ipl-logo

Summary Of Vastness Of The Dark By Alistair Macleod

851 Words4 Pages

Alistair MacLeod’s The Vastness of the Dark is a carefully composed short story that is used to solidify an understanding of the startling realities that accompany one’s introduction into their adult years, as is the case for the protagonist, James. The insight provided by Macleod is evoked through his introduction of familial connections, occupational pressures, a longing for individuality, and subtle gestures of religious commitment. These topics weave a four-dimensional image that poses as a constant reminder to the reader of their role within one’s life experiences. These elements are presented by MacLeod as being most profoundly influential during the fragile transitional periods of one’s lifetime. MacLeod appears to represent this four-dimensional …show more content…

It becomes strikingly obvious that James, whom has now reached eighteen years of age, is in the midst of a critical point concerning his maturity. With this realization, he considers the new situations and decisions that will ultimately transform him in several ways. The reader accompanies this character on his trail of monologues in which the theme of striving for individuality becomes evident. What is also presented to the reader through James’ mental processing, is his apparent resentment towards conventional religion – one of the aforesaid dimensions expertly employed by MacLeod. As James contemplates the ringing church bells that are situated in the centre of his small town, the theme of religion clearly begins to surface (26). These first few elements of the four dimensions, that of religion and individuality, are the vehicles used to transport the reader through the perilous stages of James’ newfound freedoms. One of these freedoms includes James’ opportunity to refuse attending weekly religious services, as demonstrated by his following statement directed towards the Catholic Church bells, stating, “at least tomorrow I will be free of you” …show more content…

He perceives the town as being a force that holds him back from achieving his true potential. It is clear to the reader that James, understandably, feels a sense of obligation from his family, as well as their values. This suddenly begins to repel him from the various demands of the struggling mining town he has been confined to. At this point, the stage is set for another profound dimension to emerge throughout the narrative of The Vastness of the Dark. This dimension is the significance of familial relationships. The reader discovers that James hails from a large family consisting of seven siblings, his paternal grandparents, and his parents. It is clear through James’ narrative that he has not cultivated meaningful or lasting relationships with his younger siblings (28). Due to James being the eldest child of the family, he is emotionally, and literally, removed from his brothers and sisters (28-29). It is almost as if James is only aware of their names and ages when he mentions

Show More
Related
401 Words | 2 Pages

In the memoir the Color of Water, James McBride spends most of the time finding his true identity. To understand his inner confusion and turmoil, he had a need to understand his mother’s past. James McBride takes an epic life quest to discover and learn more about his heritage in his memoir. As the book begins, the author has a curiosity and was consumed with the need of learning about his mother and her past.

Read More
774 Words | 4 Pages

James had a complicated family life as a child first from his mother was married three times. His first father was a pastor and left to go teach the gold miners in California about God. He sadly died from cholera and was laid in an unmarked grave

Read More
527 Words | 3 Pages

Gary Webb was an investigative reporter from California. Webb is famous for his series called “Dark Alliance,” which was published in 1996 in the San Jose Mercury News where he worked. This series was highly controversial. In this series of articles, Webb suggested that the Central Intelligence Agency knew about and protected Nicaraguan cocaine traffickers and distributers, which allowed the outbreak of crack cocaine in the African-American community of Los Angeles in the 1980’s.

Read More
1277 Words | 6 Pages

In Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People”, O’Connor utilizes the analogy of good country people as a representation and critique of the ignorance of society. To do so, O’Connor presents the sense of superiority certain characters possess, resulting in them becoming ignorant to the truth of the world that is around them. In doing so, O’Connor challenges common perceptions of society in never questioning those who appear inferior to one, yet are still capable of unimaginable things. Through the examination of the characters of Mrs. Hopewell and Joy, or Hulga, and their interactions with good country people in Mrs. Freeman and Manley Pointer, superiority will be shown to cause one to become ignorant of the true nature of others; hence, leading

Read More
1152 Words | 5 Pages

James watched as Mommy continued to avoid her life. He started to avoid everyone and everything just like his mother would do. He analyzed that, “Just like Mommy did years before me, I began my own process of running, emotionally disconnecting myself from her, as if by doing so I could keep her suffering from touching me” (138). Watching as his mother suffered instilled his feelings. He couldn’t bear it anymore, anymore, which forced him to “run away.”

Read More
1894 Words | 8 Pages

The journalist argues that even though the entire society wasn’t satisfied by his religious ruling, people should still appreciate the peace and resources that he provided to the needy people. With so much knowledge about Christianity and being devoted, Jacob provides a strong perspective about Charles’ religious life because he is very religious himself as he explains praying to the Holy Rosary has made him appreciate the kind acts that Charles has shown as the Count of Flanders. Moreover, White provides a lot of evidences by using quotes in the Holy Rosary that supports why Charles refers to Holy Scriptures while ruling Flanders. Throughout this article, I found White’s analysis of Count Charles’ religious life really useful because he provides good examples of why religion has made a big impact to governing a society and how religion can change people’s perspective into believing certain

Read More
634 Words | 3 Pages

The dark, mysterious and life changing setting the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel contributes to the protagonist’s hardships between a spiritual character (God) and a minor character (his father). Eliezer, the protagonist, is faithful meaning that he respects and is influence by his God. “Oh God…have mercy on us” (20) as Eliezer “[prays] to his God…for strength,” (5) when arriving to the Ghettos. However, when arriving to the man-made settings such as the concentration camps, the relationship starts to diminish. The setting alters Eliezer’s judgment and now relies more on God’s faith to help the people at the camps.

Read More
917 Words | 4 Pages

As a novelist, Flannery O’Conner dedicated her life to revealing mysteries of the world by intertwining many examples of sacramentality, mediation, and communion in her stories and essays. Presently focusing on two of her essays, “Catholic Novelists and Their Readers” and “The Catholic Novelist in the Protestant South”, O’Conner dives deep in to the realm of spiritual understanding and enlightenment. “Catholic Novelists and Their Readers” portrays a clear example of sacramentality through her belief of the incarnation of Jesus into human flesh. O’Conner believes that the vocation of the Catholic fiction writer is that mystery ought to be incarnated into human life through the words she places on paper. “Whatever the novelist sees in the way

Read More
546 Words | 3 Pages

Secret Sin After reading “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and his different yet captivating objective about this particular reading piece, as the story shows a moral message torn into darkness and loneliness. It is understood that he manifests a profound vision for a spiritual meaning. First, the puritans lived in an orthodox lifestyle that took them to provide strictly religious policies.

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Religion can be very important in people’s lives, but for some, religion can cloud their vision of what is wrong and what is right. In the novel The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, the protagonist’s father, Joseph, abuses his religious power. Joseph Strorm forces his religion on others, he uses his religion to destroy anything that is different and controls his life to a dangerous point. Therefore, Joseph Strom’s religious theories are seriously flawed.

Read More
822 Words | 4 Pages

A Test on Faith In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown,” the author uses mystery and suspense to hold the attention of the reader. One of the most obvious questions is if these events are actually real or if they are all a dream. However, whether the events are imaginary or reality, they have the same impact on Brown’s life whether they took place, or were just a twisted nightmare. Hawthorne shows that a strong faith is the greatest asset of a man or woman, and when that faith is compromised, the effects of this can cause one to be filled with doubt and cynicism toward the rest of the world.

Read More
1403 Words | 6 Pages

I agree with Ricoeur that, in order to refigure a better future, one should be liberated from the wounded memories via the authentic healing of them. Otherwise, those stings of the past continue to haunt his/her life. With Henri Bergson, Ricoeur speaks of an unconscious duration of memory, which amounts to forgetting. Yet this is fundamentally not a deletion of traces. Also, by referring to Sigmund Freud, Ricoeur points out that “blocked/sick” memories tend to result in the compulsion to continually express the memories in diverse counterproductive forms of action.

Read More
948 Words | 4 Pages

This proves that although James is trying to or into his family, his emotion(s) put a major roadblock in his path. Another reason that supports this idea is on page 4. While and after the kitten is dying, he lets his emotions pour over and doesn’t care what his family sees of him, only about the dead kitten.

Read More
1576 Words | 7 Pages

This religious preaching of tolerance and caring is provided as an encapsulation of the entire novel, and helps readers understand exactly what the novel is about. Throughout Beloved, there are several other major examples of religious allusion.

Read More
816 Words | 4 Pages

In “Acquainted with the Night”, it embodies the abyss of despair that the narrator finds themselves in. The poem centers on the qualities of the night, and the night’s defining characteristic is its never-ending darkness. The poem’s very title shows how deeply bogged down in darkness the narrator is; the speaker has, ironically, become friends with it. The motif of darkness manifests itself in other examples as well. The speaker writes, “I have outwalked the furthest city light,” showing that he or she has transcended the limits of a normal person’s misfortune and instead exposed himself to complete and utter desperation (3).

Read More

More about Summary Of Vastness Of The Dark By Alistair Macleod

Related Topics

Open Document