Splitting: A Literary Analysis

Unbroken is mainly set during World War II, in the Pacific and several other places. The story mostly focuses on Louie's life growing up, in the barracks, and in the several POW camps he had to endure during his time as a captive. The setting has a huge effect on the story because the war is what really drives the main plot through Louie's enlistment through the mental aftermath of the war that he has to work through. It's also interesting to look back at how the men at the time perceived the war effort, and how it impacts their morale. For example, after a successful air raid the men in Louie's unit believe “With the dawn of 1943 and the success at Wake, the men felt cocky. It had all been so easy. One admiral predicted that Japan might be

"You're such a girl!" is something we hear quite often. But we don't exactly analyze its importance. Every man or women act and behave differently, and that is because of gender roles, "instructions for how to behave and appear as a woman or man (Wade and Ferree 2015; 61). We all "do gender", the ways in which we actively obey and break the gender rules of our society." (Wade and Ferree 2015; 61). We don't always obey these rules and regulation, we're all humans, and we all make mistakes, but it's other peoples reaction what's most interesting about breaking them. Once we break these rules, there is something known as gender policing, "responses to the violations of gender rules aimed at promoting conformity. (Wade and Ferree 2015; 71).

Life isn’t fair. This common phrase rings true for the characters in A Separate Peace, a novel from 1959. The story takes place in the time of World War Two. Gene and Finny are the best of friends, but the entire book revolves around an accident where Gene causes Finny, or Phineas, to fall off a tree and shatter his leg, changing his life forever. Finny denies anything he finds negative or harmful, including the war, his injury, and Gene’s part in the accident, choosing to remain young and ignorant of since he knows he’ll be happier that way. However, Finny does eventually recognizes the facts of his life. John Knowles uses characterization to shed light on the dangers of naivete through the character Finny. Innocence causes Phineas to become ignorant of what’s happening all around him, which makes it dangerous. This becomes a problem because nobody can run away from the truth forever, and whenever all the facts of war and the accident catch up with him they will hit hard.

Power and control plays a big role in the lives many. When power is used as a form of control, it leads to depression and misery in the relationship. This is proven through the themes and symbolism used in the stories Lesson before Dying, The fun they had, The strangers that came to town, and Dolls house through the median of three major unsuccessful relationship: racial tension between the African Americans and the caucasians in the novel Lesson before Dying, Doll’s House demonstrates a controlling relationship can be detrimental for both individuals and The Stranger That Came To Town along with The Fun They Had show that when an individual is suppressed by majority they become despondent.

In the novel The Compound the author writes about how Eli, the main character of the story, loses his grandma and his twin brother due to a war that broke out. He is taken to a shelter that his father has built underground. It has several bedrooms, a living room, and all the things necessary to live there for fifteen years. His father even thought to bring gifts for birthdays every year. Although this wasn’t enough for them. Eli and his sister were going through a lot and had to deal with several emotions. Especially the loss of their brother. Eli just tried to accept the fact and move on while his sister kept hope. That got him wandering, could he really still be alive? So throughout the story Eli battles with depression, worrying, and the

As Sociological Images notes, dissimilar to men, why should gathered reject all things womanlike, women are urged to adjust manly and female attributes. NPR's article Two Families Grapple with Sons' Gender Preferences appears to offer believability to this

In past years, as well as, in the twenty-first century, African Americans are being oppressed and judged based on the color of their skin. In, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, this is the primary conflict that plagues Jefferson’s as well as Grant’s everyday life. By pleading guilty to a murder that he did not commit, Jefferson has to choose to die just as he is, a hog in the white’s eyes, or die a man. On the other hand, Grant, who is his teacher, is faced with being looked down upon by his community all because of his race and status. He is graced with the challenge of turning Jefferson into a man before his execution date. It is only a matter of time before they both realize that they cannot change the past and they have

Many people believe that material things will bring you peace and happiness. That is not always that case though.Everyone at some point in their life had gone through something that they thought would have a major positive impact on their life, but ultimately, it affected them very negatively. These can include anything from money, to power, even to women. Bernard Malamud explains these example in his book, The Natural, with his character, Roy Hobbs. Roy is the Knights star baseball player, when all goes wrong. He starts to chase different women, believing that those people will lead him to happiness in the end. Roy Hobbs is the main character in the book, The Natural, who finds himself in tough situations, and finally discovers that what he wanted from the start, won’t actually make him happy in the end.

In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by _________, the main character, Grant, is trying to console Jefferson. Jefferson has just been framed for a murder he did not commit, and many believe it is because he is black. Two drunk, white men went into a liquor store, already drunk, and attempted to shoot the owner who, in turn, shot back. In the end of the firefight, Jefferson was the only man standing. When at the trial to convince the jury Jefferson did not actually shoot the people, his attorney realizes his attempts at proving Jefferson’s innocence were futile, and says, “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this” (8). He is asking the jury to spare the life of Jefferson, by implying that Jefferson is no more intelligent than a hog. The attorney is white, and is voicing the common belief among whites that all blacks are animals. Throughout the novel, Jefferson becomes haunted by the

In the Naked Citadel, the boy’s identity is essentially being performed. They are distinguished as superior non-feminine men, while behind the scenes they are typically performing feminine acts. Violently harassing the young knobs, showering together, and making their beds together was where they could show their true selves. Faludi mentions how “the result is ruthless intimacy, in which physical abuse stands in for physical affection, and every display of affection must be counterbalanced by a display of sadism”(Faludi, 100). The boys become so infatuated with showing their feminine side that when they snap back to reality they realize it is a sign of weakness and use anger to feel relief. The Cadets act like they are on a stage playing a role in a play much like the Treehouse where men dress up as Drag Queens. Both identities are being performed, which means while playing a role you are still truly yourself. This is also seen in Biographies of Hegemony, while Princeton and Harvard students are getting recruited, they put on this elite, smart act of attraction to be a part of this high institution of Wall Street. It is claimed that “the most distinguishing features of investment banking are their smartness and exclusivity” (Ho, 166). This shows how by putting themselves in a different

In the story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman she writes of a woman severely oppressed in her marriage. The women in the story is an open mind individual. John; her husband is a psychologist and thinks that his wife has a mental disorder because of all the free thinking and puts her through the rest cure. Through analysis of the story, we can see that this story displays a creepy tone in order to depict a serious matter at a time when women’s oppression was at large and feminist protest was in full swing to put a stop to it. The writer uses literary devices such as foreshadowing, symbolism, and irony in order to show the reader how the main character has to overcome her oppression through insanity.

In the books A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, and The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien the authors use a mixture of truth and fiction in their storytelling. James’s book (which was labeled as a memoir) did not end up being as well liked as Tim’s (which was labeled as fiction) because of the mix. However, Tim’s turned out to be very successful, because unlike James he invented events that could’ve happened and that make you feel what It was like to be in the war. He explains this when the books says “I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth” (O’Brien 171). A Million Little Pieces on the other hand was based on what happened with the author’s drug addiction, but had very

Though not all societies use the binary system we do, each constructs genders and gender roles (RWL 415). Some of those roles overlap in different cultures, and others couldn’t be further apart. Kincaid’s culture frowned upon being viewed as a slut, overlapping with mine. Mostly growing up in the South, being “ladylike” is as much part of Southern culture as food. However, many of the social expectations she was being lectured on were so unfamiliar to me that I had to Google them. Though I can relate to Southern culture, I’m originally from Florida, which isn’t normally seen as truly Southern. I moved to Alabama around the time in school when Sittenfield also describes the beginnings of a distinction between boys and girls (LU 4).

In view of American morals and beliefs, death is honestly wrong. For that reason, the decision of Abortion is morally wrong as well. Abortions have become very common in America, but many are totally against it. Neal Shusterman once said “In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn't a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.” In the 2007 novel “Unwind”, Shusterman talks about the near future were different means of abortions are shared and believed in their society. The setting of this novel is after the second Civil War also known as “The Heartland War”. The war was fought over one reason, Life. It was Pro-choice against Pro-Life. Shusterman uses ideas of youthful innocence to his benefit throughout the novel. In the story

There are several sources that tell a person how to be a man or woman. Science tells us by recognizing the X or Y chromosomes. The media shows us through the physically ideal celebrities that grace the covers of magazines and flaunt their bodies in commercials. Sports, wrestling, cars, and blue for the boys. Dresses, make-up, painted nails, and pink for the girls. All of these sources, as well as others, have evolved into an expectation that has become institutionalized within society. This expectation, is placement and belonging into the binary system of person: the man or the woman. In Anne Fausot-Sterling's acrticles “The Five Sexes” and the “The Five Sexes, Revisited”, the