Flight/Your Shoes: A comparitive essay -- English Literature

Flight/Your Shoes: A comparitive essay In this essay I will be comparing ‘Flight’ by Doris Lessing and ‘Your Shoes’ by Michà ¨le Roberts. The content and style for both stories are similar in some ways and different in other ways. For example, the main problem in both stories is the daughter leaving home for the first time. Another example of a difference is ‘Flight’ is written in third-person whereas ‘Your Shoes’ is written as an interior monologue. The difficulties about the daughters leaving are: in ‘Flight’, the grandfather is reluctant to let his granddaughter go off and marry. This is because she is his favourite granddaughter and his last. ‘He confronted her, his eyes narrowed, shoulders hunched, tight in a hard knot of pain which included the preening birds, the sunlight, the flowers. He said: â€Å"Think you’re old enough to go courting, hey?†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ He also does not like Steven, the postmaster’s son, and is maybe jealous of him and how he can win over his granddaughter better than he can himself. ‘â€Å"Waiting for Steven, hey?† he said, his fingers curling like claws into his palm. â€Å"Any objection?† she asked him lightly, refusing to look at him.’ In ‘Your Shoes’ the mother has a bigger problem because her daughter has already left and she does not know where she is. To justify this she goes mad and pretends that she is talking to her daughter through a pair of white trainers, the most expensive and perfect item that the mother bought her daughter before she left. ‘I’ve tied the shoes’ laces together so they won’t get separated or lost. White laces, that I washed and ironed.’ These shoes represent what the mother would like her daughter to be, perfect. ‘I locked the wardrobe door on those rebellious shoes.’... ...d to ‘Flight’, the Justin Liu Maine A English AXS Flight/Your Shoes (cont†¦) mother’s condition clearly gets worse and lapses into madness at the end. ‘Laces like strings of white liquorice. They taste sweet.’ Again there is the symbolism of the shoes and again it represents the way the mother would like her daughter to be. I prefer ‘Flight’ to ‘Your Shoes’ because the story is much clearer and you get to see everyone’s point of view whereas in ‘Your Shoes’ the storyline is not so clear and harder to understand because only one person is speaking. However, ‘Flight’ has less detail than ‘Your Shoes’ because there are many more people to focus on. For example, in ‘Your Shoes’ you know who is still alive and who is not whereas in ‘Flight’ it is not as clear. However, I enjoyed both stories and thought that they had more similarities than differences.

Post-Apocalyptic Essay

Philip K. Dick leads his readers into understanding the relationship between humanity and the environment and how changes when humanity is struck with adversity. It is asserted that the human condition will continue to place importance on material possessions, although society and the possession itself changes in â€Å"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?† by Philip K. Dick. In the novel â€Å"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?† by Philip K. Dick the only humans left living on earth are able to prove superior social status with the ownership of an authentic animal. The owners begin a relationship with animals because they symbolize what’s left of mother-nature in which heightens an individual’s rank. The protagonist in the novel is Rick Deckard who is known as a bounty hunter. Since there is little life on earth he owns an electric sheep, but his neighbor Bill Barbour owns a Percheron Colt. In the novel Deckard beliefs: Humans are able to radiate their s ocial status through living animals. In the novel owning an animal is essential because there rare and significant in comparison to modern times when we take animals for granted. One of the main themes in the novel is empathy and they seem to only have it towards animals. Since they have killed off possibly all living things they are trying to grasp the little life left on earth. Having the possession of a real animal is seen as an economic gain. Rick Deckard is not too fond of his electric sheep because it’s not real and he does not feel he could feel empathy for and electric sheep.: The aftermath of World War Terminius has made every character value the small things in life. Rick says he wants more than a domestic pet he says, â€Å"I want what I originally had, a large animal. A sheep, or if I can’t get the money, a cow or a steer or what have, a horse.† (14) He will not settle for less, he wants something he could be proud of and have to showcase just like his neighbor Barbour that owns a real s tallion. This aspect of the novel displays human relationship to the environment only exists due to the deterioration of animal life. If it were not for the limited living animal circumstances then perhaps humans would not have empathy for the animals. It is apparent that  they did not take precaution before the war since they did not realize the damage of the war would jeopardize the environment ecosystem. So much so that Rick states, â€Å"having two animals is more immoral than not having any.†(10) This shows how limited real living animals are in 2021 and that no one should have more than one. Some people are unable to at least have one and Rick’s neighbor was considering having two. Deckard is bothered by his neighbor’s greediness to want more than one real animal. Especially after the fact that Ricks expresses to how he wishes he could own a real animal. This also shows how people have become one for one. They seem to have lot the possibility to care for one another throughout the novel, what is important now is their social status. This novel tries to send a message early on about the importance of our priorities as humans. American values have shifted over the years. According to an article on PBS called The Rise of American Consumerism it states â€Å"After World War II, consumer spending no longer meant just satisfying an indulgent material desire. In fact, the American consumer was praised as a patriotic citizen in the 1950’s, contributing to the ultimate success of the American way of life.† Spending on material goods was more than just a want it was a way of life. Americans at this time were getting over the depression and so once the economy began to rise so did there spending habits. The problem was not that they were spending but they were over spending on everything and anything. Since then the way that Americans spend has only increased. In the novel Philip K Dick writes from the future and shows the horrid side to the ways of Americans, and the outcome of human’s values. Dick challenges our perception towards humanity and animal life and convinces to make animal existence a priority. Throughout the novel Rick Deckard is portrayed in different perspectives. Deckard is really motivated as a bounty hunter, so he retires androids for a living and he depends on his income in order to purchase an animal. This reflects that the novel is relevant to American consumerism and how we look forward for a better economic status. In the novel, Animal consumerism is key, but not to consume to nurture and protect. And Americans are so common to consumerism that they well purchase anything and eat anything. That being said, we as Americans tend to be careless about what arrives on our dinner plates without  realizing that it was once a living thing. Dick’s novel brings awareness to our mindset that we should acknowledge the value of things instead of making them secondary and neglecting them. Its main focus is to give importance to mother â€Å"nature†. Ideas that are claimed throughout this novel are very concurrent to present time. The idea of empathy and how humans must feel alive through other living things is very powerful. Owning a real live animal most certainly is a way to keep humans grounded. Phillip K. Dick gives a theoretical statement on how we as human beings should give more recognition towards life values, or prepare to pay consequences that will lead to animal shortage. Work Cited Ewe Robot: ‘Philip K. Dick and Philosophy’ Academia.edu. Anthology ‘Philip K. Dick and Philosophy’. 24 May 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Dick, Philip K., and Philip K. Dick. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print. WGBH. â€Å"General Article: The Rise of American Consumerism.† PBS by WGHB EducacationFoundation.Web.1996-2013.

Analysis Of The Article The Wonder Woman Precedent ...

In the article â€Å"The Wonder Woman Precedent: Female (Super)Heroism on Trial†, Julie O’Reilly makes a clear argument that females have to constantly prove themselves worthy while men just get to choose to be heroes, no questions asked. In the article â€Å"Two Way a Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence†, Jean Kilbourne argues that there is violence in our culture, particularly sexualized violence controlled by the media. With the help of Kilbourne’s article, it emphasizes clearly that women are seen as a joke while men are taken seriously and presume authority. In the first article, â€Å"The Wonder Woman Precedent: Female (Super)Heroism on Trial†, O’Reilly distinguishes between the ways male and female superheroes are being â€Å"put to the†¦show more content†¦However, recently we’ve reached a â€Å"gender bender†, so now the roles have kind of switched (466). Although the ads of men and women are seen as funny, both are still being objectified. But there’s a big difference in the two being objectified, men are typically in no danger from this while women always are at risk. A Coke ad is a great example Kilbourne gave. In one, a man is seen shirtless while women are physically separated from him. He is seen as powerful, not passive. Kilbourne says, â€Å"he is the one in control†(467). Whereas in a different Coke ad, a shirtless woman is surrounded by a group of staring men. She doesn’t come off as powerful or in control at all. This actually comes off as creepy and frightening to many women. Our world has edged its way into a world of discrimination, leading to unequal power. But this power is forced upon us even as children. Kilbourne even states, â€Å"men are also encouraged to never take no as an answer†(462). Again this leading to the idea that if men’s and women’s roles were switched, it would be a completely different story. Together these two articles make a big point. Males claim dominance while women are seen as submissive. O’Reilly uses Superman to demonstrate them claiming to have dominance. Clark Kent chose one day that he just wants to become Superman; therefore, â€Å"he is Superman†(450). Females also get to choose when they want to become superheroes, but the only difference is they have to be put throughShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesBlack, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered Janis Appier, Policing Women: The Sexual Politics ofRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesResearch: Dr. Judge’s primary research interests are in (1) personality, moods, and emotions; (2) job attitudes; (3) leadership and influence behaviors; and (4) careers (person–organization fit, career success). Dr. Judge has published more than 140 articles on these and other major topics in journals such as Journal of Organizational Behavior, Personnel Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, European Journal of Personality, and European Journal of Work and OrganizationalRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pagessituations, but keep in mind that the larger case studies, such as Convin Corporation and The Blue Spider Project, could have been listed under several topics. Several of the cases and situations have see d questions provided to assist the reader in the analysis of the case. An instructor s manual is available from John Wiley Sons, Inc., to faculty members who adopt the book for classroom use. Almost all of the case studies are factual. In most circumstances, the cases and situations have been taken from