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Analytical essays on bartleby the scrivener
Essay on bartleby the scrivener
Analytical essays on bartleby the scrivener
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The novel, The Day the Cowboys Quit, by Elmer Kelton is not a typical cowboy story filled with waving guns and violent fights. Instead, this story shows what the real life of a cowboy would have been like through the story of Hugh Hitchcock. The Day the Cowboys Quit is based on a cowboy strike that occurred in Tascosa, Texas in 1883. Kelton based his fictional story on the causes of the strike and what became as a result of the strike. This paper will explain historical events concerning the cowboys and depict their true lifestyle which contrasts the stereotypes normally associated with being a cowboy, as well as summarize the novel The Day the Cowboys Quit.
In John Updike’s short story “A&P,” Sammy is the narrator and cashier at the grocery story A&P. The author uses dynamic characters with immensely different personalities to portray conformity and rebellion in our society. Through out the story Sammy challenges conformity and social norms at his work place for personal reasons. Sammy is very bitter character and taken as a realist which fuels the story. Queenie, a rebel against conformity, sparks Sammy’s emotions after the way she is treated by his boss Langel when she walks into the grocery store with nothing but a bikini covering her skin.
When only one gentleman shows up for the job, the boss gives the strange man, Bartleby, a job as a filer. After a few days, the new employee will not listen to the boss. This extraordinary man merely states, “I prefer not to,” when requested to complete a duty. Consequently, the boss gets weary of Bartleby’s behavior and attempts to get rid of
John Updike's short story "A&P" is about a 19-year-old boy “Sammy” who is going through changes in his life, and has to make crucial decisions that are going to affect his job and his future in the long run. The story is set in an A&P grocery store, in a town north of Boston, and begins with Sammy’s description of the three girls that enter the store. Sammy decides to quit his job in order to impress the girl “Queenie.” Unfortunately, his gentlemanly act goes unnoticed by Queenie and her friends, and he has no choice but to face the consequences of his action. The author of the story clarifies that Sammy’s immaturity comes from his judgmental attitude, sexist beliefs, and disrespectful attitude.
Mark Twain, an 18th century humorist, was known for his critical and satirical writing. In one of his most famous essays, “ Fenimore Coopers Literary Offenses” Twain addresses Coopers inability to realistically develop a “situation” and his failure to effectively back up his stories in order for them to be more plausible. To dramatically convey his unimpressed and sarcastic attitude, he applies biting diction, metaphors and hypophora throughout this work . By continuously using biting diction, Twain develops a mocking tone towards Fenimore Cooper’s incapability to create even the simplest of storylines. In the title of the work a sarcastic tone is evident; the word choice is utilized to reinforce the argument stating how Coopers work is an offense to the world of literature.
The short stories, "A Good man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Conner and "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner are rather horrifying; one tale is about a grandmother and her family brutally murdered by a coldhearted killer, and the other tale is about a lady who murders her lover and then sleeps beside his rotting body. Not only have O'Conner and Faulkner created similar plots in their respective stories, both authors criticize the Southern corruption through the distortion of the characters' world view of reality. The use of irony in the character's social statuses and their miserable lives illustrate the authors' criticism of the Southern social structure. The stories include insights into the families of the old south, and the older class system of
In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the era of the Great Depression in the 1930’s is revealed through a simple story of ranch workers who hope to improve their lives. Migrant workers, George and Lennie, have a friendship that is based on trust and protection. The other workers lack the companionship and bond that these two men have. In the novel, the absence and presence of friendship is the motivation for the characters’ actions.
The author explores a variety of themes telling the story of George and Lennie, two agricultural field workers who are bound to each other but diametrically opposite in character. Lennie is a simple-minded man who is not in control of his strength,
In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the chapters alternate between two perspectives of a story. One chapter focuses on the tenants as a whole, while the other chapter focuses specifically of a family of tenants, the Joads, and their journey to California. Chapter 5 is the former and Steinbeck does an excellent job of omniscient third person point of view to describe the situation. Chapter 5’s main idea is to set the conflict and let the readers make connections between Steinbeck’s alternating chapters with foreshadowing. Steinbeck is effectual in letting readers make connections both to the world and the text itself with the use of exposition, and symbolism.
Working is one of the many tasks that most adults have to endure. As for Phil, work was not just a task, but was a life commitment that took valuable time away. Ellen Goodman describes her stance of this issue in the piece, “The Company Man,” by employing repetition of important phrases and by showcasing the irony of Paul’s life. This conveys a sense of sympathy for Paul and his family and disapproval of his actions, who let his work consume his life, leading to his death. To begin, the use of repetition allowed Ellen Goodman to show her critical attitude and pity towards Phil.
One of the best-selling authors, Barbara Ehrenreich, in her narrative essay, “Serving in Florida,” describes her personal experience working in a local restaurant called Jerry’s. Ehrenreich’s purpose is to attach importance to the low-wage America workplace. Using rhetorical strategies such as negative diction, simile, images, and pathos, Ehrenreich attempts to raise public awareness of the low-wage workers’ life in her readers. Firstly, Barbara Ehrenreich exploits connotation of words and simile to emphasize the difficult life of the lower class.
Herman Melville's "Bartleby, The Scrivener", he consistently repeats the line " I prefer not" to imply that if you are asking him or giving him a choice you know what it would be. He does not want to work or do anything productive. Bartleby is resistant to change within society. He woud prefer to be alone! Bartleby does not have any depth to his personality he is just kind of flat.
Callahan McArthur 1 Ms. Armstrong AP English 11 23 Sep 2016 Rhetorical Analysis Ellen Goodman’s “The Company Man is about a workaholic named Phil who would spend his free time working himself into his own demise. She uses a few different rhetorical terms to convey her point of view. The author uses irony, sarcastic tone, and symbolism to show that she thinks that that some Americans only focus on work and should be focusing on more important things such as family. Goodman uses irony to show that Phil’s beliefs were insignificant and wrong.
In many stories, the main character or main characters can determine the thematic setup of the story. Revealing the main features of the characters throughout the story adds structure and also adds relativity so the reader can digest and understand the character better. In the short story by Herman Melville “Bartleby the Scrivener”, the lawyer, who is also the narrator, talks about his law practice on Wall Street and the people he has working for him. In “Bartleby the Scrivener”, Bartleby, by being almost totally reclusive, brings out characteristics of the lawyer that neither the reader, nor the lawyer see coming. The lawyer works alongside two law-copyist, Turkey and Nippers, both respectable workers in their field.
George and Lennie, prominent characters in the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, are migrant workers—men who move from place to place to do seasonal work— who end up in California and are faced with numerous problems. Set in the era of the great depression, the story of Lennie and George, two very different men who have formed a family-like union, takes place on a farm where Lennie struggles to stay out of trouble. Having committed an unintentional, harmful act, Lennie is faces severe consequences; and George must decide to make a necessary decision which changes the mood of the entire novel. By the comparison and contrast of George and Lennie, unique characters who are very different from each other, the reader can better acquaint himself
