Girl with a Pearl Earring begins in the year 1664 when the Dutch painter and his wife Catharina are in search for a new maid. Their search leads them to the house of the main character, Griet, and her lower class family. Griet’s father has informed Vermeer of his daughter’s ability to clean without moving anything, an ability she had perfected after an accident that left her father blind. Although Griet is reluctant to leave her house and begin work as a maid she realizes that a steady income, however small, is severely needed in her household. In her first week as a maid Griet faces a plethora of challenges that will follow her throughout her stay in the Vermeer household. While most members of the house take well to the new maid, a few have an immediate aversion to Griet. Cornelia, one of the children, and Catharina both seem to dislike Griet and give her a great deal of trouble in the beginning. However, much to Catharina’s dismay, Griet seems to flourish while working in the Vermeer household. She cleans the painter’s studio perfectly, cleans the rest of the house, does the laundry, helps with the children, and buys the meat for the family, where she meets a boy her age named Pieter. Along with all of this work and Pieter’s new advances, Griet …show more content…
The painting needs something that shines in it. So he tells Griet that she will wear Catharina’s pearl earrings and must pierce her ears in preparation. Greet does this reluctantly, knowing that if she were ever found out she would lose her job and only source of income for her family as Catharina would be very angry and jealous. But, after the painting is completely finished, all secrets are revealed. Catharina finds the painting and in a fit of rage, tries to destroy it. Vermeer stops her but Griet realizes there is nothing more for her in this household. She leaves and realizes she must make a
Carol Armstrong begins her essay by pointing out the two main points that come about when discussing A Bar at the Folies-Bergere. These two points are the social context of the painting and its representation of 19th century Paris, and the internal structure of the painting itself with the use of space. She then goes on and addresses what she will be analyzing throughout her essay. She focuses on three main points, the still life of the counter and its commodities, the mirror and its “paintedness”, and the barmaid and her “infra-thin hinge” between the countertop and the mirror.
The story shows a relationship between a mother and a daughter through the event of shopping. Mrs. Dietrich, a middle aged mother, longs to have that intimate relationship with her daughter, just as she did when she was pregnant. Nola, a young teenager wanting to spread her wings, just wants her mother to let her go. This time of their relationship is awkward for both of them but is typical for many parents and children.
Janie's Grandmother is the first bud on her tree. She raised Janie since she was a little girl. Her grandmother is in some respects a gardener pruning and shaping the future for her granddaughter. She tries to instill a strong belief in marriage. To her marriage is the only way that Janie will survive in life. What Nanny does not realize is that Janie has the potential to make her own path in the walk of life. This blinds nanny, because she is a victim of the horrible effects of slavery. She really tries to convey to Janie that she has her own voice but she forces her into a position where that voice is silenced and there for condemning all hopes of her Granddaughter become the woman that she is capable of being.
Although this story is told in the third person, the reader’s eyes are strictly controlled by the meddling, ever-involved grandmother. She is never given a name; she is just a generic grandmother; she could belong to anyone. O’Connor portrays her as simply annoying, a thorn in her son’s side. As the little girl June Star rudely puts it, “She has to go everywhere we go. She wouldn’t stay at home to be queen for a day” (117-118). As June Star demonstrates, the family treats the grandmother with great reproach. Even as she is driving them all crazy with her constant comments and old-fashioned attitude, the reader is made to feel sorry for her. It is this constant stream of confliction that keeps the story boiling, and eventually overflows into the shocking conclusion. Of course the grandmother meant no harm, but who can help but to blame her? O’Connor puts her readers into a fit of rage as “the horrible thought” comes to the grandmother, “that the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in Tennessee” (125).
The Grandmother's superior attitude is exemplified in her treatment of the children's mother, to whom she is extremely disapproving, and while there is a certain affection given to Bailey, "her only boy" she behaves as though he is a small child. Bailey, like all of the characters other than the Misfit, is important only in relation to the Grandmother; their relationship and the interactions between t...
The childhood of Frances Piper consists of inadequate love, loss of innocence and lack of concern, ultimately leading to her disastrous life. As a six year old child, she encounters several traumatic events, explicitly the death of her loved ones and the loss of her innocence. Over the course of one week, there have been three deaths, two funerals and two burials in the Piper family. “Frances was crying so hard now that Mercedes got worried. ‘I want my Mumma to come ba-a-a-a-ack.’”( McDonald 174). As a young child, there is nothing more upsetting than losing a mother. A family is meant to comfort each other to fulfill the loss of a loved one; however, this is not the case in the Piper family. Mercedes, only a year older than Frances, tries to console her even though she herself is worried. The loss of motherly love and affection has a tremendous impact on her future since now her sole guardian, James, expresses no responsibility towards her. Instead, he molests Frances on the night of Kathleen’s funeral to lessen the grief of his lost daughter. As a result “These disturbing experiences plague Frances with overwhelming feelings of low self worth and guilt that haunt h...
In Part I of the novel, Agee quickly establishes the importance of the father-son relationship. Rufus Follet, Jay's six-year-old son, accompanies his father to the silent film theatre against the objection of Rufus's mother, who finds Charlie Chaplin (one of James Agee's heroes) “nasty” and “vulgar.” This disagreement underscores the marital conflict that underlies Rufus's ambivalent feelings toward both his parents. When Jay takes Rufus to a neighborhood tavern after the picture show, despite the father's warmth and love for his son, it is clear that the father's pride is constrained by the fact that the son's proclivities, even at this early age, follow the mother's interests in “culture” rather than the father's more democratic tastes for athletic ability and social pursuits. Tensions between Rufus's parents are apparent as Jay's drinking and “vulgar” habits become a point of contention in the household, with the child Rufus caught between his sometimes bickering parents. For her part, Mary Follet is a character whose extreme subjection to moralistic attitudes suggests...
”(3) Marie, Jeannette’s mother, completely refuses to take care of her own children. She doesn’t care for her children as any mother should. Any child, even at the age of three, should not be making hotdogs in a hot oven. This act shows how much independence her father has instilled in her.
2) Gretel - Gretel is a 13 year old Caucasian female and she shares her brother’s ethnicity. She is the same as her brother in regards to education, social status and health but has differing roles and activities based on gender. Gretel manages the house while her father and brother are out; her stepmother however, does not assist her when promised.
treats her like garbage, after Gatsby admits that he is "new money." She wants to keep her
Janie’s life with Joe fulfilled a need -- she had no financial worries and was more than set for life. She had a beautiful white home, a neat lawn and garden, a successful husband, and lots of cash. Everything was clean, almost too clean. A sense of restraint is present in this setting, and this relates to the work as a whole due to the fact that this is the epitome of unhappiness for Janie.
...e female roles she was witnessed in her life, and she reverts back to being an innocent little girl by running back to Mrs. Grose for security.
...ly announces to the reader that he never felt comfortable with his apprentice; he only lasted this long because he wanted to take advantage of Grenouille’s talent. These three characters demonstrate the degree to which humanity in the 18th century perceived the unknown and the darkness of humanity.
Knowing how she feels he surprises her with a ticket to the ball. He gives her his savings in order for her to buy a new gown. Though he was unable to get her any jewels he suggests her to tell her rich friend to let her borrow a necklaces in order to see his wife happy. On the contrary, the husband from "The Jewel" does not fully satisfy his wife in the way that she wanted. He dreads going out to the opera while his wife loves it. He was also unable to buy her luxurious jewels so she pleases herself with false jewels and ornaments. Though both men adore and love their wife, one tries harder than the other, even though neither one can afford paying the objects the ladies truly desire.
The Necklace also displays distinctive realism in the use of socioeconomic influences which are essential to the plot. The major conflict in the story would be absent and the theme would not be obtainable without Mathilde Loisel’s insecurity about her own socioeconomic reputation. An example of Loisel’s self-deprivation nature is presented when she realizes she does not have a necklace, she says “I shall look absolutely no one. I would almost rather not go to the party” (Maupassant, sec. 3). Another example of the self-conflict caused by social pressure is Loisel’s immediate attempt to replace the necklace and her reluctance to speak to her friend Madame Forestier about the necklace for ten whole years. If she were not conflicted by societal pressures she might have avoided the whole situation altogether. The Necklace establishes a realistic difference in value between the necklaces and proposed clothing. Her husband proposes flowers which were valued 10 franks so in any case if she had chosen the flowers there would have been an insignificant economic loss. Her decision not to tell her friend about the necklace ends up costing her seven times the worth of the original. The roses symbolize the simpler things in life to the theme of the story. Mathilde Loisel’s withered appearance at the end