Unlike past generations, Lung’s sons do not fully understand the true importance of the land. Growing up, Lung was forced to tend the land day in and day out. He depended on the earth everyday. His house was made out of the earth. The earth provided the structure for his gods. When him and the family were experienced the famine, the earth filled their rattling stomachs. But when Lung’s son grew up they never cared about the earth. The sons thought of it just as dirt and not gold like Lung did. They never were forced to work him the fields like their father. The very last paragraphs in the book, when Lung is dying he sons are talking about what they are going to do with all of their father’s land after he is dead. They both agreed that they
When we are introduced to Wang Lung in the beginning of the novel, he owns an average sized amount of land already in his possession, the same land that his father had farmed in his own time. However, as he becomes more successful later in his life, the farmer begins to purchase more land from the House of Hwang and from other farmers in his area. In comparison to others, Wang Lung considers his land to have rich soil and be perfect for farming, a prime example presented when he contrasts his own land to his uncle’s, which he describes to have “soil like lime” (Page 52) because of his uncle’s careless farming techniques. With his great wealth, Wang Lung is able to hire workers to tend to his land when he is in his old age, and to rent his land
Paper by Megan Gamble. J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye uses literary elements to create the alienated main character Holden Caulfield. When the novel begins Holden has just been expelled from his prestigious boarding school and is headed to New York City. Salinger used certain literary elements throughout the novel to develop his lead character in way that is understandable to the readers. Salinger uses literary elements such as setting, characters, and the theme of innocence to bring to life the alienation of Holden Caulfield.
Few novels encapsulate such a unique view of the world as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. While the majority of the United States was in turmoil (the Cold War and the Vietnam War), Ken Kesey was working in a psychiatric hospital. Based on his experience as a night aide, Kesey wrote his first novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1962.
Throughout One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey often uses fog as a symbol. Although fog may have been used as a symbol in other literary works, they do not hold a candle to the fog’s significance in Kesey’s piece. While reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, two major interpretations can be made for the symbolism of fog. For one, fog is symbolic of the waste that our mechanized society produces, and it pollutes the way we live naturally. In one instance, Chief and his inmates were asleep while the Combine were inspecting the ward (Kesey 90). During this time, Chief was afraid of them, the fog, and the mechanized society in general. On the other hand, fog symbolizes the fog of the mind -- after all, chief is schizophrenic -- and it
“Now Wang Lung had chosen a good place in his fields under a date tree upon a hill to set the graves, and Ching had the graves dug and ready and a wall of earth made about the graves, and there was space within the walls for the body of Wang Lung and for each of his sons and their wives, and there was space for sons' sons, also. This land Wang Lung did not begrudge, even though it was high land and good for wheat, because it was a sign of the establishment of his family upon their own land. Dead and alive they would rest upon their own land” (267). Again the novel compares the earth to human life. Very much like the seasons the lives of humans are always cyclical. After the death of O-Lan and Ching there will be another set of people in Wang Lung’s family and this will go on for generations much like the seasons of the
The poem “My Son the Man” is a short poem written by Sharon Olds. Using allusion and simile Sharon tells about a mom watching her son mature, growing and escaping her grasp. The mother expresses sadness as she reflects on her maturing son watching him grow into a man; comparing it the magician Houdini performing his mesmerizing challenging escapes.
Ken Kesey and Tom Schulman explore the struggle for independence by adopting similar setting, plot, and contrasting characterisation in their respective pieces, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Dead Poet’s Society. The two works share an exaggerated institutionalised setting, wherein the internal community is repressed by overbearing authority figures. However, as the media format varies, the portrayal, imagery, and symbolism of the setting differs. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Dead Poet’s Society contain parallel plots. Both involve the introduction of a ‘wildcard’ figure into the microcosms of the institute. The character’s idealistic preaching of freedom inevitably leads to disaster at the climax of the novel. Although both preach independence, the definition of independence greatly differs. McMurphy finds independence in escape, while Keating conveys the importance of independent thinking, however within the limitations of the institution. By methods unique to each piece the disruptive figure is neutralised, concluding in the regression back to the establishment’s version of ‘normal’.
In their pieces, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Dead Poet’s Society, author Ken Kesey, and Tom Schulman, respectively, adopt setting, plot, and contrasting characterisation to explore the central theme of a struggle for independence. Both Kesey and Schulman set their stories in exaggerated institutions, wherein the internal community is repressed by overbearing authority figures. However, due to their varying media formats, the portrayal, imagery, and symbolism of the setting differs. The plot in both the novel and the film is parallel as both centre a wildcard entering the microcosm that is the institutions. The figure preaches freedom, however, disaster strikes, and at the conclusion of the novel the community regresses back to normal. Finally, contrasting characterisation is used in the same manner – the protagonist and the community are contrasted. The
In their pieces, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Dead Poet’s Society, author Ken Kesey, and Tom Schulman, respectively, adopt setting, plot, and contrasting characterisation to explore the central theme of a struggle for independence. Both Kesey and Schulman set their stories in exaggerated institutions, wherein the internal community is repressed by overbearing authority figures. However, due to their varying media formats, the portrayal, imagery, and symbolism of the setting differs. The plot in both the novel and the film is parallel as both centre a wildcard entering the microcosm that is the institutions. The figure preaches freedom, however, disaster strikes, and at the conclusion of the novel the community regresses back to normal. Finally, contrasting characterisation is used in the same manner – the protagonist and the community are contrasted. The
Wang Lung’s close bond with Earth comes out in this quote because he is saying how if they sell the land the family will become corrupt and they will lose everything. The land has done too much for them and you can’t just get rid of it. He continuously tells them that it will end their
Lord of the Flies is a novel written by William Golding. It is about british schoolboys who are stranded on an island after their plane is shot down. They are on the island with no adult supervision. Their group is civilized but turns to savagery. In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses the characters of Ralph, Jack, and Roger to symbolize that there are violence, evil, savagery, and good that exist in every society.
The insane asylum has continued to pose as a site of mystery and wonder for decades. Bare walls, hospital gowns, distressing atmosphere, and overbearing staff epitomize the mental institution. American Horror Story has an entire season dedicated to analyzing the ongoing conundrums within an asylum. Many other forms of entertainment use the asylum and all that it stands for in their works. However, it seems that one work officially started all the “crazy” talk. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey sets the stage for the interior atrocities conducted in an institution. The various symbols used within the text help further elaborate on how horrible and grotesque an asylum can truly become. Symbolism elevates a work to an entirely different level. Fog, machines, whales, and countless other objects serve as symbols in Ken
In the Tribes of Palos Verdes and The Catcher In the Rye, both Jim and Holden struggle to find mental stability in their lives. J.D. Salinger expresses one of Holden's weaknesses in the statement,"I'm just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?"(15). When someone has a issue they often can’t say they have that problem and blame another reason for it. For Holden in The Catcher In the Rye, he blames his struggles on the phase he is going through.
“Well, and I suppose that means you do not want to work on the land and I shall not have a son on my own land, and I with sons and to spare.’ This he said with bitterness, but the boy said nothing” This conversation between him and his son made him finally realize that they wouldn’t carry on their father’s great values, and that is because during the time he was rich he left some traditions behind. Wang lung valued his land and above all he had faith in his gods once again. Traditional values were forgotten by the result of wealthy living, the kids not caring about the farmlands and not understanding the earth gods prove that wealth destroyed ancient traditions.
The American Revolution is defined as the political turbulence that took place towards the end of eighteenth century when thirteen colonies in America united to attain freedom from the British Empire (Clifford, 2005). The union of the thirteen colonies is now known as the United States of America. According to Clifford (2005), the American Revolution occurred because of a series of political, intellectual, and social transformations in the American government and society, which is known as the American Enlightenment. The American Revolution created a variety of opportunities for the American slaves to attain freedom (Waldstreicher, 2004). Slaves were provided with an opportunity to escape their thralldom by being recruited