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Theme of loneliness in books
The theme of loneliness in literature
Theme of loneliness
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How would being secluded from the world you know change your perspective of some of life's basic functions? Being away from normal civilization can strengthen the basic morals of life. As captured in ‘City of the Beasts’, by Isabel Allende, the characters' viewpoints are altered by being away from their home. In turn, they come to the stunning realization of many of life's values. Allende uses specific symbols to display these traits and their impact on peoples' lives. The various symbols in ‘City of the Beasts’, by Allende, elaborate on the basic themes of fear, death, and hope.
Alexander’s flute symbolizes hope. His original flute, stolen by a mischievous woman named Morgana at the onset of his adventure, was quickly replaced by an even more tremendous instrument. This flute, originally owned by his grandfather Joseph, was given to him by his eccentric grandmother, Kate. Although believing that he had his prized possession lost forever, hope soon gave him a gift beyond belief. As
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Many described the Beast as a tall being with an indescribably foul odor. As Padre Valdomero fearfully explained the being which is the Beast, he stated, "What I have told many times: a giant more than nine feet tall, which moved very slowly and had a terrible odor. I was paralyzed with fear." (Allende 73). Armed with potentially fatal claws, the Beast can believably travel undetected, without warning. Having this in mind, the people that had any type of contact with the Beast, lived in an unexplainably endless terror. An example of the Beast’s victims is the one of the expedition’s soldiers, whose corpse looked distraught in fear, after he was attacked and killed by the Beast. The death of the soldier only escalated the fear of the group. However, their fear appeared to be mainly in their minds, as the Beasts are shown to be sensible, talking
The Pigman by Paul Zindel is a book that has many symbols, and means of those symbols can be explained to the farthest extent. This will talk about some of the many symbols that are used in this story.
The first representation of the beast that the author portrays is fear. In document A, “... Begin to people the darkness of night and forest with spirits and demons which had previously appeared only in their dreams or fairy tales”. To clarify, the children’s imagination runs rampant without their parents to banish their fears, so their imagination creates something of a beastie-thing. In document
As readers, we are able to see the different perspectives of the effects of physical distance that derives from immigration. For instance, when the Danticat’s parents left for the first time to the United States Danticat does not remember much of it. However, what she does remember are the stories that her half sister, Marie Micheline, told her about her father when they were gone. She told her stories of how the year before her father left he would buy Danticat a small package of butter cookies. He would bring these cookies home to Danticat and her face would light up. She didn’t particularly like the cookies, so she would would give them back to her father and her would joyfully pop them right into his mouth. I believe this shows the acute nostalgia that is developed in children as a result of not growing up with their parents. Children like Danticat love to hear these type of stories because they can embellish them as much as they want to. By doing this, they assure themselves that they are indeed loved by the parent(s) that left. Another instance of how physical distance has effect on the author’s life is through her Uncle Joseph. Even though she lived half of her life in the United States, Uncle Joseph still has a special place in her heart because he raised her in Haiti when her father and mother moved to the U.S. When her uncle gets stuck at customs at the Miami airport and goes to the Krome jail, Danticat is upset. She understands the severity of racism and cruelty that is undergone by the prisoners of Krome. Because she loves her uncle like a father, it defeats Danticat knowing that she is physically close to the jail but can not do anything in terms of helping him. When uncle Joseph dies under the Krome’s care Danticat is devastated by the news. She doesn’t know how to cope with herself
... This just shows how frightening this beast is, and the most frightening part is not knowing what it is. Stories far away from Central America just show how widespread this beast could be, it is truly amazing that it has made its way all the way to England and Illinois. Lastly, even though some people might not believe in this legend, it should definitely be considered and never dropped because one day something horrible could happen and everyone would be very clueless. This beast is amazing at doing what it does, and after all these stories, one can conclude that this creature is real.
... authors conclude that it is through alienation within a small society that ultimately leads to the primary characters’ demise and death. Whether their individual cases are self imposed or externally imposed, the results and the impact are the same, annihilation of the human soul. Their craft make emphatic use of setting to the successful depiction of this theme. Both characters ultimately fall into the abyss of loneliness and despair proving that human existence cut-off and on its own is more destructive than positive . Thus their message seems to suggest that as humans, we need society in order to truly belong and have a connection, purpose and worth in this life, in order to truly live.
First of all, the book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity through the setting. In
This book teaches the importance of self-expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful of what is going on. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.
Describing a course in history when isolation was highly adopted, Deresiewicz writes, “The mob, the human mass, presses in… The soul is forced back into itself—hence the development of a more austere and embattled form of self-validation…where the essential relationship is only with oneself” (par.8). Deresiewicz describes the time of urbanization, when country folks began flooding into cities. With so many people moving into the city, there was not any room to breathe because there was not any privacy or space—all the voices and thoughts were forced into one sector of society. This forced some people to advance past the crowd and focus on oneself, on the soul. When submerged by a sea of people, the best shelter is inside the body and mind, where one can reflect the internal self and external world in a serene environment. Extending on the importance of temporary isolation, Deresiewicz adds, “Solitude becomes, more than ever, the arena of heroic self-discovery, a voyage through interior realms” (par. 8). When engaged in the physical world, people don’t focus on themselves because there is too much stimulation occurring around them. But when alone in solitude, when there is no around except oneself—no noises, sounds, distractions—then a person is able to reflect on his or her character. It is important to immerse in introspection because mental health is as vital as bodily health. And by delving deeper into the psyche, individuals discover new information about themselves that wouldn’t have been uncovered with others because the only person that truly understands him or her is that
The beast was harmless and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon as possible. Page 162
Experiences in people’s lives shapes them in unexpected ways. Whether that means changing in a positive or negative manner… that depends on the person. However, change is a part of life -- it is inevitable. Sometimes circumstances are out of people’s reach when destiny is only controlled my life itself. In the novel, Everyone Leaves by Wendy Guerra, she reveals that challenges least expected determine a person’s growth in life through the protagonist, Nieve Guerra. Although Nieve desires to leave Cuba, her chances of escape are obstructed by obstacles she faces in the novel.
Charlie Chaplin created amazing films with his career as a director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. City Lights is a story of the tramp who falls in love. He is blown away by the unexpected love affair with the flower girl. He does everything in his power to help her and along the way befriends the millionaire. The story shows the contrasts between the two very different worlds of the rich and the poor. The tramp befriends the damsel in distress millionaire and sparks a friendship where the tramp then sees the lives of both worlds. The mise en scene is a way that shows how different each scene is by the way each character lives their life. Not only in the contrast between the rich and the poor, but also a contrast to happiness verses the unhappy. The mise en scene shows symbols of props that represent how the characters are feeling and what we are suppose to be feeling as we watch what is going on onscreen. Mise en scene is used to tell the story and there are many aspects that come together. The composition, props,
In the ancient world the bull is considered to be a symbol of strength and power. The reoccurring motif of the bull aligns its representation with that of ritual and sacrifice. However, the archetype of the "wild and ferocious" bull is not prominent in Greek antiquity. In fact, the bull has been represented in art, architecture and myth to be a symbol of control and self-assertion. Arguably one might say that power is control; that the strength to defeat one 's enemy is the control that the bull represents. However, in myths such as that of Europa and Zeus as well as Pasiphae and Minos, the bull is not wild with power but rather a pawn exercising the god 's control and divinity. The bull symbolizes the gods, their offerings of
In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, the saga of the Buendia family is used as a thorough and contemplative representation of the nature of human detachment. The Buendias are plagued with a seemingly incurable solitude; a solitude that they turn to and rely on when they find themselves in times of trouble. When they are secluded, the Buendias lead meaningless and inescapable lives of habit and routine. One of the family members, Remedios the Beauty, is seemingly unlike any other Buendia. Her life consists of little other than sleeping, eating, and bathing. The simple and uncomplicated life she leads is deceiving for Remedios the Beauty is the most complex character in the entire novel. Furthermore, Remedios epitomizes everything the Buendias represent in terms of solitude and the nature of human existence, and is, essentially, the center of the novel.
Do you ever feel trapped when you are in a place that you have never been before? Isolation criticizes society since it does not let everyone be equal or have the same rights. Isolation can completely change a person, and it is usually for the worst. Society “acts” like they try to prevent isolation, but in reality they isolate people for certain reasons, then those people get judged for being “different.” Upon closer inspection it is human nature to deny equal rights because people that do not act, dress, or look the same are labeled as strange, and unfortunately, many times are not accepted by the majority of society. This gives authors a way to shine a light on society’s flaws.
The Symbol of Ivory in Heart of Darkness & nbsp; In Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad often uses vague, "muted" descriptions, leaving a melange of possible meanings in the reader's lap. One exception to this trend is Conrad's symbolic use of ivory. Within the frame of the story, his references to ivory can obviously be seen as a representation of the white man's greed. Towards the end of the book ivory symbolizes the oozing evil that drips from the heart of darkness. &