Wild Swans Analysis

In the short story “the White Heron” (1886), Sarah Jewett portrays a young little girl, Sylvia, bear the temptation of money and affection from the young man with mental struggle, and resolutely determined to protect the fairy of nature – a white heron. Through describing Sylvia’s authentic emotions and using of vivid theme colors and exquisite word choice, Jewett delivers the story like showing a lifelike 19-century country-life drama in front of the readers.

Well come on…I’ll make a batch of biscuits,” (26). Rose steadily tries to be the best mother that she can be for the Maxson family and not just take care of herself. She represents the primary care giver of the Maxson household by cooking for everybody and bringing the whole family in together to eat. “Okay, Troy…you’re right. I’ll take care of your baby for you…cause…like you say…she’s innocent…and you can’t visit the sins of the father upon the child. A motherless child has got a hard time,” (79). By Rose saying and doing this, it just proves how loving and tender hearted she is. Even though Rose is not the child’s mother, she still wants what is best for the baby. “Stop that yelling. You gonna wake up Raynell. I just got her to sleep,” (80). This shows that Rose has fully accepted Raynell as her daughter. Rose does not see Raynell as just Troy’s daughter but also hers too. Rose says, talking about Lyons, “Let the boy have ten dollars, Troy,” (19). This shows how loving and caring Rose acts towards Troy’s son. Rose and Troy clearly do not have enough money to be giving it out, but she encourages Troy to give some to Lyons because she cares about everyone. Rose is a very good hearted person who uses all of her characterisitcs to keep everyone in the family together and keep them in check.

In Alice Walker’s Roselily, our main character (Roselily) is a mother of three residing in Mississippi. She questions her actions to marry a man of a different religion, but knows that the marriage will give her a (limited) sense of freedom, and will give her children an opportunity to lead better lives. The story’s central idea reveals that sometimes the love and concern for others can lead to the sacrifice of one’s own happiness.

In many cultures, coming of age is often celebrated because children become young adults who grasp self-awareness and accountability. At the same time, childhood is threatened by responsibility, which is dreaded because there is an unpredictable world of adulthood waiting with no guarantees. James Hurst demonstrates the journey of growing up through life experiences everyone goes through in the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”. Throughout his use of mood, setting, and symbolism, Hurst shows that maturing requires reflecting on past experiences and losing innocence, which then can transform one’s outlook on life.

Childhood is arguably the most exciting time of a person’s life. One has few responsibilities or cares, and the smallest events can seem monumentally thrilling. Often, people reflect on the memories of their youth with fondness and appreciation for the lessons they learned. Sarah Orne Jewett captures this essence perfectly in the excerpt from “A White Heron.” Jewett uses many literary devices, including diction, imagery, narrative pace, and point of view to immerse the reader in familiar feelings of nostalgia and wonder, and dramatize the plot.

“ She thinks of her mother, who is dead. Dead, but still her mother. Joined. This is confusing. Of her father a gray old man who sold wild mink, rabbit, fox skins to Sears, Roebuck (Walker pg.2). Roselily once again starts to think back to the days when she was a child, to the days when she had no worries. She feels her mother who is dead still stands beside her in spirt to guide her on this unknown journey she is about to embark on, and for a moment it gives her comfort. “Or forever hold,” the Preachers’ words ring in Roselily’s ear. “ She does not even know if she loves him. She loves his sobriety. His refusal to sing just because he know the tune. She loves his pride. His blackness and his gray car. She loves his understanding go her condition. She thinks she loves the effort he will make to redo her into what he truly wants (Walker pg.3). Here the author really dives in to what Roselily thinks of her new husband. She knows she doesn't love him and probably never will. However, there are aspects about him which she thinks she can love and she realizes that will have to do

While at Weedpatch, a government camp, Rosasharn meets Mrs. Sandry, a religious fanatic that warns her about the dangers of dancing, singing, and play acting that go on at the camp. She succeeds in frightening Rose of Sharon by stating that the babies of these “sinners” are born “dead and bloody” (310). After the woman leaves, Rosasharn is reduced to tears as she is convinced her baby will be born dead as Mrs. Sandry said and she once again mourns Connie’s abandonment. When Ma discovers her, she manages to get her out of her depression a bit by saying, “You’re jest one person. An’ they’s a lot of other folks” (300). What Ma is trying to say in the novel is “Your opinion of yourself is what matters, because everyone else is going to judge you, but only you can accept the judgment.”

There was a time when society did not consider men and women as equal. Men were considered as the superior human being and the dominant figures of authority in the house while the woman had to be a subservient. Alice Munro uses some interesting details in “Boys and Girls” to hold the readers captive. She takes us on a journey in an era where the male child was deemed more important than the female child. “Boys and Girls is a story about a girl’s struggle in accepting the role society has forced upon her in such a vivid manner that it draws the reader to want to know what happens next. In “Telling Tails,” by Tim O’Brien, he illustrates what a good story should be by using story examples. O’Brien believes that “Boys and Girls” is good story because the author uses a well-imagined plot, striking and dramatic elements, and the ability to reach deep into the heart of readers.

Rose conveys his argument by describing the education background of both his mother and uncle. His mother did not have much of an educational background. She dropped out of school in the 7th grade and

The composition called The Swan performed by Yo-Yo Ma, the poem called The Dying Swan by Alfred Lord Tennyson, and the ballet of Le Cygne (The Swan) by Anna Pavlova connected to each other clearly and meaningfully by describing how The Swan’s experience connects to human being’s life cycle. The compositions musical elements connect to the poem because it starts with a depressing and miserable sound as how the poem starts in the first stanza. Then, the composition gives an inspiring emotion to the listener as how the poem gives inspiration to the reader. Furthermore, the composition also connects to the ballet because it follows the rhythm and melody of the composition by creating a dance that expresses an aching heart over people dying, peace of the deceased, and it inspired people to accept death as the dying swan accepted its own death. The ballerina shifted her speed with the tempo of the music symbolizing the meaning and feeling of the poem. The composer’s choices were effective in creating such a dramatic moment because the composition, ballet, and poem flew along as they instilled a mournful and content joy causing a death confronting inspiration.

Although Roselily’s life in Mississippi before marriage may not have been the greatest but, she is comfortable with it, and is scared of the change that is about to occur. As the preacher is finishing the ceremony she thinks” She wants to live for free for once. But she doesn’t know quite what that means.” She knows that once she gets married, between being a housewife and his restrictive religion she will

Firstly, Munro displays society’s weak and stereotypical view of women through the protagonist’s mother. The mother acts exactly as society expects girls to, staying inside the house, cooking and cleaning. For example, the mother “did not often come out of the house unless it was to do something – hang out the wash or dig potatoes in the garden.” (43) indicating that her sole purpose was to be inside the home. However, although women are expected to be weak and silenced, the protagonist opposes herself to society’s expectations. While most girls are expected to help their mother in the kitchen and stay inside, the protagonist prefers to “help my father when he cut the long grass, and the lamb’s quarter and flowering money-musk, that grew between the pens. He cut with the scythe and I raked into piles.” (43) Due to the protagonist preferring to work outside with her father it makes her mother feel as though, “It’s not like I (she) had a girl in the family at all.” (44) which is evidence that the protagonist defies gender conventions by participating in male-oriented tasks. Munro expresses the protagonist’s unconventionality through the use of symbolism in Flora the horse. Flora is viewed as, “given to fits of violent alarm, veering at cars and even at other horses, but we loved her speed and high-stepping, her general air of gallantry and abandon.” (44) Whereas, the other horse Mack, is described at “slow and easy to handle” (44) The inclusion of the comparison amongst Mack and Flora is to show the reader that Flora’s wild and brave personality is not common and is seen as unconventional which represents the protagonist and her separation from the norm.

If one succumbs to their fears it can deter them from finding love. In the novel, after David’s mother dies, he has this constant fear that the memory of her will be lost if he accepts Rose as his stepmother therefore pushing her away and refusing to allow her into his life. For the majority of the time that David knows Rose, he always avoids her, but when she finally yells at him, David shows how he truly feels by declaring “You’re not my mother...He still loves loves my mum, just like I do. He still thinks of her, and he’s never going to love you the way he loved her, not ever. It doesn’t matter what you do or what you say. He still loves her.” (58-59). It is in this moment that David allows his fear to grab hold of his actions and take control. The fear of losing his mother indefinitely, gets the best of him and doesn’t allow him to open up his heart to Rose. Not only does he push her away but he also rejects the idea of Georgie the second his father brings up that Rose is pregnant. He avoids the both of

In her transformation of the well-known fable "Little Red Riding Hood," Angela Carter plays upon the reader's familiarity. By echoing elements of the allegory intended to scare and thus caution young girls, she evokes preconceptions and stereotypes about gender roles. In the traditional tale, Red sticks to "the path," but needs to be rescued from the threatening wolf by a hunter or "woodsman." Carter retells the story with a modern perspective on women. By using fantasy metaphorically and hyperbolically, she can poignantly convey her unorthodox and underlying messages.

In Carol Ann Duffy’s “Little Red Cap,” taken from her collection The Worlds Wife, Duffy incorporates her feminist views on life to help develop Red-Cap’s character into an independent woman. In her work, Duffy intends to illuminate for the audience that woman are more powerful than they are perceived by society. In the poem, she writes about a young girl at the peak of her childhood, who is about to enter into the next phase of her life. The young, inexperienced girl describes the beginning of her transformation into adulthood after losing her innocence to “The Wolf.” The loss of her innocence contributes to the realization that she no longer needs an old, no good wolf. She gains the courage and reflects on how her life changes dramatically after her departure from the wolf. The poem “Little Red-Cap," written in The World’s Wife, closely relates to certain aspects of the original fairy tales written by The Grimm Brother and Charles Perrault. Duffy’s version of “Little Red Cap” is a rewrite of the original fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood.” Duffy incorporates her strong feminist views by allowing Red-Cap to initiate her encounter with the wolf and to use him for gaining knowledge for her career and sexual desires. These aspects contribute to the development of Red-Cap’s character into a more independent woman to contradict the oppression of women in the past and present generations, and allowing her to offer suggestions for women in the future.