Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion conveys the exploitation of the working class through the use of juxtaposing motifs; light and dark, which are symbolic of the separation between the marginalised and those who hold power. This aspect has best contributed to my understanding of the text by expanding on the idea of the power amongst rich and poor. The imagery of light and dark pervades this novel in the form of memories from Patrick’s youth where the dark allowed a limited freedom, a single agency of power and identity that stems from the idea of “day was work, night was rest”. Ondaatje depicts society imposing its power over workers in the light. In saying this, each worker has their own smaller light that frees them from societal structures, and this light is better seen at night. …show more content…
This was against the night. The ice was so certain, they could leap into the air and crash down and it would hold them. Their lanterns replaced with new rushes which let them go further past boundaries...” The skaters and workers become free during the night as the day robs the working class of freedom. They have control in the night, with the lantern symbolising the limited power that they control in order to see where they are going and extend their boundaries. It is their agency of power and identity. Ondaatje writes from the perspective of the voiceless lower class, which is scarcely regarded by society, the rich or history. The working class are dehumanized and become a part of the project itself, invisible and undervalued. “A man is an extension of hammer, drill, flame. Drill smoke in his hair. A cap falls into the valley; gloves are buried in stone dust.” This creates an image of men who simply disappear into the scale of the construction and are defined as a tool. The high class categorises them by their jobs, neglecting them as
Elie Wiesel uses several types of figurative language in Night. In his novel, Elie’s use of symbolism is most important in helping the reader understand the horrors of his experience during the Holocaust.
Often, the theme of a novel extends into a deeper significance than what is first apparent on the surface. In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, the theme of night and darkness is prevalent throughout the story and is used as a primary tool to convey symbolism, foreshadowing, and the hopeless defeat felt by prisoners of Holocaust concentration camps. Religion, the various occurring crucial nights, and the many instances of foreshadowing and symbolism clearly demonstrate how the reoccurring theme of night permeates throughout the novel.
One of the main themes throughout the book is the title of the book “Night”. There are references from Eliezer about night during the book, which are full of symbolism. The word “night” is used repeatedly, and Eliezer recounts every dusk, night and dawn through the entire book. For instance, Night could be a metaphor for the Holocaust—submerge the family and thousands of Jewish families in the darkness and misery of the concentration camps.
Throughout the novel, multiple different symbols are being portrayed, although the symbol of light depicts the full meaning of the characters and theme of Anthem. Ayn Rand uses light to symbolize knowledge, hope, freedom, and life. The light symbolizes hope since, it shows how Equality separates himself from collectivism and thinks for himself when he proclaims “We made it. We created it. We brought it forth from the night of the ages. We alone. Our hands. Our mind. Ours alone and only” (59). By contrast to the light of the box, the City is dark and only lit by candlelight. Therefore the light shows the hope that Equality and all others have of breaking away from the collective society and becoming individuals and to have freedom to be themselves. The discovery of light starts Equality's journey of changing the society and granted him the chance to create a new world where light and other things from the Unmentionable Times exist.
I agree on the romantic messages behind this story, but I would also like to think that it describes, as I mentioned in the beginning of the analysis, life in general with the hunting of acceptation, that it is not only one way to go. It does not matter what color or decorations your lantern is, a multi colored is just as beautiful.
In the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel, the word night is repeatedly used as a metaphor symbolizing the conditions and emotions that the Jews struggle with during the Holocaust. Elie’s personal struggle with his experience evoke connotations of darkness that describe the inhumane treatment that Elie and the Jews are forced to endure throughout the memoir. In the beginning, Elie's town is invaded by German soldiers and soon, the Germans force all of the town's Jews to evacuate. After being thrown onto a freight train to Auschwitz, Elie experiences a whole new world filled with fear and hatred. Elie uses “night” to describe the struggles and hardships that he encounters throughout his experience. The literal meaning of the word night is simply the period of darkness everyday between sunset and sunrise. However, the metaphorical meaning of night, in this memoir, is far more sinister. As depicted in Night, the title metaphorically refers to the evil, hopelessness, and emotional coldness that the Jews are constantly forced to face throughout the Holocaust.
"Although there was evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunkhouse, inside it was dust". This shows that the light tries to get in but never manages to penetrate the darkness. This is important to the themes of the story because workers' hope for a future farm is just like the light while the cruel reality is like the darkness. Their efforts to realize this plan is just like the light trying to penetrate the darkness, but their dream
Elie Wiesel writes a powerful and moving novel titled “Night” detailing his journey throughout what we now know today as the Holocaust while also bringing in elements of symbolism and imagery to strengthen the novel and deliver a story that is not only incredible but impactful as well. Throughout the book Elie slowly begins to lose his faith, his father, and his dignity which is shown through the symbol of night. "We were given no food. We lived on snow; it took place of the bread. The days were like nights, and the nights left the dregs of their darkness in our souls"(Wiesel 94).” In this quote Elie states what the nights would bring to the Jews which is darkness. This reveals his feelings of being alone with no God and the dark of night that
Looking back on history men’s and women’s roles haven’t always been divided; both genders were needed to work and provide and until the fourteen hundreds, they wore the same clothing. Men’s fashion developed to show the reality of their bodies with apparel such as tights, while women’s bodies were accentuated in tight bodices. Bordo shows us that as men’s clothing became more comfortable and utilitarian their role in society followed suit. Men today are supposed to be active; they are workers, the penetrators, the ones in control. Advertisements in the essay show us men continually portrayed as “rocks,” aggressively facing the camera or actively working. When women appear, they are simply to be gazed at and admired for their beauty. The images of men acting coincide with society’s standard of men being the
Night can relate back to sociology in many different ways. The book is mainly about the Holocaust. The Holocaust can be related back to sociology such as Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism is the theory of evolution that is explored by Charles Darwin. Darwinism uses terms like “survival of the fittest.” That term is applied to society. During World War II, the Nazi’s were in favor of Social Darwinism. They believed that the Jewish people were the inferior group. They believed that the conflict was necessary to remove the weaker people away from the superior Germans. Social Darwinism, in a way, was used when determining who was capable of working and who was going to be sent to the crematory. The Jews went under medical examination before entering the camps, and if a Jew was deemed unable to work, they would be gassed. Women and children were automatically sent to the death chambers. Jewish woman and children, In German eyes, were unable to work. The germans only kept the strongest Jews alive so they could work. Symbolism was sociological aspect of the Holocaust. “The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don't die of it." (Wiesel, 1) Elie, and the Jewish people around his town had to wear the Yellow Star Of David. They did this so that the Nazi’s could recognized if they were a Jew, or not. The title of the book “Night,” symbolizes death. Death is cold and dark just like an actual night. It
The essay provides vital information about the social distinctions in the society but readers may disagree with the idea that the working poor may never get the opportunity to advance their lives, regardless of the effort they put. It is only right to argue that the working poor remain in the impoverished condition because their undertakings do not generate enough income to help them get out of the unfriendly situation. The working poor, however, may emerge to be
The interplay of dark and light motifs underlies the narrator’s most recent hardship. On his way home on the subway, the narrator comes across his brother’s name in a newspaper and “stared at it in the swinging lights of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside” (Baldwin). Riding in the light of the subway car, the author makes the non-suspecting narrator subject to suffering, unguarded by the protective cloak of the outside darkness. Made vulnerable by the exposed light and people surrounding him, the narrator is hit harder by the unexpected news than if he had read it in the darkness of his private room. Under the “swinging lights,” the narrator is not prepared to cope with the troubling news. This emphasizes the importance of light as a symbol for one’s need of camouflage to properly cope with tragedy.
After releasing from the police station, Elle’s father told his friends and relatives that, “The news is terrible, TRANSPORTS!” (Wiesel, P.13). The Jews thought that Hitler had given up his plan about the annihilation of Jews. They relaxed for a few months but Elle’s father had made people scared. They thought the German would kill all of them. After that, most of the Jews were not able to sleep and felt worried about their futures. At the same time, Night also told significant things in the Jews’ minds. One of the most touching things was about Elle’s friends, Juliek. Despite the cold weather during the transportation to another concentration camp, Juliek was persistently playing violin and he played a song during the night time. Elle mentioned in the book, “The darkness enveloped us. All I could hear was the violin, and it was as if Juliek’s soul had become his bow.” (Wiesel, P.95). It was important as many people in the concentration camp had lost their friends, families, or even interests. However, Juliek didn’t lose his interest in playing violin and his persistence became much stronger than German’s weapons. Night was symbolic in the Jews’ minds. It emphasised the helpless of the Jews, but at the same time, Night also witnessed lots of important things in the camp, which made them unforgettable.
Both Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies and Pretty Modern acknowledge the term class, and the established social hierarchy and physical sufferings that comes from it, in many cultures. According to Schultz and Lavenda, class is defined as “a ranked group within a hierarchically stratified society whose membership is defined primarily in terms of wealth, occupation, or other economic criteria” (312). Ultimately, my goal is to demonstrate that while both ethnographies explore class, they do it in equally important, but different ways. Seth Holmes’ Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies is an account of the Triqui people and other Mexican migrant’s sufferings in U.S. farm labor camps. Alexander Edmonds’ Pretty Modern is an account of the booming plastic surgery market in Brazil, and the risks women take in order to modify themselves. Class is a rather fixed concept; it’s not easy to move between classes in most societies. While both ethnographies tell the tale of people trying to attain more wealth and a better occupation, the former does it in a way where class is perceived to be immovable, while the latter seems to heavily rely on the notion that you can climb the social ladder.
They have their ups and downs, struggling to define who they are, in an often cruel society (Davis, 2009). The two main themes found within the documentary focus on strife in their current lives, and the potential for a better future, both of which relate to our class