Terror(ism) in Literature:
‘The Man Who Was Thursday’:
A Review
Authors either use terror as a topic or theme in order to justify the acts of the artist as revolutionist or as “terror-ist.” This paper aims to indicate the relation between terror as an essential mode in art and literature in the form of textuality with reference to The Man Who Was Thursday. Gilbert Keith Chesterton’s enigmatic novel, with its humorous tone and fantastic elements contending crucial arguments, stresses its paradoxical situation regarding terror(ism) in the subtitle: A Nightmare. Yet, the optimistic end and the function of dream to reveal the mythical essence of terror(ism) ironizes the ‘nightmare.’
Keywords: Artist as terror-ist, terror(ism), Gilbert Keith
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The novel philosophizes matters such as the nature of the poet as anarchist, the mythical aspect of anarchy and terror(ism), and violation of social peace from the eyes of poets, anarchists, and policemen. Chesterton brings two poets together, one is a police detective Gabriel Syme and the other is Lucien Gregory who is an anarchist poet. The loaded symbolism and satire addresses both art and politics de-sensitising both the characters and readers. Terror(ism) in this short novel is issued as an elusive and misleading concept. Chesterton’s view of anarchist degrades the conventional and official approaches to the anarchy and terror(ism); the narration rectifies terror(ism) from the earnestness ascribed to it. Chesterton questions inculcation of the idea of terror-ists’ dangerousness’; the embedded disguises, symbols, and illusions in The Man Who Was Thursday blur the divisions between socially and officially denominated anarchist and the real pursuers of chaos. Chesterton does not see the destruction of the society in the terror-ist acts of discontented communities as it sees it in the governing body as well as the rich, untouchable society. He makes one of his characters declares this conviction: “Aristocrats were always …show more content…
It is a detective story, a fantastic tale, a political treatise, and a thriller narrated in poetic prose, and deals with terror(ism) in relation to both art and theological doctrines. The Biblical allusions and analogies are interspersed among the existential, profane, and anarchical contentions. Chesterton’s artifice lies in creating mysterious plot with a remarkably poetic language, yet his skill to make conventionally significant things look ridicule should not be overlooked. In this novel, he plays with the notions and norms welcomed by mobs, secured by governments, and consecrated by religious tenets. Through disguises, Chesterton questions our perception of reality, politically convinced plight, and orthodox either-or logic. Terror(ism) which is obscured by the enigmatic characters and farcical style of narration is the pivotal topic that is questioned and whereby broader issues are inquired into. The two characters who are both poets with opposite world views, political ideologies, and social status deliberate on and dispute about the nature of terror(ism) and literature. As the story progresses, the reader is entangled in a rather sophisticated, mysterious, and multivocal plot and philosophical contemplation Syme is haunted by the esoteric persona of Sunday. The contrast between his face and his back unravels both the deceptiveness of good
Zacharias’s “The Extraordinary Flight of heroism the occasion demanded of me.’: Fantasy and Confession in The Turn of the Screw” describes the actions and the apparitions in the novella as a part of the governess’s anxieties and how they are the symbol which resemble the execution of her job. The readers first get an understanding of how fantasy is her coping mechanism when she first has troubles dealing with the job. As Zacharias puts it, “the fantasy relieves the anxiety she feels from feelings of inadequacy for the very fulfillment of the master’s expectations” (321). Zacharias then moves the audience towards the fact that the fantasy can also be the cause for anxiety, which is the intriguing aspect I would like to focus on.
To begin, in The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope uses satire to invoke a capricious, melancholy mood to illustrate the absurdity of fighting over the cutting of one's hair. Hidden inside this poem is a crafty criticism of the society that helps create the crisis over the stolen lock. A Society in which appearances ere more important to a person’s sense of identity, and treats the insignificant with utmost importance.
In this discussion, I hope to put a different spin on surrealism and the grotesque by drawing on the works of Sartre, and if we're not too dizzy from spinning when all is said and done, I shall have put together a way to investigate the grotesque in Modernist art and contemporary life. After a summary of the surrealist's use of Freud and a look at Sartre's criticism of surrealism, we will look at surrealism in Sartre's work and derive an existentialist definition of the grotesque and examine how this might reconfigure the surrealist goal of liberation. Surrealist art is almost always analyzed in terms of Freudian psychoanalytic theory because the surrealists openly announced Freud's study of the psyche as the inspiration for the practice of surrealism. Andr‚ Breton, author of the many surrealist "Manifestoes" and the self-appointed spokesman and scribe of the surrealist movement, eulogized Freud, who died in 1939, by writing that: ". .
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In the “Saboteur” the Tone of the story is direct and harsh. Throughout the entire story we read about an innocent man being blamed for a crime he didn’t commit simply for the entertainment of the policemen. The Policemen are cruel and arrogant “… the stout policeman at the next table stood up and threw a bowl of tea in our direction.” (288) and set the tone of the story to be quite depressing and miserable. Two poor men are wrongly accused and mistreated by men who are supposed to prevent such situations. The Tone makes the theme of abuse of power evident through its brutality and injustice.
In the O'Connor story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Southern Gothic literature is portrayed. Southern Gothic literature paints a picture of what life was like in the "Old South" and also includes bizarre turns of events and outlandish characters. The grandmother, is the protagonist, and the main character of O'Connor's story, about a family that travel on a vacation together and lose their lives by "The Misfit," a random man on the side of the road. The grandmother, who remains unnamed for the duration of the story, demonstrates a "her way or the highway" type of personality. The family is going on vacation to Florida, but she has relatives she wants to visit in Tennessee. So, instead of just asking her son, Bailey, if they could go to Tennessee instead, she cleverly attempts to trick him by saying, "Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people" (O'Connor). She then, continues her devious plot, by referring to the safety of Bailey's children, when she states, "I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did" (O'Connor). That didn't go as planned, so she tries again, implying that it has nothing to do with her, but the kids have already been to Florida. Throughout the story, Bailey's mother continues the same type of tactics to get her way. For example, she mentions that, at the old house in Tennessee, "There was a secret panel in this house," she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, "and the story went that all the family silver was hidden in it when Sherman came through but it was never found . . ." (O'Connor).
“The third stage of narrative development was characterized by the appearance of rogues… relying on cleverness more than force, and motivated more by profits than by passion” (Williams 14). Rogues defied whatever came in between their pursuit, whether it be law or authority (Williams 14). In the third stage of criminal literature, the protagonists were all rogues despite of their unlawfully ways, they “aroused reader sympathy” (Williams 16). Williams described these rogues as “outsiders, existing apart from the social structure either by choice or by fate” (William 16). He also described these rogues as “individualistic, opportunistic, self-reliant” as well as “defiant of authority and entirely free” (Williams 16). William argues that the evolution of these narratives took place in three stages: the first being the “early execution sermons and final confessions”, the second being “the incomplete narratives of life and, finally the full length rogue narrative” (Williams 17). Williams’ article describes how criminal literature changed from “promoting obedience, [to] encouraged defiance” (Williams
This paper will present a rhetorical context for the use of violence in the short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” as she presented in her essay “The Element of Suspense.” The form of classical tragedy in this story will also be analyzed from the critical theories of Aristotle and Longinus. Tolstoy will be used to examine the use Christian symbolism. Nietzsche will provide a more well-rounded universal conclusion to the uses of tragedy and spiritual elements in this classic story.
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In the book, Day by Elie Wiesel, the author talks about a man name Eliezer who is faced with issues weather if he can embrace his holocaust survival. Eliezer is a survivor from the holocaust who faces emotional struggle with life or death. This will begin his journey in which he will embark challenges he shall face. A challenge that’s a major part in this novel is having to deal with physical and metal issues which were conflicted by the world he once lived thru that causes suicidal thoughts and an end to his life.
The use of diction, “Villains” specifically refers to the policemen in the persona’s company, although the persona is the murderer who clearly has portrayed villainous qualities. This ironic accusation is the result of the narrator projecting his lingering guilt onto others, as a method of coping with his emotional trauma. The confusion and inability to distinguish between the policemen and the composer’s villainous actions ultimately concludes the short story by consolidating the persona’s insanity, setting the audience’s mind to rest with the resolution. Through Poe’s storytelling, the audience experiences a dubious journey, which mirrors the nature of insanity.
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” tells a twisted story of a typical family going about a road trip embedded with ethical pit stops along the way. The story revolves around a cynical grandmother and how her unconventional attitude and habits set the stage for an interesting turn of events. Through manipulative antics, a prejudice character and an ironic story line, author Flannery O’Conner creates a captivating tale that shines a lights on readers’ own moral codes. The author does this by making an example of a woman completely unaware of her own immoral acts.
Science fiction movies often depict the consequences of failing to slow the damage to the environment in the science fiction movie, The Day After Tomorrow, the weather on earth begins to do strange things. The ice caps start to melt and break, tornados rip through Hollywood, and tsunamis flood the coast. Jack Hall, a climatologist, explains global warming and the melting of the ice caps is to blame for this weather. He predicts the North Atlantic current will shut down, and the northern states will see the next ice age. The vice president dismisses his claims until his predictions come true in the following days. Eventually, the air in the north gets so cold that people seem to freeze within seconds resulting in a nearly unsurvivable ice age where people in the north must stay inside near a fire to survive. The dystopian future depicted in the movie The Day After Tomorrow reflect societal anxieties about earth’s changing climate.
An investigation of works of literature that present the breakdown of the human psyche, in order to explore human nature and man’s place within society and the world, as these are conveyed through Gothic and Elizabethan literature.
The Marquis de Sade was a controversial writer from the Enlightenment period. His works were highly controversial at the time although he did acquire some sort of a cult following. The Marquis de Sade uses a variety of techniques in his writing to great effect. The passage being analysed is an extract from The Philosophy of the Bedroom published in 1795.