could cloud his judgment. But, simultaneously,the

There are stories he incorporates to illustrate the point. In the middle we move to a more self-centered narrative. He tells of his story in New Jersey where he realized he could kill someone. He shares some of his thoughts of why people acted as they did towards him and others. This is an effective way he uses narrating and analyzing to work for the reader’s understanding.

The chosen interpretation rests on how the narrator’s character is analyzed through her hidden thoughts and concerns. In the following paragraphs, we’ll look at how the author, Gilman, uses indirect characterization to reveal the narrator’s character through emphasis on the narrator’s thoughts.

The text Burial Rites written by Hannah Kent focuses on the true story of the last woman to be executed in Iceland, her punishment for playing part in the murder of two men. She is sent to wait out her days on the farm of a district officer, Jón Jónsson with his two daughters and wife. Naturally, the family are horrified to have a convicted murderer in their midst. Borne from this, the family refuse to talk to her. A young man, Toti is appointed as her spiritual guardian in the last days of her life, throughout the text, he attempts to redeem her soul by asking her to recount her life.

By creating a characterization the author is giving the reader a sense of what or who the character is through the text.In order to do this the author can tell the reader exactly what the person is like by stating their personality traits, appearance, etc. This direct characterization was used in The Crucible when Thomas Putnam was said to be a man of many grievances and a “vindictive nature”. The author can also give an indirect

Mr. Tim Hernandez tells us the story of the importance of these men and women in these informative stories and is effective in doing so. He is effective because of his excellent use of pathos. He uses pathos throughout the entire novel. An example of his use of pathos comes from Tim Z Hernandez himself in the novel “It was clear she’d been waiting her whole life to speak of him, though at times it must have seemed easier to live out her days without ever thinking back at all.”(28). When Hernandez used this quote he really tugged at the reader's emotions.

In Stevens’ case, there is a disconnect between objective and subjective reality. Objective reality is the reality outside of your mind (the physical world) while subjective reality is the reality inside your mind (the meaning you appoint to ideas, objects, dreams, and events). The author depicts Stevens as a character who seems to go along with the objective reality of the world however since his job failed to allow him to think for himself, he is unable to give his own meanings to the ideas and events that the world presents to him. For example when Stevens was in the home of Mr Harry Smith in Moscombe and they were conversing about they believe “dignity” really is, Stevens says the following after Mr Smith gives his viewpoint “I perceived, of course, that Mr Harry Smith and I were rather at cross purposes on this matter, and that it would be far too complicated a task for me to explain myself more clearly to these people. I thus judged it best simply to smile and say: ‘Of course, you’re quite correct.’” (Ishiguro 186) I believe this quotation from the novel gives a better picture of Stevens’ inability to formulate his own

Bartleby the Scrivener. Characters Analysis In the reading Bartleby the Scrivener its narrator before introducing Bartleby (the main character), he began describing his others three employees that work in the office (Turkey, Nipper and Ginger Nut). The narrator did this with the purpose of show how much he cares about his workers, gave us an idea of the type of person that the author is , and to guide the reader into the understanding his actions later on in the story.

Characterization is a literary element used by the author to present qualities of characters in a literary piece, the purpose of characterization is to make characters credible and make them suitable for the role they play in the work. Authors present various characters possessing dissimilar qualities, to emphasize different aspects of the work. In the novel “The Scarlet Letter”, the author Nathaneil Hawthorn’s depiction of the two male characters, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, emphasizes the moral problems of the seventeenth century puritan society. Hence, their different characters contribute vitally to the plot of the novel.

In the writing “The Company Man”, the author, Ellen Goodman, gives us a brief, yet, fulfilling summery of a big company man’s attributes, life, and death. In this work, the author uses referential writing as her primary purpose of writing, while she also uses narration as her primary pattern for the analysis of the writing. She begins, opening up with “He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 AM Sunday Morning.” in order to grab our attention. She then goes into the different aspects of his life, starting with his devotion to his company and some of the different characteristics about him. Next, she lists, in chronological order, the different people in his family, and analyzes what he meant to each person listed. Finally, in closing, the author repeats some of her work, reflecting her writing in her introduction, closing with more elements about him and his work ethic, but also reminding us of how he sacrificed work for family. She then finishes her writing with “So when he finally worked himself to death, at precisely 3:00 AM Sunday morning, no one was really surprised”