Traditions and family conventions governed my life. I say governed because this is no longer the case. Church on a Sunday was mandatory as was bible study on a Tuesday. Strict practices formed a prickly hedge around me, shutting me out from my friends, colleagues and everything else that was anomalous to my family’s way of life. I didn’t dare venture out. Religion and God were at the forefront of their lives, and consequently, without question, mine. I wasn’t allowed to explore beyond what I was taught in regards to my religion. I had no complaints then because it was all I knew, all I had. It is for this reason that concept of duality with regards to the “Bright and Dark World” experienced by Emil Sinclair resonates deep within me.
The story of Cain and Abel is generally well known throughout every Christian household. In a nutshell, Cain was labeled the bad guy for murdering his brother out of rage and pure jealousy. In the novel, Demian’s interpretation of this story
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There was the devout catholic, who I was at home around my parents and church members, and then I was what they would consider a “heathen”, around my friends. It’s not that I engaged in extremely bad behavior and illegal activities but the genres of music or topics of discussion with friends were not in alignment with my church life. As I grew older I had suffered from urges to take a jump into the “Dark World”. When most teenagers were on the verge of adult hood their parents gave them some form of freedom and leeway. I realize now that I was as free as a bird in a cage. Not engaging in certain activities with my friends as forbidden by my parents didn’t affect me much since I knew it was for my own good. This however did nothing to thwart my urges to join them and so my two personas were constantly conflicting. I found myself constantly asking “Who really am
Throughout the chapters of John Knowles novel “A Separate Peace” there are many biblical allusions. In particular, the story of Cain and Abel. Phineas and Gene are based on story of Cain and Able. Cain and Abel are brothers such as Genes and Phineas’ friendship. In the story one is filled with jealousy like Gene and one brother kills the other also like Gene.
God’s punishment for Cain for having murdered his own brother was ostracizing him. Cain was fearful that someone would soon kill him. God responded that anyone who killed Cain would have an even worse fate, and he put a mark on
Tobias Wolff's short story, "The Rich Brother", is a parallel story to the biblical fable of Able and Cain. The biblical story of Able and Cain is that of the first story that puts man against man. Cain and Able are children of Adam and Eve, where Cain is the eldest and Able the younger of the two. In the biblical story Cain and Able end up giving gifts (sacrifices) to appease to their God. This in turn, creates tension between the two because Able's sacrifice of the lamb is much favored by God than is Cain's offering of his crops. Cain becomes outraged because he believes that Able has purposely tried to embarrass him, ultimately, leading Cain to become so enraged that he ends up murdering his only brother in cold blood. Throughout, 'The Rich Brother', Wolff portrays Peter as Cain because he shows a lack of devotion to God, creates a rival ship with his brother, and climatically abandons his only brother Donald.
“Cain said he had only one story to tell: a love story. ’I write of the wish that comes true for some reason a terrifying concept ... I think my stories have some quality of the opening of a forbidden box.’ The act of forcing the wish to come true isolates Cain’s obsesses lovers from society and places them on what he calls a ’love-rack’” (Madden, journal)
The Indian veteran who is a hero in war but cannot find a niche in civilian life when he returns to America has become an archetype. Abel's name (Momaday only gives him one) suggests the biblical victim, and many readers assume the Cain who lays him low to be white society. But readers should remember that in the Bible Cain is Abel's brother, and the characters in House Made of Dative who cause Abel the most harm are indeed his fellow Indians. Furthermore, Abel's troubles begin even before his stint in the army. He is illegitimate, and as a result has always been an outsider at Walatowa. The war exacerbates his problems, but they started at his birth.
The text "Dueling Dualism" by Anne Fausto-Sterling claim is that sex and gender are constructed. Scientist construct gender and sex through their research and studies and this creates the way society views sex and gender. Sterling writes, "... human sexuality created by scholars in general and by biologists, in particular, are one component of political, social, and moral struggles about our cultures... At the same time... incorporated into our very physiological being... Biologists...in turn refashion our cultural environment"(Sterling,5). Sterling, sure enough, realizes how sexuality is viewed by biologist but also how it can change the perspectives of sexuality in a society. Biologist have "refashion our cultural environment" and are reshaping
As Marlow assists the reader in understanding the story he tells, many inversions and contrasts are utilized in order to increase apperception of the true meaning it holds. One of the most commonly occurring divergences is the un orthodox implications that light and dark embody. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness brims with paradoxes and symbolism throughout its entirety, with the intent of assisting the reader in comprehending the truth of not only human nature, but of the world.
Finding Enlightenment in the Dark: An analysis of light in Camus’s The Stranger. In The Stranger, the protagonist Mersault becomes ostracized from his society due to his emotional separation and unwillingness to play by societal rules. His continual apathy and expression that everything “didn’t matter” eventually led to his death sentence (8). Mersault focuses on his physical surroundings, commenting on the light and the heat around him. He perceives the world through his senses, not through his emotions.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt utilizes dualism to express the juxtaposition of good and evil. The dualism expressed throughout the film is not only done through the use of juxtaposing characters, it is also accomplished through the use of dualism within a character, as well as the literal duality of people as being placed in shots as two’s. This element allows the audience to be drawn in, creating intrigue and mystery around the plot and the characters, because the audience now wants to figure out the strange behavior that is being exhibited. Having the dualism of the two Charlie’s allows the idea of them being two sides of one person to come out. Young Charlie is an innocent young woman, while Uncle Charlie is a murderer. The two seem to have a connection that’s deeper than the average niece and uncle relationship. This connection allows the dualism of the two Charlie’s to take on a life of its own and create a game of cat and mouse or the struggle between “hate and love” of oneself. The dualism that Hitchcock wants to create with the two Charlie’s is similar with the way he juxtaposes the all-American small town family with the “Merry-Widow Murderer” Uncle Charlie. It’s as though Hitchcock is making a social commentary on the nature of human beings, that we all have good and evil within us, the idea is choosing the part that will be expressed in your daily life.
When Sethe chooses to murder her daughter, rather than allowing her to be returned to slavery, she must face the consequences of her actions. Sethe’s murder of Beloved creates an allusion to the biblical character of Cain. According to the Bible’s Old Testament, Cain’s slaughter of Abel marks the first murder ever committed. In the aftermath of Abel’s death, Cain mourns that, “My punishment is greater than I can bear...I shall be a fugitive and wanderer on earth” (English Standard Version, Gen. 4.13-14). Sethe experiences a similar reaction after she takes Beloved’s life. Taken to prison after killing Beloved, Sethe faces ostracism from her community. However, living with the memory of the murder seems a worse fate. Like Cain, the “punishment”, both psychological and physical, that results from her murder is so great that it almost destroys her. Her murder, like Cain’s, violates society’s norms and both opens her to judgment and sets her
After Adam and Eve were banished from the garden of Eden, Eve gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain was jealous of his
For the eternal Lord avenged the killing of Abel. He took no delight in that feud, but banished Cain from humanity because of his crime. From Cain were hatched all evil progenies: ogres, hobgoblins, and monsters, not to mention the giants who fought so long against God - for which they suffered due retribution. (Beowulf, 29)
Through talking with Demian, Sinclair is introduced to a new ideology, where what is good and evil is up to the individual and these two seemingly opposing forces are able to coexist. Demian’s interpretation of the story of Cain exemplifies the idea that individuals themselves decide what is “good” and “evil.” Analyzing Cain and him being guilty of murder, he does not believe Cain to be “evil.” Instead, Demian simply claims that “the strong man slew a weaker one . . . but it isn’t important” (24). To Demian, Cain’s “sin” is not considered “evil.” Instead, Demian ignores it, treating it as a form of natural selection, where the strong survive and the weak die. Thus, although murder may be seen as the ultimate evil, Demian does not see it that way in this case. As a result, the line between which actions are good and which are evil become blurred. Soon, Sinclair starts to adopt this independent form of thought, defining what he believes to be good and evil according to only himself and his beliefs. He begins drinking heavily, has incestual thoughts, and even begins a relationship with Demian’s mother. Therefore, he begins to separate himself from his religion, Christianity, as he indulges in the sins of gluttony and lust. Although he sins, he does not recognize his wrongdoing, as they are in the pursuit of his personal and sexual
Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness contrasts light and darkness, to represent the civilized and uncivilized sides of the world. Conrad uses light to represent the civilized side of humanity while contrasting the dark with the uncivilized and savage. Throughout the thematic stages of the novel, that is the Thames river London, the company's office in Belgium, the journey to the "heart of darkness" and the conclusion, light and dark is used to represent these sides of humanity, but on a deeper level many assumptions of darkness and light are challenged, with the appearance of light and dark, and in turn good and evil contrasting with the reality.