By reading a certain print texts, readers are manipulated into accepting or rejecting additional texts. The short story “The Altar of the Family” written by Michael Welding shares many comparisons with the feature article “Boys to Men” written by Stephen Scourfield, and by reading one the reader can make clear understanding of the other. Symbolism, genre and certain values and attitudes are present in both the texts and will be further examined in the following essay to show that a readers understanding of particular print texts is shaped by the reading of previous texts.
By reading “The Altar of the Family” the reader understands that to become a man a boy has to pass certain “tests or ordeals” in order to gain “rights of passage” to manhood. This process is clearly shown in the print text “The Altar of the Family”. David, the boy in “The Altar of the Family” is under constant pressure from his father to become “more manly”. His father constantly demoralises him and on one occasion brands him a “lily-livered poofter”. The symbolism of using such words is evident in this text as lilies are something that David admires yet are extremely “girlish” in the eyes of his father, a man. In an effort to please his father David took it upon himself to kill a possum that had become a menace to his father, this would make him a man, this would grant him his “rite of passage”. The possum eventually appeared and was described as David would describe his much-loved lilies, “soft, beautiful, white in the moonlight”. The symbolism of using the same words to describe the possum like the much loved lilies shows the reader that it is against David’s morals to kill the animal of such beauty but if such a task has to be completed to gain manhood then so be it. Much to his dismay he shot the possum and in his own mind was a murderer but in the eyes of his father he would be a man. When looking for the dead possum the next morning his father greets him by saying, “What’ve you lost old man?” and this shows the reader that David has now become a man in his fathers eyes.
By reading “The Altar of the Family” the reader is led to believe that certain tasks have to be completed in order to gain manhood.
Erdich , Louise “The Red Convertible” 1984.Schalfel and Ridl 126 – 133. Schakel, Pete, and Jack Ridl. Eds. Approaching Literature Reading + Thinking + Writing. 3rd Ed. Boston: Bedford/ St Martin, 2011. Sprint.
“Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.” These are three demands for the writing of fiction. By following these demands, an author sparks interest in his/her work. “Make them wait” is a signifigant in creating the interest in the novels The Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies. This essay will explain how making the reader wait creates interest in the two novels stated earlier.
Kirszner, Laurie, and Stephen Mandell, eds. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Compact Fourth Edition. New York: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000.
The depiction of characters by Nora also adds to the “masculinity” of this text, in that the male characters are the dominantly talked-about characters. The females are treated as the ‘other’ and are not heard much of, in any dialogue or conversation.
Roberts, Edgar V. and Jacobs, Henry E. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Upper Saddlr River: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998.
Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. 4th ed. Robert DiYanni, Ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 1998. 408-413.
Brooks, Cleanth and Robert Penn Warren. Understanding Fiction. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1979.
Within every story or poem, there is always an interpretation made by the reader, whether right or wrong. In doing so, one must thoughtfully analyze all aspects of the story in order to make the most accurate assessment based on the literary elements the author has used. Compared and contrasted within the two short stories, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and John Updike’s “A&P,” the literary elements character and theme are made evident. These two elements are prominent in each of the differing stories yet similarities are found through each by studying the elements. The girls’ innocence and naivety as characters act as passages to show something superior, oppression in society shown towards women that is not equally shown towards men.
Manhood had not always existed; it was created through culture. Depending on the era, masculinity claimed a different meaning. But in all of its wandering definitions, it consistently contains opposition to a set of “others,” meaning racial and sexual minorities. (pp.45) One of the first definitions was the Marketplace Man, where capitalism revolved around his success in power, wealth, and status. A man devoted himself to his work and family came second. Although this is one of the first standing definitions, it still finds its spot in today’s definition, where masculinity consists of having a high paying job, an attractive young wife, and
Additionally, the textual support is a skillfully applied in order for the audience to comprehend the deeper, symbolic connotations underneath major concepts in Porter’s short story. However, because there is not a clear or stated thesis statement, the paper has no guideline to refer back to throughout the analysis. While it is clear Walters deeply knows the text, his arguments are somewhat weakened due to the fact there is no central idea to hold the opinions together, just that he simply has a good understanding. Furthermore, the complexity of the vocabulary hinders the reader from fully interpreting the points made by Walter, until read multiple times. This may turn off someone searching for a quick relation of the text, thus he/she may choose another author to read instead. Overall, the analysis is powerful and helpful, once the persons understand what Walter is attempting to convey. The essay will prove helpful in writing a critical analysis of “Flowering Judas” because it contains strong support connecting the ideas in Porter’s text to real
Francis’s essay is about the quality of reading practice in American high schools. By her essay, Francis Prose is trying to convince the audience that high school students aren’t reading or analyzing the adequate text to their level and by doing that, she is pushing the educational system to give those students a chance to read the appropriate literature to their age and level. in order to be believed and impact a higher number of her audience of her point, Francis Prose appeals to ethos by giving evidence of what is really read inside these classes, ‘’In the hope of finding out that [her] children and [her] friends’ children were exceptionally unfortunate, [she] recently collected eighty or so reading lists from high schools throughout the
“Things are not always what they seem”, this popular euphemism is used in towards all aspects of life and to the misfortune of many english students is especially used in reference to literature. An author’s intricate use of allegory and symbolism, transforms simple characters and objects into major themes and motifs that extend pass the page and ultimately comments on human nature. A prime example of this literary technique is Hawthorne’’s story “Young Goodman Brown”. Hawthorne’s character of Faith is not only the main character’s wife but symbol of his personal faith but serves as a comment on female purity in the puritan community as well.
Engkent, Garry, and Lucia Pietrusiak Engkent. Fiction/non-fiction: a reader and rhetoric. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2001. Print.
The first three chapters of How to read Literature like a Professor demonstrate multiple examples of how common situations that are interpreted as simple and denotative actually are symbols. Foster demonstrates how the misconception that the purpose of a journey is the its destination is false, the real reason being "self knowledge" acquired through the journey itself. Furthermore, he states that a meal shared with someone is most likely a communion, showing the trust the individuals participating have in each other. He further elaborates by explaining that sharing something as personal as eating is only reserved to people closest to him because hardly is anyone going to dine with a stranger. Moreover, the author addresses that vampires and the like are in reality symbols of a human's darker traits. He illustrates that Victorian writer could not write about certain subject explicitly, so disguised many beneath figurative language. To conclude, the section highlights the deceiving appearances of writing, and that even though literature has many occult statements, certain patterns of deception can be recognized.
Today, the image of a woman is portrayed to follow the footsteps of men. Men are seen as the genearch ones, the dominant ones, the ones who created the language and the universal. Due to these standards, I noticed that women readers become an agent of their immasculation, bifurcation for women’s readers to hero, and have an androcentric canon. In our society, we as women tend to continue to follow the footsteps of men in order to fit the male universal. Unfortunately, some women decide to try to fit in the place of the male universal, which requires women to rejects themselves and their uniqueness, living in an androcentric society that requires one to erase women’s achievements and expressions, also living in a society where