By confronting existing ideas of modernisation, money and fictional idolised characters, we can discover different perceptions of ourselves and the world around us. This is because we are able to gain new knowledge from experience which allows us to change our existential outlook. This idea is evident in Robert Gray’s “Flame and dangling wire” and “meatworks” and Allistar Mcleod’s short story “To everything there is a season”. These aforementioned texts display the destructive nature of humanity through the influence of context. Modernisation allows to improve society’s quality of life however it’s by products of waste may induce the new perspective that humanity is selfish. In flame and dangling wire the idea of modernisation is challenged(use …show more content…
This is evident In Alistair Mcleod’s story, “to everything there is a season”, where the emotional discovery that Santa is not real challenges the persona’s naïve idea of reality and is forced to mature. This shows us provocative discoveries are necessary in one’s lifetime. Allistar Mcleod shows the destructive nature of humanity as the idea of Santa may cause emotional attachment within young individuals however is employed as a scheme for globalisation and marketing. Unlike “Meatworks” and “Flame and Dangling Wire”, the induced discovery is caused by his parents instead of the external environment. This occurs during the narrator’s harsh transition from childhood to adulthood. We are able to see Santa Claus as a symbol of the narrator’s only connection to his fading childhood through the quote “For without him, as without the man’s ship, it seems our fragile lives would be so much more desperate”. Through the use of emotive language such as “fragile”, we are able to see the narrator cherishes Santa emotionally. This emphasises the metaphor of the door, “It is as if I have suddenly moved into another room and heard a door click lasting behind me, I am jabbed by my own small wound.” portrays the persona’s emotions of grief and anxiety after the realisation departure from the childhood world as his presents are no longer from “Santa Claus” unlike his younger brothers . This allows the narrator to discover the perspective that life is a series of realisations whereby people should “hang onto the good things in our lives as long as we are able. “ The naivety and blissfulness of childhood is ultimately privileged as demonstrated through consistent positive references to belief in
There is and added complication in that he would like to have another child to throw the reindeer droppings on the roof for. Even though he wants this more than anything, he is reluctant to approach his wife. He fears that she may not share his desire and that would just be too painful to accept. He would prefer to have a boy and vividly anticipates this imaginary child finding the evidence on the roof on Christmas morning. ...
In contrast to Dillard initial perception of God as wrathful she recognizes him now as loving by associating God to her kind neighbor and a cheery old man filled with joy. Dillard recalls, “For so many years now I have known that this Santa Claus was actually a rigged-up Miss White, who lived across the street, that I confuse the dramatis personae in my mind, making of Santa Claus, God, and Miss White an awesome, vulnerable trinity” (Dillard, 1982, p. 72). Dillard utilizes juxtaposition by comparing “awesome, vulnerable trinity” to Santa Claus, God, and Miss White. The trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit portray invincibility; yet in this sense Dillard depicts a “vulnerable trinity.” Dillard’s juxtaposition of the trinities demonstrates her comprehension of their differences and she acknowledges her mistake of initially confusing the two. Dillard implement Santa Claus in her narrative as a representation of God’s omnipotent presence. Dillard reminisces, “; Santa Claus stood in the doorway monstrous and bright, powerless, …” (Dillard, 1982, p. 71). Dillard juxtaposes “monstrous” and “powerless”. This example of juxtaposition conveys the alteration in her perception of God because as a child she perceives Santa and God as threatening, like a monster; yet as an adult she realizes they do not mean to harm
There was once a time when nature, not industry, was the driving force of human life. Those days are long gone and irretrievable, and as such, Lawrence’s attempt to bring people back to a world ruled by the body and the forest rather than the mind and the machine ultimately proves futile. In reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover, I found myself thinking about my own life, and how the world in which I live is controlled by money. While my world is far different from Lawrence’s, both worlds are filled with people who find themselves constrained by the harsh realities of capitalism. As I reflected upon the novel and upon society itself, I pondered whether the problems that plague society are solvable, and I ultimately reached the conclusion that we have planted our feet so firmly in the capitalist system that our only choice is to trudge forward as individuals.
... authors conclude that it is through alienation within a small society that ultimately leads to the primary characters’ demise and death. Whether their individual cases are self imposed or externally imposed, the results and the impact are the same, annihilation of the human soul. Their craft make emphatic use of setting to the successful depiction of this theme. Both characters ultimately fall into the abyss of loneliness and despair proving that human existence cut-off and on its own is more destructive than positive . Thus their message seems to suggest that as humans, we need society in order to truly belong and have a connection, purpose and worth in this life, in order to truly live.
In “My Favorite Holiday Movie Involves a Giant Rabbit”, Boylan discusses her favorite Christmas movies and how their meanings have influenced her during the holidays. Through the use of allusions, metaphor, and imagery, Boylan argues that the holiday season is really about believing and practicing internal virtues to uplift oneself and one’s life. For example, Boylan makes several allusions to popular Christmas movies, like “The Snowman”, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, and “It’s a Wonderful Life”. However, her most prominent allusion throughout the article is to “Harvey”, which “on the surface… is not a Christmas movie at all but the story of a man whose best friend is a six-foot-tall invisible rabbit”. At first, Boylan’s choice to reference
“Why,” you ask, “position yourself only to be disappointed upon realizing that all you hold as true is in fact false?” I will tell you that I grew up believing in Santa Claus—the jolly, old, fat man who annually descended the chimney with his endless sack of treasures. I will tell you that I still believe that Santa Claus exists, despite being told otherwise by both parent and peer. I will tell you not only that Santa Claus exists, but that he exists in you and your family and your friends and every person who gives a little extra in any way thinkable.
Whether a warning to or a reflection on society, the book stimulates thought and forces the reader to look inward at his or her own...
The image enforces the meaning of Christmas being lost, and that the people need to be aware of this now sacrilegious, laic time. The source displays the change from sacred Australia, which was a time of religion, to a more secular period. The source presents the contemporary cultural values of Australians today, often disassociating themselves from holy, divine objects, places or people. Losing their sacred connectedness to God or their purpose with religion. Taking Christ out of the equation presents how Jesus has been neglected by those supposed Christians of the modern day, who have forgotten the sole meaning of Christmas and their religion. This image imposes a reinforced message through an image presenting secularism of contemporary Australian Christmas with the words “missing”, and “what Jesus has become”. The view of Source 3 displays that anything of great importance in the religious sense, including Jesus, in temporal culture which exists in Australia is lost.
‘Society makes and remakes people, but society is also made and remade by the multiple connections and disconnections between people, and between people, places and things’ (Havard, 2014, p.67).
Meeting the Ghost of Christmas Past begins the first stage of Scrooge’s transformation: regretting his actions. When Scrooge is shown his younger self alone in his classroom on Christmas, he regrets chasing a Christmas caroler away from his door. The Spirit skips ahead a few years to show him a happier time. His sweet little sister Fan arrives to take him home, and this is his first Christmas in a long time that is spent with family. Unfortunately, Scrooge doesn’t see it that way; seeing this scene makes him “uneasy in his mind” as he thinks about the way he treats his nephew Fred. Instead of treating him like his only family member, Scrooge denies invitations to Christmas dinner every year and is rude whenever Fred speaks to him. He doesn’t have time to dwell on this for long, however; Scrooge has many other important things to think...
Altough satires are often used to be funny ;Atwood uses this instrument of literature for an attack on a society which she strongly disapproves of. With the intent to bring about improvement, she raises the question if our current lifestyle excuses the possible future problems. Many of our today as “normal” considered values are everything but self-evident. One of the most striking aspects in the novel is time; and our relationship towards it. “ We yearned for the future.
Today, modern society is experience more and more of a disconnect from the real world as we connect more and more to the online world. People send text messages more than they call, and friends across the world can interact in a matter of seconds, if not instantly. As society continues to modernize, we experience the same sort of falling out with the natural order of things that authors near the turn of the century felt as their culture changed. T.S. Eliot, Joseph Conrad, and D.H. Lawrence are only three such authors to put pen to paper to explore this deracination. Eliot’s The Waste Land, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner” explore the idea that modern life and society negatively affects those who succumb to its rhythms.
The main issue with which literature has always been concerned is the subject of “man” and its status in the “world”. But the most critical exploration of these concepts is accomplished by emergence of postmodern fiction. This thesis first aims to explore that what changes man and the world around him have underwent and that how the developments in the realms of culture, philosophy, and aesthetics have caused these changes. In the second step, the thesis turns its focus of attention from turns and twists of the status of man in the world to study that how postmodern fiction reacts to this process and how it reveals an awareness of this process through a defamiliarization of man, world, and the relationship in between. In accordance with the topic of this thesis, for clarifying this argument that why these are the crucial concerns of postmodern fiction we pose three questions:
A few days later, my family were all gathered around for lunch when Emily began questioning me about Santa Claus. She appeared so enthusiastic and happy for Christmas that I did not want to ruin it for her. So I started telling her about The North Pole and the flying reindeers and anything associated with Santa. Deep down, I chastised myself for tricking her, but I thought a little white lie will not hurt anyone. I looked up and my mom gave me “the look”, and I knew that was not a good sign.