The Lie of the Land
This is a list of explications--things a North American reader might need to know in order to make most sense out of Haydn Middleton's The Lie of the Land. I re-read the novel and made a list of unclear references or ambiguous words or terms. I included the page number and a short explanation of the context; I then proffered each word with the definition I was able to find!
Before delving into my textual explications, let me add a short "preface" first. As I re-read Middleton's novel, I found myself intensely interested in the cultural differences between North Americans and the English from (you guessed it...) England. My fascination with the inexplicable difference, yet explicable intertwining of our two cultures is probably provoked by a book I'm reading for another class, Cultural Misunderstandings by Raymonde Carroll, a French anthropologist. Carroll has extensively studied the differences between Americans and Europeans, mainly French. She gave an interesting analysis concerning Americans and our way of conducting or cultivating relationships. Well, I was reading the novel again, and if you caught it, Rachel offers Alasdair an invitation to dinner. This might not strike you as significant at all, but hold on--note that here in the United States, we will frequently end a conversation with, "Call me!" or "Let's get together, sometime, okay? I'll call you sometime!" These advances are never realized, of course, but are merely conversation climaxers. Rachel says to Alasdair, "Look . . . you should come round some time with Maggie. We'd love to see you . . . " (25). A couple of chapters later, the dinner scene is a very significant addition to the story, hmm? Carroll made the comment that Americans portray themselves as superficial and flighty with their many unrealized invitations. Europeans, on the other hand, tend to extend invitations and set the date in the proceeding avenue of discourse. Details. Dr. Gilgun taught my Fiction class last semester, and we learned that details develop ordestroy the story. Details divorce me from the story or seduce me, leaving me wondering where reality ends and the surreal begins. Details characterize the culture behind the author, the culture in and within where delight is reached, found, discovered and eventually shared. But anyway . . . enough of diversion!
TEXTUAL EXPLICATIONS--please feign acquiescence, and pretend that this list is complete and can stand alone; there were so many more textual nuances that I wanted to include! Hmm .
Wilson was heavily influenced by his family and war during his young life. His earliest memories were of the Civil War. He would constantly see Union soldiers marching through town, while his mother would tend wounded Confederate soldiers in the local hospital. Many of his later philosophies began at an early age and were heavily influenced by witnessing the poverty and destruction that war brought. Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856 in Staunton, Virginia, to parents of a primarily Scottish heritage. Woodrow’s father was a Presbyterian pastor so Woodrow was raised in a very pious and academic environment. Woodrow was taught the skill of oratory at a young age and grew to enjoy it immensely. After high-school, Woodrow spent a year at Davidson College in North Carolina and three at Princeton University where he received a baccalaureate degree in 1879. (Clements)
Baldick, Chris. The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of Literary Terms , New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Between 200 B.C.E and 800 C.E., there was a large development and spread of Universal Religions. The definition of a universal religion is a religion that has these characteristics: believes in one God, promises a type of salvation or after life, and a religion that is open to all people no matter what social class, race, or gender. Two of the large universal religions, Christianity and Buddhism were spread because of Syncretism. Syncretism is the adaptation to a religion by the religious leaders so that their beliefs are close to those of the local population. Although Syncretism is arguably the most important factor for the spread of these universal religions, there were other key reasons as to why these religions spread.
Wilson had some important roles in World War I that took a tole on his health. Just the fact of being a president is enough pressure. What stands out most after much research is the fact of how much he wanted peace. One would not underestimate by saying he spent his life by trying to have world peace. He was a remarkable president and benefited our nation tremendously by his works.
Contrary to popular belief he was not the “machine-like psychotic,” so many people make him out to be. In his inaugural speech, given in March 1913, he stated, “This is a not a day of triumph, it is a day of dedication. Here muster, not the forces of party, but the forces of humanity. Men’s hearts wait upon us; men’s lives hang in the balance; men’s hopes call upon us to say what we will do. Who shall live up to the great trust? Who dares fail to try? I summon all honest men, all patriotic, all forward-looking men, to my side. God helping me, I will not fail them, if they will but counsel and sustain me.” This was the attitude that Wilson carried out all of his activities with. He jumped into the Presidency with complete dedication. He truly loved the executive responsibility.
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.
After Woodrow Wilson earned his Ph. D. from John Hopkins University, he later became the president of Princeton University in 1902. He was a scholar who was valued and known for his intelligence and writing ability. In 1910, he was chosen to run for governor by the Democratic Party because of his great reputation as a profound public speaker. Although he won the election, he surprised the Democratic Party by welcoming reform. He directed Legislative to t...
When initially asked about the morality of lying, it is easy for one to condemn it for being wrong or even corrupt. However, those asked are generally guilty of the crime on a daily basis. Lying is, unfortunately, a normal aspect of everyday life. In the essay “The Ways We Lie,” author Stephanie Ericsson makes note of the most common types of lies along with their consequences. By ordering the categories from least to most severe, she expresses the idea that lies enshroud our daily lives to the extent that we can no longer between fact and fiction. To fully bring this argument into perspective, Ericsson utilizes metaphor, rhetorical questions, and allusion.
Woodrow Wilson, Born in Virginia in 1856 and raised in Georgia and South Carolina, was the 28th president of the United States. He enacted significant reform legislation during his two terms. Surprisingly, he was a political novice who had held only one public office before becoming president, but fortunately enough possessed considerable political skill. He was a brilliant and effective public speaker, but he found it difficult to work well with other government officials because he did not deal well with disagreements. Wilson developed a program of progressive reform and asserted international leadership in building a new world order. In 1917 he proclaimed American entrance into World War I a crusade to make the world "safe for democracy" (similar to George W. Bush, who has used this phrase in his war against terrorism).
Wheeler, Kip. "Literary Terms and Definitions M." Literary Terms and Definitions "M" Carson-Newman University, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
In ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, Lorraine Hansberry describes each of the family’s dreams and how they are deferred. In the beginning of the play Lorraine Hansberry chose Langston Hughes’s poem to try describe what the play is about and how, in life, dreams can sometimes be deferred.
Why do people lie? There is not one specific answer to this puzzling question. Millions of people lie every day for many reasons. Whether it is to cover up insecurities or to protect yourself, lying is a habit that people often retreat to, to mask their feelings. In The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old teenager who constantly lies in situations where he does not have to, in order to cover up his insecurities and to create a false identity for himself due to his low self-esteem.
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.
Have you ever wondered if your life was a lie? A lie that consist of a body and mind relationship, existentialism, Theodicy, morality , and law and justice. These are all prevail abstract that each contain two different spectrum and ways of oncoming their meaning.
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.