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Grotesque Characters, 2008.
An analysis of the grotesque characters in Eudora Welty's "Petrified Man," Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People" and William Faulkner's "Barn Burning."
1,745 words (approx. 7.0 pages), 0 sources, AU$ 82.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that some characters can be characterized as grotesque because of their behavior or some unusual feature that sets them apart. The paper then examines the grotesque characters in Eudora Welty's "Petrified Man," Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People" and William Faulkner's "Barn Burning." The paper shows how in each story, the grotesque stand out as embodying certain types and attitudes in a stark fashion, making them bigger than life but still realistic.
From the Paper
"As it happens, the characters in all three stories can be seen as conveying local color to the reader and as representing a partial view of a segment of the country, and in all three cases, that part of the country is the South. This does not mean that grotesque characters are associated only with the South, for they are not. Such characters serve to illustrate a particular vision of the South in these three stories, though, and also suggest a certain heightened treatment of character and narrative in order to convey a theme."
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Grotesque Characterization, 2006.
A look at grotesque characterization in the work of Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner.
1,021 words (approx. 4.1 pages), 3 sources, MLA, AU$ 53.95
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Abstract
This paper takes a look at the work of three modern, Southern Gothic writers. The paper reviews Eudora Welty's "The Petrified Man", Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People" and William Faulkner's "Barn Burning". According to the paper, these writers deploy grotesque characters in their respective short stories as a means of conveying a message to the reader.
From the Paper
"When a charlatan preacher named Manly Pointer takes advantage of Hulga's susceptibility towards flattery, he steals her leg and thus symbolically steals Hulga's sense of her great intellectual gifts--and her atheism, in contrast to her mother's piety. The preacher is shown to be wrong, he is not a good country person, only a thief--he says he collects artificial body parts. But even if Manly is not the man that Mrs. Freeman believed him to be, but Hulga's worldview is equally impoverished as her mother's, hence Hulga's grotesque character symbolizes something about her worldview that rejects religion. The reader is unlikely to see him or herself in Manly, or in Hulga, the way he or she might see him or herself in the excesses of love illustrated in the Welty story, but the imbalanced life led by Hulga, for all of her grotesqueness, proves instructive much like a Biblical parable. The lack of identification, though, creates more of a sense of judgment in the mind of the reader--the reader is more likely to see Hulga as lacking, or Manly as cruel, rather than to feel warmly towards and sympathize with the more human characters of "The Petrified Man." (O'Connor, 1971) "
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Grotesques, 2003.
Uses Sherwood Anderson's theory of the grotesque and Freud's theory of repression to discuss two stories in "Winesburg, Ohio":- "Hands" and "Godliness Part III".
1,914 words (approx. 7.7 pages), 0 sources, AU$ 89.95
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Abstract
Because the characters in Anderson?s "Winesberg, Ohio" have difficulty communicating or even understanding their innermost feelings, it seems safe to say that the characters are psychologically repressed, as Freud explains the term. This paper asks what we gain and what we lose from thinking about inner life in the way that Anderson and Freud suggest. Are these theories of repression and the grotesque useful theories for thinking about inner life?
From the Paper
"In Winesburg, Ohio Sherwood Anderson creates an outwardly quaint midwestern town whose inhabitants all seem to harbor some deep personal sadness. Anderson refers to these characters as ?grotesques,? a term he introduces in the book?s prologue. The old writer from the prologue, who possibly represents Anderson himself, believes that hundreds of beautiful man-made truths exist in the world, and that these truth have a way of distorting and warping people when seized with a certain single-mindedness: ?the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, called it his truth, and tried to live his life by it, he became a grotesque and the truth he embraced became a false-hood?(26). Each story that follows brings the reader into the inner life of one of these characters at that crucial moment. The resulting disillusionment and sadness seems to come from the character?s inability to fully grasp his or her situation. Certain thoughts and feelings are repressed, leaving Anderson?s characters isolated and emotionally disfigured. In delving into these dark inner lives, Anderson relies heavily on the ideas of Sigmund Freud, particularly Freud?s concept of repression?the ego ridding itself of unacceptable ideas and desires by ?dumping? them into the unconscious. This repression, according to Freud, has a tendency to resurface in many negative ways, resulting in various forms of neurosis. From what Anderson and Freud suggest, we learn that when a person is repressed, they become a figure of the grotesque. We can use these theories to avoid being a part of the grotesque ourselves."
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"Paradise Lost", 2004.
An exploration of the contention that John Milton's "Paradise Lost" is spanned on frail arches over the abyss of the impossible, the unnatural and the grotesque.
1,074 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 8 sources, APA, AU$ 54.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the impact of the poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton, which is intensified by Milton?s controlled portrayal of the impossible, the unnatural and the grotesque in dimensions known only in the hypothetical sphere. It looks at how Hell and Chaos, realms of the dark abyss of imagination, are endowed with inventive metaphors and symbols that make their impossible and unnatural suggestions seem almost possible and natural. It also discusses how the grotesque images of Satan, the fallen angels, Sin and Death adorn their dark and fiery abyssal landscape in a manner similar to the grotesque art featured in ancient chambers.
From the Paper
"Unnatural, being ?contrary to the way things usually happen in nature; contrary to the physical nature of human beings?especially intensely evil or cruel? accurately describes the realms of Chaos and Hell. Milton demonstrates how Hell exists beyond the innate order of nature by depicting it through metaphors for sexual lust which can never be satisfied. If Paradise Lost is ?spanned on frail arches? it is etymologically linked with the theme of fornication; the word ?fornication? is from the Latin fornix meaning ?brothel? but originally ?arch?. Satan?s punishment is that he has been cast into a hell that permits inflamed sexual desire while preventing its consummation. Liquid is a common symbol for the feminine and Milton repeatedly refers to the ?lake?; Satan lies ?chained on the burning lake? , embodying an unsatiated lust that is aflame with bestial burning."
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Flannery O'Connor, 2004.
An analysis of the grotesque, the spiritual, and the human condition as depicted in Flannery O'Connor's literary works.
1,904 words (approx. 7.6 pages), 9 sources, MLA, AU$ 88.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses various literary works by Flannery O'Connor, claiming that her work is successful because it illustrates the frailty of the human condition in a unique, memorable way. The paper explores how O'Connor uses the grotesque to emphasize man's worst characteristics. Exaggerated characters in humorous situations help O'Connor comment on the hypocrisy, ignorance, bigotry, and evil she finds in society. The paper examines how she incorporates elements from her experiences in living in the South and her Catholic upbringing into these stories to emphasize her points.
From the Paper
"Flannery O'Connor is considered to be one of most successful writers of her time because her stories emphasize many of basic human struggles through grotesque, often exaggerated characters. Her unique style stresses the fact that hypocrisy, ignorance, and bigotry come in all shapes and sizes. Set in the American South, layered with irony and comedy, and flavored with religious tones, O'Connor's stories force us to examine sensitive and difficult issues. From the religiously dead Misfit and Mr. Shiflet to the spiritually blind Mrs. Turpin, O'Connor's characters show us how grace and redemption can be painful aspects of life. Arrogance and ignorance show their true colors with Mrs. Crater and Hulga. All of these characters are grotesque but represent humanity in some of its weakest states. With them, O'Connor successfully illustrates that people are seldom what they seem."
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Marriage of the Archetypal Comic and Tragic Visions in Dickey's "The Sheep Child", 1999.
How these two antithetical ideas combine in the poem to make the grotesque become beautiful.
1,515 words (approx. 6.1 pages), 2 sources, AU$ 72.95
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Witch Trials, 2006.
An overview of the witch trials between 1550 and 1700.
1,450 words (approx. 5.8 pages), 6 sources, MLA, AU$ 70.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how witch trials during 1550 and 1700 were a very bloody and grotesque affair and how at least 100,000 people's lives were ended in terrible public executions and how countless more lived on to be ostracized and feared by previous friends and family. It attempts to analyze the reason for the persecution of these people, for accusing them of crimes that were sickeningly grotesque, (often involving homicide) and effectively signing their death warrant. It also looks at what the accusers had to gain from saying that these women had congress with the devil, were evil and must be purged.
From the Paper
"Witch trials became very popular in a time of great turmoil for Europe. Overpopulation was a huge problem; the world population had increased from 450 million in the 1400's to 500 million by 1650, creating a shortage of land, food and jobs. Later, gold and silver from America caused inflation that taxed the poor even further. Crime increased in both urban and rural areas as people struggled to survive by any means necessary. In short, Europe was in the midst of a crisis and people started looking for someone to blame. The undesirables in these various countries filled that role easily. "
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" The Overcoat and The Nose", 2001.
This essay analyzes the humorous tale "The Overcoat and The Nose" as well as "Gogol's Art".
1,080 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 54.95
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Abstract
This essay details "The Nose" by analyzing its light language in telling a grotesque tale, the story's tone, the meanings of a few of the important words used in the story and more. It also examines Tikos's book "Gogol's Art: A Search for Identity" which analyzes some of Gogol's works. The paper details the plot of the story chronologically and examines the humorous way each grotesque scene is described.
From the Paper
"The Nose is a story both grotesque and humorous. The grotesque nature of the story is mainly because of the story line, following the trial of one man who finds a nose in his bread and another who wakes up and finds his nose is missing. While the events are grotesque, the subject is treated lightly in the story and it is this lightness that makes the grotesque events appear humorous."
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"The Purloined Letter", 2002.
This paper discusses "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allen Poe.
985 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 50.95
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Abstract
The following paper discusses how Poe categorized his works into two distinct categories, the grotesque and the arabesque and put 'The Purloined Letter' into the grotesque category, for its use of more realistic characters who react more humanly to the story happening around them.
From the Paper
"At the beginning of the story, it seems like a very simple detective case, not like most of Poe's dark and disturbing works. It seems relatively easy to figure out that the Minister took the missing letter, for whatever reasons. However, after searching the Minister's rooms, and the Minister himself, the police still cannot find the letter, and even after a month, it is still missing. Now Poe has set the stage. Why is this letter so important, and why is it still missing, if it was such a simple case? As Dupin says, "'Perhaps the mystery is a little too plain,' said Dupin," and already we are wondering just what it is, and why it is so plain. In the first few lines we read, Poe has already roped us in, by making us wonder, and making us want to know more. It is a common style in fiction, especially mysteries, but it works, and Poe is a master of setting the stage."
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Phrase from "The Great Gatsby", 2002.
Explores the significance of the "warm world" passage in Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby".
650 words (approx. 2.6 pages), 3 sources, AU$ 38.95
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Abstract
This paper explains the significance of the following passage from "The Great Gatsby", drawing attention to Fitzgerald's use of grotesque and unusual phrases to underline the strangeness of the story (and of American society in the 1920s): "...he must have felt that he had lost warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream. He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he founded what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass."
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John Irving's Writings, 2002.
Details how John Irving went about writing two of his works, "A Widow for One Year" and "The World According to Garp," and how how they are considered rather unbelievable at times.
3,458 words (approx. 13.8 pages), 12 sources, MLA, AU$ 142.95
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Abstract
John Irving created a fantastic compilation of inconceivable events that were meant to be a social commentary intertwined with a grotesque, violent, and hysterical plot in "A Widow for One Year" and "The World According to Garp". The paper argues, however, that Irving exploits and manipulates his characters and involves them in an improbable chain of events that the most devoted reader might have trouble believing. The paper shows that because of the outrageous scenes in Irving's works, he is often not considered a serious writer, and his credibility is discredited due to his inability to write believable material.
From the Paper
"Another problem found in Irving's novels is a trend toward oversimplification. Irving's narratives seem unenthusiastic at times, yet blossom during the bloody, violent, and repulsive scenes prevalent throughout the novels. The most ominous, widespread problem Irving has is his trend toward digressing away from the more important moral and thematic scenes, and stressing the "entertaining" and ridiculously obscure scenes. Irving's writing has been compared to "...a postcard from a child at summer camp..." due to his repetitive style and his "...poverty of language." Irving's lack of syntactical usage is not an indication that he does not know how to write, but rather that he chooses to use his great ability at the wrong time."
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A Search for Meaning and Identity, 2006.
An examination of meaning and identity in the eyes of literature.
3,299 words (approx. 13.2 pages), 8 sources, MLA, AU$ 137.95
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Abstract
In this paper the author philosophizes on the search for meaning and identity. He identifies how meaning is searched for under the influence of power, reality and religion and the search for power is a common human concern. He then discusses identity as a consideration of the Other, gender, race, the grotesque and the self. The paper concludes with the joining of these two theories.
From the Paper
"Foucault (1977) sheds interesting light upon the issue of power through a discussion of the plague and how it was handled. He mentions the elements of the constant "gaze" as well as space restriction. The plague, seen as chaos, was met with order, control and power. People were restricted to their homes, and the enclosed, segmented space, was observed at every point. The function of this order is to eradicate all confusion. Confusion was brought about by the disease, transmitted from body to body. The confusion of the evil increased when fear, disease and death "
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Greek Myths and Monsters, 2008.
A discussion of the monsters in Greek mythology.
1,641 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 11 sources, MLA, AU$ 78.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses three of the monsters of Greek mythology:the Gorgon Medusa, the Minotaur and Scylla and Charybdis. The paper also looks at the role that they play in this culture. The paper explains that among the most grotesque of the Greek monsters was the Gorgon. The paper suggests that the Gorgon is a representation of a human head undergoing decay, more common to the Greeks than to modern peoples, but still distasteful. The paper then points out that just as the Gorgon reflected something the Greeks had seen in real life, the Minotaur may have reflected their revulsion with human sacrifice as carried on by the Minoans of Crete. In conclusion, the paper shows that the Greeks tried to explain their world and to do this they created a series of myths and legends that have vastly enriched the world's lore and literature ever since. While some of their stories seem more than fantastic, on examination, most have a reasonable explanation.
From the Paper
"Medusa was eventually killed by Perseus. He was the product of one of Zeus' many dalliances. Perseus and his mother, Danae, came eventually to the land of Seriphos, where the king fell in love with Danae. Wanting to get Perseus out of the way, the king tricked him into going on a quest for the head of Medusa. (Hard, 239)
"Perseus received help from the gods Hermes and Athena, who sent him to the Graiai, the three "old woman," sisters of the Gorgons, who knew their secrets. The Graiai gave Perseus winged sandals with which he could fly, a cap of invisibility which would let him approach Medusa unseen, and a metal satchel in which he could safely store her head."
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A Comparative Study of Aeschylus and Sophocles, 2008.
A comparative analysis of the dramatic art of the Greek tragedians, Aeschylus and Sophocles.
4,055 words (approx. 16.2 pages), 9 sources, MLA, AU$ 159.95
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Abstract
This paper presents a comparative and parallel study of the dramatic art of the most prominent Greek dramatists Aeschylus and Sophocles. The writer discusses the similarities and differences between the two tragic poets, both in terms of style and content, and explains how each dramatist uses the chorus. The writer also explains that where the dramatic art of Sophocles is characterized by accomplished symmetry and harmonious grace, that of Aeschylus is hard, grand and severe, and Aeschylus (referred to as the 'Master of the Grotesque') is rightly acknowledged as the inventor of scenic pomp and hyperbole. The writer believes that Sophocles' art of characterization is more complex than Aeschylus and explains how Sophocles uses the third actor to place the audience in a position to judge the chief character from at least three points of view. The writer further asserts that unlike Aeschylus, who is simple and direct, Sophocles carries an explicit irony in his plays and he presents not only the problems, but suggests the solutions also to the intricacies of human life in relation to the cosmic and social order. The writer concludes that, as a modern reader, Sophocles is the greater of the two dramatists.
From the Paper
"Of the precious and inexhaustible treasure of the Greek endeavours in the realm of tragedy, very little has come down to the readers. We are aware of the names of a few tragedians with Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides being the being the most prominent. And with these three too, a very little of the whole number of works is left. The extant dramas are those that had been selected by the Alexandrian critics for the study of Greek literature. The reason for being their choice by the critics was their affordability as the best illustration of the various styles of tragic art. Regarding Aeschylus and Sophocles, (the two subjects of this term paper) we are left with seven pieces remaining of each."
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What Does "Beauty" Mean in Art Today?, 2006.
A discussion regarding the modern concept of beauty in art.
2,174 words (approx. 8.7 pages), 6 sources, APA, AU$ 98.95
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Abstract
This paper takes a look at how Kant defines the concept of beauty in art and how it relates to the art of today. According to the paper, when it comes to the modern concept of beauty in art, there is often a very thin line between beauty and the grotesque. The paper reviews various works of modern art, discussing the beauty of each piece.
From the Paper
"The painting represents a bird and a heart, each placed on halves of a paper. The thing that first draws the attention of the viewer is the strong nuance of red that dominates the painting. Indeed, even the two shapes (the bird and the heart) are not actually sketched out as a shape, but are defined by the contrast in color between the nuances of red. It is quite an impression and perhaps another approach towards the concept of modern beauty, insisting on suggestion and inspiration rather than on exactly drawing lines and representing shapes. Given the fact that the message of the painting is barely implied by the elements forming it, as by it is by the title, everything is left to the own introspection of the viewer. "
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"A Good Man Is Hard to Find", 2004.
A review of Flannery O?Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find".
1,567 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 4 sources, MLA, AU$ 75.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes the story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", written by Flannery O'Connor. The paper describes the variety of literary techniques O?Connor utilizes in this story. The paper discusses how the author uses humor, irony, foreshadowing, and the grotesque to emphasize the fragile state of the human condition.
From the Paper
"Humor is a tool that O?Connor uses in many of her stories and ?A Good Man is Hard to Find,? begins as a satire of sorts as the family drives toward Florida. The story is peppered with comical images of each family member tolerating each other until they reach their destination. For instance, the bickering begins with the first line of the story when we are told that ?The grandmother didn?t want to go to Florida? (O?Connor 1077). It is also humorous to image the grandmother sandwiched between john Wesley and June Star. In addition, she is wearing a ?navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print? (1078). In addition, we are told that her ?collar and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet? (1078). Even in potentially dangerous situations, O?Connor manages to slip in instances of humor. For example, after the car crashes and The Misfit directs Bailey to the woods, we are told that ?His eyes were as blue and intense as the parrots in his shirt? (1086). These statements paint a very vivid portrait of the grandmother that is humorous because we can almost sense the absurdity of her looks as well as her funny behavior in the car."
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