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Critically analyse Margaret Atwood as a novelist
Critically analyse Margaret Atwood as a novelist
Critically analyse Margaret Atwood as a novelist
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“Take Charge” is a scientific short story by Margaret Atwood. This story underlies a dark and problematic past and future of our times. In each part of the story readers encounter a problem with a given situation. During the first part of the story which seemed to be set around mid-1800, the problem encountered could be fixed, but the helpers would not cooperate. They made up excuses like “I can’t swim” or “My leg’s been shot off” but the captain kept on encouraging them to try and do their best. The audience can clearly understand that Margret Atwood was exploring the possible consequences as technology improved and progressed. She expressed her attitude though the choices she made with the setting of the story. As the time went on the story
Margaret Garner, an enslaved African American woman in pre-Civil War America, was born on June 4, 1834, at Maplewood plantation in Boone County, Ky. Her parents were slaves belonging to the
... rock.” (Shelley, p. 292), and Lang was surely aware that without the marvels of technological progress his visual spectacular would have never graced the screen. However Shelley and Lang, in their works, warn of the dangers of not thinking progress through, of not asking “should we do this?” in lieu of “can we do this?”, and they warn their respective audeinces that sometimes it's better, like Captain Robert Walton, to recognize that the journey to progress can be a dangerous one and to return to safe shores instead.
Frances Burney started feeling pain in her breast in 1810, and in September 1811 a mastectomy was performed to her. In her letter ”A Mastectomy” she describes the illness and the operation, her feelings and fears, to her sister Esther Burney. The letter tells a story of a battle of control and against the feeling of powerlessness. It also speaks of empowerment; writing is Burney's way of regaining control over her operation and making it part of her own history. In this paper I attempt to find and analyse the reasons for Burney's feeling of powerlessness, its describtion in the letter, and the ways she tries to fight it.
It’s easy to be the one in charge; to be a leader, is the hardest skill to master. Shackleton’s actions of selflessness, obsessiveness and planning ability, demonstrates he was in a rare class of ‘leaders’. The ideals of leadership was one area which Shackleton had mastered; accomplishing one’s ambitions was an area in which Shackleton was never able to master. Although completing ambitions can be an exciting story, sometimes failures are a far superior story. “We knew you’d come back”–quoted an unidentified sailor–was the highest compliment ever paid to Sir Ernest Shackleton–an exemplary leader.
In this novel, Shelley focuses on the debate between scientific discoveries, religion and the moral ethics of how far man should pursue his desire for knowledge, which reflects the society of the 19th century’s concern of where the scientific advancements were going similarly to the present day debate on whether stem cell research is valid.
Along with prompting mass hysteria amongst people, the flu epidemic of 1918 also revealed the arduous aspects of scientific research. In order to efficaciously perform their jobs, scientists are required to possess specific attributes. In a passage from The Great Influenza, John M. Barry uses vivid imagery, figurative language and exemplification to depict the challenges and uncertainty a scientist must overcome, along with the traits they must bear in order to succeed in forming a “path” for future growth.
Every day, people are faced with responsibility. Some thrive under the pressure while others crumble. Responsibility is a sign of independence. Teenagers with greater amounts of responsibility feel freedom from their parents. In the same case, too much responsibility can put more stress on that freedom-seeking teen and can have devastating effects. John Steinbeck shows the theme that in life, responsibility is best taken in moderation in his novel Of Mice and Men.
The average Joe is probably familiar with Michael Crichton’s work, whether they know it or not. Crichton’s titles include famous sci-fi classics like State of Fear, Andromeda Strain, and the timeless Jurassic Park. The breadth of these books is staggering with topics ranging from climate change to genetically resuscitated dinosaurs, but they have something in common. They all questioned facets of science that were previously thought to be invulnerable to criticism. Over his lifetime, this well-meant skepticism became a hallmark of Crichton’s work. In fact, Michael became a superstar in the world of science fiction by writing pieces that questioned the potential effects of, as well as the motivation behind, scientific progress.
An altruistic person is defined as a person who is selfless and cares more about the well being of others. On the other hand, a mad scientist is contrary of an altruistic person: someone willing to create and promote inhumane experiments for the sake of one’s amusement and contentment. Although both personalities contravene with each other, it is possible to have both identities in one body. Margaret Atwood introduces Crake as a character who exhibits the two discordant makeups in the novel Oryx and Crake. Atwood portrays such character by representing Crake as a smart mad scientist that with the goal to “save the world” creates the Paradice project of altering human-like creatures with the goal of eliminating human imperfections, and inventing the BlyssPluss pill that promotes immortality, which eventually causes the humanity’s downfall. Although Crake’s logic is twisted, Atwood also represents him as a character that possesses the heart of an honourable and benevolent humankind willing to resolve a variety of the world’s crisis and helping his friend out during their time of distress.
Surfacing, starring Joseph Bottoms, is not only an astute interpretation of Atwood’s work, but it is also a marvellous film in itself. Yes, marvellous. Certainly, it does justice to Atwood’s portrayal of substanceless women, but if it has any clearly defined themes, they are lost on the audience. What more could an audience want but a film that is incoherent and that is filled with vivid imageries?
Thomas Shadwell’s famous scientific satire The Virtuoso lampooned the frivolous and non-utilitarian scientific processes that were prevalent during the early years of the Royal Society of Science. Although Shadwell targeted his contemporary self-proclaimed virtuosos who practiced science only as a fun diversion, he simultaneously managed to predict some of the more dire consequences that would come about from the development of machine technology and the process of industrialization. It would be disingenuous to imply that Shadwell was writing a Marxist critique of technological development and its effect on the English workforce, or even that he was an anti-machine Luddite, as both of those ideologies would not come to be developed until well after two hundred years after the Restoration period. It can, however, be said that many scenes in The Virtuoso make accurate predictions as to what scientific advancement would bring and to what effect it would have, and that Shadwell’s play doubles as both a critique of the scientific process of the Royal Society and of the Industrial Revolution and the socio-economic chaos it would cause, even though it was still one hundred years away from beginning. Industrialization is still a long way in the making, but it’s effects could be seen long beforehand.
Relationships are complex things, with ever-changing dynamics. Some traditional roles are always played in the constant search for balance between giving and taking in relationships. Women have historically and stereotypically played the role of "giver" in male-female romantic unions. In recent years the gender laws of relationships have been changing and evolving, but even as recently as the 1970s and 1980s women have been restricted to the role of complacent giver in their relationships. Their freedom of thought and even private speech have been impossible to repress, however, and through broadening that communication, things have been forced into change. A perfect example of this form of communication as an attempt to change the role-playing games of relationships is Margaret Atwood's 1974 poem, "Tricks With Mirrors." Through the use of poetic devices such as metaphor and tone in "Tricks with Mirrors," Atwood attempts to explain and break free from the restrictions of these traditional dynamics in relationships.
During a few decades, American society had been through different significant changes such as the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, and Scientific Development. These changes had given a massive influence to the American literary movement in the nineteenth century. In fact, some of the literary works at that time are a reflection of those changes. One remarkable intellectual trend, which emerged in America in the nineteenth century and which subsequently became a literary movement is Naturalism (Kendir). In this case, Scientific Development is a major factor that influences the movement of literary naturalism. Charles Darwin is the one who brought up a new concept of sciences, in which Stephen Crane will use it as a concept for his short story “The Open Boat”. From Darwin’s book “The Origin of Species,” there are two concepts that can be found in “The Open Boat.” The first concept is natural selection, which means only individuals with certain advantageous characteristic will remain survived (Padian, 2009). Apparently, Crane used this Darwin’s idea as a foundation of the story for his short story “The Open Boat.” Then, the next concept is survival of the fittest which means nature only selected the fittest individuals that can adapt to any changes. In “The Open Boat,” Crane explicitly tells the readers the effort from the four men and their struggle for existence. In brief, the influence of Darwinism had played a pivotal role in literary movement by inserting a new philosophy and idea of life based upon science, in which this idea is used by Stephen Crane for his short story “The Open Boat.”
Whenever you see a movie, or read a book about a mother and child bond, there is always a common theme involved no matter which country you are in, Protection. The mother is usually the one protecting the child. In Survival, by Margaret Atwood, she states that women in Canadian short stories are important in regards to protecting their young. They can help them out of situations, or save them from danger. However, they can also be shown as the victims, facing struggles in their own daily lives. Mothers are of great importance to Canadian short stories and can be shown in and characterized in many different ways.
Everyone makes decisions every day, both big and small. In the novel Lyddie, by Katherine Paterson, the main character, a girl named Lyddie, lives in the mid-1800’s during the American Industrial Revolution. She travels to Lowell, Massachusetts to start work as a factory girl. The story illustrates what life would have been like for a factory girl, and sheds light on important topics like child labor, unfair treatment of factory workers, and other hardships of the time period. Diana Goss, one of Lyddie’s first friends at the factory, is a part of the Female Labor Reform Association, a group that wants an end to the hardships. A petition is circulating and Lyddie must decide if she wants to sign or not. While there are reasons Lyddie should