After a plot-twisting series of events, Jack says to Lady Bracknell, “I’ve realized for the first time in my life the vital importance of being Earnest,” closing the play. Jack’s statement is rather ambiguous. Is he implying that he has learned the importance of honesty, or the importance of being named Ernest? It is a […]
A major theme in The Importance of Being Earnest is the hypocritical tendencies displayed throughout Upper-Class Victorian Society. Wilde’s witty writing style is used to expose these tendencies through his use of epigrams and paradoxical situations. Many quotes and scenes found in the play result in the opposite of what an audience would expect. Irony […]
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Get started“Hey, Sabrina, are you Japanese or Chinese?” I asked. Her reply, as it seems to be for many minority groups, is, “Neither, I’m Chinese-American.” So, besides her American accent and a hyphenated ending on her answer to the SAT questionnaire about her ethnic background, what is the difference? In Amy Tan’s enjoyable novel, The Joy […]
American Born Chinese starts out very strangely, with a tale of a Monkey King being kicked out of banquet hosted in heaven. However, the book quickly evolves into a heartwarming tale of three unrelated characters’ quest to change their outsider status. The book was written by Gene Luen Yang, and published by Square Fish Publishing. […]
In the book Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston addresses the issues of her identity as an American born of Chinese immigrant parents. As a child she rejected the Chinese culture, she didn’t understand the traditional values,she also didn’t like the way girls were being treated because they weren’t born as a boy. As she becomes […]
Personal liberty supersedes the constraints of societal conventions. This is the message of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” which centers on Louise Mallard, a married woman who learns she is now a widow. Her sister informs her that her husband has died in an accident, causing her to break down into sobs. However, […]
Freedom is a virtue one may look at, as equivalent to life. In Kate Chopin’s short story, “Story of an Hour,” and Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, the characters pursuit of of freedom is unachievable. Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton use natural imagery to reflect their characters state of freedom from their marriage. While the […]
“The Story of an Hour” is a short story by Kate Chopin, an author most famous for her work “The Awakening.” Chopin often wrote of women trapped in unhappy and stifling relationships, and so it is unsurprising that this subject is broached again in “The Story of an Hour.” What makes this short story fascinating […]
Okonkwo was a fierce warrior with a short temper. He had 3 wives and 7 children, and seemed to never fully appreciate any of them. This character in the book “Things Fall Apart”, written by Chinua Achebe, lived in the small African village of Umuofia, one of the nine making up their tribe. Judging Okonkwo’s […]
Achebe portrays Okonkwo throughout the novel as an excessively masculine character. He is driven by his fear of being “feminine” like his father, whose lack of title caused him to be called an agbala, or woman. But in his obsessive efforts to be the antithesis of his father, Okonkwo forms an outer shell, a twisted […]
In this passage from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Two women argue with each other for who Mr. Ernest Worthing is really going to marry, as he has proposed to the both of them. However, being part of the aristocracy, both of them engage in a polite conversation filled with thinly-veiled insults. All […]
Throughout the play “The Importance Of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde there are numerous amounts of farce, through its exaggerated and unlikely situations; this comedy of manners also parodies the social classes in a witty and intellectual way. This allows for the amount of contribution as a whole. Throughout the entirety of the play, John […]
This is my first time to read such a play. At first, I just felt ridiculous about their play. I didn’t think deeply about their play at that time. However after discussions in class between classmates, I started to understand what Wilde really wasted to convey. Wilde made this play funny, but after finishing reading […]
Tuesday morning lower Manhattan. This fine September day starts out with the sun shining. A brisk summer morning has caressed the tallest buildings in the world. Every building in lower Manhattan is in the sunlight, but not all of the buildings were standing tall and proud. My family wakes up ready for the day. Everyone […]
In the novel Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk explores the very real crisis of men: what makes a man? Through the very real representation of the narrator’s opposite side, Tyler Durden, we see what men feel pressured to be; the alpha male. Men can’t feel things, never mind show them. Men are expected to behave, dress and […]
In the novel The Outsiders by SE. Hinton, Ponyboy discovers that Greasers and Socs are not as stereotypical as the Greasers think, and that each are unique people with varied interests. The heroes’ journey is a framework upon which all stories dating back to Greek mythology follow, and the main character(s) embark upon. This journey […]
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel set in a future where books are outlawed and any that are found are burned by firemen. Guy Montag, one of these firemen, meets a seventeen-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan who causes him to question society and become increasingly dissatisfied with his life. This drives him to steal […]
In my opinion, Lydia and Junior share the most similarities amongst the protagonists of novels read this semester. The main similarity is found in their family situations. Both characters struggle significantly because of their parents in my opinion, and both characters find escapes in different ways. Lydia was a parent pleaser, and Junior was unintentionally […]
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, written in 1813. Austen delves into the discussion of the many different relationships that surround Elizabeth Bennett, such as romantic and familial relations. Austen uses these relationships to shape and develop her characters throughout the novel. The novel primarily centers on the changing relationship between Elizabeth Bennett and […]
Literary Devices in Pride and Prejudice Explaining the importance of marriage and courtship can be extremely difficult when telling a story of a different era in time. Portraying to readers the intense feelings and daily happenings of the characters is only easier done through the use of literary devices. In volume three of Pride and Prejudice, […]
In the Book Pride and Prejudice both main characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, show many signs of being prideful and having prejudice. Mr. Darcy, showing pride and Elizabeth Bennet showing prejudice. Each reflect on this throughout the book until reaching the end when they see the truth about one another and finally open their eyes. […]
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen tells the story of marriage, wealth, and family at the turn of the 19th Century. The main character is headstrong Elizabeth Bennett, who is one of five daughters. At the Meryton ball, Elizabeth first encounters the wealthy, handsome Mr. Darcy, who is known to be very prideful, unlike his friend Mr. […]
One thing that really surprised me in this section of Pride and Prejudice was Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth. Even though I knew that Mr. Darcy had feelings for her, I never expected him to come right out and state “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you” (161). I […]
Throughout Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, she often discusses the roles and qualities of an “accomplished” woman. Using the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, she tells the story of a non-traditional girl who stands against these social expectations. This leads the reader toward believing the book is about feminism and defying social expectations. However, the way in which […]
