Lily Wealth Passage Analysis

“Bartleby makes the lawyer question his own life, and eel very troubled, even ashamed, about it. Solitary young men, aloof and fastidious, are too much trouble “because of the extravagant demand they make in human nature.” (McCall, p. 7) (Emerson, p.

By noting the subtitles of human conditions under the stress of strict societal control, Edith Wharton created literature that is true to the society she portrayed. Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley probably would have liked to cause each other bodily harm, yet their society ruled that such behavior would not be tolerated. Therefore, they buried their feelings and expressed them only in subtle movements and off the cuff remarks, bits and pieces of communication that most people would overlook. However, Wharton realized that these fragments composed the only true communication and therefore composed the real story of Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley.

In modern society, men and women share more equality, however sexual discrimination played a larger part in the perceived role of women in the Victorian Era as seen in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë , and through Jane’s devout passion and defying the normalities and expectations for women of this era, the concept of feminism is portrayed through Jane caused by the manipulation of the patriarchy through the significant men seen in this book. The concept of gender roles isn’t a genuine truth, but is a product of the dominant patriarchy and social practice that is so alluded to throughout the novel. Now, as the active role of women is increasingly recognized by society, the actual controversy lies in the idea that an uncontrollable factor such as gender can determine the portrayal of a person in that society, and that women aren’t accepted as mutual equals, but victimized to be subservient to men. The bestowed role of women is apparent in all societies, but is especially evident concerning the direct placement of women and constant suppression of character and desires, such as Jane endured throughout her lifetime. As Jane’s restless spirit becomes agitated with her stagnant place, she often seeks solitude in the solemn attic to dwell in silence. There she paces, allowing her ever-expanding thoughts to wander, and now she considers the achievability of satisfaction, and the unattainability of tranquility and contentment. Jane demonstrates her frustration, and how the

Women in society sometimes are subject to objectification, meaning they are treated as a mere object; unequal to men. In the novel, The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, this holds true, except, women are said to be equal to men, but are not treated in this exact manner. Lily is apart of the upper class society of New York and attends parties, gambles all her money, and throughout the whole book tries to marry a rich man. Wharton’s feminism is apparent in the way she treats Lily; Lily gets through society, merely by keeping up her appearances. Beauty and appearance are everything in this society, if you are beautiful you will get far in society, however, the only thing Lily is lacking is wealth. In the novel, feminism is present with the idea of appearances and the symbol of money is used to convey that men are needed to control a women’s social stability.

The concept of balance is central to Herman Melville’s “The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids.” The first story of the diptych reflects the opulent and extravagant feasting of a group of lawyers in London, while the second depicts the laborious, cold, and bland life of workers at a paper mill. These polar opposites perfectly illustrate this idea of a worldly equilibrium would have resounded well with Melville’s Romantic, educated, and upper class readership. Though there is much to be learned through this historical context, viewing the juxtaposition of success and struggle through a modern lens yields another perspective that Melville could never have foretold.

Born in 1862, Edith Wharton Newbold Jones was brought up within the graceful, wealthy yet conservative, confining circle of New York society, which fostered sexual repression and prided itself on the innocence of its young girls. Edith Wharton herself was discouraged from expressing her emotions or developing her intellect which was supposed to be very unbecoming traits in a woman. This is the reason why she stressed in her fiction the need of growth, and has shown how painful and frustrating this process can be for a woman. This process of growth and development is revealed in her major works, Ethan Frome (1911), and Summer (1917) (Balakrishnan 1).

At first, Austen reveals the tensions between the working class and the upper class and emphasizes the rigid social structure that existed in nineteenth century London. The rigidity of the social structure can be attributed to the fact that “no class exists for itself but is bound by reciprocated rights and duties to classes above and below” (Kilger 359). Although the classes are separate and very distinct from each other, they still all depend on one another to thrive and succeed. However, this was definitely not the case during the

A tone of superficiality I carried out throughout the passage as the diarist reveals his priorities as well as the issues his society deems of importance. Addison cultivates a tone in which society is represented as lackluster and apathetic. Mr. Nisby accurately represents the working class society. He used as a contrast of the society the diarist come from which is ignorant and views issues such as the death of the Grand Vizier as another daily event which holds no meaning for it doesn’t affect him directly. An example of society’s disregard to the outside world is directed when a stranger asks the diarist for the stock prices. This shows how no one cares about the Grand Vizier but only of the stock prices, as the stock prices affect their flow of money which allows them to live this lackluster lifestyle they find comfort in. This goes to show how the diarist employs a sense that the bystander society is selfish. Addison’s passage portrays society as ignorant and consumed in their daily affairs with no care about anyone or anything unless it concern them.

This encounter is a key example of the egocentricity of all millionaires of the 1920’s who believed was a figurative escape pass. Secondly, in a deep study of manipulating power throughout Fitzgerald’s novel, it was noted that the rich allow themselves to spend carelessly in contrast to those who worked hard for every penny they earned. Veblen recounts the realities of the spendings of the wealthy and classifies them as nonessential and foolish: “...Both of these features denote the respectability of the millionaire and emphasize that he can allow himself to waste his money and time on idle amusements and unnecessary goods…”. In the novel, Tom and Daisy allowed themselves to waste in an extremely generous fashion, and spend copious amounts of money on grand items that nearly any individual who works extremely hard for their money would not even consider buying. This gives the characters a sense of obligation to overspend their money and reach beyond the needs of common individual. This ability to escape the normal problems such as debt and bankruptcy explains their shallow personalities and self-centered lives; this also creates a lack of sympathy for others because they believed everything and anyone can be bought off. To To summarize, in order to live a thrilling and joyous lifestyle, the wealthy class of the 1920’s lived recklessly without consequences, resulting in a self-centered personality and entitlement to rules.

The purpose of this Extended Essay is to challenge the general categorization of male as heroes in novels through one of Edith Wharton’s best novels by examining the question “How does Edith Wharton manifest the role of May Welland and Ellen Olenska in foreshadowing the plot of The Age of Innocence?” The scope of this essay encompasses two works; first a critical analysis of the character, May and second, an analysis of the character, Ellen, regarding their roles as foreteller and heroines in the novel. The unique use of Mythology by Wharton as symbols to portray her two leading female characters, in the era of the Gilded Age, is what initially drew me to write an essay on this topic. This essay thus explores Wharton’s use of mythology

Jane Eyre and Incidents in the life of a slave girl are two opposite literary texts which, despite being 19th century texts, belong to different historical periods. Brontë sets her character in the Victorian England. Jacobs, on the other hand, writes about slavery during the civil war in order to relate the treatment of slaves, and more precisely that of female slaves. We will analyse, in this essay, the differences as well as the similarities which exist between Jane Eyre and Incidents in the life of a slave girl written by herself. We see that they differ in terms of genre, the period of history in which they find themselves, the way the characters are presented and so forth. However, they share some of the main

The struggle of an individual in a class alienated society is emphasised by presenting two disparate classes: the bourgeois and the proletariat. The bourgeois are describes by the narrator as ‘titans and their gigantic wives’ who ‘drink barrels of champagne and bellow at each other wearing diamonds bigger than I feel’. The exaggeration used adds to the cynical tone to mock the elements of the bourgeois, but also suggests the hollowness of their wealth and how they possess greater than the narrator can grasp. The narrator in comparsion feels like a ‘cockroach’ shown in the description; they ‘just want to see you run around their money…they know they can’t threaten you with the tip, to them

In the novel contemporary economics are seen as laughable to the majority of the characters because their success has allowed them “[freedom] from everything – from money, from poverty, from ease and anxiety, from all material accidents” (Wharton 54). The majority of the characters are very wealthy and therefore do not have to worry about things such as gambling debts or the price of a dress like Lily does. In this novel the only time a contemporary economic factor matters is when one is trying to move up in the social ladder, otherwise they do not worry about it too much because they have enough to spend on whatever they would

In Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, Bronte seemingly condemns the existing social hierarchy. Not only are the characters who are most concerned with the allure of fortune and rank portrayed as either deceitful or unethical, but even characters who’ve accepted their means of poverty and demonstrate honest moral natures are mocked. Rather than use the normal class structures, the book suggests that a person of impoverished means can be viewed as socially respectable with the condition that they maintain a sincere desire to better both oneself and their means of living.

Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte explore social class in a number of different ways throughout their novels Pride and the Prejudice and Jane Eyre. They do this through the use of stylistic devices which in turn appeals to their different audiences. Both Jane and Charlotte are notable writers for their remarkable texts. Jane Austen is known for playing a revolutionary role in the generation of English female literature, which was counteracted by this piece- and Charlotte Bronte also developed her feminist thoughts, which have been displayed throughout her novels. By analysing social class in Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre this essay will compare these two women writers’ texts and display how social class is presented