The Good Soldier Essay Example for Free

The Good Soldier Essay Impressionism in Literature arrived through art/paintings. In art you reveal the maximum through minimum of strokes. Similarly literary greatness lies in brevity. For example, read this sentence: â€Å"You may cross the moon, beat the stars; but probe you must the mystery of my eve’s smile! † So much has been said to belittle the achievements of the science. It is not to condemn the science, but to make one aware about its limitations and the supremacy of nature. The themes are selectively and beautifully used and deep meaning is conveyed through appropriate expressions. Let us put it this way—impressionism is painting not with the strokes of the brush but with the flow of the pen. You take minimum of words from the vocabulary and give the maximum. This style of writing is for characters, actions and scenes depicted from an objective point of view of reality. It is the test for the skill of the writer. The impressionistic style of writer takes the minimum from the dictionary (vocabulary) and gives the maximum. Experience of the writer in interpreting the various types of situations, complex, vague, transitory, permanent and subjective impressions counts much. He feels from within and the writes about them. For example, a scene can be interpreted through color or short, crisp, to the point sentences. Rapidly changing scenes, quick developments, varying scenes appropriate to the occasion, form part of impressionism. The most unexpected yet true to the subject matter, in relation to time and situation –such is the nature of impressionism. One can not read the works of such authors in a hurry. One needs to carefully examine and enjoy it sentence by sentence, sometimes word by word. Mostly, the first reading will not suffice; a second reading of such books is not an exception, but the rule. The Good Soldier†¦. The narrator in the book, John Dowell is no ordinary man. He has the spontaneous as well as cultivated ability to establish instant rapport with the characters and with the readers. He can neither be hated nor loved by the readers, and he may get as many jeers and cheers depending upon the situation. He knows how to waste, gain and the value time. He arrives and departs and ‘works’ in the book according to a time schedule known to him only. He is not a reader-puller character, but he knows how to win the confidence of the pulled reader. He is generally the know-all, knows the strengths and weaknesses of each character. He is like the stage manager in the drama, produce-director and the script writer all molded into one. He verbally sets the scenes and the time of action with matchless oratorical skill. He introduces in style, the characters and situations and sometimes indicates the morals and the convictions for which they stand and their part in the progress of the story. Once the character is introduced, he provides continuity which holds together short scenes, dialogues, and sudden and abrupt shift in the locale. With a few verbal strokes he completes his job and paves way for the interaction of the actual characters of the story. This is the type of impressionism seen in this book of Maddox, expressed through various characters. The book was first published in 1915. The century-old developments need to be noted. Lot many changes can be seen in the impressionism of the era to which the book belongs, and the impressionism adopted and followed by such writers today. The century old soldier is not the soldier of the day, as for his mental make-up and social disposition. The story has the beginning that makes you curious about what is in store for the reader as the story progresses. The beginning is dramatic. â€Å"This is the saddest story I have ever read. † The plot of the story is weaved around two couples: Edward Ashburnham and his able wife Leonora and the Americans John and Florence Dowell. The two pairs have a ‘wonderful’ level of friendship; they have spent several summers together, before World War I in Germany. Their apparently happy marriages are not that happy. Dents and fissures are seen in their relationships. So, this is the story of age-old marital conflict between the two-Him and Her! John thinks that he is too smart and polished for the talkative Florence, the one without elegance. Edward is a compulsive lady-killer-thanks to his dashing personality and his extreme sentimentalism. He compares Leonora’s charm with the one or more than one he is interested in, and they always score over Leonora. John gets the reporting of the love escapades through Leonora, after the death of the lovers. John feels extremely sorry for his lack of knowledge about human relationships and his carelessness. He turns somewhat cynical as for his lethargy in such a serious and sensitive matter. He is amazed about his carelessness. At this turn of events of the story, the narrator Dowell excels again. He gets a lovely opportunity to talk on the private lives of others. There is no guarantee that whatever he tells is truth and correct. He succeeds in kindling the curiosity of the reader. If one does the quick stock-taking of the story of this book, it is difficult to say whether it is a comedy, tragedy, the comedy of a tragedy or tragedy of a comedy or it is just satire. He condemns and eulogizes the same character, without giving any valid reasons. The private lives of the characters are divulged in regular intervals, but that is done without any offence, any grudge, without the motive of retribution and in a matter of fact of style. .Impressionism is not about creating stereo-type characters, but special, unpredictable ones. It is no ordinary mind-play. Catch and analyze the emotions threadbare. This art is difficult. Maddox has succeeded in creating a painted picture on the curtain of the minds of the reader, without actually painting, without using colors, but with the exquisite strokes of appropriate words and phrases. Notwithstanding the episodes related to sex and adultery, The Good Soldier is a book that preaches morals. The important theme of the book is the difference between reality and appearance. The difference between the actual world and the imaginary, good world! A reference was made earlier that we need to keep an important aspect in mind that it is an antic story—one hundred years old. Lots of differences exist between the values then and now. The society then did not speak about betrayal, adultery and moral confusion with ease. Now these are kindergarten stuffs. The writer of impressionism has got to be a student of psychology with capacity to peep into the minds of the characters. He doesn’t do the description of the reality, but captures the impressions thus derived. The writer is witness to the actions; he does not participate in actions or meditate between the characters. He just tries to get the impressions derived from them, penetrating their minds and piercing the hearts. Such writing is difficult to comprehend and digest. Conclusion: Considering all the above aspects The Good Soldier by Maddox, could be described as ‘impressionable’ and the significance of the novel is that its contents provide both sense of universal and spiritual. Religion and spirituality were the indivisible parts of the life of people in the nineteenth century. The novel fits into the observations of E. M Forster. He â€Å"dismisses the method of examining the novel as a historical development, in preference to an image of all novelists throughout history writing simultaneously, side by side. He first establishes that, if nothing else, a novel is a story that takes place over a period of time. He stresses the importance of character, maintaining that both ‘‘flat’’ and ‘‘round’’ characters may be included in the successful novel. He regards the necessity of plot, which creates the effect of suspense, as a problem by which character is frequently sacrificed in the service of providing an ending to the novel. Fantasy and prophecy, which provide a sense of the ‘‘universal,’’ or spiritual, Forster regards as central aspects of the great novel. † (Aspects†¦. ) It appears this observation by Fosters, is especially addressed to â€Å"The Good Soldier. † References Cited: Article: Aspects of the Summary and Study Guide- Novel www. enotes. com/aspects-novel/ 16k Cached – Retrieved on December 6, 2007.

Role of The Tannery in the novel Nectar in a Sieve Essay -- essays res

Question: What role does the tannery, in Rukmani’s city, have throughout the book? Explain. Also, be sure to discuss what effect it had on the people. In almost every novel, there is at least one culprit or menace. He or she usually causes problems and in more exciting works, ends up murdering one of the protagonists. Hence, in the erratic novel Nectar in a Sieve, which is set in India during the early 1950’s, there has been a troublemaker, just hidden and extremely indirect in his actions. â€Å"What’s his name?† one might ask. The answer: the tannery. This corporation alone forces Rukmani and her husband Nathan off their land, takes away Rukmani’s sons, and ultimately, kills her husband. By being the culprit in the book, the tannery symbolizes many important things such as how the area is changing and those who can’t adapt will flounder such as what happens to Rukmani and Nathan. The tannery shows India’s economic situation as well. The more businesses, the faster India’s economic structure will form, resulting in more political power for the country, but deteriorating the crop li fe. Lastly, the tannery depicts how farm life in India is slowly fading away and those who can not find other skills will fade away too. A major corporation opening in a small town is a sign that the tides are changing and if one can not keep up, he will drown. This is certainly the case in Nectar in a Sieve, being that the tannery opens up in Rukmani’s city. At the time, Rukmani and Nathan have no other skills than tilling the fields and when the tannery buys their land, they were left awestruck as to what their next move should be. Rukmani always had a hunch since the start of the book that the tannery would lead to their end. This quote shows that... ...ry provides stable wages and hope for promotion. This is more secure than working in a farm because even if there is a drought or the crops go bad, workers still earn a constant rupee a day to support their family. The tannery opening up in Rukmani’s small city and the steady rush of workers depicts how farm life in India will decrease in the next century. Rukmani overcame many hardships in the novel but her fight with the tannery is a loss. The tannery ultimately defeats her and takes away her husband. Alas, readers typically overlook the tannery as being the antagonist in the novel even though it frequently infuriated the lives of Rukmani and Nathan. Everybody has at least one tannery in their life, be it their boss, friend, coworker or even parent. Being able to overcome your mental tannery would grant you success in life, something Rukmani could never achieve.

Fashion life

What you wear defines who you are. Fashion is an enormous icon in our society. It is practically the thing we can never go without. We make our very first impression by what we wear not by our personalities. They say you are what you eat but truly you are what you wear and fashion has provided us with a little something to define everyone. There are so many styles of fashion: Goth, Chic, Prep, Hippies etc. Every style has its own description so why would we not be classified into that style and its description that fits us perfectly.What we wear can also make it easy for us to identify people and whether they are ho we want to socialism with, I. E. An individual wearing all Goth (black colored clothing) would not befriend someone who wears preppy clothing (beige colored clothing). Fashion plays an even bigger role when it comes to uniforms; do you that think without uniforms we would be able to identify the authority on our streets? Do you think that we would have the same respect fo r a doctor in a Shares and t-shirt?A number of religions prescribed a specific clothing style aside for us. Our designers are creative geniuses in all aspects. There is no obvious reason as to why we buy the yep of wardrobes we do. It could be to make a statement to get noticed, I. E. Prostitutes are easy to spot with their provocative style of fashion. Others might Just be copying the current trend – this makes it hard for to prove the theory of â€Å"what you wear defines you† – but then we could Judge these individuals as those who have not found a style that defines them.We wear clothes to beautify ourselves to attract the attention we seek. We dress a certain way that mirrors the mood we are in, happy = bright colored clothing & sad = grey and baggy clothing, there are many seasons as to why we take hours Just deciding what to wear because it is essential in our lives to create the correct mood, persona, background, etc. Why wouldn't one agree with this sta tement?We choose the clothes we wear by the way we want to be perceived by others, fact. Several options about how could one not define ones self with it. They say don't Judge a book by its cover but in the end we still go ahead and judge this is the same for fashion which is why we make sure we always look good. We do not need loincloths anymore to Just cover up it is the 21st century! There is a whole new meaning to clothing ourselves.

Personal Reflection - 875 Words

My involvement in research as an undergraduate has prepared me to overcome any challenge that I will inevitably encounter. In the lab, I stepped out of my comfort zone, and as a result I learned a lot, both academically and personally. I learned to take things in stride; to work step-by-step, little-by-little. When I read and write in smaller increments, rather than trying tackle it all at once, not only am I less stressed out and anxious, my understanding of the material improves greatly as well. Additionally, my critical thinking skills have greatly increased, not only as a result of aiding in the design and execution of various research projects, but because of the numerous research articles I have read. With each article, I had to†¦show more content†¦Rather than produce research, I want to consume it and use it to help others. Throughout the course of my life, I have been committed to helping others on a day-to-day basis. When I was about eight years old, my mother started a weekly soup kitchen at our church for those in need of food and genuine company. I accompanied my mom to the soup kitchen every Thursday night, walking throughout the basement of the church to serve beverages. Even as a child, I easily recognized the importance of making genuine connections with people who feel overlooked or abandoned by society. I saw people’s eyes light up as I sat down and chatted with them about nothing in particular, listening to corny jokes and lengthy stories. I knew that the people visiting the soup kitchen truly appreciated receiving undivided attention from another person. I knew they looked forward to returning every week for not just the food, but for the mutual connection and friendship that they felt. I learned the importance of indiscriminate kindness. This kindness has been engrained in my personality from a very early age. 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