Stability is an essential aspect of life that structures the way one lives. Without it, an individual becomes accustomed to perpetual uncertainty, and the remainder of his or her life is shaped by the stability or lack thereof that characterizes one’s existence. In both texts studied, stability is either the basis of the protagonist’s life, or is completely absent. While both works use landscape to convey their contrasting themes regarding stability, the landscape in The Cat's Table reflects stability in the protagonists' life, whereas the landscape in The Year of the Flood, serves to express the instability that characterizes Toby's existence.
The landscape is depicted in both novels in contrasting ways, as one of the outlooks leads to stability, while the other scenery leads to instability. In The Year of the Flood, the novel opens with a description of the unreliable and disturbing landscape from the point of view of Toby, one of the protagonists. When looking out at the city, the landscape is never a settling sight for her. One observes this instability in the following passage:
She lifts her binoculars, scanning from left to right. The driveway, with its lumirose borders, untidy now as frayed hairbrushes, their purple glow fading in the strengthening light. The western entrance, done in pink adobe-style solarskin, the snarl of tangled cars outside the gate (Atwood 4).
As the quotation clearly demonstrates, the view that Toby looks out to is unsettling. Toby is troubled by the disarray and lack of control that unfolds in front of her. The sight is unfortunately not surprising to the protagonist, as this environment is familiar during the post-apocalyptic period. The chaotic state of the city that Toby looks upon fearfully is s...
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...s stable environment in The Cat’s Table.
In brief, it is clear that while landscape is a key feature in both The Year of the Flood and The Cat’s Table, the contrast between the novels is especially visible when comparing what each landscape represents; one portrays a stagnant and placid landscape, whereas the other setting is characterized by havoc and an inability to feel at peace. In the same vein, the metropolitan city in comparison to the ship provides a clear understanding of the stability on the constant, clear waters in The Cat’s Table, versus the instability and life filled with fear that is apparent in The Year of the Flood. However, one must keep in mind that the landscape is not the defining factor of stability in one’s life, but is merely reflecting upon the condition of one’s existence, formed by external circumstances with which the protagonist faces.
Throughout the book Peace Like A River, there are several mentions to landscape and setting. I believe that the landscape is a analogy for the main character, Jeremiah’s, health. Throughout the book there are obvious analogies such as the badlands and winter. But those can be talked about later. In the start of the book they are at August Shultz’s farm hunting geese. He describes the landscape as “soaked swaths with a december smelling wind” (Page7) from this we can say for certain that Jeremiah is in good health.This could also mean a fresh start. This setting comes into play a few times and can mean different things contextually. Throughout the second chapter, through chapter 10, the landscape does not play a huge
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...s a gloomy place harboring mystery and misery. The main character, Evgeny, finds himself in the midst of a great flood. He was contemplating his future, his life with a woman named Parasha, when this flood interrupts his life. When it ceases, Evgeny makes his way through St. Petersburg finding vast amounts of destruction. Parasha’s home nowhere to be found, and people beginning to try and put the pieces back together.
'The Storm' and 'The Story of an Hour' expresses the attitudes of two women's rebirth and liberation. These two stories are alike in several ways. Natures plays a major role in both of these women's lives. Calixta and Mrs. Louise Mallard struggle to find their independence and in doing so the endings are triumphant and tragic.
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Another sense of the attempt to retain a moralistic self-identity and persevere through the obstacles present was the reaction had by the tenant farmers when forced to move off their land. Standing in conflict with "the cat,"--the destr...
Throughout the novel we are given a dramatic portrayal of nature. We are shown this particularly when Victor is having momentous times in his life. An example from the novel is, “It was a most beautiful season; never did the fields bestow a more plentiful harvest, or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage; but my eyes were insensible to
In the poem there is an ABAB rhyme scheme along with use of alliteration, onomatopoeia, and imagery. By using all of these techniques, it helps the reader to better understand the message which is being relayed in the poem. Some of the subjects of this poem include, urbanization, dystopia, nature, dying and the fall of man. The reader gets a vivid image of a huge industrial city built in “valleys huge of Tartarus”(4).
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She squinted through the windshield as she slowed the car to a crawl. The abandoned two-story Victorian structure stood resolutely at the far end of the lane. There were shafts of daylight that would occasionally break through the dark, gloomy clouds hanging as a backdrop in various shades of gray. It gave the house a sad and distressing presence that matched her
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