Gore Vidal Character Analysis

People who come from the early to mid 1900s were not exposed extensively to anything other than heterosexuality. For example, homosexuality was a foreign activity thought to be an illness. Therefore, no matter what kind of punishments gays received, they brought it upon themselves for choosing the ‘lifestyle’. Not only that, the media rarely wrote anything related to homosexuals; however, there were a few daring individuals who noted the issue. One of those people is an author named Norman Mailer, who, at the time, was just as guilty as his other contemporary peers rendering homosexuality as ‘unpleasant, ridiculous, or sinister connotations’ (source). He was one of the most promising and significant novelists to arise from World War II. He was also a brawler and commonly adopted a macho character that he valued highly, so it was no surprise that he did not view the

Throughout the 1950’s, the United States belonged to the Leave It To Beaver era. Families were structured around a strong, hard working father and a wonderful homemaker mother. Children were brought up with solid ideologies on what society expects from them and were warned about living a different and dangerous life. Only one-year separates Tennessee William’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room from there publishing dates during this decade of unwavering beliefs. These texts were seen as extremely controversial during their time due to their themes of homosexuality. Sexual orientation was an awkward topic during such a “to the book” time period and these texts pushed the limits, making them remarkable and memorable works. Both Tennessee Williams and James Baldwin explore the panic men experience while trying to comprehend what sexual orientation they belong to and highlight the masculine gay man. These texts also examine the woman’s role in the mist of it all.

Fahrenheit 451 is a novel based on a character amed Montag and the life he lives. Throughout the novel his belief will be challenged and he will begin to see the world he and the other characters live in differently. Overtime the man who he was will not be the man he becomes. His beliefs, the characters who have influenced him, and the ways that Montag changes will all be discussed in this essay.

In Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, had many opportunities to learn life lessons but every time his faulty thinking caused him to focus on the problem and not the solution. Whenever Holden looks at situations he negatively overgeneralizes them with a bad attitude rather than learning from it.

By doing this, he is succesful in showing that gay men are the same as anyone else. The only difference is who they choose to share a sexual life with. Once again modeling reality, several characters are confident in their sexuality but are hesitant to admit to it.

Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 and various other short stories once said, "Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations," and his observation is a perfect analysis of the importance of characters in fiction. The actions of characters in stories are what guide the most beloved ones. When a story is beloved it is most often driven by love of the characters, but the real question is why do readers love and relate to fictional beings. The types of characters that are most loved in fiction have roots in reality, and traits that make them more relatable to the reader.

“The Haunting of Emile Griffith” by Bob Herbert, presents Emile Griffith as an average individual, briefly describes the Paret v.s. Griffith fight in vivid imagery, and tackles society’s twisted view of homosexuality. Considering the article was printed approximately 40 years after the big fight, tensions have calmed down and people can analyze the surrounding circumstances with logic and rationality rather than emotion. Ultimately, the texts main purpose is to emphasize society’s distorted view of homosexuality and to present Griffith as a victim through the use of tone, diction, and credibility.

One who succumbs under the harshness of facing adversity is Eliezer Wiesel. For instance, on his way to a concentration camp, he sees the bodies of babies and children being burned in a ditch: "For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless His name? The Eternal Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank Him for?” (31). When Elie asks, “Why should I bless His name?”, after witnessing this catastrophe, his apostasy grows stronger. As he experiences the Nazis punishments, his ultimate trust in God diminishes into conflicts with what he should truly believe in. Furthermore, when Elie finally reaches the last concentration camp and wakes up, he thinks about looking for his missing father,

Throughout the memoir, Wiesel experienced a great deal of emotional trauma that led to change in character. One main instance of emotional trauma Weisel endured was with his father’s death. Early on in Night Wiesel promises himself, he will never leave his father and will do anything to keep him alive. You see his ideas begin to change at Buna. When his father was beaten by Idek and Franek, Elie could only watch in disbelief as he saw his father be beaten. However, he was not angry at the Kapos but at his father. He felt that his father was showing his weakness and in turn, that such weakness could put their chance of survival at risk. During the run to Gleiwitz, Eliezer saw Rabbi Eliahou’s son abandon his father. When Elie’s father died, crying out Elie’s name, he did not respond. Weisel later blamed himself for being too weak; “just like Rabbi Eliahou's son,” he had “not passed the test.”

Evil overshadows good because Elie’s personality had been stained with the thoughts of survival. As time passed he was no longer the innocent , changed by the pain and suffering brought around him. He lost his innocence and learned the ability to lie and commit acts of selfishness. When Elie has nothing he begins to question why people are doing this to all these people. Elie says “One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate. One less reason to live."(Wiesel 134) Elie is overwhelmed by the changes in his life that he begins to give into himself. Elie was once small and the world was open to him and the next its taken from him in the blink of an eye. Near the end of the Jewish New Year Elie accuses God again. ‘Why do you still trouble

In researching the Fahrenheit 451 character, Guy Montag, “Guy” means guide, or leader.1 This is surprisingly suitable as a descriptor for this particular character because, as a fireman, he tries to lead people in the correct way of life. An example would be when he tried to lead the woman out of the house, since they were going to burn it. Later he tries to guide Mildred to the belief that the woman wouldn’t have died for nothing, and that there must be something meaningful in the books. In the beginning, the name doesn’t completely fit, because Montag seems more like a follower. Specifically, when Beatty comes to visit lecture him and he’s very afraid. Even when he first meets Clarisse, his name definition seems out of character because she seems to be guiding him out from under society’s spell, rather than the other way around. However, this is actually a pretty fitting name for this particular character overall, since he winds

It’s a society where books are burned and people do not know each other. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Guy Montag, at first a loyal follower in a seemingly utopian society, questions his country’s rules and thoughts. Although they may seem different, when a closer look is taken, the society of Fahrenheit 451 and our society may have some similarities.

Blanche’s descriptions of her young husband are void of any vapid generalities associated with homosexuality. Blanche describes Allan to Mitch with these words: “There was something different about the boy, a nervousness, a softness and a tenderness, which wasn’t like a man’s, although he wasn’t the least bit effeminate looking—still— that thing was there…” (Williams 108). Through this description of Allan, Williams shatters the preconceived notions the American middlebrow may have of a gay man. Allan Gray looked nothing like the formulaic homosexual, and yet, he was still a gay man. Allan Grey becomes simply a man who happened to be gay, as opposed to a man who was gay and nothing else. Williams furthers this rebuke of problematic stereotypes by removing the quintessential indicator of homosexuality from his description of Allan Grey. As Michael Schiavi writes: “Effeminacy, which American culture continues to read as an infallible homosexual marker, remains conspicuously absent throughout his stories” (Schiavi 108). Williams refused to promote baseless and misguided notions of homosexuality in his work. Through this refusal, Williams destroys the perception the middlebrow American of his time had of homosexuality, forcing them to confront the reality that gay men are not all

While the undertones of the novel were disgraceful when researched, this was only due to the Victorian people’s religious countenance. A similar situation still occurs in the 20th and 21st centuries. There is a struggle to understand and normalize homosexuality while still understanding that it is something that is an integral part of society. In this dissonance, The Picture of Dorian Gray became a middle ground for the community by walking that fine line between being the pinnacle of a sexually fluid revolution and having

Fahrenheit 451, a novel written by Ray Bradbury, is set in a fictional dystopian world of the future. The main character in the novel, Guy Montag, is a respected fireman. However, in this era, firemen are government workers who start fires to burn illegal books, instead of putting fires out. Guy Montag changes slowly throughout the plot of the novel, acting based on his desire to better understand the reasons for books. In this novel, people that think and read books are treated as misfits and criminals, who are on the receiving end of punishments and mistreatments. Ray Bradbury speaks to the reader through the words and actions of Montag throughout the novel, Fahrenheit 451, to warn the reader of the corrupt and manipulated societies