Friday, January 24, 2020

Tom Jones - Structure Essay -- essays research papers fc

English Literature I   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The formal well-organized structure of The History of Tom Jones contributes greatly to the intricate plot inside, and the novel as an overall piece of work. Henry Fielding contrived the blueprint of the book in its many clearly separated segments extremely well, making it equally as important as the plot. Tom Jones is deliberately and clearly divided into its separate parts. Through these parts he is capable of paralleling two types of stories in one single novel, along with bringing forth symmetries and balances in the division, and in the setting and plot.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Broken down, Tom Jones consists of 18 books each introduced with an opening essay. This 18 book format imitates the standard form of an epic. â€Å"Its 18 books-the total number alludes to the number of books in†¦a moralized continuation of Homer’s Odyssey, and thus marks Fielding’s novel, too, as a journey novel in the Odysseyan tradition-are arranged in a system of complex symmetries in accordance with ancient epic practice†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Brooks-Davies). These 18 books are then broken further into 3 sections to reflect the 3 major parts of Tom’s journey. This structure specifically allows for balance and symmetry to occur.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reading through Tom Jones once, one draws lines between a few seemingly related details. Upon a closer examination, it is discovered that these relations are made Page 2 intentionally and purposefully. The 18 books are grouped into the 3 parts of the journey: the first grouping of 6 books take place at home in the country, the second grouping on the road, and the last grouping in London (Brooks-Davies). This setup or format allows for two forms of story to be brought into one genre. Tom Jones is generally regarded as a comedy, but inside of this it is also the standard epic journey novel and a romance at the same time. First, we’ll look at Tom’s journey. It consists of 3 parts that correspond the 3 sections in the book. â€Å"†¦three sets of six books deal respectively with Tom’s upbringing in the country and expulsion by his Uncle Allworthy; his journey to London; and his experiences in London and return home,† (Brooks-Davies). The first part (Books I-VI) taking place at home in the country. This sets up the journey. Tom finds a home with Mr. Allworthy, grows up, and is banished fro... ... Coleridge called Tom Jones â€Å"one of the most perfect plots ever planned,† (Bender). Henry Fielding’s high level of structure and wonderful organization added greatly to the intricate plot inside, and the overall piece of writing. He keeps numerous and structured plots and subplots going at once, and makes them collide in fascinating ways. Dorothy Van Ghent put it perfectly when she said, â€Å"We may think of Tom Jones as a complex architectural figure, a Palladian palace perhaps†¦The structure is all out in the light of intelligibility; air circulates around and over it and through it.† Page 7 Works Cited Bender, John. â€Å"Tom Jones.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  FortuneCity. 14 November 2003.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . Brooks-Davies, Douglas. â€Å"Tom Jones: Overview† in Reference Guide to English Literature, 2nd ed., edited by D.L. Kirkpatrick, St. James Press, 1991. Ghent, Dorothy Van. â€Å"On ‘Tom Jones’,† in her The English Novel: Form and Function. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1953, pp. 65-81. Hartwick, Cynthia. â€Å"Tom Jones.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LikesBooks: Review of Tom Jones. 14 November 2003.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  .

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Prejudice in to Kill a Mockingbird Essay

In the world people are always preconceived based on who they are or what they look like. Even thought it isn’t as big of a problem in some areas as in others, we need to fight it. If we don’t then it will continue to get more serious and at times lead to death. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Alexandra tells her niece that she can’t play with a schoolmate simply because of his class. â€Å"? You can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem? Because? he? is? trash. ‘† (224). This prejudiced state of mind is the foundation for the plot events of the novel. By way of experiences, a young girl, Scout Finch, must learn about the part prejudice plays in the everyday life of Maycomb County. Through settlement patterns, justice, and social stratification Harper Lee reveals the ways of prejudice. The first instance of prejudice, settlement patterns, greatly affects how people of Maycomb are prejudged, not just where they lived, but also where they dwelled. The Ewells are considered the lowest class of Maycomb, aside from the blacks, which is shown by the fact that they live at the edge of the town, right next to the black people. â€Å"? He would show me how where and how they lived. They were people, but they lived like animals'† (30). The author describes where people live as a sort of divider among them, the Ewells not only live near the blacks, but also right next to the garbage dump. Not only was the location of one’s residency used to prejudice them, but also where they would dwell. The blacks’ church, as described by Scout, was, â€Å"unceiled and unpainted within? pine benches served as pews? there was no sign of piano, organ, hymn-books, church programs† (120). Through her description of the church, Harper Lee allows you to know, without having to read any other section of the book, that the black people of Maycomb are of low class. The people of Maycomb are so prejudiced that they live in separate areas of the town from people who differ in social class. Furthermore, there are two types of justice in Maycomb. There is formal justice, what the court or law decides, and informal justice, the decisions, or â€Å"verdicts†, the people of Maycomb make about other people. Both are often tacitly bound by a mindset of prejudice. When Jem is upset about the conviction of Tom Robinson, he asks his father how the jury could possibly do it, when he was obviously innocent. â€Å"? I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it? seems that only the children weep'† (213). Atticus means that only children become upset over a black man being convicted simply because of his race. While the older people are so accustomed to it that it is not even unexpected, let alone unsurprising. Likewise, informal justice is very hard for Scout to understand. She questions her father about why the Ewell children are allowed to skip school even though it is illegal. As Atticus explains it, â€Å"? Sometimes it’s better to bend the law a little in special cases† (30). People let the Ewells do what they want simply because they are Ewells. The people assume that none of them could ever become anything anyway, so why bother trying to force them to waste their time in school? The people made this â€Å"law,† and even though it is illegal, nobody fights it because there is an understanding about the Ewells. The people created laws, whether official or unofficial, that were based on prejudices. Last, the largest factor affecting prejudice, is social stratification. The citizens of Maycomb are very quick to make conclusions on a person based on their social class. People are immediately judged based on whom their family is. â€Å"Aunt Alexandra was of the opinion that the longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land, the finer it was† (130). The personality of a person is already decided in the minds of many Maycomb citizens just by looking at what their family did in previous generations. In addition, if you are black, you are instantly considered trash and below everybody else. â€Å"It was all over town this morning that you were in the Colored balcony. Wasn’t it right close up there with all those † (214). This statement demonstrates how the people of Maycomb all assume that if you are black then you are lower than they are. The people of Maycomb County almost always jump to conclusions about people just because of who they are or their family is merely because they are so accustomed to it. Concluding, Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, uses many factors, including where people live, the justice system, and social stratification, as items of which her characters use for their prejudices. Through these elements, the plot demonstrates how easy it is to prejudge somebody. While discussing why people fight so much, Jem wonders, â€Å"? Why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? ‘† (227). People fight because they are so vastly different. The answer to the fighting, which is found in this quote, is to stop judging each other on our differences and to start looking for our similarities. We need to all try a little harder to not prejudice different people if we are to achieve the goal of improvement in our lives.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock - Imagery, Literary...

The Love Song That was Never Sung A love song or a profession of love usually includes a culminating point where the suitor finally professes his love toward the woman. However T.S. Eliot’s â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† is almost a guide on how to dissuade oneself from professing love to a woman. It does this by combining several different poetic methods to display a situation of desperation and trapped isolation. Basically, Alfred is clear on the fact that he wants to be a part of this woman’s –whom he loves- life, but he cannot bring himself to the complete the act, to say â€Å"I love you.† The poem itself consists of all of the reasons, going through Alfred’s head, why he should not profess his love.†¦show more content†¦This reluctance to take action is rooted in Alfred’s fear, â€Å"And in short, I was afraid† (86). â€Å"So how should I presume?† is another line that displays modern manâ₠¬â„¢s self inquiry and his fear (54). As a result of the evidence present in the poem, one can conclude that Alfred, or modern man, is cowardly and afraid of consequences that could unsettle his world. This conclusion can be drawn from the lines mentioned as well as this line, â€Å"Disturb the universe?† (46). Eliot provides for the reader all of the content to reach such a conclusion, and he also provides the reader with excellent images that convey his theme of reluctance. There are more than a few images presented to the reader in Eliot’s work that help one see a deeper meaning of isolation. Such images include the description of the fog or smoke, the description of J. Alfred Prufrock, the town or city, and other characters as well. The fog has a cat-like quality when the poem describes it rubbing its back against the window panes and licking its tongue against the corners of the evening. Alfred is comparable to the cat-like fog in the fact that they are both on th e outside looking in, and this can be found on Alfred’s part, â€Å"In the room the women come and go†¦Talking of Michelangelo,† (12-13). What I mean by saying that Alfred is on the outside looking in is that he never takes the leap of action, and like I stated previously he is afraid likeShow MoreRelatedThe Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay990 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† by T.S. Elliot is in part a satire. It was written in the form of a dramatic monologue delivered by the poem’s speaker, J. Alfred Prufrock. It begins with him asking an unknown â€Å"you† to accompany him on a walk. The two walk through town and stumbles upon women talking about Michelangelo at a social event. The women’s bare arms and long dresses show off their knowledge of art. 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Eliot introduces the poem with a quote from Dantes Inferno (XXVII.61-66), and with that sparks ourRead MoreTechniques and Concerns of Modernism1482 Words   |  6 Pagesthe meaning of life as well as inner psychological perspectives a re some issues explored through the experimentation of new literary techniques as the progression from the Realism and Romanticism of the 19th century called for more realistic conventions in literature to allow writers express their values concerning the changing world. The poem ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ by T.S. Eliot and ‘Hills Like White Elephants’ by Ernest Hemingway are two texts which highlight the concerns of rapid industrialisationRead More T.S. Eliots use of Poetic techniques in The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock and The Wasteland1310 Words   |  6 Pageshas written many great poems. Among the most well known of these are â€Å"The Waste Land, and â€Å"The Love Song of J. 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