Broken Glass Jewish
In 1938, the onset of violent anti-Semitic riots in Germany created one of the most horrific struggles of our time. Not only did this outrageous holocaust bring sadness and death to the Jews in Germany but also to the ones living here in America. In, The Broken Glass, by Arthur Miller, we see the lives of three completely different characters portrayed. First, we see Sylvia Gullberg, who has been a housewife ever since her husband Philip made her quit. She is the first one to be affected by the news in Germany. Her husband, Phillip, has been hiding from his race ever since he was a teen, and because of this ruins his marriage and ultimately his life. Lastly, Dr. Harry Hyman, who views everything with his eyes wide open, is the only possible hope of bringing the two back together. I will show how each character reacts to the identity of their blood, and deals with issues such as ethnicity, class, and gender.
Philip Gullberg is the main problem throughout this whole movie. He seems to always be burning the flame of his wife’s fear and of his own which ultimately puts him to rest. Ironically, as his wife sat paralyzed in the house, he burns the newspaper that put her in shock, to keep her warm. He is a Jewish American who has been trying to hide his ethnicity ever since he was young. He even makes it a point to pronounce his last name Gullberg instead of Goldberg, which would obviously sound too Jewish. He works at a WASP bank and is in fact the only existing Jewish employee. Philip has spent most of his life in denial, and it is apparent he is always on the defense about being Jewish. For example, he thinks Mr. Case is after him just because he is Jewish. He is also afraid of his class ...
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...e table, and play the best cards possible.” Harry, even in the end gets Philip to change his mind by saying, “We are all born afraid, and how we deal with fear is what counts.” Unfortunately, these words come too late.
As both Philip and Sylvia lay in separate beds, in separate rooms, both are ready to free themselves from all prior fears and denials. Philip’s last moments in his life are his best. He gains a sense of humor as he laughs about Chinese Jews and Jews in love with horses. Harry’s wife says, “We finally found a sense of humor in you,” as Philip answers, “I finally figured out the joke.” Philip was truly ready to look himself in the mirror and love his face. Tragically, Sylvia’s standing up symbolizes the start of her new life, while Philip’s change of heart is already too late. Ironically, this time, Phillip is the one asking for forgiveness.
and humanity. Wiesel shows how the Jews mistreated and were mistreated with word choice and situational irony. Elie, the main the character in the book, gives the reader a personal perspective of being a Jew during the Holocaust. Being a Jew was difficult since the Nazis not only mistreated them, but also gave them false hope which contributed to their dehumanization.
It is commonly believed that the only way to overcome difficult situations is by taking initiative in making a positive change, although this is not always the case. The theme of the memoir the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is that the changes made in children’s lives when living under desperate circumstances do not always yield positive results. In the book, Jeannette desperately tries to improve her life and her family’s life as a child, but she is unable to do so despite her best efforts. This theme is portrayed through three significant literary devices in the book: irony, symbolism and allusion.
In conclusion, the novel The Glass Castle was an attempt to represent the challenges we face throughout our life. Every challenge should be confronted and solved. Family matters contribute to why many individuals have difficulties, but at the end we should know that they’ll always love us. No matter what happens we face the unknown and deal with it. We forgive many people who are significantly associated to us and most of all we take the responsibilities. It is important to always take action and solve the challenges we
The mood of Night is harder to interpret. Many different responses have occurred in readers after their perusal of this novel. Those that doubt the stories of the holocaust’s reality see Night as lies and propaganda designed to further the myth of the holocaust. Yet, for those people believing in the reality, the feelings proffered by the book are quite different. Many feel outrage at the extent of human maliciousness towards other humans. Others experience pity for the loss of family, friends, and self that is felt by the holocaust victims. Some encounter disgust as the realization occurs that if any one opportunity had been utilized the horror could of been avoided. Those missed moments such as fleeing when first warned by Moshe the Beadle, or unblocking the window when the Hungarian officer had come to warn them, would have saved lives and pain.
Although our past is a part of who we are nowadays, we will never be happy if we can never let go of the painful feeling attached to our suffering. In addition, “suffering pulls us farther away from other human beings. It builds a wall made of cries and contempt to separate us” (Wiesel 96). We should not be afraid to let go of our haunting past and grow closer to others because “man carries his fiercest enemy within himself. Hell isn’t others. It’s ourselves” (Wiesel 15). The wise advice this book gives its audience is one reason it won a Nobel Peace Prize. The books are also part of a very famous Holocaust trilogy, which is one reason it has been so widely read. In addition, it blends everyday stories with Holocaust stories.Therefore, readers are very compassionate towards the narrator and readers create a bond with this character due to his hardships and the similarities he shares with us. Lastly, Day speaks to the needs of the human spirit by intertwining a love story. Readers wonder if his girlfriend will change his attitude towards life because he tells the doctor, “I love Kathleen. I love her with all my heart. And how can one love if at the same time one doesn’t care about life” (Wiesel
...nd some relief in his glorified old memories saved by Laura and is overwhelmed by the magic of the American Dream. Like many great plays, The Glass Menagerie transcends time inasmuch as contemporary versions of the four characters abound in the ever-changing modern world. After all, these are the people to whom the play addresses today.
Welty presents Phoenix, throughout the story, as a determined woman who is persuaded by compassion and encouraged by humor to defeat the hindrances so that she can help her chronically ill grandson. This story gives a wonderful lesson for all people who feel like the afflictions of life are too immense to overcome, and also provides advices for how to persevere when realizing goals that may seem impossible. Consequently, the ways Welty uses symbolism to make clear of how difficult Phoenix’s mission is, but the way she depicts her character shows how humor and compassion help a person make it through tough situations.
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...
The famous French playwright Moliere once said, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” Throughout our lives, we often are faced with hardships that cause us to change ourselves, the people around us, and the situation itself. Because of this, it may reveal our true characteristics to show who we truly are. In the memoirs “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls and “Warriors Don't Cry” by Melba Patillo, they vividly illustrate the story of how they faced their struggles. They both prevailed because of their tenacious mind sets, but handled the situations in both different and similar ways. The characteristics of the characters Jeannette and Melba show the similarities and differences between the characters.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a harrowing and heartbreaking yet an inspiring memoir of a young girl named Jeannette who was deprived of her childhood by her dysfunctional and unorthodox parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Forced to grow up, Walls stumbled upon coping with of her impractical “free-spirited” mother and her intellectual but alcoholic father, which became her asylum from the real world, spinning her uncontrollably. Walls uses pathos, imagery, and narrative coherence to illustrate that sometimes one needs to go through the hardships of life in order to find the determination to become a better individual.
In Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, each character attempts to escape the real world by creating their own “reality”. Laura hides from the world by magnifying her illness. Tom convinces himself that his needs supersede the needs of his family. Amanda focuses almost exclusively on the past - when she saw herself as a desirable southern belle. Even Jim focus his hopes on recapturing his good old high school days. Each character transposes their difficult situations into shadows of the truth.
In Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie we have a family of three members. Each member of this family has his own imaginary world to escape from reality. The mother, Amanda, is trapped by her past, where she had so many gentlemen callers to ask her hand for marriage.
The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, is a prime example of a classic drama, infusing powerful themes with compelling characters to draw the reader in and allow them to connect. William’s character Laura plays a large part in accomplishing this, particularly in Scene VII, when she converses with Jim. This scene is especially important to the story as a whole, and helps develop Laura’s character and the theme of conformity. This theme, that to be accepted by society one must conform, is prevalent throughout the story, but centers around this portion of the play specifically. The conversation between Laura and Jim is a pivotal part of the drama that is very impactive and provides substance for the theme and character development in the rest of the drama.
Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie relives the horrors of the Great Depression and the effects it had on many people's lives. The story is in many ways about the life of Tennessee Williams himself, as well as a play of fiction that he wrote. However, the story is based on Tennessee and his family's struggle to emotionally deal with the harsh realities that followed the crash of 1929 (807).
The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, is a complex work that encompasses many thematic ideas. The play details the life of a dysfunctional family living in St. Louis during the 1930s. The family has many problems and have created their own version of reality to cope with and avoid the truth of their situation. Illusion reigns supreme and prevents the family from moving forward. In The Glass Menagerie, Williams explores how one can create their own warped version of reality based on memories of the past, visions of the future, or a distorted perception of the present and how that can prevent one from moving forward in their life.