As an astute philosopher once declared “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (Aristotle). This idea is called synergy and it means that teamwork leads to great benefits. This teamwork is demonstrated in the movie Dead Poet’s Society when Mr. Keating repeats “Or if you are slightly more daring O Captain, my Captain” (Dead Poets Society). He forces his class to work together and the results are astonishing. Characters in American literature do the same as they endure bad situations, which causes them to seek help from others and ultimately realize that they’re part of the oversoul. Those bad situations greatly impacted the characters and their actions. Seeking help was the only option after those situations occurred. After receiving …show more content…
Through this, the characters eventually seek help and companionship from family and friends. In The Grapes of Wrath migrants are forced out of their homes and move West in hopes of attaining a better life. When “a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the screaming fact that sounds through history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed. The great owners ignored the three cries of history. The land fell into fewer hands, the number of dispossessed increased, and every effort of the great owners was directed at repression” (Steinbeck, 249). Desperate times call for desperate measures and many migrants were forced to resort to crime. Wealthy land owners ignored the migrants, but bad situations bind them together and eventually they will become too strong and large to ignore. Alone the migrants are weak, but together they are unstoppable. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden faces a very different problem. His loneliness causes him to “trying to feel some kind of good-by. I mean I’ve left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don’t care if it’s a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t, you feel even worse” (Salinger, 7). Holden has no one, or so he thinks. This leads to a very unhealthy mental state and almost causes Holden’s suicide. His family and friends are the only ones who can help him. Sadly, family couldn’t save Ashoke Ganguli. Ashima gets a horrible call with a nurse saying “‘I’m very sorry, ma’am,’ The young woman repeats. ‘We’ve been trying to reach you.’ And the the young woman tells her that the patient, Ashoke Ganguli, her husband, has expired” (Lahiri, 168). Ashoke’s death is irreversible, but leads to a reunion of their
John Steinbeck's work, The Grapes of Wrath, involves many moving motifs and ideas that are as culturally relevant now as they were when he wrote the novel in 1939. One of the topics that was especially common in the novel was migration. These quotes expertly describe the conflict that migration causes within society. Chapter 19, however, is solely dedicated to this topic. For the purposes of this close reading, I will be analyzing the beginning of this chapter.
John Steinbeck was an author who wrote 27 different books. He wrote a book in 1929 and it was his first successful one. The name of the first book he made was Cup of Gold. As a young man John Steinbeck worked with his father at a food and grain store.
Holden’s Greatest Challenge In a shocking article, Addictions, lack of motivation, and even suicide can be caused by depression. J.D. Salinger’s 1951 novel, The Catcher in the Rye, shows a sensitive, lonely 16-year old who has gone to New York and experiences many dilemmas between himself and other people. Depression is Holden’s greatest challenge because it affects his thinking and actions. Although some may think growing up is Holden’s greatest challenge, it is not since Holden’s daily life is filled with sadness.
Holden never stops thinking about his younger brother. This causes Holden to question the meaning of life and everything around him. It also brings about thoughts of suicide, feelings of loneliness, and thinks about his displeasure with the world. Holden states, “I felt so depressed, you can’t imagine” (Salinger 110). He experienced such a strong feeling of sadness, he realizes he doesn’t know what to do with himself anymore.
Sometimes when one pushes people away, it is to protect themselves. In the Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger’s protagonist, Holden Caulfield, creates reoccurring gestures of isolation throughout the novel. Holden clearly suggests the requirement of love and affection, however, fails to generate the opportunity to maintain a formulated conversation. During his childhood experiences, Holden becomes emotionally scarred which brings him to push people away. As Holden believes he is protecting himself, he is actually harming himself, as well.
In Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, is challenged by the world around him. One of the main issues he faces is “ . . . constantly [feeling] as if he is being surrounded by his enemies. (Huber and Ledbetter 254)”
In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck follows the Joad family as they suffer the hardships caused by the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. The most important lesson people can learn from the novel is the value of a human life. Although the 1930’s was a low point in American society, the ill-treatment of human beings is still relevant today. Just like Jim Casy’s philosophy, it is important to fight for the rights of the people and their dignity. There are several examples of oppression in The Grapes of wrath.
John Steinbeck, in the novel, Grapes of Wrath, identifies the hardships and struggle to portray the positive aspects of the human spirit amongst the struggle of the migrant farmers and the devastation of the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck supports his defense by providing the reader with imagery, symbolism and intense biblical allusions. The author’s purpose is to illustrate the migrant farmers in order to fully exploit their positive aspects in the midst of hardships. Steinbeck writes in a passionate tone for an audience that requires further understanding of the situation.
The novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, delves into the theme of alienation as a form of self-protection, through three main motifs which are embodied by the protagonist, Holden Caufield. Holden is a teenager struggling with finding “real” relationships, resulting in him continuously retreating into loneliness and frequently lying to most people he encounters daily. These actions carried out by Holden reflect the three main motifs of the story which are loneliness, relationships, and lying/deception. The nature of Holden’s actions within the novel displays his enigma of emotions, as he wants to speak to others and create relationships with them, but also says they are “phony” which pushes him back into his shell of isolation.
Since the book came out in 1939, everyone has had a opinion on the ending to John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. It has a very controversial ending, that Steinbeck thought would name the last nail into the coffin, so to speak, on how bad the dust bowl and moving west really was. The ending starts when the Joad family is threatened with a flood, so they make their way to a old barn where they find a boy and his old father. The boy says his father is starving, and that he can’t keep anything solid down. He needs something like soup or milk.
The tone of chapter 11 in John Steinbeck's, “The Grapes of Wrath,” is sympathetic, sad and hopeless. His word choice and syntax show how the sad houses were left to decay in the weather. His use of descriptive words paints a picture in the reader's mind. As each paragraph unfolds, new details come to life and adds to the imagery. While it may seem unimportant, this intercalary chapter shows how the effects of the great depression affected common households.
In the novel The Catcher In The Rye written by J. D. Salinger shows that Holden goes through his journey and is depressed because of his isolation from
Alienation In The Catcher In The Rye In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, loneliness is the main topic of the book. The main character Holden Caulfield is an outsider from the beginning, which makes it easier for him to feel lonely. In the book he talks about the things leading up to him getting expelled from Pencey Prep, a private school, and the events that occur after. Holden Caulfield desperately wants human companionship but since he isn’t mature enough and he dislikes human interaction, he ends up being alone.
In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the chapters alternate between two perspectives of a story. One chapter focuses on the tenants as a whole, while the other chapter focuses specifically of a family of tenants, the Joads, and their journey to California. Chapter 5 is the former and Steinbeck does an excellent job of omniscient third person point of view to describe the situation. Chapter 5’s main idea is to set the conflict and let the readers make connections between Steinbeck’s alternating chapters with foreshadowing. Steinbeck is effectual in letting readers make connections both to the world and the text itself with the use of exposition, and symbolism.
When Ashima found out that her husband Ashoke had died from a heart attack, she was devastated (Lahiri 168). After Ashoke’s death, Ashima began to mourn her husband because she had lost someone she had loved. Ashoke’s death was a tragic time for Ashima. Lahiri shares that “Ashima feels lonely suddenly, horribly, permanently alone, and briefly, turned away from the mirror, she sobs for her husband” (278). Ashoke’s death has made Ashima feel alone and shows how much she misses her husband.