Literary Crossovers :: Personal Narrative Essays

Literary Crossovers I wish that I could wrap a character up in the fabric of the author's words and, carrying them by the handles of description and narration, pluck them from their own story and drop them down into the middle of someone else's. On sitcoms, sometimes, they do "crossovers" - episodes in which a person from another show appears and is integrated into the story line as the character he or she elsewhere portrays. I would like to create a series of literary "crossovers." I would send Funes to Vietnam with Tim O'Brien. I would ask him what he saw in a soldier's life and years after his return I would ask him if he ever escaped his memories of it. If Tim was haunted by mental snapshots of the man he killed on a moonlit trail, what would his memory do to Funes, who has no ability to forget those things that torture him? Could Funes, after tracing every image in his mind a hundred thousand times, find some meaning in the war that eluded Tim? One that eludes me? I would send Maude to Hester Prynne, who spends so many years in profound loneliness. Could even Maude touch Hester's soul? Could Hester touch Maude's concentration camp tattoo a little bit like Hester's scarlet letter - a physical manifestation of incredible suffering? Is Maude more like Pearl than like Hester? Not quite human, always looking at the world through tinted lenses? I would invite Harold to one of Jay Gatsby's parties. Might Harold, too, fall in love with Daisy's beautiful aloofness? Or would he stand in the shadows of Gatsby's magnificent house, afraid to dance to the pulsing music? Would he somehow befriend Nick, finding in him a soul of equal uncertainty? What could they teach each other? It is magnificently interesting to imagine these crossovers - these episodes that play in my head. I can see each one projected on the screen there. "Funes in Vietnam" is a tragic episode, one that leaves you with that feeling in your stomach that you're glad it wasn't real but afraid it might be close. The blood of innocent children and the screams of dying women seep into Funes' brain, dripping into his every thought. He is unable to forget anything, and so he lives the war in Vietnam a hundred times a day.

Analysis of characters of a clean, well- lighted place

Published in 1926, Ernest Hemingway’s A Clean, Well-Lighted Place introduces three unnamed characters whose lives intertwined one early morning in a Spanish cafà ©.The young waiter is irritated by the fact that the old deaf man does not want to go home and keeps on ordering for more drinks which the young waiter refuses to give.1 He insults the old customer knowing he cannot hear a single word he says. He is angry because he wants to go home and be with his wife. There is life for him outside his job the cafà ©.On the other hand, the old waiter sympathizes with the old deaf man. He realizes that the old man is not â€Å"nasty† but lonely. He concludes that his loneliness must be the reason why he tried to end his life the week before while the young waiter is clueless why he wanted to do such a terrible thing given that he has plenty of money.Closing the cafà ©, the waiters begin a conversation about being lonely, feeling no fear despite the odd hours they have to ge t home. The young waiter exclaims that he and the old waiter are the same in being confident. But the man disagrees:â€Å"No. I have never had confidence and I am not young (†¦) I am of those who like to stay late at the cafà ©,† (†¦) â€Å"With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night.†However, the you waiter does not seem to understand the idea of having a clean, well- lighted place, a place where old people do not have to feel lonely. The young waiter heads home while the old one chooses to stay in case some fellow needs a lighted cafà © for the night. A clean, well-lighted place, instead of a dark, unclean bar or a bodega which may only intensifies loneliness.1. Ernest Hemingway A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1987), 289.In A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, Ernest Hemingway portrays the difference between the young and the old waiter on drinking.2 For the young waiter, it is better f or the old deaf man to buy a bottle and drink it alone in his house rather than going to a public place and get drunk. But the old waiter approves of drinking in public than having a single glass in private. In my opinion, drinking is better or more fun when done in the company of other people.I can relate with the old waiter. I am not used to drinking alone in private even though I have problems. Drinking alone exacerbates the feeling of loneliness. Look at what happened to the old customer. He was probably drunk and alone in his house when he tried to commit suicide. Drinking in a public cafà © assures his family that he will not attempt to kill himself in front of other people. In public, you can talk to someone or meet someone probably on the same boat, suffering the same loneliness. You can start making friends and not feel the reason why you are there drinking in the first place.As for myself, I am not comfortable drinking alone whatever my mood is. However, I think the young waiter is right when he says that the old customer has no reason to kill himself given that he is rich. I am not saying that rich people has no problems because probably they have worse problems than common people have. All I am saying is that nothing can justify suicide. Every existence has its meaning and you just have to find it. In every stage of our lives, a new purpose unfolds and it is up to us to do something about it and make our lives more productive.Another way to analyze the difference between the two waiters is how they view life.3 In this matter, I can relate with the young waiter.

Analysis Of Walden By Henry David Thoreau - 997 Words

Walden, a series of 18 essays by Henry David Thoreau published in 1854, is a record of Thoreau’s experiment in simple living on the northern shore of Walden Pond, Massachusetts. Industrial progress is a theme that Thoreau experiences while at Walden Pond. Even though Thoreau makes some elaborate claims as to why industrial progress is destructive, the exact opposite is true; as such advancement does much to benefit the relationships, economy and safety of any society. Thoreau’s overall philosophy condemns industrial progress. Thoreau believed that simplicity is good for the soul and material possessions and money can become one’s god. (www.walden.org) Henry D. Thoreau was born to John and Cynthia Thoreau in Concord, Massachusetts, on†¦show more content†¦Thoreau is buried near the graves of his friends Hawthorne, Alcott, Emerson and Channing. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his eulogy; â€Å"The country knows not yet, or in the least part, how great a s on it has lost†¦His soul was made for the noblest society; he had in a short life exhausted the capabilities of this world; wherever there is knowledge, wherever there is virtue, wherever there is beauty, he will find a home.† (Library of Harvard University) Thoreau, fascinated by technology, saw a series of inventions that would radically change the world. In the mid-nineteenth century he saw the invention of the power loom, railroad and the telegraph, the industrial revolution. In Thoreau’s view, technology provoked an excitement that was counterproductive because it served as a distraction from the important questions of life. â€Å"Perhaps we are led oftener by the love of novelty, and a regard for the opinions of men, in procuring it, than by a true utility.† (Walden, 21). â€Å"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distracted our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at; as railroads lead to Boston or New York. We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas; it may be, have nothing important to communicate.† (Thoreau Walden, 52) TheShow MoreRelatedCritical Analysis Of Walden By Henry David Thoreau1300 Words   |  6 PagesCritical Analysis of â€Å"Walden† The autobiography â€Å"Walden† by Henry David Thoreau is a first-person narrative explaining what Thoreau personally experienced from his experiment after two years of living at Walden Pond, encompassed by nature. Thoreau isolates himself from society and martial earnings to gain a higher understanding of what it means to have freedom as an individual. He simplifies his life to get closer to nature to learn more about himself and society. If we focus too much on obtainingRead MoreAnalysis Of Walden By Henry David Thoreau1088 Words   |  5 PagesThe excerpt Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, is a piece that explores the purpose of life, especially if it isn t lived to the fullest. Thoreau starts by sharing the meaning and value of life. His idea of his personal achievement was to live life and die with a sense of peace and knowledge that he did not waste a single moment. He wanted to live life while being true to himself regardless of whether he would find life to be cruel or a wonderful place, and this was a risk he was willing to take. InRead MoreAnalysis Of Henry David Thoreau s Walden861 Words   |  4 Pagesto die tomorrow would you live differently? 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In Thoreau’s Walden, he wanted the reader to understand that you should live life more simple, connect withRead MoreTranscendentalism: Henry David Thoreau Essay1096 Words   |  5 PagesHenry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau grew up in poverty; his dad was unsuccessful and had trouble maintaining a steady jo b. Thoreau followed in his father’s footsteps, ultimately bouncing from job to job, scorned by society for his unconventional way of living and lack of income (Henry David Thoreau, Discovering Biography). Thoreau began to write with the guidance of Ralph Waldo Emerson who became one of the most important influences in his life. LivingRead MoreEgoitarianism In Henry David Thoreau1662 Words   |  7 Pagesidolized Henry David Thoreau for his transcendental ideologies seen throughout many of his works, such as â€Å"Walden†. However is this respect deserved? 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Thoreau wrote Walden in 1854 and Emerson wrote American scholar in 1837 not only that they have written many articles which was anti government such as ‘American scholar, ‘Walden ’ and many more. Emerson and Thoreau have more of comparisonRead MoreHenry David Thoreau: The Grat Transcendentalist Essay1932 Words   |  8 PagesHenry David Thoreau along with a select group of people propelled the short movement of transcendentalism during the 1830s to the 1850s and was later brought up during the Vietnam War. Many of the transcendentalist ideas came from student who attended Harvard University during this time period. Henry David Thoreau’s individualistic anarchist views on society were developed throughout his early life and later refined in his years of solitude; these views on society and government are directly expressed