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Structure the sound and fury by William Faulkner
The sound and the fury Compson
Structure the sound and fury by William Faulkner
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Dreams Deferred Tragedy is an ever present part of life, whether it be illness, inability, death or anything else, it takes its toll on everyone. A very common tragedy found in literature and daily life is the loss of dreams, in Langston Hughes’s poem “A Dream Deferred” Hughes poses the question of what truly happens to a deferred dream: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up… Or fester like a sore… Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over...Or does it explode?” The outcome of lost dreams differs for each individual and their attitude. This is seen throughout America and also in The Sound And The Fury by William Faulkner and The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. A common American drive is to live a perfect, stereotypical white picket fence life: to be married and have three kids, a dog, to live in the suburbs and make good money. Decades ago this dream was much more achievable, someone could come from nothing and make a life for his or herself; although, today, this dream is much more alluded to rather than obtained. With America’s economy in p...
‘“It used to be that if you stayed with your job, you would be rewarded… now there is no guarantee.” (62). Randy and Cherie are a couple who had worked for airlines for 26 years and for them to get pensions lower than they deserve shows how many blame business or the government in this situation. ‘“These words ‘retirement’ and ‘vacation’ are not in our vocabulary.”’ (62) Simone and Miguel both share a garage door system business and believe economy has a huge play in their earning. They both agree that, ‘“The American Dream is a bygone thing.”’ (62) and believe that it’s not easily achievable. The American Dream is to have freedom, liberty, opportunities, and be successful. Both couples have freedoms, liberty, and opportunities which means their living part of the American Dream. The other part is their interpretation of the American
Dreams prove as a powerful, motivating force, propelling an individual forward into real achievements in life. Conversely, dreams can transpire as blatantly artificial. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” depicts the story of Dexter Green, a young man who dreams of achievements and works hard in a real, non-illusionary world to win them. His work in this plain, unromantic world brings him ever closer to the dream world he so desperately wants, while at the same time the dreams show themselves as decaying or empty. Unfortunately, this does not cure him of dreaming and does not push him to abandon his dreams in favor of a healthier attitude.
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement during the 1920s and 1930s, in which African-American art, music and literature flourished. It was significant in many ways, one, because of its success in destroying racist stereotypes and two, to help African-Americans convey their hard lives and the prejudice they experienced. In this era, two distinguished poets are Langston Hughes, who wrote the poem “A Dream Deferred” and Georgia Douglas Johnson who wrote “My Little Dreams”. These two poems address the delayment of justice, but explore it differently, through their dissimilar uses of imagery, tone and diction.
The American dream is defined as “...the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative” (Oxford Dictionary). The guarantee of economic and social opportunity attracts hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the United States and allows this nation to be so prosperous. As time has gone on, however, the American Dream dwindles to just a whisper of the past. Although there are still many hard working Americans, the success of each individual no longer correlates to the degree of effort that American’s put into their line of work, proving the barriers that separate many from a successful lifestyle. This epidemic is shown in Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel
...at the American culture places economic success at the pinnacle of social desirability, without listing legitimate ways for attaining the desired goal (Merton 672-682). Today, the American Dream no longer reflects the dream Adams had, but instead, the idea that one can only call themselves truly successful if they have become rich, regardless of the way they got there. The American Dream does not guarantee happiness, but rather the pursuit of it, but with the media strongly persuading people that money guarantees happiness, people are encouraged to do whatever it takes, even it means disregarding their morals, so that they achieve ‘success.’ The inability to achieve this goal often leads people to destructive, and ultimately life-threatening criminal behavior as their feelings of anxiety and frustration over this vision of the “American Dream” get the best of them.
The pool of opportunity has grown smaller from what it once was, and it seems that opportunity parallels the wealth in capitalist America—a small number of individuals are successful in their endeavors, and the rest must settle for less with disappointment and disillusionment. While hard work and perseverance may push individuals to new heights, the power of optimism and positive thinking can only take a person so far. The great American dream and frontier is only available to those with certain circumstances, and those circumstances are becoming less available to the new generation coming into the
Living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, our culture has naturally valued prestige and luxuries. We admire fancy items and often judge other individuals by the clothes they wear, the car they drive, and the schools that they attend. The “American Dream” serves as a motivational factor for people; believing that hard work and dedication can bring “success” to ones’ life. Although this is partially true, it is difficult for individuals in the middle class and lower class.
In Langston Hughes’ poem, the author gives us vivid examples of how dreams get lost in the weariness of everyday life. The author uses words like dry, fester, rot, and stink, to give us a picture of how something that was originally intended for good, could end up in defeat. Throughout the play, I was able to feel how each character seemed to have their dreams that fell apart as the story went on. I believe the central theme of the play has everything to do with the pain each character goes thru after losing control of the plans they had in mind. I will attempt to break down each character’s dream and how they each fell apart as the play went on.
They imagine the wholesome family; a white collar job, a wife, a few kids, and a white picket fence. This image, over time, became synonymous with success and contentment. However, this vision is problematic in several ways. For one, this narrative largely excludes countless groups. Not white, cisgender, and in a heteronormative relationship? This dream will never be something you can achieve. Furthermore, this classic American Dream alienates those who want nothing to do with it. Women who wish to have a career without worrying about raising children are seen as going against their nature. Men who prefer the domestic sphere are seen as effeminate or lazy. Prefer to live in a city? Not to worry young millennial, your mind will change once you “know
What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry uplike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore-And then run?Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust and sugar over- like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sagslike a heavy load.Or does it explode?While Langhston Hughes authors this poem, A Dream Deferred, it can easily be interpreted as Toni Morrison's description of Nel and her life of sorrow and dissatisfaction. Sula and Nel, the protagonists in Toni Morrison's Sula, are each the only daughters of mothers whose distance leaves the young girls with dreams to erase this solitude and loneliness. There is no question that Sula alleviates this aloneness with a lascivious and experimental life, "I'm going down like one of those redwoods. I sure did live in this world"(143). Nel, however, for the most part, fails terribly at realizing her dreams and experiencing a happy existence.
Money constitutes the American Dream, because in America, to be successful in life means being wealthy. We live in an industrialized nation, in which money controls our very own existence. The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara establishes an argument about society’s injustice that entails financial opportunities by revealing the differences in living conditions between upper class and lower class. Another important point Stephen Cruz, a successful business person and a Professor at the University of Wisconsin at Platteville, makes in his speech is that the American Dream is getting progressively ambiguous, because the vision of success is being controlled by power and fear which only benefit 1 percent of Americans. For most people, the American Dream is to be financially stable to the point of content; however, realistically the accomplishment of the American Dream is often obstructed by society’s limitations and influences from higher power.
A dream is a deep ambition and desire for something; everybody tries to reach their dreams no matter how far away they may seem. The characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s stories strive for nothing less than “The Great American Dream”. This is the need to be the best of the best, top of the social ladder, and to be happier and more successful than anyone has been before. Fitzgerald writes about this American Dream that every character has but can never achieve; the dream is kept unattainable due to obstacles, the disadvantages of being low on the social ladder, and also the restrictions of having a high social status.
In William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, the image of honeysuckle is used repeatedly to reflect Quentin’s preoccupation with Caddy’s sexuality. Throughout the Quentin section of Faulkner’s work, the image of honeysuckle arises in conjunction with the loss of Caddy’s virginity and Quentin’s anxiety over this loss. The particular construction of this image is unique and important to the work in that Quentin himself understands that the honeysuckle is a symbol for Caddy’s sexuality. The stream of consciousness technique, with its attempt at rendering the complex flow of human consciousness, is used by Faulkner to realistically show how symbols are imposed upon the mind when experiences and sense perceptions coalesce. Working with this modernist technique, Faulkner is able to examine the creation function of symbols in human consciousness.
The entire thought of the American Dream is to have a house, auto, and a family. The effect in the economy had a speedy impact on the typical American family. The Late twent...
The American dream is white picket fences, freshly cut bright green grass, the smell of homemade apple pie, fresh groceries from Whole Foods and a three story suburban house in a safe neighborhood. It is the worriless state of a financially secure career, marriage, and kids. The American dream as perpetuated in movies, television, shows and media is the story of rags to riches but not quite rich instead high middle-class. “...our media is national in nature and single-minded in purpose. This media plays a key role in defining our cultural tastes, helping us locate ourselves in history, establishing our national identity, and ascertaining the range of national and social possibilities” (610). The dream seems easily obtainable by a get rich easy planner business.