ipl-logo

Animal Imagery In William Carlos Williams The Use Of Force

1092 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: William carlos williams use of force

The use of Animal Imagery within the short story “The Use Of Force” William Carlos Williams’ controversial short story, “The Use Of Force”, is an organized and methodical depiction of the conflict that arises when questioning whether the use of force for a benevolent purpose is ethical or unethical. Written in a concise and factual manner and strewn with images evoking primitive and beastly characteristics, “The Use Of Force” strongly implies that patient of the main character, Mathilda, contrasts the main character in rationality and logical thought processes. This therefore likens Mathilda to nothing but an uncivilized barbarian in the eyes of Olsen(the doctor). Through the use of animal imagery on Mathilda, Williams leads the reader to conclude …show more content…

Throughout the story, Mathilda’s actions reflect the actions of a wild animal in distress, characterized by her cautiousness, her attempts at which to intimidate or scare away Olsen, as well as her ferocity. Williams does this in order to associate an animalistic nature to Mathilda. This is shown when Olsen begins to identify the girl’s actions. Olsen begins noting the fact that Mathilda and her family members are “eyeing me(Olsen) up and down distrustfully (Williams, 865). He also notices Mathilda “eating him up with her cold, steady eyes,...no expression to her face whatsoever,...flushed[,] and...breathing rapidly” (Williams, 865). This reaction is similar to the reaction of a family or tribe of animals when encountering a threat or an unknown. They instinctively become very cautious and viscous in this type of situation because of the fact that they could bring harm to them or even kill them. One could say that the patient is trying to scare, startle, or intimidate the doctor by breathing heavier and staring, based on the fact that animals do the same exact thing in dire situations in order to scare off threats or unknowns. This quote could also suggest that Mathilda was challenging Olsen by staring

Show More
Related

Summary Of How To Tell A True War Story By Tim O Brien

770 Words | 4 Pages

He bent forward and whispered something, as if talking to a pet, then he shot it in the throat” (O’ Brien, 1998, p. 180). Seeking closure, he tortures the baby water buffalo as if it represented a

Read More

Summary Of Why I Write By Terry Tempest Williams

302 Words | 2 Pages

In William’s narrative essay, “Why I Write” she informs a wide range of metaphors of why she writes and how she feels about it. To begin with, she expresses herself by using the metaphor “I write with a knife carving each word from the generosity of trees”. ( William’s 7). With this intention, She is comparing carving to writing and when she says “ generosity of trees ” she means the paper that she uses to write on comes from the generous trees. William’s feels a sense of joy whenever she writes and she thanks the trees for that.

Read More

Symbols In The Jungle, By Upton Sinclair

412 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the novel The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, many symbols are used to portray ideas. The most prominent symbol in the book simply put is the 'animals. ' Upton Sinclair uses the relation of animals and their coherent descriptions, however vivid, to highlight and add on to his purpose of exposing the capitalistic exploitation of immigrants. Sinclair continually alludes to particular characters and groups of ethnicities through his animalistic descriptions. In direct relation to Social Darwinism, the immigrants are the prey, and the capitalistic elite is predators.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell

77 Words | 1 Pages

As an opponent of political and social injustice, author George Orwell shows his disapproval for political corruption and political injustice through the display of pathos. Likewise, in “Shooting an Elephant,” readers detect George Orwell’s subjective opinions on imperialism through persuasion using pathos. Throughout the essay, the narrator uses expressions and feelings of fear, hatred, anxiety, doubt, and distress at the fact that he is in a position of no authority to inform the audience of his disapproval.

Read More

Elie Wiesel Dehumanize Animals At Night

361 Words | 2 Pages

Together, all of these examples of imagery develop the idea of the animal behavior of the story’s characters by depicting the atrocities and strident conditions the inmates face throughout the

Read More

The Cruelty Of Bullfight Convey Through John London

553 Words | 3 Pages

“…The matador thrust a sword between the animal’s shoulder blades for the kill” the matador may have to make several bloody thrusts before the sword stay in and the bull finally dies.” The author emphasize thrust to tell the readers how the matador drove the sword upward with many powerful thrust into the bull for the kill. This however does not convey cruelty but however shows weakness of the matador and the strength of the bull. The Madness of John Harned by John London best conveys cruelty because what shows cruelty than dehydrating the bull. “For is it not known to all of us that for twenty-four hours the bull is given no water,…” giving the bull no water is a cruel act, which puts the bull in a weaken state to fight against the matador, so therefore this express the cruelty of

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell

555 Words | 3 Pages

In his essay Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell uses diction effectively to convey an ambivalent tone that displays his complex attitudes toward the Natives. Orwell uses “evil-spirited” (285), “beasts” (285), and “crucified” (287) to describe the Burmese, and the word choice demonstrates the variety of connotations against the Natives. George Orwell states that he is “all for the Burmese and still against their oppressors, the British” (285), however, he characterizes the Burmese by using animalistic words which dehumanize them. Throughout the essay, George Orwell chooses his word choice to demonstrate a negative and positive attitude toward the Natives.

Read More

Childhood Violence In The Wild Dogs And The Verb To Kill

1210 Words | 5 Pages

In the transformation between adulthood and childhood violence, gender, nationality all influence how one experiences that change. However, in adolescent coming of age stories the greatest factor affecting transformation is often gender, as illustrated by “The Laughing Man” by J.D. Salinger, “The Wild Dogs” by Peter Skrzynecki, “The Verb To Kill” by Luisa Valenzuela, and “Where are you going” by Joyce Carol Oates. In adolescent stories gender determines one's experience more than nationality because boys tend to experience physical violence while girls tend to experience troublesome relationships. “The Laughing Man” is a vignette about a boy being watched after school by the “Chief”(71) who is their babysitter. The Chief tells the boys stories

Read More

Imagery And Figurative Language In George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant

849 Words | 4 Pages

Well known author and journalist, George Orwell, in his essay, Shooting an Elephant, describes his experiences as a Policeman in Moulmein, Burma during European Imperialism. Orwell’s purpose is to convey the ideal that what is right and what is accepted don’t always align. He adopts a remorseful tone in order to convey to the reader the weight of his actions. By looking at George Orwell’s use of imagery and figurative language, one can see his strongly conflicting opinions on Imperialism. Orwell begins his essay, Shooting an Elephant, by explaining the actions of the Burmese people and by expressing his contempt for imperialism.

Read More

Animal Farm Allegory

725 Words | 3 Pages

I believe that Animal Farm is an allegory and it is symbolizing Soviet Russia. There are many reasons for this including certain characters representing real people. I believe that Major would represent Karl Marx or Friedrich Engels. “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plow, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits”.

Read More

The Officer's Guilt In Shooting An Elephant

93 Words | 1 Pages

Although the officer did not want to shoot the elephant and only shot the elephant to please the locals, his guilt began to affect him emotionally after the first shot. And with each shot into the elephant the guilt dug deeper into the officer’s soul. His guilt was elevated by the visualization of the locals with their knives and baskets approaching the elephant. As he understands that the elephant which was calm at the point in which he shot it, was now about to die and become a meal for those same locals.

Read More

James Otis: Figurative Language

244 Words | 1 Pages

Based on evidence from the text, find evidence proving James Otis was adept at incorporating figurative language into his writing. Was James Otis adept at using figurative language in his writing? In the story, Toby Tyler, the author, James Otis, demonstrates his skill in using figurative language. To begin with, he describes Toby Tyler as having, “a face as speckled as any turkey’s egg”, in an example of simile, where he compares Toby’s face to a turkey’s egg.

Read More

The Great Cat Massacre

867 Words | 4 Pages

In reality, there are people still to this day that enjoy animal cruelty. Yet, Darnton truly cannot fathom why the death of animals seemed comical to these men (p. 81) and over interprets in order to understand. His observations of the worker’s mentalities are then flawed because he sees them as the exception to human compassion, which he has to justify, rather than as a normal human response to gruesome stimuli. History has proven that human beings enjoy violence as seen in the gladiator battles of Ancient Rome and the millionaire boxers and wrestlers of the 21st century. Therefore, I believe Darnton’s assumptions of symbols and meaning are too rationalized to explain the workers’ primal appreciation for violence in a hostile

Read More

How Does Orwell Create A Sense Of Isolation In 1984

1205 Words | 5 Pages

The use of animalistic imagery and the imperatives 'rip' and 'tear' show the certainty

Read More

Fear In Animal Farm

1050 Words | 5 Pages

When the pigs introduce punishment and a death sentence for committing crimes against Animal Farm, many animals are ‘slain on the spot’, moreover, this is the first time since Jones’ displacement when there is blood spilt on the farm. Napoleon creates his own personal guards, who also punish the lower animals who betray Animal Farm. These ‘dogs wearing brass studded collars’ are a force none of the working-class animals wish to cross, for when they do, harsh repercussions follow. The animals that had confessed to their heinous crimes were executed by the dogs who ‘tore their throats out’. By doing so, the animals experience physical fear for the first time since Animal Farm was formed.

Read More

More about Animal Imagery In William Carlos Williams The Use Of Force

Related Topics

Open Document