Of Mice And Men Modernism - 1619 Words

One of John Steinbeck’s early drafts of his most famous work, Of Mice and Men, was eaten by his dog. This did not discourage him from finishing it and going on to write more stories and novellas, becoming one of America’s most beloved authors. John Steinbeck is seen as a very important important figure of the Modernist literary period; known for his observations of human conditions during the Dust Bowl era, mainly his book Of Mice and Men which truly takes a detailed look at the Great Depression in America, and is a great example of Modernism. John Ernst Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas, California. Steinbeck was the only son to John Ernst Steinbeck Sr. and Olive Hamilton. His father was an accountant while his mother leaned more†¦show more content†¦This segwayed into Dust Bowl fiction, where he went on to write Grapes of Wrath, some say his greatest work, which at its peak, sold 10,000 copies a week. (https://www.biography.com/people/john-steinbeck-9493358). The story â€Å"summed up the bitterness of the Great Depression,† and defined his modernist and straightforward writing style. (Britannica, 11th Edition Page 240). It also raised widespread sympathy for migratory farm workers and was a best seller. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck). He then went on to write Of Mice and Men, his critically acclaimed novella. John Steinbeck had many influences that helped him write his stories. The work he did as a young man was a big one, as well as the manual labor he did to support himself du ring his time in college. The sugared beet farm truly made him realize the horrible life that the migrant workers had, as well as giving him plenty of time to advance and explore his writing in the laboratory of the farm. Another very large influencer in his life was Edward Ricketts. He was a great friend to Steinbeck and he collaborated on writing Sea of Cortez. Edward Ricketts was a marine biologist and John Steinbeck joined him on a trip to Mexico to collect marine life. (Britannica, 11th Edition Page 240). Steinbeck adopted many of Ricketts views on life andShow MoreRelatedEssay on Modernism at Its Finest in Literature756 Words   |  4 PagesModernism at Its Finest In the beginning of the twentieth century, literature changed and focused on breaking away from the typical and predicate patterns of normal literature. Poets at this time took full advantage and stretched the idea of the mind’s conscience on how the world, mind, and language interact and contradict. Many authors, such as Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Twain, used the pain and anguish in first hand experiences to create and depict a new type of literature, modernism. In thisRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men1659 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men Olivia Settlemires John Steinbeck - John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, in 1902. In 1919 he went to Stanford University, where he enrolled in literature and writing courses until he left in 1925 without a degree.For the next five years he supported himself as a laborer and journalist, as well as working on his first novel, Cup of Gold (1929). After his first marriage, He published many books, such as The Pastures of Heaven (1932), The Red Pony (1933),Read MoreAnalysis Of John Steinbeck s The Grapes Of Wrath 1594 Words   |  7 Pagesproblems of labor. After the humorous Tortilla Flat, Steinbeck decided to write a more serious novel, In Dubious Battle, in 1936. It deals with the strikes of the migratory fruit pickers on California plantations. Then in 1937 Of Mice and Men was published. Later, The Long Valley, was published in 1938. In 1939 The Grapes of Wrath was published, the story of Oklahoma tenant farmers who couldn’t earn enough money for a living, so they moved to California and became migratory workersRead MoreSteinbeck’s Quest for Friendship, Dreams, and Personality in Of Mice and Men1742 Words   |  7 PagesCurly and Lennie, two men that traveled together everywhere they went. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck describes friendship, dreams, and personality to describe Lennie and Curly adventures. Steinbeck believed that friendship was important. Lennie knows that George will always have his back, although Lennie cannot protect George he feels like he can (Steinbeck 14). Even though George says, he does not want Lennie with him; he does not want to leave him by himself (Steinbeck 13). When Lennie andRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s The Farm 2473 Words   |  10 Pagescan count on themselves and can pursue true happiness. It emphasizes the importance of the farm and what it means to Lennie. This passage contains symbolism ,the vision of the farm is a symbol of hope. It also contains conflict between the men and society. The men are struggling to keep up through the hard life they go through because of the way society is and how they are treated. They criticize one another on each other’s beliefs and how their future will turn out because they have given up on everRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men1808 Words   |  8 Pagesplace else to go. If them other guy s gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.† Before George and Lennie got to the Ranch they stop and camp out in a clearing. In this passage, George explains their relationship. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck honors male friendships, suggesting that they are the most adequate way to overcome the loneliness that infiltrates the world. George relates that loneliness is responsible for much of human misery. Later in the storyline, Candy, CrooksRead MoreComparing Rosemarie Seus And John Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men2004 Words   |  9 PagesRosemarie Seus John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck On Feb. 27, 1902, in Salinas, California, John Ernst Steinbeck Jr was born.His father, John Ernst Steinbeck worked several jobs, while his mother, Olive Hamilton Steinbeck was a former schoolteacher. Steinbeck had a mostly happy childhood – he grew up with three sisters, was smart, and formed an early appreciation for the land. Steinbeck decided to become a writer at the age of 14, writing many poems and stories. He enrolled in StanfordRead More William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and in Virginia Woolf’s A Mark on the Wall - Subjective Narrative1514 Words   |  7 Pagesthe realization of what exactly death means. Vardaman’s indirect language and irregular logic draw the reader into his narrative, compelling them to actively read and comprehend his thoughts. This subjective narrative is a key characteristic of modernism. Another example of this modernist subjective narration comes from in Virginia Woolf’s story â€Å"A Mark on the Wall.† Woolf’s use of the stream of consciousness technique is extremely subjective, as it follows the wandering thoughts of the woman sittingRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck3583 Words   |  15 PagesCarol Henning. His other novels (ex. The pastures of heaven in 1932 and To a God unknown in 1933) were not very successful as the novel Tortilla Flat in 1935 which he got recognition for. His other short stories such as Dubious Battle in 1936, Of Mice and Men in1937 and The Long Valley in 1938 were also successful. The next novel he wrote was the Cannery Row in 1945. In 1943 Steinbeck married his second wife Gwyndolyn Conger wi th whom he had two children. Then in 1950 he married Elaine Scott that sameRead MoreThree Most Important Composers of the Twentieth Centruy2805 Words   |  11 Pageslonger primal and dissonance no longer needed to be resolved. Though Schoenberg has often been â€Å"demonized as the bogeyman of music [and] the destroyer of tuneful recreation,† he now, along with Stravinsky, represents the â€Å"quintessential exponent of modernism in music.† Schoenberg’s ground breaking work changed the way tonality was approached for the rest of the century. Schoenberg’s first revelation as a composer was the emancipation of dissonance, which meant that harmonic rules became more flexible

Analysis Of Hollow Men And Heart Of Darkness

Similarly, ‘Hollow men’, challenges the social conventions arising from historical transformations, expressing his concern of an acutely disconnected society, enhancing my view of the complex loneliness with the human condition, giving it an enduring quality. A dramatic monologue, Eliot’s poem mirrors his personal views on the modernist’s rejection of traditional literary writing, whilst the fragmented, free verse structure reveals the fractured ‘Hollow men’. In the epigraph, Elliot alludes to the Conrad’s novella ‘Heart of Darkness’, which presents the corrupts nature of Kurtz and Guy Fawkes. This intertextuality, symbolises the greed and horror of european values, emphasising the underlining theme of spiritual emptiness. The main†¦show more content†¦The trivial nature of society is portrayed in the reoccurring Biblical references, â€Å"In death’s dream Kingdom’, and coupled with the lexical chain of words related to images of decline and fading, Eliot reveals the nonsensical nature of their existence. This idea is reiterated by critic J.C.C Mays who claims that the poem â€Å"Strikes the tone of effort and the futility of effort which is central in Eliot’s writing’. Section V of the poem, is strutted with deliberate fragmentation of the Lord’s Prayer, â€Å"For thine is the Kingdom†, suggests that mandate routines of life, disables men from completing the prayer, thus leading to internal suffering. Eliot challenges individual conventions as he explores themes of spiritual and moral decay to portray the detrimental flaws of Modernism, including the paralysis of human condition, an eternally relevant idea Similarly, ‘Journey of the Maji’, challenges the social conventions arising from historical transformations, by pondering on individual alienation in a sordid world, as the persona struggles to comprehend his loss of identity. Journey of the Maji is a dramatic monologue, comprised of the interior thoughts of one of the wise men, who has achieved the journey of faith, but continues to be a part of the world which Christ came to redeem. The Maji’s quest is described through the use of first person - inclusive, aided by the colloquial phases, inShow MoreRelatedT.S. Eliots View of the Human Condition in The Hollow Men Essay856 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstand not only for students writing research papers, but also for critics. He was the backbone of modernist poetry, who wrote mostly about darkness, despair, and depression in life. He tried and succeeded to capture the torment of the world during World War 1 and World War II (Shmoop T.S. Eliot). Eliot’s view of the human condition is evident in â€Å"The Hollow Men† through the issues of fear, despair, and depression. The poem starts out with a couplet. The first line talks about a man who is deadRead MoreAnalysis of The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot Essay1367 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot Eliot, a master of the written craft, carefully thought out each aspect of his 1925 poem The Hollow Men. Many differences in interpretation exist for Eliots complex poetry. One issue never debated is the extensive range of things to consider in his TS Eliots writing. Because TS Eliot often intertwined his writing by having one piece relate to another The Hollow Men is sometimes considered a mere appendage to The Waste Land. The Hollow MenRead MoreThe Journey In â€Å"Heart Of Darkness† Spans Not Only The Capricious1222 Words   |  5 PagesThe journey in â€Å"Heart of Darkness† spans not only the capricious waters extending our physical world, but also the perplexing ocean which exists in the heart of man. Through Marlow s somewhat overenthusiastic eyes, we perceive the mystery that is humanity, and the blurred line between darkness and light. It is an expedition into the deepest crevices of the human heart and mind bringing on an awareness, and finally descending into the abyss of hell abiding in each of us. Conrad’s use of wordplayRead More The Hollow Men Essay1112 Words   |  5 Pageswaiting to be judged. Without the fearlessness and faith to move on to the afterlife, they will spend eternity stuck in purgatory. When T. S. Eliot wrote â€Å"The Hollow Men,† he used symbolism, imagery, and repetition to share his insight to address the lack of courage and faith that plagues every human being. T. S. Eliot’s â€Å"The Hollow Men† is a dramatic monologue, free verse poem that consists of five parts that could be considered five separate poems. His use of â€Å"allegorically abstract text neverthelessRead MoreEssay on Emptiness in The Hollow Men2815 Words   |  12 PagesEmptiness in The Hollow Men  Ã‚     Ã‚   After Eliot had published The Waste Land, he felt as though he had not been able to fully convey the sense of desperation and emptiness in that work. Beginning with Doris’s Dream Songs and Eyes I Last Saw in Tears, he explored these themes, eventually uniting all such poems in The Hollow Men. The end product is a work that, unlike The Waste Land and its ultimate chance for redemption, has only the indelible emptiness of the hollow men as its conclusionRead More Character Growth in Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay examples2947 Words   |  12 PagesCharacter Growth in Conrads Heart of Darkness      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness explores the intellectual, emotional and moral growth of characters throughout the novella. This character growth has been a recurring theme in literature, with the poet William Blake, among many others, exploring theories of the movement between innocence to experience. Although Conrad does not strictly address character growth in this manner, characters that do and do not undergo psychological growthRead MoreA Renewed Sense Of Hopelessness : American Sentiment Following The Vietnam War1395 Words   |  6 Pagesundoubtedly affected Americans’ view of the Vietnam War. - Coppola was inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness. In the novel, Marlow, who works for a Belgian trading company, remembers traveling along the Congo River to meet Kurtz, who is an ivory trader. Marlow’s descriptions of the company’s harsh treatment of natives calls attention to the problems with Western imperialism. Heart of Darkness is based on Conrad’s experience in the Congo, during which he witnessed Westerners brutally treatRead MoreModernist Elements in the Hollow Men7051 Words   |  29 PagesENDS THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS NOT WITH A BANG BUT A WHIMPER T.S.Eliot, The Hollow Men (95-98). The end of The Hollow Men can only be the beginning of a deep and long reflection for thoughtful readers. T.S. Eliot, who always believed that in his end is his beginning, died and left his verse full of hidden messages to be understood, and codes to be deciphered. It is this complexity, which is at the heart of modernism as a literary movement, that makes of Eliot’s poetry very typically modernistRead More Heart of Darkness versus MacBeth Essay1677 Words   |  7 Pages Heart of Darkness and MacBeth  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joseph Conrad and William Shakespeare are not traditionally paired up for a critical analysis. However, the characters MacBeth and Kurtz in MacBeth and Heart of Darkness, respectively, prove to be worthy of comparison. MacBeth and Kurtz share many common characteristics: both have vaulting ambition that leads both to their success and their demise, a superiority complex, and both make similar sacrifices to achieve their goal. DespiteRead More Futility of Life Exposed in T.S. Eliots The Hollow Men Essay1973 Words   |  8 PagesFutility of Life Exposed in T.S. Eliots The Hollow Men      Ã‚   The Hollow Men, by T.S Eliot, is a reflection on the emptiness, futility and misery of modern life. It is also a reflection on the problems involved in human communication, and on the meaning (or lack of it) to life. Eliot uses religious and desert symbolism, biblical and literary allusions, repetition, parody and deliberately sparse, controlled language to convey the themes of the poem. The poem opens with two epigraphs

I am by John Clare and Wants by Philip Larkin poetry analysis Essay Example For Students

I am by John Clare and Wants by Philip Larkin poetry analysis Essay Many poets, conventional and traditional have written about their personal feelings and their views on the world. The two poems I have looked at I AM by John Clare and WANTS by Philip Larkin show their deepest emotions and individual thoughts and about themselves and other relationships between friends and family. Each poet has a different way of demonstrating the themes through use of language, style and tone; but we can still establish the related themes. Some examples of the related themes are melancholy about their lives, relationships with others, and an aspiration for isolation, perception of oblivion and their scrutiny of death. Matthew Arnolds view on poetry was genuine poetry is conceived and composed in the soul. This expression describes both poems accurately. John Clare 1972-1840 was a romantic poet who wrote I AM. Throughout the poem there is a general realization of loss, with many references to oblivion, nature and God. His opening line begins with a self-affirming statement, I am. This could be a way of pronouncing that he is a person, a human. He feels that his friends have forsaken him like a memory lost; saying that he either cant remember them or that he has blocked them out, here we can see an example of alliteration, which draws attention to the words. By saying they rise and vanish in oblivions host, he has personified how his woes have been risen up and then disappeared, into oblivion. Larkin also uses many references to oblivion; such as desire of oblivion runs from this I fall that he longs for somewhere where there is nothing, somewhere where he can be alone. Clare has used an image of mad love, which holds back painful memories like shadows in love-frenzied stifles throes. The last line of stanza 1 runs into stanza2, and the last line could be saying that he is insubstantial, but his emotions take over him. We can see that in the first stanza there is a sense of rhyme used which is different that the rhyme structure used in stanza 2 and 3. He has used this construction of rhyme, because he has tried to convey that stanza 1 needs no closure and that is why the rhyme is different in stanza 2 and 3. The use of enjambment has let the 1st stanza continue into the 2nd stanza. He knows who he is, but he says that into the living sea of waking dreams this could mean that life is like a dream, not significant. This theme carries into his next line where he discusses where he is, in oblivion where there is no happiness, also where there is no sense of life, but by saying that where he is, has no life then it must be dead. He alludes to death, when he talks about his vast shipwreck of me lifes esteems. This could have two different meanings, one; that everything in his life is a mess, or two; that there is a slight hope for saving his life. The previous four lines have all had rhyme incorporated in an A, B formation, but this changes in stanzas 2and 3. The last two lines in both stanzas rhyme with each other, highlighting the words used and drawing attention to them. In the last lines of this stanza we are told information about his friends that he finds his friends have become strangers, and are even more unfamiliar than others. Interestingly we can see similar use of the theme, in the other poem. We can see that from reading it that Larkin, he also finds no comfort in friends, family or women. Clare has said that man has destroyed everything, and he wants somewhere he cant be hurt, where there are no people. This may suggest somewhere where man has not been before; where there are no emotions, where he cant suffer. He uses the line there to abide with my Creator, God. this is a personal pronoun, another self-affirmation. Another way of interpreting this line could be that Clare has a personal relationship with God, saying that there was somebody who took an interest in making him. Silas Marner is one of the greatest English Litera EssayLike Larkin he also longs for a place where there is nothing, somewhere where he can alone. We area able to recognize that from his line Despite the artful tensions of the calendar, that he has tried to demonstrate to the reader, that he feels that there are events that keep coming up that he doesnt want. The events have no meaning to him, and he feels that life is like a balancing act of events, but the events are manipulative and deceptive. The events attempt to make him feel pressurised into doing them. I found that Larkin doesnt have any values for life insurance because he has no interest in leaving any money behind. The tabled fertility rites have acted as a way of describing how he feels that there are certain times in peoples lives when they are pressured into having children. He also may appear to think that having children is mechanical just like everything also that should be done. This line has similar meanings to that of line 3 in stanza 1, where he also mentions about the pressures of having children, printed directions of sex. He also explains that if you dont think about death then this will be costly to you on your mind, because you have not thought about it and it will be a shock when it does. He has thought about it, is ready for death and it wont be as much of a revelation. He has said that you should think about it, be prepared for what will happen to you eventually. He has pointed out that it will be a costly aversion of the eyes from death; we are also able to fi nd references to death in Clares poem, where we can establish his thoughts on death where he can abide with his creator, God. From looking at this poem I have noticed that in this stanza, we can see a relationship between the first and last lines and the middle lines. The first and last lines can be seen as applying to Larkin himself, whereas the middle lines can be seen to be applied universally. He repeats the first line again, to draw more attention to the words that he has written. From looking at both poems I have found that Clare has en explanation through his poem, he is explaining that his life has become lost through many different stages and causes. He feels that certain things in his life have been insignificant, and his life is a mess. In Larkins poem I have found that there was no justification for what he is saying, he appears to record all the things in his life that have prevented him from being alone, he gives reasons, but they all involve other people, but nothing accounts for that things that heave gone wring in his life. I find that Clare gets his point across in a simple way, whereas Larkins poem seems to have deeper meanings, than what is written. I felt that Clares poem is more effective and has a straight forward meaning without having to discover hidden meanings. Clare has declared his personal feelings and his personal views and emotions, through a way of poetry, expressing himself. poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. I feel that T. S. Eliot has described the way that Clare has written his poem, in a way that he has described his personal feelings and emotions.