Literature 115-003 April 22, 2010 Donna Craine The Hit Man’s Contradiction T. Coraghessan Boyle is a unique modern author whose work is a mixture of humor and social exploration. Boyle seems to have a very morbid sense of humor; most of what he writes pushes the envelope and challenges the meaning of what humor is. T. C. Boyle was born on December 2, 1948. He grew up in a small town in Iowa and first had dreams of being a musician. To this day Boyle still performs in a garage band and is very passionate about music. Boyle quickly realized in college that he could not make a living from music and drifted through classes until liberal arts became his passion. Boyle was successful in schooling from that point on, “He received a Ph.D. …show more content…
“He responds to the Hit Man’s knock, expresses surprise at the Hit Man’s appearance. The Hit Man takes Cynthia by the elbow, presses a twenty into her father’s palm, and disappears into the night.” This is a very unique first date story even for the culture of the 80’s which seemed to be more sexually open than ever before. On an average first date the male usually tries to impress the father and gets a lecture about what time he should safely bring the daughter home. But the Hit Man is different and Boyle creates these differences by contrasting the Hit Man to the social norms of the eighties. The next major event of the story I find conflicting with the history of T. C. Boyle is when the narrator skims over the death of the Hit Man’s parents. The narrator only gives this event in the Hit Man’s life five lines of the story. When the Hit Man’s mother is in the, “Hospital dying of cancer or heart disease,” or something the Hit Man doesn’t even care; he is out “shooting pool, lifting weights and drinking milk from the carton.” Briefly skimming over these events makes you believe that Boyle didn’t have a good relationship with his parents. When in fact that’s quite the opposite, Boyle has always been a family man and at one point of his life he was even employed at the same school where his mom was a secretary and his father was a janitor. (Cite this information) This is further proof that Boyle uses contradictions to the normality of his life to create a dark
The most effective poems convey the poet’s idea and influence the Reader’s Response. This is certainly true when considering the poetry of John Foulcher is a contemporary Australian poet who writes about his observation of everyday life, people and places, as well as religious history. The poet’s voice is distinctive and he writes in a condensed style where each word and image is very important and has layers of meaning. He also often uses very harsh and violent imagery in his poems, which can be very shocking to the reader. Foulcher uses a range of techniques in his poems to communicate meaning, including similes, metaphors, personification and onomatopoeia. The poems that will be discussed in this essay are Martin and the Hand Grenade
Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.
Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, “Poema para los Californios Muertos” (“Poem for the Dead Californios”), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the “Californios” through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language.
In this essay I am going to compare and contrast ‘When we two parted’ a poem of George Gordon, Lord Byron’s written in 1815 and Letitia Elizabeth Landon’s ‘Love’s last lesson’ written in c1838, both poets are British and of the romantic period.
Literature and poetry are a reflection of society. The words are reflected in numerous feelings that we can almost touch and can be deeply felt in its reach. Most poets expressed their perception and emotion through their writings. Unfortunately the art and poetry describes one of the worst things that human can do to one another. The legalized murder called "war." Hence, this type of self-reflection called "poetry" has help create new fundamental ideas and values towards our society. In this essay, I will discuss the issue of the "War Poetry" during the "Great War" along with comparing and contrasting two talented renowned poets; Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) and Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967).
Prompt: Read the following two poems very carefully, noting that the second includes an allusion to the first. Then write a well-organized essay in which you discuss their similarities and differences. In your essay, be sure to consider both theme and style.
Have you ever noticed that, many individuals never awaken to reality unless they are exposed to violence? In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” his main character, the grandmother is a master manipulator. In the story, a family is destroyed not only because of accidents caused by the grandmother, but also because the grandmother is inconsiderate and self-centered; they are all killed because they meet a murderer who also is unable to see beyond his own insights and choices. Her manipulative capabilities, her selfish, self-centeredness and her Southern lady nature are all examples of her deceitful role.
Reflections Within is a non-traditional stanzaic poem made up of five stanzas containing thirty-four lines that do not form a specific metrical pattern. Rather it is supported by its thematic structure. Each of the five stanzas vary in the amount of lines that each contain. The first stanza is a sestet containing six lines. The same can be observed of the second stanza. The third stanza contains eight lines or an octave. Stanzas four and five are oddly in that their number of lines which are five and nine.
Lisa Scottoline in the novel, Lady Killer, skillfully illustrates the reality between the law and relationships. Scottoline supports her demonstration by telling the story between Mary DiNunzio, her work, and friendships. Scottoline’s purpose is to capture the reader with realistic events that are normally not talked about in order to grasp the interest of her readers, and reveal the reality of criminal justice. Scottoline writes in a conversational tone for her young readers without previous knowledge about criminals nor law.
In the short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” a family comprising of a grandmother, a father, three children, and a wife is headed on vacation has the misfortune of meeting a murderous band of serial killers. The Misfit and his band of serial killers are recently escapees of a federal prison. In the following paragraphs this paper looks into the issues of, what one would do in a situation such as that and the background of the the family and murderers as well.
Donald Hall’s poetry career started at a young age when he focused on the way his poetry looked rather than what was being said. Then he shifted his focus to his and became in touch with his vatic voice. Donald Hall’s vatic voice influenced his poetry greatly this made his poetry is unique because of the extraordinarily metaphorical and philosophical things the vatic voice told him. Hall also wrote about events in his life such as his wife being diagnosed with cancer and her death. Hall’s writing process can be seen as a blessing and a curse, it can be seen as a blessing because he is able to hear what a higher power is telling him. It can be seen as a curse because when he was in a certain mood he would constantly hear voices and for
A Commentary on Behavior of Fish in an Egyptian Tea Garden by Keith Douglas. *The description of the men drawn to her starts with the rich cotton magnate immediately establishing the hierarchy the author seeks to show*. This hierarchy is further developed*in the actions of the different suitors. The rich magnate ‘through the frail reefs of furniture swims out’, the inverted syntax* in the line* suggesting grace and power. *T*he self-assured manner in which he acts suggests that the rich man is above the petty rivalries* that the others have. H*e knows his wealth gives him an insurmountable edge* (and this is further shown in the last stanza)*. *Also, the* author shows this from the* fact that *though this* fish is far from pretty with
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” declared by an influential leader Martin Luther King Jr. As a soldier againsts unfairness, King strongly states that people should fight for freedom. Driven by human nature, humans are always chasing freedom. In “A Century Later,” the Pakistan-born British poet Imtiaz Dharker uses the poetic devices of symbolism, diction, and allusion to explore how perseverance drives freedom.
Has poetry of the 21st century changed drastically? Well first off poetry in this age has become more musical than flowing piece of written art we read about today. If you take the time to break down the lyrics of a song and compare it to the poems in the 1500s we would see its more of the presentation that changed.
Poetry is a varied art form. Poetry is expression with words, using aesthetics and definition. Word choice in poetry is the single most important thing. Devices such as assonance, alliteration and rhythm work in a poem to convey a certain image or to facilitate understanding. Similes and metaphors can take two unlike objects, such as a potato and cinderblock, and if done the correct way use them to describe how Abraham Lincoln dealt with scoundrels. Poetry is beautiful. One of the best genres in poetry, let alone a great literary movement is Romanticism or the post-enlightenment Romantics.