Clemmie Sue Jarvis, sixty-three has spent her entire life on the eastern seaboard of Virginia in the rural community of Wrongberight. For years, she raised mules until the last one past two seasons ago. She told one neighbor that she had a mind to become a grit farmer but her eyesight was failing and she would have a difficult time harvesting the crop and she wanted to save what sight she had for reading the bible, making quits and painting by numbers. Her vivacious individuality keeps her from being down and
The tone of chapter 11 in John Steinbeck's, “The Grapes of Wrath,” is sympathetic, sad and hopeless. His word choice and syntax show how the sad houses were left to decay in the weather. His use of descriptive words paints a picture in the reader's mind. As each paragraph unfolds, new details come to life and adds to the imagery. While it may seem unimportant, this intercalary chapter shows how the effects of the great depression affected common households.
Reflected successfully in Robert Newton’s novel Runner were the hardship, joy, and ordinary people making the most of life in 1919. With Charlie Feehan experiencing theses obstacles everyday: When Mr Peacock hurt Ma, everybody lived close together, and when Charlie works for Squizzy Taylor against his mother’s will to provide for the family. Ma’s encounter with Mr Peacock was one of the many hardships faced in 1919. This represents the hardships of women back then.
(1) describes Janie’s rollercoaster of a life throughout the novel. She has had a rougher and more emotional path than most other women. Janie is mentally and physically abused by various men, and
In Gene Stratton-Porter’s novel “A girl of the Limberlost,” the character of Elnora Comstock undergoes a transformative journey filled with challenges and personal growth. From the outset, Elnora is portrayed as a young girl living on the edge of the Limberlost Swamp, facing numerous obstacles such as financial hardship and strained relationships. However, as the narrative progresses, Elnora’s tenacity, determination, and love for the natural world propel her towards self-discovery and a profound transformation. This essay will explore the character development of Elnora Comstock, highlighting her initial struggles, her encounters with nature, her pursuit of education, and her ultimate evolution into a confident, independent young woman. 1.
While they are living in Welch, West Virginia, they can be seen in extreme poverty. Jeannette Walls uses a variety of setting as well as imagery to emphasize this situation as well as the strong pathos felt by Jeannette and her family. Their “slipshod” house “tilted dangerously” (Walls 151). They have no bathroom, no running water, no money for electricity (Walls 151).
In the short story, “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty introduces an elderly, African American, woman named Phoenix Jackson, whom for two or three years has made a long quest to town to get medicine for her ill grandson. Initially, Phoenix must overcome many obstacles to reach climax of her journey. Eudora Welty uses these obstacles to demonstrate the theme of her story, which is that Phoenix’s ambition/hope was the leading role in her preserving. The first obstacle that displays Phoenix’s determination to succeed, was when she came to a hill during her quest to town.
"Mr. Shelby had the appearance of a gentleman; and the arrangements of the house, and the general air of the housekeeping, indicated easy, and even opulent circumstances." (Chapter 1, page 4) this quote describes one of the characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. There is a stark contrast between Mr. Shelby Mr. Haley, and Mr. St Claire. The novel describes Mr. Shelby's kindhearted, pragmatic, and responsible personality. The story indulges the reader with the details of Mr. Haley’s ruthless, greedy, and unsympathetic characteristics.
As Arthur experiences various paranormal situations he starts to regret his decision of staying at Eel Marsh house for the night, and even going there at all. Arthur starts to wonder how Mrs. Drablow had endured “day after day, night after night of isolation” (p.82) when he had had “enough of solitude” (p.82) after just one night. The repetition of the word “day” and “night” helps the reader understand how long this period of time might have been for Alice Drablow and helps them empathize with her despite not knowing her. Unlike when he first saw it, the isolation of the house makes him feel “insignificant” (p.85). The vocabulary combined with the long sentences Hill used to describe the marsh makes the reader feel small and powerless against such a vast landscape.
The informal language, creative word choice, and diction used by all of the characters in this story are true to the Southern Gothic genre short story style (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). Southern imagery extends beyond the characters to the setting and language. As we read about dirt roads, southern plantations, “red clay banks”, and crops in the field, we are
In Rebecca Harding Davis’s novella, Life in the Iron Mills, select days of an iron mill worker are examined. The novella carries a prominent theme of want and desire. This theme is developed through Davis’s use of imagery and characterization and is best represented by two of the main characters, Deborah and Hugh. Deborah is the character who is characterized to have a hunched back and supports Hugh day to day.
Gray with a flannel fog of winter describes the Salinas Valley where Elisa lives and the dress and manners she has on her ranch in the foothills. Confined by the dark fog that restricts the valley and the surrounding mountains like a “lid placed on a pot,” she and the valley have no sunshine, no happiness, no noise, and no warmth. While the Allen ranch is clean and organized, a feeling of oppression and entrapment is felt in the physical setting and is seen in the development of the character Elisa. The valley, “Closed off” by the winter fog and isolated from other life, Elisa is also trapped and closed off in a life behind her garden gates.
The porch setting enables the people of Eatonville to define themselves. As an all black population who lived during the 20s, the characters in the town experienced many types of oppression based
The profound novel, The Help, can be interpreted as having many themes and subliminal messages about life, but to truly understand the meaning of them, the conflicting points must be recognized. Due to the fact that the setting of the novel is during segregation, the friction between blacks and whites is what creates the novel. Although it is easily recognizable that one of the main conflicts is segregation, there is a major conflict between two prominent characters, Hilly and Skeeter, wealthy white women. Some of the issues within this novel lye in location and the social aspects of living in a small southern town in that time. There are several underlying conflicts in The Help, but the main one that sets up all the themes are the conflicts
“Write about what disturbs you, particularly if it bothers no one else”(pg. 71). In 2011, a movie adaption was released of the book, “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett, a book told from the perspective of three women in the 1960’s as they write a book about the lives of maids in Jackson, Mississippi. The two media forms of the same story have many similarities, along with differences. Four significant elements, listed from least to most important, are assessed for how they affect the same story told in two different ways. The least important thing to be kept or changed is that in both forms of “The Help”, Miss Charlotte, Skeeter’s mother, refuses to die.