“The Coward” is a short story written by Guy de Maupassant. In this short story, Guy de Maupassant takes the reader into the mind of a character who brutally encounters his true identity and ultimately faces the disintegration and self-destruction of a coward. The story takes place during the Post- Victorian era in France, a time of prosperity and luxury for the bourgeoisie class. “The Coward” displays the effects society’s standards have on the protagonist life when dealing with a conflict. The round character in this story is Vicomte Gontran-Joseph de Signoles who embodies an individual who has lived his life through society’s perception versus his true self. In comparison, the flat characters pride, George Lamil, and the seconds are exposed throughout the story displaying Signoles fatal flaws. There are also several supporting characters in the story. In “The Coward”, the conflicts that are portrayed are man vs. man, man vs. society, and man vs. himself. In “The Coward”, the author’s central theme is …show more content…
He was well aware of the disadvantageous position he would face in a duel with Lamil. He knew he should not take part in the battle, but could not imagine facing that kind of vulnerability. He let his pride take control of his actions, deciding it was better to kill himself then become disgraced by society. Ironically, he becomes a coward because he commits suicide rather than dishonoring himself in a duel. He made an ultimate choice of choosing prestige over life.
Flat Character – George Lamil
Signoles decides to challenge Lamil because of his offenses toward his friend. For the first time Signoles will have a real battle. In the past, he never fought fair fights the deck was always stacked in his favor. Signoles is dealing with a man who does not have the same manners, which is clearly displayed when he uses vile words. This stranger brings out both doubt and uncertainty.
Flat Character –
The Return of Martin Guerre, written by Natalie Zemon Davis, is the tale of a court case that takes place in sixteenth century France. Martin Guerre is a peasant who deserted his wife and family for many years. While Martin Guerre is gone, a man named Arnaud du Tilh arrives at Martin’s village and claims to be Martin Guerre. Bertrande, who is Guerre’s wife, Guerre’s sisters, and many of the villagers, accepts the imposter. After almost three years of being happily married, Bertrande takes the fraud to court under pressure of Pierre Guerre, her stepfather and Guerre’s brother. Arnaud du Tilh is almost declared innocent, but the real Martin Guerre appears in the courthouse. Throughout this tale, many factors of the peasant life are highlighted. The author gives a very effective and detailed insight to a peasant’s life during the time of Martin Guerre. Davis does a successful job of portraying the peasant lifestyle in sixteenth century France by accentuating the social, cultural, and judicial factors of everyday peasant life.
In The Return of Martin Guerre, one man's impersonation of an heir from an influential peasant family in the French village of Artigat ultimately leads to his public execution. The tale of Arnaud du Tilh alias Pansette (meaning "the belly") is full of ironies, not the least of which is his death at the hands of a man who by some accounts harbored some admiration for the quick-witted peasant. Set in a time and place where a hardly discernible line separated proper behavior from that which was grounds for death, du Tilh was guilty of more than one serious charge. Yet he was well-known as a strong farmer, loving husband, shrewd rural-merchant, and eloquent speaker. Arnaud's actions are not the result of his own audacity, rather of something more universal, so universal its results can be seen in other historical figures from the text. Du Tilh assumed Martin Guerre's identity because doing so represented a unique opportunity to test the extent of his abilities and leave behind his presently troubled life.
Albert Camus is a skillful writer noted for showing aspects of culture and society through the depiction of his characters. In The Stranger, Camus illustrates the existentialism culture and how that comes into play in the life of the protagonist Meursault. The Stranger, as suggested by the title, is a novel revolving around the protagonist, Meursault, who is a stranger to the French-Algerian society as he challenges its values. Camus vividly portrays Meursault’s journey through the use of imagery, irony, and symbolism. In The Stranger, Albert Camus uses the minor character, Raymond Sintes, to illustrate the contrasting nature of Meursault and how his friendship with Raymond leads to his downfall.
The important conflict in The Red Badge of Courage is Henry Fleming's. fear about how he will perform in his first battle. There were three people. who expressed their ideas about their fears before the first skirmish. They Henry Fleming, Tom Wilson, and Jim Conklin.
In John Marsden’s Tomorrow When the War Began, the quote from David Seabury “Courage and convictions are powerful weapons against an enemy that depends upon only fists and guns”, is evident throughout the novel with the character’s various successes. Conviction (willpower) is very strong in the main characters, as the stakes are high with their entire town invaded leaving very few free. This conviction is also essential for courage, which as Ellie explains in the book, can only be found amidst fear. “I guess true courage is when you're really scared but you still do it” p.25. There are various frightening moments in this book, like when the ride on mower was used like a bomb or having to rescue Lee using heavy machinery. These are all moments the characters used their will to survive to propel them to do something that they were terrified to do. The characters also face daunting themes head on despite the previous stress. This is courage, found within conviction, and it has proved to be a good weapon against those with physical weapons.
In most of the world's greatest literature, there have been introduced countless courageous characters and triumphant victories. These characters have the power to father strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. Such characters as Janie from Their Eyes Were Watching God, Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, June from The Joy Luck Club, and Edna from The Awakening. Throughout each of these magnificent stories comes an example of bravery and courage. Although in some cases, the characters may not generally be perceived by the public to be courageous at all, they demonstrate extreme strength in overcoming adversity.
Robert Bresson’s A Man Escaped follows the confinement and eventual escape of political activist, Lieutenant Fontaine. The movie’s theme is blatantly clear: freedom at all costs. Fontaine must not only save himself from imminent death, but from the fear of parched sanity. Bresson, an “auteur” by the standards of colleagues and the Cahiers Du Cinema group, creates suspense melded with hope through the scarcity of music and sound, the restricted establishment of setting, the daunting acting of Francois Leterrier, the exposition of time, and the heavy reliance of a narrator.
The stereotypical stance of Corporal Himmelstoss, a military officer, is presented as a physically undersized man who wears a waxed moustache, which ideally supports the many defiant occasions where he disheartens the young soldiers. Throughout the novel where he is sent into the trenches we accept his role of breaking the spirits of the young soldiers. However, we understand why Paul and Albert Kropp take revenge beating him up. It is through these instances where the reader can almost understand a character through his right and wrong actions. Remarque’s inclusion of such scenes in the novel acts out the bitter anger and disillusionment of the young soldiers.
In the Historical fiction, “The Red Badge of Courage”, written by Stephen Crane; a young man try’s to find courage in himself in the time of war. After watching your commander die in war, would you stay and fight or return home and be a coward? Enlisting Himself into war Henry, to be more than the common man to prove worthyness and bravery. With the sergeant dead will Henry lead his men to victory, or withdraw his men in war. Not being the only are faced with the decision Jim and Wilson Henry’s platoons will have the same decision.
Meursault holds the ultimate power of choice over his actions, and with the power of choice comes a responsibility to atone for the consequences resulting from said choice. Meursault’s responsibility is motivated by the morals that he develops as an individual, which leads to a conflict with the morally void society. Meursault is shown to be heroic through his acceptance of his responsibilities in spite of the conflicts with society, and using Meursault as an example, Camus demonstrates that it is a heroic action to live up to one’s responsibility in the face of conflict from external sources. Meursault is not a hero because of what he does; he is a hero because of what he does not do: Meursault refuses to compromise on his moral values and responsibilities despite conflict from society.
When Stephen Crane first wrote, The Red Badge of Courage, it wasn’t revered throughout the nation. Instead, it circulated abroad, where the English loved it. Eventually, after many years, the same fame happened here, causing Crane to earn a spot in literature history. However, many have asked how he accomplished this feat without having the experience most would require to write a book like he did. I believe that his lack of experience actually aided in his endeavors and the real question that should be asked is what is Crane trying to show us throughout his book and I believe a big hint is in the title. Crane is trying to show us the true definition of courage. His way of doing so is by having readers follow the thoughts and emotions of Henry
The Red Badge of Courage is not a war novel. It is a novel about life. This novel illustrates the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Stephen Crane uses the war as a comparison to everyday life. He is semi-saying that life is like a war. It is a struggle of warriors—the every day people—against the odds. In these battles of everyday life, people can change. In The Red Badge of Courage, the main character, Henry Fleming, undergoes a character change that shows how people must overcome their fears and the invisible barriers that hold them back from being the best people—warriors, in the sense that life is war—they can be. Henry has a character change that represents how all humans have general sense of fear of the unknown that must be overcome.
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, one of the most significant and renowned books in American literature, defies outright classification, showing traits of both the realist and naturalist movements. It is a classic, however, precisely because it does so without sacrificing unity or poignancy. The Red Badge of Courage belongs unequivocally to the naturalist genre, but realism is also present and used to great effect. The conflict between these styles mirrors the bloody clash of the war described in the book – and the eternal struggle between good and evil in human nature.
When brought to the call of avenging their father's deaths, Laertes is fast to act, he is wants revenge and he wants ...
The protagonists, The Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, consider it their life’s ambition to sadistically control and dominate those around them through sexual intrigue. These two villains are indeed locked in psychological combat to see who can actually ‘out-do’ the other in stalking, capturing and destroying the souls of others. Taking absolute pleasure in ripping any virtue from the hearts of their prey, Merteuil and Valmont wave their accomplishments in front of each other like spoils of war. The less the chance of surrender, the more relentless is the pursuit.