The disposition and temperament of a character is revealed to a reader by the author throughout any work of literature, but a vast portion of the characterization occurs in specific instances at certain key points in the plot of a novel or play. This excerpt about Jude and Sue, from Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, exposes significant insights into their true intentions and emotions of themselves, others, and life in general. This author engenders a unique persona for each of the inhabitants of these two houses by utilizing a forlorn tone and gruesome diction, alongside symbolism that emulates the current situations in which the two characters find themselves ensnared.
In the beginning, the author introduces the characters simultaneously, each with an equally "lonely and disheartened" mood enveloping them(lines 2, 3). The individual circumstances are overlooked in order to capture both of their forsaken feelings together, which leads the reader to envision a connection between the two; this foreshadows a possible surreptitious relationship, especially when he "question[s] his devotional model"(l.3). When he questions himself, he shows the signs of a low confidence level, which could reveal a low self-esteem and possibly an introverted, quiet personality; the semicolon that precedes this passage reveals even more about Jude, because it connects the "lonely and disheartened" tone around this part of the passage with his opinions about himself, leading to the conclusion that he does not trust his own judgment and has possibly made similar errors in the past(ll.2, 3). Jude watches the house as it "disappear[s] behind the night shade," mirroring his waning chances of encountering Sue, which further establishes his hidde...
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...ned by an event that does not interrupt the plot but is just as effective at uncovering the actual meaning and connections in the plot itself.
In the story about Jude and Sue, Thomas Hardy was able to interconnect the story of a rabbit and a couple in such a way that the significance of the scene was not detracted from, and he was still able to convey his point. He used diction that denotes confinement and a tone that captures the separation that Jude and Sue feel in order to reflect his actual thoughts on marriage, and he symbolized a very important interaction by way of a seemingly insignificant act in order to show a hidden but powerful connection. Through all this, Hardy fully exposes the nature and predicament of both Sue and Jude so that the reader is able to understand, and anyone can relate to the universal, core feelings expressed in this excerpt.
In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Poisonwood Bible, characters Adah and Rachel Price differ in their outlooks on life. Adah contrasts Rachel with her inside reality, her dark fiction, as well as her dependence on others due to her slant. Rachel, on the other hand, loves the outside reality, compares her life to that of a light fairy tale, and is independent. Kingsolver’s choice of two vastly different characters aids in the demonstration of the complexity each character has. In order to portray each character’s aspects, Kingsolver uses forms of diction, metaphors, and symbolism.
Jane Smiley’s novel, A Thousand Acres, is a bold, modern day response paralleling William Shakespeare’s play, King Lear through both plot and characterization choices. King Lear is based on a King’s difficult decision of dividing his precious kingdom between his daughters, whose names are Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Likewise, A Thousand Acres centres around Larry Cook regretfully signing his land to his daughters Ginny, Rose, and Caroline. Both fathers make the mistake of leaving their youngest daughters out of the division, and are ultimately driven into insanity because of the drama that unfolds as a result. Smiley attempts to recreate King Lear from the point of view of Ginny, the Goneril equivalent. She alters Ginny in making her far more compassionate and quiet than Goneril is portrayed by Shakespeare all while still maintaining some of her undesirable behaviours. Smiley creates both noticeable discrepancies and resemblances in the character’s traits and actions in juxtaposing the protagonist, Ginny, and her Shakespearean counterpart, Goneril, as she adapts this famed play into a modern day novel.
Sherwood Anderson depicts all the characters throughout his 24 short stories as a grotesque. He prefaces most of the stories with the old writer’s definition of what it means to be a grotesque. This definition frames how the book is to be interpreted throughout the different stories. Anderson paints every character as a grotesque. However, he does not paint them in the same light. What may make one person a grotesque may not make another person a grote...
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
For a writer, stylistic devices are key to impacting a reader through one’s writing and conveying a theme. For example, Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates use of these stylistic techniques in his short stories “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The former story is about a party held by a wealthy prince hiding from a fatal disease, known as the Red Death. However, a personified Red Death kills all of the partygoers. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is about a man who visits his mentally ill childhood companion, Roderick Usher. At the climax of the story, Roderick’s twin sister, Madeline, murders him after he buries her alive. Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories employ the stylistic decisions of symbolism, dream-like imagery, and tone to affect the reader by furthering understanding of the theme and setting and evoking emotion in readers.
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
Edgar Allan Poe has a unique writing style that uses several different elements of literary structure. He uses intrigue vocabulary, repetition, and imagery to better capture the reader’s attention and place them in the story. Edgar Allan Poe’s style is dark, and his is mysterious style of writing appeals to emotion and drama. What might be Poe’s greatest fictitious stories are gothic tend to have the same recurring theme of either death, lost love, or both. His choice of word draws the reader in to engage them to understand the author’s message more clearly. Authors who have a vague short lexicon tend to not engage the reader as much.
Di Yanni, Robert. “Character Revealed Through Dialogue.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Literature. N. p.: Random House, 1986.
The Themes of Loss and Loneliness in Hardy's Poetry Introduction = == == == ==
Wood, Tahir. Author's Characters and the Character of the Author: The Typical in Fiction." Journal of Literary Semantics 40.2 (2011): 159-176. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Mar. 2012." Print.
Hardy uses imagery throughout the novel in order to explicitly define the ways in which life is unjust. This injustice is first displayed at Prince?s death, then again at his burial. Hardy chooses specific words to enable the reader to see exactly what is happing. He describes the mail-cart to be ?speeding along?like an arrow.? He explains that the mail-cart had ?driven into her slow and unlighted equipage,? and now the horse?s ?life?s blood was spouting in a stream and falling with a hiss into the road.? (Hardy 22). The descriptive words, such as ?speeding,? ?arrow,? ?driven,? ?unlighted,? ?spouting,? and ?hiss? allow the reader?s senses to capture the enormity of the situation. This quote also helps the reader to envision the misery of the situation. Tess is only attempting to help her family by bringing the hives to market to draw some income them. Her desire to help her family backfires with Prince?s accidental death, as he was their only form of income. The desperation induced by Prince?s death is shown when Hardy explains that Mr. Durbeyfield worked harder than ever before in digging a grave for Prince. Hardy states that the young girls ?discharged their griefs in loud blares,? and that when Prince was ?tumbled in? the family gathered around the grave (Hardy 24). Hard...
The gothic often presents dangling characters and plot lines, which contribute to the main point of the gothic: suspense. Brown’s works depend on the use of suspense as a literary technique and is evident in Wieland within Clara’s first person point of view narrative. Her constant reflections on how difficult it is for her to continue on with the series of events. Such actions, although they may seem trivial, persuade the reader to continue on to find out what happens
113- The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. of the book. Vol.
When a school inspector unexpectedly turns up at the school, the inexperienced Sue becomes extremely upset and needs to be comforted by Mr Phillotson. Jude sees Phillotson putting his hand around Sue's waist. 'He's too old for her', Jude thinks. However, he cannot do anything because he is still married to Arabella.
Clarke, R. (n.d.). The Poetry of Thomas Hardy. rlwclarke. Retrieved February 1, 2014, from http://www.rlwclarke.net/Courses/LITS2002/2008-2009/12AHardy'sPoetry.pdf