Hope Gernert
September 23rd, 2016
English 205
Professor Belletto Lorrie Moore’s “You’re Ugly, Too” introduces the reader to Zoë Hendricks, a character who at first glance seems carefree and convivial, as she is known to offer her college students hot chocolate and often sings to them in class. After reading further it becomes clear that Zoë’s raw sarcasm and joking manner are in fact a defense mechanism and her only way of dealing with the situations she is presented with, ones ranging from her love life (or lack thereof) to her home life and sense of self. Zoë is restless and finds happiness and contentment to be beyond reach. Her sarcasm paired with these piled on insecurities ultimately leave her alienated from her relationships, from
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Zoë is obsessed with finding ties to the outside world, depicted through her relationships with her mailman, her cab driver, her sister, and late night TV. “Zoë lived for the mail, for the postman...when she got a real letter, with a real full-price stamp, from someplace else, she took it to bed with her and read it over and over” (Moore 70). At Christmas, she tips two people and two people only: this mailman and Jerry, the cab driver who drives her to the airport when she makes her frequent trips to New York. It is intriguing that both of these people represent a link to the world beyond Paris, Illinois. Zoë describes the letters as being “real,” as if in contrast to her actual life in the Midwest, which she is never happy with. And Jerry the cabbie is her only friend, one of the few people or things Zoë ever talks about in a positive way, giving him the nickname Jare. The third and perhaps final person Zoe likes is her sister, 1,000 miles away in the faraway land of New York City, so opposite from her Midwestern suburb in Illinois. Lastly, “She also watch[es] television until all hours,” (Moore 71) which is a universally known form of escape. It is clear that confinement and escape are underlying themes throughout the
Franny held many strong beliefs that caused her to view her surroundings pessimistically. After spending three years contently in college, Franny changed her view of the college experience. She decided that college was “one more dopey inane place in the world.'; (Salinger, 146) She failed to see college as a place that allows one to increase his or her knowledge and independence. Similarly, she thought “that just because [she] wanted enlightenment or peace instead of prestige or fame-doesn’t mean that [she was] not as egotistical and self seeking as everybody else.';(Salinger, 149) Instead of looking for the positive qualities in others, she made a generalization that all people are egotistical and self-seeking. Additionally, she “raved and bitched about the stupidity of [her] audiences [and their] unskilled laughter.';(Salinger, 199) Despite the fact that the audiences were supporting Franny by watching her perform, she insists all audiences are stupid. Franny’s religious quest caused her to view her surroundings pessimistically.
“I told Lori about my escape fund, the seventy-five dollars I’d saved. From now on, I said, it would be our joint fund. We’d take on extra work after school and put everything we earned into a piggy bank. Lori would take it to New York and use it to get established, so that by the time I arrived, everything would be set.”(223) Lori and Jeannette work to earn money so they can leave. They named the piggy bank that they keep their money in Oz because New York City seems like The Emerald City to them. The two sisters went through so many struggles growing up they are determined to leave Welch and begin a new and better life. “ ‘I’ll never get out of here,’ Lori kept saying. ‘I’ll never get out of here.’ ‘You will,’ I said. ‘I swear it.’ I believed she would. Because I knew that if Lori never got out of Welch, neither would I.” (229). Lori and Jeannette have had a tough childhood and they need to escape Welch. They know that if they stay in Welch their life will always be full of challenges. New York is their escape from a life full of hardships and challenges. “I wondered if he was hoping that his favorite girl would come back, or if he was hoping that, unlike him, she would make it out for good.” (241). When Jeannette leaves her dad lost hope. He has always let his kids down and New York City is their escape. New York City represents their freedom. Their freedom from a life full of
In William Faulkner's 1930 short story "A Rose for Emily," the protagonist, Miss Emily Grierson is a desperately lonely woman. Miss Emily finds herself completely isolated from other people her entire life, yet somehow manages to continue on with her head held high. French philosopher and writer Voltaire said "We are rarely proud when we are alone," but Miss Emily's case is quite the opposite. The strength that Miss Emily gains from pride is what helps her through the loneliest of times.
Clearly a perfectionist in the art of deception, Becky Sharp, a young woman with serpentine sentiments, slithers her way into the aristocratic society that composes the hollow cortex of Vanity Fair. With unremitting cupidity, Becky exploits all those she encounters for the sole purpose of ameliorating her own situation, both financially and socially. Commencing her mission...
Allison has had a bitter past full of moments which have scarred her personality. She uses these and writes about the world that few are willing to admit exists. Many find refuge behind their gregarious nature and take comfort in religion or other bodies. However, that does not change the facts of what the world is and how it got there. Allison exposes her audience to these facts, and in the process, she shares her own view.
From her early childhood, Cathy commits crimes unimaginable to any stable individual. She cannot distinguish right from wrong and finds pleasure in cruelty. Steinbeck uses Cathy to display what an innately evil woman truly looks like. He introduces her by explaining how one may be “born without kindness” or “the potential of conscious,” just as one might be born without an arm (95). Cathy Ames happens to be brought into the world with the traits and qualities which drive her to sin all her life. From birth, she differs from others, and uses her differences to shake up the world around her. She comes into the world lacking the capabilities to ever be considered a “normal” woman. Her upbringings did not bring her to this because her parents support her and always want the best for her. Cathy, given everything she wants, possesses no reason to act deceptively; she cannot change. She often resembles an animal, hurting Sam Hamilton the “way a terrier” attacks a sack (253). Cathy even admits she “would rather be a dog” than a human (321). Over time, as her craving for power and domination increases, she becomes more monstrous and almost inhuman.
The reader reads in order to feel sorrow for the protagonist in a manner the reader can assimilate. Yet, it seems that the nature of Margaret’s thoughts is inherently dialogic or, to work with Duke’s terms, empathic: neither Margaret nor the reader uses the text in order to solicit pity from the other. What function would a “pity party” serve a reader by herself? To the contra...
Her low self-esteem makes it difficult for Laura to interact in society causing her to be more comfortable living in her imagination. John takes note of his sister diffident personality and tries to make Amanda understand, "[…]in the eyes of others-strangers-she 's terribly shy and lives in a world of her own and those things make her seem a little peculiar to people outside the house"(Williams 47). Being so self conscious about her disability, Laura allowed herself to become distant from the world around her. Laura creates this distance by escaping “[...] into a world of glass and music. Her father 's old phonograph records provide her with escape that the unfamiliar new tunes can 't provide”(). Laura finds comfort in what she is familiar with which is why she flees into her world of imagination and memory. When Laura is unable to deal with real life issues and duties she seeks tranquility in her delicate glass figurines and the remains of her father before he choose to elude the
Her lionhearted clothes reflected her valiant and strong attitude. However – Elisa Allen hid her true feelings. She was deceitful in interpersonal communication. Her tongue spilled bittersweet black smut like that of industrialized coal engines. However – it was compassionate, her concern and subtle behavior. A girl screaming to escape maiden life, but only knew it was disrupt order. “Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. “The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy.” Verily, she had the heart of a lion and the appearance of a virgin.
Characterization plays an important role when conveying how one’s personality can disintegrate by living in a restrictive society. Although Kat is slowly loosing her mind, in the story, she is portrayed as a confident woman who tries to strive for excellence. This can be seen when she wants to name the magazine “All the Rage”. She claims that “it’s a forties sounds” and that “forties is back” (311). However the board of directors, who were all men, did not approve. They actually “though it was too feminist, of all things” (311). This passage not only shows how gender opportunities is apparent in the society Kat lives in, but also shows the readers why Kat starts to loose her mind.
Misogyny is a major obstacle that Sara must overcome on her journey to justice. According to Webster’s new world college dictionary, misogyny is the “hatred of women”. In fact, ...
Cisneros' Barbie-Q really stood out as a great piece of literature. Barbie-Q is a quick glimpse into the life of a poverty-stricken child and her way of life. Though my life as of yet has been rather short, my earliest childhood memories are overwhelmingly my fondest and her account really struck a chord. Sandra Cisneros' accurate reflection of a young mind and intricate writing methods expressed great emotion. Her portrayal of a child's mentality evoked my childhood recollections while her realistic tale of childhood bliss in the midst of poverty caused great empathy on my part making this my preferred work we studied.
In New York, however, Cocoa finds herself amongst a group of people who seem distant and interested in only themselves. Stemming from many different backgrounds, the people of New York are always in a rush and "moving, moving, moving ---and to where?" (19). No one knows for sure. Just like the subways, racism in New York moved underground, and Cocoa experiences it as she desperately searches for a job. After having lived in New York for seven years, Cocoa still has not found a suitable mate. Only when she meets George does she start believing again in the goodness and sincerity possessed by some. George is t...
Anne was not a very good student. She did not like school at all. She could not focus on her studies and her disobedience towards her teachers made them talk to her parents to seek for a counselor. But, her parents did not take the teacher’s advice. Anne’s parents sent her to a boarding school called Rogers Hall in Lowell, Massachusetts. At that time, she started writing poetry and acting. Her beauty charmed many men towards her. At the age o...
She is marginalize from society by her partner and she has to live in the shadows of him. She is unbelievably happy when she found out about the death of her husband. She expresses her feelings of freedom in her room where she realize she will live by herself. This illustrates that Louise has been living in an inner-deep life disconnected form the outside world where only on her room away from family and friends she discovers her feelings. It is important to mention that even though Louise has a sister, she does not feel the trust to communicate her sentiments towards her. We discover a marginalization from family members and more surprising from a women, Louise’s sister. The narrator strictly described Louise’s outside world but vividly reveals what is in her mind. At the same time she feels guilty of her emotional state by recognizing that she loved Brently mallard sometimes, her husband. Louise contradict herself but this demonstrates her emotional feelings about her husband disregarding her marriage. The situation of this woman represents the unhappiness and disgraceful life that women had to suffer from their