... hand, represents a simple content way of life where culture and heritage are valued for both its usefulness as well as its personal significance. The story clearly endorses Mama’s simple, unsophisticated view of heritage, and shows disdain for Dee’s materialistic connection to her heritage. This is demonstrated from the outset of the short story, we learn very quickly that the mother (narrator) has inherited many customs and traditions from her ancestors. She describes herself as "a large big-boned woman with rough man-working hands" (485). She also describes here various abilities including, " I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man…I can ...

... La Maestra had paid a visit to my mother one afternoon, to advise her of my truancy and vices….’ (9). We find that Vitto is trying to turn around his poor school habits, and has been trying to read through a novel called Principi Matematici, but to no avail. As he sat stranded on page three of his mathematical conquest, he was overcome by a wealth of distractions. The golden sun was shining down on him that day, or so it seemed, for as he was drifting off to sleep the muffled shout of a man shattered what would appear to be his last enjoyable day; at least for a long time. Childhood can be a fragile thing. It is commonly believed that children see the w ...

... grimly gay", this third line and Owen has made use of the device oxymoron. The juxtaposition of the word 'grimly' against gay suggests that the men are happy to got to war. But one can assume that deep down inside the men are feeling miserable and are low in the level of confidence to proceed with going to the battle front. The usage of 'gay' has been applied to convey the device oxymoron, although the men are anxious about departure for war, they still try to show cheerfulness. Owen progresses further ahead into the poem and introduces people watching the men departure. "A casual tramp, stood staring hard.", the indication we get from this line is that other in ...

... Micromegas, Voltaire uses science to present the philosophic notion that there is an absurdity to human beliefs and actions. His work suggests that our main faults and vices are inherent to our inaccurate and misguided rationality. By mocking and belittling these faults using sarcastic and ironic devices which logically and scientifically support each other, Voltaire’s work allow people to see the incoherence of their own though. He demonstrates this by commenting on the absurdity of war and God: Those sedentary and slothful barbarians, who, From their palaces, give orders for murdering A million of men and then solemnly thank God for Their success (RABKIN, 67) ...

... give us a lesson in our own morality. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writings often dealt with the extremely puritanical society of the eighteenth century America. This time in our history, we did not except differences, especially theological differences. This was the time of the Salem Witch Trials of Massachusetts. At Salem, many people were executed because they were thought to be witches. In today’s times that sounds absurd, but at that time it was a real fear, to think that they would be corrupted by these demonic beings and they would be kept from heaven. Goodman Brown was a church going man and most people would have thought him to be good. He came from a linea ...

... production of his many tragedies (Desjardens). Probably the most important characteristic of a Shakespearean tragic hero is that one must posses a tragic flaw, because without the flaw, there would never be a downfall. The ultimate flaw varies from one play to another, King Lear’s flaw is that of arrogance while Macbeth’s it one of ambition. Some characters may be guilty of harboring many flaws, like Othello. Among Othello’s wrongs are gullibility and stupidity. In either case, the character never realizes ones flaws until act five, however, by that time it is too late (Desjardens). While the tragic flaw is the key element in a tragedy, the tragi ...

... inferior people. Thompson supports his notion by inserting the introduction "Reweaving the Web of Life" by Pam McAllister. The author depicts the traditional definitions of masculinity and problems with that. "Traditional definitions of masculinity include attributes such as independence, pride, resiliency, self-control, and physical strength."(78) Sometimes masculinity is related to violence; violence became the tool maintaining their masculinity among boys. Then, he mentions the two most critical socializing forces in a boy's life: homophobia and misogyny. He explains that homophobia, hatred of feminine qualities in men, and misogyny, hatred of feminine qualit ...

... gives us a sense of predator prey between the "Man with the green cigarette" and the "Man with the dark blue cloak." We are given a feeling that the cigarette man is hunting and stalking waiting to kill the man with the cloak. The author also uses the image of a "Man with the tiny anvil" who we see as really un-important however we fail to realize that he actual adds a great deal of suspense with the way he taps the metal. In the first stanza he "…Strikes it softly like a bell-Tink-tink; tink-tink." (ll. 3-4) and in the second to last stanza "Strikes-twice; Strikes-twice" (l. 21) which gives a sense that some ...

... of Brobdingnag. His justifications to fight were simply because the enemy was weaker and they wanted more land. This shows Swift’s sympathy for Ireland at that time. Swift believed that politics and government were games. The “election” of “leaping and creeping” of the Lilliputians was the basis of choosing their government officials. The government was ran with people that could go under or jump over a stick. The entire notion of classes and ranks seemed to be stupid to Swift. The island of Brobdingnag portrayed Swift’s idea of a perfect society. Everyone was equal, and everyone got an equal share. There were no taxes ...

... the poetry of Frost, is the manner in which he combines relatively straightforward accounts of ordinary experiences with subtle complexities of thought which, in turn, raise central philosophical issues of universal relevance to the human condition. He gives, in Shakespeare's phrase, a 'local habitation and a name' to these theoretical and even spiritual conceptions and dilemmas, at once making them accessible while never diminishing their significance. Dylan Thomas' emotion was at times erratic…He used to say, of his poems, that they could be read either softly or loudly, exercising both ends of the spectrum. Thomas' poems were a very real part of his being ...