The narrator’s jealousy of Rebecca Essay Example for Free

The narrator’s jealousy of Rebecca Essay The narrator’s jealousy of Rebecca permeates the majority of the novel. Because of her youth and insecurity, the narrator is unable to understand why Maxim chooses to marry her. As she learns more and more about Rebecca, she begins to compare herself to Maxim’s first wife, who seemed to be far more beautiful, elegant, and sophisticated than she could ever hope to be. The narrator’s preoccupation with Rebecca develops to the point that she concludes that Maxim is still in love with her. With this revelation, the conflict between the narrator and the memory of Rebecca becomes a competition for Maxim’s love. Yet, with her desperate love for Maxim and jealousy of Rebecca, the narrator has no recourse until Maxim tells her the truth about Rebecca. Only then can the narrator overcome her jealousy and approach her marriage as the sole Mrs. de Winter. Jealousy also appears on Maxim’s side of the narrative, specifically in his relationship with Rebecca and her many lovers. Maxim confronts Rebecca in the boathouse and ultimately kills her because she manipulates his jealousy into a tool for her own destruction. In both cases, jealousy is a destructive force that has the ability to destroy both Maxim and the narrator if they let it. Escaping the past One of the main conflicts of Rebecca revolves around Maxim and the narrator’s efforts to escape the past. From his first entrance in the novel, Maxim is tormented by the memory of his marriage to Rebecca and his eventual murder of her. Even though the narrator never knew Rebecca, she is equally haunted by her presence at Manderley through her physical representative, Mrs. Danvers. The characters are only able to move forward with their marriage after each one has come to terms with the past in their individual ways. For the narrator, Maxim must reveal that he never loved Rebecca in order for her to assume her position as mistress of Manderley. Maxim, on the other hand, must own up to the consequences of his actions and stop running from the memory of what he has done. In the end, Maxim and the narrator triumph over the memory of Rebecca but only after Manderley, with all of its memories of her, is destroyed. Good versus evil. Du Maurier plays with the dichotomy between good and evil in the way that she  presents the main characters. From a general perspective, it is clear that the narrator and Maxim are on the â€Å"good† side, while Rebecca and Mrs. Danvers are on the â€Å"bad† side. Yet, Du Maurier adds complexity to each character so that all sense of good and evil becomes purely subjective. For example, Maxim is the primary male character and the narrator’s love interest and thus, is presented as the hero of the novel. At the same time, however, Maxim is a murderer who shot Rebecca in a fit of rage, an act that is hardly appropriate for a hero. Similarly, while Mrs. Danvers is presented as the antagonist of the novel who actively strives to undermine the narrator, she is also an individual who is overwhelmed with grief at the lost of her friend and mistress. By blending the concepts of good and evil, Du Maurier creates a set of characters that are truly human in their complexit y and motivations. Love vs. hate Love and hate serve as crucial motivational tools for the primary characters in Rebecca. In most cases, characters exhibit both emotions—sometimes even a blend of the two—and use their love or hate to justify their actions in the novel. For the majority of the text, Maxim is motivated by his love for the narrator and Manderley, as well as his hatred for Rebecca and her memory. Mrs. Danvers and Jack Favell, as the seeming â€Å"villains† of the piece, are both prompted by their love for Rebecca and hatred for those who seem to have forgotten her. In Mrs. Danvers’ case, Rebecca is the object of an obsessive love that Mrs. Danvers uses to justify her hatred of the narrator and her attempt to undermine Maxim’s second marriage. Jack Favell, on the other hand, had hoped to marry Rebecca, and he uses his disappointed love to justify blackmailing Maxim. As the object of both love and hate, Rebecca is the only character who seems to be motivated purely by se lf-love in her behavior. As a result, she manipulated the emotions of those around her to her own advantage and maintained power over Manderley both in life and in death. Identity One of the major themes of the novel is the narrator’s search to establish her own identity. Du Maurier establishes this theme from the very beginning by maintaining the narrator’s anonymity, as only Maxim learns the narrator’s â€Å"lovely and unusual† name. When she marries Maxim, the narrator is  automatically given a new identity as Mrs. de Winter, but she does not feel comfortable or suited to the role. The narrator’s uncertain identity worsens during her time at Manderley because the constant reminder of Rebecca, the â€Å"real† Mrs. de Winter. The narrator is quickly overwhelmed by the strength of Rebecca’s presence and even considers given up all claims to an identity as Maxim’s wife. The climax of the narrator’s identity crisis is at the Manderley costume ball when even her physical appearance is overshadowed by the memory of Rebecca in the same costume. In the end, the narrator must learn the truth about Rebec ca’s nature before she can feel assured of Maxim’s love and her identity as Mrs. de Winter.

Free Essays - Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms :: Farewell Arms Essays

  Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a typical love story. A Romeo and his Juliet placed against the odds. In this novel, Romeo is Frederick Henry and Juliet is Catherine Barkley. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War I. The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the love story. The war affects the emotions and values of each character. The love between Catherine and Frederick must outlast long separations, life-threatening war-time situations, and the uncertainty of each other's whereabouts or condition. This novel is a beautiful love story of two people who need each other in a period of upheaval. Frederick Henry is an American who serves as a lieutenant in the Italian army to a group of ambulance drivers. Hemingway portrays Frederick as a lost man searching for order and value in his life. Frederick disagrees with the war he is fighting. It is too chaotic and immoral for him to rationalize its cause. He fights anyway, because the army puts some form of discipline in his life. At the start of the novel, Frederick drinks and travels from one house of prostitution to another and yet he is discontent because his life is very unsettled. He befriends a priest because he admires the fact that the priest lives his life by a set of values that give him an orderly lifestyle. Further into the novel, Frederick becomes involved with Catherine Barkley. He slowly falls in love with her and, in his love for her, he finds commitment. Their relationship brings some order and value to his life. Compared to this new form of order in his life, Frederick sees the losing Italian army as total chaos and disorder where he had previously seen discipline and control. He can no longer remain a part of something that is so disorderly and so, he deserts the Italian army. Frederick's desertion from the Italian army is the turning point of the novel. This is the significance of the title, A Farewell to Arms. When Frederick puts aside his involvement in the war, he realizes that Catherine is the order and value in his life and that he does not need anything else to give meaning to his life.

Last time i saw him Essay

The last time I saw my Grandfather he was walking along the beach with his metal detector. Actually it was not the last time I physically saw him, but it was the last time that I would see him and be able to talk to him person to person, eye to eye. I remember my surprise as I stood at the rail on the boardwalk looking down upon the steaming sand, noting nothing remarkable until, from the corner of my eye, I spied his figure. He had a figure that I had grown up knowing in silhouette distinct in my mind – but not as his. It was the familiar figure of Alfred Hitchcock. Whenever I looked at Grandpa I saw that shadowy teller of tales from days gone by. But, as I knew that I was not seeing the grand master of mystery himself, I knew it could be, couldn’t it, why yes . . . it was, Grandpa. He was slowly searching the sand for buried treasure with his prized metal detector. A hobby that he had adopted after retiring from the workaday world. Although I knew he lived somewhat cl ose to Seaside, that was the first time that it occurred to me that I might actually run into him. I suppose one never expects to run into their grandparents at the beach. I smiled silently for a moment as I watched that adorable man, donned in shorts, t-shirt. baseball cap and earphones studiously monitoring his valuable machine for blips or beeps. But that moment passed quickly as I called out to him, â€Å"Grandpa, Grandpa† waving my hand furiously to draw his attention. He spied me yet seemed puzzled as to who I could possibly be. I was, after all, the only black haired granddaughter that he had. After a moment or two of contemplation I watched as he seemed to awaken. As he waved back I began to walk toward a place where hellos could become hugs. I brought him to the pizzeria where Kenny, my husband, worked and we fed and watered the old dear. We sat talking at a table for moments too swift, not knowing then that this would be the last time we would really have the chance. We talked briefly of family matters that, in the big picture of things, seem not to have mattered enough for me to note them; of the wonderful treasures found beneath the sand thanks largely to his narrow, metal sidekick; of why Ken and I were in Seaside at all, and how long we planned to stay. Small talk filling a smaller moment in time. I asked him why he would want to wear that baseball cap, as I could not remember having seen him in one before, and he showed me the brilliance of the sunlight upon his naked head. I joked with him about not seeing me only feet away from where he was, and he  explained his glaucoma operation that would be taking place that month. We embraced as I walked him out and said goodbye. I may have just spent moments listening, but I was not hearing. He was not telling me about small items that day, he was telling me, I am old now and time is ticking away. He was warning me that he would not be here forever, yet I did not heed his warning. He was telling me goodbye that summer’s day and I was saying â€Å"Talk to you soon.† I was but a foolish child. As he walked away, the sun was taking a bow before fading away. I did not, until this day, see that something more blindingly beautiful had also taken their bow. As I yelled goodbye, at the moment the surf washed the sand back into its home – the sea, did he hear talk to you later or did he merely whisper, â€Å"Yes, goodbye.†

The Vietnam War And The United States - 872 Words

The Vietnam War was unlike any other war in which the United States has participated. The Vietnam War has many unique attributes, beginning with the unclear reason as to why the U.S. became involved in a war that presented no threat to U.S. citizens or national security. Three unique attributes of the Vietnam War that are very interesting are the U.S. combat strategy, the Vietnamese guerrilla warfare, and the MIA issue. The first interesting attribute is the combat strategy used by the American soldiers through the duration of the War. U.S. soldiers were well-trained in field combat, such as the type of combat used in World War II. The U. S. Army was not trained to fight an enemy in the jungle. According to David Hackworth, an Army colonel who spent five years in Vietnam, this War could not be won with this type of combat (Am. Exp. - Reflections – Hackworth, par. 1). Hackworth states that the Army leaders were so far removed from the fighting, they could not see the need to change the strategy to a more effective style (Am. Exp. - Reflections – Hackworth, par. 8). Interestingly, American soldiers continually exercised field combat for eight years, without much gain in the war effort. I wonder if, at any point during the U.S. involvement, anyone questioned or suggested doing something different. Air support made it possible for soldiers on the ground to gain some victories. It is inter esting to note how many uses the helicopter had: medical evacuations, search and destroyShow MoreRelatedThe Vietnam War On The United States964 Words   |  4 PagesThe Vietnam War is a more frequently and familiar name for the Second Indochina War. It was the longest war America has fought in. The Vietnam War had an impact on the American people, since it was the first war to ever be broadcasted on television. The country was able to see what was happening on the battleground. This war would have lasting effects on the United States and the nation it divided. The Vietnam war started way before America became involved (1955–1975). Indochina, which includedRead MoreThe United States And The Vietnam War946 Words   |  4 Pagesthe fact that; the Montagnard population is dropping. It was once over 3 million during French colonialism, today the race has dwindle to only a few thousand. As the tension between the Montagnard and Vietnam grow the safer place to be is in Cambodia and the neighbor countries. During the Vietnam War a few U. S Special Forces soldiers set up camps in the central highland, deep in the jungle area to block the road from Viet Cong resupplied route. They encounter a tribesmen â€Å"Montagnard† or â€Å"Yard†Read MoreThe Vietnam War And The United States2269 Words   |  10 PagesThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War began in 1955 or ten years after World War 2. The United States direct involvement in the war started in 1964 and extended through 1973 but its indirect involvement started much earlier. At the end of the Second World War the United States and the Soviet Union were recognized as the two greatest military powers in the world. As the Soviet Union expanded their influence over Eastern Europe in countries including Bulgaria, East Germany, and China turnedRead MoreThe United States And The Vietnam War1153 Words   |  5 PagesA Day to Remember It seems as if the united states are always fighting a battle whether it is overseas or within its own borders. The citizens were not ready for what the 1970’s was going to bring, socially, economically, and religiously. Jim Jones was going to bring peace and relief to these people in the most tragic way possible. With brain washing, manipulation, and isolation Jones convinced hundreds of people to commit suicide. 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One side was communist and the other side was a republic. The Viet Cong tried to oppress and take over. The United States reacted to this threat as a communist act and decided to step in and aid the people o f Vietnam. This war was classifiedRead More The United States in the Vietnam War Essay1274 Words   |  6 PagesThe United States in the Vietnam War Many soldiers have been lost in the different wars that the United States has been involved. Although there have been many wars only one is unique from the others, it is known as the war that was never won or lost. The Vietnam War started out as a conflict but soon escalated into a full-fledged war. Many soldiers have been lost in the Vietnam War. The United States sent many soldiers into the jungles of Indochina trying to stop the spread of communism fromRead MoreThe Vietnam War And The United States Of America1766 Words   |  8 PagesFormer Secretary of State and Vietnam veteran John Kerry said it best when he stated â€Å"In our opinion and from our experience, there is nothing in South Vietnam which could happen that realistically threatens the United States of America† and â€Å"To attempt to justify the loss of one American life in Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos†¦is to us the height of criminal hypocrisy which we feel has torn the country apart† (Goldstein). Th is statement stands true with many Americans as the Vietnam War was the most opposedRead MoreThe United States Involvement During The Vietnam War1514 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States involvement in the Vietnam War developed into one of the most brutal, yet necessary wars of The Cold War. Although the war was viewed poorly by most, it helped a weak, crumbling South Vietnam stand up to a strong powerful North Vietnam that was forcing communism on them. President Johnson even stated that â€Å"Our objective is the independence of South Vietnam and its freedom from attack.† The United States wanted to stop an oppressive government and to make sure the world is a saferRead MoreThe United States Involvement During The Vietnam War1729 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States involvement in Vietnam was the longest war the U.S. has ever took part in and was considered an extended military engagement due to the fact congress never formally declared war with Vietnam (FCNL). The V ietnam War began on November 1, 1955 and lasted for 20 years until April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the communist Northern Vietnamese and the anti-communist Southern Vietnamese after the country was temporarily divided by the Geneva Accords. Americas entering of the Vietnam