Larry Watson, in “Montana 1948”, uses the motif of light and silence in many ways to develop, clarify and reinforce ideas about truth and injustice, and portray the nature of some characters. He illustrates the injustice in Bentrock through the motif of light and then demonstrates to the reader the occurrence of something wrong through the motif of silence. The motif of light also sometimes assists the motif of silence to emphasize the significance of the event.
Watson utilises the two motifs to effectively depict that 'Montana 1948' is a tale about the struggle between truth and justice in a racist society. During the tragic events which take place in the 'Wild West' town of Bentrock, misuse of power and reputation is seen through the tyrannical
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The silence foreshadows major role reversal as Gail argues for the law and Wes answers that God will punish Frank. Gale is outraged and upset. She argues “sins – crimes – are not supposed to go unpunished” (p 85). Wes argues that Frank will stop and prosecuting Frank will cause more harm. Wesley says after a moment of ‘silence’ that Frank would ‘have to meet his punishment in the hereafter’ and that he ‘won’t do anything to arrange it in this life’ (p 85). The motif of light is used to assist in the foreshadowing, as they ‘left for Bentrock after dark’ (p 84), highlighting that justice will be hidden if Wes decides to let Frank go. The author has very effectively used the two motifs in combination to indicate that justice is not …show more content…
David comes home one day and realizes something is wrong, then it struck him, ‘it was the silence’ (pg 62).The motif of ‘silence’ is used for impact that something is wrong and David turns on the radio and turns the volume up to try to right things. The music represents Marie – big, bold and full of life. Its absence indicates that she is ‘missing’ from the home. The fact that the radio had rarely been on since Marie fell ill, foreshadows something wrong is imminent.
The motif of light furthermore foreshadows Uncle Frank’s true nature. David sees Uncle Frank outside his house before Marie’s death. When Frank is filling out the Certificate of Death, David sees his bag in a mystical way, imagining that ‘if its black mouth opened, it could swallow all the light in the room’ (pg. 87). Light here represents truth and justice, and certainly it has been swallowed at that moment. The motif here is used to reveal the true character of Frank and his dark
His outside actions of touching the wall and looking at all the names are causing him to react internally. He is remembering the past and is attempting to suppress the emotions that are rising within him. The first two lines of the poem set the mood of fear and gloom which is constant throughout the remainder of the poem. The word choice of "black" to describe the speaker's face can convey several messages (502). The most obvious meaning ... ...
A single point is similar between these two examples in the novels To Kill a Mockingbird & Indian Horse - the hardships that both blacks and Native Americans face simply because the colour of their skin differs from that of the “normal” whites. A point that makes these two races different from each other in regards to the racism that they endure, and have endured throughout history, is that the black race is headed towards hope and success for the future. An instance where this fact is proven, as Native Americans are not headed towards success, is highlighted in Indian Horse. Over the course of the novel, Saul Indian Horse has many positive and negative events occur. His emotions sky-rocket, but then soon after they plummet to the seemingly lowest they could go. As Saul progresses through the ranks of hockey, he also becomes greater familiar to the racism that abides in the world. Virgil assists Saul with the concept of “The Line”. The white race in this novel has a mindset that Native Americans have to earn the right to cross “The Line” (Wagamese 136). Soon after this realization, Saul begins to see more cases of “Lines” popping up around his life. “I started to see a line in every arena we played
The mood established by Edgar Allan Poe in his short story, "The Cask of Amontillado," plays a crucial role in conveying to the reader his underlying theme. For example, when Montresor, the narrator, st...
Director Jim Jarmusch’s film Deadman displays many of the accepted conventions for Western genre films, but manipulated in such a way as to create a revisionist, rather than a classical, western. The most obvious example of this manipulation are the characterizations of the hero, William Blake, and his Native American partner, Nobody. Blake is an awkward easterner who travels westward unaware of the different rules governing western life, instead of the rugged, knowledgeable outdoorsman who “does what he has to do” to defend justice and honor. Nobody’s character is unusually independent, educated, and kind towards Blake, instead of the traditional Western genre’s violent, unintelligent Indian.
William Faulkner overwhelms his audience with the visual perceptions that the characters experience, making the reader feel utterly attached to nature and using imagery how a human out of despair can make accusations. "If I jump off the porch I will be where the fish was, and it all cut up into a not-fish now. I can hear the bed and her face and them and I can...
For example, the passage takes place in Giovanni’s room, which is a small, crowded room. When David describes the room, he describes it as messy and with trash everywhere. Sensory image is used to amplify how messy Giovanni’s room is. David says, “The table was loaded with yellowing newspapers and empty bottles and it held a single brown and wrinkled potato in which even the sprouting eyes were rotten” (Baldwin 87). David later admits, “I examined the contents of the innumerable boxes and suitcases and disposed of them” (Baldwin 88). Sight imagery is described with the yellowing newspapers, empty bottles, boxes and suitcases which emphasize how disorganized Giovanni’s room was. The description of Giovanni’s room foreshadows how messy David’s and Giovanni’s relationship is. David admits, “Each day he invited me to witness how he changed, how love had changed him, how he worked and sang and cherished me. I was in terrible confusion.” David does not know how to feel about Giovanni, his thoughts and emotions about him are all over the place like the newspapers, suitcases and empty bottles in the room, but at the same time he likes being in Giovanni’s room because it allows him to feel safe and makes him feel appreciated. Giovanni’s appreciation for David is shown when David reveals how Giovanni is grateful when David is in his company, he says, “…Giovanni smiled his humble,
Cormac McCarthy's brilliant descriptions of the landscape of the desert southwest in Blood Meridian can be seen to have a dual purpose. In one sense they are the lone highlight of a novel filled with gruesome realities. In analyzing the setting's features and connections to the novel's plot and theme, the reader can see that the setting is an element vital in plausibility of the plot and the understanding of the novel's underlying meaning.
Somewhere out in the Old West wind kicks up dust off a lone road through a lawless town, a road once dominated by men with gun belts attached at the hip, boots upon their feet and spurs that clanged as they traversed the dusty road. The gunslinger hero, a man with a violent past and present, a man who eventually would succumb to the progress of the frontier, he is the embodiment of the values of freedom and the land the he defends with his gun. Inseparable is the iconography of the West in the imagination of Americans, the figure of the gunslinger is part of this iconography, his law was through the gun and his boots with spurs signaled his arrival, commanding order by way of violent intentions. The Western also had other iconic figures that populated the Old West, the lawman, in contrast to the gunslinger, had a different weapon to yield, the law. In the frontier, his belief in law and order as well as knowledge and education, brought civility to the untamed frontier. The Western was and still is the “essential American film genre, the cornerstone of American identity.” (Holtz p. 111) There is a strong link between America’s past and the Western film genre, documenting and reflecting the nations changes through conflict in the construction of an expanding nation. Taking the genres classical conventions, such as the gunslinger, and interpret them into the ideology of America. Thus The Western’s classical gunslinger, the personification of America’s violent past to protect the freedoms of a nation, the Modernist takes the familiar convention and buries him to signify that societies attitude has change towards the use of diplomacy, by way of outmoding the gunslinger in favor of the lawman, taming the frontier with civility.
Loyalty is one of the ethics that is instilled in a person at a young age. Loyalty can range from loyalty to a family member, friend, teammate, ect. In Larry Watson's, Montana 1948, the summer of 1948 tests the loyalty of each character and is told through the eyes of a young boy, David. The picture was clear to David when Marie was Murdered. Through this tragic event David was able to read each family member determining whether they were loyal or whether they would betray.
One of the themes discussed by Steinbeck is race. Although the dust bowl affected a large number of American farmers, those who migrated west were mostly Caucasian farmers. Nonetheless there are a few instances of racial tension in the novel that prove to be significant. The topic of race is not as much an overlying subject compared to the other themes of the novel. The subject of race is mostly visible in discussions between characters. Steinbeck subtly placed the issue of race in the dialogue of his characters. A perfect example of this is found...
All in all, the treatment of the American Indian during the expansion westward was cruel and harsh. Thus, A Century of Dishonor conveys the truth about the frontier more so than the frontier thesis. Additionally, the common beliefs about the old west are founded in lies and deception. The despair that comes with knowing that people will continue to believe in these false ideas is epitomized by Terrell’s statement, “Perhaps nothing will ever penetrate the haze of puerile romance with which writers unfaithful to their profession and to themselves have surrounded the westerner who made a living in the saddle” (Terrell 182).
In a desperate attempt to discover his true identity, the narrator decides to go back to Wisconsin. He was finally breaking free from captivity. The narrator was filling excitement and joy on his journey back home. He remembers every town and every stop. Additionally, he admires the natural beauty that fills the scenery. In contrast to the “beauty of captivity” (320), he felt on campus, this felt like freedom. No doubt, that the narrator is more in touch with nature and his Native American roots than the white civilized culture. Nevertheless, as he gets closer to home he feels afraid of not being accepted, he says “… afraid of being looked on as a stranger by my own people” (323). He felt like he would have to prove himself all over again, only this time it was to his own people. The closer the narrator got to his home, the happier he was feeling. “Everything seems to say, “Be happy! You are home now—you are free” (323). Although he felt as though he had found his true identity, he questioned it once more on the way to the lodge. The narrator thought, “If I am white I will not believe that story; if I am Indian, I will know that there is an old woman under the ice” (323). The moment he believed, there was a woman under the ice; He realized he had found his true identity, it was Native American. At that moment nothing but that night mattered, “[he], try hard to forget school and white people, and be one of these—my people.” (323). He
Short stories have particular settings to supplement their themes. The eerie catacombs during a carnival in “The Cask of Amontillado” supplement the themes of revenge, and deception, which the protagonist takes responsibility in; whereas in “Hills Like White Elephants”, the atmosphere around the Spanish train station emphasizes the themes of miscommunication between characters and their evasion of responsibilities.
Although the work is 40 years old, “Custer Died for Your Sins” is still relevant and valuable in explaining the history and problems that Indians face in the United States. Deloria’s book reveals the White view of Indians as false compared to the reality of how Indians are in real life. The forceful intrusion of the U.S. Government and Christian missionaries have had the most oppressing and damaging affect on Indians. There is hope in Delorias words though. He believes that as more tribes become more politically active and capable, they will be able to become more economically independent for future generations. He feels much hope in the 1960’s generation of college age Indians returning to take ownership of their tribes problems and build a better future for their children.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...