StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Hope or Tragedy: Points of View - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The essay "Hope or Tragedy: Points of View" focuses on the critical analysis of the major issues in the points of view on hope or tragedy. On a superficial level, the narrative frameworks employed by Chekhov and Oates appear to be remarkably similar…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.7% of users find it useful
Hope or Tragedy: Points of View
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Hope or Tragedy: Points of View"

Oates, on the other hand, chooses to have the narrator tell the story from the point of view of the female, Anna Sergeyevna, who exists in Nantucket in modern times. This simple choice, switching the point of view of the narrator, has striking effects. Checkov’s story seems more romantic, reflecting the older male character’s desire for youthful love, whereas Oates’ story seems more desperate as the female character attempts to escape a bad relationship and to try to manage a personal crisis.

As an initial matter, the narrative techniques are quite similar. The narrators are external to the stories themselves, removed from the action and detached, and limited in knowledge in each story. Both authors rely upon the third-person limited narrative technique. The narrative technique is limited rather than omniscient because each author tells the story from the point of view of a single character. In Chekhov’s story, the reader learns more about Anna through the eyes and thoughts of Dmitry; in Oates’ story, by contrast, the reader learns more about Dmitry through the eyes and thoughts of Anna. In short, the basic narrative framework, third person limited, is similar in both stories.

The specific point of view employed by the authors, though, results in very different interpretations. Chekhov’s protagonist, Dmitry, is aging, unhappy in his marriage, and an adulterer of some stature. He possesses a low opinion of women in general.  Indeed, after his initial meeting with Anna, he notes that “There’s something pathetic about her” (Baumbach, 15). That Anna becomes his ideal love, a last grasp at a new beginning, in which “a lovely new life would begin for them” (Baumbach, 28) is a function of his particular male point of view. His motivation, that of an ageing and perhaps unsatisfied male reaching the twilight of his life, is to hold on to what he perceives to be true love.  Chekhov’s point of view, as expressed through the male character,  implies hope.

The Anna the reader gets to know and understand in Oates’ version is a far-less happy woman. She is neither “delicate” nor naïve. She is hardly a romantic idealist. On the contrary, by switching the point of view to the female character, Oates portrays a love affair which is more the product of desperation than a meeting of kindred souls.  Oates’ Anna is confused, perhaps on the brink of a nervous breakdown, and trying to escape her unsatisfying life. From this point of view, Dmitry is more convenient than loved.  Hope is absent, in large part, when the story is told from Anna’s point of view.

In the final analysis, we have two stories that appear to be the same. And yet they leave the reader with fundamentally different feelings. Chekhov leaves the reader with a sense of hope. The reader might naturally wonder if this relationship will blossom and last. There is, to be sure, a subtle sense of optimism given the fact that Dmitry has overcome his loathing of women. Oates leaves the reader with a sense of pessimistic dread. Anna cannot be cured by Dmitry. They are, one might suppose, destined for tragedy. By switching the point of view,  the interpretations and feelings associated with literature can be drastically altered. Oates demonstrates this quite clearly in her version of the story, The Lady With The Pet Dog.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Hope or Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words, n.d.)
Hope or Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. https://studentshare.org/literature/1511205-hope-or-tragedy-point-of-view
(Hope or Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Hope or Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/literature/1511205-hope-or-tragedy-point-of-view.
“Hope or Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”. https://studentshare.org/literature/1511205-hope-or-tragedy-point-of-view.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Hope or Tragedy: Points of View

Aristotles Poetics and Medea by Euripides

The paper "Aristotle's Poetics and Medea by Euripides" discusses that the Third Episode of Medea contains all the elements necessary, from Aristotle's point of view, for a play to be called a tragedy.... He is the author of the theory of tragedy, where he carefully defined and described the elements of a play which, from his point of view, were the most crucial for it to be classified as a tragedy.... he Third Episode of Medea contains all the elements necessary, from Aristotle's point of view, for a play to be called a tragedy....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

King Lear and His Relationships with His Daughters

The paper "King Lear and His Relationships with His Daughters" discusses that Elizabethan England was an extremely hierarchical country, demanding that absolute respect and deference ought to be paid not only to the powerful and rich yet also to the elderly and the parents.... .... ... ... Coppélia Kahn offers a psychoanalytic explanation of Lear's relationships with his daughters....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams: Escapism and Character Analysis

She is presented as obnoxious about her hopes for Laura, deluding herself into believing that Laura can become the type of wife and mother that Amanda had hoped to be herself, had tragedy not taken that from her within her own life.... Through an examination of the ways in which the escapist natures of Tom, Laura and Amanda present within the play, an understanding of the family dynamic emerges that provides the audience with a sense of the balance between delusion and hope....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Is Hamlet Primarily a Tragedy of Revenge

The play incorporates themes of revenge and tragedy, and this revenge ultimately leads to the death of Hamlet and the people he loves.... A tragedy of revenge is a form of tragedy with the primary source of tragic events being the theme of revenge.... Essentially, a tragic event may incorporate elements of revenge but its plot must revolve around the desire to carry out revenge in order to qualify as a revenge tragedy (Wiliamson 91)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Aristotle's Concept of Tragedy

This research paper "Aristotle's Concept of tragedy" discusses Sophocles that uses to fill his audience with fear and pity serve as excellent examples to the authors in this modern day.... If the King had not been so judgmental, perhaps he would not have killed his father and maybe he would have avoided this tragedy (Aristotle & Hammond, 2001).... ow Sophocles refutes Aristotle's definition of tragedy: To exemplify Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero, Sophocles begins the play by portraying Oedipus as a man who is not an evil dictator but one who strives to achieve the best for his family and Thebes; the city that he rules over....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Moral judgement from utilitarianism's point of view and my own

However, according to my own point of view, I slightly differ with the utilitarian point of view.... Therefore, my own point of view concerning this incident was to let the runway trolley kill whoever it will kill and spare whoever it will spare.... Even though the utilitarian point of view requires that pleasure be sought and therefore in this case, it will be... Introduction This paper seeks to analyze one good example of a moral judgment both in utilitarian view and my own view....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Religious Skepticism in the Poetry of Thomas Hardy

This format can be examined more thoroughly by approaching it three analytical ways: by discussing the point of view, the subject matter, and the structure of the poems themselves.... "The Convergence of the Twain," however, instead uses a limited third person point of view, thus describing all of the imagery from a distant detached perspective.... Above water, this would be described as a bird's eye point of view; beneath the water, it must be viewed from the eye of a fish....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

American Drama in the Era of Dramedy

There are other plays by Shakespeare that defy the definition of tragedy and comedy, as they have clear elements of both.... One is All's Well The Ends Well, a comedy that has elements of tragedy in the form of betrayal, desertion, loss, and mourning.... Measure For Measure is another comedy that has the elements of tragedy, in that it ends with an ordered execution and enforced marriage....
13 Pages (3250 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us