In “Brian, the Still Hunter” and “Its Wavering Image” Susanna Moodie and Edith Eaton use focalization and narrative voice to show the unreliability and subjectivity of life. They do this by slowly developing the narrative voice of Brian and Pan and limiting the perception of the reader.
The development of the narrative voices of both Brian and Pan, allows the reader to understand the narrative through the character's emotions. In the beginning of both stories, both of the characters' narrative voices are almost non-existent. This forces the reader to make subjective assumptions on certain aspects of the story that cannot be answered by those characters, and thus those characters do eventually develop their narrative voices and answer those questions for the reader. Limiting the perception of the reader in both narratives causes the reader to question the unreliability of the narrator, and question the narrative's overall truths.
In “Brian, the Still Hunter” by Susanna Moodie, Brian was a man who was narrated as a quiet, mysterious character. The reader would process the same things as the writer and as well the reader would learn as the writer does. Brian is made to be quiet by the narrator, leaving the uncovering of his identity to be subjective to the reader. After the narrator is given a background on Brian's history, she met him again as he comes for milk, “A nod without raising his head, or taking his eyes off the fire, was my only answer; and turning from my unsociable guest' (Moodie 8). At this point Brian's narrative voice is nonexistent, the writer and reader have not heard his story from Brian himself, but rather others who have made observations of him. This is solely because as the writer is unfamiliar with Brian, ...
... middle of paper ...
...and “Its Wavering Image” Susanna Moodie and Edith Eaton attempt to control the attention of the reader by leaving questions and ambiguity for the reader. This is done by slowly developing the narrative voice of Brian as his suicidal story is told by another character. From this, subjective assumptions are made by both narrator and reader without confirmation as to why he tried to commit suicide. Later on, Brian becomes more comfortable and shares his story to explain his reasoning. Pan's narrative voice was elusive when she was questioned about her identity, as she wanted to avoid debate on that subject. She reaches a point where she finally spoke up against Mark Carson and tells him that she is a Chinese woman while he is a white man. Limiting the perception of the reader in both narratives resulted in subjectivity for the reader and unreliability of the narrator.
In three dynamic pieces of literature, the desperate yet hopeful characters gallantly endure the struggles of achieving their dreams as they experience the pain of desolation and the life-fulfilling happiness of a friendly companion. Through hostile resentment, the intense repulsion created by generations of territorial disputes tears apart two vengeful foes, Ulrich and Georg, in Saki’s captivating tale. Whereas in Remarque’s gory war novel, the pure terror of battle brutally slaughters the once innocent minds of soldiers as they undergo changes in their heart and soul within themselves. Although impervious to the influence of the reclusive residents tied to the ranch, as they quest for their shared aspirations, George and Lennie forge an invincible friendship in Steinbeck’s calamitous novelette.
2. The first reason for this thesis stems from the point of view used in the story. The point of view exemplified is one of third person, more specifically one who is omniscient. The story’s message could not be conveyed from the first person, due to the fact that virtually everyone in the writing at hand is not only unable, but unwilling to figure out the true nature of their surroundings.
In this story the author hasn’t implemented the traditional chronological order in which the structure of the plot can be described as a simple line from A to B. Instead, the author has used the in Medias res plot structure where the story begins in the middle of an important event. This short story begins with a long flashback in which we learn about the first time the main character sees her father after his dead.1 As soon as this flashback ends we jump straight into another flashback. This is very typical in this short story as we jump from one flashback into another one throughout the whole story. Through the use of these constant flashbacks, we learn about the important characters and events in the story. The reason why the author has done this is to prolong the drama and excitement as the important events happen in different times and places. As a result of the author having used an in medias res plot structure, the use of flashback is very frequent in this short story. The use of dialogue is very frequent in this short story. The dialogue helps make the story more captivating and dramatic; it adds tension to the story. The type
In the beginning of both of the pieces of literature, the main character(s) have not had the experience that will shape their values yet. Rather, as time moves forward in the stories, the
The pointedness of the play is created through a distinct plot path. The observer is lead through the story, seeing first how greatly Amanda Wingfield influences her children. Secondly, the play-goer notes how Tom Wingfield desperately struggles and writhes emotionally in his role of provider- he wants more than just to be at home, taking care of his all-too-reminiscent mother and emotionally stunted sister. Tom wants to get out from under his mother’s wing; his distinct ambitions prevent him from being comfortable with his station in life. Lastly, Laura struggles inside herself; doing battle against her shyness, Laura begins to unfurl a bit with Jim, but collapses once again after Jim announces his engagement and leaves her, again. Each character struggles and thrashes against their places in life, but none of them achieve true freedom. This plot attests to the fact that true change and freedom can only come through the saving power of God Almighty and Jesus Christ, and by letting go of the past.
The unnamed narrator states that he is not expecting anyone to believe the extraordinarily strange story that he is about to recount; however, he proceeds to lay out the events as he saw them. Further into the story the reader finds out exactly why the narrator is not to be trusted – he is an alcoholic. The narrator begins fighting his inner demons a...
Being different can sometimes be somewhat scary because one may be considered an outcast. Being an outcast can be quite difficult especially when people can be cruel. In the short story “The Salamander,” the narrator is considered an outcast because she is different and does not follow society’s norms. The author from this short story, Mercè Rodoreda, can be compared to the narrator because she too did not follow the norms. Rodoreda’s short story includes some aspects that can be compared to her life, yet many other aspects in her story are inexplicable. “The Salamander” by Mercè Rodoreda can be described as a fantastic story because of the fantastic elements it contains, such as hesitation and liminality. The short story fits well into Todorov’s definition of the fantastic because it creates hesitation for the readers when the narrator experiences rebirth and it includes several examples of liminality. Liminality can be seen when the defined lines between human and animal, and life and death are blurred.
In Gwen Harwood’s poetry, the changes in an individual’s perspective and attitudes towards situations, surroundings and, therefore transformations in themselves, are brought on by external influences, usually in the form of a person or an event. These changes are either results of a dramatic realisation, as seen with shattering of a child’s hopes in The Glass Jar, or a melancholy and gradual process, where a series of not so obvious discoveries produces similar reformation. An example of the later case would be Nightfall, the second section of Father and Child, where the persona refers to her forty years of life causing “maturation”. For the most part these changes are not narrated directly but are represented by using dynamic language techniques to illustrate constant change in the universe of the poem.
Bishop’s use of imagism in “One Art” helps the reader to comprehend the ability of the speaker to move on from lost items such as a mother’s watch or loved houses.
It is divided into five parts ‘The Encounter’, ‘Philemon’, ‘The Shore’, ‘The Woods’, and ‘The Lost Children’, These profoundly crafted rhythmic lines will endure and resonate forever in the souls who read it. Rarely does a reader encounter such sheer beauty of timeless and compelling imagery in her debut book to stand apart as foremost publication in English literature.
In life, people experience different situations and live different realities. It is not illogical to say that the different journeys in life sometimes give us different ways of viewing the world. This was evident upon a closer examination and analysis of Wu Cheng’en’s “The Journey to the West”, and Mary Shelly “Frankenstein”, where the two main characters of the book, a Monkey and a creature, each have a different way of viewing life. The monkey see’s life as a journey that should be explored, while the creature has no way of exploring and sees life as something he cannot enjoy. In the end, what can be taken away from the works of literature is that no matter the journey taken, it is important to remember that one’s subjectivity, built on our experiences, determines reality.
The author skillfully uses literary techniques to convey his purpose of giving life to a man on an extraordinary path that led to his eventual demise and truthfully telling the somber story of Christopher McCandless. Krakauer enhances the story by using irony to establish Chris’s unique personality. The author also uses Characterization the give details about Chris’s lifestyle and his choices that affect his journey. Another literary element Krakauer uses is theme. The many themes in the story attract a diverse audience. Krakauer’s telling is world famous for being the truest, and most heart-felt account of Christopher McCandless’s life. The use of literary techniques including irony, characterization and theme help convey the authors purpose and enhance Into The Wild.
Morrison initially creates an unreliable narrator through the inconsistency of the narrative voice. Because Morrison does not reveal the identity of the narrator until the end of the novel, everything known about her prior is revealed through her “personality” that comes through in the telling of the story. The acquainting process is complicated by the continual shift in the narrative personality. Frequently, the narrator speaks from the perspective of a communal voice, but also shifts into a more personal register. In one of her rare breaks into a more personal tone, the narrator explains “People say I should come out more”, but this one of the few times she speaks about any sort of relationship to other people ( Morrison 7). Usually, the narrator adopts an omnipresent, removed persona. The breaking of this persona throughout the novel contributes to an unpredictable way that the narrator has of presenting herself in relationship to the text. There are other variances in the narrative personality outside of persona changes. Much like the inconsistency of the narrative style in the story, the narrator frequently changes mood and the way she relates to the characters. Because of the discordant attitudes of the narrat...
Although told in an aloof and anonymous third-person, the narrativeis always shifting, almost imperceptibly, from an objective stance to less neutral observations which, because of their perspective or particular choice of words, appear to be those of Mrs. Kearney. (Miller,...
The narrator of the story is non-omniscient, but also limited because we, as readers, do not know anything about the other people in the story’s thoughts, and this results in us sympathizing with Mike.