Psychological Literary Analysis on Hands

Psychological Literary Analysis on Hands

In Hands, Anderson treats Wing Biddlebaum's problem very tactfully. Described as fat, frightened, and nervous, the old man seems too feeble to be dangerous. His bald forehead — noticed because his nervous hands fiddle about arranging non-existent hair — suggests his loss of strength and virility. Even the description of the former teacher's caressing of his students sounds quite possibly innocent. The picture of Adolph Myers with the boys of his school is similar to the dream which Wing tries to describe to George, a "pastoral golden age" in which clean-limbed young men gathered about the feet of an old man who talked to them.

Wing has not realized this dream. It was because a half-witted boy imagined forbidden things. Adolph Myers was driven from a Pennsylvania town in the night. He was growled at by the saloon keeper to keep his hands by himself. Here, Anderson criticizes how cruel the people are as it hounds anything intelligible for them.

The former teacher was estranged and terrified. Wing’s life turned into a nightmare. The fact that George Willard never comes, that in fact nothing really happens in the story, underpins our cognizance of the old man's downfall and disillusion. His life no longer has any climaxes. His is still all the while and doesn’t unfold.

Hands is about – yes – hands of Wing Biddlebaum "an imprisoned bird," an image reinforced not only by his nickname but by the reader's last glance of him, picking up bread crumbs from the floor. As in so many of the Winesburg stories, its setting is night, suggesting the dark misery of the lives of Anderson's characters. As Wing kneels on the floor, he is described as being "like a priest engaged in some service of his church." This image, plus the old man's persecution by society and his desire to show his love for others by the laying on of his hands, may make Wing seem to be a Christ-like figure.

Although "Hands" is the story of Wing Biddlebaum, we are also introduced to George Willard, the young reporter who appears in many of the Winesburg tales. Like Wing, George has creative impulses, but at this point, as Wing tells George, "You are afraid of dreams. You want to be like others in town here . . . You must begin to dream . . . You must shut your ears to the roaring of the voices." For the time being, however, George is afraid to forget the voices, to be different. He has wondered, for example, about Wing's secret, has realized that there is something wrong in Wing's life, but has decided, "I don't want to know what it is." As the book develops, George will get more involved with other people, will begin to get below the surface of life, and will decide to be different and flee Winesburg so that he can become a writer.

Another change that also seems effective occurs in the sentence, "He raised the hands [changed from "his hands"] to caress the boy." This change makes Wing's hands a personification with a will of their own and thus conveys the helplessness of a man controlled by his compulsions. In this helplessness lies the power of the story; "Hands" haunts us because we recognize in Wing Biddlebaum our own helplessness and we see how thoughtlessly society can persecute what it does not understand. Perhaps we see ourselves in both Wing and in the society that has ruined his life.

Source: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/w/winesburg-ohio/summary-and-analysis/hands

Post-Modern Analysis on Moulin Rouge

Post-Modern Analysis on Moulin Rouge

SYNOPSIS

In the year 1900, a depressed writer named Christian begins writing on his typewriter ("Nature Boy"). One year earlier, Christian moved to the Montmartre district of Paris to become a writer among members of the area's Bohemian movement. He encounters performers led by Toulouse-Lautrec; his writing skills allow them to finish their proposed show, "Spectacular Spectacular", that they wish to sell to Harold Zidler, owner of the Moulin Rouge. The group arrives at the Moulin Rouge as Zidler and his "Diamond Dog Dancers" perform for the audience ("Lady Marmalade/Zidler's Rap (Can Can)/Smells Like Teen Spirit"). Toulouse arranges for Christian to see Satine, the star courtesan, in her private quarters to present the work, unaware that Zidler is promising Satine to the wealthy and unscrupulous Duke of Monroth, a potential investor in the cabaret ("Sparkling Diamonds" medley). Satine mistakes Christian for the Duke, and dances with him before retiring to her private chamber with him to discuss things privately ("Rhythm of the Night), but soon learns he is just a writer; by this time Christian has fallen in love with her ("Your Song"). The Duke interrupts them; Christian and Satine claim they were practicing lines for "Spectacular Spectacular". With Zidler's help, Toulouse and the rest of the troupe pitch the show to the Duke with an improvised plot about an evil maharajah attempting to woo an Indian courtesan who loves a poor sitar player ("The Pitch (Spectacular Spectacular)"). The Duke backs the show on the condition that only he may see Satine. Satine contemplates on Christian and her longing to leave the Moulin Rouge to become "a real actress" ("One Day I'll Fly Away"). Christian goes back to Satine to convince her that she loves him ("Elephant Love Medley"). As the cabaret is converted to a theater, Christian and Satine continue seeing each other under the pretense of rehearsing Satine's lines. The Duke becomes jealous and warns Zidler that he may stop financing the show; Zidler arranges for Satine to dine with the Duke that evening, but she falls ill from tuberculosis ("Górecki"). Zidler makes excuses to the Duke, claiming that Satine has gone to confession ("Like a Virgin"). Zidler learns that Satine does not have long to live. Satine tells Christian that their relationship endangers the show, but he counters by writing a secret love song to affirm their love ("Come What May"). As the Duke watches Christian rehearsing with Satine, Nini, a jealous performer, points out that the play is a metaphor for Christian, Satine and the Duke. Enraged, the Duke demands the ending be changed so that the courtesan ends up with the maharajah; Satine offers to spend the night with the Duke to keep the original ending. At the Duke's quarters, Satine sees Christian on the streets below, and realizes she cannot go through with this ("El Tango de Roxanne: "Roxanne/Tanguera"). The Duke tries to rape her, but she is saved by Le Chocolat, one of the cabaret dancers, and reunited with Christian, who urges her to run away with him. The Duke tells Zidler he will have Christian killed if Satine is not his. Zidler reiterates this warning to Satine, but when she refuses to return, he finally informs her she is dying ("A Fool to Believe"). Satine tells Christian they can no longer see each other as she will be staying with the Duke ("The Show Must Go On"). Christian tries following her, but is denied entry to the Moulin Rouge, and becomes depressed, even though Toulouse insists that Satine loves him. The night of the show, Christian sneaks into the Moulin Rouge, intending to pay Satine to return his love just as the Duke paid for her ("Hindi Sad Diamonds"). He catches Satine before she steps on stage and demands she tell him she does not love him. Suddenly they find themselves in the spotlight; Zidler convinces the audience that Christian is the disguised sitar player. Christian denounces Satine and walks off the stage. From the rafters, Toulouse cries out, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return", spurring Satine to sing the song Christian wrote to express their love. Christian returns to the stage, joining her in the song. The Duke's bodyguard tries to kill Christian, but is thwarted, while the Duke's own attempt is stopped by Zidler. The Duke storms out of the cabaret as Christian and Satine complete their song ("Come What May (Reprise)", "Coup d'État (Finale)"). After the curtain closes, Satine succumbs to tuberculosis. She and Christian affirm their love before she dies. A year later the Moulin Rouge has closed down, and Christian is writing the tale of his love for Satine, a "love that will live forever" ("Nature Boy (Reprise)").

ANALYSIS

Playfulness.  The musical element seems over-enforced and hyperbolic, as if it is making fun of the musical genre, when in fact it is a musical. The camera work reflects chaos and action as it whip pans and cuts from character to character and produces a comical effect. The use of dance is different to other parts of the film. In the tango scene the dancing is intense and serious, here it is comical, almost slapstick, as if “Moulin Rouge” is trying to be a parody of a musical. The “Sound of Music” scene is another jibe at musicals, as Christian effectively makes up the title song on the spot.

Sense of Time. Though Moulin Rouge doesn’t involve time bending, there is an altered sense of time as the story of the Moulin Rouge is Christian’s reflection on his past and often contains flashbacks of his father. Christian is writing the film as it is happening, so the film seems like a work of fiction, instead of his life, however he is a fictional character and therefore his life is fictional.

Characters. There is the sense of mixing of genres, not just as the film combines musical with drama, comedy etc. but also because the actors are primarily actors not singers. Kylie Monogue plays herself in the guise of the “green fairy” and this along with other elements such as the singing moon and Zidler flying around the Moulin add a very fantasy-like animation quality to the film. They subtract from the realism and make “Moulin Rouge” seem much more like a story or fabrication.

Style. The film is visually flamboyant with the details of the set and costume, the intense colors and the Bohemian utopia of the Moulin Rouge and Satine’s Golden Elephant. In some ways this film could be seen as style over substance, as most of the key scenes (Elephant love medley, Can-can, the tango…) revolve around the visual quality of the costume and set, as well as the auditory quality of the modern music juxtaposed with the 19th century setting.

Intertextuality. “Moulin Rouge” is almost a pop culture bricolage, taking popular music (David Bowie, Madonna etc) and including lines such as “All you need is love” and “The show must go on.” The Elephant Love Medley is purely a combination of popular love songs. There is also the idea of a show within a show, as the musical is about the characters trying to create “Spectacular Spectacular”; a musical for the stage of the Moulin Rouge.

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/TheBevan/moulin-rouge-and-postmodernism

Marxist Literary Analysis on Pangako Sa’yo (First two weeks)

Marxist Literary Analysis on Pangako Sa’yo (First two weeks)

And Amor and Eduardo fell in love with each other.  While the latter is living in a simple home almost looking like a shack, the latter lives like a king in a castle sort of home. Despite having an arrogant mother who wants only the best (rich enough) girl for her son, Eduardo still managed to fight the love he has for Amor. It was shown how Eduardo and Amor have struggled for the love they so long keep because the social classes they belong at. Here, shown is that differing social classes doesn’t matter anymore to Eduardo. Real love is rare, so it’s worth fighting for. The rich is for both the rich and poor. The poor is both for the poor and rich. No special pairings.

However, their love was meddled by the selfish wants of Eduardo’s mother. So here she comes, setting up Eduardo a date with the illegitimate daughter of the governor named Claudia. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as it seems for Eduardo’s mom. She even has publicly humiliated Amor in a set up engagement party for Eduardo and Claudia, thus Amor crying her eyes out believing that Eduardo betrayed her. But no one can blame Eduardo’s mother. After all, for the rich, it is must for their children to also marry the one of the same social class. :)

Structuralist Analysis on Maxi-peel TV Ad

Structuralist Analysis on Maxi-peel TV Ad

“Bakit??? Ayaw kuminis! Sinabon ko naman,” A teenage girl so worried after finding out she got a pimple on the cheek exclaimed in overreaction. That is how the Maxi-peel TV ad started. It might be absurd but this commercial shows that this is how teens react on the thing, or say, should do so. It influences the youth to look at having even a single pimple is grossly a big deal. Like it’s shameful. Unnatural. And – sinister. And so it proceeds with introducing the solution to the most dreaded dilemma of the youth.

With a solution in hand, Julia Montes appeared in camera wearing his beautiful smile and fair face. Perhaps, it’s saying that when the girl used Maxi-peel too, she’ll be fairer and pimple-less as the celebrity endorser. The advertisement is somewhat screaming at the face of the audience that if they want to look like Julia, they’ should apply to their faces what she applies to hers. Evidently, the artist’s power is used in this case for wider and greater market and that is needless to say a bigger income.

Feminist Analysis on The Virgin

Feminist Analysis on The Virgin

The story revolves around the main character Miss Mijares, a writer who has all the metaphors and symbols in her side coming handy to unveil his emotions. A dependable daughter also wishing love from others, especially a man to become her companion in life. However, being the eldest daughter in the family, she is expected to fulfill her duties to the family before anything else, especially tying the knot. Her extreme desire to have a man to live with was revealed in this segment of the story: "But neither love nor glory stood behind her, only the lurking, empty shadows, and nine years gone, nine years. In the room of her unburied dead, she held up her hands to the light, noting the thick, durable fingers, thinking in a mixture of shame and bitterness and guilt that they had never touched a man."

As shown in the short story, Miss Mijares was spent a considerable of her existence in achieving the burden put on her shoulders: obtaining a college diploma, sending her niece to school, and taking care of her mother. This is the role of the eldest daughter of the Filipino family as dictated by the society.

Going back to Miss Mijares’ man hunt, a certain scenario in the story shows her romantic feelings when she became angered upon knowing that the carpenter she is targeting has a family but felt relieved all of the sudden when the latter admitted he is not wed with his son’s mother. Evidently, it reveals Miss Mijares’ flare-up of hidden regard towards the carpenter who once offered something to Miss Mijares which she liked as suggested by her laughing as she received it. By and through this, it was confirmed that she really was attracted to the carpenter as implied by her reaction.

In addition, the inner struggle of Miss Mijares was shown in the story. Striving real hard to fit in the society as how women should be, she shelled her real self but was later uncovered (not literally hough). It might be so un-you in her case but she has to do so just to adhere to the societal norms for women.

Like almost all other women, Miss Mijares’ protests are implicit, growling inside her but too afraid to go out. Torn between her socially dictated self and the real she, this symbolic protest actually created confusion within her. However, the main character should not be caged by the society forever. As the story unfolds, she learned to be a woman, the one ready to stand for what she believes in, not what the society does. She was untethered from all the societal stuffs as implied in this paragraph:

"In her secret heart, Miss Mijares' young dreams fluttered faintly to life, seeming monstrous in the rain, near this man - seeming monstrous but also sweet and overwhelming. I must get away, she thought wildly, but he had moved and brushed against her, and where his touch had fallen, her flesh leaped, and she recalled how his hands had looked that first day, lain tenderly at the edge of her desk and about the wooden bird (that had looked like a moving, shining, dove) and she turned to him: with her ruffles wet and wilted, in the dark she turned to him."

In the conclusion of the short story, Miss Mijares has shooed out of captivity the Miss Mijares she has to be, not the one who is muffled and meddled by social expectations to a woman like her. It was further shown as she is already ready to surrender her virginity, an emblem of his self-respect and respect for the man it deserved.

Deconstruction Analysis on Design

Deconstruction Analysis on Design

THE POEM

Design by Robert Frost

I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,

On a white heal-all, holding up a moth

Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth—

Assorted characters of death and blight

Mixed ready to begin the morning right,

Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth—

A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth.

And dead wings carried like a paper kite.

What had that flower to do with being white,

The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?

What brought the kindred spider to that height,

Then steered the white moth thither in the night?

What but design of darkness to appall?—

If design govern in a thing so small.

ANALYSIS

The poem’s title carries a bit of ambiguity. As a sonnet, it is a design yet also about design which comes in a natural mini-drama involving a crazy mix of characters – a moth, spider and heal-all. The poem projects the show of a spider holding up a dead moth upon the heal-all, an herbaceous flower.

Centered on the events witnessed by the speaker, the sestet presents serial queries regarding the scene. It is an odd blend of ingredients boiling witches broth in a cauldron. Casually ghastly stemming from the speaker's use of paradoxical images, it is unfolded in understatement, painting an occurrence appearing to be ordinary as it is acted out on infinite occasions. The brutal death of the moth is imparted with appealing imagery while the predacious spider is described as "dimpled...fat and white". "Death and blight" is juxtaposed with the pastiness of the morning. "Dead wings" is directly compared with a "paper kite."

In the poem, the usually blue heal-all becomes an albino like a sort of fantastic modification ha staken place. The "snowdrop (note that it is white) spider," an oxymoronic figure, is at an uncommon height. And, of course, the "characters of death and blight" are all white. With all stuffs appearing downright abnormal, the scene is odd; whiteness was emphasized.

Pondering on the keenly observed scene, the speaker shifts from description to reflection in the sestet, perhaps seeking for some purpose to the eccentricities he has abruptly witnessed. All the questions in lines nine to twelve was sufficed with another question for an answer: "What but design of darkness to appall?" Since so much whiteness could not be accidental, it is maybe a suggestion that some creepy plan of nature has caused these seemingly random events. The poem ends with an "If" statement to qualify the answer given with a reservation previously. The last line seems initially to offer a glimmer of hope by negating the speaker's own suggestion.

This terminal utterance introduces a chilling note of doubt: that the seemingly insignificant events of nature simply play themselves out in a random fashion. Either conclusion drawn by the speaker - either that these encounters are random or that they are by design – is terrifying. But in reality, this alternative explanation is no less morbid, for it dismisses the previous notion of a predetermined fate for the possibility that is even more horrifying: that such minute scenes in nature are simply played out at random. More broadly, the suggestion may be that all life forms (human included) are connected and yet involved in a pattern of preying upon each other; another frightening suggestion.

The design of the poem is an Italian, or Petrarchan sonnet. The rhyme scheme is abba abba aca acc. The limited number of rhymes (3) focuses on the color white – the dominant rhyme-word of the poem. This focus on whiteness accentuates the appearance of innocence and the ostensibly benign nature of the exhibition before the speaker. The rhyme scheme helps create an awful, silent whiteness.

Does design really govern in very small things, such as his own creation - a sonnet? The speaker may be asking such question of design about his own poem. And it’s a yes as manifested in the tight structure of the intricately designed piece.

Fantastic Literary Analysis on Ratatouille

Fantastic Literary Analysis on Ratatouille

Ratatouille Plot Summary

A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely - and certainly unwanted - visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy's passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.

Pure Marvelous. Events are supernatural, superhuman, and magical. There is no rational explanation.

In the movie, it is shown that rats can talk to one another, even to humans. They speak up what they have in mind and share what they feel to one another. However, contradictory to what the movie has presented, rats can’t really talk. All people know that. More so, in contrast to the movie, rats can’t really have a knack for cooking. In the first place, they can’t hold the ladle, turn on the gas range, or do whatever kitchen chore is out there. Rats, in shorts, don’t have humanlike behavior. They don’t feel like humans. They don’t think like humans. They don’t interact like humans. That is because they are not human.

Fantastic Marvelous. Supernatural event are eventually to be accepted as supernatural. Fear is turned to wonder.

One of the amazing scenes in the movie is when the clan of rats worked together to cook the dish to be served for all the queuing costumers in the bistro. This happened after all the chefs left the young cook as they discovered a downright filthy secret he has been keeping all those times: a rat is the one that instructs him to cook fabulous eatables. While it should be a disgust that should be felt upon knowing that notoriously dirty creatures were the ones doing all the kitchen stuffs, everything turned into an expanding feeling of awe and marvel sanitizing the whole grime-stricken truth. Suddenly, it became an anticipation whether the costumers would like the ratty food they eat.

Fantastic Uncanny. Supernatural events are eventually given a natural explanation. Reader’s hesitation is resolved that there is no explanation.

One of the supernatural abilities of Remy, a rat, in the movie is having an intense smelling sense. While some would think it not in that way, there is actually an explanation behind this. Since rats live in a rich, complex world of smell, every surface, every object, every whiff of air, contains different smells and information for them.

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382932/plotsummary

Post-Colonial Analysis on Things Fall Apart

Post-Colonial Analysis on Things Fall Apart

PLOT SUMMARY

*Things Fall Apart is centered on the life of the protagonist of the novel, Okonkwo. As the novel develops Okonkwo accidentally kills a man and he and his family are exiled from Umuofia. During his exile white missionaries arrive in Umuofia and change the village. When Okonkwo returns to his village he sees the major transformations that Umuofia has undergone during his exile.

Unhappy with the change, Okonkwo and other villagers come together to drive the white missionaries out of their land. Their efforts are in vain as the missionaries send their messengers to abort the meeting. Okonkwo kills one of the messengers and in shock at his actions the villagers let the other messengers escape. The messengers report back to the missionaries and they take off to bring Okonkwo to justice only to find him dead.

ANALYSIS

The title Things Fall Apart obviously suggests the fall of Igbo culture as well as the fall of Okonkwo. The piece digs deeper into the dims of Igbo culture, also its glows. Though these flaws also add to the destruction of their culture, Igbo’s collapse was mainly ascribed to their incapacity and refusal to acquire English due to the belief of its minimal use to their everyday lives.

Similarly, the missionaries, whose arrival in the secluded land of Igbo prompted them that mankind also exists elsewhere, strongly influenced and controlled over the Igbos and their soil as they were modernized and well-educated.

Uncivilized people in dire need of their help. It’s how the missionaries find the Igbo. Hence, using their influence to spread their gospel and abolish Igbo traditional customs and beliefs, the missionaries harshly ruled over the Igbo land. Needless to say, the intruders are way superior to the Igbo tribe as evident in the novel.

Superior in comparison to Igbo, the missionaries have managed to make some convert to Christianity and serve as their messengers. The white men saw Igbo as a burden that they had to take care of by informing and educating them of things they did not know. The missionaries believed their culture to be morally superior to Igbo’s and this resulted to a discord between the two cultures.

Equally, the Igbo community has benefited a lot from the European colonialism. Education was introduced, thus lowering the illiteracy rate in the Igbo village and enlightened Igbos of today. The white men’s teaching of own culture to the Igbo society made them learn something new which they apply to their own though the transition is hard.

*On the other hand, as a consequence to the arrival of the white missionaries, the Igbo lost most of their solidarity values. Moreover, social coherence between the individual and society was lost, coupled with their traditional values and lifestyle. Because of the confused state of mind of Igbo not knowing whether to reject or embrace these changes, it ultimately led to their fall mainly because of their loyalty to the language.  

The arrival of white missionaries in Umuofia was to take over the ruling of it and because Igbo are a compassionate society that was also unsuspecting of the white men’s intentions, they welcomed them into their land and also gave them a piece of their land not knowing that these men will be the cause of the collapse of their culture.

Without culture Igbo society is as good as dead, hence the significance of Okonkwo’s death in the end. Like Okonkwo the Igbo committed suicide by not being suspicious of the white missionary’s intentions in their land or questioning his presence.

*taken from Things Fall Apart: An Analysis

of Pre and Post-Colonial Igbo Society

by Lame Maatla Kenalemang

Archetypal Literary Analysis on Biag ni Lam-ang

Archetypal Literary Analysis on Biag ni Lam-ang

Biag ni Lam-ang – this epic is epic. Filled with exciting adventures, fun-teemed experiences, heroic encounters, and a cornucopia of unpredictable occurrences, the story is absolutely worth all the reads. What adds more delight is a mighty, optimistic and – say – divine protagonist always triumphant in overcoming all the test of his grand journey, like he is an Achilles without an Achilles’ heel.

Lam-ang was born with a body too physically big and tall for a newborn. He was brought forth to the world literally great, so that means he’ll grow up greater than the excess (Saying this, I ain’t trying to be hyperbolic).  He could defeat anyone anytime wherever. He was born to be an unsurpassable, say, warrior, so no one can put him underneath the soles.

But this doesn’t mean he can be all alone in his adventure. No man is an island, right? Thus, our hero tags along two marvelous treasures – a dog and a rooster – rallying round for his every survival. Lam-ang’s having these two beings on his battles is an emblem of the need of companions in weaving the loose cannon streets of life.

Together with his also brave pets, Lam-ang faced his first [im)mortal combat as he looked for his dad pitilessly slain by Igorots. Hungry for vengeance, he made countless combats and content thereafter, paved his way homeward. On the way home, he passed through a river where some ladies were waiting to bathe him from head to toe.  All the filth was washed off but poisoned all the water-living animals there. This scene in the epic symbolizes a new start, leaving behind all the violence and past malfeasance, also moving forward and preparation for future encounters.

Lam-ang courted the gorgeous Ines as he reached home. Winning the heart of Ines has become his new challenge. With the helping hands of his comrades, he has pleased not only Ines but also her parents. There and then, they wed and Lam-ang’s adventure continued.

Lam-ang was tested to prove that his precious love for Ines after a splendid wedding banquet. Full of vigor and enthusiasm, he braved the abyss of a sea to capture the colossal shell but ended up being grumbled by a large voracious shark as projected in his hunch. But of course, the story won’t end with the lead character dead. In short he was revived.

With all his bravery, heroism, and headship, Lam-ang, with his precious pets, finished every game on their favor. Epic indeed.