Literary Essay Example

Part A: question one.

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In the play A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee William Stanley Kowalski is presented as a very interesting character, therefore it is very easy to come up with a detailed analysis of his character. It can be in terms of his strengths and weaknesses. An overview of his personal attributes that comes out in the role this character plays is that for the strengths he has a soft side, he is magnetic and finally he is hot or in other words handsome. Despite having the stated strengths he is also presented as having several weaknesses. He is depicted as being aggressive, alpha male and sleazebag.

One thing about the character of Stanley is that unlike Blanche we can only get to learn the character of Stanley from the actions he portrays especially those that occur in the present. Blanches character can be looked into even from his past. We do not get to see how the character of Stanley has evolved from the past to the present. But even with the present character of Stanley there are several aspects of his character which we can quickly point out without much difficulty. He is very dominant, aggressive and depicted as being very sexual.

We can also point out the fact that Stanley is basically a man of structure and habit this is defined by the fact that his desires in life are very straightforward and simple. He stands out as a character who seems to be a guy who maintains stereotypic gender roles especially in his home, not only at his home but also within himself as a man who is highly respected as the head of the home. It is evident that he loves spending time with mainly his male friends. The sexual relationship of Stanley with his wife is something he regards as very important. The only person who ruins this aspects of Stanleys life is Blanche, she disrupts his life in every way.

To outline the aspects stated above in specific details of dialogue that point them we can start with those words or conversations that Stanley outlines which bring out his character in the various ways stated. Firstly we can have a look at the character of Stanley in relation to the gender roles which display the fact that he regards himself as a male as being above the role of women. Stanley and Stella his wife seem to assume specific roles which depict Stanley as the household provider while Stella as the home maker whose basic task is taking care of Stanley and also making sure that she respects him.

The specific depiction is the first interaction scene, in this scene we are able to realize that the couple seems to be very happy with each other. The two appear as being contented with their roles in the relationship. This is observed wen Stanley appears on the stage, hurls and bellows a pack of meat upon his wife, who is at the moment standing of the landing of their apartment. She laughs maybe because he has provided the supper for that day and she sees him walk out and go out bowling with his friends. This point categorically depicts Stanley as a social character.

In scene eight it is clear that as Stella is trying to criticize Stanley for his assumed role of a king by ordering him around, it sparks the problems. He feels that his wife is looking down upon him as evident in the following words from Stanley, pig-polak-disgusting-vulgar-greasy!-them kind of words have been on your (Stellas) tongue and your sisters too much around here! What do you think you are? A pair of queens? (8.14) it gets to that point when Stanley feels like he is being mistreated and even throws the dishes.

Stanley comes out as a character who is romantic in several scenes. It is clear that the couple considers their sexual relationship as the main anchor of their marriage and the reason why despite their fighting the romance makes their life smooth. The specific depiction of this is found at (8. 103). It is also evident that Stanley feels as though Blanche his sister in law is the cause of disruption for his romantic relationship it is clear in the words he utters in (8. 55). The sex life of Stanley is seen to be part of his character and this come out specifically at scene (1. 205). It is also seen where Stanley ends up with raping Blanche (11. 123).

Finally there are those scenes which depict Stanley as being soft in nature. This is because we can be able to see him transiting in character in scene 3. He comes from being a very abusive and drunk raging character to a loving and tender husband. He even sobs for the dolls in scene (3.189). There is also the instance of reunion between Stanley and Stella at the bottom of the stairs. The perception of the character is however different Blanche only finds Stanley as having a character that is not soft as observed in every conversation she has about his character.

Part B: from the poem by J. Alfred Prufrock The love song, there are several aspects which make most of the scholars term it as a modernist poem. In a bid to try and come up with an understanding of what modernism actually is. It starts with the common knowledge about the modernization movement. In the very past days there was no link between people who were very far from each other especially in village setups. This set up was characterized by little interaction between the different distant groups.

There came the age of technology and evolution of the media which brought people close to each other. This would be through physical connection or where people get to obtain information concerning what is happening far away from where these people are. For instance through the social media transmissions through the internet or mails sent over the large distances therefore bridging the gaps that existed. In the poetic world then the modernism refers to the inclusion of the different artists and poets who use different styles to come up with a modern kind of style. It entails the transformation evidenced with the transition coming from the so called old styles to the new styles.

From the biography of the author of the poem we are able to get insights from the fact that he was able to move from America to Britain in 1914. He was even able to write most of the Prufrock before the start of world war one. At this time it important to note that Britain was considered as the most modern region of the world. The authors within this region had developed specific themes for their poems which are considered the classic modernist themes. They are those themes which revolve around war, cities, boredom and basically fear.

The modernism of this poem is criticized by even the London Times, in the literary supplement. They consider the details of the poem as being events which only happen within the mind of an individual who was the author Eliot. These events are considered as having no much importance to any one and even the author himself. They are seen as not having any relationship to what poetry is all about.

This was in regard to the old literary styles where the teachers of the poets were too strict Eliots style was interested in only getting the fun aspects of the poem literary aspects. It is this aspect of getting out of the routine and the ordinary way of writing poems which was regarded as a modernist way of doing things which was even highly criticized by the poets who considered the olden styles as being superior. This particular poem was said to have killed the pleasure of what poetry entails but this was just an opinion.

Modernism can also be characterized by the aspect of changing the way the message of the themes in the poems is portrayed. We are able to see Eliot bringing another aspect in which the thoughts of the persona are relayed in what can be said to be dark yet funny way. Together with this there is an inclusion of the rhyme and wishes. There are many reason behind the poet applying these style of modernism but from the above aspects which came in the form of criticism we can be able to identify the different aspects that contribute to what modernism is all about.

Part C: question one.

It is no doubt that the conflict between Willy and Biff is indeed the central conflict within the play, Death of a Salesman. This can be explained by having a look at the various ways in which the different situation brewed the conflict throughout the book. To start wit we are able to realize that while Biff was very young he was able to discover that Willy was having an affair this is seen as the start of the conflict.

Willy also seemed to have some expectations and aspirations which appear as too high or unrealistic for his son. This is an aspect that is seen as the cause for the tension between the two. This is mainly a result of the inability of Biff in being able to meet the particular expectations. What Biff was trying to do in most of the instances is trying to hide his failures from his son for Willy he always considered this as failure to achieve success in life. Willy is also convinced that Biff has no respect for him. And a compilation of these attitudes makes Willy establish a notion that Biff is a nobody.

Biff in the other side of their relationship which is conflicting attributes his failures to his father, he believes he is the main cause of the failures he is experiencing. He categorically states that his father filled him with hot air. He particularly states that trying to be a successful businessman as his father wishes is not anywhere close to what he personally wishes. He says that it is just not for him.

In the final parts we are able to see an outpouring of emotions in the final act, in a way the outpouring of the emotions seems to be ironic in a way. It is this outpouring of emotions that categorically convinces Willy to commit suicide. The reason he did this is because for him he believes that his son will idolize him. This will be the case because the son will be provided with the life insurance money following his death.

Willy Biffs father gets the feeling of anger and being deceived. Willy is seen as lamenting himself for not being a good father personally for these main particular reasons.

The other root for the conflict is seen when Biff decides to go and visit his father in Boston. The discovery and confirmation of the fact that his father had an affair on finding his father with another woman, is a key factor that seems to affect or deteriorate the relationship between the two. This is because Biff was affected by this discovery immensely it overturned the initial relationship that was existing between the two in the beginning.

The reason for stating that this discovery might have played a key aspect in ruining the relationship is because from the beginning of the play we can be able to closely follow the relationship that existed between the two. Biff is seen as being happy with his father, his father was also paying more attention to him. In the end the father did not seem to care about what Biff felt. This was after Biff caught his father with other women. This is directly observed as the main factor of the change of the relationship considering the play unfolding of events. Biff in the beginning was always listening to his father but he now felt deceived in the end by his father. This is clear with the bitter words from Biff as Willy tries to create the space to explain the situation.

Part D.

The poem One Art by Elizabeth Bishop is quite simple to understand it starts with the depiction of the fact that the art of losing is basically not hard to master. The persona goes ahead to state that some of the things are actually made to be lost. Therefore losing them is not and should not be a big deal. The author goes ahead to state that this art can even be practiced by practicing the loss of small things and gradually graduating to the loss of big things.

The author goes ahead to illustrate how this art can be developed through the mention of names and places, to the specifi...