Commentary on Act 1 of the book Translations by Brian Friel The opening paragraph of the play Translations tells us in great detail about where the play is set. It is set in a hedge-school, which was a disused barn or hay-shed. The opening of the play makes us see that there are two means of isolation. The language binds together the community and in this play we will see how differences in language split society. Manus is teaching Sarah to speak as the play begins. He is being very patient with her and he thinks that it is important to teach her to articulate, 'Come on, Sarah. This is our secret'. When you see how Sarah is finding it hard to speak English it makes you feel that she is the symbol for Ireland's backward position. Jimmy on the other hand represents the educated civilised tradition of old Ireland. He is a scholar, however Sarah is the opposite. She is a contemporary Ireland, as she has no voice to speak out. She has no capacity for taking part in the modern world. Sarah just wants to become part of the society. The way Manus is pushing Sarah to speak, for example, 'Raise your head. Shout it out. Nobody's listening'. You feel that Manus does not want Sarah to be a nobody in the community, so he is helping her. The way that Sarah acts around Manus makes you feel that she fancies him, 'Manus hugs Sarah. She smiles in shy, embarrassed pleasure'. Jimmy is reading The Odyssey. As he is a scholar he can read books in Greek. He sees himself as a person in the story, 'Sure look at what the same turf-smoke has done to myself!' This is not very scholarship like of Jimmy as he relates the text in a very un-scholar like way to himself. He also says things that are very sexually orientated, 'if you had a woman like that about the house, it's not stripping a turf-bank you'd be thinking about-eh?' and 'she can't get her fill of men'. Jimmy asks Manus whom he would pick out of Athena, Artemis and Helen. All of these people are characters from the book Jimmy is reading. This shows that Jimmy has a very limited view and conception of what he is reading. Manus asks Sarah whom he should pick; this shows that he considers her view to be important. The way Jimmy acts in this part of the play makes you feel that he is very intellectual but he is living his life in a book, he feels he is almost a
His perceptions change from seeking for opportunities to unrealistically believing that he can acquire wealth by becoming a traveling salesman, and later in the book, he is defeated by the Great Depression and goes back to home; his perception of the reality becomes increasingly difficult to dealt with since he tries to escape from the reality and never really solves the problems, and although he later tries again to become successful during the war, he becomes insane and loses all of his perceptions.
start to think like an adult as he gets older in the book. He shows it at the
Heubeck, Alfred, Stephanie West, and J.B. Hainsworth. A Commentary on Homer's Odyssey. New York: Oxford UP, 1988.
Fagles, Robert. The. The Odyssey. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1996. Katz, Marilyn.
The story is concerned with the conflict between his conception of himself and the reality.
keeps the reader interested in his topic. He addresses the opposition quite well which adds a large
Hexter, Ralph. A Guide to The Odyssey: A Commentary on the English Translation of Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Random House, 1993.
The Odyssey is filled with emotion and adventure. Homer’s ability to show and give the reader a visual of each and every scene gives the story its unbelievable significance. To all the people who read his work there is something to be captured within every sentence, each one different in its own, unique way. Through tales of courage and defeat, friendship and love this book tells of all the values within the life of a single, solitary man, and his journey to attain what is true and dear to him. And this journey is known to all of us as The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a test of human devotion and trust through the gods, the mortals, and the obstacles through which they venture. No matter where they go or what they do, humans are tested for certain characteristics everyday of their lives, whether they realize it or not; and The Odyssey is just one of those many miraculous tests.
The Odyssey is an epic poem that explores the journey of the hero Odysseus. The author of the Odyssey is Homer, who is famous for writing both The Odyssey and Iliad. The title of this poem basically means “The story of Odysseus” and is about his quest to return home ten years after the fall of Troy. There are many characters within the Odyssey, but the main ones you will hear about are Odysseus, his son Telemachus, his wife Penelope and Athena, the goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus. In Odysseus’s journey, we see that his hubris is the greatest obstacle for his ability to reason and make logical decisions. Odysseus encounters many obstacles on his way home. He makes many major mistakes that he does not learn from and we see how his big ego affects his future. The Odyssey explores Odysseus’s journey, the mistakes he makes along the way, and how his hubris makes the obstacles he encounters even more difficult to overcome.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor: a Lively and Entertaining Guide to
Homer. The Odyssey: Fitzgerald Translation. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. Print.
but his problem was making his book read like a novel. He accomplished this by
Indeed he does long for this esteem but at what price does his esteem come with? He begins at a very young age to distance himself from his family. But while he does this intentionally he seems to be ashamed with his want for knowledge. Richard Rodriguez talks about reading in a closet and neglecting his familial obligations for reading. Eventually his thirst for knowledge and education becomes much like an addiction. Something he yearns for, and he feels nobody understands his thirst drive and thirst for reverence.
In conclusion, the “Odyssey” is one of the greatest literary works ever known and this literary analysis should help the reader to understand the important components of the novel such as theme, characters, relationships, symbols, motifs, literary devices, and tone.
life drove him to write this book. Could it have been an experience he had in