The role of Animals in The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Poems New

Since animals, usually pets, are sometimes an essential part of one’s life, it is not surprising that we find frequent references to its role in works of social realism, such as Wislawa Szymborska’s Poems New and Collected and Milan Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being. Animals in literature could be used to symbolize all sorts of things, but in particular, animals may represent the personality of a character. This is because as humans and animals co-exist in the same atmosphere, certain aspects of a character reveal themselves in the compassion or even hatred towards the animal. Since animals are often known to trigger the interests of humans, the attitude of the humans towards the animals contributes much to character revelation. Both Szymborska and Kundera use animals to symbolize character personality in their works. Therefore, through looking at animals, although it does seem to be a very commonplace topic, we may gain insight to what the writers are try ing to convey about the character. This paper will compare the ways the writers use animals to determine a character’s personality or characteristics. A recurring character in Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of being is Karenin, a dog saved from death by one of the novel’s protagonists, Tomas. He had wanted some sort of a distraction that would keep Tereza’s attention off him so that he could persist with his life that he believed he had control over: At last he made his choice: a bitch whose body seemed reminiscent of the German shepherd and whose head belonged to its Saint Bernard mother. He took it home to Tereza, who picked it up and pressed it to her breast. ¹ Through the novel, Karenin, the ‘ugly dog’ Tomas brings home for Tereza, develops a bond between Tereza, which grows throughout the novel. Tereza is portrayed as a ‘heavy’ individual with considerably heavy burdens on both her shoulders. One other burden Tereza carries is, essentially, Karenin. It takes the place of Tomas when Tereza is alone, therefore – Tereza is bound, with love, to it. Kundera shows here, how Karenin affects Tereza’s personality by being next to her and being a comfort to her at times when heaviness settles in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Furthermore, with no baby between Tereza and Tomas’ marriage, Karenin acts as Tereza’s responsibility, both emotionally and financially. It seems that Tereza can make decisions only... ...tion by executing government opposition – an example how humanity acted in ‘other’ moral situations. The last chapter, ’Karenin’s Smile’, is counting up to Karenin’s death, while ‘between the lines’, Tereza and Tomas dies. Their death is outweighed by their dog’s death and its funeral. This shows how humanity seems to be condemned by their moral actions towards animals, the ‘test’ mentioned above.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The way that the role of animals can be used as a literary effect is evident in both Kundera and Szymborska’s works. The two contrast eachother, Kundera suggests that the role of animals in his novel is that they become their owner’s peaceful character builder by having characters of their own. In Szymborska’s works, we see quite the opposite; she portrays the role of animals as people’s irritation, a vexation – where characters are rather barbaric and careless towards the animals. The two works show the same superiority of human over animals, yet the human attitudes towards them entirely dissimilar. We may perceive that the presence of animals, such delicate literary technique, determines the attitudes and personality of the characters of a literary work. The role of Animals in The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Poems New Since animals, usually pets, are sometimes an essential part of one’s life, it is not surprising that we find frequent references to its role in works of social realism, such as Wislawa Szymborska’s Poems New and Collected and Milan Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being. Animals in literature could be used to symbolize all sorts of things, but in particular, animals may represent the personality of a character. This is because as humans and animals co-exist in the same atmosphere, certain aspects of a character reveal themselves in the compassion or even hatred towards the animal. Since animals are often known to trigger the interests of humans, the attitude of the humans towards the animals contributes much to character revelation. Both Szymborska and Kundera use animals to symbolize character personality in their works. Therefore, through looking at animals, although it does seem to be a very commonplace topic, we may gain insight to what the writers are try ing to convey about the character. This paper will compare the ways the writers use animals to determine a character’s personality or characteristics. A recurring character in Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of being is Karenin, a dog saved from death by one of the novel’s protagonists, Tomas. He had wanted some sort of a distraction that would keep Tereza’s attention off him so that he could persist with his life that he believed he had control over: At last he made his choice: a bitch whose body seemed reminiscent of the German shepherd and whose head belonged to its Saint Bernard mother. He took it home to Tereza, who picked it up and pressed it to her breast. ¹ Through the novel, Karenin, the ‘ugly dog’ Tomas brings home for Tereza, develops a bond between Tereza, which grows throughout the novel. Tereza is portrayed as a ‘heavy’ individual with considerably heavy burdens on both her shoulders. One other burden Tereza carries is, essentially, Karenin. It takes the place of Tomas when Tereza is alone, therefore – Tereza is bound, with love, to it. Kundera shows here, how Karenin affects Tereza’s personality by being next to her and being a comfort to her at times when heaviness settles in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Furthermore, with no baby between Tereza and Tomas’ marriage, Karenin acts as Tereza’s responsibility, both emotionally and financially. It seems that Tereza can make decisions only... ...tion by executing government opposition – an example how humanity acted in ‘other’ moral situations. The last chapter, ’Karenin’s Smile’, is counting up to Karenin’s death, while ‘between the lines’, Tereza and Tomas dies. Their death is outweighed by their dog’s death and its funeral. This shows how humanity seems to be condemned by their moral actions towards animals, the ‘test’ mentioned above.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The way that the role of animals can be used as a literary effect is evident in both Kundera and Szymborska’s works. The two contrast eachother, Kundera suggests that the role of animals in his novel is that they become their owner’s peaceful character builder by having characters of their own. In Szymborska’s works, we see quite the opposite; she portrays the role of animals as people’s irritation, a vexation – where characters are rather barbaric and careless towards the animals. The two works show the same superiority of human over animals, yet the human attitudes towards them entirely dissimilar. We may perceive that the presence of animals, such delicate literary technique, determines the attitudes and personality of the characters of a literary work.

Better to Die for Your Beliefs or Lie to Save Your Life Essay

I believe that it is better to die for what you believe rather than to lie to save your own life. Many people have died for their beliefs. There are martyrs from all over the world, and they were not afraid to stand up for what they believed in, even if it meant losing their lives. Those people have gone down in history, and are respected by many. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake at the age of 19 for believing that her visions were from God. The English leaders tried to force her to deny that God had spoken to her, but she refused. She went down in history as a great martyr and she is still today and perfect example of standing up for what you believe in. Another great martyr was St. Stephen, who was accused of blasphemy against Moses and God. St. Stephen was stoned to death by an angry mob, and he claimed to have seen God the Father and God the Son right before he died. He was considered the first Christian martyr. As well as there has been martyrs in the world, there has also been people that lied to save their life. In the Bible, Peter was recognized as one of Jesus’ followers, and was questioned in the public. As the crowd became more suspicious, Peter denied Jesus three times. He was too worried about his own life that he took the easy way out. After he denied him, he realized what he had done and the guilt almost destroyed him. Later in his life he returned and admitted to their accusations, and was crucified upside-down. In the story The Crucible, many teenage girls are accused of witchcraft, which in Puritan society the punishment is death. To save their own lives, they take the spotlight off themselves and begin to blame other women in their society for their own selfish gain. They were cowards and lived in lies, making innocent people suffer. All over the world there are people being persecuted for their own personal beliefs. The people â€Å"in charge† decide what they want everyone else to believe, and they enforce it with harsh punishments or even death. Martyrdom is not necessarily dying for spiritual beliefs; it is dying for anything you believe in. People everywhere are mistreated because of their religious beliefs, their political preference, or the color of their skin. Over time there have been leaders who have tried to make their â€Å"perfect race,† but what would this world be without diversity? No one should be able to decide what is the correct belief or the right way to live life. Everyone is different. But unfortunately there are leaders and people who believe they have the right to decide these things, so it is very important to have a good understand of what your personal beliefs are. It is very important to be willing to stand up for what you personally believe in, even if it may cost you something as great as your own life.

A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children Of Poor People

Satire is a method used by multitudes of authors and other artists for a plethora of different reasons. The ways that this method of literature is used is varied, and it is always interesting and somewhat difficult to find out exactly why these texts are written. A specific author who is known for utilizing satire in his works of literature is Jonathan Swift, whose hard-hitting essay â€Å"A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland, from Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick† is one of the most popular and analyzed texts within the world of satire, and truly makes one think about the art. One article that explores Swift’s use of satire within â€Å"A Modest Proposal† is Paddy Bullord’s â€Å"The Scriblerian Mock-Arts† This essay delves deeply into Swift’s works, and the art of satire in itself and is a great way to explore Swift’s work. The main question a bout Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal† that will be explained and explored through this paper is this; what prompts Swift to write about his points using irony and satire, even though satire is a method that metaphorically goes over the head of its readers? Swift’s view on satire can be seen through Paddy Bullord’s article, where he explains how Swift felt about the art. Bullord states that many satirists refer to satire as something potentially effective, but ultimately something that can easily backfire on the author. As Bullord says, Jonathan Swift did not holdShow MoreRelatedEssay on A Modest Proposal: Satire at Its Best643 Words   |  3 PagesA Modest Proposal: Satire at Its Best Jonathan Swifts 1729 essay, A Modest Proposal, was a true example of satire at its best. Many readers at the time rejected the essay because they failed to understand the irony. 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