The Massacre Of Cats, By Darnton Sparknotes

As time goes on, definitions of words change. In the Elizabethan era, the word shrew has been used to define ill-tempered and sharp-tongued women. Yet in present day, associating a specific gender with a word is not as important as it was in the past. The noun shrew could be used to define any human, despite their gender. In Taming of the Shrew, Katherina Minola is supposedly the shrew which the title of the play has labelled. However, when Petruchio is introduced to the play, it is easily apparent that he is a significantly more accurate depiction of a shrew. Petruchio, from Taming of the Shrew, accurately portrays a shrew because of his unpleasant characteristics and the cruel way he treats Katherina.

Natalie Zemon-Davis’s 1983 book The Return of Martin Guerre provided both the public and academic world with a fresh and interesting take on a classic story. Presented like a mystery thriller, Davis weaves a tale of deception based on a solid framework of cultural history. Her narrative depends on grounding the characters of Bertrande de Rols, Martin Guerre, Arnaud du Tihl, and their associates within a web of social context. Davis draws heavily on the traditional Coras narrative, but also supplements the established story with the version presented in Le Sueur, a new source she discovered. Additionally, she incorporates unusual sources dealing with broader social context and infers specifics from a general study of period interactions. It is this latter approach that historian Robert Finlay disagrees with. He claims that Davis does not appropriately rely on the source material provided by the Coras narrative and thus gives an unnecessarily dramatic version of events. The AHR forum on the subject includes both Finlay’s review and Davis’s response, providing a model of scholarly debate that extends beyond the actual content of the book in question. In addition to being a rhetorical critique, Finlay is attacking the foundational methodology of modern social history that Davis is then compelled to defend.

Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Black Cat immerses the reader into the mind of a murdering alcoholic. Poe himself suffered from alcoholism and often showed erratic behavior with violent outburst. Poe is famous for his American Gothic horror tales such as the Tell-Tale Heart and the Fall of the House of Usher. “The Black Cat is Poe’s second psychological study of domestic violence and guilt. He added a new element to aid in evoking the dark side of the narrator, and that is the supernatural world.” (Womack). Poe uses many of the American Gothic characteristics such as emotional intensity, superstition, extremes in violence, the focus on a certain object and foreshadowing lead the reader through a series of events that are horrifying

The central theme of Pride and Prejudice is one of class. In a world where the lines of class are strictly drawn, the dignity

From the start the novel is laden with the pressures that the main characters are exposed to due to their social inequality, unlikeness in their heredity, dissimilarity in their most distinctive character traits, differences in their aspirations and inequality in their endowments, let alone the increasingly fierce opposition that the characters are facing from modern post-war bourgeois society.

The reader is exposed to these differences frequently, like when the destitute boys of Iran are persuaded by the regime to join the war while the upper class children who are the same age get to attend parties and not have to worry about such matters (Satrapi 99-102). Even at a young age, Marjane realizes that she belongs to a class that is much better off than those who surround her. She even feels guilty about basic things around her, like the fact that “our maid did not eat with us” and “my father had a Cadillac” (6).

Focusing on the social class of the characters, their interactions with each other and, as well the conflict brought on because of the difference of each class. Focusing as well, how with every action consequences will up rise. In the story, Updike critiques the establishment of class levels whether be below, above or the same. As

The novel The Great Gatsby was written in a time and place in which the separation between classes based on money was a great factor. The two rich classes were the old money and the new money. The two classes were also physically separated. East Egg is for the great “old money” and West Egg is for the “new money”. This segregation based on class is a problem discussed by the Marxists. They understood the huge differences and were the people who believed that there should be no class separation. The Marxist idea of class separation is well depicted in the character Jay Gatsby and his passionate fighting against the class system, in Tom Buchanan’s arrogance and power, typical for the rich people, and in the way George Wilson’s life is negatively influenced by his interactions with the higher class.

In Margaret Atwoods “Oryx and Crake” we see a division of the social classes with the purpose and goal of creating a more perfect society with perfect educated like-minded citizens. Because of this goal, the two different environments, each with its own people, are separated from one another. The rich and the educated live in the safe gated, microbe-free and protected, sterile compounds, while the uneducated, poor by birth like their own ancestors and like their future children are destined by blood to be— the Pleeblands, live in the city. In the novel, social classes dictate one’s views and opinions as well as one’s upbringing and actions. It is through the journey of Jimmy’s life and in his own

Throughout the book, Conley discusses elements of race and class based on his own experiences. He has an advantaged perspective in that his parents have been living in the southern part of town before he was born, making it so that his parent’s previous experiences also shape his view. He discusses race and class, declaring the statement that “race and class are nothing more than a set of stories we tell ourselves to get through the world, to organize reality.” (pg.7) What he means by ‘organizing reality’ connects to the concept of racial hierarchy as well the social distance scale. Although Conley’s parents aren’t the wealthiest white people, their black and Hispanic neighbors felt the need to stay away from them. Because of their skin color, they felt a gap between themselves. Conley’s parents were not racist but because

“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe is one of Poe’s greatest literary works that embodies his signature themes of death, violence, and darkness. Poe’s main character begins his narration of his horrible wrongdoings regarding them as a “series of mere household events” (Poe 705). However, this is where Poe’s satire and irony begins and the story progresses to show the deranged mindset of this character as he tries to justify his actions. As the main character proceeds to rationalize his crime, Poe is able to convey a sense of irony through his use of foreshadowing, metaphors and symbolism.

The social classing system is like a ladder. It is much easier to get down than to get up. 'Falling Angels' by Tracy Chevalier explores the idea of a gravedigger who wishes to go up the social classing system. The story presents the idea of the persona wishing to get to a higher social class, having a conversation with his boss, and the dangers lower class people have to face.To convey these ideas, Chevalier has used diction, imagery, metaphor, and colloquialism to convey the idea that working hard will get someone up the social classing arrangement.

No matter where you go in the world people are divided. They can be divided by their wealth or state of living these are social classes. In the novel “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton social classes a very apparent the rich and the poor. In The Outsiders, social classes create a divide in the community. The isolation of these two groups lead to the tension and violence that is seen in the book.

Edgar Allen Poe was one of the most influential and important writers of the nineteenth century. He was the first writer to try to make a living only writing. One of Poe’s most popular short stories, “The Black Cat”, is considered horror fiction or gothic fiction which Poe is known for in his books and short stories because it was a popular genre during his days. In Poe’s short story, “The Black Cat”, Poe uses a horror fiction genre, a mentally deranged and evil narrator/character, and symbolism of death to make a thrilling story with tons of suspense, drama, and gruesome detail.

Life in the Iron Mills is a novella that is hard to classify as a specific genre. The genre that fits the most into this novella is realism, because of the separation of classes, the hard work that a person has to put into their every day life to try and make a difference, and the way society influences the actions of people and their relationships. However, no matter what genre is specifically chosen, there will be other genres present that contradict the genre of choice. While the novella shows romanticism, naturalism, and realism, this essay is specifically centered around realism. The ultimate theme in Rebecca Davis’ Life in the Iron Mills is the separation of classes and gender. It is the separation of classes when the people in the