Neil Patel
December 4th, 2014
English 3 – Period 3
The House of the Spirits Commentary Isabel Allende adds many different characters in order to create mood (this is too general, what do you mean mood, what kind of mood? I have a feeling your teacher will take points off for this) in the novel House of Spirits. Though women overpower the men in this novel, one strong male figure is the center of attention; Esteban Trueba is a dogmatic tyrant that remains sadistic throughout the passage. There is a glimpse into Esteban Trueba’s personality and appearance, only leading to his arrogance and domineering lifestyle. (awkward sentence, are you trying to say the book provides a glimpse into Esteban? and how does that lead to his arrogance and domineering
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(huh?) By continuously using description, Allende forms a very strong yet troubled character. The use of imagery exemplifies Trueba’s “rustic” lifestyle yet “robust and sensual” nature. The juxtaposition between rusticity, and his robust, sensual nature exemplifies his imperfections versus his compassion. His “indifferent” demeanor describes his powerful, violent and solemn personality, however his hardworking side symbolizes the amount of compassion hiding inside of his soul. By creating such vivid images it is evident that Esteban Trueba has many aspects, one more overbearing than the other. Allende’s “angry” and “barbaric” depiction of Esteban are unambiguous attempts to formulate his character within one passage. It is easily seen that there is no complexity to Esteban’s background more or less his personality. By being brought up in the lower class, then building a sustainable life, Esteban becomes accustomed to ordering everyone else around him, thus making him selfish and …show more content…
Throughout the passage the Allende repeatedly sets the mood through her use of diction. Allende’s description of Esteban’s nightmares, best exemplified the “invisible hands stroking his legs,” is utilized as a tool create a powerful yet cold mood that appeals to the magical realism aspect of Allende’s writing. Furthermore, diction such as “angry” “violent” and “ebb” are utilized in order to symbolize Esteban’s violence and power over life. Allende shifts the mood in the passage to display a positive feature in Esteban. Astonishingly his “aimlessness” stands out from his cold personality allowing one to see into his heart and feel compassion. Everything about Esteban Trueba’s physical appearance affects his desire to be powerful. By having a magisterial life Esteban continues to be violent causing him to “blossom into terrible attacks” however by having the right people around him his hardworking and sensual nature is
In Allende’s The House of the Spirits, Esteban Trueba is the principal male character. During the course of the novel, Trueba increases his power in the world as he progresses in status from a conservative landowner to a powerful senator. He is tyrannical, treating his family members and the tenants on his family hacienda, Tres Marías, like subjects rather than intimate community. The basis for most of Trueba's actions is the desire for power, control, and wealth, and he pursues these things at any cost, disregarding his emotional decline and the effects of his actions upon the people in his life.
In conclusion, Alcala’s poem takes a different approach with her poem in describing an affair. She uses the thought process of a woman as she experiences an affair. As a result, Alcala is propelled to use to figures of speech, persona and images in order to guide her reader to the main point of her poem of cautious uncertainty. The author utilizes persona in order to describe the characters intentions and emotions, which also establish the tone of the poem as tentative and vigilant throughout the progress of their affair. Moreover, the author also utilizes figures of speech, such as metaphors in order to draw a brief comparison between two countries and the couple. Most importantly, Alcala appeals to the five senses in imagery in order to engage her readers with depth into a very subtle and also nostalgic poem.
? . . . it made no difference if they studied medicine or had the right to vote, because they would not have the strength to do it, but she herself [Nivea] was not brave enough to be among the first to give up the fashion.? (6, Ch 1) The women in this society are dependant on the dominant male figure to handle political and economical duties. This point of view is intended to mimic the older generation of women ad present a foundation for the growth of an enlightened generation. Allende uses this excerpt to present a foundation of structure to the novel by beginning with the extremes of opinion, which are followed in the novel through different generations. Alba for example, become a very outspoken activist by trying to attend the student protests and follow Miguel on his demonstrations, a sharp contrast to the indifference or shallowness found in her great grandmother.
On analyzing a symbol as a literary convention used by author, Junot Díaz makes a way to identify the purpose of the device. In his novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), the mechanism is used to develop a specific character and point of view. The symbol is a sensory image that holds rich implication that holds either a narrow or broad connotation. However, on occasion the reader is cast off by the author with an unknown meaning of the symbol and is forced to create his own interpretation. The latter principle is intentionally carried out by the author as a literary hook to draw the attention of his audience to keep reading. Moreover, in combination with the symbol is the calculated method by the author of his utilization of pathos as a way of arousing the emotions of his readership. Consequently, the author effectively brings into existence an impetus by which the reader will be controlled. The use of a symbol as a literary convention in a novel creates a hidden significance. A literary convention, a symbol of faceless men, is used by Dominican-American writer, Junot Díaz to give significance and shape to his novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
...s Antonio, and she teaches him to look beyond what he first sees. She shows that everything connects, that even his parents’ different live styles rely on each other. Her recognition of this connection “profoundly changes a boy who has lived in fear of his environment” (Novoa 4). This lesson is repeated throughout the novel.
The central figures in these three works are all undoubtedly flawed, each one in a very different way. They may have responded to their positions in life, or the circumstances in which they find themselves may have brought out traits that already existed. Whichever applies to each individual, or the peculiar combination of the two that is specific to them, it effects the outcome of their lives. Their reaction to these defects, and the control or lack of it that they apply to these qualities, is also central to the narrative that drives these texts. The exploration of the characters of these men and their particular idiosyncrasies is the thread that runs throughout all of the works.
The themes explored in the novel illustrate a life of a peasant in Mexico during the post-revolution, important themes in the story are: lack of a father’s role model, death and revenge. Additionally, the author Juan Rulfo became an orphan after he lost
Junot Diaz's short story “Fiesta, 1980” gives an insight into the everyday life of a lower class family, a family with a troubled young boy, Yunior and a strong, abusive father, Papi. The conflict, man vs. man is one of the central themes of this story. This theme is portrayed through the conflicts between Papi and his son. Papi asserts his dominance in what can be considered unfashionable ways. Unconsciously, every action Papi makes yields negative reactions for his family. Yunior simply yearns for a tighter bond with his father, but knows-just like many other members of his family-Papi’s outlandish ways hurts him. As the story unfolds it becomes obvious that the conflicts between Papi and himself-along with conflicts between Yunior and himself-affect not only them as individuals, but their family as a whole.
Have you ever thought about the reason behind the way a person acts. Quotes in this paper are from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and Virgil Suarez’s “En El Jardin De Los Espejos Quebrados”. This paper will contain a comparison between Caliban’s character in The Tempest, and “En El Jardin De Los Espejos Quebrados”. The poem “En El Jardin De Los Espejos Quebrados”, and The Tempest, shine different lights on Caliban’s character, by going in depth about his appearance, thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Feminists confront the problems of their society in hopes of altering society to be equal. The novel, The House of the Spirits by Allende, directly correlates the struggles of feminism with the Clarettes. Though the story follows the events of Esteban Trueba; he is overshadowed by the power exhibited by the females of del Valle. Men are portrayed showing violence and discrimination in hopes of reaching what they want. Clara and the Clarettes utilize their power to subtly protest. The women of The House of the Spirits enrich the story by keeping the book interesting while showing a feminist side to the story: Allende utilizes women as the dynamic characters in society by pacing the story, controlling their supernatural powers, and representing the strength of women; portrayed by
Throughout the novel “The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende the reader sees many instances that exemplify the antagonistic nature of man verses woman. Through Esteban Trueba’s raping of many of the women at Tres Marias, his marriage with Clara, his relationship with his daughter Blanca and her with her lover Pedro Tercero Garcia and with Alba Trueba’s relationship with her lover Miguel and her Grandfather Esteban, much of what Allende wants the reader to know about the nature of man verses woman is exposed. Nature pits man against woman, in marriage, love, sex, work, and war. Women can choose their battles and fight them subtly, without really seeming to, because all women know that the men like to think they are in charge when they really aren’t, and that men will fight every battle just to prove that they are men. Triumph over a weaker opponent does not make men stronger. It only makes them feel powerful. Allende writes about women who are able to quietly persevere, always managing to get their own way, without seeming too, because they know the only way to keep men happy is to let them feel powerful and in charge.
Both “Araby” and “Eveline” are characterized by melancholic, even depressive mood. In the first case, the sadness associations are developed by the motifs of darkness and silence that reinforce the boy’s psychological state. The boy says that “All my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves” (108) which means that he wants to become invisible, to disappear, and darkness and silence are helpful for him alleviating his pain: “I was thankful that I could see so little” (108). In “Eveline”, the mood is also melancholic and depressive, but this time the feeling of melancholy is combined with nostalgia and a fear of the uncertain future. It reveals itself in Eveline’s memories of her deceased mother, her brothers, her friends, in her looking at the things associated with her previous life: “Perhaps she would never see again those familiar objects from which she had never dreamed of being divided” (1). And what concerns the tone, in both “Araby” and “Eveline” it may be described as serious though not solemn as the narration lacks too eloquent expressions, and the context concerns more daily routine than some elevated
The House of the Spirits written by Isabel Allende is an extraordinary novel that weaves together, history, politics, and current events to create a unique piece of literature. Throughout the novel on several occasions it is clear that there is inequality between the aristocrats and the peasants and this leads to struggle between the classes. The issue of class struggle takes the form of growing conflict by causing a division between the Conservatives and Socialists. At the head of the Conservatives is Esteban Trueba, a violent and materialistic figure. He believes people need to work their way up to the top and there is no reason that peasants share the upper classes wealth. On the other hand, Pedro Tercero Garcia represents the Socialistic view and he is willing to make the change through revolutionary principles. As the novel progresses class differences begin to build up and result in a political struggle between the Conservatives and Socialists thereby impacting the society in a negative way and causing it to rip to shreds.
In the story, Marquez shows many events where he talks about how the women and men fall in love with Esteban in their own ways. This is situational irony because you would expect the islanders to bury or cremate Esteban. Instead they kept him and worshipped him. This is very strange and unusual because Esteban was not living. The islanders made him what they wanted him to be. He could have been a murderer for all they knew. Marquez showed irony by telling how the islanders worshipped Esteban, the dead man! Marquez gets his point across by showing that even though the man was dead and none of the islanders knew him, they still treated him with respect and showed that they cared. Therefore, Marquez has shown that you can be affected by someone else even if you don’t know them
The one of the main themes in the epilogue, and in the entire novel is