Examine each opening sentence carefully. To what degree does each sentence give a clue as to the story, which is to follow, and the use of language within it? Refer to the sentences of “Full Stop”, “Why Apes Look Like People” and “The Escape”.
A captivating opening is half the success for any story. The opening may be descriptive, full of sarcasm, unusual or exciting. It is the same with the opening tune to a song. Besides memorable lyrics and a beautiful melody, the friendly tune to a song makes it an all-timer in people’s minds and charts.
However, I have missed out one important essence: the opening sentence. Honestly, if not for this essay, I would never have thought that opening sentences could act as a theme, or bring with it much significance to the story. I always look at the opening of a story as a whole paragraph, thus overlooking the significance of the opening sentence.
In the story, “The Escape” by Millie Murray, the use of punctuation is very important as it adds ‘emotions’ to the characters and readers alike. The exclamation marks used showed extreme anger as two were used. The readers are suddenly plunged into the angry and abusive world of Millie. We are like the children, forced to face the “unreasonable” father. If a full stop had been used, the father would seem friendly and cordial, which is far from his image.
The scene is so real to the readers because the language adds realism to the story. “Who put de clock back, eh!!” The standard or Jamaican English gives us the picture that the father is not a native speaker of English but a Jamaican, providing a clue to his background and culture later on, as we know that “My (Millie) father had trained as a teacher in Jamaica” and that “he was part Arawak Indian”. The use of patois gives the readers a ‘closer-to-life’ experience. It helps to guide us into the story. This is sometimes far better that a descriptive paragraph.
This opening line has been carefully crafted by the author as it suggests a clue to the plot. “Who put de clock back, eh!!”, putting the clock back was the ploy used by Patsy (the mother) to escape and go home to her mother in Jamaica. It was originally Miz Ruby’s idea who chuckled about it. (“Yu know de woman leave de man sleeping inna bed, an take time to ease herself out de house, an when him wake up inna morning an she gone, him tink she it early an go back fi sleep.
“The author explains, “This tomb is a palace” (Cunningham 230). Bobby describes the tomb as a place where he and his brother shared their dreams and fondest moments. They drank and took drugs together there. This tomb was the brother’s sanctuary. Booby recalls hearing his father sawing and banging down in the basement making this clock. Cunningham stresses, “Our father is building a grandfather clock from a kit. He wants to have something to leave us, something for us to pass along” (Cunningham 231). He also recollects his father once again in the basement playing the clarinet. Cunningham adds, “If I put my ear to the floor I can hear him, pulling a long low tomcat moan out of that horn” (Cunningham 237). Most nine year olds shadow their father that is present in the home. From Bobby’s perspective, his father spends most of his time in the basement leaving him no choice but to latch on to his big
7. This story has a well-developed theme which Vonnegut parodies against certain American beliefs. In a paragraph or two, explain what you believe the theme of this story is.
As stated before, racism is not something that people thought of in the last ten years, it is an ongoing theme that has been flowing through the story of the United States. Starting from the enslavement of black Africans, and moving along to the days of when African Americans were separated from white Americans even though they lived in the same country and walked the same streets. Racism is seen all over the world. Hitler killed close to six million Jews during World War II due to the fact that he claimed that Germans were superior. He said that Jews polluted Europe and began “cleaning” it up. “Racism serves both to discriminate against ethnic minorities and to maintain advantages and benefits for White Americans.” This is what Mark Feinberg, PhD, stated about this issue and most people would agree.
Usually, a short story may contain profound thoughts. Writers always convey their ideas or opinions by offering several arguments in their productions. These arguments are essential to advancing the story and defining characters. In "Aunt Mary" written by Joseph Imperiale, we might identify three arguments here.
In contrast, syntax provides a new perspective to the narrator s behavior as sentence structure draws attention to her erratic behavior. By her last entry, the narrator s sentences have become short and simple. Paragraphs 227 through 238 contain few adjectives resulting in limited descriptions yet her short sentences emphasize her actions providing plenty of imagery. The syntax quickly pulls the reader through the end as the narrator reaches an end to her madness.
end. This essay will further show how both stories shared similar endings, while at the same time
The story begins with a close up of an extremely elderly woman (Daisy) lying on her deathbed in a hospital. At her bedside is her daughter that has come to say her last goodbyes. Daisy fondly muses over a blind clockmaker, who built an extraordinary clock for Grand Central Station in New York. While this clock is being built, the clockmaker’s only begotten son is dispatched to fight in the war, and ultimately dies in battle. Even though the clockmaker is stricken with severe grief, nevertheless, he continued to construct the clock. Upon completing the construction of this glorious clock, the clock became a public spectacle. In the film, Daisy said “it was a morning to remember.” After the clock was unveiled, the second hand astonishingly ticks
The fragment we were given is a three paragraph narration that has longer sentences at the beginning and little by little begins shortening them until by the final paragraph they are very short. The long sentences being used to slow down the time that will be very important in the passage and hence to build up the suspense and tension in the ambience until the sentences become short and speed up the time in the story, building the tension more and more to a point where it seems like something is coming or something will occur. The story is also told by a protagonist narrator which we know thanks to the use of the first person and the direct access to the character’s mind along with his feelings and thoughts. This narrator is retelling us the story (“I have naturally no wish to enlarge on this phase of my story. (…) I would have passed it over if I didn’t think that some account of it was necessary for a full understanding of what follows”[line 19-20]) of his trip over to Ransom’s house, a path which will trigger his paranoia and fear. The style of the writing is very direct as the narrator is practically in a one-sided dialogue with his readers.
Racism has been around since the dawn of human existence, coming in many forms and effecting all types of people. In the twenty-first century, racism still plays a part in ever society on the plant. But instead of overt racism people find different ways to disadvantage certain groups. The current American culture views overt racism as unfair, rude, and wrong, but that does not stop people from using unconscious racism. Unconscious racism is when the offender disadvantages another based on race without being out right racist to the person. From not giving a job to a person based on the color of their skin to calling out the president for not being born in the country, racism effects people at all status levels. Starting when the first settlers arrived to internment camps to modern day unconscious racism, racism has token many forms and changes according to the time. The key factors that help unconscious racism thrive in our society are the changes to the policy that determine what is a racist act, the formations of stereotype through the concentration of ethnic groups population, and the negative effects of Affirmative action all played a part.
“I had never realised what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man.” After reading and understanding George Orwell’s feelings through his experiences in his essay “A Hanging.” We come to realize that George Orwell, a visitor from the European establishment, gets the opportunity to participate in the execution of a Hindu man. The author is degraded by what he has witnessed and experienced, and decides to share his feelings with the rest of the establishment through his writings.
There is no country in the history of the world in which racism has had such an important role and for as long as in the United States. The problem of racial barrier or color line still exist. How did this begin? In the British colonies, slavery became quickly a stable institution, the normal working relationship between blacks and whites. Next to them is developed that feeling special racial - whether hatred, contempt, pity or paternalism- to accompany the bottom position of blacks in America during the 350 years following that combination of lower rank and pejorative thought that we call "racism".
Diction plays a critical role in the development of the tone in a story. The type of words the author uses directly leads to the tone of the entire literary work. If ...
Drawing upon our readings and class discussions, write an essay that focuses on a specific idea or textual effect in any one of the novels we have read (if you wish to reflect on any two novels, you may). Your essay should develop a coherent project that shows your understanding of the issues we have been analysing in class, and makes thoughtful use of the works of literary and cultural theory we have been reading.
1. How does the opening scene contrast with what happens at the end of the story?
Cultural relativism is the idea that moral and ethical systems varying from culture to culture, are all equally credible and no one system is morally greater than any other. Cultural relativism is based on the concept that there is no “ultimate” standard of good and evil, so the judgement of what is seen as moral, or immoral, is simply a product of one’s society and/or culture. The general consensus of this view is that there is no ethical position that may be considered “right” or “wrong” in terms of society and culture (Cultural Relativism). In this paper I will argue that cultural relativism is not an adequate view of morality by providing evidence of its most common logical problems and faulty reasoning.