Dom Casmurro

Moreover, writing about memory which is the groundwork of the traditional autobiographical genre is a problematic endeavor, since it is a project of conflating memory, imagination, and sometimes a conscious misrepresentation of the past. Likewise, it is a way to inscribe the discursive selves that they envision as “true” representations of their selfhoods.

One unique character in Julia Alvarez’s Before We Were Free is Mundo De La Torre, the narrator’s father. In the chaotic country of the Dominican Republic, people are rebelling against the dreaded dictator, Rafael Trujillo. Mundo is part of this resistance, and he gives his life away in an attempt to liberate his country. He uses his courage and intellect to achieve his goal and assassinate Trujillo. When he was not plotting against the government, he was also being a father of three children. He always wants the best for his family, and he will do anything to grant them a good life. Throughout the novel, it is conveyed that Mundo De La Torre is a static (one that does not undergo important change in the course of the story), and a round character (one that is complex and undergoes development), persisting with his hatred for Rafael Trujillo, and devoting his life to protect his family.

The reader sympathizes with Enrique as he is making his seventh attempt to reach his mother. It is this small glimmer of hope that propels him through his treacherous journey all though he, yet again, fails. The author uses “pathos,” the emotional appeal, heavily throughout this chapter in order to grab the audience’s attention. She wants the reader to empathize with Enrique, an archetypal martyr with heroic behavior. The narrator describes the cruelty and suffering of the gangsters, bandits, “la migra” and others. “Enrique thinks of his mother…she will never know what happened.”(Nazario) Nazario uses stream-of-consciousness reflections such as this to cause the reader to subsequently reflect on their own families, and how one would react to this circumstance. Although Nazario uses pathetic writing, she does not make a fully-pathos driven argument such as that of Leslie Marmon Silko’s “The Border Patrol State.” In fact, Enrique’s Journey is written in exposition mode with anecdotes within narratives, which purports as journalistic rather than objective, or biased, writing. It is through this writing style that Nazario builds her credibility, or “ethos.” The exposition mode lays out the effects throughout Enrique’s path as well as brings extent of the hazards to fruition for the

Authors often break away from the traditional narrative format and formulate a story consisting of flashbacks to give the reader insight on information and events not previously given to us. As shown in Oscar Casares’ short story, Mrs. Perez, flashbacks are combined within the story of her life.

The short story of Benito Cereno cannot do much justice the first time around, as one must read it a minimum of two times to really understand the material. Melville's prose, which is paced rather slow and methodically, diction, and syntax, is not hard to read, but is quite difficult to piece together. However, as the strange incidents begin to pile up – the young black slave hitting the white boy without any reprimand from Cereno, the Spanish sailors seeming to motion to him, the whispering between Cereno and Babo, and the two blacks knocking down the sailors – the readers, as Delano himself, soon discover that all is not what meets the eye.

Knowing the historical context of a work is crucial to understanding both its general meaning and its deeper essence. Often times, authors use their works as outlets to freely express their personal feelings toward a social trend or issue. As such, the time in which a story is written can have a strong influence on the message the author is trying to convey to his or her reader. Their personal reflections can be asserted in many ways; among the most common being through the characters themselves and their development throughout the work, the setting, and the implied themes.

“Most times the stories were little more than anecdotes, short of breath and short of life.”

Often as apart of the Hero's journey, the main character or characters undergo a journey in which the way they see the world is changed. In Raymond Carver’s ‘Cathedral’, the narrator is troubled by Robert’s, his wife’s friend, visit and blindness. Through the narrative the narrator obliviousness is transformed. ‘A General in the Library’ By Italo Calvino, demonstrates how General Fedina and his officials overcome censorship and suppression through knowledge and the transformative power of books. In ‘A General in the Library’ By Italo Calvino and Raymond Carver’s ‘Cathedral’, both protagonists undergo obstacles resulting in a change of perspective after impromptus event that alters their lives and precipitates an

In both “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado”, the stories bear mentally ill narrators with contrasting personalities. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the unidentified narrator begins his tale by telling the reader that he is not mad, “ Harken! And observe how healthily-how calmly I can tell you the whole story”. Throughout the story, he continues his reassurances, even as the symptoms become glaringly obvious to the reader. Near the end of the story, the reader can most clearly see the crazy attributes of the narrator. He begins to lose his mind as he tries to cover up the beating of the heart, “ I foamed-I raved-I swore! I swung the chair…and grated it upon the boards”(p. 110), and the noise that the narrator believes to be the old man’s heart leads him to such a high point of hysteria that he confesses to the murder. The narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” is undoubtedly mad, as shown in his acts in the story, however, in “The Cask of Amontillado”, the narrator, Montresor, is more calculated and composed. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor explains that he will “not only punish but punish with impunity”(p. 75). He’s assured that he will achieve revenge without receiving punishment, which makes it noticeable that he has a cunning plan to kill Fortunato. Montresor also knows that “he had a weak spot…he prided himself on his connoisseurship of wine”(p. 75), and he uses this knowledge against Fortunato to draw him into the catacombs. When Montresor tells Fortunato about the Amontillado, he is intoxicated and easier to manipulate, thus easier to lead into his trap. It’s evident that Montresor calculated every

During the Story the Cask of Amontillado there was a lot of interesting mood swings and the story progressed. In the beginning the story was cheerful and it was a carnival and everyone was happy. When Montresor finally told Fortunato what was going on it changed to scary and messed up. The Suspense in this story was built around Montresor talking at the beginning about what his plan was and how he wasn't caught doing it. “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking today!” is a quote that displays the beginning of the story as Montresor deceives Fortunato into thinking he is his friend(Poe 58).

The decision I made about the choice of appearance and reality as the theme to analyze is the right decision because it made me understand the use of verbal irony and relate to real-world problems. ”’We will go back. Your health is precious’”(Beers et al. 289).In the short story is illustrated “The Cask of Amontillado.” This quote supports my claim since it explains how Montresor is concerned about Fortunato’s health, but in reality, he is not worried about his well-being instead he wants Fortunato dead. Likewise, it demonstrates real world problems such as some people may wear a face mask that we observe what the person wants to show through, but we may not know what lies behind the mask .

Throughout the autobiographical narrative written by Gary Soto, many different literary elements are used to recreate the experience of his guilty six-year old self. Different elements such as contrast, repetition, pacing, diction, and imagery. Soto narrates this story as a young boy at a time when he seems to be young and foolish, Soto foolmaking mistakes, but at the same time hoping to learn from them. Soto uses each of these devices to convey different occurrences in the narrative.

The novel’s “precise detailing of the time of each event and the matter-of-fact usage of language” helps to bring this style to life (Pelayo 116).

Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of murder and revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado”, offers a unique perspective into the mind of a deranged murderer. The effectiveness of the story is largely due to its first person point of view, which allows the reader a deeper involvement into the thoughts and motivations of the protagonist, Montresor. The first person narration results in an unbalanced viewpoint on the central conflict of the story, man versus man, because the reader knows very little about the thoughts of the antagonist, Fortunato. The setting of “The Cask of Amontillado”, in the dark catacombs of Montresor’s wine cellar, contributes to the story’s theme that some people will go

Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories always attract our attention by the images of murders, terrors, madmen, and mysteries. “The Cast of Amontillado” is Poe’s famous short story, which presents us a cold-blooded murder and two persons with personality flaws. This essay will make a contrast between the two characters by analyzing their characteristics and their psychological changes as the plot develops in order to understand the theme of this story.