Davi Zlotnick (3) 10.29.17 The Symbol of Hair
The novel The Good Earth,by Pearl S. Buck, follows the life of the protagonist, Wang Lung, who is an impoverished farmer. Throughout the novel, Buck uses the symbol of hair to highlight Wang Lung’s change from conservative to modern values. At first, Wang Lung’s hair represents traditionalism and his respect for it, but as the novel progresses the symbol slowly shifts to one that exemplifies modernism and Wang Lung’s abandonment of ancient values. In the beginning of the novel, Wang Lung’s hair symbolizes his loyalty to traditional principles. Buck demonstrates Wang Lung’s values when he refuses to cut his customary ponytail, out of respect to his father and the values by which his father raised Wang Lung. As the novel progresses, hair not only represents traditionalism, but also hints at modernism as well. Buck demonstrates the symbol’s shift
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When his wife, O-lan sees this drastic change, she is horrified and rebukes her husband, telling him he “cut off his life”. O-lan’s criticism leaves Wang Lung regretful about his decision to cut his hair. Buck emphasizes the mutation of the symbol of hair in this passage, as Wang Lung’s hair no longer represents his loyalty to tradition, but rather his yearning to be modernized. O-lan emphasizes Wang Lung’s conversion to modernism when she exclaims that he “cut off his life”, which indicates that Wang Lung is ditching his traditional lifestyle by modernizing his hair. While Wang Lung does assimilate more to modern culture, he does experience guilt, realizing that he is being controlled by Lotus. Wang Lung’s regret proves that while his hair represents mostly modernism, it also of a bit of traditionalism. Therefore, Buck utilizes hair to highlight Wang Lung’s shift in
On August 3, 1979, a female was assaulted and raped in her apartment. Victor Burnette, 19 years old, was brought in as a suspect and the female said that he was the perpetrator. Burnette was convicted based on pubic hairs found at the scene. He spent seven years in prison and was released on parole in ’87. Two decades later, Burnette asked to have his case reworked using DNA analysis and was found to be not guilty. The serologist who worked his case was Mary Jane Burton. By the time Burnette cleared his name, at least five other people had been exonerated from their convictions due to Burton’s evidence. (“Victor”) Hair analysis has been a part of forensic science since the beginning. However, some have begun to question the reliability of
Everyone faces varying degrees of peer pressure at least once in their lifetime, but what matters is how one reacts. In Bad Haircut—a collection of short stories—the author, Tom Perrotta, examines the effect of peer pressure on the main character, Buddy, in a comical yet informative light. Buddy faces peer pressure consistently and ends up associating with the wrong people, due to a lack of backbone. Yet Buddy is different and a better person than those who he associates with because he is compassionate and able to recognize that he is a follower; therein lies the irony that only the reader sees Buddy’s merit while the other characters only see the results of his friends’ poor judgment.
Appreciably, Pearl S. Buck depicted her very characters on such a detail basis that everyone in her story seemed to move truly alive in each single page of the bound book in the meant time of reading and after. One of them comes Wang Lung, the main figure of being the peasant of Nanking, the son of an old man, the husband of O-Lan, the father of sons and daughters, the escaper of the famine, the looter of the great house in the south, the peasant-turn-wealthy of his town, and the old one of himself. Yet, is he a good man? Right here in this text, a negotiable one, he comes representing all of himself and lets the deep considerate and well concerning readers judge and say whether, "Wang Lung is a good man." or "Wang Lung is not a good man." through their respective points of view.
The character of O-lan was twisted by the circumstances of her life. Surviving adversity made her bitter, stoic, and wise. O-lan’s wisdom was from the things she saw and heard during the tough times. Without her stoicism, she would have fallen to pieces amongst the people who used Wang Lung. She tried not to let her bitterness get in the way of serving her family because they meant everything to her. In the end, it was her pride that held her together. Her pride would not allow her to give up or show weakness. Her pride kept her mind sharp until the end. And at the end, she had a husband who mourned for her, but only after her death did others really appreciate her.
Abraham Sutzkever was a Yiddish poet who was known as the “greatest poet of the Holocaust.” He was born on July 15, 1913 in Smorgon, Russian Empire, now Smarhon, Belarus. He wrote poetry from an early age, initially in Hebrew. He was among the Modernist writers and artists of the “Young Vilna” group in the early 1930’s. He wrote many famous Yiddish poems. His poems consist of his memories from his childhood in Siberia, his life in the Vilna during the World War II, and his escape to join Jewish partisans. Through his poems, he recalls his early childhood experiences. He became a major figure in Yiddish letters and throughout the world as he was one of the creative artists who had lived through and survived the devastation. His poems are imagistic and filled with metaphors. Through his works in, A Little Flower, Scorched Pearls, and A Moment, the impressions of hardships endured are more symbolic and metaphoric.
“Shaving” is a short story about a teenage boy who shaves his dying father. Throughout this story, there are many lines of dialogue, and although they may seem simple at first, most of them have a profound deeper meaning. For example, near the beginning of the book, where his father stays to Barry that “You could have used electric razor, I expected that.” Barry replies by saying that “You wouldn’t like it, you’ll get a closer shave this way.” In this quote, what they talk about on the surface is fairly obvious, the quality of the shave ad the razor. However, beneath the surface of this quote lies a much deeper meaning. Barry uses a real razor instead of an electric one, which shows not only his confidence in shaving skills, but also the fact that he has taken the family matters into his own hands, as to put his father into such danger like that, as
Some existing Literature on Natural Hair The existing literature on ethnic and racial studies among African-Americans has focused on issues pertaining to beauty and body politics especially on natural hair. Spellers and Moffitt assert that the body politics that one assumes, guides how one relates to a particular political ideology in a particular society. Black natural hair is considered as a way by which the true identity of African women can be understood (Jacobs-Huey). It is a symbol of power among black women; it influences how people are treated by others.
African American hair looks gorgeous, attractive and beautiful. Your hair is extremely fragile and needs proper care and gentle touch so that it doesn’t break or get loose. Here are the top African American hair cares FAQs.
Wang Lung needs a wife so saves up the little money he has and buys a woman who is a slave named O-lan. O-lan is sold to Wang Lung so she can take care of the home, cooking and bear children. Wang Lung is disappointed when he first sees O-lan because she does not have bound feet which was a desirable quality at that time but he does enjoy when O-lan has the food ready when he comes in a night from the land. Wang Lung is very proud when O-lan makes cakes that no one else in the village knows how to makes and when his family comes to feast for the new year at their house.
O-lan was obviously a very bold and important woman in this novel yet never knew it. She would do what she was raised to do and try her best to make her husband happy. Through all her marriage, she helped Wang Lung to be one of the wealthiest men in his city. While O-lan endured many difficulties, she continued with her duties as wife through thick and thin. Whether it was her begging on the streets for food and money, or putting up with Lotus, her husband's concubine, O-lan remained a strong woman with good qualities until the day she died. While she usually had little to say, O-lan's impact on the Lung family is one that wont be forgotton. She accomplished all of her goals in life and fulfilled her marital duty in making Wang Lung very happy. Even after all this, O-lan still was a very modest woman.
In the recent past year or two, a woman’s natural hair has become a big thing. Before, African American women, to be specific, were so disgusted by their hair. They would do anything in their power to change the “nappy” aspect of their hair to “beautiful”. They would use relaxers very so often and hot combs.
I would like to point out that Wang Lung was never the most filial of men. Early in the novel, we saw him slip up once or twice. However, at a younger age, he felt guilty when this happened and was able to hold his tongue in most situations. Wang Lung’s uncle is able to exploit Wang Lung based on his filial piety. When the uncle, a lazy man who blames his struggles on an “evil destiny”, asks his nephew to borrow money, Wang Lung explodes, saying, “‘If I have a handful of silver it is because I work and my wife works, and we do not…[let our] fields grow to weeds and our children go half fed!’” (65). But right after he lets these words slip, he “[stands] sullen and unmovable” (66) because knows that his outburst is wrong. However, later in the novel, Wang Lungs lack of sense for filial piety grows evident as he becomes more arrogant. For example, when he is nearing the end of his life, Wang Lung asks without a second thought to be buried below his father but above his uncle and Ching. Asking to be buried above his uncle makes the statement that Wang Lung believes he is a greater man than his uncle. Before his rise through the ranks of society, Wang Lung would never have even considered being buried above his uncle, even though he always had a disliking for him. However, because of his power, he feels that he has the right to disrespect his
Together, Wang Lung and O-lan grow a profitable harvest from their land. O-lan becomes pregnant, and there first child is a son. Meanwhile, the powerful Hwang family is falling apart. Wang Lung is able to purchase a piece of the Hwang family's rice land. He enjoys another profitable harvest. O-lan gives birth to there second son. Wang Lung's new wealth catches the attention of his uncle. Custom says that Wang Lung must show the utmost respect to the elderly especially relatives. So obligated he loans his uncle money despite knowing that the money will be wasted on drinking and gambling. The Hwang family's finances continue to fall apart, and the Hwangs sell another piece of land to Wang Lung.
Paul A. Doyle, a literary critic, remarks that Buck's stories were improbable and simplistic (Chauhan, 1994, 120). He later adds: "In structure, The Good Earth uses a chronological form which proceeds at a fairly regular pace. Buck's stories take the epic rather than dramatic form, that is to say, they are chronological narratives of a piece of life, seen from one point of view, straightforward, without devices; they have no complex plots, formed of many strands skillfully twisted, but belong to the single-strand type, with the family, however, rather than the individual as a unit (Buck 35). As Wang Lung and his father begin this family strand, one by one characters are introduced from Wang's viewpoint. In regards to women in his society, he objectively portrays them for what they are worth. In spite of his smooth surface, the novel shows a complicated feminism. On the one hand, the woman's situation is clearly, almost gruesomely, presented: Chinese village society is patriarchal, oppressive, and stultifying to women (Hayford, 1994, 25). The clearest illustration of this occurs through O-lan, the wife of Wang Lung.
In his short story, “The Prophet’s Hair,” Salman Rushdie make use of magic realism, symbolization and situational irony to comment on class, religion, and the fragility of human life. The story is brimming with ironic outcomes that add to the lighthearted and slightly fantastic tone. Rushdie’s use of the genre magic realism capitalizes on the absurdity of each situation but makes the events relevant to readers’ lives. In addition, the irony in the story serves as a way to further deepen Rushdie’s commentary on class and religion. Finally, his use of symbolization focuses on the concept of glass, and just how easily it can be broken.