We still need to learn more about Henrique, the brother-in-law of Leôncio. He was an elegant and handsome young man of twenty years, frivolous, impulsive, and vain, as often are all youths, especially when they had the good fortune to have been born to a rich father. Despite those deficiencies, he had a good heart and a generous soul. He was a medical student, and since he was on vacation, Leôncio invited him to come visit his sister and spend a few days at the estate. The two young gentlemen arrived from Campos, where the previous evening Leôncio had gone to meet his brother-in-law. Only after Leôncio married, since before that he rarely stayed at the family home, he began to notice the extreme beauty and exceptional charms of Isaura. While luck had given him an attractive and accomplished wife, he had not married for love, that feeling to his heart, until then, felt absolutely foreign. He married for money, and because his wife was young and pretty, he just felt passion for her, which thrives in the enjoyment of sensual pleasures, and then extinguishes. It was reserved to the unfortunate Isaura to vibrate deeply and violently in his heart the fibers that were not yet all spoilt by the friction of debauchery. He conceived for her the most uncontrollable and blind love, which day by day grew in face of the enormous obstacles, obstacles that he was not accustomed to encounter, and that he struggled in vain to overcome. However, he did not give up his corrupt intentions, because at the end of the day, 'he thought,' Isaura was his property, and when no other method was effective, it left the employment of violence. Leôncio was a worthy heir to every bad habit and brutal debauchery of the comendador. On the ... ... middle of paper ... ...d, he met the eyes of Isaura, that since Leôncio appeared, trembling and breathless, pressed herself into a corner of the room; from there she witnessed with silent anxiety the argument between the two young men, as a doe badly injured listening to the roar of two tigers, who disputed between themselves the right to devour her. For her part, also regretted from the depths of her soul, and rebuked herself the indiscreet and careless revelation, which in a moment of impatience she let escape her lips. Her imprudence would cause the most dreadful discord in the heart of that family, discord, that by the end of the day she would be the main victim. The quarrel between the two young men was like the collision of two clouds that bump and continue to hover calmly in the sky, but the ray discharged from their mist would accurately hit the forehead of the unfortunate captive.
Montresor, fifty years after it happened, confesses to the murder of his foe, Fortunato. He justifies his actions by saying that Fortunato caused him a thousand injuries and therefore is seeking revenge.... ... middle of paper ... ... He tempts her by offering to give her independence from them, saying he is her lover, playing into her weakness of men.
At the beginning of the story, the protagonist, Cleofilas, had an illusion that all romances are like the ones she has seen on television. However, she soon realizes that her relationship with Juan Pedro was nothing like what she had dreamed it would be. Cisneros wants to emphasize the idea that when men bring home the primary source of income in the family, they feel they have power over their wives. Cisneros uses Juan Pedro in the story to portray this idea. For instance, Cleofilas often tells herself that if she had any brains in her, she would realize that Juan Pedro wakes up before the rooster to earn his living to pay for the food in her belly and a roof over her head (Cisneros, 1991, p.249). Cisneros wants to make a point that when men feel that they have power over their wives, women begin to feel a sense of low self-worth.
The first time the reader encounters conflict occurs when Elisa is tending to her chrysanthemums in her garden. As she works, Elisa handles the flowers with care and compassion; she makes certain that nothing will come to harm them as though they were her own children; "No aphids were there, no sowbugs or snails or cutworms. Her terrier fingers destroyed such pests before they could get started." (273) When her husband comes to her, as she is working, he does not commend her for her work, but he scorns her, saying "I wish you'd work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big." (273) A high degree of "man against man" conflict is generated by the husband who fails to appreciate his wife and what she treasures. The presence of this conf...
Vengeance and pride are fundamentally important to this short story. From the inception of the tale it is clear that the narrator is a proud, vindictive man; opening with, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” the narrator immediately alerts the reader to the dark aspects of his own character. Because “insult” and not “the thousand injuries” caused the narrator to “vow” revenge, the reader can infer Montresor is prideful because, although he already had conflict with Fortunato, insult was what made the tense situation unbearable for Montresor––so much so that he vowed to take action. Use of the word “vow” is significant because it indicates that the grievance was meaningful in the mind of Montresor, allowing for the reader to more easily identify with the actions to be revealed throughout the course of the story; if the reader believes that Montresor was provoked in a profound way, ...
A woman’s self-worth and self-esteem are vital to experiencing happiness in a marriage. In addition, low self-esteem will cause a woman to feel abandoned, because she is not getting enough emotional support from her husband. Cisneros demonstrated this through the character of Cleofilas in the story. For example, Cleofilas often reminds herself why she loves Juan Pedr...
Family is one of the most important institutions in society. Family influences different aspects of a person’s life, such as their religion, values, morals and behavior. Unfortunately, problems may arise when an individual’s belief system or behavior does not coincide with that of family standards. Consequently, individuals may be forced to repress their emotions or avoid acting in ways that that are not acceptable to the family. In the novel The Rain God, written by Arturo Islas, we are presented with a story about a matriarchal family that deals with various conflicts. One major internal conflict is repression. Throughout the novel the characters act in strange ways and many of the family members have internal “monsters” that represent the past that they are repressing. In his article, “The Historical Imagination in Arturo Islas’s The Rain God and Migrant Souls”, Antonio C. Marquez’s implicitly asserts a true idea that The Rain God is a story about repression. Marquez’s idea can be supported from an analysis of secondary sources and a reading of the primary text.
it is unmistakable that life situations inspired Juan Rulfo to write this story. He like no other person had a greater understanding of how to portray the theme of family especially missing a father as a role model, death, survival and revenge. Moreover, through the use of local Mexican language it furthermore developed the society in which peasants had to live during the post-revolution. Additionally Juan Rulfo tries to add all five senses in the story forming magical realism and a vivid picture that the readers can understand. Overall, the readers learn a lot about peasant’s approach to life after revolution that the main drive was
The love of the protagonist and his wife in William Shakespeare’s trgedy Othello can not stand up against the repeated assaults of the sinister Iago. Let us in this essay search for and comment on the examples of love found in the play.
The four scenes that best illustrate the theme of selfishness and the realities of a self-centered life, and empathy are the first scene in which Juvencio begged his son to save him, the scene in which Juvencio describes the crime he committed with a total lack of empathy, the scene in which don lupe describes the viciousness with which Juvencio killed his father, and the scene in which don lupe’s son orders that Juvencio be killed. All of these factors add up to a very interesting work of
In the book “Bless Me Ultima”, by Rudolpho Anaya, there were two families represented, the Marez family and the Lunas family. These two families were very different, but were brought together by the marriage of Gabriel Marez and Maria Lunas. Through the eyes of their son Antonio one may see the comparison of the two. The differentiation of these two families is very clearly noticeable, such as in their personalities, the expression of their religion, and their everyday ways of life.
Arredondo exposed Luisa as a dynamic character because during the story the readers can see the changes that her personality had over the time. At the beginning of the story the reader can see how Luisa takes care of her uncle with devotion and love, but after they married she considered it as a disgusting duty. Ines Arredondo described Luisa as woman who has the power of “purify everything” (81), but after suffering the physical abuse of her uncle, all her innocence disappear. She was an innocent girl that was reserving herself for marriage. However, after married her uncle, she started seen the things in a different way. Now, she thinks of herself as “the vilest of harlot” (87). The way that the author exposes Luisa is like happy young lady that thanks to the circumstances enter to a deep depression that changes her life and she “was not able to go back to who I [she] was”
The tales of King Arthur and many of their numerous characters are well known in literature. The Arthurian world is one of the great myths of modern times. Those great pieces of literature have many common themes, one of them being courtly love “L’amour Courtois”. This paper talks of courtly love as seen in King Arthur’s world especially examining “Yvain or the Knight with the Lion” and “Lancelot: or the Knight of the Cart”. Furthermore, one of the goals is to show how that courtly love could be seen in today in our world.
In “The Fortune Teller,” the author, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, uses symbolism to prove to one that an affair is not worth a person’s life. He uses the letter to symbolize hate between Villela and Camillo regarding the affair. This very ambiguous letter has terrified Camillo and put an end to his life. The letter enhances the theme of the short story by showing the anger and hate that Villela now had for Camillo. This hate is a focal point in the short story that leads to ending the affair along with Camillo and Rita’s life. Ultimately, the affair caused a large amount of tension between the three. However, the author was successful in grabbing the reader’s attention with the letter as the turning point of the short story.
Lope de Vega’s play touches upon several key components and ideas that were brought up in many of the other stories read throughout the semester. This included the role of gender and how men and women are viewed differently in the Spaniard town of Fuenteovejuna. Another topic included the importance of family, love, and relationships and their connection on loyalty, trust, and personal beliefs. The last major influence found in other literature and in Fuenteovejuna, were the political and religious references made throughout the play. Even though Lope de Vega didn’t make these views obvious, the reader could still pick up on their connotation and the references made towards these specific ideas. With all of this in mind, each of these components played an important role in each civilization read, and even over 1,000 years later it continues to be a social topic as well as a large part of the culture. The only difference a reader or scholar could make for this particular piece of literature is its authenticity and how it was based on a true event. Regardless, new views on power and how one obtain it become apparent through the dialogue between characters like Laurencia and the Commander.
...the story he is inviting the reader to condemn the mistreatment of women and lack of freedom in the family particularly under the institution of marriage. The attitude of the author gives the story a condemning tone. The tone is appropriate for the theme which is a strained relations in the family and specifically in marriage relations.