Discovery In A Polish Christmas

Imagine a staged production of A Christmas Carol set in 1843. See the stage set in the exact time it was written by Charles Dickens. The foggy, crowded streets abuzz with carolers and shoppers, the children staring wide eyed into the shops and bakeries. Hear the bells ringing as a round of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” fills the gaslit streets with joy. As a child, going to see A Christmas Carol was one of my fondest Christmas memories. To witness Scrooge 's’ transformation from a mean, greedy old man to a joyous, loving benefactor always left me smiling and filled me with hope.

In this paper I will discuss Social Theories such as Structural Functionalism, Conflict theory; with emphasis on Karl Marx’s early work and how it relates to the conflict theory and Symbolic interaction. I intend to define and discuss relevant sociological terms of these theories and how these theories could apply to my favorite holiday which is Christmas.

This is convoluted through indirect descriptions of the cat’s anger at his master from different angles unusual to a cat, like waiting “till he turns up” and thinking whether he will “ever get a lesson on what not to do to a cat”. The purpose of making it convoluted is to connote a sense of instability in the cat resulting from his “disappeared” master. The reader is immensely surprised by the irony used in giving thought processes to the cat, which are beyond the reader’s expectation. Phrases like “get a lesson” and “show his face” add to the irony. This irony, coupled with the flow of these thoughts along with the details used, makes the reader feel the cat’s presence and hear his thoughts. This generates a sense of the cat as an intellectual being and allows the reader to feel and understand the cat’s anger under this characteristic. This anger is justified by the phrase “visibly offended paws”. Again, Szymborska’s use of irony coupled with the language choices succeeds in pushing the reader beyond habitual perceptions to understand the cat’s feeling of loss through the effective conveyance of the cat’s anger and

Gwen is an emotionally challenged character and is unable to perceive individuals intentions with the lack of knowledge and the need of materialistic possessions to feel secure about life. Due to Gwen’s harsh experience in the depression, Gwen is demanding in every aspect of her relationship and isn’t able to clarify the emotions of others. “There! Are they there? Can you see a set of keys I can’t. Can anyone see a set of keys? Gwen is trying to find the keys by taking everything out, illustrates the symbol of the lack of key to life, which is a reflection or change in perspective to rediscover and solve issues in life. Parallel characterisation and irony is highlighted to encapsulate that Gwen is self-absorbed and oblivious of her surrounding and her actions because Gwen isn’t able to realise that she is what she portrays her daughter to be. You know what you are becoming? Snide. A nasty, snide girl. No one likes a snide girl...” As Gwen has loss of control with her relationship with people becomes a need for Gwen to review every phase of her life. The metaphoric baggage is trying to shut the range of chaos and emotion, and the baggage that Gwen is holding, the emotional baggage “They struggle with the case until it is shut” Meg carries this baggage to show that Gwen is affecting others around her and is in need of a self-discovery. Discovery

If I leave a tip at an evening party, my father gives up cigars for a week. This is how it has been for twenty two years. Somewhere in Poland we had a farmstead. I’ve never seen it. It was the source of everything; the uniform, tuition, money for theatre tickets, entry fees for exams, and duel fee” (Embers 45). Konrad could have been jealous and envy Henrik’s financial status, but he still held to his friendship. Sometimes people make friends with others who have something they lack. This could be evident that Konrad is only friends with Henrik because he has wealth, while Henrik could be friends with Konrad because of his understanding of Music. Relationships could be built on a foundation of needs to fill in missing parts of one’s life, even if it is below the surface and unnoticed by the couple.

The preliminary settings are as ordinary as they can be. It is a “Wednesday afternoon” (245) boring classroom between a geography class and an art project. It is quite and peaceful in Five Oaks. In the background of a rural community consisted of “unemployed college graduates” and “stay-at-home moms”(246),Miss Ferenczi is a colorful stranger. She is a breath of excitement to the children's dull lives. She presents herself to the class in a very theatrical manner. First thing she mentions about herself is her royal Hungarian ancestors. Her tale fascinates the young minds. Tommy the narrator of the story, “does not take his eyes of the woman”(246). He notices a curious characteristic of her physical appearance “the two prominent lines, descending vertically from the sides of her mouth to the chin”(247). They resemble Pinocchio, who was never a real boy, but a prominent liar, further emphasizing the way Miss Ferenczi plays with truths and facts. Pinocchio reference is a push-pull phenomena. It brings to the story the argument of

While the Smolinsky family is not literally “hanging on Bessie’s neck for her wages”, this displays to the reader how desperation affected them. The metaphor acts as a bridge between the reader and the event, therefore allowing them to feel the same worry that Sara harbors through the shared experience of “hanging” without support. It is important for the audience to relate to the characters, yet this cannot happen if the author’s portrayal gives little humanity to their characters. Hence, when Yezierska writes that financial help according to Sara and her family is a “stab into our burning shame”, it shows that despite any prior notions of poverty being an “ornament”, they still have human wants and needs. Moreover, it shows that her characters are not emotionless apathetic beings that live only on their faith; they too endure deviations from what is expected of them. At any rate, repeated similes have an analogous consequence on the reader's thoughts. Multiple comparisons within a small section of text compound the anxiety, bombarding the same heavy emotions that Sara feels onto the reader in a way that they can sympathize with her, and in turn, Yezierska herself. Altogether, these literary moves go further than simply entertaining the audience, but informing them about what the world was truly

Mike Rauser’s article, “War on Christmas” product of spoiled attitudes, provides an introduction to help explain the contents learned in this class. His article has viewpoints that can be demonstrated by the four nodes of religion inquiry, and Ninian Smart’s six dimension of religion. His article acts as a springboard to show our understanding of the course materials.

Whatever attempts were made to lift spirits it was clear to all that, on the domestic front, the war was causing growing shortages. The price of meat increased sharply and housewives found themselves paying more for the Christmas joint. In the trenches Christmas was quite uneventful. One soldier wrote, ‘The Bosch was rather quiet. Our orderly officer set up his gramophone and did a good day’s work. 11a.m. a Padre turned up and we had a service in the mess. We had mince pies for lunch and they were very good. At 6p.m. we were invited to a concert. The singing was not very great but quite cheery. The Christmas pudding came in on fire in great style. So ended Christmas in this weary waste of France.’

It is through our experiences that we can discover what is already known, but can also lead us uncover the gems life as has to offer. While discoveries can be meaningful it is through our sentimental attitudes that unlock the purpose of what is to be found or rediscovered. In Gow’s Away Gwen is portrayed to be a fairly typical of some housewives in the 1960’s, as she is made out to be seen as snobby brat that takes everything for granted without a second thought in mind, regardless of her surroundings. While she is not accepting of many things Gwen tends to poke within the cracks when she ever gets a chance to “I didn’t know you were a friend of his boy’s, Margaret” fond of a new discovery that she yet has an understanding of, continuing on

There indeed was a miracle that Christmas of 1914 that brought peace in the middle of chaos. In the midst of a horrific battle of WW1, the gunfire ceased and singing could be heard, bringing peace and the memory of home. Although the fighting had been going on for five months, “Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in WW1 ceased firing their guns and artillery and commenced to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the Eastern and Western fronts, the solders of Russia, France and Britain even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing’’. (www.history.com)

Many composers have expanded the process of discovery to uncover what is hidden and its effect upon the individual. In the short story Let’s go to Golgotha, Kilworth clearly conveys his character uncovering the hidden truth as “the realisation of what that wrong was began to sink in very rapidly.” The audience can follow Kilworth’s interpretation of the process of discovery through the character’s

Evolution of culture is inevitable, as shown in John Storey’s articles, Inventing Opera as art in Nineteenth-Century Manchester and The Invention of the English Christmas. Within both articles, Storey showcases the transformation of culture, with the opera from low-class entertainment to high-class art and Christmas transforming from a religious centered event to a capitalism driven day. Both articles look at class hierarchy, the rise of materialism and accessibility. While both of Storey 's articles are concerned with the evolution of cultural events, the opera emphasises class hierarchy, whereas the article on the progression of Christmas focuses on a materialistic revolution.

Born Christa Ihlenfeld on March 18th 1929 in a town by the name of Landsberg an der Warthe (what is today the town of Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland), Christa’s father owned a grocery store with some help from Christa’s mother, which provided Christa and her younger brother with a comfortable and carefree childhood. 1“Gorzow-wielkopolski is located approximately twenty-five miles from Germany’s eastern border. Landsberg, with its modest red brick houses that line the river, and the surrounding countryside, with its dark pine forests and sandy hills, are the perfect setting for a novel. These characteristics, allowed many of Wolf’s

Fay Weldon’s short story, “Ind Aff,” is about a very important turning point in a woman’s life. At a restaurant with the woman’s lover, she comes to realize some very important things about their relationship, as well as why she had decided to pursue him. At the conclusion, she ultimately rejected a future with him, rather than waiting for him choose her over his wife. Early in the story, the author paints a very detailed and dramatic picture of Sarajevo in the reader’s mind. She uses particular details in the setting to paint a picture that gives the reader clues to the narrator’s ultimate choice in the short story. In “Ind Aff,” the symbols in the setting are used to reveal that the narrator's relationship with her lover is temporary and an obstacle that she must overcome.