The Meaning Of Aletta's Death

In “My Antonia”, Cather uses symbols from nature to express the essential aspects of the characters. According to Cather, ones’ environment symbolizes ones’ psychology. This may even mold one’s emotional condition by giving emotions a tangible form. For example, the river is used as a symbol of freedom. In the story, the river makes Jim feel free, and he comes to admire freedom.

Florence’s death scene in Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya aptly conveys the novel’s theme of faith and truth being subjective. In this scene, Antonio accepts the beliefs of Florence which Catholicism deems sinful, and loses his complete faith in God upon realizing that his friend is condemned. Antonio’s piety is a significant aspect of his character, but he questions his faith and acknowledges the validity of other beliefs regardless.

At Antonio’s birth, the Luna and Marez fought over which heritage he would inherit, but Ultima resolves the conflict by saying, “I pulled this baby into the light of life… only I will know his destiny” (6). So, when Ultima dies at the conclusion of the novel, the knowledge of Antonio’s destiny dies with her. Antonio then has the freedom to create his own future free from the pressure of choosing to be either a Luna or a Marez. Ultima’s death, while resolving his identity conflict, also forces Antonio to grow up and become more self-reliant. Before her death, Antonio depended on her for advice because his parents are biased with his identity struggle. Without her guidance, Antonio is forced to be more independent. Ultima seems to recognize this as she blesses Antonio before she dies saying, “I bless you in the name of all that is good and strong and beautiful, Antonio. Always have the strength to live. Love life, and if despair enters your heart, look for me in the evenings when the wind is gentle and the owls sing in the hills. I shall be with you—” (261). Ultima reassures Antonio that she will be with him because, without her, he has no one else to depend on for guidance. When Ultima dies, it concludes Antonio’s faith and heritage conflict because it gives him the independence to seek out his destiny as both a

Ultima helped guide young Antonio with her wisdom. As Antonio feels the loss of his

His parents have ideas which conflict each other when it relates to their precious last son’s fate. Like a hawk swooping down on its prey, Ultima, an elderly curandera comes to occupy a room in the Marez residence. To everyone else in the house Ultima staying with them is negligible, but the bond Antonio and Ultima soon begin to create is the first step into Antonio’s quest in finding his fate. “When she came the beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes, and the gurgling waters of the river sang to the hum of the turning earth. The magical time of childhood stood still, and the pulse of the living earth pressed its mystery into my living blood.”(Anaya 1) Ultima’s presence alone lifted Antonio’s spirits, even the little things such as the llano he lived on all his life that had become mundane to him, began to glisten with great importance.

Thom Gunn, an English poet who has spent most of his life living in the United States, is a member of what has come to be called the "Movement". Members of the Movement "rejected what seemed to them the Romantic excesses of the New Apocalypse (whose most prominent member was Dylan Thomas), and. . .were equally dissatisfied with the modernist revolution led by [Ezra] Pound and [T.S.] Eliot" (Ellmann and O’Clair 1335). Gunn has criticized modernists for "strengthen[ing] the images [in their poetry] while...banishing [the] concepts" (Qtd. in Ellmann and O’Clair 1335). Members of the Movement "sought greater concreteness and a less high-flown diction for poetry" (Ellmann and O’Clair 1335).

Throughout My Antonia, the difference between immigrants and native lifestyles are shown. While neither Jim not Antonia is rich, Jim is definitely more well off than her. He knows the language and has enough that he can have more opportunities. Antonia realizes that her life is going to be more difficult and that she will have to work more because of her mother’s decision to move to America. She tells Jim that “if I live here, like you, that is different. Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us,” (90) and knows that her gentle personality might be at stake. This also foreshadows future events where Antonia struggles as an immigrant farmer. It adds obstacles to her life which might lead to them drifting apart in their friendship, even complete separation. This relates to the world in how immigrants had a harder time getting going in life. Antonia’s mother has already become changed because of poverty. She is grasping, selfish, and believes everyone should help her family. Jim’s grandmother defends her, knowing that, “a body never knows what traits poverty might bring out in them,” (60), though it is socially unacceptable. The pressures of helping her family led Antonia to not be educated and become a farmer. She is happy, but this leads to Jim being away, “twenty years before I kept my promise,” (211) as he is a successful lawyer and travels. They still have old connections, though being from Bohemia did change Antonia’s life and where it could have gone.

In Claudia Llosa’s The Milk of Sorrow, a girl from the Andes named Fausta has an odd disease contracted from her mother’s milk. Because her mother was raped and tortured during the Peruvian Civil War with Fausta in her womb, the mother’s milk is contaminated with the disease, according to the local people. This condition causes symptoms such as rarely leaving one’s home by will, avoiding men, rarely speaking, and walking close to the walls of houses for fear of having one’s soul stolen. In the film, Fausta undergoes a journey to empower herself to cure this disease and create a voice for herself. Through the use of central recurring symbols, Fausta’s actions, and the interactions of the people around her, the film suggests that historical trauma, if left unchecked, can negatively influence the person with trauma, the people around them, and even generations to come.

Isolation from society can evoke a deep loneliness and self-reflection. The poem "The Wife's Lament" from the Exeter Book expresses the desolation of exile. The dominant theme is the contrast of a happy past and a bleak present of isolation. The anonymous author of "The Wife's Lament" uses setting, tone, and conflict to develop the theme of great loss. He/she augments a situation in which meditation on life's past joys is the only redemption in a life sentenced to confinement. “The Wife’s Lament” is an excellent example of nostalgia, resentment of the present, and hopelessness about the future.

My Antonia, by Willa Cather, is a novel about Jim Burden and his relationship and experiences growing up with Antonia Shimerda in Nebraska. Throughout the book Jim reflects on his memories of Nebraska and the Shimerda family, often times in a sad and depressing tone. One of the main ways Cather is able to provoke these sad emotions within the reader is through the suicide of Antonia’s father, Mr. Shimerda. His death was unexpected by everyone and it is thought that homesickness is what drove him to take his own life. Homesickness was surely felt by Mr. Shimerda, as it was by many, but it was the failure to adequately find a way to provide for his family that sent Mr. Shimerda into a

In the story there are a lot of surprises. The most surprising part of the story for me would be when Eulinda found her brother dead. After the Civil War ended the prison let out all of the prisoners and allowed them to look for their family/ friends. With the help of her friend Clara Barton (who worked for Red Cross) she went looking for her brother and the ring he had told Eulinda he still had in the letters he wrote her. Later, they found his body and the ring with a note attached to it. The note told her to use the Ruby ring to live and to be free.

Every man needs a strong woman. In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, Vivian, Grant’s girlfriend, is more than just a “strong woman.” She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to express her feelings. Although the majority of the novel’s attention is directed to Grant and Jefferson, Vivian as well deserves attention because she is a complex and well—developed character. Yes, Grant and Jefferson have their issues that need attention, but everyone has their problems and needs someone to lean on at least once in their life. For example, Grant says, “Let’s go somewhere and spend the night. Baton Rouge, New Orleans—anywhere,” only thinking of himself. However, it’s not and what he wants; it’s what she needs, what Vivian needs.

My Antonia was published in 1918, two years before all American women were granted the right to vote in 1920. Willa Cather lived in a bustling time where women were heavily vouching for fundamental rights and breaking free from what had been considered societal norms. While Cather mentions the conventional duties and housewives of the time the book was written, her story’s focus differs. “My Antonia’s,” narrative centers around women, many of whom are immigrants, who transcend the gender norms of their time on their journeys to create successful lives, much to Jim’s admiration.

The play Oleana is an incredible example of how one thing can be taken two different ways. All throughout the play there are many instances where matters go down and slowly ruin the career of a middle aged english professor. While his intentions could be sexual, its very unlikely that he wanted something from his student. The girl in the play, Carol, also seemed to be truly genuine at first, but its hard to tell. It opens up with the two discussing a term of art, Carol has been failing the class and John, the professor offers to help. First he basically ignores her, he has more important matters on his mind. Then as the conversation progresses, he seems to give in and try to help her.

At the end of book the second Darnay is torn between staying and leaving. If he stays he could live out his new life as Charles Darnay and forget abou Gabelle and his old life because that was his plan. He in the end decides to go to paris and I believe this is his downfall. The fact that his guilt and feeling of responsibility for Gabelle shows that no matter what he does his feelings will cloud his better judgement and he will risk it all to help one of his friends. He believes that he will return to England safely after his work is done but he does not take into account his aristocratic blood and that he will never be able to be rid of it. This comes back to the metaphor of the loadstone rock where no matter how hard he tries to forget about