Stephen Moyer once said, “conflict is drama, and how people deal with conflict shows you the kind of people they are.” In this novel there are multiple types of conflict but the characters and how they react to the conflict specifically creates the plot of the story. If Maxim’s conflict with Rebecca did not result in Rebecca’s death then the whole entire story would be changed. The gothic elements present in Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca of: the persecution of the young, insecure fair-haired woman; a witch-like character; and the motif of the double—good and bad side—all contribute to the conflict providing support and enhancement of the plot. Persecution of an insecure, fair-haired woman introduces conflict as a Gothic element. For …show more content…
For instance, in chapter 7 when the narrator describes her first encounter with Mrs. Danvers (our witch-like character) she recalls seeing “someone tall and gaunt, dressed in deep black, whose prominent check-bones and great, hollow eyes gave her a skull’s face, parchment-white, set on a skeleton’s frame” (p. 66). Mrs. Danvers first impression from the beginning causes the man vs. man conflict—the narrator already establishes fear and resentment towards Mrs. Danvers. The more the narrator interacts with Mrs. Danvers, the sketchier, more fiendish, and eerier Mrs. Danvers appears to the reader. Again Mrs. Danvers remains spectacle and uninviting towards the narrator when she approaches Maxim and the narrator to introduce herself. As the meeting continues she “[Mrs. Danvers] begins to speak still having that dead hand in [the narrators] her hollow eyes never leaving [the narrator’s] eyes…[the narrator] was aware of a sensation of discomfort and of shame” (p. 67). Mrs. Danvers extreme intimidation in this scene demonstrated her witch-like vibes towards the narrator. The man vs. man conflict being brought about is intensified through her appearance and actions—her witch-like characteristics will only be more emphasized and reinforced through out the …show more content…
For example, in chapter 15 Beatrice (Maxims sister) gives the narrator information about Rebecca and how “’she had an amazing gift…being attractive to people; men women, children and dogs’” (p. 187). Beatrice reveals the “good” side of Rebecca; although, Rebecca was not alive throughout the novel her good side was still influencing how others remembered and viewed her. This also makes the narrator feel even more insecure about herself and her relationship with Maxim. However, Maxim exposes the truth about Rebecca and how “‘[he] hated her…she was vicious, damnable, rotten through and through…[they] never had a moment of happiness…Rebecca was incapable of love, of tenderness, of decency…[and] she was clever…’” (p. 271). Maxim tells the narrator of Rebecca’s true wicked ways and reveals that Rebecca’s conflict with Maxim resulted in him killing her; thus, being the climax. Rebecca’s motif of the double makes the plot of the story possible because without it the climax would not be. Rebecca’s bad side and her deceitful ways become more clearly as the novel progresses and the action
For instance, after his initial encounter with a black widow as a child, Grice darkly describes the arachnid as “actively malevolent,” an “enemy” who “wait[s] in dark places to ambush” its prey (para. 8). Furthermore, the author depicts the widow’s ominous physique as having a black body covered with “red markings [that] suggest blood” (para. 10). Grice even claims that “women with bouffant hairdos have died of widow infestation” (para. 9). To the audience, these carefully crafted words and phrases connote a sense of unwelcome malignance; the reader associates the black widow with the concept of evil. By specifically choosing words that show the evil, inimical presence of the black widow, Grice demonstrates the pointlessness of evil in the world; the widow has no purpose to mankind, a parallel to the purposeless nature of
Introducing a character that will be seen in the story is one of the most vital parts when creating a piece of literature. Whittier begins his story by writing, “Woman’s attributes are generally considered of a milder and purer character than those of man.”(348) Right of the bat, the reader has a stereotypical idea in his or her mind about how a woman should act and what characteristics she should hold. Whittier does this to show how different and unique his main character, Hannah Dustan, will be seen throughout his piece of work. Whittier then goes on to say, “Yet, there have been astonishing manifestations of female fortitude and power in the ruder and sterner trials of humanity; manifestations of courage rising almost to sublimity; the revelation of all those dark and terrible passions, which madden and distract the heart of manhood.”(348) Here, Whittier romanticizes Dustan’s journey and the events that occurred by stating that the actions were actually manifestations that occurred because of the situation she was in. Before even beginning the story, Whittier gives the reader an idea that Dustan did what she did because the situation overpowered her.
Explain how the conflict arises and go on to discuss in detail how the writer uses it to explore an important theme.
(Whether we read about different people in literature to broaden our knowledge about others, or whether we do it as an interest, we cannot overlook the use of foils in stories. While many people can be similar to each other, others can be complete opposites. One character may do something virtuous, while the other may do something heinous; this in turn makes the virtuous character seem exceedingly better than the other character.) (In literature, many writers use foils to highlight one’s true nature and make it more noticeable; when characters are compared side by side, one character is always superior to the other. In the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee undoubtedly uses pairs of characters to emphasize and demonstrate the themes of prejudice, racism and inequality of characters.)(This writing technique is especially evident with the characters: Atticus and Mr. Gilmer; Miss Maudie Atkinson and Miss Stephanie Crawford; and, finally, Walter Cunningham Sr. and Bob Ewell.)
To seek to discuss the novel’s construction, for instance, in more comprehensively detailed terms, is to find oneself confronted by the necessity of accounting for the kinds of provocation, refusal, or contempt that seem evident in its many ostensible narrative defects or excesses—for instance, the text’s hasty and foreshortened treatment of plot, its repeated implausibilities and coincidences, its arbitrary, dis integrated, extemporized phases of narration, its gaps and enigmas, the sheer extendedness of its wandering, abandoned, destitute, disorientated, or surreal intervals, its gothic elements, its banal and dismissive resolution of the narrative of the ghostly nun, its exploration of altered, delirious, griefstricken, and disintegrated states of mind, its misleading use of narrative cues, its broadcasting of divergent and synthesized elements within a sentence or paragraph, and so
... good thing, however in the case of the old writer, it is something that is very unique. To the old writer, being a grotesque is not being strange and ugly, but letting one truth run one’s life and create falsehoods out of all other parts of life. This quirky definition, given by the old writer, shapes Winesburg, Ohio and each and every story that lies within in the books. As the book is read more characters are revealed. However, the level of difficult of revealing the grotesque of the characters becomes more difficult. This is due to the fact that each character is grotesque in their own way. There is no single way to be a grotesque. Each character being a grotesque allows the old writer’s definition or theory to shape each story in the book. Not a page goes by where Anderson isn’t alluding to a truth that a character holds or why that truth makes them grotesque.
The theme that has been attached to this story is directly relevant to it as depicted by the anonymous letters which the main character is busy writing secretly based on gossip and distributing them to the different houses. Considering that people have an impression of her being a good woman who is quiet and peaceful, it becomes completely unbecoming that she instead engages in very abnormal behavior. What makes it even more terrible is the fact that she uses gossip as the premise for her to propagate her hate messages not only in a single household but across the many different households in the estate where she stays.
2) What is the main conflict in the book? Is it external or internal? How is this conflict resolved throughout the course of the book?
Kelly, David. “Critical Essay on Rebecca.” Novels for Students. Vol. 12. 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Feb. 2010.
First, the author uses conflict to show what the characters have to overcome throughout the course of the story, such as Mrs. Baker forcing Holling to do chores at school and
As you can see, there are a lot of major internal conflicts. However, there are many more not so important conflicts that weren’t listed! Ranging from racism to loneliness, the characters in this novel have gone through a lot, physically and mentally. As the novel progresses all the characters seem to go from a negative, depressed mental state to a positive and loving one. Jefferson dies with courage because Grant was able to crack Jefferson and help him, which also ended up helping himself. Miss Emma and Tante Lou are now at peace thanks to Grant’s affect on Jefferson. The only reason the novel ended with everybody in a positive state of mind is due the decisions and actions made because of the internal conflict. In conclusion, internal conflicts are very important to the story causing conflicts and plot twists to interest the reader and pull the novel together.
The novel is essentially about women. Women from different periods, of different ages, and oddly the same in various aspects. We get to know women that apparently lead perfect lives, considering the external aspect, and all of them come to a moment in their lives when they stumble upon the superficiality of their days and face their disturbed inner selves. The fates of the three characters cross because of the fact that Laura is reading exactly the book Virginia wrote, while Clarissa Vaughan appears to be a kind of living breathing Clarissa Dalloway.
...e relationship with men, as nothing but tools she can sharpen and destroy, lives through lust and an uncanny ability to blend into any social class makes her unique. Her character is proven as an unreliable narrator as she exaggerates parts of the story and tries to explain that she is in fact not guilty of being a mistress, but a person caught in a crossfire between two others.
The first character the book introduces to the reader to is Rorschach, Walter Joseph Kovacs, one of the main characters. Rorschach reveals his past and why he wears a mask on page eleven. Walter’s past is revealed in chapter six when he is examined by a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist gives Walter ink blots and his first vision is of his mother and a man. Also on chapter six, the reader, see that his mother was a prostitute who worked out of her home. Her reasons for practicing prostitution appear when she interacts with Walter. On page four of chapter six, Walter walked into his mother’s bedroom while she was entertaining a man. As soon as his mother realizes he is watching she hits him across the face. "You little shit! You know what you cost me, you ugly little shit. I shoulda listened to everybody else! I shoulda had the abortion." (Pg.4, chap.6, panel 6-7) Walter’s mother did’nt hesitate to physically or verbally abuse him. Her first reaction was to punch him in the face. This reflects the issue of a chain of a abuse. Walter’s mother was probably abused in more ways than one by her parents. Through her behavior of name calling and the rage she portrays it is most likely she was subjected to the same as a child. She basically told Walter that she didn’t want him and regretted having him. She neglects Walter of attention and love, just as she was by her parents. Both Walter and his mother are dealing with issues of neglect and a craving for attention. As a prostitute, we see on page three in chapter six Walter’s mother substitutes sex for love, attention, beauty, and care. She begs her male friend to stay, "Oh baby, please, listen. he’s kinda backwards. Please don’t get mad." She begs the man to stay because having sex makes her feel beautiful because the men want her and touch her. In chapter 6 on page three she says, "Oh you’re hurting me." She says this to her male customer, she did not make him ...
Conflict is described by James H. Pickering as, "The struggle or encounter within the plot of two opposing forces that serves to create reader interest and suspense" (1169). This is found all throughout this story. (1169) Macomber faces both internal and external conflict. The author displays conflict between Macomber and his wife: He was very wealthy, and would be much wealthier, and he knew she would not leave him ever now. That was one of the few things that he really knew… His wife had been a great beauty and she was still a great beauty in Africa, but she was not a great enough beauty any more at home to be able to leave him and better herself and she knew it and he knew it. She had missed the chance to leave him and he knew it. If he had been better with women she would probably have started to worry about him getting another new, beautiful wife; but she knew too much about him to worry about him either.