Literary Analysis: Survival of the Wildest

543 Words2 Pages

In the novel, Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley, the author creates a self-serving sense in the characters. The writer uses straightforward style in order to create the milieu of the book and illustrates that dire situations will bring out the instinct of survival. The readers can see how the main character Easy Rawlins accepts a questionable job in order to pay the mortgage on his house. Mr. Albright hired Easy to find the whereabouts of Daphne Monet. As events unfold Easy discovers new information about why he was hired to find Daphne. He uses the new found info to his advantage by withholding it to gain more money. The main protagonist, Easy, illustrates an underlying theme of how most people only do things that benefit themselves as well as some who are willing to go beyond conventional lengths in order to succeed.
The novel starts as Easy Rawlins is sitting in “Joppy's bar”, an old run-down bar, illustrates the main character's economic status and that he is trying to drink his troubles away. He accepts the job offer from a man who has a grip “like a snake coiling around” ...

Show More
Related

  • Literary Analysis: The Day Brushes Its Curtains Aside

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many poets use different types of figurative language to express themselves and convey a message, theme, or idea. In the poem The Day Brushes Its Curtains Aside, by Jimmy Santiago Baca, he describes a man in prison by using figurative language. Reading this poem has helped me grasp a deeper understanding of different ways an author can incorporate figurative language to make the reader feel as if they are in the story right next to the character.

    Read More

  • Tartuffe And Pangloss Literary Analysis

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    Religion can be a powerful form of indoctrination. Religion in the case of Orgon and Voltaire’s situations were used to bypass all critical thought and vetting of their respective influencers. Malice and ignorance often lead to the same conclusions, but intention is key. By aligning with their subjects’ belief systems and establishing themselves, Tartuffe and Pangloss respectively, as powers of authority could sway their subordinates. Though Tartuffe and Pangloss both have authority and hidden motives; the overall means and intentions vary in their approaches.

    Read More

  • TKAM: Literary Analysis Paper

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the depths of the Great Depression. A lawyer named Atticus Finch is called to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. The story is told from one of Atticus’s children, the mature Scout’s point of view. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch Family faces many struggles and difficulties. In To Kill a Mockingbird, theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based off an author’s opinion about a subject. The theme innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols.

    Read More

  • Our Kids Literary Analysis

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a country like the United States of America, with a history of every individual having an equal opportunity to reach their dreams, it becomes harder and harder to grasp the reality that equal opportunity is diminishing as the years go on. The book Our Kids by Robert Putnam illustrates this reality and compares life during the 1950’s and today’s society and how it has gradually gotten to a point of inequality. In particular, he goes into two touching stories, one that shows the changes in the communities we live in and another that illustrates the change of family structure. In the end he shows how both stories contribute to the American dream slipping away from our hands.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Often fear of one evil leads us into a worse”(Despreaux). Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux is saying that fear consumes oneself and often times results in a worse fate. William Golding shares a similar viewpoint in his novel Lord of the Flies. A group of boys devastatingly land on a deserted island. Ralph and his friend Piggy form a group. Slowly, they become increasingly fearful. Then a boy named Jack rebels and forms his own tribe with a few boys such as Roger and Bill. Many things such as their environment, personalities and their own minds contribute to their change. Eventually, many of the boys revert to their inherently evil nature and become savage and only two boys remain civilized. The boys deal with many trials, including each other, and true colors show. In the end they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: Combining Culture and Tradition

    1828 Words  | 4 Pages

    History is rich with culture and tradition. Culture and traditions greatly influence people’s behaviors, the way they perceive others, and the way they are perceived by others. Environment also plays into the development of culture and the decisions people make. Although each person has an individualized idea of what culture is and practices their own unique traditions, the fact remains true that every human being is subject to the effects of culture and tradition. Three classic authors accurately portray culture through setting and tradition in order to affect the reader’s view toward the characters and the authors themselves in Zora Neale Hurston’s “The Gilded Six-Bits”, Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, and John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable.

    Read More

  • Measure For Measure Literary Analysis

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play Measure For Measure by William Shakespeare many twist and turns are made to create the plot of the play. The play is a comical relief play meaning that the play will end in multiple marriages, and throughout the play there will be random places where the scene will bring back the attention of the people in the audience who were drinking alcohol beverages. The play has five major characters along with few other minor characters who develop the plot of the play as well.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Literary Analysis Essay

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lord of the Flies is a novel written by William Golding in 1954 about a group of young British boys who have been stranded alone together on an island with no adults. During the novel the diverse group of boys struggle to create structure within a society that they constructed by themselves. Golding uses many unique literary devices including characterization, imagery, symbolism and many more. The three main characters, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack are each representative of the three main literary devices, ethos, logos, and pathos. Beyond the characterization the novel stands out because of Golding’s dramatic use of objective symbolism, throughout the novel he uses symbols like the conch, fire, and Piggy’s glasses to represent how power has evolved and to show how civilized or uncivilized the boys are acting. It is almost inarguable that the entire novel is one big allegory in itself, the way that Golding portrays the development of savagery among the boys is a clear representation of how society was changing during the time the novel was published. Golding is writing during

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Edgar Allan Poe’s story The Fall of the House of Usher, the character Roderick Usher exhibits severe mental illness. Most of Poe’s writings are psychological in nature. The Fall of the House of Usher is a great example of this. Poe’s life was filled with many tragic events. The unpleasant outcome of his early years resulted in a great Gothic Romantic writer. He is a master of writing psychological thrillers, adding suspense and mystery in his stories. The topics of his writings are a concoction of unpleasant, austere, and grotesque things, thus the reader can be left feeling squeamish and susceptible. We are drawn into Poe’s stories by our intrinsic human nature of curiosity and intrigue. This paper gives examples of Poe’s literary style as we examine Roderick’s metal state through his words and appearance.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    This was by far my least favorite paper of all of them simply because "The Dubliners" is incredibly hard to understand when you don't have enough time to read back through it like I had previously to understand the other stories. "The Dead" and "The Sister's" are two different stories. "The Dead" is the longest story in "The Dubliners" and the most difficult to understand because of the many different themes running through it. While "The Sisters" is much shorter than the latter, with an easier storyline.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Money In Walter Mosley's Devil In A Blue Dress

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Walter Mosley’s novel Devil in a Blue Dress written in 1948, the influence of money acts as a major theme in the novel. Mosley uses Easy Rawlins, an African American man as the protagonist of the novel. The novel is a representation of multiple inequalities between race and power. The plot begins in the novel when Easy loses his job causing him to do anything in order to earn money and make mortgage payments. His life is seen to exhibit some form of transformation; Easy was able to transform from being a laborer to a detective. With each of Mosley’s main characters captivated by money and power; the American dream, the plot is affected. There are various instances of crime in the novel and crime rises as a consequence of money.

    Read More

  • The Sleeper Literary Analysis Essay

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    Death can both be a painful and serious topic, but in the hands of the right poet it can be so natural and eloquently put together. This is the case in The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe, as tackles the topic of death in an uncanny way. This poem is important, because it may be about the poet’s feelings towards his mother’s death, as well as a person who is coming to terms with a loved ones passing. In the poem, Poe presents a speaker who uses various literary devices such as couplet, end-stopped line, alliteration, image, consonance, and apostrophe to dramatize coming to terms with the death of a loved one.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies: Literary Analysis

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Much of history’s most renown literature have real-world connections hidden in them, although they may be taxing uncover. William Golding’s classic, Lord of the Flies, is no exception. In this work of art, Golding uses the three main characters, Piggy, Jack, and Ralph, to symbolize various aspects of human nature through their behaviors, actions, and responses.

    Read More

  • Never Let Me Go Literary Analysis

    1463 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go, Miss Lucy and Miss Emily set up two contrasting perspectives between rigid reality and the luxury of lies. Throughout the novel, there are plenty of examples where both perspectives show positive and negative effects between lying and telling the truth Its hard to say who is right but exploring both point of views will give insight on what’s best for the children. It is clear that Miss Lucy wants to tell the truth because it is immoral to lie about someone’s most important part of their identity and she believes it is humane thing to do; however, Miss Emily feels as if it is better to lie for the sake of a happy childhood and to ultimately figure out if the children have souls. With this, we perceive

    Read More

More about Literary Analysis: Survival of the Wildest

Open Document