The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot Essay

It is fitting how after sending the text above Maggie speculated if Lacey “even knew what she was talking about” (45). Maggie and Lacey clearly do not connect in regards to the standard mother-daughter relationship, as they struggle to find a way communicate. Thus, these communication problems have taken over Maggie’s relationship with Lacey, which unfortunately further heighten Maggie’s seclusion from this society.

By looking through a critical lens at T Stearns Eliot’s poetry in light of his 20th century, modernist context, much is revealed about his personal and the rapidly evolving societal beliefs of that era. Through his repeating motif of time and fragmentation throughout his poems, Eliot reveals the prevalent feelings of isolation while in society along with the need to hide one’s feelings and emotions in this degrading society. His exploration of the use of ambiguity and stream of consciousness by Eliot, which is a characteristic of modernist artists, allows his work to resound over decades while being interpreted and differently understood by every audience that encounters them.

In conclusion, Tom Walker is a man known as miserly, brave, parsimony. Tom Walker character describes him as a hypocrite man with a clapper clawing wife. He shows his actual personality by following the footsteps of the devil. Furthermore, Tom is a man who greed for something that is not great. ‘’ The Devil and Tom Walker’’ by Washington Irving proves what kind of unfaithful man he is from the challenges and obstacles that was face. This story mainly tells about many actions that brought forces upon

Maggie feels terribly unloved in her marriage with Brick. Because of her unfulfilling marriage with Brick, she seeks affection and attention with someone close to Brick. In addition, when Mae interrupts Maggie and Brick from conversing by talking about her own children and how adorable they are, Maggie says, “why did y’give dawgs names to all your kiddies... sounds like four dogs and a parrot”(29). Maggie has a grudge Mae because she has many children with Gooper. Maggie feels insecure about having children, so she mocks Mae and her offspring to reassure herself and make her self feel better. Margaret has a dreadful relationship with Brick and also with Mae and her kids.

Tom’s neglecting manner of Daisy brings out his supercilious manner of feeling superior to others. In another instance, Tom’s supercilious manner is shown once again. In fact, we find out a little secret about Tom’s life. Tom describes a man, named Wilson as, “Wilson? He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York.

The author continuously characterizes Tom Walker in a way that makes the readers pity and resent him to not want to follow the example of his life. For example, after Tom's wife takes all their valuables and tries to strike a bargain with the devil when Tom wouldn’t do it himself, he goes looking for her in the woods. Irving shows just how little Tom cared about his wife when he describes his reaction to her disappearance and death. He is more concerned about the safety of his silverware, which she had taken with her. "He leaped with joy; for he recognized his wife's apron, and supposed it to contain the household valuables.” That shows that he is really greedy and ruthless. However, Tom shows no remorse for his dead wife and has evidence that shows that his wife had beaten up even the

“His infantile countenance was livid with fury. His small body was writhing in the delivery of great, crimson oaths.” (Crane 1) The definition of countenance is a person’s face or facial expression. This particular quote establishes the emotional state of Jimmie. The little gangs that infiltrate the neighborhood cause chaos within the people and often lead to brutal fights and violence.

When Dee was determined to get the quilts, Mama presented her personal strength by “snatching the quilts out of [Dee’s] hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (294). Even though Maggie said that Dee could have the quilts, Mama knew that Maggie was upset because she heard Maggie fall in the kitchen and slam the door when Dee asked for the quilts. At that moment, Mama realized that Dee was the child who got everything she wanted because she was the most outspoken. Contrarily, Maggie who was physically and mentally maimed, was the quiet sibling who even more so than her mother never wanted conflict. Unlike Dee who left home for college and disrespected her family’s lifestyle, Maggie stayed with her mother to help out around the house and ultimately revered and respected her family and traditions. Mama found that the daughter who has never given trouble and has always been faithful deserves to keep her inheritance even if a bit of conflict may arise among family members. When Mama plopped the quilts on Maggie, Maggie sat on the “bed with her mouth open.” (294) Maggie instantly learned that she should never let other people take what is rightfully hers and that she can and should stand up for herself. Maggie does not have to fight physically but a hold simple conversation with her can be enough for her to grown and show her

On the first day of school Nash (who is gay) sees a new guy on the school bus and points him out to Maggie. Nash calls “dibs” over the new guy, Tom, which in their friendship would mean that he would “get” the thing without fighting over it. But in this case even though Nash called “dibs” Maggie struggles with letting him “have” Tom to himself. Maggie lets Nash have dibs on Tom at first because she thinks Tom wouldn’t like her anyway cense she is overweight. However, she can’t stop thinking about how much she likes him and also wonders if Tom might not like

Along with the character transformation in “A Doll’s House”, Tom, from “The Glass Menagerie”, also goes through some character changes. Throughout the entire play, Tom was working in a warehouse trying to support his family. While working there, he was struggling with his dreams of becoming a merchant marine. Towards the end of the play, when Tom introduces his friend Jim O’Connor to his sister Laura, his mother hopes that this could be a man that Laura could settle down with and someday marry. When Amanda finds out that Jim is already engaged, she blames Tom. She is furious that Tom brought a gentleman caller over

A showy and occasionally inappropriate woman, Big Mama is just like Maggie in that both are married to men who cannot stand them. Big Mama is openly devoted to her husband, and throughout their whole marriage, she has stood by him. Despite Big Daddy’s frequent insults, Big Mama refuses to become offended and does not allow the marriage to fall apart. The difference between Maggie and Big Mama is that although Big Mama has a very hard marriage, she has had children and served her husband well. A “good” wife’s role was to serve her husband’s comfort and know her place. The man was the master of the house, and therefore it was inappropriate for the woman to complain to her husband and talk about her problems. Listening to the man was important because his conversation topics were the most important. A problem Maggie has is that although she wants to be an ideal wife and mother, she does not carry out all parts of the expectation. She is stubborn and against to taking into account what Brick wants, and she continuously complains and fights with him. Big Mama on the other hand is a piteous character in that she is so desperate to stay away from problems and argument that she embarrasses herself in order to avoid them. This is why, although Maggie and Big Mama share

Without taking note of how many people make up Maggie or Huck’s, their poorly functioning homes are almost exact when considering their chaotic and unpredictable nature. With a mother like Mary and a father like hers, it can hardly be surprising, the novel implies, Maggie grow up as they do. Nonetheless, Maggie and Huck are seldom aware of what mood the drunk/abusive parent might be in.

Eliot is not solely criticising modern life in the poem, it also serves as a reflection of Eliot’s social context and his own life, a product of its time.

Tom had a double role in the play as both the narrator and a main character that lived through a recollection of what life was like living with his mother and sister before he abandoned them to seek adventure. Tom’s behavior in the play could lead to question if his memory is truly accurate. SparkNotes comments, “…But at the same time, he demonstrates real and sometimes juvenile emotions as he takes part in the play’s action. This duality can frustrate our understanding of Tom, as it is hard to decide whether he is a character whose assessments should be trusted or one who allows his emotions to affect his judgment” (SparkNotes.com). Through his behavior a person is reminded that memory can be flawed by emotions or time elapsing, this would need to be taken into account when analysis of such a character is done. Tom is full of contradictions as he reads literature, writes poetry, and dreams of an escape; however he also felt bound by duty to his sister and mother. Another contradiction was that while he professed to care about his sister as seen in his ending comments in the play, “…I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!...” (Williams), Tom never went back to reconnect with his sister. This could be because of the great shame he felt for abandoning his sister or because of another reason. He stated that he had been in several cities over the years but never speaks of going back to St. Louis, making it unclear if he

The Waste Land, written by T.S. Eliot, is poem portraying the lack and/or the corruption of culture in England during the post WWI period. Eliot uses a form of symbolism, in which he uses small pieces from popular literary works, to deliver his message. He begins by saying that culture during the post WWI period is a “barren wasteland.” Eliot goes on to support this claim by saying that people in England are in a sort of shock from the violence of World War I. Eliot believes that the lack of culture open doors for immorality to grow among the populace.