Kyumin Na
Professor Luiza
COLI 111
2/18/16
Counselor Ayres' Memorial
This book was written by Machado de Assis in 1908, the same year as the death of the author. Aires Memorial is considered an autobiographical work. It notes a relationship between the novel and the old age of the writer. Without presenting a single plot, the story is divided into several entries from a diary of sorts, featuring anecdotes and episodes that permeate throughout the chapters. The work has the theme amorous idylls and the futility of characters belonging to the Brazilian elite of the late nineteenth century. The author was the brilliant writer more exposed their subjective values, fleeing some of its most striking feature: the narrative exemption.
Counselor Ayres’ Memorial is considered as a psychological novel, because it presents themes such as the frivolity of the elite of Brazilian society at the end of 1800, and the difficulty of relationships. Unlike other novels of Machado de Assis, this work is not permeated by the sarcasm or irony. In addition, the story is not done by an omniscient narrator. It unfolds through an observer trying to unravel the intimate kind and simple characters.
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With several astute observations in his memories, Aires gets to deceive and confuse readers. The diary covers two years in the life of a sexagenarian with his proverbial wisdom but placid, deceives and misleads the reader with small observations. The narrator reports people who lived with the narrator, reading quotes and works that read as a diplomat and reflections on past events that occurred in politics. One of the main characters depicted by Aires is Fidelia, a young girl who he was interested. Due to his old age, Ayres never revealed his love to Fidelia, but considered a daughter to the couple Dona Carmo and Aguiar, who cannot have
When it comes to analyzing the “banana massacre” scene in chapter 15, I found three narrative techniques the author used to describe this scene. Therefore, one can notice that this part of the book is the climax. As a result, one infers what the author is trying to say about Latin American history and politics.
The Carrillo Adobe is in a dire situation. It has not only fallen into disrepair from the many years of weather and use by so many individuals, but by visitors and citizens have been less that kind and considerate of its age and the prominence that it deserves. After Carrillo’s death her house was given to three of her daughters, Marta, Juana, and Felicidad. Then her belongings were distributed between all of her children. In the first decade after her death her different children each occupied the house at different times. One of her daughters, Juana and her husband ran the home as a tavern. They then converted the adobe into the first post office in the town of Santa Rosa. After her daughters no longer had a need for the adobe it was turned into a trading post where numerous individuals...
Tompkins, C., 2009. The paradoxical effect of the documentary in Walter Salles’s “Central do Brasil”. Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature 33 no1 p9-27
In conclusion, Alcala’s poem takes a different approach with her poem in describing an affair. She uses the thought process of a woman as she experiences an affair. As a result, Alcala is propelled to use to figures of speech, persona and images in order to guide her reader to the main point of her poem of cautious uncertainty. The author utilizes persona in order to describe the characters intentions and emotions, which also establish the tone of the poem as tentative and vigilant throughout the progress of their affair. Moreover, the author also utilizes figures of speech, such as metaphors in order to draw a brief comparison between two countries and the couple. Most importantly, Alcala appeals to the five senses in imagery in order to engage her readers with depth into a very subtle and also nostalgic poem.
Valle’s most significant contribution to the Spanish theatre is his invention of the literary style of esperpento, which is best represented in one of his most famous plays, Luces de Bohemia. Valle created esperpento with the aim of representing the harsh realities of Spanish twentieth century society through the concave lens of grotesque deformation, so that he could present the lives of the Spaniards in the light of mockery and absurdity. During his writing of Luces de Bohemia, the Spanish society has been brought to a halt, along with the lack of political progress and social improvement, therefore this concerning political situation has influenced and steered Valle towards his literary evolution, the exaggerated grotesque, which he though was the only suitable way to represent the shocking reality and problems of Spain. In this way, he could alarm the people to terminate their complacent acceptance of this reality and he could also produce a distancing effect which renders the reader immune to the play’s purpose, thus making the artistic experience more tolerable. His experience in the killing fields was what made him t...
In the novels Counselor Ayres’ Memorial by Machado de Assis and The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata, there are common themes and motifs that are present in both books. There is a strong element of love (both romantic and familial) and of separation. These themes have significant effects on the characters and the plot. Both novels also present a similar message about life and the world. Although the novels have similar themes, they are expressed differently in each.
In “The Cask of Amontillado,” the narrator shows the reader a lot about how he feels and his thoughts. In the
In order to find a copy of the newspaper to use as a clue in his investigation, Professor Laurana goes to visit the rector at Santa Anna. Towards the end of their conversation, Laurana and the rector speak about the rector’s decision to become a priest...
Arredondo exposed Luisa as a dynamic character because during the story the readers can see the changes that her personality had over the time. At the beginning of the story the reader can see how Luisa takes care of her uncle with devotion and love, but after they married she considered it as a disgusting duty. Ines Arredondo described Luisa as woman who has the power of “purify everything” (81), but after suffering the physical abuse of her uncle, all her innocence disappear. She was an innocent girl that was reserving herself for marriage. However, after married her uncle, she started seen the things in a different way. Now, she thinks of herself as “the vilest of harlot” (87). The way that the author exposes Luisa is like happy young lady that thanks to the circumstances enter to a deep depression that changes her life and she “was not able to go back to who I [she] was”
The 1985 Argentine film La Historia Oficial, directed by Luis Puenzo, is truly deserving of its academy award. The film is set in Argentina in the 1980s, during the last years of a military dictatorship that killed and tortured thousands of its own people who did not agree with their radical polices. The film has many underlying themes especially regarding government-sponsored terrorism, classroom politics and the authority of certain texts. However, one theme is represented again and again throughout the film. The theme that “machismo” will reign supreme in the relationship between males and females, and males in political aspect in the country of Argentina. Men had to hold all the authority in the household and all aspects of life, including
For the young Dulce Rosa Orellano, life is great being the beautiful daughter of Senator Anselmo Orellano. She has people waiting on her hands and feet, and is even crowned jasmines of Carnival Queen for another consecutive year. That is until “rumors of the beauty who was flourishing in the Senator Orellano’s house reaches the ears of Tadeo Cespedes” (Charters 43). Given that he was “only concerned with the Civil War”, everything is a fight for him. So Tadeo made it his mission to seek out the young beauty and have her as his own. This mission consisted of shooting up the home with all of his men, murdering Senator Orellano, and unwillingly raping Dulce Rosa. Before being in he hands of the Tadeo, she says before her father, “let me live so that I can avenge us both” (Charters 44). In doing so, Dulce Rosa grows up to forget about her high fame and beauty, to a woman to live alone and whose only mission on Earth is vengeance (45). Tadeo how ever, gets old and leaves his violent days. He actually comes to his sense and searches for Dulce Rosa to apologize for his past behavior so that he may “attain a certain degree of happiness” (Charters 46). To his own dismay he ends up falling for Dulce Rosa, who in turns kills herself as her revenge for her father to him.
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, the combination of the carnival and the catacomb settings contribute to the themes of revenge, and deception which the protagonist takes responsibility in. Because the story takes place during the carnival, the protagonist, Montressor, has an easier time plotting against Fortunato:
In the story, the narrator is forced to tell her story through a secret correspondence with the reader since her husband forbids her to write and would “meet [her] with heavy opposition” should he find her doing so (390). The woman’s secret correspondence with the reader is yet another example of the limited viewpoint, for no one else is ever around to comment or give their thoughts on what is occurring. The limited perspective the reader sees through her narration plays an essential role in helping the reader understand the theme by showing the woman’s place in the world. At ...
José Maria Eça de Queirós, though not worldly renowned, is arguably the greatest Portuguese novelist of his time. In 1877, he wrote a novel titled “The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers” (“The Tragedy”); however, it was not published until many years following his death. The novel is a tragic love story about a cocotte (prostitute) named Genoveva de Molineux and a lawyer named Vítor da Silva. The story follows the love between these two individuals which ultimately leads to the death of Genoveva. When first appearing in the orchestra audience in Lisbon, every man was attached to her beauty and wanted to know her. Vítor falls in love with Genoveva at first sight without previous knowledge that she is a high-class prostitute. However, the tragedy begins when Genoveva is told by Vítor’s uncle, Timóteo, that Vítor is her son. Unable to cope with what she had just learned, Genoveva commits suicide; neither herself nor Timóteo disclose the truth to Vítor. When asked about the novel, Eça had stated that it is a cruel story, one of the best he had yet written (at that time) and “a real literary and moral bombshell” (Queiroz, preface, ¶ 3-4). “...nineteenth century writers knew that incest in Greek Tragedy represented the protagonist’s hopeless fight against fate. Finding a close correspondence with contemporary Lisbon society, aimlessly debating political, economic and social problems, unable to control the nation’s destiny, does not require a great stretch of the imagination” (Ponte 79).
In the short story “Eveline “ by James Joyce, Eveline, the protagonist is given the opportunity to escape from her hard unendurable life at home and live a life of true happiness at Buenos Ayres with Frank, her lover. Throughout the story, Eveline is faced with a few good memories of her past from her childhood and her mother, but she also faces the horrible flashbacks of her mother’s illness and her father’s violence. In the end, she does not leave with Frank, Eveline’s indecisiveness and the burden of her family’s duties makes her stay.