Wednesday, November 27, 2019
ideas essays
Andy Warhol - techniuqes/ideas essays ...The more you look at the exact same thing the more the meaning goes away and the better and emptier you feel... Andy Warhol has been quoted as saying that he was a deeply superficial person. His artworks expressed his love for American Popular Culture and his love for all things commercial. He led an art movement in the 1950s which would last two decades. Pop Art was an exploration of society in the 1950s and 60s and embraced commercialism, mass media and popular icons. Warhol exposed the public to imagery from their daily experience and forced them to become desensitized to these images. Pop art, by nature, was an art form in which it appealed to the masses therefore it took forms that were assessable to all such as advertising. Much Pop Art was transient or temporary so often took the form of a products packaging or in television. Warhol took this approach to his art making using techniques that he had learnt as an advertiser and applied them to his art, or lack of art, as some critics of the day calling it non-art. But looking at Pop Art in hindsight that was an essential characteristic. H aving the ability to turn what was considered not to be art-worthy, such as a box of soap, into a complex snap shot of society. I paint like this because I want to be a machine This statement was a far cry from the philosophies of Jackson Pollock 15 year beforehand. Pollock declared that he wished to be nature; unpredictable, various and full of energy. But unlike Pollock, Warhols artworks were more structural and had an inert qualities and a coldness to them. Warhol was indeed a machine, silk-screening hundreds and hundreds of soup cans, washing powder boxes and images celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Chairman Mao, Muhammad Ali and Mick Jagger. And like a machine, Warhol used the same techniques of mass production and ...
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Mona Liza Essays
Mona Liza Essays Mona Liza Essay Mona Liza Essay Monaliza Depina ENG Basic Composition Instructor: Carol Pepoli Essay 2 Environment Moving away from my family and friends was not easy for me. The day I moved away a lot of things were going through my mind. As I took the last look at home I remember the good and bad times that I had with my family and friends, at the time my main worry was if I would adjust to the environment and I was trying to be strong and hold my tears. Moving away was an experience that change my life as a person, it tough me how to deal with change and to adjust to a new environment. When I arrived to the United States for the first time, I stepped into a completely different environment and that was when my life started to change. I had difficulty in learning the language and adjusting myself in the new environment also I had complications and challenges at first day of school but With an inspiration and hope, I made an effort to succeed. I tried desperately to prove to my self that I can overcome the language barrier, and that I too am capable of succeeding in the new environment just like the who people came before me . So I spent countless hours studying in the library, trying to improve on my English knew soon enough, my hard work resulted in success. Though my parents decision to move to America placed me in an unfamiliar environment that stifled me from success, it also gave me a chance to grow into a more versatile person, ready to succeed in any environment. I learned how to deal with changes, It took a long time for me accept the changes. My main worry was to face the change of culture. Adjusting to a different culture can be difficult for just about anyone. What is necessary for one to feel at home in a new culture and many steps can be taken to help with differences also à many cultural barriers must be addressed before a person can feel at home with a new culture. I begin to realize is that itââ¬â¢s a whole new world out there and in order to survive i have to get accustomed to the new way of life which is much different from my lives before. Adjust to a new environment and become comfortable can be scared at the unfamiliar surround. What scared me the most was no having complete lacking of knowledge of the English language I failed to understand any given lessons in school or communicate with any of the students in class, that is when I realize that for me to succeed I have to face everything in a new environment. I started to adjust using clothing required participated in club so can improve my English making new friends and I stated to get excited to experience new things. I also realized that Ive proven to myself that I can achieve something no one never thought I could and its going to help me succeed in the future despite unfamiliar circumstances. Leaving ones motherland for a new country where a different language and culture was not easy however, I had never realized how hard it was to adjust to a new cultural and language environment until I immigrated to the United States.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Marriage in Indian culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Marriage in Indian culture - Essay Example 1. First detail of support for A: ââ¬Å"among the educated classes, arrangements are made by parents and/or relatives for couples to photographs exchangedâ⬠(countrystudies) for couples to have an idea who they are going to marry. b. Further detail of 1: They can also meet where there are other people or groups around especially relatives ââ¬Å"such as going out for tea with a group of people or meeting in the parlor of the girls home, with her relatives standing byâ⬠(countrystudies). 2. Second detail for B: Because of its importance in Hindu faith, preparations are made early and it follows that most girls are married before and almost all girls married before the age of 16 while most boys are married before the age of 22 (Gupta 146). C. Supporting information for third main point: Unlike in Hindu belief that a child is unholy and incomplete until he or she is married, Muslims in India believe that it is a parentââ¬â¢s duty to have their daughters happily married and believed that they are incomplete if were able to do so (Ahmad 53). a. Further detail of 1: This is founded on the belief of the Sunna that the female is viewed as a Par Gaheri, a woman who was born to look after her husbandââ¬â¢s household. The burden of obligation here is on the parent (Ahmad 53). c. Further detail of 1: But unlike the Hinduââ¬â¢s where the arranged marriage happens during infancy, it is different among the Muslims where the couples are already grown up where the groom has to become marketable to be acceptable to the bride. II. (Connect to larger context, refer back to introduction, or connect to audience): The practice may not be acceptable in most parts of the world but it has actually held Indiaââ¬â¢s society together for
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Periodic Motion Problems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Periodic Motion Problems - Assignment Example The force applied on the spring reduces hence the tension. The spring therefore accelerate mass faster, therefore the period would be shorter. b. Taking it to the moon where gravity is weaker. (U) The gravity change would have no effect on the period taken since the mass and spring are still the same, therefore no change is expected. c. Weakening the spring (reducing the spring constant). (L) For a weakened spring, the force the spring exerts is decreased. The oscillations period would be therefore lengthened, would be longer d. Making the amplitude of the oscillation larger.(U) The amplitude does not affect frequency since the distance from relaxation position would increase the restoring force. Therefore, the frequency remains unchanged. 2. For a pendulum as in Fig 9.1.2: label how the following changes would affect the oscillation period. Label each as making the period shorter (S), longer (L), or unchanged (U). Explain your response. a. Taking it to a planet where gravity is larger.(S) Gravity affects the oscillation period from the formula of finding period using length and gravity. Therefore, as the gravity increases, the period decreases as they are inversely proportional b. Increase the mass hanging on the pendulum.(U) Period is mass independent. Therefore, at gravity all masses accelerate equally, hence the period is unchanged. c. Making the pendulum shorter. (S) The length is directly proportional to the period. Therefore a decrease in the pendulum length decreases the period d. Reducing the amplitude of the oscillation (assuming that it was not very big to start with). (U) The oscillations period remains constant due to the lack of relation to the amplitude. 3. The frequency of the tone produced by a violin string is higher (H), lower (L) or unchanged (U) if we make the following changes (note that here we are asking about the frequency, whereas on the earlier problems we were asking about the period of the oscillation, which is just the inverse of the frequency) : a. Making the string shorter. (H) The frequency of the tone is high. The shorter the string the higher the pitch, therefore the high frequency experienced. b. Making the string thicker. (L) The increased thickness increases the mass per unit length. Therefore the string moves slower which decreases the pitch, hence the frequency. c. Pressing the string down on the fingerboard.(H) The vibration reduces when the spring is pressed to the fingerboard; the active part is shortened. Therefore the pitch and frequency rose. d. Reducing the tension of the string. (L) The reduced tension of string causes slow movement of the string therefore the pitch and frequency reduced Explain your response. 4. I take a violin and make an exact co py of it, except that it is bigger. The strings are identical except for the length; they have the same material and the same tension. If the new violin is 2.30 times the size of the original, at what frequency would the string that was previously the A4 string (that is 440 Hz on a regular violin) oscillate? Use units of "Hz." Explain your response. When the size increases the pitch decreases, therefore 440Hz divided by 2.3 440Hz / 2.3= 191.30Hz 5. If your hearing cuts off at 17440 Hz, what is the highest harmonic of E5 string you can hear? The answer is an integer without units. Hint: The E5 string vibrates at 660 Hz. Explain your response. The highest harmonic is 17440Hz divided by 660Hz 17440/660=26.42 Rounding off, the highest harmonic to be heard is the 26th Harmonic 6. The frequency of the sound coming from the organ pipe is higher (H), lower (L) or the same (S) if we make the following changes to the organ: a. Moving the organ to a higher elevation. (H) The air is less dense at higher elevation, therefore the molecules move more
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Project Design Plan Essay Example for Free
Project Design Plan Essay This experiment is to test the theory that the temperature of water affects the duration of time it takes to water to reach freezing? Hot water freezing faster than cold has been observed for many centuries. The earliest known reference to this effect is by Aristotle, who wrote: The fact that water has previously been warmed contributes to its freezing quickly; for so it cools sooner. Hence many people, when they want to cool hot water quickly, begin by putting it in the sun. . . (Jeng) Literature review 1. According to a study of the Mpemba effect by Monwhea Jeng Many factors impact water as it cools and eventually freezes, evaporation can contribute to a loss of mass, Hot water can hold less dissolved gas than cold water and large amounts of dissolved gas escape upon boiling, convection currents and non-uniform temperature distribution happen as water cools, the environmental of the hot sample also impacts the environment around it. Super cooling may also have an important role in the effect, super cooling occours when water freezes not at 0c but at some lower temperature. (Jeng, The Mpemba effect: When can hot water freeze faster than cold? , 2006) 2. In 1963 a student named Erasto B Mpemba noticed that placing recently a recently boiled mixture of milk and sugar into the refrigerator it froze into ice-cream faster than another students mixture that was not heated. He asked his physics instructor why this had happened and his physics instructor informed him ââ¬Å"you are confused, that cannot happenâ⬠this response highlights the need for objectivity in scientific studies. After repeatedly asking various instructors to explain his observations Mpemba took two 50ml beakers and filled one with water from the tap and one from hot water from a boiler and put them into a freezer, after an hour he discovered that their was in fact more ice formation in the sample from the boiler. Dr Osborne visited the school where Mpemba studied and Mpemeba asked him to explain the effect, he could not but unlike previous instructors and peers Dr. Osborne conducted experiments and did infact repeat Mpembaââ¬â¢s discovery (Osborne) Variables The Dependent variable is the starting temperature of the water being placed into the freezer. The Independent variable time elapsed until each sample freezes The Controlled variables are temperature of the freezer, the volume of the water samples and the sample containers. Hypothesis My hypothesis is that the hot water will freeze in a shorter elapsed time than the cold water due to a combination of loss of volume during the heating/cooling process; I arrived at this hypothesis through researching the Mpemba effect and reviewing the results of other experiments. Experimental design After reading multiple possible ways to conduct experiments on the Mpemba effect I chose this design plan because the experiment could be conducted with supplies I had on hand and should be easily reproducible. I will measure the temperature with a common digital kitchen thermometer every fifteen minutes until the water sample has frozen solid enough that the thermometer cannot penetrate the ice to take measurements. The tools I will be using are 1 Plastic measuring cup,1 Thermometer, Two .30 l plastic storage containers,1 Kitchen timer, 1 Clock, 1 Range cook top, 1 Sauce pan. Threat Reduction to Internal Validity To reduce the threats to internal validity I will use the same procedureââ¬â¢s to objectively measure the variables of temperature and volume in my experiment. Each temperature reading will be taken using the same thermometer; each volume measurement will be taken using the same measuring cup. Identical storage containers will be used to store the water samples and they will be placed at the same time into the same freezer on the same bare shelf. Experimental procedure. Step 1 Draw two samples of tap water 250ml each and record initial temperature Step 2 pour one sample into sauce pan heat to boiling; pour other sample into .30 l plastic storage container Step 3 pour boilingà sample into measuring cup and note any loss of volume Step 4 return samples to .30l plastic storage container Step 5 measure temperatures of boiled sample and room temperature sample Step 6 place both .30l plastic storage container into freezer Step 7 measure temperature of both samples every 15 min logging results until both samples are held at or below zero degrees Celsius long enough that the thermometers temperature probe cannot pierce the surface of the sample. . Step 8 Allow both samples to thaw at room temperature and measure for any loss of volume Experiment Results In my investigation the boiled sample of water did in fact freeze faster than the colder tap water sample the greatest temperature differential during my experiment arrived in the first 15 minutes of the boiled sample being introduced to the freezer, the boiled sample entered the freezer at 99.6C and 15 minutes later the temperature was 18.1c this represents a reduction of 81.5 degrees. No notable change of temperature to the environment was recorded. The cold sample also experienced the greatest reduction in temperature in the first 15 minutes of my experiment with a starting temperature of 14.3c and 15 minutes later the temperature was 2 degrees Celsius The hot sample continued to lose heat faster than the cold sample until 120 min into my experiment where both samples reached -0.6c and were too solidly frozen to continue measurements. After both samples were too solid to continue measurements I removed both samples from the freezer and allowed them to thaw once both samples were thawed I measured the remaining water volume the hot sample lost 30% of its volume whereas the cold sample had only lost 10% Conclusion This experiment has proven my hypothesis the hot water sample did in fact freeze in a shorter elapsed time than the cold water. The hot sample also lost 30% of its volume. The experimental design was a key factor in proving my hypothesis as it controlled many of the variables that could impact the outcome of my investigation. To replicate my experiment you will need a thermometer 500ml of water, two identical storage containers and a freezer with a constant temperature of 18 degrees Celsius . I replicated my experiment using the same experimental procedure and achieved the same results with a slight variation in the loss of volume in the hot sample, in my second attempt the hot sample lost 35% of its volume. Because I achieved similar results using the same experimental design I believe my observations are valid. Works Cited Jeng, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/hot_water.html#History Jeng, M. (2006). The Mpemba effect: When can hot water freeze faster than cold? . American Journal of Physics, 514. Kurtus, R. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/mpemba.htm Osborne, E. M. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.rsc.org/images/Cool-Mpemba-Osborne1969_tcm18-222099.pdf
Friday, November 15, 2019
Animals and Man Essay -- Analysis, G.W. Leibniz
G.W. Leibniz asserts that humans are superior to all other creatures. Admittedly, Leibnizââ¬â¢s ideas on this matter are somewhat ambiguous, making it difficult to ascertain his exact position. In some instances within the Discourse on Metaphysics, he appears to hold that animals do not have souls. On other occasions, however, he seems to express beliefs to the contrary. For example, Leibniz first expresses doubt about souls of animals when he questions ââ¬Å"if they [animals] have any [souls]â⬠(Leibniz, 11). In another example, on the contrary, he hints that ââ¬Å"the souls â⬠¦ of other bodies are entirely different from intelligent soulsâ⬠(12). This gives the impression that both other bodies and humans (ââ¬Å"intelligent soulsâ⬠) have souls albeit different to some degree. Later, however, Leibniz definitively remarks ââ¬Å"that animals have soulsâ⬠(37). In The Monadology, any remaining uncertainty vanishes. Here, he first mentions that â â¬Å"nature has given heightened perceptions to animals, from the care she has taken to furnish them organs â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (71). Then, a few words later Leibniz vows to explain ââ¬Å"how what occurs in the soul represents what occurs in the organsâ⬠(71). What he implies with this passage is that animals, just like humans, have souls which are influenced and impacted by sensory perceptions. Then, in XXVI of The Monadology, he explains that ââ¬Å"[m]emory provides a kind of sequence in souls, which imitates reason, but which must be distinguished from itâ⬠(71). Leibniz continues, providing an example of a dog remembering abuse with a stick to suggest that animals have some form of memory or perception. As a result of the memories of abuse and a recollection of the pain, the dog flees when presented with a stick. In arguing as much, Lei... ...ecies. Since humans cannot catch prey, without the use of tools or weaponry, as efficiently as a lion, the lion could then be deemed superior. Reframing what supposedly makes man superior out of an anthropocentric view hopefully elucidate the idea that no trait makes any being superior over any other. I agree with Leibniz that a mind created in the image of God should, indeed, ââ¬Å"act with knowledge in imitation of the divine natureâ⬠(39). This includes acting as moral agents to consider the good and inherent worth of all beings. After all, in many respects, animals and man are very similar. But, assuming human superiority is an abuse of our unique position as moral agents of God. Moreover, if we believe God has infinite and perfect virtues who acts in a divine nature, then it seems that such an omnibenevolent being would not value any creature over any other.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Study the short stories of both Raymond Carver and John Cheever
It is my intention within this essay to study the short stories of both Raymond Carver and John Cheever, in doing so I propose to address the theme of masculinity which runs throughout both of the author's stories. I shall do this by considering, among other things, such subjects as Post Modernism, Dirty Realism and social climate and how these are applied to the texts Boxes and Elephant, by Carver and The Season of Divorce by Cheever. The background in which both Carver and Cheever write, is very significant to the way in which both writer's male characters are emasculated within the stories. Carver was writing in the decade of the eighties, and as such Reaganite economics had much to do with the way in which the men lost their grip on the hunter gatherer stereotype which had preceded. The traditional role of the male shifted from heavy industrial work to more emasculated work, such as secretarial/office roles, and domestic captivity therefore diminishing their agency. On top of this many men became jobless due to redundancies concerned with this shift from a blue-collar society to a white-collar society, and so this domestic captivity was enhanced. It is such men who Carver writes about in his short stories. The men who have slipped out of this ââ¬Å"traditional male breadwinning worldâ⬠Cheever again, writes men relevant to the political climate in which he both lived and set his stories in. In the post war era of the fifties, the male role had begun to become redundant, as during the war women were compelled to do work which had been traditionally thought of as male, and as such the myth that women were not equipped to cope with such jobs, was dispelled. Therefore in the post war when all of the men came back from war, there was a new air of female liberation, which they had not had to deal with previously. Given this fact men became emasculated by the new found power of the female. We can see this treatment of masculinity within Raymond Carvers short story Boxes. The narrator, who unsurprisingly is never named within the story is captive within a suburban world of women and sears catalogues, in which he seems a spectator to his own life. This can be seen through the style of the narrative, in which there seems to be a collapse of male agency. Throughout the story the narrator, seems to be completely inexpressive of his feelings: ââ¬Å"I don't know why, but it's then I recall the affectionate name my dad used sometimesâ⬠¦ (p. 25) The use of the statement ââ¬Å"I don't knowâ⬠permeates the text, and shows the narrators lack of voice compared with the expressiveness of the women who seems to surround his life. Contrary to a narrator's role, he seems to say or think very little, and it is in fact his girlfriend, Jill who has all of the active verbs in the story: ââ¬Å"â⬠¦ ââ¬Å"this is what we wantâ⬠, she says. ââ¬Å"This is more like what I had in mind. Look at this, will youâ⬠but I don't look. I don't care five cents for curtains. ââ¬Å"what is it you see out there, honey? â⬠Jill says. ââ¬Å"Tell me. (p. 25) This is one of the rare occasions when the narrator expresses how he feels about the situation, but he expresses it only to the reader, and again within the story itself he has no voice. Jill's use of the word ââ¬Å"weâ⬠expresses her dominance over the narrators character, as it shows that she makes his decisions for him and that he is not his own person but has inescapably become part of a couple, from which he can no longer be distinguished, and as it is Jill who is in the driving seat, the narrator seems to have lost his identity altogether. It should also be noted that the way in which Jill addresses the narrator seems more befitting a pet or a dog than it does someone of equal stature and respect. We can see however through this that she does not regard him as of an equal stature to herself within the relationship, or even his life as a whole. Throughout the story the narrator has no contact with anyone of the same gender at all, except those who he sees through his window. It is significant that the men, whom he watches from a distance, always stand in stark contrast to himself. I. e. he is on the inside confined by a ââ¬Å"five roomed cottage of his very ownâ⬠(Boyd), and the real men are on the outside where they are free of the constraints of domestication. Also they are always doing something masculine, whereas when he is watching them he is always doing something feminine or is feminised in some way, for example a man changes the oil in his car while he, attempts to do something masculine by finding a roach and trying to smoke it while drinking a ginger ale. This scene is highly feminised in that he tries to do something masculine but falls short, because he simply has lost the ability to be male. So where a man would smoke a roach and drink a beer, he only attempts to smoke and drinks a ginger ale instead. The theme of feminisation permeates this novel and there are many other ways in which the narrator is disempowered, which I shall not go into. The image of suburbia however, is significant to this disempowerment as the surroundings represent, among other things the bland depredation of the characters lives. It also represents a highly feminised culture. One in which the sears catalogue is the coffee table equivalent of the bible, it is second nature to be house proud and for miles around there is no refuge from the reminder of the life, in which the characters of Carver's stories live. Within another of Carver's stories Elephant, we can see masculinity and the role of the male portrayed from the point of view of a man desperately trying to hold on to the shred of power which he has, rather than succumb to powerlessness as the narrator of Boxes did. The main theme of Elephant is that of the breadwinner, however within the story this role is taken for granted, as all of his family emasculate the narrator by taking advantage of every male role that he could be classed under, as husband, father, brother, and son. Each of his family guilt trips him into giving them money except his ex wife, who doesn't need to, because it is the law that she gets his money. ââ¬Å"That's four people, right? Not counting my brother, who wasn't a regular yet. I was going crazy with it. I worried night and day. I couldn't sleep over it. I was paying out nearly as much as I was bringing in. You don't have to be a genius, or know anything about economics to understand that this state of affairs couldn't keep on. I had to get a loan to keep up my end of things. That was another monthly paymentâ⬠(p. 80) We can see from this that the narrator refuses to let his grasp of the role of breadwinner go easily, even although he does not have the ability to sustain such a role. It is the fact that the narrator is trying so hard to maintain some sort of control, that his family are taking for granted, and conversely it is this ââ¬Å"controlâ⬠which is emasculating him. The brother, plays a very important role within the story, and as such I believe that this is why Carver chose to make him stand out from the rest of his family, as more obnoxious and more amoral than the rest of the narrator's family, the reason being twofold. Of all of the narrator's family the brother is the only male to whom he is not obliged to help, and therefore the narrator grudges him more than the others. He has been emasculated by all of the women in the story, and his children, however his brother seems more than anyone to have picked up on this and be jumping on the bandwagon, and this creates a tension as the narrator feels that as a male adult he should also be a breadwinner. More importantly, however is the fact that his brother epitomises the failure of the traditional male position in life, which he fears more than anything, and as such he resents being confronted with his worst fear. Within this story, we are not given so strong a representation of suburbia, as we are within Boxes, however what we are given is a post modern minimalist image of the narrators life, in which there is very little reference to his surroundings at all. When we are given a glimpse of his surroundings however, it is a very sparse image: ââ¬Å"I didn't bother to lock the door. I remembered what had happened to my daughter but decided I didn't have anything worth stealing anywayâ⬠¦ I had a TV but I was sick of watching TV. They'd be doing me a favour if they broke in and took it off my handsâ⬠(p. 8). The strength and impact of the story lies in the fact that there is very little to say about the narrators own life. It is empty and devoid of meaning so in order to have some use in life he feels the need to continue on his breadwinning path to destruction. The narrator lives in an emotional suburbia. Through this use of Dirty Realism to create an image of a life so futile and empty that it is barely worth living it at all. But the characters do, and it is because of this futility that many of them attach importance to minor things, such as the type of curtains they want to put up. As I have said earlier, like Carver, Cheever also portrays a portrait of the suburban American man as defeated and emasculated, and we can see this well within his short story The Season of Divorce. Within this short story traditional American masculinity, and the freedom to be a sexual predator, is displaced by the role of the husband and father and commitments to family life. The first two words in the story are ââ¬Å"my wifeâ⬠and this sets a trend for the rest of the story, in which the narrator is first and foremost part of the family unit, and secondly, if at all, a man. The main plot of the story, is about the way in which the narrator deals with another man attempting to usurp his position as husband, however the way in which Cheever has portrayed these events, creates a reversal of roles, as the man who tries to usurp his position is not put across as very predatory, and it is the narrators wife who is in the position of power. She is flattered by the attention and allows the situation to escalate. It seems that Ethel is in the male gendered role and both her husband and her suitor portray the female reaction to such occurrences: ââ¬Å"At nine o'clock the doorbell rangâ⬠¦ e seemed distraught and exhilarated when he appearedâ⬠¦ ââ¬ËI know that you don't like me here, I respect your feelingsâ⬠¦ I respect your home, I respect your marriage, I respect your childrenâ⬠¦ I've come here to tell you that I love your wife'â⬠¦ ââ¬Ëget out' I said. ââ¬Ëyou've got to listen to me'â⬠¦ ââ¬ËI know that there are problems with custody and property and things like that to be settled'â⬠¦ ââ¬Ëget out of her, get the hell out of here' He started for the door. There was a potted geranium on the mantelpiece, and I threw this across the room at him, hitting him in the small of the backâ⬠¦ (p. 190) We can see from this passage that the reactions of both of the men, Trencher coming to talk rationally to him, and the narrator screaming and throwing a potted plant at Trencher, are both instinctively female reactions to such a situation. I believe that it is through the suburban surroundings in which they have been immersed that they have come to lose sight of what it is to be male and as such have become homogenised to the femininity of a suburban life, in which all that really exists is a home life. In conclusion, it seems that each of the central male characters within these stories, all seems to have the same fleeting moment of epiphany, in which they realise the futility of their life, but then they forget what it meant and continue on with their lives, convincing themselves that they are happy. In a typically post modern manner both authors seem to draw heavy reference from their own lives and I believe that it is because of this that both Cheever and Carver seem to be protesting against this feminisation and downfall of the traditional American male. Carver however, I believe is much more negative about the downfall of the male role, as he always ends his stories with the feeling that there is no hope: ââ¬Å"what is there to tell?â⬠¦ they leave the light burning. Then they remember, and it goes out. â⬠(p. 26) Whereas Cheever in the end always reverts to a blissful ignorance on the part of the male character, and everyone lives happily ever afterâ⬠¦ or do they?
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