Literature In Modern Times :: essays research papers

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.0 Presentation From the very beginning of human species, literature existed side by side. Human life, in the form of human passions, feelings, loves, sufferings, and human history existed in the literatures. Human legends started with the very stone age, recorded in the stone scripts. It was a human need to communicate the past to the future generations. Poetry, as an art form, has been for many centuries praised, contemplated and has continued to affect man. Man has used poetry to express love and grief, birth and death, innocence and guilt, heaven and hell in a more effective way. In order to achieve such a way of expression the poet does not have any other material at his disposal except language. However in poetry, this language itself, turns out to be the goal of the poet rather than only an instrument for communication. Her/his way of expressing ideas and emotions summarises the poets craftsmanship and creativity. What the poet does is that he/she illustrates and exemplifies how language can be used to achieve the most effective way of expression. Poems deal with universal themes such as love and hate, birth and death, innocence and guilt, heaven and hell, which are familiar to all readers. For this reason, believing in the importance of literature and the contribution of poetry to language teaching and learning, we have decided to use poetry to act as a means to enrich the language awareness of ELT majors. 1.1 Background of the problem Until the late 60’s and early 70’s the teaching of literature in foreign and second language classes was an activity whose justification was assumed to be obvious. Poetry and literature in general became the â€Å"forgotten† man since then, and this can be ascribed to the advent of communicative language teaching. With the shifting emphasis of the study of English for practical purposes, technical or otherwise, as well as an emphasis on the spoken language more than on written language, the role of literary texts in the language classroom and the relationship between language teaching and literature teaching in the EFL context seemed to be totally neglected. Looking through TEFL/ TESL writings in the 70’s and 80’s, one can find little about the teaching of literary texts and hardly anything controversial. Although poetry has been the focus of interest for ages, it has not got its deserved place in English language teaching.

A Rose for Emily Critical Essay

Critical essay â€Å"A Rose for Emily† was the first short story that William Faulkner published in a major magazine. It was published on April 30, 1930 in an issue of Forum magazine. Faulkner was still struggling to make a name for himself before he published this story. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† features many characters that make it an interesting story. Three of the ones that most appeal to the reader are Emily Grierson, Homer Barron, and Toby the servant. Emily is the main character in this story; she used to be a vibrant, outgoing young girl who loved socializing with people and spending time with her family.After her father’s death she transformed into an introverted old woman who spent the rest of her life hiding away in her house, and alienating herself from human contact. Emily’s life was being told through a series of flashbacks. She seems to be living in a world where time ceases to exist. She threatens to have metallic numbers affixed to the side of her house when the town receives modern mail service, she is isolated from reality which constantly threatens to break through her little world.Emily can be portrayed as some sort of object in this novel because she is always being watched. The townspeople always watch Emily as if she were some sort of object that they knew nothing about. People always wondered what she was doing. They would often see her through her window on some rare occasions, this was considered to be a rare sight since she never left her house. Homer Barron is a foreman from the north. Faulkner describes him as a large man with a dark complexion, a booming voice, and light-coloured hair.Homer takes interest in Emily and starts taking her out for Sunday drives in his buggy. As the years pass Homers interest in marrying Emily is dramatically decreasing. He disappeared in Emily`s house one day, his corpse was later discovered in one of the rooms in her house. Homer was poisoned by Emily so that he could spend eternity with her; â€Å"Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair. p. 130 The Broadview Anthology of Short Fiction. This quote was taken from the end of the story. Emily’s secret was finally out, all of town now knew what Emily was up to all these years. She was unsecure because she was never able to give up the men who shaped her life. Her father’s corpse for example was released after a fight with the townspeople, Emily had a tough time losing the significant male figures in her life, even though she poisoned one of them. A long strand of steel gray hair was discovered on the pillow next to Homer`s corpse.This meant that Emily was sleeping next to his corpse ever since she poisoned him. This also shows loneliness in Emily`s character since her father died. She was desperately loo king for a way to bring back the memories of when her father was still alive. Toby was Emily`s servant. He was not mentioned a lot in this story, but he was an important figure in Emily`s life. He provided for her whenever she was in need, his communication skills however were gone. Some say that his voice would be rusty since he never used it. Toby was like Emily`s link to society.He was the only person leaving her house and coming back. The townspeople were always asking Toby questions about Emily or anything that goes on in her house, the townspeople however stopped asking him for information about Emily after a while. After Emily`s death, Toby walks out the back door and is never heard from again. In conclusion, â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is a great story with many literary elements that possess a significant meaning in its context. Emily Grierson, Homer Barron, and Toby the servant are only a few characters presented in this short story by William Faulkner.

Young Goodman Brown - 964 Words

Jordan Johnson Professor Christopher McBride ENGL 303 23 June 2013 Essay Assignment One: Reader-Response Criticism Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is a short story in which the author attempts to convey several different messages or themes throughout the literary piece. Themes in literary works can sometimes be better understood by analyzing the piece with a specific literary criticism technique. A few of these literary criticism techniques include Marxist, Formalism, and Reader Response just to name a few. Given Hawthorne’s style of writing and this short story in particular, a reader or critic can benefit from analyzing his work with the Reader Response literary criticism approach. The Bedford Glossary of†¦show more content†¦These individuals include Goody Cloyse, Deacon Gookin and even his own wife Faith. Using the literary critique discussed above, the reader can relate to Goodman Brown and almost feel what he feels as he observes these people in the forest with him. At the beginning of the story Hawthorne somewhat projected Mr. Brown as almost an outcast in his innocent community by taking this journey into the woods. However as his journey continues and he sees other individuals in the dark forest with him Goodman Brown realizes he is not alone. The reader can interpret this a few different ways. First, it could be interpreted that Hawthorne is trying to illustrate that one’s public image may not be exactly what you think it is. This also could be interpreted as the loss of innocence is inevitable at some point in one’s life. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s style of writing provides a solid balance of obvious and subtle symbols, motifs and themes to portray the messages he sends to his audience. The readers of his literary pieces can learn more by going through his short stories applying the Reader Response Critique. This will allow one to relate to the different characters on a personal level and not allow information such as time, location and economic issues to be factored into a readerâ€℠¢s analysis. The reader response criticism certainly is beneficial to readers struggling withShow MoreRelatedYoung Goodman Brown1144 Words   |  5 PagesIn this extract from â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism, imagery and point of view to depict Goodman Brown’s eventual journey from naivety in man’s purity of faith to recognition of man’s disposition to evil. It reveals Brown’s misplaced faith in man, who is deficient, instead of God. In the dialogue that ensues between the minister and Deacon Gookin, we learn of an impending meeting expecting participants hailing from â€Å"Falmouth and beyond... Indian powows† (HawthorneRead More Young Goodman Brown Essay1048 Words   |  5 Pages The main theme of the Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, â€Å" Young Goodman Brown,† is the struggle between Goodman Brown’s faith, power to resist his own evil impulses and his own doubts within him. It is a story of Young Goodman Brown’s personal conflict over his inner desires and its greater meaning conflict between good and evil in the world. The characteristics of Young Goodman Brown are similar to the life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne had his own doubts about his own Puritan life and beliefsRead MoreEssay on Young Goodman Brown769 Words   |  4 Pagesmain focus of the story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the triumph of evil over good. A supposedly good man is tempted by evil and allows himself to be converted into a man of evil. This is much like the situation that arises in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, where two people are tempted to sin and give in thus submitting themselves to the power of the devil. In this novel, the area where the devil resides is strictly parallel to that in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;AsRead Moreyoung goodman brown Essay1058 Words   |  5 Pagesthe benefit of the afflicted†(5-6) and Young Goodman Brown, a fictional character created by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was written because a few male puritans wanted to publish a story to open up societies eyes and live in a more patriarchal society. Regardless of being a fictional character or a nonfiction, we get presented evidence in which both individuals experience problems that at the time the puritan society could relate too. While both Young Goodman Brown and Mary Rowlandson enter the forestRead MoreYoung Goodman Brown and the Lottery640 Words   |  3 PagesYoung Goodman Brown and the Lottery Symbolism Use In: Young Goodman Brown and The Lottery The authors, Shirley Jackson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, both frequently use symbols within their stories The Lottery and Young Goodman Brown. Symbols are utilized as an enhancement tool to stress the theme of each story. Hawthorne uses names and objects to enhance the theme, and Jackson mainly utilizes names to stress the theme, although she does have one object as a symbol of great importance to the themeRead MoreYoung Goodman Brown Analysis876 Words   |  4 PagesHawthorne’s story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† appears to be a story about original sin with a lot of symbolism tied in to make it an allegory. An allegory is a story that can be interpreted in different ways to find the hidden meaning behind the symbolism in the story. The three thing s focused on throughout the short story is Faith, the forest that Goodman Brown takes his journey through, and the staff, which the old man who leads Goodman Brown on his way carries. The short story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† uses severalRead MoreSummary Of Young Goodman Brown 1278 Words   |  6 PagesCharles F. Harris Kevin R. Martin ENG 102 T April 16, 2015 Young Goodman Brown Most people think that the majority of people walking the face of the earth are morally good with a few bad apples here and there. In the short story Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses setting, characters, and plot to show how everyone can be drawn out of their usual character when they are governed by their evil desires. In this story, Hawthorne uses setting to show how people that commit evil will try andRead MoreYoung Goodman Brown Essay931 Words   |  4 PagesYoung Goodman Brown: Good versus Evil Throughout Young Goodman Brown and other works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the themes of sin and guilt constantly reoccur. Like many authors, Hawthorne used events in his life as a basis for the stories that he wrote. Hawthorne felt that ones guilt does not die with him/her but is rather passed down through the generations. Hawthornes great-great uncle was one of the judges during the Salem witchcraft trials. Hawthorne felt a great sense of guilt because ofRead MoreAnalysis Of Young Goodman Brown 1285 Words   |  6 PagesPerceiÃŽ ½ed through the archetypal lens, the short story, Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne asserts the uniÃŽ ½ersal idea that eÃŽ ½il lurks within eÃŽ ½ery man. Taken as a whole, the work conÃŽ ½eys that humanity can easily fall ÃŽ ½ictim to innate selfish instincts as well as society’s damaging influences. The main character, Young Goodman Brown, treks on a journey that challenges him to uphold his innocence and his belief in a decent mankind as h e discoÃŽ ½ers corruption in people. The allegory—a storyRead MoreYoung Goodman Brown Essay1291 Words   |  6 PagesYoung Goodman Brown Goodman Browns actions in the story, Young Goodman Brown, are a key element to this storys theme. The author uses Goodman Browns movement in and out of the forest, as a method of symbolizing the theme of a symbolic journey into the depths of consciousness. As the hours of the night pass, Goodman Brown travels farther into the forest, and deeper into the depths of consciousness. This theme is present in many passages of the text. The story begins with the line, Young