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kendallrdunn

CRITICAL CONTEXTS: From Sham to "Gentle Christian Man" in Great Expectations. - 0 views

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    Argument: Respectability can be found in all men, regardless of social status and the stigmas of the Victorian era. Philip Pirrip, also known as Pip, is the protagonist in Dickens novel Great Expectations. As the protagonist, he grows from a young orphan raised by his sister and her Blacksmith husband to a 'good christian man' showing the positive transition that is possible for all men. Main Idea of Argument: Where one comes from does not limit where they can go- a major theme in most Dickens novels. All levels of Victorian society were respectable, regardless of money- or lack therefore of- religion, and disabilities. Evidence: 1)"Charles Dickens believed that his society wrongly valued economic transactions over natural human interactions, which resulted in a minous transference of commercial interests from the public sphere into the private" (Tobin 1). 2)"Dickens himself was conflicted about his right to respectability, and many of his characters suffer the strain of not knowing where or how they flt in. Dickens's father, John, was perpetually in debt, which led to Dickens's brief employment in Warren's Blacking Factory at the age of twelve. Dickens was so ashamed of having been forced to leave school and do manual labor that he never told anyone in his own family about the incident. After his father's debts were cleared and Dickens grew to manhood, he worked his way up the social ladder, initially applying his skills as a shorthand writer at the various courts of law in London and as a journalist" (Tolbin 3). 3) "Pip's transferring onto Joe his own feelings of inferiority as well as his desires to eradicate their outward appearances signal the young man's first step toward adopting an immoral and inhumane ideal of respectability" (Tobin 5). 4)"Over time, Pip comes to recognize Magwitch as a human being with emotions and the right to be treated in a decent, humane manner. However, Pip does not completely transfer the compassion he leamed during his own
kendallrdunn

From Caricature to Character: The intellectually Disabled in Dickens Novels (Part One) - 0 views

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    Argument: Paul Marchbanks, in his three part literary criticism of Dickens novels, From Caricature to Character: The Intellectually Disabled in Dickens Novels, make the assertion that Dickens usage of intellectually and physically disabled protagonists (as well as smaller secondary and even background characters) brought these otherwise hidden character types to the forefront of the Victorian literary scene. Main Idea of Argument: -Victorian authors spun disability into a spectacle, like a freak show in a circus, but Dickens used the disabilities of the characters as a conflict that tried to hold them back, that they had to either over come, or grow to accept. Evidence: -"The physically disabled character's very distinctiveness can lead, not only to isolation from those other fictional persons who react with distancing pity or disgust, but to a kind of representational disconnect from those real-world individuals with disabilities whose numbers-recognized within the boundary of the novel or short story-would strip the character's exceptional disability of its rhetorical power" (Marchbanks 1). -"Dickens's first three novels bespeak a ready advocate for victims of many kinds of social injustice. The Pickwick Papers (1836-7), Oliver Twist (1837-9), and Nicholas Nickleby (1838-9) together establish what will become life-long, very loud sympathies for the destitute, the orphaned, the poorly educated, and the imprisoned debtor" (Marchbanks 1-2). -"Dickens appears unable, or unwilling, to present a coherent portrait of Smike's mental faculties. Here, the narrator prevents unequivocal praise of Smike's heroic intentions by mixing proof of his valor with doubt about whether the boy's scattered "thoughts" are even worth the name. Other inconsistencies emerge if one considers the former evidence of Smike's faulty memory in conjunction with his surprising ability to navigate London's winding streets, not only those walked multiple times with
Heather Patterson

Literary Criticism:The Three Musketeers - 0 views

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    Argument: Bill Delaney argues the weaknesses of Dumas's work, The Three Musketeers, and how these weaknesses contribute to the effectiveness of the novel itself. Claims: Along with a synopsis of the novel itself, Delaney establishes the importance of the main characters in the story and what it is about these characters that makes their role so effective. Delaney also establishes the idea that Dumas knew how to "please an audience", which explains why Dumas was able to create characters that had a large impact on his readers. Evidence: "He had a genius for plotting and understood that the most important element in a plot is a strongly motivated protagonist who will not stop until he or she has either achieved the goal or gone down in defeat."
Beth Anne Brock

Seperation of Mormonism and writing - 0 views

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    Arguement: Dragging out religious beliefs, Stephanie Meyers subtly implies own morals into her novels to avoid typical media that encourages sensuality. Claim: "'It doesn't matter where you're stuck in life or what you think you have to do; you can always choose something else. There's always a different path.'" Meyers choices the theme of choosing a different path through abstinence to portray the protagonists' relationship, and abstinence is a similar belief in Meyer's religion Mormonism. Evidence: "'Just because I'm resisting the wine doesn't mean I can't appreciate the bouquet'".
fassica tesfaye

"The Protagonist's Response to Power and Language in the Dystopian Nove" by Susan Eliza... - 0 views

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    Argument: Novels can be classifies as dystopian if it contains certain factors that reveal language and discourse as a fundamental device of power. Claim: The society portrayed in Fahrenheit 451, shows that ignorance is shared amongst all the people in order to make sure that happiness is attainable for all. The use of language and power and discourse portrays the society's flaws and the need for change. In addition, the difference of power and language between each character displays the need to rebel against society Evidence: "The government of this society has perverted the meaning of happiness into basic hedonism so that happiness is attainable for anyone who is willing to buy into the array of commercial products" (valentine). "...discourse on commercial happiness feeds into the narcissism of people by depriving them of emotions and awareness beyond their own needs"(Valentine).
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