Brooklyn: A Migration Towards Growth and Identity
Moving to another country is challenging because it entails having to adapt to a certain culture and belief in order to fit in. The novel Brooklyn, written by Colm Toibin, narrates a story about a young Irish woman who immigrates to the United States from Ireland. Evidently through the course of time, the protagonist develops a deeper sense of character and understanding about herself, reflected through the American way of living. The novel Brooklyn by Colm Toibin is about a coming-of-age of a young woman, whose immigration to the United States defines her experiences in life, ultimately by shaping her identity, belief and her character.
The novel Brooklyn written by Colm Toibin is a story about a young Irish immigrant named Eilis Lacey, who travels from Ireland to the United States in hopes of finding better job prospects. Set in the late 1850’s, Eilis lives in a small town in Ireland named Enniscorthy, with her mother and sister. She struggles to find a decent employment in her village despite of her knowledge in bookkeeping. Her sister, Rose, largely supports their family through her earnings as their brothers have already left for England, where jobs are highly available. According to a secondary source written by Eve Walsh Stoddard, the sense of social and economic suffocation in Ireland along with the pain of losing family to emigration pervades the early pages of the novel (Stoddard 160). Evidently, this is portrayed in the novel through the separation of the Lacey family. Hoping for a better future for her sister, Rose invites a Catholic priest named Father Flood over to their home, to encourage Eilis to immigrate to Brooklyn. In the novel, Father Flood states, “‘In the United States,’ he said, ‘there would be plenty of work for someone like you and with good pay’” (Toibin 24). Father Flood tells Eilis about
The main character of the novel, Jurgis Rudkus and his family had immigrated to Chicago hoping to reach the “American dream.” However, they were unable to realize that only a few would reach that dream since industrial corporations exploited the skills of expendable immigrants. A majority of the immigrants fled from their countries to escape religious persecution, famine, crop failure, and industrial depression. The corporations and factories in Chicago took advantage of the immigrants by offering them lower
Ewen's Immigrant Women in the Land of Dollars Throughout history, the concept of Americanization has been studied in order to better understand the effects of a mass culture on immigrants. On one side stands the view of an immigrant engulfed in American ideology who leaves behind his past. He conforms to this new individualism and now is able to move upward on the economic ladder. On the opposite end of defining Americanization is the unscathed immigrant who maintains his old word traditions and institutions to emerge victoriously despite unfavorable conditions. His ethnicity solidifies his success by creating affinity bonds and social patterns to aid in the struggle for a decent life. Though both these views are extreme, they both contain significant aspects which form a more accurate perspective of how immigrants assimilated into the "emerging industrial and consumer society" (Ewen, 15). These immigrants did not give up their nationality completely, even as they adopted American ideals in order to survive within the new but unfamiliar consumer culture. This cultural coalescence brought about major changes, which women had most of the burden of assimilating during the 19th century. The unrelenting and brave women described by Ewen in "Immigrant Women in the Land of Dollars" demonstrated an amazing ability to retain many of their traditions while still accommodating American ideals and culture in their social events, employment, and home life.
William Shakespeare, an illustrious and eminent playwright from the Elizabethan Age (16th Century) and part owner of the Globe theatre wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which he portrays the theme of love in many different ways. These include the paternal love seen in the troubled times for Egeus and his rebellious daughter Hermia, true Love displayed with the valiant acts of Lysander and Hermia and the destructive love present in the agonizing acts of Titania towards her desperate lover Oberon. Through the highs and lows of love, the first love we clasp is the paternal love from our family.
Studs Lonigan is the protagonist and the name of the trilogy of three novels, Young Lonigan, the Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan and Judgment Day, by the American author James T. Farrell. The novel is a classic depiction of Irish life in the South side of Chicago and how Studs Lonigan comes of age in the setting. It is particularly in the second part that Farrell brings to light the venom of racism and how its unchecked spread helped to produce and reproduce the ghetto. The main reason Farrell cites for writing the book is the urban world that he knew had never been portrayed honestly enough in fiction. In his words, ‘I am a second-generation Irish-American. The effects and scars of immigration are upon my life. The past was dragging through my boyhood and adolescence’ (Farrell, 1993). It was the acrimony that Farrell had for the Irish Chicago neighborhood in which he grew up that led him to write the novel. In his opinion the Catholic parish church as the neighborhood’s primary institution was a great obscurant whereby the immigrants and their children were always uncertain of their identity and place in the new land (Byrne, 2006).
William Shakespeare’s intellectual use of the English language is what brought him prosperity throughout his lifetime, and what brings us to tears and laughter in the modern world. The life of Shakespeare is of great importance to English literature because of his many contributions including poetry, stories, and plays. However, many people do not know that he also owned a business. “William Shakespeare was a professional actor, a businessman, and a playwright. Today, nearly four hundred years after his death his plays are still performed” (Greenhill and Wignall 4).
One of the primary inquiries that arises from Shakespeare’s famous work,Hamlet, is whether the protagonist is truly insane or whether he is just pretending to be so. Unlike some of Shakespeare’s other work such as Macbeth where the “discerning eye” can determine whether the character is actually insane or not and where the madness was born, Shakespeare leaves Hamlet’s madness up to interpretation. In the play, Hamlet’s madness can be viewed as rational or viewed as completely crazy. Hamlet’s madness is shown through his rash decisions, mood swings, and his “nutty as a fruitcake” speeches. The method behind his madness can be reasoned through the fact that in his madness he is protected by the king, he makes fools of king and everyone around him, and he gets plenty of time to plot his revenge against Claudius for the murder of his father.
One of William Shakespeare’s greatest works is a play entitled Hamlet. This play is about Prince Hamlet whose father, the king, was killed by his Uncle, Claudius, who then took the throne. Shortly after the death of his father, Gertrude, his mother, married Claudius. His father comes back as a ghost and tells him about the murder and asks him to seek revenge on Claudius. This is when a great controversy arises that is debatable to this day. Hamlet begins to act mad to set up his revenge on Claudius. The question is, does Hamlet still truly possess his sanity, or is he really mad?
Death can be harsh. Death can be punishing. Death can be for the most, sad. As most people see death, it brings tough and hard emotions to their minds. Most don’t understand that death should be celebrated. They believe that once they die they never see them again. This idea that death is the end, has haunted the human life for all of eternity. Death brings cold thoughts to a person, which makes them miserable. The passing away of a beloved person, can be extremely dangerous through the different ideas and attitudes that come with death. This is what came to be in the play Hamlet. The characters put their emotion into death and some of the different out puts toward death were surprising. Throughout Hamlet, the attitudes toward death are astonishing between the characters the Ghost, Claudius, and Hamlet.
England's most talented and well know poet and dramatist was born on April 23, 1564, at Stratford-upon-Avon, located in the cetre of England. His father, John, was a glove-maker and wool dealer involved with money lending. His mother Mary Arden was the daughter of a Farmer. William was the third out of eight children whom all died young. His father became Mayor in 1568, after serving on the town council for many years.
In the play Hamlet, Hamlet mentions to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that “Denmark’s a prison.”(Act 2 Scene 2 Line 262) Throughout the play, it is made apparent that there is no physical entity that is imprisoning Hamlet. Rather, Hamlet is mentally imprisoned by his mind. Throughout the play, Hamlet is physically free to do many things, but his mind traps him into taking action on some things and prevents him from doing other things. He does not wish to murder Claudius but is bound by vow to commit the act. Whenever he wishes to commit suicide, his beliefs prevent him from doing so. Throughout the play, Hamlet feels as if he is in a prison, as he is being constantly watched by everybody.
William Shakespeare, poet and playwright, utilized humor and irony as he developed specific language for his plays, thereby influencing literature forever. “Shakespeare became popular in the eighteenth century” (Epstein 8). He was the best all around. “Shakespeare was a classic” (8). William Shakespeare is a very known and popular man that has many works, techniques and ways. Shakespeare is the writer of many famous works of literature. His comedies include humor while his plays and poems include irony. Shakespeare sets himself apart by using his own language and word choice. Shakespeare uses certain types of allusions that people always remember, as in the phrase from Romeo and Juliet, “star-crossed lovers”.
Shakespeare can be shown to be a strong influence on many modern aspects of everyday life today, ranging from comedies, tragedies, history, modern television, and many other examples. Shakespeare is well known across the world and will continue to be an influence in the future. His true birthdate is unknown to this day, but his Baptized date was April 26th, 1564 in England.
Throughout the United States and the entire world people are aware of Shakespeare; however, many people wonder why society wants their citizens to continue to read William Shakespeare’s plays and poems. Shakespeare continues to influence today’s environment and brings people together by speaking of a common author that most people know. All across the world, students must read at least one of Shakespeare’s works; which often develop those children who read his works into better writers. During the Elizabethan Era, William Shakespeare experienced an uneventful childhood and had a basic education; however, his life still seems to be shrouded with mystery and raises the argument that he was not only the most successful, but also the most mysterious playwright, actor, and poet from that time period.
William Shakespeare was a very talented man known for his various works of literature. His works include poems, plays, and sonnets. His works are then broken down into tragedies, comedies, and histories. Shakespeare left this world centuries ago, but his writings continue to live throughout the world today. He has greatly impacted the world of literature and his existence will forever be remembered.
William Shakespeare’s life has brought much curiosity to many. This is natural as he is considered to be the greatest figure of English Literature. William Shakespeare, in terms of his life and work, is the most written-about author in the history of Western civilization. His works include 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 epic narrative poems, the First of which was published after his death in 1623 by two of Shakespeare's acting companions, John Heminges and Henry Condell. Since then, the works of Shakespeare have been studied, analyzed, and enjoyed as some of the finest work of art in the English language.