Authors Treatment of Fate and the Supernatural in Short Stories Written Before 1914 :: Short Stories Yellow Wallpaper Lost Hearts Essays

Author's Treatment of Fate and the Supernatural in Short Stories Written Before 1914 Using a selection of short stories written before 1914, compare and contrast their authors’ treatment of fate and/or the supernatural I understand the term supernatural to be an event or being that is abnormal in some way and for which there is no rational explanation. Although traditionally the supernatural is confined to spiritual beings, such as ghosts, I perceive it to have a much wider meaning. I will be investigating how certain writers of short stories view the supernatural and how they adapt it into their stories. The authors I will be looking at in this essay are M.R.James, Thomas Hardy and Charlotte Perkins Gilman; their stories, Lost Hearts The Withered Arm and â€Å"Yellow Wallpaper,† respectively. I will be focussing mostly on the supernatural in this essay, but will also investigate the question of fate briefly. Fate is the suggestion that all events happen for a reason, and that there is a greater power watching over us. Both these subjects are ones that greatly interested the Victorians, the era in which these stories are written. They were especially intrigued by the spiritual world, and the upper classes held sà ©ances, attempting to contact the dead. This preoccupation with the supernatural, and indeed fate, is one that emerges repeatedly in these short stories. The first story that I will be looking at is The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy. Hardy’s style was very progressive for the time, but also reactionary; conservative, even, in certain aspects. His stories have a preoccupation with fate and the inevitability of death. The main supernatural aspect is the vision of Mrs Lodge that Rhoda sees. The vision taunts her, and Rhoda retaliates by grabbing its arm. The vision appears sitting on her chest whilst she is in bed: â€Å"The pressure of Mrs Lodge’s person became heavier,† and yet is not Mrs Lodge as she should be – â€Å"But the features were shockingly distorted, and wrinkled as by age.† Although Rhoda can feel its presence, it is extremely strange that it should be sitting on her chest in the middle of the night, and it is undoubtedly a vision or a distortion of a dream. Harding even describes it as a â€Å"spectre.† This is further confirmed by its sudden disappearance, â€Å"She looked on the floor whither she had whirled the spectre, but there was nothing to be seen.† The whole story really revolves around the actions of the spectre or vision, and this is the definite supernatural element in the story. Later on however, both women go to see a â€Å"Conjurer Trendle,† and Mrs Lodge sees the face of the person who cursed her in

Book Card: the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

The story of Huckleberry Finn was placed in the 1830’s and was wrapped around the thought of slavery and Freedom. Mark Twain began writing the story of Huckleberry Finn in the year 1880 but as times got harder in the battle of slavery in the south, Twain stopped working on his story for another 2 years. After finishing two other works of literature, Mark Twain once again picked up the story of Huck Finn to complete their adventure. Character List: Huckleberry Finn – The main character of this story, Huck Finn goes on adventure with his friend Jim and Tom Sawyer. Along the way he is put up against obstacles that, for the most part, make him consider the foundation of the logic that society has. Huck Finn’s Father – Huck’s Father is a constant drunk. He is abusive and seeks to control Huck’s fortune. Tom Sawyer – Tom Sawyer is the same age as Huck Finn and his best friend. He is a natural born conman who is able to persuade almost anyone to do anything that he wants to. Jim – An African American who starts out as the slave of Miss Watson and later becomes Huck’s travelling companion down the river. Jim at first glance does not seem like the smartest character in the story but while on the island Jim shows a hidden â€Å"intellectual† side with the natural world around him. Widow Douglas – Widow Douglas is the guardian of Huck Finn in the beginning of the story. She attempts to â€Å"civilize† Huck but he finds the rules too binding for his lifestyle. So as a result he fakes his death and travels upstream to avoid both Widow Douglas and his father. Judge Thatcher – The Judge who issued both Huck and Tom their share of the money and tries to protect Huck from his Father. In the end she is replaced by another judge who ends up allowing custody of Huck and his money to his father. Themes and Motifs: The theme of this story is based on the fact that racism was still an issue in the United States, even after the Emancipation proclamation. With the story of Huckleberry Finn set a few years before Mark Twain’s Time and portraying the facts of his time, Twain was able to produce a story that showed how blacks were still being downed upon in the Southern States. Another theme of this story is that of the hypocrisy of the United States earlier society in a way that defies logic and reasoning. An example of this is evident in the beginning of the story when the judge gives Huck’s father the right of custody to his son, Huck, as well as his fortune in money. This resembles that of the slave days where huck –portrayed as a black slave in this example- is still under the mercy of his father –portrayed as the white man in society- Literary Elements: One of the major literary elements in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would be the conflict of the individual (Huck Finn) versus society. Huck Finn is in a constant battle with the people around him when they try to civilize him. Also, the story is told in a more humorous tone which is another literary element that is observable in this novel. Quotes: â€Å"What’s the use you learning to do right, when it’s troublesome to do right and ain’t no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same? † (Pg.  91) â€Å" The pitifulest thing out is a mob; that’s what an army is–a mob; they don’t fight with courage that’s born in them, but with courage that’s borrowed from their mass, and from their officers. But a mob without any man at the head of it is beneath pitifulness. † (Pg. 146) â€Å"But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before. † (pg. 293) Bibliography: Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Classic Reissue. New York: Bantam Dell, 2003.

The Church Of The Holy Cross Lutheran Church - 919 Words

On Saturday 7, 2015, Alex, Michael and I drove to the Holy Cross Lutheran Church located in 11515 Ashcake Road Ashland, Virginia (about a 5 minute drive away from campus). The first thing that caught my attention was the external structure of the church. The architecture of the church is old school and it looks like a wooden house. Inside the church we could immediately tell that there were at least two floors. The top floor was where the altar was located and where the congregation took place. As soon as we stepped into the top floor, a really nice lady approached us and told us to sign a book of guests that everyone that attends the service had to sign. After we signed in, the pastor approached us and we told him that we were attending the service for a research project and that we were students from Randolph Macon College, he seemed thrilled to be able to help us. The service itself was much laid back and relatively small. There were 25 people at the church on that Saturday, and t hey were all very friendly. The pastor was very enthusiastic and welcoming to us. At the beginning of the service, he introduced us to everyone in the church and he encouraged us to research as much as we wanted to. In my opinion, this service was very similar to a catholic worship, or similar to the service that I used to attend when I lived in Venezuela. There was a lot of sitting, reading, standing, and singing. As we learned in class and in Williams’s Religion in America, music is a veryShow MoreRelatedSite Visit Report : St. Paul Lutheran Church1361 Words   |  6 PagesKarina Cruz 580 Indian Trace - Weston, FL 33326 St. Paul Lutheran Church (954) 384-9096 Lutheran Hours of worship: Jean Gillis Sundays 8 A.M. 11 A.M. 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