... them as it were". Conrad's greatest illustration in Heart of Darkness is the harsh environment that is created when one man declares his superiority over another. The underlying resemblance to slavery here in the United States in previous ages is a unique and strangely accurate one. Heart of Darkness also shows such illustrations of the European view of the mentality of these uncivilized natives as on page 58, when ... a man, but a "dog in a parody of breeches." Regardless of how well learned or similar to the ways of the whites the blacks become, they are still perceived as lower than t...

• Word Count: 1626
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... Linton. Well, Heathcliff, have you forgotten me?' (Chapter 7, p. 38). The shift in tone is so obvious because Catherine's inconsiderate attitude and Heathcliff's darkness both in his appearance and heart touch the readers. The tone helps to convey the meaning of a novel and in Wuthering Heights, the tone actually changes throughout the work. This passionate story of a love that endures beyond the grave is reflected by the change ... the reader to understand the meaning better. Emily Bronte employs a number of literary techniques in her novel to heighten the attitude of the characters or t...

• Word Count: 2278
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... that wore their honours out ./And the name died before the man", reveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their glory or youth are really quite lucky. Despite the normal memories and feelings of pain, hurt, and darkness that shadow death, the narrator's views remain optimistic and happy due to the loving memories he possesses for the Athlete. Death, being ... major topic and scene in To an Athlete Dying Young, is also present in William's The Widow's Lament in Springtime. Her memories of her loved one, however has a pessimistic effect on ... vivid and irony that is veiled. S...

• Word Count: 1615
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... (51). This idea represents how Hester accepts her realities and that she must become a new person. Hester now has changed and is self-reliant in a sense that she has accepted herself, which is against the Puritan belief system. Her psychological state is now based on motivation rather than misery so ... between his public persona and his secret shadow-self, which also allows him to preach more forcefully. When Pearl asks Dimmesdale to stand on the scaffold in broad daylight, he refuses which causes Pearl to refuse to tell him who Roger Chillingworth actually is. "Thou was not bold!--thou...

• Word Count: 1995
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... house and has made an impact. Clytaemnestra's speeches are truly dramatic and clever. Her first speech contains light imagery, she clearly sees hope amidst darkness "the blaze went dancing on to ecstasy", "torch", "glowing" upon hearing the news of Agamemnon's arrival and this is summed up when she says "it brings dawn to the black widow's face". Clytaemnestra speaks confidently and with ... need for dreams. Clytaemnestra talks about war and being at peace and satisfied at the end of it which is of course use of her clever dramatic irony but then in another speech by the chorus they tal...

• Word Count: 1324
• Approx Pages: 5

... that "Chopin is engaging in some heavy handed irony." The heart is traditionally the symbol of an individual's emotional core. Ironic symbolism is illustrated by showing that her physical heart problems symbolize her emotional heart problems as they relate to a bad marriage. Jamil writes about Mrs. Mallard's heart, stating, "Mrs. Mallard's heart ailment appears to be, then, a result of the psychological burden of allowing her husband's powerful ... ;heart" of any society; therefore, Mrs. Mallard's heart troubles represent the decline of marriage in the late nineteenth century. Further il...

• Word Count: 1729
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... stretching out his arms to "...a single green light, minute and far away that might have been the end of dock." The light becomes, for Gatsby, the symbol of a reunion with Daisy. This is a wonderful and appropriate symbol of Gatsby's life. Gatsby is living alone in a world of "darkness," trying to seize one small thing to bring him happiness. His life has had many shortcomings and many ... troubles through his younger years. He finally receives some breaks and is able make a name for himself. The longing in his heart is to have Daisy, but more importantly to ... 's. Gatsby's response to...

• Word Count: 1529
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... hour; however, she could not relish her freedom because her husband was really alive. The irony of the ending indicates that women were so controlled in this time period that they could not even live a life of freedom in the seclusion of their own minds. Mrs. Mallard's metamorphosis begins when the news of her husband's death arrives. It might seem that Mrs. Mallard does not take her ... I did not even love, I would probably feel the same as Mrs. Mallard. We also learn that Mrs. Mallard is young, yet she has heart trouble. I took this to mean that she led a miserable life, and that her ...

• Word Count: 1692
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... "struggling", "striving", and "bound", which radiates an eerie sensation of being trapped in darkness and hopelessness. The parents viewed the baby as "a fiend hid in the cloud" (Line 4), which shows the ingratitude of the parents towards the life of the newborn. Not only do the two poems have different perspectives and diction, they are also constructed ... fate uncomplainingly; however, the audience is fully aware of the grim realities of this profession. The dramatic irony in this poem makes the boys seen even more pitiful and also creates a tone of naivety. In Songs of Experience, the...

• Word Count: 1939
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Though from the first mention of Lancelot and Guinevere's affair in Alfred Lord Tennyson's The Idylls of the King King Arthur's court is sown with seeds of budding darkness, the fall of the court begins in earnest through the catalyst of the deceitful and manipulative Vivien who, though she but briefly appears in the chronicle, irrevocably alters it. Tennyson uses imagery of the sea, specifically the image of a crashing wave, to represent ... hold upon the world, My use and name and fame. ("Merlin and Vivien" 290-294, 300-302) Though in a twist of dramatic irony Merlin rejects his intuition a...

• Word Count: 1336
• Approx Pages: 5

... )". The love that is made among Armand and Desiree was an optimistic point in the plot of "Desiree's Baby" and the love being defined as an avalanche provided me with the image of white as a positive color throughout the rest of the story. Chopin related L'Abri with darkness when she described it as melancholy and the buildings "black like a cowl" ... , and after Armand shunned her, she considered her life not worth living. Just as in "Desiree's Baby", "The Story of an Hour" shows women as being weak. Mrs. Mallard has heart problems which made me view her as a naturally weaker charac...

• Word Count: 1578
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... looks perfectly corresponding to the title --- a painful case, both for Mrs. Sinico and Mr. Duffy. Yet after a scrupulous analysis, I believe the whole narration, elevated by the title, to be an irony. I want to start from talking about Mrs. Sinico's death. When I read the story for the first time, I inclined to agree that Mr. Duffy was the one to blame for this ... an indirect murderer by saying "Why had he withheld life from her? Why had he sentenced her to death?", for he had broken her heart four years ago. Superficially, all of these emotions were in harmony with the reality. Howev...

• Word Count: 2446
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

TO BE EVIL OR NOT TO BE IS THAT THE QUESTION? "The man who walks with god always knows in what direction he is going" (qtd. in Punch Lines, Hutson). This quote has a direct irony in correlation to Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of "Young Goodman Brown". Hawthorne's profound short story is a pilgrimage to revelation for one devout Christian man; the idea that mankind, being himself, is not ... that he is late. Goodman excuses his lateness by replying, "Faith kept me back awhile" (Hawthorne 261). This passage shows literally and figuratively, Brown left his unquestionable "Faith" in God behind when...

• Word Count: 1393
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... three main experiences in which Dante purges himself in this canto. It is important to note that this canto is more of a transition out of Envy and into Wrath; similarly, Dante's experiences contain contrasts that are appropriate, foremost, to the sin of Envy, and lastly, to the sin of Wrath. These experiences are also intended for the reader feel the irony of the experiences themselves. In consequence, the ... three main experiences each contain three forms of symbolism that are present throughout the entire narrative: a purging, a stark contrast, and a connection with ... idea is that...

• Word Count: 2279
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... readers to what he or she thinks about the characters and events by using certain literary elements. Such techniques used are characterization, setting, symbolism, irony, and imaging. These methods help us as the reader, to form an opinion about characters that Edith Wharton has created. It is difficult as ... to say the least. Edith Wharton makes the readers want to cringe while reading about her. When describing Zeena there is always a reference to cold, darkness, sickness, or death. She walks through this book like a plague spreading gloom throughout the pages. As this lifeless, isola...

• Word Count: 1743
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... the natural order prevail but then changes his mind again when Duncan announces that his son Malcom is to be his successor. Macbeth intends to destroy this. Macbeth has a change of heart before he reaches home until his wife persuades him that it can be done safely. Macbeth leaves the banquet that is to be Duncan's last, deciding not to do it ... is strong; when Macbeth is determined, Lady Macbeth is tortured. In conclusion, Macbeth is, for the most of it, responsible for the evil deeds. In Shakespearean times it have been said that he was the victim of the powers of darkness such when ...

• Word Count: 2124
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... kings. Banquo a bit more cautious than Macbeth warns him (the good is bad thing, remember) "oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness (the witches) tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifle, to betray's / In deepest consequence." Or, don't trust witches. Do you think Macbeth is paying attention? Does he already have other things on his mind: "If chance ... us how kind he was. No matter because good is bad is back as Lady M tells Macbeth to "Look like th" innocent flower, / But be the serpent under "t." Notice the irony in the comment "He (Duncan) that's coming /...

• Word Count: 1879
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feelings as to sight? Or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heart-oppressed brain? (2.1.33-39) Macbeth begins to see visions even before the murder of Duncan, which signifies that he is may be having second thoughts and foreshadows that Macbeth will eventually completely lose control ... of his mind. As the play progresses, Macbeth's paranoia and arrogance leads his mind's imagination to take over and he no longer lives in reality. Macbeth ... passion for his wife, and fall deeper into d...

• Word Count: 1597
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... nature would show, leading only to total destruction. Golding decided to strongly demonstrate his purpose through Piggy by utilizing his glasses, intellect, and sense of reality or civilization. One key element for the characters' survival on the island indirectly depended on Piggy's glasses for fire, which gave the boys ... "Piggy came and stood outside the triangle. This indicated that he wished to listen, but would not speak; and Piggy intended it as a gesture of disapproval." On the island, "The boys looked at the white shell with affectionate respect." (p. 155) and this is why Piggy...

• Word Count: 1765
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... black discrimination. Through the verbal irony of calling the cop a good citizen, not only does IM safely keep himself innocent of any brash judgment, but he also brings forth the true nature of the cop. IM began his speech without any specific blueprint or intention; he began his speech purely from his heart, and thus excited himself through the progression of his own words. As he ... brought forth the truth of the symbolic value of Todd Clifton's murder, in life and in death, he led himself into a reflection of the nature of all people, in Harlem and in the world. He claimed that ever...

• Word Count: 1386
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... ; false face must hide what the false heart doth know."" Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem to have good communication but that deteriorated as the play went on, to the point were Macbeth didn't tell her he instructed people to murder Banquo. The later the play went on, the less the involvement she has to play in Macbeth's downfall to the point were ... a good man but he was mistaken as he deceived Duncan and then he was greatly wrong about Macbeth. They trusted Macbeth even so he gave him the title Thane of Cawdor. It was dramatic irony that as Duncan's trust grew; Macbeth was plotting to ki...

• Word Count: 1260
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... no harm befall me as long as I behaved. Needing to believe, I did. We sat in a pensive silence, surrounded by reflections of ourselves. I pondered the irony of how just a few hours back I had sought sanctuary in this modern day fortress and now I was its captive. I broke into hysterical giggles at the absurdity of it all. Baffled and somewhat amused, B.G. asked what all the laughter was about. I turned ... would soon be over. He pulled off his glove, ran his bare fingers through my hair, and vanished into the dimness of the house. I sat for what seemed like an eternity, surrounded by th...

• Word Count: 2165
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... society, which is unable and unwilling to forgive her sin. The irony of the novel lies in the fact that the most respected member of this Puritanical society, the Reverend Dimmesdale, is Hester's partner in sin. THE TITLE OF THE BOOK The title is significant to every chapter of the book, as the scarlet letter is displayed in many forms. First, Hester is made to wear the scarlet ... is a constant worry to her mother, and she feels that the child's impish ways are the result of the sin she has committed. The significance of the scarlet letter in the life of Dimmesdale, whose guilt remains...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... ritual' that I will refer to again in this discussion. The lighting in this scene is instrumental in our acceptance and understanding of the characters and social representations being offered in this film. The main source of light for the scene is a spotlight that's almost pointing directly at Jim as he appears to be bathed in light while the junkie is shrouded in darkness with a slight icy blue haze and ... in the mid-shots his face is almost ... shot. The shot then quickly cuts to his mother with her back to the camera praying in front of a mirror asking the lord to fill his heart w...

• Word Count: 2088
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate