| Papers [267-285] of 16978 :: [Page 15 of 894] | | Go to page : <— 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 —> | |
|
|
Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein, 2008.
A comparison between the characters of Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's famous novel, "Frankenstein".
1,703 words (approx. 6.8 pages), 5 sources, APA, $ 55.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses Mary Shelley's famous novel "Frankenstein" and looks at the similarities between the characters, Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein. The paper relates that the the two primary concerns of the text are the Faustian or Satanic desire for scientific, God-like knowledge, and that of the self or the identity, and how it relates to the others.
From the Paper
"Mary Shelley's famous novel Frankenstein remains one of the most famous horror fictions of all times. Drawing on some of the literature's greatest masterpieces such as Milton's Paradise Lost or Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, as well as on the rich Romantic and Gothic traditions to which it belongs, the novel displays a complex system of meanings, allusions and interpolations. Essentially, the text is made up of three autobiographies: that of Robert Walton who writes to his sister in England and tells her about his North Pole expedition, that of Victor Frankenstein, the scientist who manages to create life in the form of a monster and who tells his story to Walton, and that of the monster who tells his story to his creator, Frankenstein. Not accidentally, these three autobiographers resemble each other to the greatest degree. On the one hand, the same desire for knowledge pursues all three of them: Walton is fascinated by the yet unknown lands of the North Pole, Frankenstein is enthralled by the mystery of life itself and the monster is naturally curious about everything surrounding him. The other thing that unites them, this time only Frankenstein and Walton is their common role as animators: while Frankenstein creates new life, intending surely to make a replica of himself, Walton rescues and reanimates Frankenstein, who is also a replica of himself. Thus, the two primary concerns of the text are the Faustian or Satanic desire for scientific, God-like knowledge, and that of the self or the identity, and how it relates to the others."
| |
|
Delaney Mossbacher of "Tortilla Curtain", 2008.
A character study of Delaney Mossbacher in T. Coraghessan Boyle's 1995 novel "Tortilla Curtain".
706 words (approx. 2.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 25.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper paints a picture of a white, privileged individual who is compassionate about the environment but is utterly insensitive to the implications of his lifestyle upon the lives of others. The paper highlights the contrast between Delaney Mossbacher's liberal, environmental and humanist ideals and his actions and lifestyle. The paper shows how he is fanatical about recycling, yet essentially treats another human life like a piece of trash.
From the Paper
"White, privileged, compassionate about the environment--and utterly insensitive to the implications of his lifestyle upon the lives of others. All of this is embodied in the first actions of Delaney Mossbacher in T. Coraghessan Boyle's 1995 novel Tortilla Curtain. At the beginning of the book, Delaney accidently hits an illegal immigrant and injures him. He offers Candido money in compensation, only 20 dollars, and because Candido cannot go to the hospital for fear of being discovered by the authorities, the man accepts the offering. Candido's wife is pregnant, and now that Candido is injured, he will be unable to earn money to support America."
| |
|
'The Ethics of Ambiguity', 2008.
This paper discusses the book 'The Ethics of Ambiguity' by Simone De Beauvoir
1,361 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 45.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The writer of this article notes that to keep track of the many different "personality types" introduced by Simone De Beauvoir in her book, 'The Ethics of Ambiguity', is no small task. In chapter two, she introduces many of the personality types, and they do not at first paint a favorable picture of a person who has an opportunity to evolve from childhood to adulthood without a greater probability of becoming asocial as opposed to socially indoctrinated in a positive way. The writer points out that this somewhat dismal perspective is really explained - perhaps unwittingly - by De Beauvoir herself, as she explains in detail the plight of women as a continuation of childlike behavior-play at being an adult, because women are, like slaves, like the Mohammedan woman. These are, however, issues that De Beauvoir claims is in fact the ethics of ambiguity. This paper explores the different personalities and characteristics that De Beauvoir discusses in chapter two of her book.
Outline:
Mankind Begins in a State of Unhappiness
From the Paper
"De Beauvoir further asserts that the dominating features of man's individual personality begin forming in childhood. Again, this is not an idea that would draw disagreement and argument. However, De Beauvoir discusses the reaction of a child, as though that child were a blank slate, to the world around him or her. However, De Beauvoir is asserting that these experiences are not experiences which tend to be deflected by a child's growth as much as the reflected in a child's growth. She paints mankind as beginning his existence in an unfortunate way, rather than a celebratory way, and assuming that the birth of a child is less than celebrated. The suggestion is that mankind is an unfortunate being, subjected to the circumstances of having been born at all. The choices man makes throughout his life - focusing on those that are poor choices - arise out of his childhood. "
| |
|
Don DeLillo's "White Noise", 2008.
Looks at postmodernism and postmodernity as presented in Don DeLillo's "White Noise".
1,320 words (approx. 5.3 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 44.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explores the various meanings of both postmodernism and postmodernity, specifically in reference to Don DeLillo's novel "White Noise", which is in many ways emblematic of both phenomena. Thus, while the paper begins with a delineation between postmodernism and postmodernity, it also shows how the two concepts unite within the course of "White Noise", a postmodernist novel encompassing the postmodern condition.
From the Paper
"What is more, postmodernism also seeks to erase the boundaries that have traditionally separated high culture from popular culture. This came to the forefront most notably in the Pop Art of Andy Warhol. Many other writers and artists incorporate elements of popular culture into their work, whereas Modernists would have merely quoted elements of popular culture. By integrating these seemingly antagonistic qualities into their art work, the postmodern artists and writers effectively make it difficult to tell which "category" their work is meant to fit into."
| |
|
Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale", 2008.
A look at how Margaret Atwood serves as a social critic in her novel "The Handmaid's Tale."
1,939 words (approx. 7.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 61.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper describes how Margaret Atwood in "The Handmaid's Tale" suggests some of the failures in contemporary society by projecting these shortcomings into a future society. The paper explores Atwood's concerns about the nature of the family, the danger of pollution and the fear of women that the gains they have made will be taken away. The paper concludes that the novel highlights how much more has to be done to create the truly egalitarian society most people want.
From the Paper
"Offred experiences not only the demands placed upon her to be a surrogate mother but also many other indignities as her society imposes its code upon her, forcing her to dress and behave in a certain way or be punished. Atwood develops a vision of the place of women in society today as well as in this future, using an extreme situation to comment on the secondary position women occupy in Western society today. The story is set in a future United States called Gilead. This new version of the U.S. came into being after the President was assassinated and the Constitution suspended, after which an authoritarian regime developed based on a return to traditional values and fundamentalist Christianity. Gilead has what amounts to a state religion and ruthlessly eliminates all who would take a different point of view."
| |
|
"Cotton Picking Time", 2008.
This paper analyzes the book "Cotton Picking Time", by Maya Angelou, through it's spiritual and social content.
1,008 words (approx. 4.0 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 35.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This essay discusses an important aspect of Maya Angelou's work, "Cotton Picking Time", which is its spiritual content and power. The paper states that Angelou is known for her religious and spiritual beliefs and how they reflect through her work. This paper analyzes how, "Cotton Picking Time", Angelou discusses one day in her life when she realizes both the bounties and harshness of Southern life as a black person.
From the Paper
"As mentioned earlier, language is used as a powerful tool by the author. According to Angelou, it was the language that helped her community survive. There may actually be more to the folk language than we realize at first. By communicating about their pain and hard times, the community could verbalize their situation that helped in survival. Angelou admits that: 'It may be enough, however, to have it said that we survive in exact relationship to the dedication of our poets (include preachers, musicians and blues singers)' (p. 180). Black authors have almost unanimously agreed that language has helped them in survival. By talking about the pain, they could at least let it out or in other words, writing and singing provided an outlet to their pain and frustrations."
| |
|
Cultural Conflicts in "Tortilla Curtain", 2008.
A discussion of the novel "Tortilla Curtain" by T. Coraghessan Boyle.
1,193 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 40.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper describes "Tortilla Curtain" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, as a late 20th century novel that embodies many of the cultural conflicts occurring in 21st century America today between Caucasians and Hispanics. The paper then relates that these conflicts are embodied in the experience of two couples in the novel, Delaney Mossbacher and Kyra Menaker-Mossbacher, and Candido and America Rincon. The paper also relates that Boyle's novel conveys the hypocrisies of a nation that defines 'American' in a narrow way and claims to hate illegal immigration even while it depends upon the labor of Hispanic individuals, especially in the affluent yet economically and culturally divided California local where the novel is set.
From the Paper
"The novel suggests that cultural interaction is impossible to avoid. The novel exposes liberal as well as conservative hypocrisies, particularly in the way that it shows that Delaney's supposed concern and compassion for the environment does not always translate into compassion for humanity, when he accidentally hits Candido with his car in Part I of the novel. By depicting the lives of two very different couples, living in close proximity to one another, Boyle's novel shows the great gulfs of prosperity that exist side-by side in America."
| |
|
Dueling War Sonnets: Brooke and Sassoon, 2008.
An in-depth comparison of two WWI poems, Rupert Brooke's "The Soldier" and Siegfried Sassoon's "Dreamers."
2,172 words (approx. 8.7 pages), 4 sources, APA, $ 67.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper analyzes and contrasts two sonnets written respectively by the British WWI poets Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon: "The Soldier" and "Dreamers". The writer discusses how both poets modified the traditional structure of the sonnet to accomplish their poetic ends. Brooke's poem is elegiac in tone, focusing on national identity and acquiescing in death as a doorway to eternity, while Sassoon's is a bitter and ironic protest against the injustice and inhumanities of war.
From the Paper
"Sassoon writes in a voice of protest, not acquiescence, unlike Brooke, despite his use of the sonnet form. "Dreamers" begins with a striking image, the image of soldiers going off to war, presumably by train to the front lines, rather than in the middle of an internalized thought like Brooke's poem. Brooke's poem focuses on an individual soldier who will be remembered, Sassoon's the vast, nameless masses of men who will die and be forgotten. Some of Sassoon's dreamers are good, some are bad, all have different problems and jealous conflicts at home, but they are in the process of being blended into one in the form of a purposeless army whose cause they can little understand."
| |
|
The Spanish Inquisition, 2008.
A comparison of two books that discuss the Spanish Inquisition: "The Spanish Inquisition " by Helen Rawling and "Mad for God: Bartolome Sanchez, the Secret Messiah of Cardenete" by Sara Tilghman Nalle.
1,379 words (approx. 5.5 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 46.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper discusses two books on the subject of the Spanish Inquisition. The paper compares Helen Rawling's book "The Spanish Inquisition", a relatively objective chronological introduction to the events of the inquisition with another book, Sara Tilghman Nalle's "Mad for God: Bartolome Sanchez, the Secret Messiah of Cardenete", which has a more anecdotal and personal account approach.
From the Paper
"The Spanish inquisition The Spanish inquisition "The information in each book is also organized differently, though both are chronological, and topical the Nalle work is clearly much more narrative in nature than the Rawlings, work as has been noted by the summary works above. The organization in the Rawlings work is clearly to demonstrate the scope of the whole of the period in such a way that the reader understands the massive number of events and differing circumstances of the more than 300 year inquisition. The organization of the Nalle work is designed to offer a topical and chronological breakdown of the events that occurred, in conjunction with as much primary documentation, of differing characters and points of view as possible. The work organized to offer a comprehensive rather than broad understanding of one man's experience, with the inclusion of the many characters that were a part of the case as there is evidence to support."
| |
|
Kafka's "Metamorphosis", 2008.
This paper analyzes Gregor's transformation in Franz Kafka's book, "Metamorphosis".
700 words (approx. 2.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 24.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper looks at the the transformation of the main character, Gregor, from human to insect in Franz Kafka's book, "Metamorphosis". It discusses how, as the transformation both frees Gregor from his hard and monotonous life and confines him to a life of alienation from his family, his family also undergoes a transformation. Without Gregor to provide for them, each family member must adjust to life without him.
From the Paper
"Gregor's transformation is the only way he can be free from his demanding family. He is released from the responsibility of having to provide for his family but taking the form of an insect impairs him from having a life of any kind. The roles here are reversed: before the metamorphosis, his family depended on him for financial support but now, Gregor finds himself in the position to be completely dependant on his parents and sister. Communication becomes absolutely impossible as humans cannot communicate with insects; this total lack of communication between two species is, in fact, a metaphor of the difficult relationship that Gregor Samsa has with his father: 'No request of Gregor's was of any use; no request would even be understood. No matter how willing he was to turn his head respectfully, his father just stomped all the harder with his feet' (Metamorphosis: 8). The rest of Gregor's family also rejects him. However, despite the fact that his family's initial reaction is hatred and resentment, in time they manage to adjust their lives accordingly in the sense that they are forced to learn how to provide and take care for themselves in the absence of Gregor.
"Gregor's father is a professionally and socially defeated man who stops living altogether when he goes out of business. Although he lacks vitality, he does not lack anger and pushes his son to work hard enough to support the entire family. Nonetheless, his father is not a static character. When Gregor transforms into a bug, his father assumes the role of provider again, so in some sense, Gregor's metamorphosis brings his father back to life by forcing him to work again. Gregor's mother is a weak woman, both physically and emotionally. She has the most difficulties in adjusting to her son's new appearance and role. Her health worsens whenever she lays eyes on her son; this generates feelings of resentment on the part of Gregor's father who feels protective of his wife and blames her bad health and general mental state on Gregor: 'She then went two steps towards Gregor and collapsed right in the middle of her skirts, which were spread out all around her, her face sunk on her breast, completely concealed. His father clenched his fist with a hostile expression, as if he wished to push Gregor back into his room.' (Metamorphosis: 15)."
| |
|
Mythology, 2008.
Looks at mythology as allegorical creations or fables, which provide a symbolic interpretation of different aspects of life and the universe.
2,020 words (approx. 8.1 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 63.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explains that myths are fictional narratives or stories dating back to the remotest historical periods and thus are intimately connected with the roots of modern civilization. The author points out that the most logical explanation for the existence of myths is probably the fact that they function as a way of interpreting the world we live in. The paper presents the myths about Narcissus, Echo, the ants and the Myrmidons, Gilgamesh and Icarus.
From the Paper
"The myth of Narcissus contains two such transformations: that of the nymph Echo and that of Narcissus. The story of the beautiful man who falls in love with his own reflected image has been overly interpreted and rehashed into works of art, but its meanings cannot be exhausted. As it is well known, the myth of Narcissus is the myth of self-love. The allegorical story expounds on Narcissus' tragic fate of being in love with his own image. It is obvious that the myth revolves around this archetypal self-love."
| |
|
"In My Brother's Shadow", 2008.
A review of the style and content of Uwe Timm's memoir, entitled "In My Brother's Shadow: A Life and Death in the SS."
1,505 words (approx. 6.0 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 49.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses Uwe Timm's memoir, entitled "In My Brother's Shadow: A Life and Death in the SS," which presents a single man's attempt to understand himself within all of the contexts of his life. It discusses the content of the memoir and the style in which it was written. The paper also looks at the challenges that Timm had to face during the course of his life.
From the Paper
"Throughout this book, Timm employs a very simple but engaging style. This memoir focuses on a narrow set of events and seeks to explore them throughout the duration of his life - what it ultimately shows is that even in his 60's, Uwe Timm is not absolutely clear as to how he is doing. The style is short on visual, but exceptionally thorough on emotional detail. The result is that the book reads less as a history lesson and more as an in-the-moment exploration of the self as related to the disappointed father and the mythic brother. The result is a work that is highly personal without being self-righteous or self-important. It is an excellently written memoir."
| |
|
"The European Dream", 2008.
An review of Jeremy Rifkin's "The European Dream".
2,387 words (approx. 9.5 pages), 8 sources, MLA, $ 73.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses how "The European Dream" is considered to be a reference work in the context of the 21st century and its tendencies. It examines how the book practically presents a new vision of the future of the world, a world in which the main superpower will be considered to be the European Union, despite the recent failure to adopt a Constitution and despite the differences, visible at one moment or another, among the member states.
From the Paper
"Another feature of the American civil society, which has also been adopted by the Europeans, is the cultural diversity. If in the past foreigners were considered to be an impediment to the progress and were treated as such by the European natives, nowadays things seem to have changed and the racist views have been replaced by multicultural ones. Under these circumstances, the attention has been moved in Europe from the possession and distribution of the capital and the maintenance of the private property to the preservation of cultural values and identity."
| |
|
"The Great Gatsby", 2008.
This paper analyzes how the novel "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the era it was written in.
1,352 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 45.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper shows how "The Great Gatsby" is an intimate look into the lifestyles of the wealthy young people of America during the 1920s. The paper relates how Fitzgerald and his wife lived that lifestyle themselves. The paper then describes these shallow people who although they seem to have everything, are sad and pathetic because they seem to be searching for something they cannot find.
From the Paper
"Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896; he was named after relative Francis Scott Key who wrote the "Star Spangled Banner." He attended Princeton University but did not graduate, and in 1917, he joined the Army to fight in World War I, becoming a second lieutenant in the infantry. He never saw action overseas, as the war ended before he was shipped out. However, at Camp Sheridan, near Montgomery, Alabama, his station, he met Zelda Sayre, an 18-year-old daughter of an Alabama judge. He hoped to sell his first novel, "The Romantic Egotist" so they could afford to marry, but the novel was rejected, and he moved to New York to work in advertising to earn enough money to marry Zelda. Impatient, she broke the engagement. He rewrote the novel and it sold as "This Side of Paradise" to Scribners in 1919. From then on, he wrote short stories and novels as his career, and when the novel was published in 1920, he became an overnight success, and quickly married Zelda."
| |
|
"A Father" and Child Development, 2008.
A discussion of Bharati Mukherjee's short story "A Father" and the father's role in a child's development.
1,560 words (approx. 6.2 pages), 0 sources, $ 51.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper analyzes Bharati Mukherjee's short story "A Father". The paper points out firstly that the use of 'a,' which implies a kind of arbitrary selection of a father, is appropriate given that the story is a narrative of unwed pregnancy by artificial insemination. The paper argues that the tale's title stresses the story's theme about the lies of patriarchal authority and male dominance. The paper concludes that the story shows how truly useless 'a father' is to a mother and daughter.
From the Paper
"Besides the theme of a culture clash, the story deals with parental conflicts bubbling beneath the surface as well as the shifting cultural values that occur when a family comes in contact with the west. Despite his idealization of a patriarchal way of life, where the man is the head of the family, Mr. Bhowmick does not reign supreme over his own family unit. His wife insisted that the family move to the United States. Mr. Bhowmick did not want to move. Mr. Bhowmick blames this for his daughter's unmarried, unwed, and unattractive plight, but the fact that it was his wife's decision to come to America indicates that the family never had a male reigning supreme over the children and the woman of the household, in contrast to Mr. Bhowmick's idealized vision of Indian family life."
| |
|
The Father in "The Glass Managerie", 2008.
An analysis of the significance of the absent father in Tennessee Williams' play "The Glass Managerie".
1,395 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 0 sources, $ 46.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses how "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams presents the audience with a family that has been damaged by the departure of the father. The paper points out that each character is in his or her own way irreparably harmed by this event. The remaining parent, Amanda, perpetuates both her own and her children's pain by constantly reminding herself and her children of the missing family member, and creates for the entire family a dichotomy between the father figure as the nostalgic and hero-like character, and on the other hand as a faithless deserter whose example is not to be followed at any cost. The paper concludes that the father, even in his absence, continues to dictate the interactions within his family, and remains central to the events and choices in their lives.
From the Paper
"Despite this rare recognition of true reality, Amanda's grip on the true state of affairs does not last long. Instead, she pours her whole heart and soul into the projected success of ensnaring a husband for Laura, but like Tom's attempt at escape, the projected success of this attempt is also more purely fantasy than Amanda is willing to recognize. Tom attempts to warn his mother that a man might not respond favorably to Laura's physical and emotional defects. She also never bothers to thoroughly investigate the man that Tom brings to meet Laura, and therefore fails to take into account the possibility that Jim might already be connected to another girl. In the end, both her wild hope and Laura's emerging personality are completely crushed by the one revealed truth: Jim is already taken. In addition, the final representation of their hope vanishes with Tom's escape. Laura and Amanda are left to their own devices at the end of the play. Only Laura's image remains to haunt Tom, regardless of how far he travels to escape them."
| |
|
Euripides' Bacchae, 2008.
A review of the poem "The Bacchae of Euripides" written by Euripides.
841 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 1 source, APA, $ 29.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper discusses the conflict in the poem, "The Bacchae of Euripides", by Euripides and explains that the conflict is constructed around the opposition between Pentheus and Dionysus which is, in fact, a tool of characterization. The paper relates that the conflict between the two characters arises because both of them want to seize power and to have authority over each other and Thebes.
From the Paper
"Pentheus thinks he has caught the stranger and orders the prisoner to be bound and tortured only to find out that it is in fact impossible thanks to the god's powers that the king had refused to acknowledge. Consequently, Dionysus turns into a bull when the king's men try to chain him, and then when the king himself plunges a knife into his prisoner, the latter turns into a shadow and remains unharmed. Nevertheless, Dionysus tries to make Pentheus change his ways but the king cannot be convinced. The women who served Dionysus lived on a mountain where they feasted, danced and sang. When they saw the messenger - disguised as a cowherd - that the king had sent to spy on them, they chase and try to kill him. Although he escapes, his cattle do not, and so, Pentheus' mother who was disguised and had joined the herd is captured by the mad women of Dionysus."
| |
|
Dylan Thomas and "The Force", 2008.
A formalistic interpretation of Dylan Thomas's poem "The Force That Through The Green Fuse Drives The Flower."
1,096 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 38.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the poem "The Force That Through The Green Fuse Drives The Flower," by Dylan Thomas. According to the rules of American formalist, or new criticism approach to literature, the writer takes the poem at face value, without imposing mystical or other meanings on it, and interprets it purely through the mechanics of the poem. The writer shows how Thomas makes statements through metaphor and imagery, and how "the force" is different in every stanza and at the same time a manifestation of the same underlying and redundant power.
From the Paper
"In the third stanza, the poet appears to be using a metaphor ("hand") to present an image of whirlpools, wind, quicksand and its slippery movements. This power, this force, does all those things, and there is a theme of regeneration in this stanza, as there is indeed in all stanzas. The same force that pushes the flower up through the earth, that pushes the water through the rocks, that makes the water swirl in a circle and sends the sailboat moving through the water, is also the force that moves the quicksand downward taking everything with it that got caught in its spin."
| |
|
Ways of Coping with Pain, 2008.
This paper looks at ways of coping with pain as raised in Jonathan Safran Foer's novel, 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'.
1,722 words (approx. 6.9 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 55.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that the book 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' is the New York odyssey of the nine-year old genius Oskar Schell who begins a detective-like quest in his attempt to make sense of the death of his father, which occurred at World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The writer points out that the main theme of the book is thus the effort to cope with the losses that came after the greatest terrorist attack in human history. The writer maintains that it is not accidental that Foer chooses a nine-year old child as the main hero and narrator of this story. Rather, Foer intentionally avoids social realism and direct psychological interpretation, seeking to coat the bitter and unthinkably sad events in the imaginative and playful discourse of a child. The writer also notes that Foer's novel revolves around the issues of coping with pain. The writer concludes that the child character who is the hero of the book makes the novel seem a fairytale more than a realist story, but his imaginative way of looking at things is in fact the main source of emotion in the text.
From the Paper
"Thus, Oskar's obsession with inventing an alternative universe becomes coherent in the book's narrative structure. The child attempts to create an imaginary world where people would be safer, where nothing is impossible, and where everything has a reason. It is his way of compensating for the loss he cannot fully grip. The novel even starts up abruptly with one of Oskar's invention: a teakettle that would be able to sing, to recite Shakespeare or to imitate his father's voice. Even from these first lines thus, the boy's struggle to atone for his loss through imaginative 'tricks', is evident. Throughout the novel, there follow many other similar inventions, all having the same function. A good number of them are symbolically connected with the idea of falling or with the force of gravity. This is an obvious hint to the dreadful images of people falling off the windows of the great towers, as were seen by eye-witnesses of the attack on September 11."
|
|
|