Obsession In Two Literary Works Essay

Becoming obsessed is easier than one would presume. Everyone becomes obsessed with someone, something, or even themselves once in their lifetime. Indisputably through her novel If Ever I Return, Pretty-Peggy-O, Sharyn McCrumb highlights such the theme of obsession with the people in an atypical rural town with select community members. McCrumb twists the ordinary murder-mystery storyline by incorporating the standout theme of obsession through two prime characters: Peggy Muryan, a folk singer celebrity, new to the town of Hamelin, Tennessee, and a young boy who is intrigued with Vietnam, Pix-Kyle Weaver, and just how Pix’s particular fixation leads a person to perpetrating crimes.

Sultan’s lack of concern towards his sister shows he is no better than a man. Selling women for business marriage purposes was very common in Afghanistan society. Even Sultan's sisters, Shakila and Bulbula had no choice but to be sold to wealthy old men because that's just how the culture is. In Bulbula's situation, no payment was made because she was physically disabled and her family gives her away like she isn’t worth a single penny. However, in Shakila's situation she was tolerated as the second wife of Mahmoud but she was hopelessly in love with the man who she yearns for his attention. This suggest that Afghan marriage, women can't find happiness in the situation there in but they still need to support their husband even though they get little respect or

Many people have obsessions, but most do not take it to the extremes that they kill because of it. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” represents the blindness that happens when someone takes an obsession to the extreme and ignores the consequences of inept actions that result in deadly consequences. Aylmer, the husband, becomes obsessed with a “crimson birthmark” shaped like a small hand that is on the cheek of Georgiana, the wife. Alymer view the birthmark as a stain to his sensibilities and views on what is a “perfect” form based on his egotistic view of his wife. Unfortunately, his decent into madness sucks up even his wife into a mucky pool full of fear and self-loathing. She does this all just to please her husband, which ultimately results in her death. More then once I have heard that obsessed people are evil. Obsession by itself does not make a person evil. Obsession to the point that safety and life are put at risk is

    The relationship between Humbert Humbert and Lolita is no doubt a unique one. Many people who read the novel argue that it is based on "lust", but others say that Humbert really is in "love" with Lolita. However, there is some astounding evidence that Humbert has an obsessional-compulsive disorder with Lolita. The obsession is clearly illustrated when Humbert's actions and behavior are compared to the experts' definitions and descriptions of obsession. In many passages, Humbert displays obsessional tendencies through his descriptive word choice and his controlling personality. Many people are obsessive, so this is not an alien subject. We see it everyday in the entertainment industry as well as in

Born as the youngest in her family, Laila grows to become a loving and compassionate parent who is willing to sacrifice for her children; despite having a negligent and unloving mother. Laila, even before her first baby was born, made the decision to marry Rasheed and purposefully had sex with him in order for it to appear like it was his baby. This protects the baby, Aziza, from Afghani society who would shun her for being birthed out of wedlock, and it also keeps the true father’s identity, Tariq, a secret. This sacrifice is one of many, Laila knows, to come as she thinks “[she] already saw the sacrifices a mother had to make. Virtue was only the first. She put a hand on her belly. Closed her eyes”(219). Another sacrifice Laila had to make was putting Aziza in a local orphanage in Kabul, due to the fact that Rasheed was earning so little money that they no longer had the ability to keep her healthily fed. She lived and ate there as well as being taught in a classroom, but in order for Laila to visit Aziza, she sometimes “was caught, questioned, scolded--two, three, even four times in a single day”(321) by the Taliban in an especially inhumane fashion. Over the course of their marriage, Laila withstood Rasheed’s

Mankind has always longed to control nature, to be the master of life and death. The fictional story of Nathaniel Hawthorne "Birthmark", is the perfect demonstration of this concept. Aylmer is the antagonist in the story for misleading his wife into hating her birthmark and consequently killed her trying to remove the birthmark. The true tragedy here isn't the death of Georgiana but rather, Aylmer's loss of his wife. He who has believed himself to be the master of all science branches could no longer bring his dead wife any more than his dream to perfect her. Whenever he is truly in love with her or not, he is going to live with this failure for the rest of his life. This paper's aim is to analyze the Aylmer; how he symbolize the obsession

Shakespeare employs obsession as a thematic device extensively in Othello with many characters exhibiting complexes which come into direct conflict with the fixations of others, highlighting the self-destructive and all-consuming nature of obsession. This is reinforced by the climax of the play, the deaths of Othello, Desdemona and Emilia and Iago’s subsequent arrest and torture. Similarly, Dorian Gray presents various forms of obsession such as lust, infatuation and narcissism which leads, in most cases, to the destruction of the characters who are swiftly overcome by their vices or refusal to recognise the truth.

Rulfo’s stories achieve exceptional symmetry between form and content, compelling the reader to be absorbed by their inexhaustible depth that is created by the desolation that marks intricate human landscapes. These stories are truly artistic representations, for the word choices never seem so casual, and the powerful images weave the scenes into an organic, effortless whole. Rulfo infuses the reader with a sense of inevitability reflected in his fated word choices that seal the characters in their inescapable destinies, which transitively traps the reader into Rulfo’s fictional world where loneliness, violence, and despondency are the focal points of society.

I will utilize this article to explain what causes obsession and how it affects daily life. This article will provide a scientific basis for obsessions and I will reference it to add validity to my claims on obsessions. I will also make note of the psychological disorders that relate to obsessions and how they are normalized in society. Finally, I will include their explanation on the difference between passion and obsession and further make claims on society’s misunderstanding of the

Notable French philosopher and writer Michel de Montaigne is credited with having written in his first edition of The Complete Essays (1580) that: “Obsession is the wellspring of genius and madness” (Cotton, Charles, translator. Gutenberg.org). This quotation seemingly implies that the state of obsession is one of duality. In one regard, while an individual’s intense focus or dedication may support their exposure to exceptional creative powers and personal prosperity, by definition, obsession can also inversely enable the “persistent disruptions” of the body and mind (OED). Specifically, in both Neil Gaiman’s Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes (1988), and Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986), the texts explore this destructive

In the short stories written by Kafka and Gabriel readers witness to characters strongly familiar to suffering and accustomed to being misunderstood and being isolated, furthermore both authors displays the cruelty of mankind, “pleasure-seekers” who get a rush out of seeing characters suffer for their own enjoyment. In Kafka’s short story his character the hunger artist represents a man who’s misunderstood by society for his strong desire to fast, the artist believes he’s trying to find spiritual fullness through his fast but is actually seeking public recognition for his form of art work. Moreover in Gabriel’s story his character faces misunderstanding from the society he has been forbidden to and unacceptance from their people. Both characters are isolated from society, suffering in their own intimate ways and made mockeries of by their pleasure-seekers, more over both stories portray a narrow mindedness of others religion.

Even Ahmed becomes compliant as she finds her path to womanhood, further emphasizing that a person’s characteristics can be conformed. She says “…if I had been simply an ordinary girl. I believe I would not have been able to live and accept what my sisters and the other girls in this country have to endure. I don’t believe I am better than they, but I sense within me such determination, such rebellious strength, that I would probably have upset everything” (119). However, her actions speak differently from her words. As a developing woman, Ahmed, renamed Zahra, shows signs of meekness and submission, in contrast to her previous ruthlessness, to the circus owner and her son. “Zahra had given up the use of speech. She wept, and the tears flowed down her face…” (110). Zahra, once domineering, is now compliant. Ahmed alters her personality because she, as well as the Islamic society, associates womanhood with obedience.

Obsession is defined as “the domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea or desire.” The desire for nonconformity is a praiseworthy attribute but when taken too far, it can be disadvantageous to one’s goals and ambitions. While it is essential for one to seek transient passions, it is also crucial to mollify this pursuit, with concern with actual use. The threats of overindulgence are notably apparent in the case of John, the protagonist of Virginia Woolf’s “Solid Objects”, whose passion for knickknacks turns into a subtle obsession. Woolf expresses her strong criticism of John by intensifying his wasted potentiality and his fixation with fleeting dreams while she commends Charles for his dependability and practicality.

No one understood his art, resulting in loneliness, therefore distancing himself from the audience. Similar to ‘The Bet’, this story utilizes third person omniscient, creating a sense of mystery towards the artist, allowing readers to ponder about his thoughts. Franz Kafka depicts the alienation of people who does not conform to the norms, showcasing the imprisonment of life. At the same time, it questions the readers if success should be measured by the amount of recognition gained. We see the artist trying to get people to understand his art but to no vain, causing him to spiral into

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a Columbian novelist, was one of the greatest writers of all time. He was well known for his book, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and the Nobel Prize for Literature he received in 1892. His fictional works were admired because of their richness in wisdom-bearing quotes. One of his quotes was “A lie is more comfortable than doubt, more useful than love, more lasting than truth,” and it was from his novel, The Autumn of the Patriarch. Although the book tells a captivating story of a tyrant who embodies both extremes of the human nature, the quote is a great topic of study.