In the novel O Pioneers!, written by Willa Cather, there is an important emphasis on the relationships that form among the pioneers of the Nebraska prairie. Two of the most important relationships established in this book are Alexandra’s relationship with Carl and Alexandra’s relationship with the Land. Both of these bonds share an overwhelming amount of similarities, like how Alexandra depends on both Carl and the Land and how there is a mutual respect between both Alexandra and the land and Alexandra and Carl. Despite these similarities, however, there is a difference in the type of relationship Alexandra shares with them both. Although she loves and cares for each one, Alexandra’s love towards Carl is more of a practical, companion type of love, while Alexandra’s love towards the land can be more lustful at times. In Alexandra’s relationship with Carl, she is quite emotionally dependent on him, especially after Emil’s death. Alexandra wants Carl to be there to comfort her during this trying time and after three months have passed with no word from Carl, she becomes exceptionally distraught over the fact that he isn’t there for her. This helps to show that although Alexandra is a highly independent woman, she has allowed herself to become somewhat dependent on Carl. This dependency is also present in …show more content…
Alexandra depends on both the Carl and the land, whether is be emotionally or out of necessity. The relationships are also similar because there is a level of mutual respect among the two parties in the relationship. However, both of the relationships differ in the type of feeling Alexandra feels towards the other. With the land there is at time a lustful attraction, while with Carl it is more of a friendly love. With these important similarities and differences, it is easy to see why these are two of the most important relationships created in the
Alexandra Bergman’s lack of self awareness allows others to forget that she is a woman and, at times, even human, which continuously builds the wall of isolation that surrounds her. As a result, when she reacts to situations as a woman would, rather than as “she” should, those around her don’t know what to make of it. Because she has been such a steady influence for so many years, those around her do not understand that perhaps she did have another dream besides working the land that she seems to care so deeply about. Her brothers in particular are unable to comprehend that Alexandra is a woman and was forced into the life she has lead by their father’s fantasy rather than by her own free will. Perhaps the only people who truly understand her dilemma are Ivar and Carl. Ivar is a “natural man” and a religious mystic and Carl a man who was unable to make a living from the land– neither is respected by their peers, and yet they have some sort of insight to Alexandra’s heart that even she has failed to acknowledge. Alexandra’s walls are brought down only by love: love of her youngest brother, love of the land, and the return of the childhood love she thought was lost to her– as these loves begin to change her, her outlook on her entire life begins to change and meld into something that only those who actually know who and what she is recognize: a woman.
Derek Vinyard is a character in the film American History X. He is a great example of an anti-hero. Before prison, Derek Vinyard character is really unlikeable and he is sickening. He was a true definition of a villain. He is a former neo-Nazi who organizes crimes to destroy families and humiliate people. He even treats his own family with disrespect, such as in a scene where he grabbed his sister by her hair and shoves food down her throat. Later he spent three years in jail for man slaughtering two black men. He shot one and the other, he brutally curb-stomped to death outside his house for trying to steal his truck. In prison, he becomes friendly with a black inmate and was rapped by members of the Aryan Brotherhood. Upon release from prison,
Cather portrays the tension between Alexandra and the community in the first four chapters of the section, entitled "Neighboring Fields." Alexandra, an iconoclast, who challenges the close-minded and petty world of small-town America, in which Lou and Oscar, her older brothers, are in one accord with. To an extent, Alexandra's brothers are bound to tradition, obsessed with popular opinion, and frightened by unconventional thought. Just as Lou and Oscar initially resist Alexandra's vision of the land's future and later her innovative farming techniques, they also ridicule her impulse to treat Crazy Ivar with k...
O Pioneers brings the works of Fredrick Jackson Turner and Solomon Butcher to life, through Alexandra and her affection for the land, Cather, gives a voice and a human persona to the expanding frontier, showcasing the land's innate ability to shape its own destiny. In O Pioneers, Alexandra symbolizes the spirit of an entire pioneering generation, and embodies the power of the American land itself.
Defining the American character is quite difficult because American identity is vaguely founded on shared values and ideologies, more so than a particular creed, race, or culture. In order to describe the American character, we will consider the dominate and distinctive qualities of Americans as interpreted by J. Hector St. Jon De Crèvecoeur and Thomas Paine. First, we will examine how Crèvecoeur illustrates Americans as industrious, prideful, and political in “Letters from an American Farmer.” Then, we will analyze from Thomas Paine's “Common Sense” how he depicts the prevalent qualities of Americans to be driven by justice, liberty, emotions, and individualism. Also, because both authors consider the American character and culture different
Where The Wild Things Are Oranus Salimi 301201582. The movie, entitled, “Where the Wild Things Are” features a main character named Max. Max is a young boy who seems to be full of imagination and creativity, but lacks the ability to handle his family problems. Max’s family consists of his mother and Claire, his sister.
Anna transcribes her memories in a way that transitions from being able to love freely to being forced to love Alexander Karmyshev out of obligation; this was an arranged marriage by her mother. Anna sees the role of a noblewomen as being completely submissive towards their husbands even under unbearable conditions. The lessons learned from her mother helped shape and control her life. Labzina’s mother instilled the lessons of submission and survival in her mind before departing. Her mother’s motivation for teaching her these things was so that elite people would intercede on her behalf through respect for her. Her mother’s teachings were to:
She pays attention to the mother and daughter 's shoes, dresses and jewelry, and image their conversation, I because she wants to feel that she is also involved in such relationship between mothers and daughters. Then here comes a question, I keep asking myself this question. She lost her mother when she was nineteen, did she ever have those moments in her life before her mother died?, then I re-read this essay again, the last two paragraphs makes feel that she might not have those moments with her mom before, or she even had a bad relationship with her mother before, because she said " I suspect that we would have been friends... The woman inside the mother.” That might mean before her mother died, she was too young, she might not have a good relationship with her mother, but after her mother died, she starts to regret and miss the time when her mother still around. Anna leaves us a sad ending, “And I think that my fantasies… Then again, maybe not.” It contains sadness, lost and
The themes of this book were many. Some were well developed and appropriate to the story, but others seemed unnecessary. The books major themes were marriage and unhappiness, while the book also deals with depression, and making choices. This book follows several marriages and families, and these themes proved themselves to be very important and essential in Anna Karenina.
The Notebook (Cassavetes, 2004) is a love story about a young couple named Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who fall deeply in love with each other. The Hamilton’s are financially stable, and expect for their daughter Allie to marry someone with the same wealth. Noah on the other hand works as a laborer, and comes from an underprivileged family. Throughout the film there were several negative behaviors, and interpersonal communications within the context of their relationship, which relates to chapter nine. This chapter explores relationships, emphasizing on affection and understanding, attraction, and the power of a relationship. The focus of this paper is the interpersonal conflict with Noah, Allie and her mother, Anne Hamilton.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...
From the very beginning, Anna's first impression on Caro was a positive one. Caro had been through so much in the past several months that she appreciated every little thing Anna did for her such as dusting and cleaning her room, changing her sheets and bringing her a linen cloth with her meal. Unlike Harriet and Rose, Anna went out of her way to get to know Caro on a...
Regina’s daughter Alexandra has had her decisions made for her by her mother in the early parts of the play.
...the things that draw Anna to Vronsky that eventually lead to the downfall of their relationship and Anna's eventual suicide. Anna was drawn to Vronsky mostly because of his social status and the life he led. She found his carefree lifestyle, untamed personality and military involvement to be desirable. However, it is these exact things which bring about indifferences between Anna and Vronsky as Vronsky's political duties and social lifestyle limit the time he spends with Anna. Vronsky is unable to quench Anna’s thirst for attention and complete devotion which as a result makes her doubt his fidelity. Seeing that her only way to attain personal fulfilment through Vronsky had failed her, Anna realizes that she has now lost everything, her lover and her child, because of her misleading view that only physical love could provide her with a sense of personal fulfilment.
For centuries, women have turned and have entrusted in men for advice to fulfill their lives with romance. Some women, even though they had difficulty establishing a satisfactory bond with their spouse, still had a tendency to have a dependency on the male spouse for identity. For a woman to become a "wife" was a defining role in women's lives back then, especially within the eastern European cultures. Sadly, marriage is not always shown to be flowery and romantic as expected. Although Anton Chekov portrays his protagonist character Olga as kind hearted and attractive and favored, she often longs for “love” from the male gender, and serves as the embodiment of female disempowerment.