The Different Treatment of Death and Violence in Chopin, Thomas, and Jackson - Book Report/Review Example

Death and Dying The Different Treatment of Death and Violence in Chopin, Thomas, and Jackson Through Similar Literary Devices. COURSE NUMBER DUE DATE INSTRUCTOR NAME Death is a shared human experience and therefore a universal theme in literature. Poetry, fiction, and drama venture into the dark recesses of life by exploring the inevitable fate of everyone and everything that breathes. Death differs from person to person and the treatment of death in literature differs from author to author. There is only a small set of literary tools available to authors, of any genre, through which themes like death can be examined. It is through the unique manipulation of these tools, and the intense expertise of great American authors that such a varied approach to death can be interrupted, demonstrated, and shared. Through the use of similar literary devices the theme of death is explored differently in he Story of an Hour o not go gentle into that good night and he Lottery In he Story of an Hourirony is used to explore the theme of death. It is an extremely concise piece prose- just over 1000 words. Chopin offers her readers a single snapshot of a typical women life in 1894. She did this succinctly but not at the expense of her eloquent and graceful writing. In this brief work she describes the societal situation, emotional prison, and sacrifice of women. An entire century of women history condensed into a single story. It is a story about death, birth, and e-dying Louise Mallard died the day she entered into marriage with her husband. In the late 18th century a woman role was solely to care for her husband and children, never simply for herself. If a woman had no husband, she did not exist. Kate Chopin parallels this real life irony to the condition of Louise in the short story. Chopin is a master story teller and employs the use of irony seamlessly. In he Story of an Hourtwo forms of irony can be found - situation and dramatic irony. Situational irony occurs when the reader expects for Louise to be full of grief about her husband's death. Yet, Louise responds hat did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being! She is ecstatic not over her husband death but because she was in a marriage that required her to be subservient to her husband, to live only for him, and to bend to his will. Dramatic irony occurs when there is contrast between what the audience knows about a character and what the people within the story know about a character. After Louise dies, doctors came and aid she had died of heart disease--of a joy that kills. The characters in the story believe that Louise died because of the sudden joy she felt at knowing her husband was still alive. The audience knows she died because she could not withstand another day of domination by her husband and the world - at freedom being ripped from her grasp. Kate Chopin uses irony to produce an ongoing theme of appearance versus reality truly living and truly dying. She uses irony because it funny. It adds a lightness to a very serious subject and it allows the reader to feel involved and therefore invested in the story. Kate Chopin, as an author, knew that if she had a good hook, the reader would stay around long enough to get the lesson she was trying to express. he Lotteryby Shirley Jackson is a depiction of a small town and it's annual lottery. Villagers congregate in the village square and there is a great deal of excitement over the day's events. Families chat with each, gossip about daily life, and anticipate the outcome of the lottery. In the process the reader learns the history of the lottery including the traditional use of it in this specific village. It is unclear to the reader, for much of the story, exactly what the lottery is and what the winner will receive. Once the winning family is chosen a family member is selected and that is the winner of the lottery. In this case Mrs. Hutchinson, the mother, is the winner and is then stoned to death by the townspeople and her own family. Due to these shocking events it would be easy to explain the cruelty by blaming it on the razyinhabitants of this isolated village. It is clear that Jackson was commenting on the dangerous tendencies of society and human nature. In many ways the community portrayed in Jackson's he Lotteryparallels the society that exists in the United States today. Rituals are important in all societies because it creates an niversalstructure, memory, and meaning for the people within that society. In the United States today there are hundreds of rituals which lead to the socialization of children into adults. The educational systems, holidays, and family dinners are but a few of the rituals which define American life. These rituals can also be found in Jackson's fictional community. As the children assembled it is mentioned that school is ecently over for the summer. The narrator of the story is quick to point out the that lottery, unlike other towns, will not prevent the townspeople from enjoy their oon mealswith their families. Many critics point out that the lottery is a violent, and savage act that does not exist in today's society. By examining the range of rituals present in American society it is clear that uncivilized rituals do exist. For example hazing, collegiate and professional sports, circumcision, and the death penalty are all examples of violent rituals which have been incorporated into American culture. Individuals overlook these rituals because of the normalization of violence. Normalization of violence can be found in both the United States and in Jackson's depiction of the small town. Exposing individuals to violence on a regular basis desensitizing them to the violence. For example Bobby Martin is seen stuffing is pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example. The implication that the stones will be used in the lottery is clear but the specific purpose is still unclear. As story continues the reader is shocked by the real purpose of the lottery. The killing of a random person by the hands of their own community and family is a concept that is hard to understand. Enhancing the shock value is the lack of emotion from the children who seem to be first in line to aid in the killing. This is not some bizarre activity but a normal part of town life. The lottery over time has become a traditional activity that no one ever questions. Jackson writes this story from the moral view point of one of the townspeople. She offers no emotion in terms of shock or anguish over the stoning at the end of the story. The murder becomes mundane and almost boring. Mr. Summers comments, while Mrs. Hutchinson is being stoned, All right, folksLet finish quickly. Mrs. Hutchinson has no reaction to being chosen or being stoned to death because the brief and unemotional t's not fair "Two stories in The Lottery reveal how quickly childish innocence gives way to murderous impulses" (Hague). The village has simply accepted it's fate and does exactly what the governing forces want them to do. Compare that to the reaction to the daily violence found within the United States. Murder, rape, and child abuse invoke almost no response from the general public. The entertainment market is also full of fictionalized and therefore sensationalized violence. The most popular music, movies, and videos games offer a variety of violence based plots lines and violent characters. There are several elements in Jackson's he Lotterythat can be found in the current American culture. Rituals, desensitization to violence, and the use of fear to control are found in both the short story and today's modern society. Rituals encourage and direct the behavior of people within society. Violence is integrated into the American's culture, become commonplace and therefore extremely dangerous.. As members of this society we become immune and blind to the motivation of the governing forces and conform without question. After reading the story and reflecting on the nature of man the reader must consider, can man with out the enforcement of social norms exist happily, successfully, and safely It is the stealing of life, even moments worth, from the grasp of death that Dylan Thomas writes so passionately about, in o not go gentle into that good night would like to propose that the attitudes towards death--or, more precisely, the attitudes towards how one lives in the face of impending death--that Thomas explores in this poem--the implied attitude his speaker attributes to his direct audience"(Cyr). Dylan Thomas was born in 1914 and grew up in Swansea, England. He was a deeply reflective youth, and had severe lifelong problems with substance abuse, that eventually took his life in 1953. He was man of the 20th century and his poetry embodies the intense, aggressive, and truthful nature that this time period produced. Dylan Thomaspoem o not go gentle into that good nightexemplifies the characteristics that defined the 20th century literature. Questioning traditional values and redefining religion was a common theme throughout the 1900s. Religion in the past offered reasons for why certain natural things occurred. Darwin developed his theories on natural selection and the public was educated. It was no longer God that chooses what happens it is nature . In the past death was seen as a normal part of life, and that god is control of who and when death occurs. In o not go gentle into that good night,Dylan challenges the reader to defy God, and nature and fight against death. In line 2, Dylan writes ld age should burn and rave at the close of the day Dylan means that even people at the end of their life should fight for every breath. He also writes ood menWild menGrave men- all mean should wrestle death and keep life in their grasps. Exploring death as not just God determined event but an event in which each individual can play active role in, is a common theme found throughout the 20th century in literature, poetry, and public debate. Dylan urges the reader, through repetition of a particular line to drill his message into the minds of the audience. age, rage against the dying of the light (ln 3, 6, 9 12, 19),write Dylan Thomas to poke at the reader hoping the ensues agitation makes them wonder why, and then how. The meter of the line reminds the reader of someone knocking against their coffin - knock, knock against the coffin. Demanding the audience to grab at their last breath from death. Chopin differs from both Thomas and Jackson in that she develops her theme of death by displaying life. "For many years now, Chopin scholarship has focused on issues of gender." (Pontuale 121). Chopin uses several symbols to evoke the feeling of rebirth, renewal, and autonomy. Just after Louise is told about the death of her husband, she enters her bedroom and finds he open window. Through it she can see ew spring lifeon the street below, and realizes that now she too can be part of that life, on her own terms. The open window symbolizes her clear passage to exist fully in the world without her husband standing in her way. Louise hears and sees the ountless sparrows were twittering in the eaves Birds are a traditional icon of freedom. Chopin specific word choice, in the sentences following Louise briefly mourning her husband include - onstrous joy ictory ree! Body and soul free! All of which are not the usual emotions one would expect after hearing of the loss of a loved one. Chopin, Thomas, and Jackson develop and explore the theme of death in their prose through the use of similar literary devices. Each of their approaches are different and offer a unique twist on the the universal treatment of death. Chopin and Jackson create characters, Louise and Laura, that are spiritually dead. By offering each a few precious moments of life, Chopin and Jackson tackle the vast subject of death. Both use symbolism in different ways. Chopin uses symbolism to represent life. Williams uses symbolism to represents death and destruction. It is Thomas who places their artistically rendered message about death and life into vivid, colorful, and inspiring poetry. Through the use of meter, and repetition he demands the reader to grab life however brief, much like Louise and Laura, and hold it until it pried from their cold hearts. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." The Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing 5th. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner, Stephen R. Mandell. New York: Heinle, 2003. 71-73. Cyr, Marc D. "Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night": Through "Lapis Lazuli" to 'King Lear." Papers on Language & Literature 34.2 (1998): 207+. Questia. 21 Apr. 2007 . Hague, Angela. ""A Faithful Anatomy of Our Times": Reassessing Shirley Jackson." Frontiers - A Journal of Women's Studies 26.2 (2005): 73+. Questia. 21 Apr. 2007 . Pontuale, Francesco. "Kate Chopin: A Study of the Short Fiction." The Mississippi Quarterly 52.1 (1998): 121. Questia. 21 Apr. 2007 . Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night." The Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing 5th. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner, Stephen R. Mandell. New York: Heinle, 2003. 531. Read More