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Racial topics in a raisin in the sun
Explanation and themes in a raisin in the sun
Raisin in the sun analysis
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This passage contains a wide array of literary devices, ranging from syntax to figurative language. These devices all help to describe the situation Jim is in, in this part of the book. He stayed the night at the Cutter’s house instead of Ántonia, which resulted in him being injured and humiliated. From the figurative language and imagery at the start of the passage, such as, “My lip was cut and stood out like a snout. My nose looked like a big blue plum” (161), the sheer damage is shown to its full extent. This connects to the larger motif of the past or childhood that backdrops the entire novel, as it is this kind of very drastic experience that impacts someone. Such an event serves an important role in the development of an adolescent, and the repercussions of this event may be elaborated on later in the book. The second section of the novel contains more diction and syntax which help to show the rift in Ántonia and Jim’s relationship. The way at which Jim narrates in short, concise, and repetitive sentences, helps to put emphasis on certain aspects of the passage. For example he says, “I felt that I never wanted to see her again. I hated her almost …show more content…
As remarked by Jim, “If the story once got abroad, I would never hear the last of it” (162). Understanding the setting of a novel is important, since it is the environment that can shape and impact the characters of a novel. In this case, this shows the vast difference living in a town is than living in a country, as Jim did early on in his life. In the country, everything was spaced out, therefore rumors and stories such as this are harder to spread. However, in Black Hawk, since things are closer together, Jim must be more aware and vigilant of his surroundings. Such a shift in setting may serve to mold Jim into a different person than Ántonia, as she is more connected with the country
In the middle of Chapter four, we find Jim and Arvay in the middle of a journey to the courthouse; the reader, halfway through the journey from the top of the page encounters an interior journey as Arvay travels within herself. This four-line passage serves as a milestone marking the beginning of the narrative, which is a journey across the landscape of the life of Jim and Arvay’s relationship. The passage begins with “The elements opened above Avery and she arose inside of herself”(57). The first clause of this sentence has a poetic eye focusing on an atmosphere, or an aura rising and expanding around Arvay’s form, perhaps circular, like the break in clouds whereby a ray of sunshine appears, suggesting even further, the halo, or the circle of seraphim as described in the words of the prophets. The coordinating conjunction “and” begins the second clause, implying the synchronous relation between the outer sky change, and the inner event of rising “inside of herself.” In this sense her experiences, her conversation with Jim, her anxieties about her “secret sin,” her religious drive converge and for a brief space are unifying, interlocking, affirming and redeeming. The mystical language employed reveals a kind of “interpenetration.” That this epiphany comes at the moment when she is discussing her own rape with the man that raped her shows the way in which she thinks about her experiences. Also, this passage shows how Jim speaks to her in ways that produce thoughts and feelings that she cannot seem to find words for annunciation. Her mystical language contrasts sharply with Jim’s straightforward sentences, recalling the title of the novel, Seraph on the Sewanee. After reading...
This line from the “short story,” The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time reveals that the narrator has a close parent, is very formal and straightforward, doesn’t like hugging people, and knows that they’re loved. Diction in this particular situation is fairly odd because the sentence looks intended to be emotional, but instead turns on quite regular and bland. The vague pronouns “we... me...I...it...he”(16) suggest that the writer doesn’t care about extravagant pronouns and would much rather get straight down to the point than perfect the use of ablatives. Along with the vague pronouns, an extreme lack of adjectives shows that our narrator wants to continue with the trend of plain sailing. Using words like “Father”(16) exhibit a
When given a chance to become a hero would you take it? Cowardice and courage are main themes in numerous of Tim O’Brien’s stories. “On the Rainy River”, a short story by O’Brien, the author uses a variety of figurative language, follows the conventional mythological structure with a twist, and the theme of cowardice.
Jim’s feeling of loneliness has a big impact on his view of Alena. If Jim met another girl that day on the beach, and who was not as attractive he would have acted very different. Jim was very vulnerable at that moment and needed som...
He is apprehensive about seeing Antonia, fearing that she will no longer be the idealized person who exists in his memory. Jim is not let down when they meet, as even though she is now a “battered woman … but she still had that something that fires the imagination, could stop one’s breath for a moment” (226). Age has not dampened the spirit that Jim was drawn to throughout his youth and now his adulthood. He speaks about her through a lens of true love and respect, telling her children that he “couldn’t stand it if you boys were inconsiderate [towards Antonia] … I was very much in love with your mother once, and I know there’s nobody like her” (222). Jim refers to Antonia as a “rich mine of life,” and it is clear that Antonia’s type of richness is more valuable in Jim’s eyes. Through her, he is able to realize that tangible fiscal wealth is far less precious than the impalpable beauty of emotional connection and
In chapter 23 of the novel Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech the author uses figurative language to describe the Badlands of South Dakota. When comparing the author’s vivid imagery to actual images of the Badlands it is surprising how accurate her description is. “It was as if someone had ironed out all the rest of South Dakota and smooshed all the hills and valleys and rocks into this spot. Right smack in the middle of flat plains were jagged peaks and steep gorges.” Photos of the area do show flat grassy plains surrounding tall jagged mountain ranges. I can’t tell if you could actually “stand right on the edge of the gorges and see down.” However, it does seem possible.
My Antonia, by Willa Cather, is a book tracing the story of a young man, Jim Burden, and his relationship with a young woman, Antonia Shimerda. Jim narrates the entire story in first person, relating accounts and memories of his childhood with Antonia. He traces his journey to the Nebraska where he and Antonia meet and grow up. Jim looks back on all of his childhood scenes with Antonia with nearly heartbreaking nostalgia. My Antonia, is a book that makes many parallels to the sadness and frailty, but also the quiet beauty in life, and leaves the reader with a sense of profound sorrow. One of the main ways Cather is able to invoke these emotions in the reader is through the ongoing theme of separation. Willa Cather develops her theme of separation through death, the changing seasons, characters leaving and the process of growing apart.
This could have been a great place for Twain to lift the minstrel mask and reveal a genuine character, even if it was for a self-serving side of Jim that might have rubbed readers the wrong way. Unfortunately Twain leaves Jim in the shadows of the minstrel mask to forever be
This passage takes place when Jim is heading back to the country-side, to his old house, to meet Widow Steavens to discuss what happened to Ántonia and her baby. In this text, Jim is reflecting on changes he observes in the environment, in a compare and contrast way. He employs literary devices such as imagery and figurative language to bring these changes and their meaning to light. For example, he observes, “…the whole face of the country was changing. There were wooden houses where the old sod dwellings used to be, and little orchards, and big red barns…the changes seemed beautiful and harmonious to me; it was like watching the growth of a great man or of a great idea” (198-199). By using vivid and detailed words and similes, Jim conveys the magnitude of which everything was changing. Not only
My Antonia, by Willa Cather, is a novel about Jim Burden and his relationship and experiences growing up with Antonia Shimerda in Nebraska. Throughout the book Jim reflects on his memories of Nebraska and the Shimerda family, often times in a sad and depressing tone. One of the main ways Cather is able to provoke these sad emotions within the reader is through the suicide of Antonia’s father, Mr. Shimerda. His death was unexpected by everyone and it is thought that homesickness is what drove him to take his own life. Homesickness was surely felt by Mr. Shimerda, as it was by many, but it was the failure to adequately find a way to provide for his family that sent Mr. Shimerda into a depressing downward spiral that left him no foreseeable alternative but to take his own life.
He is apprehensive about seeing Antonia, fearing that she will no longer be the idealized person who exists in his memory. “I did not want to find her aged and broken; I really dreaded it” (pg. 127). Jim is not let down when they meet, as even though she is now a “battered woman” (pg. 137), she possess the wonderful spirit that Jim adores. In contrast to Jim’s material prosperity and lacking personal life, Antonia has chosen to live the labor-intensive farmer and has a devoted husband and children.
Cather mends a special relationship between Jim and Antonia that is formed and broken throughout her novel My Antonia. The two characters meet at young age and begin to develop a ------- friendship. Jim teaches Antonia the language and culture of America while Antonia shares her culture and morals. Soon their respective friendship turns into a brother-sister relationship, an ardent love but not intimate.
A Raisin in the Sun The creativity of Hansberry played a crucial role in the development of African-American drama since the Second World War. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play by an African-American author to be set on Broadway and was honored by the circle of New York theater critics. Drama of A Raisin in the Sun (1959) brought Hansberry to the Society of New York Critics Award as the best play of the year. A Raisin in the Sun shows the life of an ordinary African-American family who dreams of happiness and their desire to achieve their dream.
The first story sets the tone for the entire book especially in the beginning paragraph, as James Joyce paints a picture of paralysis:
Jim believed that reality was all about a mentally constructed world. He had this mindset because of the fact that he was a dreamer who believed that the world of reality was more about leading a dictated life where he had to live in accordance to various rules and limitations with an understanding that there was no scope of following his dreams or for creativity of any sort. And on the other hand there was Marlow, a sailor, who was a man of discipline, morals and ethics. Marlow shared something with Jim that took their relationship to a whole new level that is their love for the sea and the glory, honor and adventure that comes with it.