Throughout Making History and Spies the struggle of identity is an occurring theme and how the time period can influence the protagonist’s identity. Making History explores Hugh O’Neill’s struggle as he is forced to choose with his allegiance to the Irish, his birthplace, and his loyalty to England. O’Neill is within the battle of Kinsale; similarly, within Spies, the protagonist Stephen Wheatley is also within a Country at war. During World War two, German Jews escaped the Nazi regime, often to England and were given false English names to detract attention from them being German. This causes confusion for the protagonist of Spies as his name Stephen Wheatley is false, his identity is false and as Stephen revisits his childhood, he sees how …show more content…
Interestingly, Mabel’s death is foreshadowed once again through the use of another gift from Mabel’s 'home’. She receives a gift of seeds in which she can grow, however, is warned not to cross- fertilize them. "Don 't plant the fennel near the dill", this is the defining moment of where O’Neill and Mabel will be destroyed. The two identities cannot survive together, the seeds symbolise growth of something, foreshadowing that Mabel will be pregnant and from seeds, grows flowers. An inevitable end to flowers is that they die which is also foreshadowing of Mabel’s death. The mixing of the two represents the loss of their identity and Mabel becomes lost in-between England and Ireland, she both literally and metaphorically dies of poisoning of the blood, it is the impregnation of Hughes child that poisoned her. Rather like a plant, it needs both sunlight and water to survive, here we can compare the sunlight and water to that of England and Ireland, with too much of both the plant dies and with the loss of both the plant cannot survive, its roots search for the nearest source of water, perhaps in this case the water to Mabel is whether she chooses to 'survive ' on her English identity or her Irish identity. In both Making History and spies something natural is used to symbolise a change, in Spies the smell of liguster brings back memories, unsettled memories. The gift of the seeds from Mabels home in Staffordshire brings back memories, memories that are also unsettled. It is difficult to put into words what the smell of liguster means to the main protagonist of Spies, here we can compare the fact it is difficult for O’Neill to be himself. Whether it be Irish or English. The naturalistic symbols in both Spies and Making History suggests that it cannot be helped, it has not been made by man or by a series of events, it has been a natural
In the historic fiction Projeckt 1065: a Novel of World War liI, by Alan Gratz, Michael O’Shaunessey is the son of a Irish ambassador in Germeny during World War ll. During the time there, Michael discovers that his dad is not just an ambassador, he is also a spy for the allies. As Michael finds out the truth, he is determine to help his parents on their mission. But Michael often gets really close to getting expose. There was a boy who was Michael’s friend, his dad is the director of a Nazi project called “projekt 1065.” After a couple more days, a British pilot crashed in Germeny, Michael quickly got him to safety. Hitler Youth were picking kids to the elite mission group. Michael wants to get in, but fails to. The pilot was captured for
Robert Ross is a sensitive, private boy; last person you would expect to sign up to fight in World War One. In The Wars by Timothy Findley, symbols are used in conjunction with Ross’ story to cause readers to reflect on symbols in their own lives, and to allow then to dive deeper into the world of an innocent boy who is placed into a cruel war. The various symbols in The Wars provide for a graphic and reflective reading experience by emphasizing Robert’s connection with nature, his past, and his experiences during the war.
The chaos and destruction that the Nazi’s are causing are not changing the lives of only Jews, but also the lives of citizens in other countries. Between Night by Elie Wiesel and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, comradeship, faith, strength, and people of visions are crucial to the survival of principle characters. Ironically, in both stories there is a foreseen future, that both seemed to be ignored.
Within Steinbeck's story, "Chrysanthemums," the main character, Elisa Allen, is confronted with many instances of conflict. Steinbeck uses chrysanthemums to symbolize this conflict and Elisa's self-worth. By examining these points of conflict and the symbolism presented by the chrysanthemums, the meaning of the story can be better determined.
In the short story “The Chrysanthemums” John Steinbeck uses symbolism to reflect the characteristics of his main character Elisa Allen. Elisa, a married woman uncovers her deeply smothered femininity in an inconspicuous sense. Her life in the valley had become limited to housewife duties and the only sustenance that seemed to exist could merely be found in her chrysanthemum garden. Not until she becomes encountered with a remote tinker-man out and about seeking for work, does she begin to reach many of the internal emotions that had long inhibited her femininity. The tinker subtlety engages an interest in Elisa’s chrysanthemum garden that encourages Elisa to react radically. When Elisa realizes that there are other ways to live she attempts to lift the lid off of the Salinas Valley, but unfortunately the tinker’s insincere actions resort Elisa back to her old self and leaves Elisa without any optimism for her hollow breakthrough. Steinbeck’s somber details of the setting, strong description of the chrysanthemums and meaningful illustration of the red flower-pot reveal the distant, natural, ambitions Elisa Allen desired to attain.
The United States as a country has always been an entity unique amongst the world’s myriad of nations: a conglomeration of cultures, ethnic groups and religious backgrounds from around the planet, all fused together to yield something entirely new. Since its very inception, those who dwell within its borders have attempted to ascertain the makeup of the American identity, in order to pin down how exactly one can come to be considered as an American themselves. This is inherently quite a subjective issue, but the conversation primarily boils down to three core factors that make the American people who they are: a dedication to preserving the natural rights of every human being, a belief in the importance of the individual in deciding their own
“Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives.” (B. R. Ambedkar). In Ralph Ellison’s novel the Invisible Man we are first introduced to a nameless narrator, the narrator continues to stay anonyms throughout the entire novel, which gives a sense of mystery and question. As the narrator goes through his journey in the novel, he changes his identity to adapt to the world around him and the people. The narrator is us, he is the innocent part of all of us, and his journey through the novel is his way into finding self-knowledge. We are all born innocent and unaware of the world around us but the way we grow up, the people, and environment shapes our identities and decides whom we grow up to become. Most people would like to say that they are in control of their life and that they make all their own decisions but do they really? The novel takes place around The Great Depression the worst economic crisis in the country’s history, which left a permanent scar on American society and culture, causing millions of people to suffer and experience joblessness, and homelessness, for nearly a decade. With so many hardships facing people in this time they all wanted the same thing, which was to get a job and get back all they had lost. This led people to change whom they were and gain new identities to fit the new society.
Identity, in today’s society, is often taken for granted. We have the ability to be anything we wish to be and act in any way we wish to act, but in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, identity is not taken for granted because it does not exist at all. Winston Smith, the narrator, lives in a dystopian society based on the idea of totalitarian government rule. This government is known as Big Brother. In order for Big Brother to stay in power, a few things are necessary: identity cannot exist; everything and everyone must be uniform; the past must be controlled in order to regulate the present; and the people must constantly be practicing the ideas of Newspeak and Doublethink, a form of control the government holds over the people. By enforcing these simple laws and regulations, the government is able to keep a tight grip on its people, with few ever releasing themselves from its grasp. Winston Smith on the other hand, seeks to know the truth behind the government, he is constantly questioning everything and repressing all the ideas forced upon him. Winston “seeks truth and sanity, his only resources being the long denied and repressed processes of selfhood” (Feder 398). All identity is gone in this place called Oceania, and for the sake of Big Brother and its continuous control of the people, it will never exist again. In 1984, the absence of identity strips the people of all creativity and diversity, as well as takes away any chance the society has to advance as a people or in the area of technology.
Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Bastards entails a Jewish revenge fantasy that is told through a counterfactual history of events in World War II. However, this story follows a completely different plot than what we are currently familiar with. Within these circumstances, audiences now question the very ideas and arguments that are often associated with World War II. We believe that Inglourious Basterds is a Jewish revenge fantasy that forces us to rethink our previous understandings by disrupting the viewers sense of content and nature in the history of World War II. Within this thesis, this paper will cover the Jewish lens vs. American lens, counter-plots with-in the film, ignored social undercurrents, and the idea that nobody wins in war. These ideas all correlate with how we view World War II history and how Inglourious Basterds muddles our previous thoughts on how these events occurred.
Timothy Findley Creates a fictional world through his novels, where readers can relate to the situations and characters. The protagonists that Findley creates are often similar and connected to the hardships that they eventually encounter and defeat or that which they are defeated by. Findley takes his readers back in time to the First World War, displaying his knowledge of history and research, where the hardships of a young soldier’s battles internally and externally are brought to the reader’s attention in his historical-fiction novel The Wars. Findley writes about the reality and absurdity of the First World War, and takes the reader’s on a journey through the active reading process to find what is “sane” and “Insane” throughout the duration of the novel. Following the journey of the protagonist, Robert Ross as he enlists in the Canadian Army after the death of his sister Rowena, and undoubtedly is the turning point of the text and ideally where Findley initiates the active reading process, and where the contents placed in the story by Findley, are analyzed and opinionated based on the reader’s perception and subjectivity of truth. Essayist Anne Reynolds writes “ Findley manages, through technical prowess, to combine Hemingway-like choices of clear moment searing horror and truth at the battlefront with scenes depicting the effects of war on the families and lovers of the soldiers.” (Reynolds, 4) According to Reynolds Findley has been able to display the absurdity and affect that not only the First World War has caused but the ludicrousness war in general has caused the families of soldiers, and society as a whole. Using the literary theory of deconstruction many aspects and scenarios in The Wars can be analyzed, as Fin...
Ralph Ellison the author of the novel ‘Invisible Man’ like the protagonist in the novel came from the South, Oklahoma to be exact. He was born on March 1, 1914; he became a world renowned author and received an award for the novel ‘Invisible Man’, the novel speaks about a black man’s journey to finding himself amidst the heat of white America. The insatiable desire to find one’s self is a task that may never be completed, going through the motions of life channeling and living other people’s notions of what their lives are supposed to be. We see such a behavior portrayed by The nameless narrator in ‘Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison published in 1952 who struggles with the self-perception of himself, like many African Americans of the 1930’s did and African Americans of the present still struggle with today. Identity and race to a greater extent both plays a monumental role in the growth of many African Americans, both underlying the issues associated with being a black man at that time and being able to identify with their ‘blackness’ and dealing with trying to possess a sense of self. The nameless narrator personifying the real invisible man, struggling to disassociate himself with his blackness, trying to running away from all that truly made him who he was.
What is personal identity? This question has been asked and debated by philosophers for centuries. The problem of personal identity is determining what conditions and qualities are necessary and sufficient for a person to exist as the same being at one time as another. Some think personal identity is physical, taking a materialistic perspective believing that bodily continuity or physicality is what makes a person a person with the view that even mental things are caused by some kind of physical occurrence. Others take a more idealist approach with the belief that mental continuity is the sole factor in establishing personal identity holding that physical things are just reflections of the mind. One more perspective on personal identity and the one I will attempt to explain and defend in this paper is that personal identity requires both physical and psychological continuity; my argument is as follows:
Jack, thinking he might have been that very baby, retrieves the bag he was found in as an infant in which Ms. Prism identifies by some distinguishing marks to have been her own. Jack realized the woman that had been teaching his niece was his mother. But then Lady Bracknell explained that she was not, but Lady Bracknell’s poor sister Mrs. Moncrieff was. The irony continues to explain how Jack and Algernon were biological brothers. They were pretending to be earlier to play out their game of Bunburyism.
Identity. What is identity? One will say that it is the distinct personality of an individual. Others will say that identity is the behavior of a person in response to their surrounding environment. At certain points of time, some people search for their identity in order to understand their existence in life. In regards, identity is shaped into an individual through the social trials of life that involve family and peers, the religious beliefs by the practice of certain faiths, and cultural awareness through family history and traditions. These are what shape the identity of an individual.
A person can be physically identifiable based on the matter they are composed of but their Personal Identity is far more than that. Despite any changes such as mentality and physical change, referred to as qualitatively changes, a person remains who they are. The philosophical question is, What it is to have a personal Identity? There are different theories discussing what is necessary and sufficient to define an individual's personal identity. So is there any theory that has truly capture the essence of what it is like to have a personal identity?