Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop
In a 1927 letter, Willa Cather wrote that her book, Death Comes for the Archbishop, that "many of the reviews of this book begin with the statement: 'This book is hard to classify.' Then why bother? Many more assert vehemently that it is not a novel. Myself, I prefer to call it a narrative." (On Writing 12).
The questions pertaining to whether or not it is a novel or why does Cather herself call it a "narrative" can be strange ones.
First, breaking down the question of if it was or wasn't a novel. According to Webster's New World College Dictionary, a novel means "a relatively long fictional prose narrative with a more or less complex plot or pattern of events, about actions, feelings, motives, etc. of a group of characters."
This definition of a novel pertains in every way to DCA, which leads the reader to question why would Cather say that it isn't a novel? Was she being sarcastic when she wrote this? In my opinion, the definition alone classifies DCA as a novel from the aspect that 1) it is a "relatively long fictional prose," 2) it has a complex plot and pattern of events about a group of characters.
However, if one was to look at Cather's view from another angle, one could see that DCA is not a novel through a variety of ways. One of these reasons is that DCA is broken down into ten "books" (including the prologue) ranging from 15-38 pages. When it is set up like this, the reader may interpret them to be read into a common day serial and take each "book" as a different story, even though Cather incorporates most of her characters throughout the book.
Another question that the reader must ask herself about DCA is why is it a narrative? For one, the reader is able to act as the narrator by putting herself in the story. Cather is brilliant at using explicit details and descriptions that make the reader feel as though she is getting a first-hand look at what is going on.
Cather, Willa. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 5th edition, Vol 2. New York:W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1998, Pgs 937-1070.
...pt by Steinbeck to prepare the reader for yet another conflict in the next section. A novel is the most diverse piece of literature that one can compose. It can go on for as long as one wants, as long as it has a definite format about it.
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut was written in 1963. "It is a satirical commentary on modern man and his madness" (back cover). It is a book that counters almost every aspect of our society. As well as satire, Vonnegut also includes apocalyptic elements in this novel.
perceive the novel in the rational of an eleven-year-old girl. One short, simple sentence is followed by another , relating each in an easy flow of thoughts. Gibbons allows this stream of thoughts to again emphasize the childish perception of life’s greatest tragedies. For example, Gibbons uses the simple diction and stream of consciousness as Ellen searches herself for the true person she is. Gibbons uses this to show the reader how Ellen is an average girl who enjoys all of the things normal children relish and to contrast the naive lucidity of the sentences to the depth of the conceptions which Ellen has such a simplistic way of explaining.
In her article “The Rise of Fictionality”, literary critic Catherine Gallagher sources an etymological modification of the term ‘fiction’ with the rise of the novel in eighteenth-century England, where it emerged as “a supposition known to be at variance with fact, but conventionally accepted” (347). This occurred at a time when an extensive homology between the ubiquitous use of speculation in modern society and that of belief that operates in the novel arose. The former required “the kind of cognitive provisionality one practices in reading fiction” (347). Through its frequent application and encounter, the “readers developed the ability to tell [fiction] apart from both fact and (this is the key) deception” (338). Its “earlier meaning of “deceit, dissimulation, pretence” became obsolete” (338). This paper will identify the effect of the synchronously burgeoning field of psychology, and its use of speculations and hypotheses in studying the mind, on this modification of fiction’s meaning, and its consequent influence on the formal and the thematic structure of Samuel Richardson’s Pamela. While it does not assume a unidirectional, causal alliance between the two, for the scope of this paper more attention will be paid on how the novel was configured in its scientific environment. This will be
CBT offers the client an opportunity to look at the presenting problem from a rational approach and use rational techniques. A therapist conducting CBT will adopt a multi-purpose role of being an active, educator, and encouraging clients to actively participate in the therapeutic process. As mentioned previously, CBT will tend to focus on the clients current functional problem. The processes will intel exploration of the interrelationship between thoughts, feelings, beliefs, attitudes, goals and behaviors. The main premises of CBT are is assumption, that an individual’s emotional reaction is produced by his or her thoughts and beliefs about a particular situation.
One of the earliest forms of cognitive psychotherapy is Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). Albert Ellis, a clinical psychologist, developed Rational
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form a therapy that is short term, problem focused, cost effective, and can be provided to a broad range of disorders and is based on evidence based practices, in fact it is has the most substantial evidence based of all psychosocial therapies (Craske, 2017, p.3). Evidence based practices are strategies that have been proven to be effective through research and science. One goal of CBT is to decrease symptoms and improve the quality of life by replacing maladaptive behaviors, emotions and cognitive responses with adaptive responses (Craske, 2017, p.24). The behavioral intervention goal is to decrease maladaptive behavior and increase adaptive behavior. The goal of cognitive intervention is to modify maladaptive cognitions, self-statements or beliefs. CBT grew out of behavioral therapy and the social learning theory (Dobson, 2012, p.9). It was not until the 1950s that CBT started to swarm the psychology field. Due to nonscientific psychoanalytical approaches, there was a need for a better form of intervention which ensued to behavioral therapy (Craske, 2017,
There is a strong agreement among American society that violence in the country is on the rise. It is easy to see why this is a strong argument among the American people, especially because of the rising popularity of violent video games and television programs. However, as these violent video games and television shows are creating their own place in our society, the reports of violence among children are escalating. This correlation has been studied extensively in the scientific community in an attempt to discover whether media violence does negatively impact children but there has yet to be a consensus. There is a split between those that believe that children are becoming more violent because they are exposed to violent media and those that believe that correlation is not causation, who argue that media violence does not have any notable effect the youth.
It is not uncommon to hear others claim that violence in the media is directly correlated to violence within youth. However, the article “Violent Video Games and Movies Causing Violent Behavior” coauthored by Eugene Beresin and Steve Schlozman exposes the truth; the concept of violence in media relating to violence in real life does not have scientific backing. Nonetheless, it has been shown that children prone to violence chose to play engage in violent media sources at a higher level than those with a less violent history. The article “Violent Video Games and Movies Causing Violent Behavior” successfully and convincingly uses Aristotle’s and Toulmin’s concept of argument to state that there is no evidence that violence within media directly affects children.
Americans take great pride in their leadership among nations. Such a distinction becomes embarrassing however when the title is claimed for the highest teenage pregnancy rate of any developed nation with nearly one million pregnancies each year. There has been extensive research on the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy which has yielded important information about pregnancy rates and risk factors. Researchers concur that pregnancy is a time of dramatic transition. A first time pregnancy propels the mother from the status of woman to mother. While these changes are noteworthy for the adult woman confronting pregnancy, their effect is frequently magnified when the expecting mother is an adolescent. Adolescent childbearing has become a prominent social issue because of the broad social and economic consequences (Harvy, 1995).
The story of “Novel XXX” begins with a widow so devastated by the loss of her husband, she vowed to remain unmarried and celibate for the rest of her life. In order to avoid temptation, she moves her son and herself to a devoted society. One day, a young woman approached the mother, explaining that she was the son’s mistress. The mother, not believing the girl, told her to set up a late night meeting with the boy. Come evening, the young man went to the bedroom and climbed into bed with the woman he found in his mistress’ bed. Unbeknownst to him, his mother was waiting for him there. The mother got so caught up in the moment, she slept with her own son and got pregnant that night. So
Teenage pregnancy develops physical anomalies, an abnormal social life for a teen, a decrease in education, and can cause an unstable life financially. Lack of parental care can cause physical problems for both the child and the mother. The mothers social life can also be affected by making them leave their friends behind as she cares for her newborn. Teen mothers are also more likely to drop out of high school due to complications in caring for their child. Stable jobs are typically harder to find with a lack of higher education and cause financial instability for the mother. From its peak in 1990, teen pregnancy rates have declined by 42% by 2008 (Healthyteennetwork.org) yet this is still higher than any first world country. Teen pregnancy is an ongoing battle and should be considered won when it is eradicated.
Although the Handmaid’s Tale & veil of roses are both novels of fiction, but they can both participate of real life action, each story of a women life differ significantly. Comparison of two different novel’s with similar themes such as escape, love, and freedom.
Critics disagree on a strict definition of the novel; D.H. Lawrence has remarked, "You can put anything you like in a novel" (Stevenson 2), and Wagenknecht in his Cavalcade of the English Novel has claimed the "...'novel' has never been satisfactorily defined" (xvii). Henry James had a unique perception of the novel: