In The Invention of the World, Jack Hodgins invites us to consider an alternative dystopia in which fantasy and reality converge to create sense and constance in an otherwise chaotic existence. Unleashing an arsenal of characters in two parallel worlds, Hodgins attempts to uncover the mysteries of people, and he delves into the paradoxical genre of magic realism, a term coined by Franz Roh in 1925, to achieve this. Focussing on characterization, The Invention of the World offers sufficient surrealism to provide fictional entertainment, whilst cleverly grounding his mythical tale in a relatable reality inspired by history and realism. Specifically, Hodgins offers a lens into the lives of a number of characters. Arguably, Maggie Kyle and Wade Powers achieve contentment on their pilgrimage to Ireland through self-reflection and internal enlightenment; conversely, Kineally and Becker, seek to achieve their constance through the manipulation, exploitation and dependence on other people in their lives. Hodgin’s novel traces the journey of these characters and evokes consideration of the effects of our choices on the long-term equilibrium of our existence and self-enlightenment.
From the beginning of the tale, the motif of travel predominates. As Becker “[waves] your car down the ramp onto the government ferry...” (vii) we are not only introduced to the setting, but also the idea that Becker has a certain authority and inclination to control that journey. As Becker researches, documents and attempts to quantify the tale of Donal Keneally and his rise as founder of the “Colony of the Revelation of Truth”, we learn of his dissonance and inability to find contentment. Becker’s energy on the pilgrimage “[was] wild with trying to take eve...
... middle of paper ...
...17). With Wade’s turbulent waters eventually settled by Maggie, this resonating re-birth enables both characters to realize a happiness that can only be found within.
To conclude, Hodgins’s entrancing tale merges fact with fiction, magic with reality, and chaos with romance. While Becker and Keneally ultimately fail in their attempts to create, using pride and ambition as fuel towards constancy, Hodgins creates a poetic final scene in which Wade and Maggie Powers symbolically unite in matrimony, ironically wed by Horseman, Wade’s sagely nemesis, amongst the chaos of thrown insults, wielded chainsaws, food fights and terrible music, Maggie is, significantly, able to “[stand up, beside her husband, ready” (353). Through the magic of myth, Hodgins teaches us to find a place where we can be satisfied, enjoy who we are, and appreciate the important people around us.
Faris, Wendy B. "Scherazade's Children: Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995.
According to writer Barry Wood, the central theme of Robertson Davies’, Fifth Business, can be characterized as “the plight of the imagination in this chilly cultural climate” (Wood 24). The theme of small town life and isolation serve as a common thread throughout the book, and Davies’ juxtaposition of the mundane with magic, sainthood and mythical transformation identifies both the narrative and the literary composition of the book itself. The trivialities of life in rural Ontario, contrast with this sense of creation, and mythic journey towards sainthood; a literary mechanism of which Davies develops in order to convey “the universality of the realms of imagination as against the parochial mediocrity of an ordinary world.” The
Advancements in technology and science contributed to one the most gory and bloodiest war in the annals of human existence. These new technological advancements revolutionized how people regarded war. War was no longer where the opposite forces fought in a coordinated battle. War evolved into game of cunning strategy where the side with the bigger, powerful, and smarter toys played better. This led to a fierce competition where each side tried to create the smarter machines and better weapons, leading to deadly mass killing weapons in the process. One weapon or machine was created and an even better one was made. New developments such as machine guns, poison gas, tanks, and new strategy to thwart trench warfare affected how WWI was fought and it came with catastrophic results.
And it is in those pages that we find a hero of our own. Moll Flanders, born to a convicted thief, was orphaned the day she was born as the state carried out the sentence of death put upon her mother. Moll landed at the foot of the Church, learning how to read, to pray and to fend off hypocrisy and the groping hand of the priest in the bargain. Leaving the Church in an unorthodox manner, Moll bounced from home to home, finding herself too much for some and too little to ward off others. Along the way, she learned to laugh and to limp because of the kindness and cruelty that abound in our worlds. It was in the kindness that Moll found herself bound in love to an unlikely artist and it was in that union Flora was conceived.
5. Brian McHale has suggested that ‘among the oldest of the classical ontological themes in poetics is that of the otherness of the fictional world, its separation from the real world of experience’. In The Magic Toyshop we learn that ‘Melanie swam like a blind, earless fish in a sea of sedation, where there was no time or memory but only dreams’. Write an essay on Carter’s exploitation of the fluid boundary between reality and fantasy in the novel.
Johannes Gutenberg, a creator of the Renaissance, invented one of the greatest devices of all time, the printing press. Gutenberg was born in 1398 in Mainz, Germany to his parents, Friele and Else Gensfliesch. He also had two brothers. Not many people during Gutenberg’s time could read. But he was determined to be able to read. The only books back then were written by hand by monks and were very hard to come by. These books were also very expensive and would take a couple months to make. Because of this inconvenience, all books were preordered ahead of time so that the monks could have enough time to write them and get them to the person buying them when they needed the book. Gutenberg had a few other jobs before he became an inventor. He was a gemstone cutter and polisher and he was also a goldsmith before his inventing days. He also made designs in metal; this is where all his ideas and thinking began.
The literary works of Samuel Beckett and Franz Kafka have created environments in which the characters are implanted into ludacris and gloom filled realities. The characters are in absurd situations with no explanation of the events that are happening, or going to happen. The question stands, why did these authors place the characters in these destroyed worlds with no hope of resolution? I argue that the history of the authors and the environments in which they lived has a direct correlation to the charactaracters and the dark writing styles of the authors. To relate the characters and environments of the stories to the authors lives, one must first take a look at the history of the authors as well as characters. Looking at the lives of Beckett and Kafka at the time these stories were being written can help to determine the mindset and styles of both authors and how they relate their own real life problems to their characters fictional settings.
Faris Wendy B.. "Scheherazade's Children: Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction" Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Wendy Faris and Zamora. Duke University Press, Durham and London,1995.163-190.
Faris, Wendy B. "Scheherazade's Children: Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction". Magical Realism Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkison Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham Duke U.P., 1995. 163-190.
People today have been over powered with 21st Century technology. Now-a-days people don’t have enough energy just because of the new technology. Let’s go back in time and think about eye-catching inventions in the old times and how it changed the world and everyday life. The telephone! Imagine, a world without smartphones but only speed-dial phones. Yes, those are the kinds of phones that are very popular long ago but the question is “How does the new invention change our daily lives?” For one thing, it would take you about 3-5 minutes just to make a phone call an plus, it is not at all portable. Mainly, telephones back then are way different from telephones today.
Many people know the culture-shaped story of Alice falling down the rabbit hole, into a dream-like adventure that has impacted the world. But not many people know about the real mystery, how it was created and how the world reacted to it. That is the actual magic, how the book that was shaped by 1800s English culture, affected the rest of the world’s culture from that point on. Dodgson’s work of art paints a picture of the childish outlook that was looked down upon during the Victorian period.
Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on 11 February 1847. He died in Orange, New Jersey on 18 October 1931. It can be said that Thomas Edison was one of the most influential people of the 19th century. Thomas Edison was responsible for many inventions that influenced America to become a more modernized country. His inventions are some of the most important inventions to date. Some examples of his inventions are the iridescent light bulb, carbon microphone, and the Kinetoscope or movie camera. Thomas Edison was a prism of history.
O’Brien Schaefer, Josephine. The Three-fold Nature of Reality in the Novels of Virginia Woolf. The Hague: Mouton and Co., 1965, pp. 111-13, 118-25. (Latham, pg. 72-78).
Many inventors have left their mark on society. One inventor, in particular, is commonly found at the top of the list of the greatest inventors in world history. He has influenced and impacted many facets of our lives. His inventions laid the foundation of many industries and products which still exist today.
Blanche is a delusional character who creates life from her imagination to help her pass through the hardness of life. Blanche admits that living in fantasy is much better than living in reality. When she was talking to her lover “Mitch”, she admits that the world of fantasy is much kinder as she says, “I don't want realism. I want magic!” (Williams, 117). Blanche does not care if this magic is factual or not. The importance of magic to Blanche is that she has the choice to choose fantasy which allows her to believe in and hope for something better than harsh world. She is aware of that, making the world as attractive as sh...