“Theft” by Katherine Ann Porter is about a woman whose purse has been stolen. In the story, the woman is having flashbacks to figure out who took or what happened to the purse. The purse is a symbolic figure within the story. It seems as if the purse represents something that the protagonist is missing within their life. It seems that the character has many flaws in which the audience see, but the character does not notice.It is implied that the purse is of great fortune. Could it have been that the main character lost something similar in her life, which has caused torment in life. However, the purse in the story helps with understanding the main character and it builds to the conflict of her figuring out the fate of the purse. The conflict …show more content…
Which makes the purse such big deal within the story. The main character doesn’t care about the mini relationships that she had a chance to build while looking back on what happen to the purse. Therefore in her eyes the purse is the only thing that will not reject or neglect her.To show that porter was not a people person, her attiude towards camillo was not emotional. The main character admired the lovely hat he had on but when it was being ruined by the rain, the only thing she could worry about was how was she going to get another one. For Porter, to have the characters set up like this explains why the purse was such of an issue. Instead of Porter, letting relationships builds she doesn’t because it seems as though in Porter personal life she could have gone through a phase of alienation. Which seems to be portrayed through the main character. All people that the main character come into she does not try and build any time of human connection. This all could be due to the fact the Porter created the characters with such no humanistic qualities that the characters are not aware of any feelings. However, the personality of the main character is important due to the fact she is the one suffering the loss of her most precious purse. Or is it something deeper than the
The love that most humans hold in their hearts is bountiful and can only be explained as mysterious. Well, in Peg Kehret's novel Abduction, love is explored and tested to the greatest extent. Bonnie, a young, adolescent girl is tested when her brother Matt Shotler is kidnapped. Bonnie will stop at nothing to get her brother back from his evil captor, Denny Thurmann. There are many things we can learn from this novel; however, only one really stands out. One lesson the story suggests, is to never lose faith in the ones you love and know that they will come through for you.
All in all, the story was rather sad but eye-opening. I believe Porter’s approach to writing this story allowed readers to reflect back on their own lives and examine both the good and not-so-good times. It shows people not to just live life through the motions, but rather, to look at it as beautiful journey as no one wants to end up like Granny Weatherall and realize that with she never really lived.
Is a woman's strength determined by her endurance to stay in a hurtful relationship or is it determined by her ability to move on? The early twentieth century is known to women as the "era of exuberance." (Gilbert 1205) During the early twentieth century women began to find the answer to the question at hand deeply rooted within themselves. The answer for Katherine Anne Porter seemed to be her ability to move on based on the actions she chose in her real life. Does her literature tell a different story? Born in Indian Creek, Texas on May 15, 1980, Callie Russell Porter spent most of her life outside of the state of Texas. In 1915 after nine years of marriage to John Henry Koontz she divorced him claiming "nothing in common and physical abuse." (Davidson) At this point she changes her name to Katherine Anne Porter, her late-grandmother's name. At the young age of 25 Porter had already broken the role of a traditional woman that was known to that time period.
Guilt is a prevalent theme throughout The Book Thief. Liesel endures guilt multiple times, when she steals laundry money from Rosa, gets Max sick, verbally attacks Ilsa Hermann, and experiences the guilt of surviving. All of these acts caused Liesel to experience some sort of guilt which later causes her to perform questionable tasks.
The narrator’s briefcase itself is perhaps the most important of Ellison’s inanimate objects. While the influence of the briefcase is not in its being an overtly crude representation of an oppressive society such as, for instance, Mary’s bank, the briefcase nonetheless plays an important role in constructing the pillars of the narrator’s superimposed identity. After the Battle Royale scene, the narrator is finally allowed to make the speech he has prepared. During his speech, he makes the ‘mistake’ of using the phrase ‘social equality’ in place of the much more ambiguous term, ‘social responsibility.’ The narrator corrects himself amidst the jeers of the almost entirely white audience. He then continues with his speech, lauding the importance of friendship, extoling the necessity of docile mutual existence to the “thunderous applause” (31) of the audience. Pleased with the narrator’s attitude of implied submissiveness, the superintendent “come[s] forth with a package wrapped in white tissue paper” (32). He presents this mysterious ...
Some of the literary elements that can be found in Porter’s stories, such as “Theft” and “The Martyr,” are characterization, conflict, and theme. The women in Porter’s stories reflected how life realistically was in the nineteenth century. It was hard for women to be independent because men would always do things for them and not listen to what they had to say. Almost all women wanted their own independence, but their fate was most likely made up by men’s controlling actions by trying to create women into whatever they wanted.
Just as the miller’s daughter hides herself behind a cask when the bridegroom and his band enter, Mary sneaks behind a barrel, watching as Mr. Fox drags another maiden in. Notably, both Grimm and Jacobs use the verb “dragging” to describe the bridegroom’s treatment of the maiden. In keeping with the class shift from Grimm’s text, Mr. Fox uses a more extravagant weapon (a sword instead of an axe) to remove the maiden’s hand. This hand has a diamond ring, not a gold one, symbolically strengthening the link between death and marriage. Once again like the miller’s daughter, the hand lands on Mary’s lap, and she carries it with her when she escapes. Then, she sets a trap for her bridegroom at a public pre-wedding breakfast. When he urges her to
For instance, “Momma Morton,” the prison matron gives them special things they want, and they give her money, She 'll do one for you,” which indicates the way that people in prison want things to exchange and that even though they are women. Also, they are still lucky to get things even though they are in prison to be happy with themselves. In other words, in order to get what you want, you have to pay the price as in trading something that she wants which is money.
It is absolutely clear that you feel sad when somebody cheated and duplicate your own things. This causes many people to feel frustration and getting upset when they are facing this difficult situation. We know it is not a good attitude for students, authors, and anyone else to use something misappropriate that they didn’t belong it. I read an article that called “When the Story Stolen is Your Own”. When the author Sherman Alexie was writing this article, he was feeling nervous because somebody has stolen his article and use it in his own. Nobody didn’t believe him when he told the publisher that his story was stolen by someone and imitate that he belong it. Same as the students when they cheated each other and submit the same paper, it was one of the biggest challenge that happens some of the students when they are in the college.
A theme of the story is do not judge a book by its cover. "[That has] always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people would want to be around someone because [they are] pretty. [It is] like picking your breakfast cereals based on color instead of taste" (37). This shows how people look at something and judge what it is worth by what it looks like rather than what is inside. “Just remember
When I first read some of Miss Porter’s work, I came away feeling depressed, empty and wondering why she even wrote. Her stories seemed unfinished, incomplete and pointless. However, I find myself thinking about those works, discovering new things and realizing a deeper meaning in the stories.
... coin bank, or the chain link because these things are a part of the narrator’s heritage. Although they are hurtful, the stereotypes from these items are inescapable. Knowing this, the narrator finally accepts his history, which gives him the ability to find himself without trying to hide what is a part of him. After the narrator burns the identities that society gives the narrator, the briefcase allows him to accept his history and true identity.
Life is bursting with temptation everywhere and based on peer pressure, if you can’t get something you want you rather find another way to get it. Individuals of the community rather act out of action without thinking about it first, which can lead them to the severe consequences of their actions. Then you later think what I did was wrong, I could have prohibited that by doing it differently. Afterward, you feel a great deal of emotions running through your mind; encumbrance, sorrow, and helplessness. These reactions cause you to overthink and make you feel compunction than you already feel. At first you feel calm and assumed you can get away with it, but unfortunately it landed you nowhere but deeper in the grave. Even in its effects in “Shoplifting”
However, it can be the hardest to realize and figure out what it is, as some stories can make you think about what the theme really is. The theme is what the story is about. In “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant, the theme of this story is to never be ashamed of one’s place in society and always tell the truth or it could cost. It certainly cost Mathilde, the main character, and her husband unnecessary stress and money spent. The following quote shows what Madame Forestier says to Mathilde at the end of story, hence showing how not telling the truth could cost you in the long run. “Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs!” (Maupassant 11). If she would have told the truth in the beginning about loosing the necklace, then it would have saved her much unneeded stress and at least 35,500 francs. In society today we see things of this nature all of time. For example, some people want to have what the rich have, like fancy cars. However, what would happen if cars didn’t have emblems to show if they are a Lexus or a Toyota. The same manufacturer makes both brands of vehicles. Think about this though, take the Lexus emblem off of a Lexus SUV and and a Toyota 4runner. Would people still want the Lexus or the 4runner. Odds are people would have to think really hard about which one they would want. They would probably
Around the world, values are expressed differently. Some people think that life is about the little things that make them happy. Others feel the opposite way and that expenses are the way to live. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, he develops a character, Madame Loisel, who illustrates her different style of assessments. Madame Loisel, a beautiful woman, lives in a wonderful home with all the necessary supplies needed to live. However, she is very unhappy with her life. She feels she deserves a much more expensive and materialistic life than what she has. After pitying herself for not being the richest of her friends, she goes out and borrows a beautiful necklace from an ally. But as she misplaces the closest thing she has to the life she dreams of and not telling her friend about the mishap, she could have set herself aside from ten years of work. Through many literary devices, de Maupassant sends a message to value less substance articles so life can be spent wisely.