Essays on Character Traits

Lorrie Moore’s “You’re Ugly, Too”, examines the inner thoughts and day-to-day life of a single history professor, Zoë Hendricks. Zoë is characterized as being eccentric and wildly different from those around her, and in turn, socially inept. Through her train of thought, we are able to see that Zoë is preoccupied with her own shortcomings, both in her appearance and in her social relationships. Moore’s choice to set her story in the conventional and homogenous American Midwest serves to show…...

In both his works of fiction, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Greenleaf”, Flannery O'Conner paints a rather grim picture. The protagonists in both the short stories share several common traits. In the story, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, the Grandmother, who remains unnamed throughout, is a vile woman, who is also selfish and a complete hypocrite. Yet, she continues to judge other people for what she perceives to be their shortcomings. She is a woman…...

In the two poems Ted Hughes’s, “Hawk Roosting,” and Mark Doty’s, “Golden Retrievals”, the writers use tone and visual imagery to present the animals’ unique point of view in the poems. The tone of “Hawk Roosting” is powerful, sinister, and arrogant compared to the lighthearted, playful tone that is set in “Golden Retrievals.” The hawk’s monologue in “Hawk Roosting” shows how the Hawk sees the world with such power and a sense of ownership as he tells the reader that…...

The Breakfast Club is a 1985 film based on five students from entirely different social groups forced to spend an eight hour Saturday detention together for their own individual reasons. The five students were all given the same assignment, to write an essay about “who you think you are" and the acts they committed to end up in Saturday detention. As high school students of course they put off the assignment until the last minute and instead they passed the…...

The norms of society are infectiously pervasive. Sometimes it’s these norms, which don’t let the society appreciate the potential it has causing the innocent victims of society to turn into criminals. It is not just the society which plays a role in creating criminals in fact family and home life is quite influential as well. We notice this when Mayella a nineteen-year-old commits the unspeakable crime of accusing a black man of a rape who is completely innocent. Even though…...

‘Miss Havisham’ is a bitter and twisted character from the novel ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens. Carol Ann Duffy takes this character and explores her tragic life in the poem ‘Havisham’. Duffy uses Dark themes, structure, symbolism and other poetic techniques to express Havisham’s hatred for men after her tragic wedding when she was rejected by her fiancé. Duffy’s use of these poetic techniques create a sinister character and makes Havisham feel real to the reader. To begin the poem…...

La Boit Theatre’s showcase of Cosi written by Louis Nowra and directed by David Berthold is an emotional play, talking of Love and fidelity. Self’s perception of other people; whether or not love is a strong enough reason to trust one another. Two excerpts centred on different themes will be analysed. This analysis will bring to light certain dramatic elements and viewpoints of time, body and space that Berthold has used to enhance the dramatic meaning of this production. Cosi…...

William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily,” is very interesting and unusual. My first reaction after reading the entire short story was just complete shock that anyone can be capable of something so gross to put it simply. When reading through the story, it is written in a very confusing way. The reader has to be actively reading the story or you will miss something which I did the first time reading through it. I was lost until I…...

At the beginning of the novel it takes us through the daily routine of Ben Richards. It shows just how bleak his life is and begins to show us the divide between the rich and the poor. Richards explains that "every development had"(1) a free-vee and that "it was the law"(1) which shows that the games network is almost forcing their own idea of acceptable which is forcing their society to adapt to it. It explains the troubles that Richards…...

Edward Scissor Hands (1990) by Tim Burton, is a romantic fantasy film centred upon a character, Edward (Johnny Depp), an uncommonly gentleman who is in fact an unfinished creation equipped with scissors for hands. Edward is taken in a by a suburban family (the Boggs) and quickly falls in love with the daughter Kim (Winona Ryder). To begin with Edward’s love for Kim is unrequited however as the film progresses we see Kim slowly fall for Edward and their love…...

Although “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman and “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike are both about the reflection of honorary greatness achieved in their lives as athletes, the speakers possess different views and attitudes towards their characters in each poem. In “To an Athlete Dying Young” the speaker shares a positive reflection of the characters accomplishments that takes place due to the death of that character dying at a young age: “To-day, the road all runners come, /…...

A discussion of Ben Jonson's The Alchemist as an allegory is, in truth, a little difficult. The reason why this is so is that The Alchemist is in the genre of farce not that of allegory. However, while a work may not be definitively an allegory, through the process of allegoresis it may be critically read as an allegory in part or in whole. Allegoresis is the process by which a work that is not written as an allegory--like for…...

As I started the procedure of preparing for this week's projects and I discovered that a great offer of focus was being put on personality trait screening, I need to state I was a little bit worried as I have never truly put much stock into those particular types of tests being very precise. But after reading chapters 7 and 8 in our text Personality: Theory and Research, the post on Gordon Allport, and most particularly taking the self tracking…...

“On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” by John Keats is a poem widely recognised by critics as a pivotal moment in his development as a poet; this work is evidence of his complete mastery of the sonnet form (of which he wrote 64 in total). This poem was a key evolutionary process which would help him construct the development of his own poetic legacy: the Great Odes. Keats was enthralled by the sonnet form because it presented a challenge: to…...

In Fitzgerald’s novel there is typically more focus on Nick Carraway, the narrator and James Gatsby, who the novel is named after, rather than the secondary characters. However, Daisy is in some way important, because she is what steers the novels course of action due to Gatsby’s love for her. Daisy is what influences his lifestyle and eventually his death. Some people say that Daisy is a victim of both Tom Buchanan and James Gatsby, but this interpretation of her…...

El Presidente was a film which portrays the happenings from the past when colonization of other country started while Emilio Aguinaldo was the president. After watching the film, though we watched it bit by bit because of limited time, I can say it was still worth it, because it at least showed to us the events in the past with the creativity of the people behind it. The film was good. I enjoyed watching it, though in some parts of it…...

The novel that I have chosen is The Curse by Lee Su Ann. In this novel there are a few strong characters. Among these characters, the character that I think has strongly influenced the others in a negative way is Puan Normala. Puan Normala, one of the villagers, is described by Siti as a “slimy cobra with a three-forked tongue.” Nobody likes the gossips that she spreads. Branded as a rumour-monger, I find that she easily influences the narrow minded…...

The tale of Cinderella is encoded as a text of patriarchal moral instruction in which a sense of female agency will always by definition be absent. In this folk tale, which is also a fairytale, female character is positioned in terms of what it is not: not dominant, not powerful, not male. Cinderella herself, non-hero of a dubious tale, evinces more depth than most archetypes. She is capable of developing relationships, meting forgiveness, manipulating her own destiny, even of attracting…...

Mary Maloney shows to be an interesting character in this story. She fits well with the dramatic paradox, tone, symbolism, and the general theme of the story since of the fantastic characterization done on her character. Dahl, at the start of the story, establishes the facility that the reader need to exclusively understand with her character. Constantly, he keeps building the pretense that she is a sweet, innocent lamb (which is a major theme); just capable of following the followers…...

Like many great authors throughout time, Dante Alighieri demonstrates the underlying significance of female characters in his epic, The Inferno. Due to the misconceptions men had of women during this era, women were granted much less societal acceptance and were easily labelled as seductresses. More so, Beatrice’s character suggests a much deeper relationship to Dante – one more than plain, physical love. In this sense, the women in this poem partake in two very distinct roles: either the divine love…...

The main characters who struck me the most are Uma and her brother Arun; to them are dedicated the two parts of the novel. Personally I think they have a lot of things in common and I’m not only considering the fact that they belong to the same close-knit family: they are somehow subjected to a reality from which they both want to escape. Uma is the plainest character of the novel, I think: she always obeys her parents and…...

Reflection: This kind of article is somewhat made to be funny upon criticism although some of his statements are true but need adequate citation of example. The author’s points are thoughts of a typical charlatan English 101 passer that wants to show off his talent in composition of proses like this one. Nevertheless, I will give my comments on the statement given by him. First, the author’s claim of Filipinos’ uniqueness when it comes to humor didn’t work. The statement…...

People in life who are unware of how they affect others, brings out their struggle with ignorance. This ignorance can hit every aspect of their life. In the short story by D. H. Lawrence, “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, a young boy named Paul encounters a rough lifestyle due to fact that nothing is ever good enough for his dear mother, Hester. He takes the burden on himself, and tries to reclaim everything that his mother desperately longs for. As young as…...

When Beowulf is retold from Grendel’s point of view many different assumptions can be made when evaluating and comparing Grendel to Beowulf. The sympathy, which Grendel withholds, represents his innocence and how he isn’t just a “monster.” Due to this reason, readers feel very sympathetic towards Grendel compared to Beowulf due to the fact that he is incoherent to the many actions humans perform. Readers who have read Beowulf notice the different in Grendel’s character from Beowulf to Grendel due…...

Answer: Joseph Addison and Richard Steele were the two distinguished essayists of the 18th century England who flourished and flowered English prose to its highest peak. However, in the essay collection entitled “The Coverley Paper”Sir Roger de Coverley is the best creation by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. His character is a well mixture of hospitality, humanity, love, helpfulness, disappointment, superstition, singularities, kindness, honesty and goodness. However, through the character of Sir Roger the above mentioned satirists tried their utmost…...

The text under study is taken from the book “The Complete Short Stories of L.P. Hartley” written by L.P. Hartley. Leslie Poles Hartley, an English novelist and the son of a solicitor was educated at Oxford’s College and for more than twenty years he was a fiction viewer for magazines. He wrote a lot of novels and made a great contribution to English fiction. “W.S.” was published posthumously in 1973. The genre chosen by the writer dictates the adoption of…...

In the classic Shakespeare play, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Brutus make speeches at Caesars funeral. While Mark Antony was trying to justify to the Romans his reasoning behind killing Caesar, while, on the other hand Brutus had basically said he disagreed with the men who murdered Caesar, he said his speech with very intelligent wording to get the Romans to think for themselves instead of just being told how to think by Mark Antony. Brutus’s speech was more directed…...

Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old teenager with thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs, attends a cancer patients' support group at her mother's behest. During a support meeting, Hazel meets a 17-year-old teenage boy named Augustus Waters, whose osteosarcoma caused him to lose his leg. Augustus is at the meeting to support his mutual friend, Isaac, who is losing his remaining eye to cancer. The two bond immediately after the meeting and Augustus invites Hazel to his house where…...

How does Steinbeck present Lennie and George in the 1st chapter? Lennie and George’s father and son like relationship is clearly one of love, although from the beginning we sense George’s frustration due to Lennie’s constant childish behaviour. George is very protective over Lennie, “Lennie for God’s sake don’t drink so much!” because he has been told to look after him by his “Aunt Clara”. George does like having Lennie around as he says, “No you stay with me”. As…...

Characters are what draw the reader into a work of fiction. Analyzing another person’s thoughts and feelings is fascinating, so it is crucial that an author depicts a complex character that will occupy the reader’s minds. Many characters surprise us through the course of a story, developing in unexpected ways. An author can use various literary devices to reveal their characters gradually. Hernando Téllez wrote a short story called ‘Just Lather, That’s All’ that contains two contrasting characters. ‘The Harness’,…...

In the fiction" A Rose for Emily ",Miss Emily's life in particular its gruesome and saddened by the outcome of Tan Wan and as well as the central figure in the daily lives of the other two - her father, her dead lover's fate, should not only to us Bring thriller, and the offensive suppressed, perhaps, there should be more apprehensive and thinking, because this can be called Faulkner's short story on behalf of its work, its title has been…...

Arthur Miller wrote this play in 1955. He has written many other plays including All My Sons, which was a success at Broadway. Miller was born in 1915, in New York City, but both his parent had emigrated to the US. This play revolves around emigration, so Miller has had a lot of personal experience. This play is based in the late 1940’s, just after the Second World War, when many people were emigrating to the US, looking for a…...

Actions Guleri is the Wife of Manak, she is in love with Manak, and they been married over 7 years, she is unable too have children with Manak, and this leads too a consequence of Guleri´s suicide, The reasons for her actions are that, she feels shes not fulfilling the duty of a wife. In terms of expanding the family three. Guleri makes a choice by committing suicide, when she finds out that Manak was forced too find a different…...

The tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was first produced around 1595, since when it has been one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays. Taking place in Verona, Italy, it is set against the background of a constant feud between two rival families, the Capulets and the Montagues. At a party at the Capulet’s house, one of the Montagues, a young man called Romeo, falls in love at first sight with Juliet, Lord Capulet’s only child. She returns his love and they…...

I question whether these two people in the story are having an affair, back together after a divorce, or whatever? Something as simple as bread can lead to that answer. The bread is much like their relationship, actually exactly like it. "We were hungry. We went into a Bakery on Grand Avenue and bought bread. Filled the backseat. The whole car smelled of bread. Big sourdough loaves shaped like a fat ass"(Cisneros 84). It was an affair. They were lusting…...

I chose to write a comparison essay on Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and William Faulkner's "Barn Burning". Both of these stories share central characters with similar personalities as well as similar themes and conflicts through the stories. The Grandmother, in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", is an old woman with old-fashioned ideas and manners. She considers herself to be a good person, but she is also very selfish and manipulative. She makes up…...

One of the most central issues in 'The Merchant of Venice' is that of the antagonism between the Jews and the Christians. The unconscious, inborn dislike of cultures which jeopardise our way of life. Ever since people have left their homelands to settle in other places there has been conflict between different cultures. So, in the play, Antonio, Bassanio, Gratiano and many more of the Christians feel resentment towards Shylock the 'alien'. This is partly because of the trap that…...

This essay is generally about how the author of the short story, Hawthorne, wants to show the world that perfection is not beauty and that science should not alter the way that nature set man on this world to be. He was a major asset to the transcendental movement, and this short story is a perfect example why. In Nathaniel Hawthorne'sThe Birthmark, the main character, Aylmer, wants to have a perfect wife. His wife, Georgiana, is a very beautiful woman…...

It is impossible for a human being to fulfill all the ideals of the Chivalric Code and the seven Cardinal Virtues. Christian knights lived by the Chivalric Code to gain honor, but it was not possible even for the best and purest knights to always stick to these conventions of courtesy, generosity, loyalty, consistency, chastity, poverty, valor and skill. In addition to these components of the Chivalric Code, a knight was to follow the seven Cardinal Virtues, which were justice,…...

Barbara Kimenye's "The Winner," is an excellent example of a short story that does not necessarily use all five of the literary elements to their fullest potential, but still creates a sense of organic unity. In this analysis, the elements are organized in the order of theme, plot, characterization, setting, and then structure. Each element will be described and then "The Winner" and the events in it will be related to the elements. The purpose of the theme of a…...