Light And Darkness Play Analysis

The wind wailed relentlessly against the windows of the old house. The youngest child gazed unblinkingly through the window into the restless sea. From the mist, a shadow figure began to form and a sharp gasp escaped from the child’s lips. The ghost rose majestically from the mist and danced wildly in the air. Its dark golden eyes pierced straight into the eyes of the petrified child. A high pitched scream slipped from the lips of the child and suddenly the sun peeked from behind the clouds. The entire world seemed to calm in one soothing motion and a small smile crept unto the lips of the child. The shadowy figure had been replaced by a large white flag. The unknown can seem frightening and ominous at times. In The Last Sin Eater by

The scene setting was disarrayed and cluttered representing chaos in the characters lives. The dim lighting represents the hidden truth; Bright lighting represents truth, openness and clarity. In the darkness our mind can see a different perspective, in the light our minds can see what is real. The sound of crickets and outside noises can be heard throughout the duration of the performance. This represents the loneliness and isolation from the outside or ‘real’ world. Throughout the disappearance of Ruby, Sylvie especially has been isolated inside of their home, away from the rest of the world to escape from her unbearable grief, to a world of

In a photographer’s booth, we see the symbol of light where parents are able to look on themselves from the side and they have a possibility to understand that they are intolerable to each other. “The place is shadowed in the mauve light which is apparently necessary”. Unfortunately, they know it from the beginning but they don not want to accept it because it will disturb already chosen path. “…and finally, shocked by their indifference”. The only son, who is going to start an adult life, able to summarize the parents mistakes and to build his future in the light of love, hope and faith. “…into the cold light, I woke up”. No matter what and when we are always know where is the light but sometimes it is easier to wander in a gloom then to find strength to look at the sun.

In the beginning, there is very little light. It is almost dusk, and the speaker describes the smell as “dark” (7). Towards the middle and end there are various lights: lanterns, lamplight, fireflies, lamp (9, 11, 13, 20). This change over time depicts the storyteller’s significance to the speaker, because she brought enlightenment to his life. In this poem, light is a metaphor for knowledge, while darkness is a metaphor for ignorance. At the end, the old wise storyteller, who is the embodiment of wisdom, “was the lamplight” (20). In contrast, the two boys, who are young and ignorant, are “in one shadow” (21). The juxtaposition of light with darkness shows that the speaker and storyteller are opposites in their insight. Additionally, it is strange that she is a light before them, yet they are still shadowed. What is blocking the light from them? This metaphor illustrates that it takes time for people to become sage like their elders. As the speaker says, adulthood is “childhood’s aftermath,” which means that the knowledge people gain in childhood will lead them to be wise adults such as the storyteller

Lightness and darkness is a common theme throughout literature, most writers use it through symbols in their writing. In Poe’s story “Masque of the Red Death” and Hawthorne’s story “Minister’s Black Veil” both portray themes of lightness and darkness using symbolism throughout.

Light is used in the story to symbolize hope in a world full of despair and dark times. “We could not see our body nor feel it, and in that moment nothing existed save our two hands over a wire glowing in a black abyss” (Rand 60). Equality has discovered electrical light which was destroyed and hidden many years ago. The light also meant to symbolize Equality’s new found in a society where hope is outlawed leaving people sad and depressed with no knowledge of other emotion. A light in a world of “darkness” has

Throughout the story Baldwin illustrates that darkness is approaching when he says, “And when light fills the room, the child is filled with darkness. He knows that every time this happens he's moved just a little closer to that darkness outside”(7). The darkness and light Baldwin describes works as cycle, similar to night and day, after light comes darkness and after darkness comes light. The pattern of darkness and light is painted to symbolize the cycle of suffering and salvation, showing without one the other cannot exist. It is how to achieve this balance of light and dark that the narrator struggles with throughout the story. The narrator witnesses many instances of darkness, when his daughter died he wrote, “I was sitting in the living-room in the dark, by myself, and I suddenly thought of Sonny. My trouble made his real”(14). This instance of darkness the narrator depicts shows that suffering hold a present everywhere, it’s universal, and people can cope with their suffering though relating to one another. Furthermore, the recurring idea of darkness throughout the story shows that suffering will always exist and it is a vital part of the human experience. However, one can find the light, escaping the darkness for a moment, through relating to one another and showing compassion. In essence, the symbols light and darkness are used to develop Baldwins theme that suffering is

"Fleance his son, that keeps him company, Whose absence is no less material to me Than is his father's, must embrace the fate Of that dark hour" (III.i.135-138). He refers to the ‘dark hour’ as the time when they die, and since they are travelling during the night. All in all, light and dark play a big role in impacting the the play.

It initially shows worry for her children and sadness for departing from them. For example, the passage states that “when she thought of all the food she had cooked… well the children showed it.” She is proud of her work raising her children and this illustrates that she worked very diligently and strenuously in doing so. The theme of pride continues as she remembers the work she did to make life better for herself and her family after John left her. However, death returns as the image of lighting the lamps represents her lifeforce fading and her initial emotion is fear, then peace as “the lamp is lit” meaning the time has come for her passing and there was no need for her children to “hang on to mother anymore,” meaning she is realizing that her children will be fine without her and is making her peace with

The use of describing the lighting in the story is not seen in many uses of literature. The brightness and darkness is a use of symbolism. The brightness of the light is used when describing Sonny as a boy. It symbolizes is innocence and the warmth being surrounded by the people from the church. The use of bright light symbolizes the positive aspects of life.

Darkness can be a comfortable place for anyone. Without having to look at yourself or have people see you, one may not feel as judged or insecure. Light is revealing. In a bright room, you can’t hide tears, blemishes, or emotions. Blanche, from A Streetcar Named Desire, knows the pain of light all to well. Blanche flees a failed company and a failed marriage in attempt to find refuge in her sister’s home. Through her whirlwind of emotions, the reader can see Blanche desires youth and beauty above all else, or so the readers think. In reality, she uses darkness to hide the true story of her past. In A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Williams uses the motif of light to reveal Blanche’s habit of living in a fantasy world until the

The childs inability to comprehend what he had witnesses, added with his fear of night creatures which he tried to dispel by capturing light in a jar " to exorcise monsters that whispering would rise nightly from the intricate wood that ringed his bed" further intensified his horror and loss of innocence and faith. The reference to “wood” also acts as a religious allusion to the Garden of Eden.

The light tones of his hair and shirt, between the window and the table where his wife and Mr.Thatcher are seated, contrast with the darkness of the clothes of the characters in the foreground. Due to his positioning in the frame, the father obstructs the passage of the exterior light, to the point that the foreground seems even darker than the rest of the frame. He materializes, solely with his presence, a rupture between the back and foreground depriving the long take of a homogenous light. The first lighting contrast between the outside and the inside of the home emphasizes the opposition of the adult and child worlds. The first perspective is accentuated by heavy decor elements like the ceiling, beams, bulkhead, that render the atmosphere even heavier.

The Doctor in Spite of Himself is a play that I had previously studied in France like many of Molière’s plays. I thought that it was ironic for me to go see the play for the first time in theatre in the United States. I was really looking forward to hear how the actors would pronounce the characters’ French names, which are rather exotic even for me. I think that because I had previously studied Molière’s work in class, I was expecting this play to be performed in a much more traditional style. I was a little disconcerted at first when seeing the actors performing a more modern version than what I had in mind. I ended up liking what Arne Zaslove has done with the play. In my opinion, modernizing it a

Depression is the leading mental illness worldwide, affecting millions of people every day. As one of the most common mental illnesses, it can occur to anyone, at any age, and to people of any race or ethnic group. With his book Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, William Styron became of the first people to publicly acknowledge his struggling battle with depression. Darkness Visible is an intense and haunting account of Styron’s own suicidal depression in which he reminds us of the toll that this dreadful illness can have on an individual. As Styron describes his own descent into depression, he tells about the place that he was in, “the despair beyond despair” as he describes it to be. Since its publication, his memoir has been appreciated throughout the world and become a helping hand for people around the world who are suffering from depression. Styron’s description of his experiences resonates with people in a deep and profound way, turning his work into an advocate for the movement for the awareness for depression