Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, “The Butterfly” was published near the latter part of his career around 1862. At this point, his fairy tales and stories were no longer intended for children, and although this story could be told to children it has a sophisticated edge and meaning which is clearly intended for an older audience. On the surface this tale, number 111, is the story of a butterfly who wished to be married, but waited too long and ended up alone. It first appears that the point of the tale is a social one which refers to the pressure of society making a single man feel like he should be married. Yet, the interest of this tale is not the mere echo of society’s expectations for a young man, but how Andersen created in two and …show more content…
He believes that the state of being ‘stuck’ must be like marriage. Clearly, this male butterfly could be seen as the symbolic representation of a young man who does not want to settle down, has hyper-critical tendencies, or is just generally shallow like a stereotypical young man sowing his wild oats. It is stated that he wants a sweetheart, but that could just mean that he thinks he should have a girlfriend as a result of society’s pressure for young people to marry. Through his unwillingness or his character flaws, this young man seems to end up a bitter old bachelor consoling himself with the proverbial sour grapes. That overview is just the surface of this tale, and the multiple layers of the story start to come out in the flowers. Andersen had a background in folklore that is undeniable, and some smatterings of that knowledge along with a reference to botany is revealed when he speaks of the various flowers throughout the spring and summer. It begins with the camomile, also spelled chamomile, scientifically known as Anthemis nobilis, but also grouped with the similar plants of the genus Matricaria chamomilla both varieties are common in Eurasia (American Heritage Dictionary “chamomile”). That might not appear to be a crucial part of the tale, but it is probably a piece of information Andersen was familiar with since he referred to the
Children often learn about their society’s ideals of love and relationships from fairy tales. Told from a female perspective, the poem Puce Fairy Book by Alice Major challenges and disproves the unfeasible and degrading expectations that women are held to, specifically by men in relationships. The motivation of the speaker, addressing a male counterpart, is to say that she does not care for other’s opinions of her faults and does not desire such unaccepting people in her life. Major’s use of fairy tale allusions and metaphors play an important role in establishing the central message that is the “perfect” ideological image that society has created for women to conform to are unrealistic and
The symbolized inferior butterfly has been killed by a more superior human. Killing a butterfly doesn’t usually come to people as a huge occurrence but this really is a small event turned major because it alters the future timeline. The theme of this story is a metaphor on society because in the post-world war era this was an important message, one action from a high ranking official, or even a small person doing a dangerous deed could most definitely cause panic and have far greater impact on society, just as the two World Wars did.
In her article, “Cinderella: Not So Morally Superior,” Elisabeth Panttaja illustrates the important role of parents in a childhood. She talks about the importance the mother plays in all versions of Cinderella as well as evidence showing what lack of parenthood does to children. Panttaja claims by way of the Grimms Brothers version of Cinderella and how each mother wants to guarantee a bright and happy future for their daughters by marrying them off to the prince. The similarities between the wanting of Cinderella and the stepsisters married- and doing anything to get it- contradicts the idea that Cinderella and her mother were morally superior, or different at all, from the stepmother and sisters.
Just how people don’t judge a book by its cover, don’t do the same to fairy tales. Fairy tales are more than what they appear to be. They are far more than children’s bedtime readings. Although, they aren’t extensive, they pack a considerable amount of information and leave space for interpretation. They reveal the truth of how the world can be unfair and people can be cruel. Most fairy tales have been rewritten, some more than others. The later versions have been sugar-coated and made to be appropriate children’s stories. In the tale, “Bluebeard”, by Charles Perrault, which is not sugar-coated, has an unexpected theme in comparison to most fairy tales. This wealthy man has a blue beard, which all women are repulsed by. He wants to get married, so he sways the girl by hosting a party that last an entire week. They get married and soon after, the husband must go for a business trip, tells the wife to enjoy herself by inviting her friends over and before he leaves, he gives her one rule to follow. Her actions lead to the repercussions that follow her. Before describing the tale, certain characteristics come to mind when thinking of fairy tales, such as magic, animals, protagonist, villain, royalty, etc. One critical aspect that fairy tales contain is a moral. In the fairy tale, “Bluebeard”, there may seem to be more than one theme or lesson to be learned, but one critical moral is how curiosity can lead to the downfall of disobedience.
In the familiar more traditional version, Cinderella is a poor maid girl that, with the help of fairy godmother, gets a chance to meet prince charming. They fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after, and then what? What is a happily ever after? Is this even a realistic thought? In the dark comedic poem Cinderella, Anne Sexton forces the reader to examine this question. Utilizing literary devices such as tone, imagery, and style, Sexton encourages the reader to think about how silly and unlikely a fairy tale ending actually is.
In David Hwang’s play, M. Butterfly, the story covers the superior attitude that Western white men hold toward Eastern oriental women which is shown through Rene Gallimard’s experiences. Throughout the story, Gallimard constantly brings up his favorite play, M. Butterfly, where an oriental woman, Butterfly, gives up and loses everything including her life for the white man she loves, Pinkerton, and despite Butterfly’s efforts, Pinkerton ends up marrying another woman causing Butterfly to commit suicide. Many white men enjoy this play because it portrays white men to look superior and gives them the assumption that oriental women would do and give up anything for a white man. Gallimard is also one of the white men who believe they are superior to oriental women and that no matter what he does, an oriental woman would never leave his side. Gallimard 's belief of racial superiority is what led him to his control over Song as if Gallimard was Pinkerton and Song was his Butterfly, this fantasy that Gallimard created for himself was false because in reality, Gallimard was the Butterfly and Song was the Pinkerton.
A Cage of Butterflies, by Brian Caswell, is a science fiction book. Dr Larsen starts an institute for children who are geniuses so he can study them. Within this context Society Is represented as a place where those who are different have much to fear than those who are normal. Young people brought in this institute are affected in many ways when they tried to participate in normal sociality outside the institute. Once inside they faced different fears not about exclusion but the risk of exploitation and being used for research and financial gain. There challenge is to take control of their own futures to live their own lives outside the institute in a wold where there is a lot of judgment.
In the Time of the Butterflies revolves around the Mirabal sisters, women living in a very patriarchal, “macho” society. Their personal struggles are part of the power of their story, as they stand not only as symbols of rebellion against Trujillo, but at the same time as loving, independent women with husbands and children. Alvarez shows how the resistance against women in politics can even be propagated by the women themselves, as both Mamá and Patria initially express sentiments that women are inferior to men, or else are somehow “purer” and so shouldn’t dirty themselves with politics. In talking to the interview woman in the present day, Dedé says that women “followed their husbands,” but she knows that this is an excuse, as she is the
"The novel Cage of Butterflies primarily explores how scientific research can become corrupted by the profit motive."
In the book, In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, the four Mirabal sisters were forced to live under the political oppression of the Dominican dictator Trujillo. Despite, the thematic changes that occurred in the book, there are other information about Dominican Republic that one can further understand. The recurring topics in the book were political oppression and traditional religious practice/ beliefs. There is evidence that shows the life of people who are living under the fear of the dictator and how the religious beliefs and traditional views on women scoped the society during that time period.
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” (Andre Gide) In the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez, four sisters are led through a risk infested journey in which they must overcome hindrances with hollow consequences. This historical fiction novel takes us through a rollercoaster of events, incorporating everything from the partialities towards women, to life below the oppressive administration of the Dominican Republic’s dictator, Rafael Trujillo. The events painted by the four sisters give us some insight as to the positives and negatives of life in the Dominican Republic. As the novel progresses, we see the diversity in relation to the
Structure is salient, especially in literature. So much can be revealed solely through the way a novel is written. Two prime examples of this are Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. Alternating points of view are present in both, and that detail exposes connections between two seemingly unrelated novels. Although Richard Mayhew and Dedé Mirabal are two very different characters, they share the struggle of loss and a lack of ipseity, but are resilient and overcome their hardships, which is shown constantly throughout each novel.
Marriage has often been described as one of the most beautiful and powerful unions one human can form with another. It is the sacred commitment and devotion that two people share in a relationship that makes marriage so appealing since ancient times, up until today. To have and to hold, until death do us part, are the guarantees that two individuals make to one another as they pledge to become one in marriage. It is easy to assume that the guarantee of marriage directly places individuals in an everlasting state of love, affection, and support. However, over the years, marriage has lost its fairy
Chopin introduces the story with pleasant images and events; she enchants the reader with fairy tales. A woman who cannot have children is blessed with the most “beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere” (31) of
M butterfly a play by David Henry Hwang has captivated audiences for many years! I love story with many twist and turns M butterfly describes an affair between a Chinese “women” and a French diplomat that caries on for 20 years only to discover that the Women was actually a man. A spy for the communist party sent to get information on the Vietnam war, but Gillard was to stubborn to see it until Liling the Chinese opera singer is sent to France where she is found to be a man in court. Through this we can see the relationship between Gender, capitalism and ethnicity/ nationality and sexuality.