The authorial power in David Mamet’s Oleanna and Rebecca Gilman’s Boy Gets Girl establish the relationship between a man and a woman in which their interactions provide the central role of the play. It is the interactions that illustrate the control over a given situation. In seeking power, an authority determines the direction of order and a so-called victim must comply. However, Oleanna and Boy Gets Girl reverse the control in which the so-called victim initiates the power over an authority. The outcome in a given situation becomes a violent act that abuses ones ability to provide a resolution, and the man usually takes the blame. The situation forces both parties (man or woman) to speak out of context, and the problems hinder on the fact that both …show more content…
As a result, Oleanna and Boy Gets Girl depict an authority's power as an abuse in which the characters in each play struggle to find due to the influence of outside voices. Nevertheless, the authorial power becomes a violent way to solve a problem. Oleanna and Boy Gets Girl illustrate that violence is an abuse from the power of language. David Mamet’s Oleanna illustrates the struggle of communication between John and Carol. The interaction of these characters show how an authorial figure, and the so-called victim do not understand each other due to the social hierarchy created by an institution. The relationship between John and Carol shows language abuses a given situation. Therefore, Carol puts tension for herself when she tries to push John for an answer about her work that she aims to speak out of context. Thus, when she demands for further information, she blames John and calls him out saying “I did what you told me. I did, I did everything…” (Mamet 13). Carol displays an authorial power towards John because she continues to retaliate against his answers every time he
The Power of an Author Authors have the ability justify the worst actions. Authors have a way of romanticizing certain situations in order to convey a specific message. A good author has power to influence the reader into believing whatever it is the author wants. When it comes to the story of Hannah Dustan, authors such as John Greenleaf Whittier have romanticized her captivity story along with the actions she took throughout her journey. Introducing a character that will be seen in the story is one of the most vital parts when creating a piece of literature.
One of the goals in the play is to raise awareness about domestic violence. This is done effectively through the events that are played out in the
...en using these differences and more to control and manipulate one another since the dawn of time. Facing sexism and mistreatment at the hands of oppressive men is one of the biggest challenges a woman can face in contemporary and traditional societies. All challenges animate life, and we are given purpose when we deem it necessary to overcome said trials. Post-completion, life’s tests let us emerge with maturity and tenacity that we could not find elsewhere. Janie and Hester were dealt unfair hands in life, yet instead of folding and taking the easy way out, they played the game. They played, lost, and played again, and through this incessant perseverance grew exponentially as human beings. Although facing challenges head-on may seem daunting at times, and taking the easy way out can have grand appeal, the rewards at the end of the hard path are infinitely greater.
In the short story “A&P”, John Updike uses similes, metaphors, and other figurative language in order to portray the narrator's opinion on women. He uses phrases such as “giving me hell”(Updike 1), “she was the Queen”(Updike 2), “buzz like a bee in a glass jar”(Updike 2), “shoulder bones like a denten sheet of metal”(Updike 2), “the sheep pushing their carts down the aisle”(Updike 2), and much more to describe the narrator's opinion on the people who go into the store. This insight into the narrator’s mind is a good tool to show his personality since the story is written in his point of view rather than third person or one of the girls.
Notably, one of the principal ideas presented in Glaspell’s work is the concept of gender roles, moreover, the notion of institutional misogyny present in 20th century America. These said ideas are fleshed out through the characters of the play. The play opens with the introduction of five characters: Sheriff Peters, Hale, County Attorney
Neither woman learned how to function under circumstances where more than one individual or group of individuals held control over a situation and both reacted poorly when faced with the possibility of an unfamiliar distribution of control. Amber Smith, for most of her childhood, grew up in an extremely controlling household with a verbally and physically abusive stepfather. The two most complex characters of the novel, Amber Smith and Violet Dumont, both struggled to come to terms with their perception of reality when they were suddenly expected to accept or relinquish control. The idea of control was so pivotal to the characters’ frame of reference that, they violently lashed out when confronted with change.
The Onion's "Girl Moved to Tears by Of Mice and Men Cliffs Notes" is an article with satirical and critical tone about a young communication major, Grace Weaver, who is emotional moved by reading the synopsis of the American classic Of Mice and Men over the original novel. In this article, the author describes Weaver's process and reaction to the assigned reading that aims to entertain an audience who has read the book. By using subtle satire and descriptions that let the reader understand the dangers of Weaver's shortcomings, the author is able to emphasize the importance of doing your own good work in a humorous and interesting manner.
Power, especially in the hands of females, can be a force for immense societal changes. Director Sciamma plays with the role of power in the lives of the four girls, predominantly in the character of Lady. Lady’s sense of control, stems from winning hand on hand fights, but the opinion of the men around her lays the foundation of this empowerment. The more fights Lady wins, the more the men appear to respect her, yet as feminist Simone de Beauvoir explains “[n]o matter how kindly, how equally men treated me when I tried to participate in politics, when it came right down to it, they had more rights, so they had more power than I did (Simone de Beauvoir - The Second Sex- ix),” the “power” Lady obtained was provisional. Lady’s power was directly tied to the opinion of the men around her, in this scene, a portion of the boys sits on stairs physically higher than Lady, invoking a sense of power hierarchy and control. The boys only valued Lady when she successfully participated in the their world of violence, but this participation came with boundaries as “[w]omen can never become fully socialized into patriarchy- which in turn causes man to fear women and leads then, on the one hand, to establish very strict boundaries between their own sex and the female sex (Feminist theory 142).” The men had never truly incorporated Lady into their group, she had just
A story without style is like a man without personality: useless and boring. However, Flannery O’Connor incorporates various different styles in her narratives. Dark humor, irony, and symbolism are perhaps the utmost powerful and common styles in her writing. From “Revelation” and “Good Country People” to “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” all of O’Connor’s stories consist of different styles in writing.
As I reflected more and more on Wilson's masterpiece, my anger turned to curiosity Instead of my curiosity waning, it grew. I felt like I was unraveling a huge ball of yarn. In a play about family, a million different issues lived. I was astounded at the number of issues that Wilson touched upon, issues ranging from family relationships, to problems in the workplace, racial tensions, and infidelity. And under each one of these was another, underlying issue, the reason, or the catalyst that enabled these to prevail. Part of the genius of this piece is that it is like an onion, with many layers, and can be interpreted on many different levels.
Authors often make use of rhetorical strategies for additional effects, appeals to the reader, relating to an audience, or even for simply drawing attention to a specific section/part of a work. Nonetheless, these Rhetorical Strategies can prove crucial in the unraveling of such a work. The preceding is the case for a work entitled Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury. Within the context of the story, a circus enters a small town and changes its overall atmosphere with never before seen mystical evils. Only two boys, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, stand in their way. These uncanny occurrences bring out the morality and malevolence of several characters in the story. In Bradbury’s work, there are many discrepancies in the moralities of each character relative to the development of the plot and their overall portrayal in the novel. Bradbury adds many instances in which certain characters have to make a choice between what they wish to do and what they should do. Such decisions accurately portray the conflict as an internal discontinuity between the ultimatums of good and evil. Thus, making the readers question his or her interpretation of each and challenge the societal parameters that encompass them.
As the story begins, the narrator's compliance with her role as a submissive woman is easily seen. She states, "John laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman 577). These words clearly illustrate the male's position of power in a marriage t...
“Boys and Girls” describes a major turning point in a girl’s life, turning down a path towards womanhood. Her childhood fears of the dark and fears of being less than a perfect worker to her father and her control of her brother slowly dissolve. Her decision to free the terrified horse highlights her pivotal journey into adulthood. And her ability to cry with sensitivity over her decision of freedom, demonstrates the acute sensitivity of a woman.
Within every story or poem, there is always an interpretation made by the reader, whether right or wrong. In doing so, one must thoughtfully analyze all aspects of the story in order to make the most accurate assessment based on the literary elements the author has used. Compared and contrasted within the two short stories, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and John Updike’s “A&P,” the literary elements character and theme are made evident. These two elements are prominent in each of the differing stories yet similarities are found through each by studying the elements. The girls’ innocence and naivety as characters act as passages to show something superior, oppression in society shown towards women that is not equally shown towards men.
...sque, and in Flannery O’Connor’s artistic makeup there is not the slightest trace of sentimentally” (qtd. in Bloom 19). Flannery O’Connor’s style of writing challenges the reader to examine her work and grasp the meaning of her usage of symbols and imagery. Edward Kessler wrote about Flannery O’Connor’s writing style stating that “O’Connor’s writing does not represent the physical world but serves as her means of apprehending and understanding a power activating that world” (55). In order to fully understand her work one must research O’Connor and her background to be able to recognize her allegories throughout her stories. Her usage of religious symbols can best be studied by looking into her religious Catholic upbringing. Formalist criticism exists in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” through Flannery O’Connor’s use of plot, characterization, setting, and symbolism.