On the Roads optimism Essay example

In the novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy illustrates the expressions, settings and the actions by various literary devices and the protagonist’s struggle to survive in the civilization full of darkness and inhumanity. The theme between a father and a son is appearing, giving both the characters the role of protagonist. Survival, hope, humanity, the power of the good and bad, the power of religion can be seen throughout the novel in different writing techniques. He symbolizes the end of the civilization or what the world had turned out to be as “The Cannibals”. The novel presents the readers with events that exemplify the events that make unexpected catastrophe so dangerous and violent. The novel reduces all human and natural life to the

On The Road begins with the protagonist, Sal, (representative of author Jack Kerouac), being overwhelmed by feelings of confusion and uncertainty regarding his personal identity. He then meets ‘Dean Moriarty’, an eccentric character who rejects societal values and ‘norms’. Sal is absorbed with and entranced by Dean, perceiving him as almost ‘superhuman’, and decides to follow him across the country. A passive character, Sal soon becomes dependent on Dean, mimicking his friend rather than discovering his personal identity. It is likely that such behaviour was greatly influenced by events that occurred in Jack Kerouac’s childhood . Eventually, Sal realises that if he is to be independent,

(E) The motif of the entire novel revolves around fire. Fire is used as a literal object as well as a

Just as on the title, Candide, or Optimism, Optimism is also used as a major theme. Voltaire's satire of philosophical optimism is one of the major issues of Candide. Throughout the story, satirical references to "the best of all possible worlds" contrast with natural catastrophes and human wrongdoing. According to Wikipedia, "optimism, the opposite of pessimism, is a lifeview where the world is looked upon the as a positive place. Optimists generally believe that people are inherently good. These people are said to have a "positive" outlook on life, believing that given time, things will work out in the end." Also according to Wikipedia, "In philosophy, optimism is linked with the name of Gottfried

Success is extremely coveted in the society, however on the path to success, obstacles will stand in the way. Failure is inevitable and the response of an individual towards these obstacles and the failures in their lives determines whether or not they will have success. Failure gives allowance to learn from mistakes and motivates to do better the next time. The Pursuit of Happyness uses lighting, music and camera angles to give viewers an insight into Chris’ journey through the film demonstrating his resiliency, optimism and loving personality. Filmmaker, Gabriele Muccino, uses the protagonist, Chris’ final triumph to illustrate the significance of failure in achieving success.

Many times the protagonists become the victims of the story and are eventually defeated. This is the case in Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road. The protagonist, Xavier Bird, is the victim and is eventually defeated by the powers and doings of the people that he encounters during the war, and also by the uncontrollable forces that act upon him during the course of the war. Ultimately, these two factors overpower him and lead to his emotional defeat.

“Japanese soldiers never attack women” announced Captain Tanaka, the power hungry snake, to poor Adrienne. That man is disgusting but I can’t hate him, I actually feel sorry for him. Although he has now placed Adrienne on death row. I think I had better have a word to Colonel Hirota about this.

Moving to New York presents Nick with the capacity to recreate himself, and Jay Gatsby’s parties provide Nick with the necessary arena. He expresses his captivation at the individuality at the parties, articulating, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (39). Nick Carraway too is a moth, for he is attending the party. In fact, it is one of the only times he has gotten drunk. Nonetheless, the party descriptor is a refrain. Moths are solitary creatures fatally attracted to light, a metaphor for the abandon of Gatsby’s parties. The “whisperings and the champagne” represent the gossip and intoxication at the parties, and “the stars” represent the distance between people within relationships. The dishonest individualism of the New York social scene is outlined: infinite space exists among people because they only congregate by the divisive prattle and drunkenness that lures them. It is only later that Nick realizes the folly of Gatsby’s parties; they are a reflection of Gatsby himself: dishonest. Gatsby sought the affection of his ex-girlfriend Daisy by amassing wealth and hosting parties that he hoped would attract her. Nick discloses that Gatsby “represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn” (2). Nick scoffs at Gatsby because he made moral concessions in an effort to realize his dream. In chasing that dream, Gatsby tailored himself to her liking. Gatsby was dishonest to himself and others in fabricating an individual he hoped to be. As Nick believes, however, an individual Gatsby was not. First suppressed by his excitement at the individualism in New York, and later dominating his perception of that individualism, Nick’s principles of honesty and fair judgement do not belie his

Why do you think McCarthy has chosen not to give his characters names? How do the generic labels of “the man” and “the boy” affect the way you /readers relate to them?

The story of the movie The Pursuit of Happyness directed by Gabriele Muccino portrays a family who struggles with finding enough money to pay taxes and afford living expenses. The movie takes a place in San Francisco during the 80s. The two main characters are the father Chris Gardner and his son Christopher, Will Smith and Jaden Smith respectively. Gardner tries to support his family. But every time he attempts to make things better, they always end up worse. Gardner in the story wonders on "how to be happy?" He earns his money by selling the bone density

Had either of them used their talents, they could have attained their dream through work, but they decided instead to wait for it to be handed to them. Their life of waiting was not very pleasant, however, “At the novel’s end, they triumph, but the cost has been high: Gloria’s beauty has been coarsened, and Anthony’s mind snapped by worry and drink” (Witkowski). They attained their goal of being rich again, they just could not enjoy the life they now

I had just gotten over a serious illness that I won't bother to talk about, except that it had something to do with a miserably weary split-up and my feeling that everything was dead" (Kerouac 1). Thus begins Sal's life on the road and his search for a more meaningful, authentic life. He has failed to find authenticity in mainstream society but hopes to find it on society's fringes. In the novel, Sal's search for authenticity begins and ends with his association with Dean Moriarty. His highly charged friendship with Dean Moriarty continues throughout the novel but finally ends with a denouement in Mexico City. In his frenetic search for authenticity, Sal encounters a continuous progression of marginalized people that include not only Dean's friends and sexual partners but also hobos, migratory farm workers and black jazz musicians. Sal feels that all these people have authenticity because they all value the immediate over the traditional expectations of mainstream society. Kerouac defines the intense moment or "It" as the culmination of the immediate. "It" is well illustrated when Sal and Dean, together with a group of their Beat friends, go to a wild party at the house of Rollo Greb on Long Island, and Dean enthuses about Rollo saying, "if you go like him all the time you'll finally get it." "Get what?" "It! It! I'll tell you - now no time, we have no time now" (127). Later in

Jack Kerouac is considered a legend in history as one of America's best and foremost Beat Generation authors. The term "Beat" or "Beatnic" refers to the spontaneous and wandering way of life for some people during the period of postwar America, that seemed to be induced by jazz and drug-induced visions. "On the Road" was one such experience of Beatnic lifestyle through the eyes and heart of Jack Kerouac. It was a time when America was rebuilding after WW I. Describing the complexity and prosperity of the postwar society was not Karouac's original intent. However, this book described it a way everyone could visualize. It contained examples and experiences of common people looking for new and exciting

To secure these debaucheries as more than just self-indulgence on Kerouac’s part, however, we are far better off considering the segments which directly followed, in where moments of a distinctive clarity are provided to Sal, whether fresh off a hangover from an evening’s indulgences, or the much harder-to-define “hangover,” and each mixed emotion entailed, in returning from another run out into his beloved America, where whatever he’s searching for has either strayed from reach, or simply failed to present itself. In either circumstance, this dissatisfaction, coupled with the straying in purpose to have started this endeavor in the first place, takes over in the dissipation of true identity; in a few, lingering instances, Sal foregoes such

Being optimistic is the main principle for most people. We may often hear the statement about “be an optimist, not a pessimist!” shouted by people. Sometimes you do it for yourself too. When facing such a failure or problem, this will not only help to relieve your heart. Being optimistic will help someone to be healthy in physical and mental. An optimist will find the best way in any circumstance and hope for every good thing can come to him/her. You may have gone through thousands of hard times. However, if you are a born optimist then you will not care of anything destructing you.