Anne Roiphe's memoir is stark and to the point. She begins the first chapter with poignant descriptions of her neighborhood, its people, daily activities, and important locations to her childhood. Although what she describes, is beautiful architecture, and sophisticated lifestyles: this is the 1930s, who lives like this? She writes, "All the women had their hair done, permed, dyed, set in curlers, and dried and combed out twice a week, and a lady came to the house to wax their legs and a traveling salesman came to the door with his suitcase of fine linens imports, who knows how, from war-torn Europe." (8) She explains that "Jewish" is not accepted in normal, Episcopalian society; therefore, Jews have a whole section of Park Avenue to themselves with their own clubs, doctors, apartments, grocery stores, and the like. She explains that they don't celebrate Jewish holidays, they don't learn Hebrew, and once on American soil they try to forget their roots, not embrace them.
Her prose is matter-of-fact, but shockingly truthful in what she reveals. After discussing quite plainly the affluent nature of her childhood, she goes on to describe the day her little brother was born. Breast-feeding is not allowed. She is not allowed to touch her little brother because her nanny, Greta, fears that she will infect him with germs. She is not allowed to wear blue that color is for boys only. Anne's mother, Blanche, is virtually drugged unconscious during the whole birthing. Anne's father, Gene, is not present. He's at the club. He sent flowers. When she describes methods used for potty training, it is foreign to modern readers' eyes:
Children were trained by and force and usually soon after their first birthdays. Disobedient children were wrapped up in their soiled sheets and left in their beds for hours. Disobedient children could be enclosed naked in a closet. You trained a child the way you trained a puppy. This was not cruelty. This was common practice… (13)
Anne reminisces about the strained relationship between her...
House of Sand and Fog" book and movie compare and contrast "House of Sand and Fog" -- comparison between novel and film Andre Dubus III's novel "House of Sand and Fog" presents a story involving two protagonists who end up in a chain of trouble and deaths as a consequence of fighting over ownership of a house. Kathy Nicolo loses her house to the authorities as a result of an error
As Poe builds this emotional tension in the reader on through his construction of the sentences, he also does it on the level of the narrative itself. The sense of dramatic tension within the narrative is created by Poe's masterful use of foreshadowing and delay. A prime example of this occurs early in the story, when the narrator explains his presence at the Usher mansion. He reveals that the occupant
By doing so right now, we are not only making a societal and human investment in today's citizens and today's crime rate, but we are improving the quality of life of entire families as well as working toward the reduction of future perpetrators of violence against women since the sons will see appropriate models of behavior and wil not be apt to become violent in the future. References A programme for
Poe's The Fall Of The House Of Usher Of all the authors to employ use of the Gothic style in their poetry or prose, none mastered the craft more than Edgar Allen Poe. The classic American fiction writer specialized in fostering a unique sense of dread and terror for his readers by successfully using elements of the Gothic genre such as the grotesque, or distorted imagery and setting, mysterious circumstances and
One cannot build the right sort of house -- the houses are not really adequate, "Blinds, shutter, curtains, awnings, were all closed and drawn to keep out the star. Grant it but a chink or keyhole, and it shot in like a white-hot arrow." The stare here is the metonymic device -- we assume it is stranger, the outside vs. The inside, but for some reason, it is also
His clothes were untidy, but he had a commanding short-collar on." (Charles Dickens (1812-1870): (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/)Dora, David's first wife, expires and he marries Agnes. He seeks his vocation as a journalist and later as a novelist. (Charles Dickens (1812-1870): (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/) GREAT EXPECTATIONS in 1860-61 started as a serialized publication in Dickens's periodical All the Year Round on December 1, 1860. The story of Pip or Philip Pirrip was among Tolstoy's and
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