Literature Is Literature

Literature Is Literature
What is literature, and why should people read it? These two questions normally surface on the first
day of English and literature classes. In fact, as one Introduction to Literature class ended the 2017
Spring semester with student presentations, the final presenter, a middle–age auto mechanic with
oily stained hands and a battered countenance, exclaimed most eloquently, "Literature is an alive
and breathing thing. It gives life to the past and the present. It makes me know, feel, and love.
Without literature, I would be nothing." Juxtaposed appearance versus thought shows the power and
impact of literature. Without literature, we would be nothing; we would have no thought, feelings, or
life. By reading, sharing, discussing, and writing, literature breathes life into the breathless. Students
are not the only ones who grapple with these questions. What is literature? – is the very question
Terry Eagleton opens with in his book Literary Theory: An Introduction. Moving away from the
nontraditional student, how does a prominent professor and esteemed literary critic answer the same
question? Remarkably, he dittos that of the mechanic. In Eagleton's opening chapter "The Rise of
English," he responds in much the same way by asserting literature's "task is to transform society in
the name of those energies and values which art embodies" (17). Eagleton adds further elaboration
to his view of literature's development and definition; in his chapter "The Rise of Literature" he
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Literary Theory : The Postcolonial Theory
Literary Theory: Postcolonial theory is about how literature can be used as a political instrument
during certain times in our history. Post–colonial theory looks at how power, religion, culture, and
economics and how they are written and related to the time period and the colonization that was
happening. For example when reading about colonization in American we only read from writing
from men who are white and upper/middle class. Literature could be oppressive because it was only
written from one point of view back when colonization was happening. Cultural studies theory looks
at different cultures and how they are viewed, this theory does not allow us to make assumptions. As
individuals we are not allowed to make assumption about writing and what culture has better
writing. Cultural studies theory looks at the different cultures and tries to make meaning of the
humans and their actions. For example we can look at how Indians are portrayed, and what Indians
have written. Each culture has their literature, and has been written about. Psychological theory
focuses on the basic patterns of human development, thinking, and behavior. When looking at the
psychological theory you look at what the writing is hiding from the reader. As reader we all read
different and analyze different, and when reading and looking at the psychological theory it is
important to make an educated guess on what we think is happening psychologically. Most reader
are not psychologist, so they do

C. S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters
On the Grammar Structure and Style of C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters C.S. Lewis's The
Screwtape Letters, an iconic piece of literary and theological artwork, employs an interesting
conglomeration of tone, structure, and meaning that continues to transform the thoughts of many
who read it. In true Lewis fashion, the grammatical structure in The Screwtape Letters was carefully
orchestrated with unique use of clauses, mechanics, and more to illustrate his equally unique
thoughts. Hooper's C.S. Lewis: A Complete Guide to His Life and Works describes the revealing of
the conception of the book in a letter from Lewis to his brother, Warnie Lewis. C.S. had been
listening to Adolf Hitler speaking persuasively over the radio the night before the letter was written;
in it, he explains his awe at human word–crafting. "Statements which I know to be untrue all but
convince me, at any rate for the moment, if only the man says them unflinchingly," said Lewis, still
thinking of Hitler's persuasiveness, when he conjured up the idea for a book while sitting in a
service at Holy Trinity Church in Oxford, England (Hooper 267). Hence, ... Show more content on
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He goes on to explain why there were not more letters written, and why he had not published them
immediately. Because he was writing from the perspective of a devil, he had to obtain a diabolical
attitude of sorts – one that he said produced an intense spiritual cramp. Still in the preface, he
explains his grudge against the book because it had almost smothered him. This reminds one of the
musings of French literary theorist, philosopher, and linguist Roland Barthes in La Mort de l'auteur
(The Death of the Author, 1968). Barthes's theories in authorship and literary structuralism may be
used to allude to a similar concept Lewis explained in his preface. Barthes

Examples Of Reader Response Theory
Reader Response Theory Reader–response theory identifies the reader as an affective agent who
imparts real exist–ence and life to the work, completing its meaning through interpretation. Reader–
response criti–cism argues that literature should be viewed as art in which each reader creates his or
her own–most likely unique, text–related performance. I am using Wolfgang Iser and Stanley Fish's
takes on Reader Response for my study. Iser's Theory of Reception and Transactional Reader
Response Theory According to Iser, any literary text which is a product of the Writer's intentional
acts part–ly controls the response of a reader; however, this includes an abundance of gaps. In order
to comprehend more clearly, the reader must take action in active participation in attempting to cre–
atively fill these gaps with the given information of the test put before him; Thereby allowing the
Reader and the text to undergo a transactional process. Iser speaks of the Actual reader in distinction
to the Implied reader who is formed within a text and expected to react and respond in specific ways
to the response inducing structure of the text. The actual reader, however, is an individual with its
own personal experiences accumu–lated as baggage wherein responses actually are continuously
and inevitably changed ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
What lies behind Fish's thinking is a strong view of the social construction of reality; as he firmly
believes that knowledge is not objective but always socially conditioned. All that one thinks and
knows is an interpretation that is only made possible by the social context in which one lives. For
Fish the very thought one thinks are made possible by presuppositions of the community in which
one lives and furthermore the socially conditioned individual, which all individuals are, cannot think
beyond the limits made possible by the culture. This culture is referred to by Fish as an interpre–tive

Literary Theory: Freud And Lacan
Literary theory is a body of ideas and methods used in interpreting literature. By literary theory we
refer to the different theories developed in order to retrieve meanings from literary work. According
to Culler "Theory in literary studies is not an account of the nature of literature or methods for its
study...It's a body of thinking and writing whose limits are exceedingly hard to define." (in Culler, p.
3;as cited Chakraborty, n.d.). There are a few schools of literary theory, but this paper will analyze
and discuss the psychoanalytic approach of Freud and Lacan as opposed to the liberal humanist idea
of analysis.
To begin with, the psychoanalytic approach is based on psychoanalysis itself and the main critics
were Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan who agreed to a certain degree, that a text is fundamentally
related with the psyche. Freud strongly believed that our unconscious is affected by events which
occurred during childhood and so he divided the human psyche into developmental stages regarding
one's relationship with parents, drives and the pleasure principle. These stages are the oral, anal and
the phallic, representing the levels of desire and repression.What he claims is that, what has ... Show
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The Lacanian theory is in support of the postructuralist idea of the division of the self, linking this
idea to intertextuality and how textuality is made up of cultural meanings challenging the borders of
the text, which become "diagnostic telling us something about the meanings and implications of the
text" (Delli, 2017, para. ). This theory binds together the writer with the culture, the text with the
reader, at the level of language which is an access to the culture. He considers the text as a process–
field and he focuses on the structure of a text, through repetitions, gaps and closures. He focuses not
on the text itself, but on the structures of it and how they are realized by the

Criticism Of Modernism In Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse
Virginia Woolf was born Stephen in 1882, she passed away in 1941. She had four siblings and grew
up in London, but St. Ives in Cornwall was the long–term summer residency of her family. Her
mother passed away in 1895, which was the starting point of Virginia Woolf's history of depression,
within a ten year period her father and her elder brother also died (Lavizzari 1991 251). These
biographical aspects are relevant, in so far that some events of to the Lighthouse are influenced, or
mirror them. To the Lighthouse was Woolf's fifth novel and the publication with which she felt that
she finally had successfully established herself as a writer (Bell 1980 137).
Woolf herself tried to reject her Victorian and Edwardian age literary influences, which constitutes a
key feature of modernism in general, but did not fully succeed in doing so (Whitworth 2000 150). In
her essays, such as Mr Bennett and Mrs Brown (1923), How should one read a book (1926) or
Reading (1919), Woolf outlined what she expects of fiction. Still, she "praises the 'astonishing
vividness and reality' of Victorian characterisation, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Central to this analysis of spatial semantics in To the Lighthouse are her essays Modern Fiction
(1925), Mr. Bennett and Mrs Brown (1923), What is a Novel? (1927), On Reading (1919) and
Character in Fiction (1924), which discuss aspects relevant for a semantic analysis of her own work.
In addition to a great variety of other opinions published on the structure of To the Lighthouse, these
essays shall be also considered. Qualities known to be important for Woolf's composition of a 'novel'
are her rejection of Victorian materialism (Bell 1980a 159), which does not preclude the importance
she sees in a fruitful building of characters, opposing what Virginia Woolf called a lack of "real, true
and convincing" characters" (Bell 1980b

Literature : The Definition Of Literature
Literature is something that has been around for years and years. The definition of literature has
been debated, scrutinized, and analyzed for all of those many years. It has also been debated over if
literature has any value and if it is necessary to the world in which we live in. Another question
arises when talking about literature is, if it does have any value at all, then how and why should it be
taught in schools and to younger and future generations. What is literature? It is a question that has
been debated and discussed over for years and it will probably still be for years to come. Many
people have been tried making a definition for literature. For example Terry Eagleton states in
Literary Theory: an introduction "As imaginative ' writing in the sense of fiction – writing which is
not literally true" as being the definition of literature (1). He also states that the definition of
literature is can also be decided based upon "how somebody decides– to read, not to the nature of
what is written", so in reality the definition of literature is a very subjunctive thing because anyone
who reads can have their own definition of what literature is to them (Eagleton, 8).
I believe that literature is any type of writing or text that has been written with some kind of
intention and has a purpose to the reader. This may seem extremely broad because everything in the
written language was written with some kind of intention, so this would include things like the
manual for a

Examples Of New Historicism In Othello
New Historicism
– When I did research on New Historicism I found that it is seen as is a school of literary theory and
that it was first developed in the 1980's. Also when I looked for a definition for New Historicism I
found that it is seen as an expressive act that is embedded into a network that consists of material
practices.
– When we want to look for New Historicism in a novel or in a movie it is important to first have a
look at the author's biography as well as the social background and it is lastly important to look at
the ideas that was circulating the cultural era of that time as well.
– New Historicism is also concerned with the political function of the literature as well as the
concept of power. In other words how they emerge, but it will tell us about the different ways of
thinking at that time.
– In other words New Historicism is a literary theory that is based on the idea that literature should
be studied and interpreted within the context of both the history of the author and the history of the
critic. New Historicism is also often emphasized as the power struggle of all kinds, and that also
includes the power struggle in literary texts.
New Historicism in Othello:
– New Historicism often seen as an emphasis of a power struggle of all kinds.
– In Othello, most of the characters is engaged in ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The first thing that I saw in a Feminism perspective is that the main characters in the novel is played
by women, the first character is a young girl (Mariam) and the second character a girl who is
growing up in a less fortunate condition. While reading the novel I found that it was obvious that in
the novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns", men have more rights than women and that can be seen by
the fact that men have authority over women. In the novel it was also a fact in the men's eyes that
the women belong at

Nikki Giovanni Poetry Analysis
Summary Biography Poet and writer Nikki Giovanni was born on June 7, 1943. In Knoxville,
Tennessee. She is a prominent poet and writer who established Cincinnati's first Black Arts Festivals
in 1967. She graduated with honors from Fisk University in 1967. Giovanni published her first book
of poems, "Black Feeling," "Black Talk" in 1968. She achieved a lot in her writing life. She
established herself as a potential poet by winning many awards including a woman of the year from
"Ladies Home Journal" in 1973. In recent years, she has produced new works of children "Rosa"
(2005) "Acolytes" (2007). She works as a professor at St Joseph and Virginia Tech University. Her
poems helped define the African–American voice. She was also a major force in the black art
movement. Feminism Theory Feminism is a theory, which argues that legal and social restriction on
females must be removed to bring equality of both sexes. Writing entails many forces such as styles,
theories, and environmental inspiration. The forces are then categorized in afro–futurism,
deconstruction, formalism, stylistic, Marxism, post–structuralism, feminism and psychoanalytic
theories of literature. Since the paper aims at discussing how Giovanni is more of a poet than a
feminist, it will address Giovanni's ability to cut across many literary theories as opposed to the
thought that she is only a feminist. Deconstruction Theory Criticism Deconstruction theory criticism
is reflected in her poems. According to Jacques

'Death of the Author
'Death of the Author' Analysis
Roland Barthes is a French literary philosopher born in 1915. In one of his theories 'Death of the
author' he argues that by "giving a text an author is to impose a limit on that text". He claims that
having knowledge of the author's background and purpose for the text restricts the readers
imaginative license to build their own interpretations, and that the author and text are completely
unrelated. Barthes declares, "The death of the author is the birth of the reader."
Instead, he calls the author a 'scriptor', to draw away from the thinking that the author and his/her
single experience is in control over the text. In this way, he makes a point that no writing is original,
and is created based on the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Barthes statement would be invalid for autobiographical writing, where the authors are one with the
text, as they are writing about themselves.
In poetry, the author is a significant part of the poem as most poetry is a reflection of the poets'
experiences through the use of metaphors and other poetic devices. To ignore this is to diffuse a
poem of its deeper meaning and connections.
We can use 'Full Moon and Little Frieda' by Ted Hughes to argue against Barthes theory. Hughes
wrote this poem about his daughter Frieda's fascination with nature. The poem frames a specific
scene somewhere in the country:
A cool small evening shrunk to a dog bark and the clank of a bucket –
And you listening.
A spider's web, tense for the dew's touch. A pail lifted, still and brimming – mirror To tempt a first
star to a tremor.
Cows are going home in the lane there, looping the hedges with their warm wreaths of breath –
A dark river of blood, many boulders, Balancing unspilled milk.
'Moon!' you cry suddenly, 'Moon! Moon!'
The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work That points at him amazed.
The poem is fairly vague in terms of setting, and without knowledge of the author one would not
know that Ted Hughes, his wife and two children (one named Frieda) moved to a cottage in Devon.
It was there when he wrote Full Moon and Little Frieda after his wife Sylvia Plath committed

Sexual Connotation In Roland Barthes's The Death Of The...
Roland Barthes' essay "the Death of the Author" (1968) marks the "transition from structuralism to
poststructuralism", in which he "celebrates the demise of the author as ushering in an era of joyous
freedom" (Barry 65) granted to the literary text and its reading. The text becomes an open–ended
and a polysemic discourse, and as such open to multiple meanings. He favours "the essential verbal
condition of literature", in which the role of the reader is that of "something who holds together in a
single field all the traces [intertextuality included] by which the written text is constituted" (Leitch
1324–25). His poststructuralist perspective makes him see "a text's unity" lying not in its origin (an
author), but its destination (a reader). In ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In the process of occurrence of writing, Barthes sees, the reader as experiencing the intensities, the
pleasure of the text, the erotics of reading texts that are always coming into being. Barthes equates
the reading experience, so often, with a kind of 'orgasmic', thus, giving it hedonistic or say 'inherent
sexual connotation'.
In his essays "From Work to Text" and "Theory of the Text" Barthes contrasts "the traditional
author–based notion of The Work with The Text", and state "that while a work can be held in the
hand and seen on the shelves of libraries and bookshops, the text only exists when it is produced by
the new reader". To him "the Text is experienced only in an activity, in a production" (Barthes cited
in Allen 83).
To Barthes, as has been pointed out, the text is a kind of woven or spun fabric seen as made up of
"quotations, references, and echoes". Never–the–less, "this intertextual weave is potentially infinite"
in the sense that when we come to deal with the text we find it as if it has been something "already
written and the already said". The new reader of the text notices that "the quotations a text is made
of are anonymous, irrecoverable, and yet already read: they are quotations without quotation marks"
(Barthes cited in Allen

Gender Identity Literary Theory : A White Heron
Discussion Board #3 – Using the Gender Identity Literary Theory.
"A White Heron".
This short story portrays the resistance that feminist concepts give way to. Our story having the
main character as a nine–year–old little girl who embarks on a journey that yearns for the young girl
to come from a state of innocence to a state of knowledge about the world around her. She becomes
illuminated in her environment once her grandmother has brought her to live in the rural
countryside. Knowledge and nature seem to be key reoccurring elements, signifying some of the
elements that the feminist analytical approach targets as a unique discourse of feminine
characteristic. The author being female, it can be argued that an underlying attempt is submerged ...
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To tie this together, with wealth and power, an insensitive male culture is able to exploit the
harmony of the world he dominants, which is a significant point made in feminist movements.
Sylvia and the young man take on an expedition into the woods to find the white heron. The young
man hopes to seduce Sylvia to gain more knowledge of the prized white heron. When the seduction
occurs, there are several poignant emotions that the author describes of the young girl, which
directly leads the reader into the second perspective which is "her initiatory journey." Young Sylvia
is thrust into a yearning for womanhood, which is depicted in the story "the woman's heart, asleep in
the child. This part is important because of its portrayal of a masculine device at using the innocence
of a young girl's heart to obtain his needs.
The journey she must embark upon is more an upward that an outward one, a direction that
emphasizes not only the limits of her environment but points to her affinity with the bird. We think
of the journey to knowledge as more of a flight applying bird–like characteristics to Sylvia. "With
her bare feet and fingers, that pinched and held like bird's claws to the monstrous ladder" and
"Sylvia felt as if she could go flying away among the clouds...truly it was a vast and awesome
world!" Sylvia has recognized her own independence.
Ultimately the concluding choice that Sylvia makes coincides with

Nationalism And The Imagination Sparknotes
Nationalism and the Imagination by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has being the hardest text I have
read during my theory class at Sydney College of the Arts in 2014. My task was to read and explain
the text to my theory class and my lecturer Dr Adam Geczy in 8 minutes as a YouTube video. This
was an almost impossible task because Spivak's Nationalism and the Imagination is a small book of
75 pages and at Sydney College of the Arts's library we are only able to borrow the book for 2
hours. I later found the book online as a pdf file. I have decided to leave my video presentation on
YouTube to help some lost and desperate sole searching for the meaning of Spivak's Nationalism
and the Imagination, before contemplating on killing your self ... Show more content on
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During the course of understanding Spivak's Nationalism and the Imagination, I had to look at other
texts to begin to comprehend the purpose of Spivak's talk on nationalism, Indian sovereignty,
marginalized women, subaltern, comparative literatures oral formulaic, postcolonialism, etc. One of
the best texts I came across was an e–book by Stephen Morton entitled Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.
It was first published in 2003 by Routledge and you can find it online as a pdf file.
Morton analysis several of Spivak's works and then he explains in an uncomplicated manner the
reasons for Spivak's comments and her writing in general. Although Morton does not directly
comment on Spivak's Nationalism and the Imagination you will be able to understand Nationalism
and the Imagination because Spivak draws from previous works that Morton includes in his e–book
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.
Another way of understanding Spivak's Nationalism and the Imagination is by reading the book
reviews on the book. There are several book reviews on Spivak's Nationalism and the Imagination
online or you can find it through your university's library. I was using ProQuest to find articles on
Spivak's Nationalism and the Imagination.
Last but not least, I watched several videos by Dr Jason J Campbell, user drjasonjcampbell. He was
great, easy to understand and he includes notes with all his videos that you can download if you
wish. What I liked the most about Dr

Seminar: Literary Theory Applied to H.P. Lovecraft-Notably...
Buena VistA university | A Theoretical Analysis of H.P. Lovecraft's "Beast in the Cave" | Senior
Seminar | | Cory J. Dahlstrom | 7/28/2012 |
H.P. Lovecraft has been called "one of the best, worst authors of our century." In the following
paper, I will explore his earliest work, "The Beast in the Cave," a story written when he was around
fifteen years old. I will explore its meanings and context through the lenses of reader response,
deconstructionism, new historicism, and psychoanalytic analysis. Through these lenses of literary
theory I hope to derive further meaning and understanding of this favored story as well as dismiss
some criticism that has been leveled against H.P. Lovecraft. Each ... Show more content on
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But without a doubt, this story, though simplistic in its plot and scare factor, has potential thought
value that can be critiqued and analyzed. Perhaps, my own background of cave spelunking seated a
more powerful attachment to this particular story, but before I explore the reader response theories
of "The Beast in the Cave," let me give you some background about the author taken from the brief
biography by Joshi, renowned as the foremost historian of Lovecraft.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born on August 20, 1890 to Sarah Susan Phillips Lovecraft and
Winfield Scott Lovecraft in Providence, Rhode Island. Winfield Lovecraft was a traveling salesman
for Gorham & Co., Silversmiths. During one of his business trips, Winfield suffered from what
has been described as a psychiatric fit in a Chicago hotel room and was later committed to Butler
Hospital and was reported to be paralyzed and comatose during his last five years of life from
evidence that Winfield died of paresis, a form of neurosyphilis.
Howard Lovecraft's upbringing then befell his widowed mother, two aunts, and his grandfather, an
industrialist and heir of prominent lineage. Lovecraft, who had troubles in school, received must of
education from the form of old books he had access to in his grandfather's lavish Victorian home.
Growing up, his earliest enthusiasm was for the Arabian Nights that he adapted the pseudonym of
"Abdul Alhazred," who authored the mythical book of the dead, the

Literary Writing : A Discourse On Literature
In "Letter in Reply to Li Yi," Han Yu reflects on the nature of literary writing, while Cao Pi
discusses his literary theory in "A Discourse on Literature." Both Han and Cao emphasize the vital
energy of writers and the cultural immortality of literary writing, but their definitions of literature
differ in their arguments about the purpose of writing and their criteria for the content. The synthesis
based on their theories may provide some uniquely Chinese insight into the definition of literature.
Both Han Yu and Cao Pi point out that literature is culturally immortal and is associated with the
vital energy or the nature of writers. First, both Han and Cao argue that the vital force of writers is
an important factor contributing to literature. In "Letter in Reply to Li Yi," Han Yu argues, "If there
is an abundance of vital energy then one's words will be fitting (141)." Similarly, in "A Discourse on
Literature," Cao Pi points out, "Qi, 'vital force' or 'breath,' is the most important factor in literature."
He further compares qi with flute music and demonstrates how "inequality in drawing on a reserve
of qi or breath" could differentiate "a skillful player from a clumsy one (361)." Although Han Yu and
Cao Pi might conceptualize vital force differently, their definitions of literature are similar in a way
that Han and Cao consider writers' nature or qi as an important factor manifested by literature.
Second, both Han and Cao define literature as written work that is

Marxist Theory And Psychoanalytic Theories
Marxist and Psychoanalytic Literary Theories in Action Marxist/Materialist Theory and
Psychoanalytic Theory are important theories in understanding individuals and societies. They allow
readers to understand how societies and individuals function and their motives. Marxist/Materialist
Theory mostly focuses on societies and different classes and the relationships between the two.
Psychoanalytic Theory focuses on the characters wants, needs, actions, and process of thought that
sometimes correlate with the author. While both have their flaws, they allow readers to explore the
deeper meanings in a text as well as connect the readers to their personal lives and societies and
fully gain greater understanding and knowledge. Marxist theory ... Show more content on
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Lastly, Marxist theory would be beneficial to western/ historical novels that show the disputes
between people who are different socially which is what Marxist theory is meant to discover.
Psychoanalytic theory would be helpful in explicating melodramas such as Dracula because they
explore the emotions. Freud would also agree that Psychoanalytic theory is helpful in explicating
romance novels because Freud main foundation for Psychoanalytic theory is on sex. Psychoanalytic
theory is useful in dystopian novels as well and almost any genre when a reader or theorist uses it to
understand the characters' minds and motives when they, "[apply] psychoanalytic techniques to texts
to uncover the author's hidden motivations repressed desires, and wishes" (Bressler 130). Beyond
Marxist elements in Anthem, Anthem also demonstrates Psychoanalysis and much of Sigmund
Freud beliefs and Psychoanalysis as a whole. Anthem is written in first person but the character
Equality 7–2521 uses "we" instead of "I". The reader later learns that he never uses I because it was
a "forbidden" word in the society and he didn't even know what it meant until he eventually leaves
the society at the end of the novel. Equality 7–2521 and the other characters existed under the super
ego. Besides Equality "rebelling" and finding himself at the end, all of the other characters

A Reader- Oriented Approach to Edgar Alan Poe's the Tell-...
"If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?" A Reader– Oriented approach
to Edgar Alan Poe's The Tell– Tale Heart The Titular question is an old philosophical riddle for
which a wide range of metaphysical and non–metaphysical solution has been offered. The answers
differ based on the perspective of the interpreter. Judging these answers is neither possible nor
desirable for us, but the riddle and the ensuing debates attest to the veracity of one of the most basic
tenets of reader–response theory: If a text does not have a reader, it does not exist–or at least, it has
no meaning. It's reader, with whatever experience he brings to the text, who gives it its meaning. Of
particular significance is ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The narrator is a psychopath with wacky motivations. If we accept this convenient explanation then
we have to deal with another question: could a madman talks with such lucidity and exactness? The
answer that Ken Frieden gives to this question is a positive one. He downplays the contrast between
the sane narrative and mad narrator: "The discrepancy between sane narrator and madman perhaps
shows the error of assuming that linguistic normalcy implies psychological normalcy." Friedan took
it for granted that the narrator is mad because he kills an old man for no reason. He is doubly mad,
Friedan said, when he imagines he hears the pounding of the dead man's heart and gives away the
crime he had concealed. Yet the narrator tells a coherent tale, as if to demonstrate out of spite that he
is sane, refuting the ordinary belief that he must be mad. On the other side of the road, there are
critics who are sympathetic toward the narrator and dismiss any suggestion of madness. Daniel
Hoffman, for instance is willing to believe the narrator's claim about the Old man's eye. Hoffman
reads the vulture–like eye as a Freudian Father–Figure. He takes the old man as a father–figure;
whose "Eye becomes the all–seeing surveillance of the child by the father." (Bloom 53) . This
surveillance is, Hoffman writes, "the inculcation into his soul

Literary Theories In Literature
Now that the semester is coming to an end and we have gone through five different theories, I have
to say that each one is important for college students to learn. Literary theories are a great tool to
because without them most students will not be able to fully analyze or even dissect the college
level reading they have to do for class. Reason why, is because each one of the five theories plays a
role in your everyday reading. It is also important because any book that you read is going to have
some sort of theory in it and without them you will be lost. When looking at Gender/Feminist
theory, many people often associate this theory to be connected to liberals. Though it does however
explain the social roles, feminist politics and etc. it is more about how women are portrayed, always
lower than men for no apparent reason. The theory helps us understand what a lady is going through
in that specific story. An example is in "Shiloh" when Norma Jean is portrayed as this woman who is
supposed to tend to every need of her husband Leroy. But when reading the story you hear Norma
Jean tell Leroy "In some ways, a woman prefers a man who wanders" (Manson). Thus letting the
readers know that she is a strong and independent and is capable of doing things on her own. In the
Tyson handouts it says that "woman who successfully juggles a career and a family, which means
she looks great at the office and over the breakfast table, and she's never too tired after work to fix
dinner,

Analytical analysis and comparism of an everyday text with...
Choose one every day and one literary text. Using at least two analytical techniques from E301,
analyze and compare your two texts in terms of their creativity and literariness, drawing on material
from both parts of the module.
In this paper I will analyze and compare a literary text and an everyday text, in terms of their
creativity and literariness. I chose Philip Larkin's (1964) poem, 'Self's the man' (see Appendix, Text
1), as the literary text for analysis because it is not only smooth and pleasing to the eye and mind
that it seems effortless to read and contain within one's self but also because it arouses so many
emotions which makes it ideal for analysis. In 'Self's the man' Larkin (1964), is being cynical
towards relationships ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In my analysis, I will first apply Jakobson's (1960) methodology, stylistics approach and Carter's
(1997) criteria of literariness to the two texts and then contrast them with illustrations in terms of
interpretative schemata. My intention in doing so is to highlight some of the strengths and
weaknesses of these approaches and also modes in which they interact to better comprehend the
nature of creativity and literariness.
On the graphological level, in Text 1, the noticeable attributes are the traditional lineation, stanza
divisions of poetry, and the presence of standard punctuation. The poem has 8 stanzas in all and each
stanza consists of 4 lines. This creates a set rhythmic pattern, particularly in conjunction with the
rhyme scheme. Text 2, on the other hand, on a graphic level, uses full capitalization in order to
emphasize every letter in the ad and make it look trim and tidy. The headline uses larger, capital and
bold letters to draw readers' attention and make them curious about what the advertisement mainly
has to say, leading them to continue on reading unconsciously by arousing their curiosity and desire
to know more about the product and subsequently persuading them to buy it. Moreover, Text 2,
illustrates graphological deviation, by using solid background colors, and a brilliant diamond ring to
focus all the reader's attention to.
On the phonic level, Text 1 has little

How Does Barhes Write The Death Of The Author
In the French theorist's Roland Barthes's essay, "The Death of the Author," he explores that reading
is done through a lens of the authors life. According the Dictionary.com, to read is to "comprehend
the meaning of (written or printed matter) by mentally interpreting the characters or symbols of
which it is composed." Barthes argues that the reader spends to much time allowing the author's
identity to get in the way of comprehending the meaning of the 'written or printed matter.' He then
goes on to say that reading is way more than just a means to use to judge the author. He proclaims
that we stop thinking "the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the author" (257). In
other words, he means the only way we can understand a work of writing is to disregard "the
authors, his person, his life, his taste, his passions" (254) because the readers should not use these
things in a bias when interpreting a piece of writing. He does not want the reader to be blinded by
what the think of the author.
Barthes says that we must disregard the essence of the author, I say we use it to further our
interpretation of the piece of writing we are reading. While reading Barthes essay for the first time, I
thought that what he said was obvious. I was saying to myself, "of course, I don't care about the
author life! I just care about what is written on this page." I really did want to agree with Barthes, at
first read, he made total sense. Ironically enough, while reading his

Difference Between Foucault And Barthes
background in assessing the author on the other hand, which he considered "tyrannical". According
to Barthes' statement from the essay "History or Literature?" in on Racine, proves the above –
mentioned argument, in which he initially assumed that text is a "grave" of author when text came
out, then the reader was born which is also stated in the "the Death of the Author", then Barthes
criticised that old critic considered author "genius" meaning that the creator is so sophisticated. He
also signified another fact about classic thinkers that they disregarded the history of the writer which
left nothing to the writer since history shaped gracious literary aspect of the writer, if they are
emptied from them, then writer will stay just as sculptor which can ultimately be defined as a
valueless object, "the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Foucault's essay tended to dismiss the author from his position with respect to analyse the texts
while Barthes granted all the interpretative responsibly to the reader. Both theorists apprehended the
notion of author has no authority in directing the interpretation of their writings. Foucault, in his
essay "What Is an Author?" argues that the critics should not evaluate the text in relation with its
author, instead, they should analyse the text itself in the light of the its structure, basic form and its
design architecture. His brief description of author is just a discursive person. Foucault commented
on himself in his essay for being focused on a specific subject, he justifies that it is not because they
were interesting to him but because the subject may have something to do his personal life. He
affirms that his experience with the things that surround him would help him better recognize or
understand them when he does any theoretical work (Mills, 11). Foucault interlinks "author" and
"work", in way that author's text is counted as his work thus he argues that if author is

Literary Theory By Jonathan Culler Theory And Literary...
Aim– The aim of this paper is to check which of the terms–– 'Theory' or 'Theories'––can be used in
literary studies. Objective– An attempt has been made in this paper to check which of the above
mentioned terms is more applicable in literary studies using Jonathan Culler's Literary Theory: A
Very Short Introduction (1997). Argument– In this paper I argue that the term 'Theory' is applicable
more in literary studies. Introduction– The word 'theory' has been derived from, Greek word,
'theoria', which means "looking, viewing or beholding". The word has been used in English since the
late 16th century. Modern use of the word "theory" are derived from the original definition, but have
taken ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
. .' (Culler 2) What does theory mean here? First, theory signals 'speculation'. Secondly, 'My theory
is that . . .' also claims to offer an explanation that is not obvious. But generally, according to Culler,
to count as a theory, not only must an explanation not be obvious; it should involve a certain
complexity. A theory must be more than a hypothesis: it can't be obvious. Theory involves some
complex relations of systematic kind among a number of factors; and it cannot be easily confirmed
or disproved. If one bears all these factors in mind, it becomes easier to understand what goes by the
name of 'theory'.
Theory as genre Works that are regarded as theory have effects beyond their original field. Theory in
a sense is not a set of methods for literary study but it is an unbounded group of writings about all
things under the sun, from the most technical problems of academic philosophy to various ways
which people have talked and thought about the

Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine
Literary works has two elements that have been made up to build the story. They are intrinsic and
extrinsic elements. These two elements can be used to make people understand the story and
interpret the literary works precisely. Afterwards, the interpretation of the literary works can be done
through the intrinsic elements. The understanding the intrinsic elements can lead us to know better
on what a literary work talks about. This chapter will present about the preliminary analysis of the
intrinsic elements of Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine. It focused on the character, plot, setting, point
of view, and the theme of the story to get the analysis relating to the theory and approach used.
2.1 Characters According to Abrams in his book A ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
By the end of summer, Bradbury ends the novel by showing Douglas counting on the wine that had
been made during the summer.
2.4 Point of View
Klarer says that "the term point of view, or narrative perspective, characterizes the way in which a
text represents persons, events, and settings" (20). Bradbury use "third person point of view" for
Dandelion Wine. In the beginning the narrator only speaks what is on Douglas mind. Later the
narrator widens the view through the other characters mind as well.
The narrator keep jumping to the others mind, as each chapter tells different story of character. At
one chapter, it tells what is going on in Mr. Auffmann's head, and in another one it tells what
happened in Tom's head. Eventually, the narrator goes back to Douglas as the story use him as the
center.
2.5 Theme
Theme is a main idea of the story. Childs and Fowler in the Routledge Dictionary of Literary Terms,
said

Theories Of Bumi Manusia
This chapter discusses the review of theories related to this study. It describes the explanation of
literature, novel and literary theories. Moreover, it explains briefly about Bumi Manusia (This Earth
of Mankind) novel and the theoritical framework.
2.1 Review on Literature 2.1.1 Definition Literature has been defined in many ways by the experts
from time to time. Klarer (2004: 1) stated that in most cases, literature is referred to as the entirety
of written expression, with the restriction that not every written document can be categorized as
literature in the more exact sense of the word. The definitions, therefore, usually include additional
adjectives such as "aesthetic" or "artistic" to distinguish literary works from texts of everyday use
such as telephone books, newspapers, legal documents, and scholarly writings While Eagleton
(1996, p. 5) defined literature as an 'imaginative' writing in the sense of fiction – writing which is
not literally true. But even the briefest reflection on what people commonly include under the
heading of literature suggests that this will not do. The criteria of what counted as literature, in other
words, were frankly ideological: writing which embodied thevalues and 'tastes' of a particular social
class qualified as literature, whereas a street ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
According to Roberts and Jacobs, prose are classified into two, fiction prose and nonfiction prose.
Fiction, originally meant anything made up or shaped, is prose stories based on the author's creation
and imagination which includes myths, parables, novels, romances, and short stories. On the other
hand, nonfiction is literary works which describe or interpret facts, present judgments, and opinions.
It consists of news reports, essays, newspapers, encyclopedias, broadcast media, films, and many
other forms of communication (1995,

Wolfgang Iser The Reading Process
The Phenomenology of Reading
On the basis of Wolfgang Iser's essay 'The Reading Process: A Phenomenological approach'
BALU VIJAYARAGHAVAN, H–1441
The philosophical perspective and method called 'phenomenology' was established by the German
thinker Edmund Husserl, who set out to analyse human consciousness. He tried to describe the
concrete world experienced by individuals and proposed that consciousness is a unified
unintentional act i.e. it is always directed to an object. In his view, one is always conscious of
something. The term for the "something" in consciousness is referred to as intentionality. There is no
object in the world that does not enter into human consciousness. Phenomenology tells us that there
are no 'unintended' objects ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
A text offers much potential for the reader to reconcile all the possibilities to get a clear unified
sense. The reader compares different parts of the texts to gain achieve this consistency, through the
illusions that the text creates. This unity is not inherent in the text but lies somewhere between the
text and the consciousness of the reader. Readers' constructions of the same text will necessarily
vary but within the limits imposed by the written text. The reader is invited to exercise his
imagination upon those as yet unwritten and indeterminate elements. In the essay Iser states that
"with the literary text we can only picture things which are not there; the written part of a text give
us the knowledge, but it is the unwritten part that gives us the opportunity to picture things. Without
the element of indeterminacy, the gaps in the text, we should not be able to use our imagination".
Readers require and impose consistent patterns that are coloured by their own "characteristic
selection process" that derives from the reader's own "particular history of experience, its own
consciousness, and its own outlook". It forms a gestalt of consistency that is not identical to the true
meaning of the text and which remains rather a configurative meaning. Comprehension is referred to

Modifying the Story Summer Solstice Through the Screenplay...
Modifying the Story Summer Solstice through the Screenplay Entitled "Tatarin"
A Partial Thesis Presented To Mrs. Evelyn S. Agato In Partial Fulfillment of the Subject RD 100 –
Research Design
Leader Divine Angeline Leaño Members Erinn Chua Jan Erik Miras Jamie Robertson San Juan
Clarissa Tan Cherryl Tolentino
October 2011 Department of Media Studies College of Arts and Sciences Trinity University of Asia
Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to come up with a clear justification on the reasons why
screenwriters and filmmakers would modify books. It should be understood that the book and the
film are two different subject matters. But the film would not exist without the help of the elements
from the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The methodologies used in the study were selected to try and come up with the best possible
analysis the respondents can provide as to how they understood the works of both Nick Joaquin and
Ricky Lee.
TITLE OF THE PROBLEM What is the perception of the selected second year college students of
TUA on the modifications made by Ricky Lee in Nick Joaquin's Summer Solstice to his screenplay
Tatarin? GENERAL OBJECTIVE To probe on the perception/empathy of selected second year
college students of TUA on the modifications made by Ricky Lee in Nick Joaquin's Summer
Solstice to his screenplay Tatarin. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES * To know the reasons why certain
parts of the story need to be altered/deleted for the movie. * To know how screenwriters modify the
story. * To find out if the modifications improved the film. * SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research study will encompass a much comprehensive understanding as to how these certain
modifications of the base/original narration of story would wholly influence/affect the message of
the visual presentation. The group/niche that would principally benefit in this research study would
be the following: veteran/would–be filmmakers, scrupulous/out–of–the–box scriptwriters,
explorative/apprentice–leveled Communications students, and passionate instructors. We have
chosen these groups of people since these

My Personal Literary Theory Of Literature
It is amazing how the same piece of literature can offer different insight, interpretation, and
understanding to a person at different stages of their life. I've been able to see this throughout my
own life as increased knowledge and experience has led to the evolution of my approach to
literature. As of late, I tend to apply the following personal literary theory when presented with a
literary work. First, I try to search for morals and lessons that I can draw from the text. I enjoy doing
this because I can learn new things and gain new insights. Second, I try to make connections to the
text by comparing characters, descriptions, or situations to either myself, the world around me, or
other works of literature that I have encountered. Third, I pay attention to the literary devices
employed by the author, such as similes, metaphors, repetition, and personification. Lastly, I look for
symbols. I will now proceed to introduce the novel that I have chosen and use it to demonstrate my
personal literary theory.
The literary work I have decided to analyze throughout the semester is Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli. It
is a teen fiction novel set at Mica Area High School in Arizona. The basic plotline is as follows: a
new girl named Stargirl arrives at school who is very different than the students there. Besides her
unusual name, she also dresses strangely, has a pet rat, and does sporadic, off–the–wall things. The
students don't know what to make of her at first, but

The 's Reading Process Theory Through The Text Of Mrs...
Yadav
Dr. Nidhi Vats
M.A. English (Final)
Decoding Wolfgang Iser‟s Reading Process Theory through the Text of Mrs Dalloway and
Bravely Fought the Queen In the 1960s, the new criticism theory in the American Literary arena
focused on the reading of a literary text as an independent form and not to be studied in relation to
any context. This gave birth to another theory that began majorly in 1960s and 1970s known as
reader response criticism, which also tried to do away with the author‟s role and focused on the
reader‟s perception that defined the text‟s subjectivity. In his work 'The Reading Process–A
Phenomenological Approach', Wolfgang Iser describes about the reading of a literary work or text as
an interaction between the reader and the author. In order to understand a text in a better way and to
explore its meaning, Louise Rosenblatt in his work 'Literature as Exploration' described how the
readers should be free from any "preconceived notions about the proper way to react to any work"
(Lewis,C.S.,1961) to experience any work or text individually. Similarly,
Iser also want the readers to make a niche for themselves while the aesthetic reading of a wok or a
text. Wolfgang Iser‟s reading in reference to two works, namely, Mrs Dalloway by Virginia
Woolf and Bravely Fought the Queen by Mahesh Dattani has been assessed in order to have a better
understanding and a practical approach in exploration or understanding the meaning of the texts.
Mrs Dalloway

Examples Of Archetypes In The Dead By James Joyce
Readers that want to analyze the characters in the text can do so through the character archetypal
theory to further understand the text and the characters in the text. When viewing the text from a
character archetypal perspective, a reader may look at the literary work to understanding the
characters better. Moreover, archetypal character theory helps the reader understand the characters`
enthusiasm and the reasons for what they do. Therefore, looking at James Joyce`s "The Dead", a
reader may look at the characters with various character archetypes, such as, Miss Ivors, with the
patriot archetype, Gabriel with the innocent archetype, and Greta with the good wife archetype.
Undoubtedly, Miss Ivors is a patriot to her country of Ireland and ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Understandingly, Gabriel possesses the innocent character archetypal theory and the innocent
character never really discerns what he has said to infuriate the people about him. One example is
when Gabriel teases Lily, naïvely, about having a boyfriend. Gabriel does this by saying "O, then... I
suppose we'll be going to your wedding one of these fine days with your young man, eh?" (Joyce 2).
Then, after hearing Lily`s response to Gabriel`s unintentional insult against Lily`s and her life,
Gabriel thinks to himself that he had made a mistake, but did not know what, because of his
innocence towards his atmosphere. Also in Gabriel`s conversations with Miss Ivors, Gabriel leaves
Miss Ivors with shedding tears before she leaves the party running embarrassed. Miss Ivors sobbed
in her native language "Beannacht libh, cried Miss Ivors, with a laugh, as she ran down the
staircase" (Joyce 10). At this time Gabriel questions if he was the cause of Miss Ivors abrupt
departure, but the innocent character sees Miss Ivors laugh and assumes that it was not him that had
caused her leave in an unexpected manner. In this way, using character archetypal theory of
innocence, a reader may examine Gabriel to be confused all the time and often act rude to the people
around him, without him actually knowing of

`` Speak, Traum Toward A Revised Understanding Of Literary...
Trauma Theory and Enon
In his article entitled "Speak, Trauma: Toward a Revised Understanding of Literary Trauma Theory,"
Joshua Pederson proposed a new method of approaching a text from the perspective of literary
trauma theory that set aside old methods in favor of those that reflect the most recent advancements
made in trauma research. Rather than approaching a text according to Caruth, Herman, or van der
Kolk's definitions of trauma, Pederson suggested that scholars attempt to perceive a literary text
according to the latest definition laid out by Richard McNally (Pederson 338). In utilizing his
method of approach to analyze the contemporary trauma narrative in Paul Harding's Enon, it became
apparent to me that the novel's protagonist, Charlie Crosby, exhibits the exact characteristics of
recent trauma research findings, and none of the characteristics described in older definitions,
leading me to assert that Harding's understanding and depiction of trauma reflects modern research,
perhaps suggesting that he studied modern trauma theory in preparation for writing this novel. It is
relevant to note that Harding wrote this novel during a very controversial time in trauma literary
theory. This controversy is sparked by recent developments in the field of psychology suggesting
that older definitions of trauma are no longer believed to be accurate. Therefore, literary theory
based on those outdated definitions is no longer based on valid research, and thus no longer

Theme Of Colonialism In The Midnight's Children
Through the prescribed framework of magic realism, the novel allows its multitude of characters,
belonging to diverse cultural backgrounds, to appraise and originate their own versions of Indian
history, thus subverting British colonial versions of history. Magic realism becomes obligatory to
communicate the postcoloniality of India, and within its framework, the novel explores and presents
a postcolonial history of its own. The cultural and social hybridity, along with the historical
hybridity present within the novel allows the text to exemplify the major themes of the novel and
postcoloniality itself: the formation and telling of history, self, and narratives. The novel effectively
and noticeably depicts the problems of postcoloniality and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
Not only are these children obligatory for India's new future, but they remain a "mirror" for India's
future, illuminating the strengths and weaknesses of an independent India. The Midnight's Children
therefore symbolize the multiplicity and miscellany within postcolonial India.
Conclusion:
Rushdie assumes magic realism as an efficient tool to resolve the problems of post colonialism. So,
by linking and combining historical events, mythological stories and fictional narratives, Rushdie
tries to generate and convey a true picture of Indian post colonialism while the colonizers
considered India and Indians as a colossal place and people, the novel illustrates India's multiplicity
and diversity, in an effort to overturn the colonial representation of India. Midnight's Children is
therefore an attempt to evoke India. All these attempts would have been impossible without the
insertion of magic realism.
WORKS CITED:
1. Gray, Martin. A Dictionary of Literary Terms. 2nd ed. Essex: Longman, 1992. Print.
2. Rushdie, Salman. Midnight's Children. London: Vintage Books, 2006. Print.
3. Zamora, Lois Parkinson and Wendy B. Faris. Eds. Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community.
Durkham: Duke UP, 1995. Print.

Deconstructive Analysis: The Yellow Wall Paper
Deconstructive Analysis: The Yellow Wall Paper Deconstruction or poststructuralist is a type of
literary criticism that took its roots in the 1960's. Jacques Derrida gave birth to the theory when he
set out to demonstrate that all language is associated with mental images that we produce due to
previous experiences. This system of literary scrutiny interprets meaning as effects from variances
between words rather than their indication to the things they represent. This philosophical theory
strives to reveal subconscious inconsistencies in a composition by examining deeply beneath its
apparent meaning. Derrida's theory teaches that texts are unstable and queries about the beliefs of
words to embody reality. Deep–seated in these ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She speaks as though her opinions to do not count anyway, but she is very accepting of this. She
belittles herself several more times throughout the story. "I meant to be such a help to John, such a
real rest and comfort, and her I am a comparative burden already" (Barnet 747). Having read the text
through to the end we know that she is in a mental hospital, a reader could most likely begin to
imagine what John may have been thinking to have witnessed his wife go through such disturbing
mental anguish and that he was only going off of the knowledge available at this point in time. How
would the story be different if it had been written from John's point of view? The problem is that the
woman does not give herself enough credit to speak up for herself. This is slightly comparable to
what many people go through today, in our society, with medical practitioners. Although one knows
what makes him or her feel better, we most often will rely on the doctor's advice, instead, simply
because of his or her authority. The woman is trying so hard to get better, and deep down she knows
what she needs to do, but she is constantly being shut down by her husband and her own personal
insecurities. The woman describes writing as "Such a relief" (Barnet 748) but because of John's
constant observation of her as well as her low energy level she must direct her thoughts elsewhere.
So she begins to daydream about the wallpaper. She imagines people,

Literary Theories And Voltaire's Candide
Sydney DeBerry
Professor Sweeton
English 2320
26 February 2015
Literary Theories and Candide Theories generally propose explanations whose status is still
hypothetical and subject to experimentation that can exist in any area of interest; nonetheless, as one
narrows theories down to a single specific field, like that of Literature, definitions adjust with them.
Literary theory relies on human response to literature, followed by forming opinions and examining
the text. Primarily, literary theory allows criticism creation of principles by which a literary text can
be examined, and a number of diverse perspectives on a literary text and its conception may form.
Moreover, concentrated methods of reading ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Candide, for instance, starts as a bright–eyed, optimistic boy unaccustomed with the world's evils,
representing in ways society's blind eye. The adventure Candide undergoes is far more than just that.
Knowledge opens the eyes of those who seek understanding, and Candide in the end is aware of the
world surrounding him. The next lead character, Pangloss, represents the absurdity of humans to be
overoptimistic and write off their troubles as for the greater good. Impractically, Pangloss ignores
reality in favor of optimism; this is verified by every disaster in Candide. Next, Cunégonde's descent
throughout Candide resembles the harsh loss of innocence; indeed, she was graced with beautiful
and happiness before her world was turned upside down. As her troubles came to an end,
Cunégonde's innocence was stolen by the world's evil much like in actuality, only leaving ugliness
and more temperament. Candide was blinded by his ideal of Cunégonde up to the end; nonetheless,
he finally saw her new self and was disenchanted. Candide's dissatisfaction likens that of the
entirety of his new world without rose–colored glasses. Much like concepts and plot, characters of
the text continually allude to more than they appear, especially in

Materialism In The Victorian Era
Oscar Wilde, in his memoirs penned within the walls of Reading Gaol, described the British penal
system of the 19th century as an 'unchangeable pattern' of 'paralysing immobility'. British law
required prisons to uphold three simple ideals: 'Hard labour, hard fare and a hard bed' and for the
likes of Oscar Wilde and other prisoners within the Gaol walls, life was a seemingly infinite silent
torture.
Inside 19th Century Goal, prisoners were expected to learn the values of tough work to earn a living
and often found them subjected to insufferable amounts of hard labour with very little rewards.
Separated in their prison cells and made to exercise in silence, these convicted men served their
sentences in almost constant confinement, alone only with their own thoughts and feelings. The
voices of these voiceless men have often been overlooked and there are very few accounts of life
within 19th century prison walls from which we can detail the true feelings of those serving in the
British penal system.
This thesis in this special issue explores Oscar Wilde's prison narratives and writing practices in a
wider cultural–historical context in the late Victorian era. So the writer is interested to use New
Historicism theory along with Cultural Materialism to analyze the objects chosen.
New Historicism & Cultural Materialism
New Historicism and Cultural Materialism emerged as prominent literary theories and came to
represent a revival of interest in history and in historicising

Essay on Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures
Theory and Practice in Post–Colonial Literatures Introduction More than three–quarters of the
people living in the world today have had their lives shaped by the experience of colonialism. It is
easy to see how important this has been in the political and economic spheres, but its general
influence on the perceptual frameworks of contemporary peoples is often less evident. Literature
offers one of the most important ways in which these new perceptions are expressed and it is in their
writing, and through other arts such as painting, sculpture, music, and dance that the day–to–day
realities experienced by colonized peoples have been most powerfully encoded and so profoundly
influential. What are post–colonial ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This is because there is a continuity of preoccupations throughout the historical process initiated by
European imperial aggression. We also suggest that it is most appropriate as the term for the new
cross–cultural criticism which has emerged in recent years and for the discourse through which this
is constituted. In this sense this book is concerned with the world as it exists during and after the
period of European imperial domination and the effects of this on contemporary literatures. So the
literatures of African countries, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Caribbean countries, India,
Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Pacific Island countries, and Sri Lanka
are all post–colonial literatures. The literature or the USA should also be placed in this category.
Perhaps because of its current position of power, and the neo–colonizing role it has played, its post–
colonial nature has not been generally recognized. But its relationship with the metropolitan centre
as it evolved over the last two centuries has been paradigmatic for post–colonial literatures
everywhere. What each of these literatures has in common beyond their special and distinctive
regional characteristics is that they emerged in their present form out of the experience of
colonization and asserted themselves by foregrounding the tension with the imperial power, and by
emphasizing their differences from the assumptions of the imperial centre. It is this

Feminist Literary And Cultural Theory By Donald Hall
Feminism is an occurring problem in today's society. Therefore, society still judges and give
stereotypical characteristics and behaviors to woman. According to the text, "Literary and Cultural
Theory" by Donald Hall, the purpose of feminism is "to reveal, analyze, and redress the situations in
which women's equality with men is denied" (200). For example, feminist analysis is being able to
recognize the different degrees of social power that are given to and used by men and women (Halls
199). While cultural feminism is one of the many types of feminism, it is an important issue in
society. It mainly focuses on the stereotypical roles and characteristics that are given to women. The
Awakening by Kate Chopin is an excellent example of cultural feminism. Kate Chopin was born in
1850 when society was filled with stereotypes and patriarchy. Therefore, her novels are believed to
contribute to the movements of feminism. During the late 1800s the protagonist, Edna Pontellier,
has a difficult patriarchal life filled with oppression within her entire life. The novel is filled with
stereotypes that Edna rebels. "A Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, unlike her novel, The
Awakening, the short story talks about an ill woman named Mrs. Mallard, who soon is told that her
husband has been in a terrible train accident. At first she was sad, but then realizes she is free of the
oppression her husband gave her. This short story is a great example on how women felt through
oppression that

Discussing Literary Genre
To define genre is to embark on a conjectural journey within a theoretical minefield. Genre theory
has drawn immense debate and contemplation throughout literary history, however, several
conclusions have emerged. Genre types are unfixed categories whose characteristics differ
considerably among the specific genres; furthermore, the role of literary history plays a significant
role in discussions of genre, for genre types evolve and shift with each new literary text. An
approach to the discussion of genre, family resemblances, illustrates similar conventions among
texts within a genre, but there are significant problems in this approach. There are several ways to
discuss genre, and although problems abound in any approach, the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The contrast between early short fiction and the modern short story demonstrates the varying
qualities of the genre between its preliminary stages and the present, and shows the substantial
transformation which occurred within the genre. The types of genres not only shift throughout
history but also alter with each new literary work. The altering of generic categories results in
further difficulty in defining genre and classifying literary texts, for it demonstrates that generic
forms are never fixed entities. Literary theorist Todorov asserts that although “every work
modifies the sum of possible works...we grant a text the right to figure in the history of
literature...only insofar as it produces a change in our previous notion of one activity or
another”. Donald Barthelme’s “The Glass Mountain” is an example
that expands the notion of short stories; the text challenges readers to find meaning and story where
there is none. “The Glass Mountain” influences and increases the possibilities of
short stories, while compelling readers to contemplate the role of short stories. Such engagement
between a literary text and a reader results in the most intriguing and merited discussion of genre.
The subjective procedure of defining genre appeals to the relationship between text and reader.
Genre provides a framework within which texts are interpreted, and expectations and emotional
outlooks are the

Literary Theories on Marxism
The three analytic paragraphs on the song Zombie, the essay entitled The Closing of the (North)
American Mind, and the documentary film Born Into Brothels showcase the literary theories on
Marxism, Post–colonial criticism, and feminism. The paragraphs show how people struggle in their
own societies in different aspects, politically and socially. Because all three pieces show struggle in
all texts, the unifying theme is how people react and overcome the struggles that they face.
ANALYTIC PARAGRAPH # 1: ZOMBIE BY THE CRANBERRIES The song Zombie by Irish
band The Cranberries expresses the theory of post–colonial criticism as it explicitly shows the
struggle between the resistance movement and the colonizing power. The ... Show more content on
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Another post–colonial issue seen in the text was the issue of power dynamics. Being a colony of a
powerful empire, the colonized are subjects of the colonizers. Because of rising tensions between
the colonized and the colonizers, both are struggling to gain power and influence over the people.
The IRA, being the colonized, prevents the colonizers from gaining any more power in their land.
The colonizers, on the other hand, lose its influence and power over the colonized as the people
became more aware and active in the independence movement. The independence movement in
Ireland started in the 1920s, a period when the British Empire was starting to fall apart. The conflict
between the two warring factions had resulted into a bloodbath since the start of their resistance to
the colonizers. Because of the hatred against the colonizers, the oppressed colonized people fought
back in order to remove them physically and mentally out of their land. The power struggle between
the two belligerent nations had disrupted peace in the country, which resulted to many innocent
deaths. This is evident in the text when the resistance fighters and the colonizers are fighting "with
their tanks and their bombs, and their bombs and their guns" (O'Riordan). War for power and
influence had made Ireland into a dangerous society where its people use force as a means of
expressing their sentiments against colonial rule. Issues in

Possession A Romance Essay
Possession: A Romance
Possession: A Romance was published in 1990 and became Winner of England's Booker Prize and
the literary sensation of the year. Possession stood a best– seller book in England and in America By
March 1991, and was sold more than 100,000 copies in the United States alone. Warner Brothers
bought the film rights in 1991, and the playwright Henry David Hwang (M. Butterfly) has written
the screenplay. The novel became a film by the same name in 2002.
When Byatt's American publisher, Random House, asked her to omit some of the poetry and place
description– the novel is 555 pages in hardcover–she refused. But, she agreed to make a trivial
nonetheless telling change in her description of Roland, who is in the American edition ... Show
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A new enthusiasm in her life is her cottage in the South of France, where she can work and relax in
sunlight (she suffers from the syndrome known as seasonal affective disorder). Part of a large
family, Byatt honors her solitude in the Cevennes, and says she experienced the cheeriest moment of
her life there: "I found myself alone in this house, and there was total silence, and the sun was
absolutely blazing, and I walked up and down the stairs absolutely boiling with the sense that I
belonged to myself, and could finish any thought." (Certainly the sun, the sunlight and heat figure
prominently in a number in a number of her fictions, such as "On the Day That E. M. Forster Died,"
in which women works best in summertime.) Byatt states, "what I write is heliotropic," and this is
apparently true metaphorically and literally. Byatt also says she enjoys TV nature programs ("snails
and slugs and intestinal tapeworms"), an interest that one trace from The Game and possession
through Morpho Eugenia. Byatt is fond of looking snooker (a kind of pool): "I like the narrative of
it, the drama. I love it in the way you love a

Literature Is Literature

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