Miss Brill By Katherine Mansfield: Prejudice Essay

The theme of prejudice is thoroughly examined through out the short story "Mary Moon and the stars". This hard hitting theme conveys the idea that young adults have to make tough decisions even before hitting their adolescent years. These decisions are mostly based on the judgments they choose to make on the people surrounding them. The narrator

"I've done nothing wrong - and you know it!" Mrs Birling exclaims, refusing to take responsibility for her actions, which is just one of the reasons why the audience may not see Mrs Birling as a very likable character. This essay is going to explore how J.B. Priestley creates such a disagreeable character and why the audience feels this way about her.

Introduction Prejudice refers to the judgements towards a person because of their race, social class, age, disability or sexual orientation. (Cherry, “What is Prejudice?”) Prejudice was, and still is, to a large extent experienced by people all over the world. It is a theme that is presented in so many works of literature in a plethora of different ways. One of the most prominent ways in which prejudice is explored is through the use of characters that perhaps are a different nationality or have a different orientation to the majority of the other characters in the works. Two texts, in which the theme is presented in an admirable way , are ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, and ‘Jasper Jones’ by Craig Silvey. Through the use of the

1. Early in the essay, Carl T. Rowan describes Miss Bessie as five feet tall and no more than 110 pounds. While explaining how she doesn’t seem physically threatening, Rowan notes she had a “towering presence in the classroom. She was the only woman tough enough to make me read Beowulf” (411). Rowan’s resistance towards reading Beowulf led to him learning about Miss Bessie’s large brown eyes, that resembled “daggerish slits” (411). Rowan describes his former teacher in a way that resembles someone who is looking up to an authoritative figure. Whenever he comments on her appearance or personality, it he does in a very respectful context. Just by the way Rowan often talks about Miss Bessie, it’s obvious the amount of respect and admiration he has

The tragedy of the story rests in that she does not see herself as this. She describes some of the other people in the park as "... they were nearly always the same, Sunday after Sunday, and - Miss Brill had often noticed - there was something funny about nearly all of them. They were odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they'd come just come from dark little rooms or even - even cupboards!" (Mansfield 259), this is exactly what she is. Not only does this

In contrast to Miss Strangeworth and Teddy’s power and status in their towns, the respect and value of voice in their own lives are unsimilar. Miss Strangeworth is highly respected in her life, as she is quite old and carries wisdom. Everyone knows who she is and turns to wave while she is on her morning walk to the store. When she comes to the grocery store, “half a dozen people turn away from the shelves and the

Miss Brill remarks how the woman’s hair, face and “even her eyes, [are] the same colour as the shabby ermine” and that the “ermine toque was alone.” The reader can recognize the way Miss Brill and the woman are mirror images: Miss Brill’s fur and the woman’s toque, the woman being rejected and Miss Brill’s loneliness. Even though she notices the specifics of the woman, Miss Brill does not display any awareness regarding the similarities between them. Through indirect characterization, the reader may discern that Miss Brill is preventing herself from consciously empathizing with the woman. She has a world in her mind where she is happy with observing the lives of others. When a truthful image threatens to tarnish her creation, she rejects that notion. She does not want to acknowledge the real world, a world where she is lonely and

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the narrator, Scout, finds truth and compassion through personal encounters and through using the ethics that her untraditional yet wise father, Atticus, has taught her. She gradually strays away from the preconceptions that her town of Maycomb has planted into her mind and understands the world from a more broad perspective. Harper Lee demonstrates the way prejudice is encouraged by being part of an isolated group, the way it is resisted through individual experience, and the way it is overcome by acting with moral courage. Maycomb, Alabama is filled with social people, who have held the same views of the world for years because of their lack of exposure to outside influence; consequently, they spread

We as humans have a predisposition to separate ourselves from things we don't understand and the things we find to be different than ourselves. Harper Lee has done a good job of capturing this instinct, and showing the reader the evolution of prejudice amongst humans and how it can impact our society. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the most important theme found is Prejudice plays a big role in human interaction.

Prejudice refers to an unfavourable opinion or judgment formed against a person without proper assessment of a situation. It is an unreasonable or attitude that is hostile in nature with regards to an individual, or a group on an ethnic, racial, or social basis. Prejudice is thus most prevalent in regions where there are different groups and where one group is predominant over the other. As a result, prejudice is a common theme in most literary works and ZZ Packer’s Brownie, is one of the short stories that extensively covers this theme. This essay looks at the theme of prejudice in Packer’s Brownie as exhibited by the story’s characters including Arnetta, Janice, Laurel and her father.

This quote continues to reinforce the characterization of Miss Brill as a lonely person because she does not seem to enjoy conversing with others. Instead, she would rather observe and eavesdrop on other conversations and take joy as if it was her own. This continues to contribute to the meaning by augmenting Miss Brill’s loneliness and implication that the old couple may not like her that much because of her tendency to eavesdrop.

She pays attention to the smallest details. "Wasn’t the conductor [of the band in the park] wearing a new coat, too? She was sure it was new. He scraped with his foot and flapped his arms like a rooster about to crow… Now came a little ‘flutey’ bit—very pretty!—a little chain of bright drops. She was sure it would be repeated. It was; she lifted her head and smiled" (98). Even if she’s only an observer, Miss Brill is an involved observer. She draws enjoyment from simply being in the park atmosphere. However, her enjoyment is more than a passing mood. It’s actually an indication of a deeper emotion—a kind of happiness. This becomes clear after Miss Brill has paid close attention to several small exchanges between people at the park. "Oh how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all!" (99). That Miss Brill does not actually participate in anything is clear to the reader, but not to her. Vicarious involvement in other people’s lives seems to be fulfilling for her, even though there is no actual interplay with others. The most telling evidence that Miss Brill is happy (and that her happiness is based on a false impression) is when she comes to the conclusion that she’s somehow needed at the park. "No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there; she was part of the performance after all… Miss Brill nearly laughed out loud" (100). This realization eventually moves Miss Brill to

The details as told, seem to be coming directly from Miss Brill at times. The narrator gets us settled into the park with Miss Brill and tells us that she sees those around her as “odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or even-even cupboards!” This tells me that Miss Brill sees herself differently than she sees others, not odd or funny. She is a part of all this life and activity at the park! An actor in the grand play and “somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there.” She really loved to be out with others and thought that she was very much a part of the world and not apart from it. Don’t we all feel this way? Some people are truly introverted and care little of interacting, but I think the majority of us strive to become part of the world and at times feel like this life is one big drama and we have a big part. Our role might only be important for one scene, but we feel like the leading man or woman at times. The narrator leads us to what appears to be a fitting climax; a crescendo of music and song, with all players involved. Miss Brill’s dreams of this were quickly shattered. The comments by the young people, “Why does she come here at all-who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly mug at home?” leaves Miss Brill with the cold realization that she is in fact like the odd, old people that she watches in the

Miss Brill engages in shameless people watching. She has taken the practice of keen observation and elevated it to an art form. Miss Brill ascribes to the notion that since we all coexist on this planet, we are acting out our lives alongside each other, the entire world is a stage and we are all in it together. She understands that most people do not feel quite so connected to one another and that her rose-colored-glasses-approach to life is not universal, but still she carries on, thriving amongst the non-believers, quietly living out her interpretation of days.

Katherine Mansfield’s short story, Miss Brill, is a well-written story of an elderly, unmarried woman in Europe. In Miss Brill, Katherine Mansfield uses stream-of-consciousness point of view to show alienation and loneliness, appearances and reality, and Miss Brill’s perceptions as she attempts to make herself fit in with the park goers. Miss Brill is an older lady who makes a living teaching English to school children and reading newspapers to an “old invalid gentleman” (Wilson 2: 139). Her joy in life comes in her visits to the park on Sunday where she is notorious for “sitting in on other people’s lives” (Wilson 2: 140). It is there that her ritualistic, monotonous journey that Miss Brill refers to as a “play” takes place.