An Analysis of Hilton's Lost Horizon
"...the horizon lifted like a curtain; time expanded and space contracted" In James Hilton's Lost Horizon, the reader is promptly enticed to trek along with Hugh Conway and the three other kidnapped passengers, Charles Mallinson, Miss Brinklow, and Henry Barnard. Hilton commences his novel by utilizing the literary technique of a frame. At a dinner meeting, friends share their insights into life, and eventually, from a neurologist, and friend of Conway, evolves the story of Conway's exotic adventures.
Apparently, Conway and the other three characters were on a plane that was hijacked by a member of the mystic civilization of Shangri-La. After crashing in the midst of nowhere, Conway led his group out of the plane and as they began to search for help, Chang and a group of Shangri-La men intercepted them and escorted them back to their lamasery. Eventually they realize they are not permitted to leave its boundaries, as the proviso of entering the Valley of the Blue Moon, Shangri-La, is that one cannot leave.
Weeks pass, and the kidnapped crew, with the exception of Mallinson, become accustomed to the Shangri-La way of life, namely moderation, as well as spiritual and intellectual growth. Conway, able to decipher numerous languages including Chinese was able to decode their "gibberish" and get a better idea what was going on. Eventually, through the telepathy of the ethereal High Lama, also the founder of the civilization (some two hundreds years previous), calls Conway to a meeting.
Hilton's "mini" climaxes, keep the reader compelled as he reveals more and more about this enigmatic place. As the novel continues, Conway is enlightened with the "inside scoop," and soon enough...
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...ut it, "Things happen to you and you just let them happen."
The most prominent concept of the novel and the community of the Valley of the Blue Moon (Shangri-La) was the "time stands still" enigma. To live over a hundred years is quite a feat, but in this civilization it was the norm. In Shangri-La, when you reached a hundred years of age you were "promoted" to lamahood. They figured that by the time you were a hundred all the "passions and moods of ordinary life are likely to have disappeared," and then you'd be able to search for that inner meaning of life. The paradoxes of life and death, and the question everyone ponders, Why?
Works Cited and Consulted
Bellamy, Edward. Looking Backward. New York: New American Library, 1982.
Hilton, James. Lost Horizon. New York: Pocket Books, 1984.
Voltaire. Candide. London: Penguin Books; 1947.
Hurston invokes the symbol of horizon recurrently throughout the novel, to portray Janie’s dreams, aspirations, and her growth as a strong independent woman while attaining her horizon. The symbol, horizon, is used in both the beginning and ending of the story to represent the desire and fulfillment of Janie’s dreams. In the novel's opening sentence, the narrator introduces Janie's motivation to pursue her dreams, “Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time” (Hurst 1). The horizon in this passage represents a dream that is not easily attainable, as
This is not the only evidence that indicates a sign of stereotypical events that occurs in the novel. A great ind...
Typically, a novel contains four basic parts: a beginning, middle, climax, and the end. The beginning sets the tone for the book and introduces the reader to the characters and the setting. The majority of the novel comes from middle where the plot takes place. The plot is what usually captures the reader’s attention and allows the reader to become mentally involved. Next, is the climax of the story. This is the point in the book where everything comes together and the reader’s attention is at the fullest. Finally, there is the end. In the end of a book, the reader is typically left asking no questions, and satisfied with the outcome of the previous events. However, in the novel The Things They Carried the setup of the book is quite different. This book is written in a genre of literature called “metafiction.” “Metafiction” is a term given to fictional story in which the author makes the reader question what is fiction and what is reality. This is very important in the setup of the Tim’s writing because it forces the reader to draw his or her own conclusion about the story. However, this is not one story at all; instead, O’Brien writes the book as if each chapter were its own short story. Although all the chapters have relation to one another, when reading the book, the reader is compelled to keep reading. It is almost as if the reader is listening to a “soldier storyteller” over a long period of time.
Two weeks later, Fito and Yurico were found cold and hungry on the tracks in Irapuato. Affected by this they put an end to their journey to the north. They were placed in a shelter by Mexican Immigration to get deported. Out of the four kids, Kevin is only one who makes it to the United States. Detained in Huston, he feels he is trapped, “cornered and locked up.” He only gets to do only so many things, misses his mother and regrets everything that lead to him to coming to the United States. Eventually, Kevin is deported back to Honduras and meets his beloved mother. Even though, his mother is happy to see him, she admits that it would have been better for him if he could have founded a family in United States. His step father also thinks that Kevin is a problem and shouldn’t live with them. Nine months later Kevin and Fito made another attempt to reach the United States. Fito was caught and transferred back to Honduras and Kevin was caught at the United States border, then transferred to a shelter in Washington
The novel is organized in an unusual manner that can make it seem unclear to the reader. Krakauer does not introduce the work as a whole, yet he pieces together the story through different chapters. McCandless’s journey is described out of chronological order, requiring the audience to pay careful attention in order to understand the events that unfold.
In 1536, Henry began to believe that his wife was being unfaithful. She was charged with treason and adultery, and soon beheaded. He then married Jane Seymour. She gave him a male heir, Edward, and then died a few days after childbirth [1].
perceive the novel in the rational of an eleven-year-old girl. One short, simple sentence is followed by another , relating each in an easy flow of thoughts. Gibbons allows this stream of thoughts to again emphasize the childish perception of life’s greatest tragedies. For example, Gibbons uses the simple diction and stream of consciousness as Ellen searches herself for the true person she is. Gibbons uses this to show the reader how Ellen is an average girl who enjoys all of the things normal children relish and to contrast the naive lucidity of the sentences to the depth of the conceptions which Ellen has such a simplistic way of explaining.
During the confrontation during the poker game, which immediately ends it, readers are exposed to the reality of Stella and Stanley’s
After Henry falls in love with Lucy, he and people who have knowledge of Lucy’s condition start to leave video tapes telling her about the time she spent with them during a single day. This was done in hopes that she could remember her feelings for him. Henry then leaves Hawaii after saving money he would use to be with Lucy but
One day when John Ferguson was following Madeleine, he saw her jump into San Francisco Bay. After he rescued her, he brought her back to his house and cared for her. Afterwards he and Madeleine started to spend time together. They began to fall in love and Madeleine became more insane. She started to see images from Corlata's past. Madeleine started to live the life of Corlata Valdez and had visions from her life. One day John and Madeleine went to an old Spanish missionary outside San Francisco, which Madeleine had seen in one of her images. When they arrived at their destination Madeleine began to remember things from Corlata's early life and became hyster...
From this novel, the reader can learn more about the economic system, and how it is applied to life. The reader is able to enjoy the narrative along with learn the principles that are introduced by Roberts.
In "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture" Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade analyze the social perspective of the gendered relations in male fraternities that add to the high rate of violence against women on many college campuses. They list a host of factors that distinguish higher-risk from lower-risk atmospheres discussing the rates of rape in colleges and state how "1 out of 4 college women say they were raped or experienced an attempted rape" (217). Additionally, "1 out of 12 college men say they forced a woman to have sexual intercourse against her will" (Boswell, Spade 217). In other words Boswell and Spade indicated that the rates were high when it came down to women getting raped in colleges by men who also attended those colleges. In addition, Boswell and Spade specify in how most people are aware of rape but know very little about rape culture (Boswell, Spade 217).
Wigal, Sharon B. "Efficacy and Safety Limitations of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Pharmacotherapy in Children and Adults." CNS Drugs 23.(2009): 21-31. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. Helmke Library, Fort Wayne IN.
...it up to each reader to draw their own conclusions and search their own feelings. At the false climax, the reader was surprised to learn that the quite, well-liked, polite, little convent girl was colored. Now the reader had to evaluate how the forces within their society might have driven such an innocent to commit suicide.
in the many small ventures that give rise to the climax. In a scene where the