Once a criminal, not always a criminal. In the novel The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, there is a great deal of self-reflection amongst the characters. The human characters do not comprehend that their story is a pure reflection to the rats. Two characters in the book with similar stories are Roscuro the rat and the new prisoner in the dungeon. These two characters are alike in the sense that they both had a reason to look back, they were living in darkness, and they had consequences happen to others for their mistakes. There will always be an opened door, but it is up to oneself if to go through it or to look back at the lost hope. The prisoner who had just gotten sent to the dungeon had a heart emptier than the dungeon darkness. …show more content…
Both the prisoner and Roscuro live within the darkness. The characters reflection each other in this essences for the reason that light has escaped their soul and darkness has taken over, causing the bitter personalities that they have. “You, my young friend, are a rat. Exactly, Yes. Evil. Prisoners. Rats. Suffering. It all fits together so neatly, so sweetly. Oh, it is a lovely world, a lovely, dark world” (DiCamillo, 91). Roscuro is surrounded not only by the darkness, but also evil rat friends that influence him to do abandon the light. According to Botticelli, the light is and all its beauty is no place for a rat. They must stay down in the darkness and wreck the lives of others. “Pretend that I am nothing but a voice in the darkness. A voice that cares” (DiCamillo, 99). The prisoner is lonely in the darkness and Roscuro tries to comfort within the darkness. The two of them are alike because they live in the darkness and know that the light is no place for thefts like them. Roscuro tries to get closer to the prisoner just to justify his own evil needs. He tries to get him to confess his most hidden sins, then use them against him. When one is in the darkness even the most assuror thing sounds reasonable, like telling your sins to a rat. Pitch black with no light is no place for never ending thoughts to flow around, so the prisoner needs someone to confess to. So he confesses to Roscuro who in the inside is …show more content…
Both of these characters need light in their life, they need they light that they let go out of their hearts. “The rats soul was set afire, and because of this, he journeyed upstairs, seeing the light” (DiCamillo, 117). Both of these characters also had the chance to either look back at their decision or keep moving forward. Roscuro is the prisoner in a different world. Even though, Roscuro is a rat and the prisoner is a human they share similar life characteristics. Everyone has a heart, even rats so just like the prisoner is hurting at the sins he has created, so is Roscuro at the hatred of the beloved people. Anyone and anything can share similar feelings with one
I found the representation darkness within the story to be at times subtle, but it helps the reader to see the characters in a clearer way. At first, the narrator tells us of two darknesses, “the darkness of their lives, which was now closing in on them, and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness…” (36). This is where he first describes the darkness. Here darkness has a negative view from our narrator. He portrays the boy’s futures to be dark after telling the reader how they were being rushed to grow up and filled with rage. He uses the image of darkness of movies to represent their focuses now. Their focuses now of watching movies for example is keeping them from seeing what their future will be come.
Writer-Director Hank Rogerson, in his documentary, Shakespeare Behind Bars, challenges, the idea that some people are beyond redemption. Rogerson’s purpose is to depict the amazing message of the redemption of these inmates as they struggle with the reality of the horrific natures of the crimes they have committed. He adopts a humorous yet sometimes somber tone to appeal to his audience's sense of mercy and forgiveness.
McCarthy uses literal and figurative language to describe the thief which creates a sympathetic image of him and positions the reader to pity him. The use of visual imagery in phrases such as "nude and slatlike creature" adds to the thief’s already pitiful image. By comparing the thief to a "creature", McCarthy stirs within the reader the natural compassion and desire to protect animals that humans have. The word “nude” also suggests a v...
The stories, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, both have a character that breaks a social convention. In this case, both characters, George and Montresor, were murderers. It’s clear that these characters have broken a major law, but how and why they did it will determine whether or not their justification is enough.
Jean Auel, the author of the Earth’s Children, displays an amazing ability to bring to life two species of our recent past. The setting for her series is in Europe around twenty-five thousand years ago. Her dedication to understand the human element during this time in our past is remarkable. Given this knowledge, she adds a real sense of compassion and empathy that brings her readers along with her to this magical time. In the series Auel addresses several issues that have been with humanity for a long time, yet still continue today. One of the main themes she writes about concerns prejudice at its core. There would certainly be extreme prejudice between two entirely different species.
In Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov's initial crime, failure, and acceptance of mistakes are his road to overcoming his ego, as well as self discovery.
The opening paragraph of the story contains a metaphorical passage: "I stared at it in the swinging light of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside"(349). This reference is significant because it is a contrast to the dismal society that the narrator and his brother Sonny live in. The darkness is the portrayal of the community of Harlem that is trapped, in their surroundings by physical, economic, and social barriers. The obvious nature of darkness has overcome the occupants of the Harlem community. The narrator, an algebra teacher, observes a depressing similarity between his students and his brother, Sonny. This is true because the narrator is fearful for his students falling into a life of crime and drugs, as did his brother. The narrator notes that the cruel realities of the streets have taken away the possible light from the lives of his brother and his students. The narrator makes an insightful connection between the darkness that Sonny faced and the darkness that the young boys are presently facing. This is illustrated in the following quote:
Various factors and processes that an individual is exposed to in life, lead him to incarceration. The narrative red as an example, the author talks of a story of three people. He clearly points out that, the three do not know their fate, but the kind of lives they will live will det...
In his book Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky explores the paths of two men, Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov. These two men encompass many similar problems and obstacles throughout their lives. Both commit murders and are faced with the long and mentally excruciating journey of seeking redemption. They also share many characteristics of their personalities. The reason that the outcomes of their lives are so drastically different is due to the fact that they have completely different perspectives on life.
He feels like he is the only person who questions life and knows that it was not meant to be this way. Also, this quote sets a dark setting which then gives the reader an ominous feeling that is present throughout the novel. This also is related to the dark and dismal lives that everyone lives during this time. Finally, the main character describes his surroundings as a prison, or that it gives a prison-like feel. This also is related to how he feels different and trapped in this way of life.
We see that the author’s purpose is to allow the readers to understand that the prisoners were not treated humanly, and allows us to see the negative attitudes the authority had towards the prisoners.
"I recognize in thieves, traitors and murderers, in the ruthless and the cunning, a deep beauty-a sunken beauty." (Jean Genet)
In "The Allegory of the Cave," prisoners in a cave are forced to watch shadows as people behind them are forced to accept these shadows as reality -- "To them... the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images. One prisoner, however, is released, and stumbles into the real world, containing more depth and complexity than they had ever known. At first, the prisoner will be pained at the bright, piercing light, but will eventually recover. According to Plato, the freed prisoner is then obligated to return to the shadows of the cave, to inform the shackled prisoners left behind of the real world. The prisoners, however, will not believe the freed prisoner, and may even go as afra s to kill him for such "lies" contrary to their "reality." The pursuit of the truth is, therefor, a painstaking but rewarding process. According to Plato, the physical world is a world of sight, one that lacks meaning if left alone. Only those who manage to break into the sunlight from the cave will ascend to the intellectual world. The prisoners in the shadows only know of the dull physical world, while those who ascend into the sunlight learn of the spiritual world, and are exposed to the first hints of truth. The soul ascends upward into the realm of goodness and of the truth, where "... souls are ever hastening into the upper world where they desire to dwell.." The pursuit of goodness and of the truth, then, improves the soul, as the soul desires to be elevated to a higher state of knowledge and morality. Caring for the self and the soul involves freeing the shackles of the physical world and ascending to the "... world of knowledge... the universal author of all things beautiful and right... and the immediate source of reason and truth in the intellectual..." The soul yearns to dwell in a world of morality and knowledge, and only the pursuit of
The first setting introduced in the story is a subway. The subway is where the narrator gets the news that Sonny has been arrested. The gloomy atmosphere of the subway adds to the narrator’s sense of dread. The third line of paragraph one reads, “I stared at it in the swinging lights of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside.” The theme of darkness is also mentioned and reoccurs throughout the text.
Socrates says that “the freed person had to engage in the business of asserting and maintaining opinions about the shadows-- while his eyes are still weak and before they have readjusted, an adjustment that would require quite a bit of time -- would he not then be exposed to ridicule down there?” (Plato). The free prisoner is trying to convince other prisoner that what they saw before just a reflection and the shadow of the true knowledge. But they do not believe in his words and thinks that he is insane.at the end of the Allegory of the Cave Glaucon agree that Socrates if these prisoner can hold of this person, “they certainly will” kill the freed prison (Plato).This is similar to the Black because after Black believe in God, he thinks his life no longer become shaded. He tells White that “How come you cant see yourself, honey? You plain as glass. I can see the wheels turnin in there. The gears. And I can see the light too. Good light”(McCarthy,17). However White does not believe in his words. White stills thinks that his life is full of darkness and there is no such light in his life. So he ends up walk out from Black’s house and suicide. Black becomes lost and feels that he falls back to the darkness by asks the God after White leaves. He