Tiffany James- English 145

I am excited about analyzing the character of Hedda Gabler. In my planning, I am re-reading important elements of the Hedda’s background to get a better insight to her character. I want to see if she was always manipulative or if it’s because of her upbringing. I will be looking into the author’s attitude towards her and how the other characters see her in contrast or comparison to my view of her.  Upfront, we know that Hedda Gabler is a daughter of a general.   She comes from an upper-middle-class family. Therefore, I will be using the literary device of characterization, using the author’s description of Hedda to reveal why I’ve concluded my view of her.   I will also be utilizing the dialogue between other characters and Hedda to show how they viewed her.   For example, Miss Tesman perceives Hedda as shallow and vain individual. She purchases an elegant hat so that Hedda won’t be embarrassed when she walks in public with her.   – “Yes, so Hedda won’t ...

From a piece of fiction (short story, section of novel, or a play) choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project that discusses some of the following questions:   What is the author’s attitude towards her? (how can you tell?) What is your attitude towards her? How do (at least 2) other characters view her? How does she view herself?  I would like to revisit Hedda Gabler. She is a complex character to analysis. I originally analyzed her husband because his attitude towards her allowed me to see what type of man he was. So, it will be fun to analyze her character and maybe I can even shed a little light on why she was so manipulative. Choose a reading selection. Then choose one of the following questions, and write an argument in response to it:  How does the work reflect the period in which it was written?  What does the work reveal about the cultural behavior contemporary to it?  How are class differences presented in the w...

Africa is a beautiful country, but there has been a dark perception hovering over the continent of Africa and it’s cultural. It is said that Africa is a dark country full of naked savages. It was once considered uncivilized and need of European so-called sophisticated life style. Equally important, they were considered a people with no history and no culture. Leopold Sedar Senghor wanted to rehabilitate the true history of Africa by embracing the beauty of its people and culture, which he so eloquently does in the poem Black Woman. In the first stanza the author addresses Africa as a “naked/black woman dressed in your color that is life, in your form that is beauty” (680). The author speaks of Africa being bare and unashamed of its race of people and culture. He speaks of the glory of a single day in his country. He sees and experiences beauty all around him in the land and juxtaposes the same feeling with the beauty of the African Woman. Perhaps he is speaking of the women ancest...

Clarice Lispector was a Brazilian modernist, she entered law school and became the first women reporter at the major newspaper A Noite. She is known for her fictional short stories. In the story of "The Daydreams of a Drunken Woman" the character, Maria, seems to be in and out of a conscience state or a drunken state. The story opens with her staring/self-consumed with herself, despite the trolley shaking the room and something heavy and hollow fell to the ground: "Her eyes did not take themselves off her image….” (809). She is struggling with her identity, …. And her open dressing gown revealed in the mirror the intersected breasts of several women” (809). She is also irritated, angry, and full of self-pity. She is also depressed, sleeping throughout the day and “she did not want to eat any dinner nor to abandon her dreams, and “she went back to sleep: let him content himself with the leftover for lunch” (810). Instead of seeing herself as a mother and a wife w...

J ames Baldwin was an African American novelist who felt considerably alienated both from black culture and from white liberal society (735). Baldwin describes his foundation by sharing the woes of a cruel, miserable, and ill stepfather. Yet, after moving away from home he was made aware of what caused his stepfather’s embittered disposition. “… I had had time to become aware of the meaning of all my father’s bitter warnings, had discovered the secret of his proudly pursed lips and rig carriage: I had discovered the weight of white people in the world.” Baldwin seems to be struggling with his identity. He wanted to be a writer, yet his dad wanted him to be a preacher: “My father asked ne abruptly, you’d rather write than preach, wouldn’t you?” His answer was yes. It seems that he only preached because of his father’s influence. His father also did not want him to have any association with whites, yet he did not agree with his father and continued to easily befriend whites. After mo...

William Butler Yeats, was known as, one of the greatest English-language poets of the twentieth century. His masterful usage of imagery is seen throughout his poems. According to an article “What is Concrete Imagery in Poetry,” imagery in poetry is the ability to use descriptive words that allows the reader to form a visual picture in their minds (Edrington). In other words, it is where you, as the reader can experience the story along with the author. As we analyze the poem, "When You Are Old " we can see the author’s use of concrete imagery and he immediately demands our attention. One can assume he is speaking to his lover, actress Maud Gonne, who read about on page 520 of the introduction. As mentioned, he was in love with her, but she repeatedly refused his proposal to marriage. It is for this reason we understand why the author is predicting what appears to be Gonne’s pitiful fate. In the first stanza, with the author’s choice of words “old and gray” and “full of li...

Anna Akhmatova and her writings were a threat to Russians symbolism. She was treated like a prisoner of war in her own country, forced into internal emigration. Her writings were not considered socially useful and it did not align to fit the government-approved model of literature (566). The author'swriting exposed truth and encouraged individualism. She speaks in first person for herself, son, husband, and others who endured the same fate of seeing someone imprisoned or murdered.   She recollects a woman who recognized her as she stood outside the prison of Leningrad where her son was. I don ’ t know the real interpretation, but I wonder if the woman was asking Anna, knowing she was a poet to write about what she was witnessing- the injustice of their loved ones. “ Can you describe this? ” and Anna answered, “ Yes I can ”   (568). Which is why a smiled passed over the sorrowed woman, who had once been a woman full of life. The woman found solace in the fact that Anna wo...

“All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” - This was a truth that modernists were skeptical of because they feared emotions. Instead they sought precision and clarity instead of self-expression. William Butler Yeats, who was one of the greatest English-language poets stressed the power of masterful images which you can see throughout his poems. He was a major voice of modern, independent Ireland. He captivated imagery and fusion of history and vision that stirred readers around the world. The poem, "When You Are Old " one can assume he is speaking of his lover, who in the introduction of the author was an actress by the name of Maud Gonne. As mentioned, he was in love with her, but she repeatedly refused his proposal to marriage. Through the imagery the author, readers can visualize a woman in her old age, alone, sitting in a chair by the fireplace with the author’s book in her hand reminiscing on her life and, is filled with regret. “How many lov...

In Defense of “Memoirs of a Declining Ryukyuan Woman” “I cannot deny that I have also felt loneliness of being Okinawa as described in this story and that, in the past, I have struggled to hide my identity. However, I now realize the futility of this effort, for the constant fear of exposure leads only to the loss of dignity and to the weakening of one’s spirit.”  This text stood out to me because the author is defending her depiction of the Okinawa people in her memoir, her uncle’s character in particular. In her defense to the Okinawa Student Association, she concedes that she too was once like her uncle, ashamed of who she is and have surrendered this interminable journey of endeavoring to carry on with her life as a woman not of Okinawa decent. Be that as it may, she does not come out of hiding because she has learned to be proud of who she is. Furthermore, it isn’t on account she recognizes that growing up in poverty does not characterize your value, yet it is a part of ...

The author starts off recalling her visit to her friend, immediately we understand that she is disconnected from her mother and inquiring about the health of her mother. She is relieved to hear of her mother’s unflagging endurance yet used them opportunity to Segway into the state of Ryukyu. The S city which may represent Shuri (maybe the suburban area since its where the wealthy resided (402). The N stood for Naha, they were both capitals of Okinawa. Emigration abroad has been banned so therefore people have not been able to find jobs outside of the island and poverty has encroached on Ryukyu. The author suggests that the tattoos they wore, maybe part of tradition prevented them from traveling and moving beyond their homes (community). Being that the Ryukyuan people were lower class citizens. Yet, the women were the only ones branded, while the men could leave and pursue an education/career. Their sons, not their husbands would send a small allowance that apparently according to th...

The author is offering insight to what it meant to be a female writer by taking the reader on a journey through fiction so that the reader can come to their own, yet obvious, conclusion on the matter. The author describes a fictional place: Oxbridge which is represents the two universities- Oxford and Cambridge where the privileges for men where not extended to the women, such as being able to freely utilize the library. Shutting the door to women’s right to intellectual advancement (340).  She describes the university as a sanctuary in which are preserved ... in a way her description of the university is to say that men have place to advance, study, and create but women are excluded. They are on the outside denied a place (a room) to do the same. As she is deep in thought, looking for a place to sort out her thoughts of the beauty that surrounded her, she is was constantly interrupted by everything outside of the library.  She comes to a place where she asks the reader...

What Type of Man is He? While there is no such thing as a perfect man, in general, women desire a husband who adores her, as well as being able to protect and provide. Although these qualities to some degree provides for a solid foundation, women also need to be emotionally challenged. A little adventure and romance is pivotal to an effective marriage. In reading the play of Hedda Gabler, we see her marriage to George Tesman is doomed before it is even started. One reason being, she is ill-mannered, ungrateful, and manipulative. However, the real issue is that George is a guileless spouse, who isn’t just clueless to his wife’s flaws, but seems to rationalize it. He seems, by all accounts, to be a push-over who never challenges her discourteous and inconsiderate thinking or behavior. A woman like Hedda will not regard a man who she can run-over. The first observation is played out in Act 1, where George is apologizing for permitting his sixty-five old aunt, who raised him to fi...

I mmediately readers learn a little about Hedda… she is discourteous, allowing Tesman’s aunt, who is sixty-five years of age and the woman who raised her husband to find her way home from the pier because she was more concerned about her luggage, “We felt so bad that we couldn’t take you in the, carriage-but you saw many trunks and boxes Hedda had to bring.” Miss Tesman perceives Hedda as shallow and vain individual. She purchases an elegant hat so that Hedda won’t be embarrassed when she walks in public with her.   – “Yes, so Hedda won’t feel ashamed of me if we go out for a walk together” (784).   Hedda will have things her way with no regard for anyone or anything else. She had to have a long expensive trip that her husband could not afford, a house of a certain standard that he could not afford either. George appears to be weak-minded man when it comes to Hedda. He knows he is over his head in trying to provide the lifestyle Hedda demands and is accustomed to. Not to ...

Ivan Ilyich funeral is the introduction to the story. The conversation by Ivan’s so-called artistic acquaintances is cold and detached.   The author exposes mentality of many of the aristocrats’ during that period. At first glance one might think that his so-called friends and associates are rude and uncaring, but it is there way of life. They were more concerned about what type of inheritance he left behind or the lack of. They are bothered at the fact they must fulfill the demands of propriety by attending the funeral and visiting his wife (741).   Like Ivan they only want to appear to be people of high class by holding themselves slaves to their high societal positions. They wanted to appear like decent, honorable, and compassionate men, who respected their fellow college because this is what men of noble standards do. However, they were more concerned about the game of bridge than the death of a man they called friend (742). Peter Ivanovich is the only one who is seen as...

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