The Lady with the Pet Dog Essay Example for Free

The Lady with the Pet Dog Essay The versions of the â€Å"The Lady with the Pet Dog† by Anton Chekhov and Joyce Oates are considered different largely due to the fact that the authors took different perspectives in narrating the story. The earlier maximized on the guy’s point of view, thus providing a clear interpretation of his actions, while the latter focused on the woman’s. However, in general, the story spoke of the same two persons and a dog; a man and a woman, both within the sanctity of marriage taking a vacation, meeting each other and getting into a dalliance. Then again, the authors showed different realizations from the man and the woman at the end of the story. Another main difference that can be observed, if one reads both stories, is the illustration of the personality of the female character, Anna Sergeyevna.. In Chekhov’s account, she was barely described, so simplified, typical, one can only see her through Gurov’s perception of her, if not for her major participation as Gurov’s mistress she might as well be just one of the women generalized in the story. Thus, after reading the story, one would definitely identify her as just the lady with the pet dog. On the other hand, although Oates took the view of the female character, she did not maximize on the actions, rather on what Anna feels; her inner emotions. Thus, she was able to show the female protagonist as having a hysterical character, has suicidal tendencies, full of self-loathing and with a melodramatic self-image. It was also shown in this version what seemed to be almost neglected in the original narration, the female protagonist’s thoughts of the situation she was in. If one would observe how Anna reacted on the circumstance based on Chekhov’s narrations, it would be unclear how she felt about what was happening. One may somehow recognize the struggles but not to the extent of truly identifying with her. In fact, it may be possible to jump to a conclusion that she was not tremendously affected by the obviously wrong conduct that they were doing. As can be seen in the situation where Gurov went to visit her, she was described as astonished about his sudden appearance but showed no remorse for they continued their escapades and promised to meet discretely (Gioia, 1998). This can be misleading for readers may interpret her reaction as a complete acceptance of the situation they were in. However, in Oates’s account, it can be seen and felt how much Anna was confused about the situation. The conflict inside her was clearly illustrated which made it easy to relate with her struggles. Thus, it can be understood why she had inclination to end her own life. Moreover, being able to focus on her perception makes readers understand that she actually desired for things to be in the right place. She wanted her marriage to be better so that things would be corrected. This confusion was emphasized more by Oates’s circular presentation of events, which made it seem like it was actually the main idea of the story. Moreover, in the depiction of the characters, one can see how the Gurov of Chekhov’s version and Anna of Oates’s story have quite different perceptions of marriage and adultery. Through Chekhov’s, we identify that the main protagonist do not think highly of his marriage, staying within it but not respecting its real essence. It has actually became instrumental in perpetuating his quest for women, thus, adultery can be said as a second nature to him. On the other hand, we learned through Oates that Anna has fair regards to her marriage, which made her feel guilty about her affair with Gurov. She was not comfortable with adultery the same way that her partner was; therefore, she had to deal with her conscience throughout the story. (Fulford, 2004). Further differences unfold at the end of each story. On Chekhov’s note, since it was on Gurov’s view, he presented how he realized that he can actually still find true love; that despite the fact that he despised women in general, here is a woman who was able to show him that he can still feel that form of affection. On the other hand, Anna also found love at the end of Oates’s story, however, it was a different one for it was a love for herself. It was an acceptance of what she is and what she has become in loving â€Å"the stranger†, which made her acknowledge that she cannot live without him and that her marriage would not be able to keep her from being with him. Through this realization, it showed that she has finally decided to take the path that would make her happy, disregarding other matters, just making a decision that would satisfy her needs and wants. Her identity has been found and she has learned to love it (Edrich, 2003). If profoundly analyzed, one would identify that the theme of both stories revolve on the stereotypical idea of love, marriage and adultery. Men tend to find love on another person, often on women, while women always seem to be lacking self-acceptance which translate to not loving themselves; women has higher respect and gives more importance to marriage as compared to men and society seems to have a better acceptance of men being adulterous but women are judged awfully for it. As a matter of fact, men who commit adultery are at times admired but women are abhorred for doing so. The story is somewhat an illustration of society’s double standard. Chekhov was a genius in coming up with a story with a theme like this and the way that he presented it was very exceptional. Oates should also be commended for her brilliance in making an interpretation of the woman’s character. Thus, even though these are different stories, they are able to present different perspectives and understanding of issues that are rampant in the society but are not often addressed. I cannot completely decide on which of the versions is better because both have their own merits, although I have a slight inclination to the original. Perhaps, a good deciding factor would be to which character one could relate to, the man or the woman? Works Cited: Edrich, M. M. (2003). The Lady with the Pet Dog Essay. Retrieved May 31, 2010, from: http://www. edrich. us/files/own/c_engcheckhov. pdf Fulford, R. (2004). Surprised by Love: Chekhov and The Lady with the Dog. Queens Quarterly, 111, 300+. Goioa, D. (1998). Anton Chekhovs The Lady with the Pet Dog. Retrieved May 31, 2010, from Ecclectic Literary Review: http://www. danagioia. net/essays/echekhov. htm

The Secret Knowledge of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor Essay -- essays re

Knowledge of the Bombing of Pearl the Secret Harbor Titans clashed in Europe...a struggle for power between the Axis(Germany, Italy, and Japan), and the Allies (France, England, and Russia), waged on. Many people died. There were famines, diseases, split up families, hardships unimaginable to people in our time. Yet one country prospered. Isolated in its own wealth and prosperity, The United States of America had no interest in the war. At least until one infamous day, December 7, 19411, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. On this day, Germany’s ally, Japan, led a surprise attack on the US Naval station in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Or was it a surprise? Did Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then president of the United States of America, know about the attack? Was he secretly hiding the information in order to enter World War II? The answer is yes. And not only did he know about the attack, he encouraged it. He used precise tactics in doing so, all the while abusing his presidential power and not helping save innocent American lives. Yet this tr agedy has been overlooked for many years, and will go unnoticed for many more. It was a â€Å"Day of Infamy†2, indeed. It was December7, 1941, the soldiers on naval base Pearl Harbor in Oahu were just waking up. Suddenly bombs began to drop, 7 ships were sunk, 2897 people were killed almost instantly, 879 were wounded3, millions of lives changed. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had wanted to enter the war for a long time. However, the United States’ public opinion was against going to war due to the stable and booming economy. The only problem was that he had to make Japan make the first move. He had to make them do this because the American people did not want to enter the war. He had to find a way. He found it in Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum. McCollum provided Roosevelt with a detailed, 8-step procedure for making Japan make the first overt move into war: A. Make an arrangement with Britain for the use of British bases in the Pacific, particularly Singapore. B. Make an arrangement with Holland for the use of base facilities and acquisition of supplies in the Dutch East Indies(now Indonesia). C. Give all possible aid to the Chinese government of Chiang Kai-shek. D. Send a division of long-range heavy cruisers to the Orient, Philippines, or Singapore. E. Send two divisions of submarines to the Orient. F. Keep the main strength of th... ...and against evil, for the surprise attack (on Pearl Harbor) made Americans sympathetic for our striped men and women, causing more help from the mass majority of Americans, eventually leading to victory in World War II. Had Nazi Germany won, no one knows the extent of evil that would have been caused. So even though Franklin Delano Roosevelt did many wrong things, his reasoning was good, and we were victorious. 1 http://www.execpc.com/~dschaaf/theday.html 2 FDR’s famous speech after the bombing 3 ftp://ftp.purdue.edu/pub/Liberal-Arts/History/pha/pearl.harbor/misc/army_1.txt 4 Stinnet, Robert; Day of Deceit, page 8 5 Stinnet, Robert; Day of Deceit, page 9 6 Stinnet, Robert; Day of Deceit, page 9 7 Stinnet, Robert; Day of Deceit, page 11 8 Stinnet, Robert; Day of Deceit, page 11 9 Stinnet, Robert; Day of Deceit, page 11 Bibliography Websites: 1. ftp://ftp.purdue.edu/pub/Liberal-Arts/History/pha/pearl.harbor/misc/army_1.txt 2. http://bcn.boulder.co.us/government/national/speeches/spch2.html Book: 3. Day of Deceit, Stinnet, Robert,The Free Press, New York, New York Encyclopedia: 3. World Book, 1989 edition, World Book Inc., Newspaper: 4. New York Times, Dec 8, 1941 edition.

How Important Is Prince Henry (Prince Hal) in Henry IV-Part 1? Essay

In the play Henry IV part 1, we see that Prince Henry (Prince Hal) plays an important part in the whole plot. We see that he is the focal point of the plays main themes. Prince Hal spent almost all of his time in the tavern with Sir John Falstaff, his best friend. In act 2 scene 4, Prince Hal has an interesting conversation with Falstaff. At first, the conversation begins with a little light-hearted humour when Sir John plays the King interviewing the Prince and Prince Hal plays as himself. Falstaff, playing the King, starts the conversation by saying, â€Å"Peace, good pint-pot, peace† to me as a reader this seemed quite funny in the sense that a ‘King of England’ would address his son, the prince a pint-pot. Falstaff then said, while still playing the King, â€Å"I do not only marvel where thou spendest thy time, but also how thou art accompanied.† He later went on to say, â€Å"And yet there is a virtuous man whom I have often noted in thy company, but I know not his name.† Really all this time Falstaff was asking Prince Hal about himself. Knowing this Prince Hal asked the ‘king’ â€Å"what manner of man, and it like your majesty? By this time, Falstaff had most probably thought of enough words to praise himself and so replied, â€Å"A goodly portly man, I’ faith, and a corpulent; of a cheerful look, a pleasing eye, and a most noble carriage.† What he meant by this was that he was a very dignified man with a good figure and that he had a noble behaviour. Prince Hal now decided that it was time for him to play King and for Falstaff to play Prince but Falstaff thought otherwise; he replied, â€Å"Dispose me? If thou dost it Prince Half so gravely, so majestically, both in word and matter, hang me up by the heels for a rabbit-sucker, or a poulter’s hare.† This meant that Falstaff felt quite offended by Prince Hal suggesting such a thing. Prince Hal had another idea, instead of praising Falstaff; Prince Hal thought it would be amusing to disgrace him. Prince Hal spoke out as the King, â€Å"Thou art violently carried away from grace. There is a devil haunts thee in the likeness of an old fat man.† This to Falstaff would seem almost as an insult and for his defence replies, â€Å"But to say I know more harm in him than in myself were to say more than I know. That he is old, the more the pity.† Falstaff felt as though he had been insulted but still tried to make it sound as though he were still joking. For Prince Hal the major turning point in his life was when he went to have an interview with his father the King. This meeting not only showed Prince Hal how disappointed his father was, but also showed him how wrong he had been up to now. As soon as he realised this he asked for forgiveness from his father, he did this by s aying, â€Å"Find pardon on my true submission.† His father replied, â€Å"God pardon thee!† The most important part of Prince Hal’s reformation was when he decided to ride into battle alongside his father Henry IV. Hotspur (Harry Percy) had led a rebellion and wanted to overthrow Henry IV so his son Prince Hal promised that he himself would fight Hotspur to the end. Before the battle had begun Vernon, Hotspurs cousin came to Hotspur and described how great Prince Hal looked. He said, â€Å"All furnish’d, all in arms; all plum’d like estridges that with the wind bated, like eagles having lately bath’d; Glittering in golden coats like images; As full of spirit as the month of May, And gorgeous as the sun at midsummer.† Hotspur could not take this anymore and was just lost for words when he heard his own cousin, a rebel fighter saying such brilliant words about someone he was just about to fight. The final battle between Prince Hal and Hotspur was the grand finale of the completion of Prince Hal’s reformation. Hotspur however mocks Prince Hal a little and boasts about himself as well. Hotspur does this by saying, â€Å"Harry, for the hour is come to end the one of us; and would to God thy name in arms were now as great as mine!† To Hal this would have been enough to push him and fight Hotspur. Throughout the play Henry IV, Shakespeare used different devices of language. To distinguish the dignified people he used blank verse. We see an example of this whenever the king speaks for instance when the King speaks to his eldest son Hal, â€Å"I no not whether God will have it so.† Another device which Shakespeare uses is imagery, there is a good example of this is when Worcester (his uncle) speaks to Hotspur and Northumberland (his father) when they plan to hold the rebellion. â€Å"As full of peril and adventurous spirit as to o’er-walk a current roaring loud on the unsteadfast footing of a spear.† To a reader these words would give them the image of a roaring river with a spear as a bridge on which to cross over. Another device, which is used in the play, is dramatic irony. We see this when the prince is alone in his apartment and thinking aloud to himself about his reformation and how he will amaze everyone when he does so. In the play, many characters speak about Prince Hal. Falstaff his best friend sometimes addresses him as ‘mad wag’ or ‘the most comparative, rascalliest, sweet young Prince.’ All these names that Falstaff called him were all meant as a joke and never said seriously. Hotspur, Hal’s rival to the throne of England said many things about him, some of which are ‘The madcap Prince of Wales’ and when they finally met at the battlefield, he mocked Hal by saying that he wished that Hal was as great a fighter as he was. The King also said that he would rather have Hotspur as his son and his next heir to the throne than Hal, â€Å"He hath more worthy interest to the state than thou the shadow of succession.† Throughout the play, no one described Prince Hal as greatly as Vernon (Hotspurs cousin). He described Prince Hal to Hotspur so magnificently that Hotspur even told him to stop talking because he could not hear Prince Hal’s praises anymore. Hal was described by Vernon, â€Å"All furnish’d, all in arms; all plum’d like estridges that with the wind bated, like eagles having lately bath’d; Glittering in golden coats like images; As full of spirit as the month of May, And gorgeous as the sun at midsummer. Wanton as youthful goats, wild as young bulls, I saw young Harry with his beaver on, his cushes on his thighs, gallantly arm’d, rise from the ground like feather’d Mercury, and vaulted with such ease into his seat as if an angel dropp’d down from the clouds to turn and wind a fiery Pegasus, and witch the world with noble horsemanship.† As this came from a rebel fighter, this emphasised the fact that the impact that Prince Hal had on everybody was astounding. My conclusion is that Prince Henry (Hal) plays an important role in the play because he manages to have an affect on everyone and everyone seems to be effected by him. Prince Hal is also the next heir to the throne in succession of his father Henry IV so he therefore is an important person and he has to uphold certain responsibilities and cannot let people like Falstaff sway him in the wrong direction.

`` I Have A Dream, And Do Those Dreams Come True

Who’s in charge of what people dream, and do those dreams come true? Lorraine Hansberry did a great job expressing struggles within an individual family to the society in her play, A Raisin in the Sun. The play â€Å"opened at the Barrymore Theatre in New York on March 11, 1959† (â€Å"Background† par. 1). This was before Martin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"I Have a Dream Speech† that took place on August 28, 1963; therefore, one could assume that Hansberry was experiencing the fight to gain African Americans’ rights when she was writing A Raisin in the Sun. The play helps society (white folk) and the reader understand that it doesn’t matter what race you are, everyone has similar struggles, and they can relate to the differences. Even though this particular family’s struggles are inflicted upon them because of unequal rights, the protagonist, Walter Lee Younger, could have avoided making more conflicted situations for his family. H is personality and personal struggles influenced his responsibilities in his household, and it took a great deal for him to gain the power of being in charge of his family, of becoming a man. Walter Lee Younger tends to make bad decisions. He doesn’t have very strong relationships with his family members because of his selfish ways, making him seem to be a boy instead of a man. Hansberry describes Walter Lee Younger as an â€Å"[†¦ intense young man, inclined to quick nervous movements and erratic speech habits ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€ and always in his voice there is a quality ofShow MoreRelatedA Dream Deferred By Langston Hughes990 Words   |  4 PagesThe poem â€Å"A Dream Deferred† by Langston Hughes; is about what occurs to the dream when you postpone them, instead of going for it and make it come true. Many people in this world has a dream or some sort of goal that they would like to accomplish. 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