More handpicked essays just for you.
Social media and mental health essay
Social media and mental health essay
Critically analyse Margaret Atwood as a novelist
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Margaret Atwood’s story Lusus Naturae documents what it is like to be seen as a monster by both your own family and your larger community. Despite the fact that she is person with thoughts and feelings, the Narrator’s family shuns and neglects her where as the rest of the village forms a mob and kills her. The reason as to why this happens is because both the Narrator’s family and village are afraid of what they do not know and are ignorant to the fact that she is a person. The Narrator’s family treats her like a monster by resenting and neglecting her, faking her death, and locking her in her room all day. The Narrator’s family resents her, proof of this is found when the Narrator states “[My mother] came and went as quickly as she could. …show more content…
The narrator explains that one night “I frightened two children in the woods, on purpose: I showed them my pink teeth, my hairy face, my red finger-nails, I mewed at them, and they ran away screaming” (Paragraph 25). That situation shows that people are understandably afraid of her, and she knows it. Another situation unfolds that show that even when the Narrator is trying to be friendly and not trying to frighten anybody that she still scares people. This happens when the Narrator reminisces “I detached myself from the brambles and came softly toward him (a man sleeping after having sex with a woman)… He woke up, he saw my pink teeth, my yellow eyes, he saw my black dress fluttering; he saw me running away. He saw where.” (Paragraph 36). This eventually leads to the Narrator’s death as the man then leads the mob of villagers to the Narrator’s house where they kill her. In conclusion, in Lusus Naturae we see what it is like to be deemed a monster by both your family and community through the eyes of a young girl afflicted with a condition that makes her appearance look monstrous. We see how the Narrator’s family and community treats her because of her family’s shame and the community’s ignorance of her being a human being with feelings. Lusus Naturae allows us to see that it is not wise to judge a book by its cover or a “monster” by its
Another fear erected from this novel is the power of seduction over feebleminded women. Evident in a passage from Zofloya, Victoria was swooned even by the sound of his voice, ‘Oh, Flattery, like heavenly dew upon the earth, gratefully dost thou descend upon the ear of woman! Indescribable pleasure dilated the bosom of Victoria, as she listened to the honied accents of the delicate Moor’ (Dacre 156). This villain had a hold over her making it easier to push her towards evil deeds. He promised her security after committing the crimes she wished, ‘…you shall see your desire fulfilled, and I will preserve you from every danger and suspicion’ (Dacre 181). Victoria had wished Berenza dead and Lilla out of the way but required the extra push from Zofloya.
...ther is losing her daughter to time and circumstance. The mother can no longer apply the word “my” when referring to the daughter for the daughter has become her own person. This realization is a frightening one to the mother who then quickly dives back into her surreal vision of the daughter now being a new enemy in a world already filled with evils. In this way it is easier for the mother to acknowledge the daughter as a threat rather than a loss. However, this is an issue that Olds has carefully layered beneath images of war, weapons, and haircuts.
Although this story is told in the third person, the reader’s eyes are strictly controlled by the meddling, ever-involved grandmother. She is never given a name; she is just a generic grandmother; she could belong to anyone. O’Connor portrays her as simply annoying, a thorn in her son’s side. As the little girl June Star rudely puts it, “She has to go everywhere we go. She wouldn’t stay at home to be queen for a day” (117-118). As June Star demonstrates, the family treats the grandmother with great reproach. Even as she is driving them all crazy with her constant comments and old-fashioned attitude, the reader is made to feel sorry for her. It is this constant stream of confliction that keeps the story boiling, and eventually overflows into the shocking conclusion. Of course the grandmother meant no harm, but who can help but to blame her? O’Connor puts her readers into a fit of rage as “the horrible thought” comes to the grandmother, “that the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in Tennessee” (125).
...cts of the mother and the descriptions, which are presented to us from her, are very conclusive and need to be further examined to draw out any further conclusions on how she ?really? felt. The mother-daughter relationship between the narrator and her daughter bring up many questions as to their exact connection. At times it seems strong, as when the narrator is relating her childhood and recounting the good times. Other times it is very strained. All in all the connection between the two seems to be a very real and lifelike account of an actual mother-daughter relationship.
This fictional story, Lusus Laturae, is written by Margaret Atwood. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the origin of the Lusus Naturae is from Latin and the meaning is “freak of nature.” That is direct enough to assume the story is about a monster figure that will be a symbol of the story. According to the book “Freak of Nature,” the history of freak of nature to scientists and philosophers is an unfortunate, grotesque creature because it is odd or abnormal such as a conjoined twin which has two heads and shared a body (Blumberg 5). The criterion of being odd or abnormal starts from the visual difference seen by people. In the story, through the narration and point of view, character, symbol and figurative language, plot, and setting, it is revealed that the society and even the family ostracizes the protagonist who is defined as a monster due to her different appearance from others.
Through a story of danger and a childlike characterization of Ma, Torres demonstrates Ma does not have inherent motherly qualities. In the chapter “The Lake,” Paps intends to teach Ma and the narrator to swim, an endeavor which almost drowns both of them. The narrator describes the episode saying, “Ma who had nearly drowned me, who had screamed and cried and dug her nails down into me” was “more frenzied and wild than I had ever known her to be” (Torres 21). Almost dragging down the narrator with her, Ma does not exhibit motherly qualities. Instead of protecting her son, who is in the same perilous situation, she protects herself, an action which does not reflect empathy, protection, and reliability. Using words like “screamed, “cried,” and “frenzied,” Torres characterizes the mother as young and wild, making her more childlike than the narrator. Like an animal, she digs “her nails down into” her son. In this moment of danger, she abandons her human side,
“You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what I am about to tell you” (Kingston, 1507). Within the stories “The Swimmer” by John Cheever, “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros, and “No Name Woman” by Maxine Hong Kingston all revolve are the stifling of voices and lose of identity. In “The Swimmer” the main character Neddy loses his identity while he swims across “Lucinda’s River.” Cleofilas in “Woman Hollering Creek” has her voice stifled by her abusive husband. While the protagonist in “No Name Woman” has her voice stifled by her mother about certain subjects. Within these stories both men and women struggle because of who they surround themselves with that stifle their voices and lose identity.
With the final lines give us a better understanding of her situation, where her life has been devoured by the children. As she is nursing the youngest child, that sits staring at her feet, she murmurs into the wind the words “They have eaten me alive.” A hyperbolic statement symbolizing the entrapment she is experiencing in the depressing world of motherhood.
Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...
Throughout the story, the narrator speaks of her mother’s grace and in moments when that grace was put under pressure,
Mama, as a member of an older generation, represents the suffering that has always been a part of this world. She spent her life coexisting with the struggle in some approximation to harmony. Mama knew the futility of trying to escape the pain inherent in living, she knew about "the darkness outside," but she challenged herself to survive proudly despite it all (419). Mama took on the pain in her family in order to strengthen herself as a support for those who could not cope with their own grief. Allowing her husband to cry for his dead brother gave her a strength and purpose that would have been hard to attain outside her family sphere. She was a poor black woman in Harlem, yet she was able to give her husband permission for weakness, a gift that he feared to ask for in others. She gave him the right to a secret, personal bitterness toward the white man that he could not show to anyone else. She allowed him to survive. She marveled at his strength, and acknowledged her part in it, "But if he hadn't had...
Tragedy shows no discrimination and often strikes down on those undeserving of such turmoil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a creature more repulsive than one can imagine is brought to life by a young scientist. Although this creature is horrifying in sight, he is gentle by nature. Unfortunately, the softer side of the creature is repeatedly overlooked and the so called “monster” is driven to a breaking point. Even though the Creature committed many crimes, Mary Shelley’s Creature was the tragic hero of this story because of his efforts rescue the life of a young girl and helping destitute cottagers.
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 ...
Her family life is depicted with contradictions of order and chaos, love and animosity, conventionality and avant-garde. Although the underlying story of her father’s dark secret was troubling, it lends itself to a better understanding of the family dynamics and what was normal for her family. The author doesn’t seem to suggest that her father’s behavior was acceptable or even tolerable. However, the ending of this excerpt leaves the reader with an undeniable sense that the author felt a connection to her father even if it wasn’t one that was desirable. This is best understood with her reaction to his suicide when she states, “But his absence resonated retroactively, echoing back through all the time I knew him. Maybe it was the converse of the way amputees feel pain in a missing limb.” (pg. 399)
Mary’s mother, Betty, was a poor example of what a mother should be. A prostitute by profession often abandoned Mary to perform sex acts. Unfortunately, Mary was not always abandoned and was brought into the sex acts, abused sexually, and used as a prop for Betty’s customers. Mary reported that she was forced to perform sex acts starting at the age of five at the bequest of her mother. Mary’ mother was physically abusive to her, reportedly choking her and attempting to kill her on multiple occasions. Even as a baby, Mary was not nurtured by Betty, treating her as an object rather than a child. Actually, Betty attempted to give Mary up for adoption, which was thwarted by Betty’s sister.