Since animals, usually pets, are sometimes an essential part of one's life, it is not surprising that we find frequent references to its role in works of social realism, such as Wislawa Szymborska's Poems New and Collected and Milan Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being. Animals in literature could be used to symbolize all sorts of things, but in particular, animals may represent the personality of a character. This is because as humans and animals co-exist in the same atmosphere, certain aspects of a character reveal themselves in the compassion or even hatred towards the animal. Since animals are often known to trigger the interests of humans, the attitude of the humans towards the animals contributes much to character revelation. Both …show more content…
A life that never ends?
He'd turn his ruddy rump as if to say
Such life he neither bans nor recommends
We can see the monkey as a god now, a figure that even has power to give "life that never ends," such a contrast after the total mistreatment, above. We see how the animals determine human characteristics: either overly mistreating, or overly obsessed.
In the poem, Cat in an empty apartment, Szymborska again criticizes the uncaring characteristic of humans and the role of animals in the poem as a mere irritation or a vexation.
Die you can't do that to a cat
Since what can a cat do in an empty apartment?
Climb the walls?
Rub against the furniture?
From this we can perceive that animals in Szymborska's poems serve to prove that in their co-existence with humans, they are treated unfairly and the human characteristics of cruel superiority over animals are evident in the works.
Later in the Unbearable Lightness of Being, Tomas and Tereza moves to a collective farm in Rural Czechoslovakia after the Soviet takeover of 1969 to avoid the hardships caused by Tomas' criticism of the former Czechoslovak communist regime. There, they befriend the chairman of the collective farm, who like Tereza, shares a close relationship with an animal companion: a pig named Mephisto, which has been "raised like a dog." Even though in the farms animals are purposely raised to be slaughtered for eating use, Mephisto is treated like his best friend, even going so far as to imagine
“The Black Cat” is one of Poe’s more gruesome stories. It is one of the darkest stories he has written. The narrator opens the story by saying he is sane. It is the night before he dies. The story talks about the narrator’s past and how he knew so many people who all
Animals by Simon Rich is an outstanding short story which takes a unique perspective on the everyday life in a classroom. The story is written from the point of view of a hamster who spends his tortured life entrapped in a cage. From the first point in this story, it is clear that the purpose of the writing is not to understand the hamster, but rather to analyze the different actions of the people, and to discover that how they act towards the hamsters reflects on their character. It is curious to view the everyday interactions of people through a different set of eyes, that is done by humanizing the narrator’s perspective. Based on the actions of the many people and the treatment of the class pet, the author suggests that human nature is very much a product of the financial circumstances a person is subjected to.
The first point of utilitarianism is important for readers to understand because upon completion of reading this work, or any work related to animals deserving equal considerations in terms of suffering, comes a question of ethics and a decision. Singer expresses the similarities between how humans treated one another and their progressions over time throughout Animal Liberation with good reasons. The
Human beings are considered to be the greatest creations that were given knowledge, skills and power to rule over the entire planet. However, at the same time, their relationship with other animals and its implications in human civilization cannot be denied. Historically, it is proven that for thousands of years, human beings have developed close contact with animals who were their means of living and at the same time often, great companions. Considering the great significance of animals in the lives of human beings, often their relationships were portrayed in literature by authors. It was meant to help the global community to have a clear understanding of the impact that animals have in the lives of human beings which is very much significant.
David Kherdian’s novel Monkey: A Journey to the West, begins with the creation story of Monkey. On the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, a magic stone is fertilized by the seeds of Heaven and Earth and is impregnated by divine inspiration. Following the embryonic stages of development, a stone egg is revealed. The stone egg instantly undergoes a physical transformation. “Once the egg was exposed to the elements, the wind soon transformed it into a stone monkey, complete in every way in all aspects of its being”(Kherdian 1). The stone monkey soon comes to life, explores his surroundings, and makes friends with other monkeys and other mammals. Monkey and his friends fool around in the forest and spot a curtain of water flowing from a waterfall.
While I thought that Peterson’s descriptions sufficed to help the readers see how apes were treated – dead or alive, the pictures were more shocking. Originally, I skipped over the pictures, but they served to help bring Peterson’s words to life. Prior
In our contemporary civilization, literature plays an important and impacting role in our daily lives. Adapting to the different likes and tastes of modern day society, books and novels have different types and genres, all having in common the objective to please the reader and to convey morals and themes to the audience. In the 20th century were written 2 novels, The Chrysalids and Animal Farm, which will be compared and contrasted in the following essay, demonstrating the fact that they both target the general audience and not one particular group of readers. The comparison between both novels will be done via the contrast of specific literary elements such as the plot and the moods of the novels,
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a satire that exposes and criticizes the corruption of the Russian Revolution by using animals to represent political figures. The novel symbolizes a time of darkness in Russia as one that resulted in a government more controlling, totalitarian, and deadly than the one it overthrew. The short story “Harrison Bergeron” is set in the year 2081 where thanks to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments, everyone is equal to each other. Although the two works of literature may sound to be very distinct from one another, they both are full of social commentary.
Stan Rice describes how these monkeys are carefree and they live their lives authentically. While the two friends are watching the monkeys they experience moments that would typically be considered private for humans. Rice writes: “And then there will be those moments we are embarrassed/and
Many literary composers use allegories to represent real world concerns that the author deems relevant and in need of attention. Most authors use allegories to convey clear messages they are passionate about, problems that are current in today’s society, or what they want their readers to understand. In Yuri Herrera’s short story, “The Objects,” his two main characters have to adapt to their social status, which determines which animals they transform into throughout the story. Rafa, the louse, and the narrator, a rat, allow the reader to understand their strifes as lower class citizens within their society. “The Objects,” is an allegory, which helps the reader understand how the social classes in society are hindering the advancement of
The endless altering matters of society remain controversial among its many spectators; nevertheless, Wislawa Szymborska views these matters as vacuous dictations. Szymborska confronts her perspective of society through her recurrent theme of mockery and wit, in which cultivates a comical aspect of her poetry. The comical aspects throughout some of Szymborska’s poetry exploits the changing standards of society, the dictation that society places on an individual, the false sense of comfort that is provided by society, and the true state of oblivion that society resides in. This scrutinization of society remains within an underlying tone of ridicule and aversion, which is conveyed through Szymborska’s a vast amount of devices, such as juxtaposition,
I have never considered that a book about a dog could be so appealing and full of deep thoughts. But I changed my viewpoint after reading the autobiographical novel “Marley & Me” written by John Grogan which depicts an astonishing story about the neurotic and loyal, clumsy and loving dog named Marley. In fact, as the author mentioned in some interviews, he intended to write the “dog story”, but soon after he realized that it was impossible to do so without including the family life [2]. That is why the title “Marley & Me” encapsulates the main topic of the book such as the relationship between a human and a pet. To start with let me introduce main characters: John, Jenny, and Marley.
In the poems Robert Burns’ “To a Mouse” and “The Mouse’s Petition” by Anna Letitia Barbauld, many feelings and emotions about mice are brought forth. While both poems were written by different authors, many of the feelings they share towards mice are common. The analysis of the two poems will help to find the comparisons and differences in theme, political and social issues, diction, and tone. Examples from the poems will help to show the similarities and differences in the two.
In Animal Farm by George Orwell, he uses the animals to represent everyone in our society today. In this novel, satire is the use of animal characters as a representation to show the Russian Revolution. The humans, portrayed by animals, are being ridiculed and it shows the breakdown of political ideology, and the misuse of power. Each of the characters portray an individual in society that expresses how humans can act similarly to animals. We can be perceived as animals because we can be separated by classes, or by our appearances. We often become what we don’t want to be, as in the novel the animals make rules to not become humans. We soon find out that the pigs are standing and becoming just like humans. The pigs hold all the power, and everything is fitted around them.
William Blake used animals as basic building blocks for poems such as “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.” By using these carefully selected animals to depict good and evil, the reader truly understands Blake’s words. All readers can relate to animals such as an innocent lamb and a