Theme Of Hypocrisy In Perfume

In “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Scarlet Ibis” dark symbols and tones shape the plot, which allows man’s inhumanity to man, as a theme, to be expected. Both authors use imagery to allow readers to paint a picture of each setting in their mind. Also, each author adds in many symbols to make a concrete object into an abstract idea. In “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allan Poe and “The Scarlet Ibis” written by James Hurst symbols, imagery, and the theme of man’s inhumanity to man are used to uniquely explain each story line.

The inhumanity of humanity is an intriguing paradox explored by John Gardner in his 1971 work, Grendel. Little is definitively known about the physique of the novel’s eponym, Grendel, but he is portrayed as decidedly inhuman; Grendel dwells on the skirts of humanity, in both a literal and figurative sense. While not human himself, Grendel experiences an incessant urge to explore humanity and the communities that compose it, including the Spear-Danes tribe. Through Grendel’s observations of human culture, he develops an understanding of his own monstrous stereotype. In Chapter 6, Grendel finally succumbs to the expectations put forth by human society, which closely parallels the approach taken by Unferth, a celebrated Danish warrior.

Unnerving, spooky, disturbing, frightful… All common characteristics of a hauntingly terrific tale by the famous Edgar Allan Poe. His story “The Masque of the Red Death” brought a grotesque taste to the horror genre throughout the 19th century with the use of literary devices. To summarize, Poe’s story discussed, in detail, the horrifying inevitability of death, which reveal the value of a device known as symbolism used by Poe in this literary work. As people are familiar with, Poe’s psychological weaknesses spurred his creativity to which he poured his problems into Gothic Literature, and he produced these unforeseen symbols as pawns of his life. In this popular short story, subtle objects are manipulated to reflect Edgar Allan Poe’s misfortunes. Symbolism is used throughout his short years of living as a narrative device for his eerie publications. Within this composition, I will be justifying how Poe’s influence on the use of symbolism constructed a disturbed and almost misleading

Mansfield is able to convey a strong visual of the setting and character that heightens the reader’s senses. Most everything described or used to characterize Miss Brill in this story works collectively as an overall symbol of the old woman’s unusual image and identity. Imagery is best utilized at the beginning of the story when the weather is illustrated, “Although it was so brilliantly fine – the blue sky powdered with gold and great spots of light like white wine splashed over the Jardins Publiques – Miss Brill was glad that she had decided on her fur” (Mansfield 263). This quote is able to captivate readers immediately through the introduction of the scenery that Miss Brill is influenced by during the duration of the narrative. Also, the analyzed text and expressive imagery can be easily connected to the dynamics of the woman’s personality, following the first descriptions of the setting.

The sole purposes of this essay are for the reader to have a deeper understanding of the novel by the use of intertextuality, but before one dives into the novel, first let us discuss what intertextuality is:

As Griet begins work as a maid in the Vermeer household, she has extensive responsibilities thrust upon her both from the Vermeers and her family. While there, Griet encounters many obstacles; the first being her relationship with her new mistress Catharina. “Catharina remained on the threshold. I did not dare enter before her. After an awkward moment she ordered, ‘Open the shutters, then. Not the window on the left. Just the middle and far windows. And only the lower part of the middle window’” (Chevalier, 32). Catharina’s instruction from Johannes creates a lot of tension between Griet and herself; beginning Catharina’s resentment of Griet. Catharina does not like the fact that Johannes allows a maid in his studio, but not her. As Griet’s time in the Vermeer household continues, Vermeer eventually chooses to paint Griet, even though she does not wish to be painted because of her class and position. For Griet, that means giving up the only thing she has left- her identity- for the sake of Vermeer’s painting. “He seemed to be waiting for something. My face began to strain with the fear that I was not giving him what he wanted. ‘Griet’, he added

Throughout the story “Perfume” by Patrick Suskind, Grenouille is presented as an outsider who is a product of both social and moral decay shown through his birth, description of the setting and description of Grenouille’s characteristics.

The presence of light and dark imagery is a significant motif in the novel Winesburg, Ohio, vital to the understanding of characters’ suppressed identities and the hidden beauty found within all of their seemingly grotesque personas. Throughout the book, darkness is prevalent whenever a character reveals a secret about themselves to George Willard or the reader, and characters regularly walk around at night. Many of the most important experiences occur in the dark, and within these moments, the characters appear their most extraordinary. The juxtaposition of light and dark portrays the contrast between the characters’ authentic identities and the pretenses they express to society.

The reader is first introduced to Miss Brill while she is at the “Jardins Publiques” for her Sunday routine. While at the park, she reminisces about her fur, “[taking] it out of its box that afternoon…and [rubbing] the life back into the dim little eyes.” One might initially perceive Miss Brill as a quirky, yet cheery, woman. However, by having Miss Brill address the fur as “Dear little thing” and emphasizing her recurring need to “touch” and “stroke” it, Mansfield reveals a deeper, more genuine layer to Miss Brill’s character. By observing Miss Brill’s character indirectly, the reader notices the more obscure details, such as the absence of an intimate relation in Miss Brill’s life, and concludes that she is incredibly lonesome. Her solitude provokes a constant need to make her life more

In his 1984 novel Jitterbug Perfume, Tom Robbins presents a narrative that rivals the often fantastical tales told in myth. Using classical mythology as a foundation, and, in particular, providing a loose adaptation of The Odyssey by Homer, Robbins updates and modifies characters and concepts in an effort to reinforce the importance of the journey of life and the discovery of self. Like the ancient myth-makers, Robbins commands the reader’s attention with outrageous situations and events while at the same time providing characters that the reader can relate to and learn from.

Sin, a dark and powerful force, twists the soul and warps the mind to the point where it leaves society with unconquerable difficulties in everyday life. Nathaniel Hawthorne, quite successfully, uses literature to its full potential in order to express sins presence in life. He uses the short story, “The Birthmark” to express this theme. In this story, a man by name Aylmer for the first time sees a small defect in his otherwise beautiful wife, Georgiana. When Aylmer mentions it to her, she feels hurt, but it does not seem to affect her self-image. However, as time went on, the birthmark started to bother her causing her to believe she was flawed and in need of fixing. With the assistance of Aylmer's servant, Aminadab, Aylmer creates a miracle drug that would cure his wife of her imperfection: the birthmark. The possibly deadly drug incites fear in her husband; however, the blemish on her face troubles her, as well as her husband, to the point where she believes her life means nothing unless she could get it removed. After much meticulous preparation, the wife takes the cure. At first, everything seems well as her birthmark faded, however soon everything goes wrong, and Georgina has a terrible reaction. Soon after taking the cure she dies, leaving Aylmer heartbroken and alone without his wife. In, “The Birthmark,” Nathaniel Hawthorne brings to light sin’s presence in society through the use of allusions, symbolism, color, and beauty.

In addition, Foster utilizes early Gothic elements by incorporating the age’s shifting gender roles to make sexual differences “a source of fear” that plays into the element of generating “something like fear,” for the readers (Crow 1-2). Wharton’s friends and family are all eminent on letting her know that virtue is important and that she is not taking her life serious. Her coquetry is horrific--a Gothic component--to them, exemplifying this other Gothic component of rationality versus irrationality whereas, “My blood thrilled with horror at this sacrifice of virtue!” (Foster 142). What also impacts this novel in terms of Gothicism is that humans naturally make mistakes whether they are along the lines of being evil or disgraceful. In Gothic

This dissertation will examine and analyse two of the macabre and gothic tales from the English author Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865); The Old Nurses Story (1852) and The Poor Clare (1857). Indicating and demonstrating how representations of mystery and the supernatural are used as vehicles of imagination, expression and exploration into the hidden depths of the female psyche through the use of Gothic fiction within the Victorian era (1837-1901). I intend to delve and explore into the identity of the feminine-self exposing the darker and intimate issues of the female Gothic, otherwise hidden within the oppressive constraints of the female role residing in Victorian society. Applying psychoanalytical examples, I shall discuss themes of the

Austen has set out to save the rising art form of the novel. In this address to the reader she glorifies what a novel should be: the unrestrained expression of words conveying the wide range of raw human emotion. This veneration of the novel is necessary to the development of Catherine's fiction-loving character as it justifies the narrator's right to remain fond of this flawed heroine.

As a German writer, the reason for which Patrick Suskind wrote his critically-acclaimed novel, Perfume, in a French setting, about the French, is questionable. However, candidate answers lie in the setting of the novel itself. Mid-18th century France, which is adjacent to Suskind’s Germany, harboured not only a national, but global revolution of politics, economics, and social norms through the French reforms. This had plentiful influence on all aspects of Prussia since the late 17th century (when Germany was known as Prussia) to the present. This stepping stone to a change in practicality lied in the French Revolution and the change of identity that it instilled upon the populace. An exploration of Grenouille and perfume in Perfume reveals their symbolism of the critical transition from religious prominence, to humanistic considerations, to nihilistic extremes that ensued national and global chaos after the French Revolution to represents its influence on Germany and its constituent populace.