In Ralph Ellison's novel, Invisible Man, the narrator must go through a journey of self discovery. He does not identify himself with the black people, nor is he a part of the white culture. Throughout the novel, Ellison uses the bird motif emphasize the personalities of the groups that he is describing. In his humble beginnings the narrator's greatest desire is to achieve the power that would earn him respect from all races of people. He attempts to achieve this by adapting white ideals and adopting
Use of the Bird Motif in Invisible Man Abstract: According to A Handbook to Literature, motif refers to a "recurrent repetition of some word, phrase, situation, or idea, such as tends to unify a work through its power to recall earlier occurrences" (264). One such type of motif which has seemed to receive less critical attention is Ellison's treatment of birds. Hence, my aim in this essay is to examine the references to birds in Invisible Man, attempting to show how Ellison uses the image
PSYCHO MOTIFS Have you ever seen Psycho? I have, and in my opinion this movie is one of the best horror flicks ever. Part of the reason I think this because of the motifs Hitchcock added to the movie. Some of these motifs are the motion down, eyes, and circles. What is a motif? Better yet, what is the motif I’m about to tell you about? Well, let me start by giving you a definition of the word. Motif : A recurrent thematic element used in the development of an artistic or literary work. (In this case
"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman Recurring Images and Motifs in "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" In the poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman, there are many recurring images and motifs that can be seen. Whitman develops these images throughout the course of the poem. The most dominant of these are the linear notion of time, playing roles, and nature. By examining these motifs and tracing their development, ones understanding of the poem becomes highly deepened
“Montana 1948”, uses the motif of light and silence in many ways to develop, clarify and reinforce ideas about truth and injustice, and portray the nature of some characters. He illustrates the injustice in Bentrock through the motif of light and then demonstrates to the reader the occurrence of something wrong through the motif of silence. The motif of light also sometimes assists the motif of silence to emphasize the significance of the event. Watson utilises the two motifs to effectively depict
The Motif of Inadequacy of the Language in On the Road Henry Glass, a kid fresh out of a penitentiary in Indiana who takes a bus to Denver with Sal Paradise, tells him about his brush with the Bible in jail, and then explains the dangers of the phenomenon of signification (I firmly believe that Kerouac intended no deconstructionist subtext in the passage; nor is it likely to be an neo-Marxist attempt to explicate the class conflict between the signifiers and the signified): Anybody that's
Beowulf: Themes and Motifs Beowulf is the most important work of Old English literature, and is well deserved of the distinction. Throughout the epic, the Anglo-Saxon storyteller uses many elements to build a certain depth to the characters. Just a few of the important character elements in Beowulf are Wealth & Honor, Biblical & Paganistic, and Man vs. Wild themes. Many of the characters in Beowulf are, like in most epics, defined by their status. But, in addition to status, the Anglo-Saxon
The Red Motif in The Handmaid's Tale In the dystopian novel "The Handmaid's Tale" written by Margaret Atwood, the recurrent appearance of the color red draws an interesting yet perverse parallel between femininity and violence. The dominant color of the novel, red is associated with all things female. However, red is also the color of blood; death and violence therefore are closely associated with women in this male-dominated ultraconservative government. We are first introduced to the color red
Literary Motif in Oedipus Rex M. H. Abrams defines a literary motif as a “conspicuous element, such as a type of incident, device, reference, or formula, which occurs frequently in works of literature” (169). It is the purpose of this essay to expose the main literary motif present in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. Richard Lattimore in “Oedipus Tyrannus” makes the revelation concerning the most apparent motif in the tragedy: . . . the drama belongs to the general story pattern of the
Importance of the Flying Motif in Song of Solomon Throughout literature it has been common for authors to use allusions to complement recurrent motifs in their work. In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon, Milkman learns that his desire to fly has been passed down to him from his ancestor Solomon. As Milkman is figuring out the puzzle of his ancestry, he realizes that when Solomon tried to take his youngest son, Jake, flying with him, he dropped him and Jake never arrived with his father to their
The Synecdochic Motif in Winesburg, Ohio The sum of the parts of the vignettes of townsfolk of Winesburg, Ohio is greater than the whole novel. Winesburg, too, is only one town in all of Ohio, which is one of a host of states in the U.S. This magnification is at the heart of the novel, in which synecdoche is the main lens through which Sherwood Anderson allows us to regard the grotesques. This narrow aperture of perception does not compromise full characterization, but instead forces the
The Motif of Magic in Rip van Winkle The story of Rip van Winkle is a popular folktale of the United States. Its general motif is the magical passing of many years in what seems only a few days. Japan’s popular version of this story is Urashima Taro. In addition to the common motif, the personality of the main characters, Rip van Winkle and Urashima Taro, and plot structures are similar as well. The main characters, Rip van Winkle and Urashima Taro, in both stories are very similar. Both are simple
The Trap Motif in Hamlet Hamlet, William Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, is a story of murder and deceit. The "trap" is a major motif in Hamlet because it is set by various characters, it is motivated by a variety of reasons and the results are often ironic. The first trap is set by Hamlet for the king. Hamlet is enraged by his fathers murder and is seeking vengeance. Hamlet sets a trap by persuading the actors to re-enact his fathers murder on stage. * He sets this trap because he
The recurring animal motifs in A Passage To India suggest a harmonious life existing outside of the contrasting state of humanity. While tensions escalate among the English and Indians, peace presides in the animal kingdom. Perhaps the only characters outside of the animals who acknowledge this peace are Mrs. Moore and Professor Godbole who specifically identify with a wasp extending their voluntary cognizance to Indian culture and the understanding of unity among all living creatures on Earth. "Pretty
Mystical Motifs in Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway The scholarship surrounding Woolf’s mysticism by and large focuses on a psychoanalytical approach. While this paper will somewhat attempt to move away from a psychoanalytical methodology, it is valuable to examine the existing scholarship and the departures from this approach. Within this theoretical structure, the critical discussion further breaks down into two separate, though not incompatible, groups: those who see Woolf’s use of mysticism as a feminist
The Sun Motif in The Stranger Many artists, authors, and composers have put the beauty and warmth of the sun in their work. The Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh created landscapes that expressed his joy with bright sunshine. The American poet Emily Dickinson wrote a poem called "The Sun," in which she described the rising and setting of the sun. The Russian composer Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov included a beautiful song, "Hymn to the Sun," in his opera The Golden Cockerel. Uniquely, Camus' usage of
Vendetta and the Ritualized Revenge Motif in Popular Italian Film Italian cinema is conventionally associated with neorealist films and their contribution to the international art film movement. However, while these films tend to draw on the ideas and artistic creativity of individual directors such as Fellini, Antonioni, and De Sica; there is also a strong tradition of genre cinema evident in more popularized examples of Italian film. Emerging in the post-war era, these filone, or formula films
great American themes and motifs. Many American novels, books and movies also contain these themes and motifs, making it very easy to compare Huckleberry Finn to Pleasantville. Although the plot of each story is very different, Huckleberry Finn and Pleasantville have the same motifs. Both the movie and the book have the motifs of going west, rebel vs. the establishment and Jim Crow/Shaman. This essay will compare these common American motifs. The "go west" motif is about the characters running
these techniques is the use of motifs. A motif is a recurring theme that is used throughout the work. In The Odyssey, Homer makes use of many motifs including eating/drinking, Odysseus's anger, bathing, and disguise, just to name a few. However, perhaps the most important of Homer's motifs is the symbolic death and rebirth theme. This motif is used throughout The Odyssey to emphasize the growth and enlightenment of the characters. The first example of this motif occurs with Telemachos early
Motifs in King Lear Shakespeare uses many motifs to expand on the themes of the story. His most-used motif revolves around filial responsibility. Each of the two plots contains characters who betray their fathers. Goneril and Regan flatter their father, King Lear, and then betray him. The drastic change that occurred in their attidtude towards their father is clearly evident through Goneril's speech before: "Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter; Dearer than eye-sight,