Regretful Secrets We all have that one secret that we don’t want anyone to know. Whether it’s something we’ve done or something that is going on in our lives. In the book “And Then There Were None” written by Agatha Christie, ten strangers are sent to an island and accused of murder. All ten of them thought that no one knew about their accident. Soon after, someone started to kill off the ten one by one. A few days latter they realized that the killer was one of the original ten and that he was going off of a poem hanging in all of their rooms. At the end of the book all ten end up dying but one of them pulled off the perfect murder. Emily Brent was one of the main ten characters in the book. I believe that she demonstrates my theme the best because she is always very proper, so she …show more content…
Throughout this book inner thinking played a major role. Inner thinking explains the theme because if someone has a secret they have to first convince themselves that they're innocent before they convince someone else. Sometimes if someone tries to convince them self too much it could drive them crazy, the guilt would take over, we would not be able to think right, and we might even start blacking out and forgetting that we’ve done things before. “‘ I alone know…’’THE MURDERER’S NAME IS BEATRICE TAYLOR…’” (175). Miss Brent was alone in her room as she wrote that. After writing it she woke up from a hase and didn’t remember writing it. Ever since then Miss Brent has been having hallucinations. “‘There was a wet dark small in her nostrils… On the windowpane the bee was buzzing - buzzing… And then she felt the prick. The bee sting on the side of her neck…” (199). This is Miss Brent’s death scene. We later find out that there was no bee and the sting was actually just a needle the killer stabbed in her neck to inject the poison. Having hallucinations is one sign of having too much guilt in this case. Miss Brent felt so
Psychology attempts to provide insight on our lack of self-belief; however, the studies are mostly to no prevail. Subjectively, I believe our subconscious represents a more complex function than what is often portrayed. After all, it acts as a defense mechanism that has been pre-built into our neural network. As such, the capabilities of such a feature are near endless, though difficult to comprehend. To better understand our subconscious, we often simplify it through symbols - most commonly, heaven and hell. Studied throughout the text, symbolism of such representation is easy to interpret as it is presented through distinct quotes from the primary speaker - such as: “I heard sounds from Heaven and I heard sounds from Hell.” Incidentally, the quote also marks a set crossroads on the protagonist's journey of choice as he chooses which side to listen too - guilty or innocent. As expected, his later continuation in the text to commit heinous acts such as assault and murder, solidify his standings with the rebellious side of his conscious - as well as supporting the continuation of heightening the challenge presented by lack of self-trust. In support of this, renowned academic leader Douglas Horton is quoted speaking: “Conscience is the window to our spirit, evil is the curtain”. However, in select cases, the
...t to acknowledge that fact than to live your life a lie. By keeping sin secret from the world like Dimmesdale, your conscience eats at your spirit until you are no longer able to live a healthy, normal life. Hooper's demeanor and sermons scared everyone into seeing their own sins and when looking at his black veil, they saw their own faults, which petrified them for they knew they were pretending to be one of the elect, and that none of them could be perfectly sinless. The horror and the hate people felt towards both the black veil and the scarlet letter was an outward manifestation of the horror and hate they all had for their own sins. Thus it brings us back to the theme that Hawthorne makes so clear in both the Scarlet Letter and "The Minister's Black Veil," that though manifested sin will ostracize a person from society, un-confessed sin will destroy the soul.
It is not until her unfortunate murder that Angela's imprisonment gets unraveled. Her distorted emotions are revealed as this relatively unknown young woman's death is investigated. Journalists trample inside Ms. Bari's life without any regards to her in an attempt to solve this murder mystery (17). Angela's body was discovered by the porter of her apartment who is 'astonished that there should be so little blood on the floor'; when he discovers that she is lying on the ground dead after being stabbed several times (18). This is the first clue that Angela is cornered in her own little world. She has little blood, which is regarded as the seat of emotions, and her lack of such nourishment suggests that perhaps she was never nurtured. Furthermore, her cause of death, internal hemorrhage, suggests that those feelings imbedded within her were lost rapidly and uncontrollably (19). The obscure grasp Angela has of her emotions is just one facet of her imprisonment.
In, "No One's a Mystery," by Elizabeth Tallent, a very naive eighteen-year old girl, who remains unnamed, neglects to realize the truth that is so plainly laid out before her. She is riding with Jack, and older married man with whom she has been having sex with for the past two years, and fiddling with the birthday present she received from him; a five year diary. A Cadillac that looks like his wife's is coming toward them, so he shoves her onto the floorboard of his filthy truck. Jack and his wife exchange subtle gestures as they pass, and the young girl is then given permission to get back onto the seat. When she asks how he knows his wife won't look back and see her Jack replies, "I just know...Like I know I'm going to get meatloaf for supper...Like I know what you'll be writing in that diary." Jack proceeds to tell her that within a couple of years she will not even to be able to recall his name or remember what interested her in him, other than the sex. Contrary to what Jack knows is true, the young girl imagines a sort of fairy tale life where she and Jack have a family and live happily ever after. She is totally oblivious to the truth that is so blatantly staring her in the face. Tallent demonstrates the way our heart and mind work together to blind us of the truth if we are not mature enough to see through the self created facade and face reality.
Michelle Obama states that, “You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.” In the novel The Secrets We Keep, the main character, Ella Lawton, makes the decision to pretend she is her dead, identical twin sister. Ella’s choice, that others might find abnormal or bizzare, forces her to make profuse adjustments to her current lifestyle and face difficult conflicts, which affects everyone else in her life. Ella Lawton and her twin sister, Maddy Lawton, get into a tragic car accident that leaves Maddy dead. Ella wakes up in the hospital and is surrounded with friends and family that believe she is her beloved sister.
Throughout the narrative, the text utilizes the conflict over the crisis of cognition, or the very mystery regarding the Marquise’s lack of knowledge surrounding her mysterious pregnancy, as a catalyst for the presentation of the plurality of opinions associated with the Marquise’s current status in society and presumptions to the father’s identity. In itself, this state of cognitive dissonance prevents the Marquise from making any attempts at atoning for her supposed sin, as she herself is unaware of any possible transgressions responsible for her current predicament. In turn, this separation from the truth pushes the marquise to fall into the conviction that the “incomprehensible change[s] in her figure” and “inner sensations” (85) she felt were due to the god of Fantasy or Morpheus or even “one of his attendant dreams,” (74) thereby relinquishing her subconscious from any guilt. However, despite her self-assurance of innocence and desperate pleas at expressing her clear conscience, the marquise becomes subject to external pressures from both her family and society, who come to perc...
Not only were there hidden truths, but a lot of symbolism came up in the reading. The symbolism starts with an open window. That is what Louise was staring at and looking through when she was told about the death of her husband Brently. The open window symbolizes freedom. Louise was now free of her husbands rein. She was unhappy with the marriage and liked finally being free and her own person.
However, you would expect Hawthorne to finally reveal who Mr.Hooper was beneath the black veil during the time of Mr.Hooper's death but we were given something better. A hint of not who Mr.Hooper is but a hint of the human nature. We all carry secrets that “we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness” (2). No matter how hard we try to forget about it and move on with our lives, it will always comes back and haunt us simply for the reason that it is a part of us whether we like it or not. Mr.Hooper addresses this issue in the beginning of the story as well as in the end.
For instance, once Norma presses the button and begins to believe it truly has no power, she receives a call from the Lennox Hospital informing her that her husband died; she then calls Mr. Steward and exclaims, “‘You said I wouldn’t know the one that died!’... Mr. Steward said, ‘do you really think you knew your husband?’” (Matheson 25). Because Mr. Steward asks Norma if she really knows her husband, it suggests that Norma’s egotistical personality causes her to be incognizant of her surroundings. The author composes this choice in the plot in order to manifest the concept that greed can cause a person to be desperate enough to make irrational decisions. Moreover, Norma’s recklessness reveals her inability to formulate logical decisions. In the end, Norma’s decision costs her her husband’s
The thought of having selective hearing would be a gift to many teenagers. The idea of being able to ignore the barking commands of parents and lectures of teachers would be a gift only few could dream of. In the sports fiction novel Left Out, written by Tim Green, the notion of that dream is a real-life nightmare. In 341 pages, the life of Landon Dorch is nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. If being born deaf with cochlear implants to hear wasn’t hard enough, having to move from the fields of Cleveland to the metropolis of the Bronx may have pushed the limit. As Landon overcomes outcasted parents, a fiery sister, and endless bullies, one thing seems to always catch his eye; football. Although he’s not talented and plays the position of
“Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.” (William Shakespeare). Humans often believe that by keeping things hidden from the world it will offer a much more safer life. However, they are not aware of the consequences that will soon later on haunt them in their minds. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly and the play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen both clearly demonstrate how the characters of Nora Helmer, Victor Frankenstein, Nils Krogstad, and the creature show an immense part of how ones’ mind can become haunted due to it’s hidden secrets to the world.
There is an important time, though, during someone’s life where this innocence is stolen and leaves as different person. This event is the main function in “My Father’s Noose”, “Dothead”, and The Glass Castle. Each character has their own certain tick that their innocence blinds them from. Jeannette Walls’s ignorance blinds her from the abuse of her family and peers, while Totoy’s blinds him from his mother’s abuse. The speaker in “Dothead” is blind to the abuse of his peers. After going through each ordeal, the characters lose their innocence by gaining knowledge of the way people work. Discovering that not all people are good pressures the characters to take a deep look at the way they act and their code of
An issue which is mentioned throughout the story is the concept of “Ignorance is bliss”, which is an old cliche meaning what we don’t know can’t hurt us. While massaging his naked female neighbor’s body, the narrator is asked if he’s going to tell his mother. No, he answers. “So you even know that certain things are better left unsaid! You really are a devil” (Mahfouz, 13). The neighbor makes the obvious point that sometimes there are things that don’t have to be repeated, for the benefit of all the parties involved. Some might argue that the Truth will always come out, and by hiding it someone will end up being affected by it much more later on. But that is only if the information does get repeated. Knowledge doesn’t always have to be repeated, as was shown by our narrator and his neighbor. If the narrator had told his mother, would any of the parties benefit from this knowledge?
Using such words as “sentenced” and “ask pardon for offenses” suggests that Jane felt, at multiple points in her childhood, incriminated and trapped when in this room, contributing to the dark feeling that she faces
Clarissa’s memories of Bourton, of her youth, are brought back to her vividly by just the “squeak of the hinges”. . . [and] she had burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air” (3). The intensity of these memories is what makes them so much a part of what she is– everything in life reminds her of Bourton, of Sally Seton, of Peter Walsh. Peter and Sally were her best friends as a girl, and “with the two of them”. . . she shared her past.... ...