Comparing Death in The Jilting of Granny Weatherall and A Worn Path Ess

Comparing Death in The Jilting of Granny Weatherall and A Worn Path Death is not something to be feared, but faced with awe. Although, by nature, aging and death are merely facts of life; a loss of hope, the frustration of all aspirations, a leap into a great darkness, and the feelings of fear and anguish. Phoneix Jackson of Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" and Granny of Katherine Anne Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" face these inevitable signs of aging and death. Phoenix Jackson, an old Negro lady, haltingly struggles with her age while walking through the woods and fields on her way to town. "Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far." Phoenix Jackson walks a worn path and overcomes obstacles and adversity to reach her goal. "She carried a thin, small cane made from an umbrella, and with this she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her." The fact that she kept persistently tapping the earth in front of her could only indicate that she was visually impaired. She may not have been completely blind, but she had to have been substantially impaired ...

Women As ‘Real Men’

Throughout the selected stories in Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron many themes are brought to a readers attention. These themes help relate and compare the tales to one another in more ways than one. In the tale, Day two Story nine it raises a certain question on how a man may look as his wife, and the standards his wife may have to uphold. In comparison Day Five Story Ten, the question raised is a question of loyalty of a wife to her husband, which in turn, compare with the standards a wife may have to uphold for the husband. In both of these stories women are seen in the end as tough characters that take these actions from their husbands without any question; they are the real men in the tales. The tale Day Two Story Nine is about a man Bernabo whom is married to Zinevra, a very trustworthy wife. Bernabo and his friend Ambrugiolo while away get into a conversation about how easy it is to cheat on their wives while they are away, because in the end Ambrugiolo’s thought is that they do the same thing. Bernabo disagrees he looks at his wife as very trustworthily and Zinevra would never do such a thing. Because of a bet the two men end up making, Amrugiolo undeservingly wins the bet, or so Bernabo is led to believe. Bernabo orders a servant to murder Zinevra because of this misleading sin she been framed of committing. She pleads to the servant for her life and runs away to begin a new life as a man. Zinevra made a new life for herself after she was framed and moved on. But one day in the market she ran into her husband, Bernabo after much talking they realized who each other were. In the end, Zinevra gets revenge on Ambrugiolo and he is killed. Zinevra was in control of her decision to either go back to her husband Bernabo after he did not trust her word and ordered her to be killed, or not. She ends up goes back to her husband and in a way is a hero. Bernabo did not trust the loyalty of their marriage and was quick to judge Zinevra, but in the end the two lived happily ever after. Day Five Story 10 is another story with the loyalty of a husband and a wife. The story is about a man Guaitieri marrying a beautiful peasant, Griselda. Quick to marry, Guaitieri does not know if Griselda is truly a loyal companion and tests her through dramatic and horrific tricks. Including lying to Griselda about killing both their daughter and son, and Griselda does not question it and agrees with his actions. Guaitieri does not know what will break his wife because he believes this woman could not be so loyal. Therefore he pretends to divorce the peasant, and tells Griselda that he is getting remarried. He wants her to not only attend the wedding, but also clean and decorate the house for the event. Griselda agrees yet again, and in the end Guaitieri is convinced that she is just as loyal as she acts and tells her the whole truth of the matter. Their children were never killed, and the woman he was about to marry was their daughter. The loyal Griselda takes back Guaitieri and they live happily ever after. While reading these stories, which were written in a time not like today, a reader may be taken back. With the Bernabo and Zinevra story, a reader may question why Bernabo was so quick to judge what he thought was a trustworthy and loyal wife. But as we see in the selected tales women are viewed almost as a prize or object not as a companion or a real person. We see that in Guaitieri and Griselda’s story as well Guaitieri tests Griselda over and over and would not believe that she really was a loyal as she was coming off to be. Readers would take this story and see Griselda as almost an abused women, husbands do not treat their wives this way this time in age. In contradiction back in the day Griselda was seen as such a loyal women and wife because of her reactions to Guaitieri’s terrible lies. In both tales, the women over come their challenges and are viewed as harder and tougher people then the men.

Ambiguity Equivocation in Macbeth - 1097 Words

In William Shakespeare s play, Macbeth, the theme of ambiguity and equivocation stands our quite clearly. The Oxford definition of equivocation is: ‘use of ambiguity to conceal the truth . Macbeth s voluntary misinterpretation of the ambiguity and equivocation of the witches relates to the play s theme. After the first of the witches prophecies comes true, Macbeth begins to believe in their truth. However, he also believes that the prophecies must all lead to his enrichment and empowerment. The use of equivocation in Macbeth also incorporates a sub-theme of appearance versus reality and the powers of evil. In the end, he twists the witches words to fit his own purposes, ignoring the possibility that the prophecies might have†¦show more content†¦reality). The three apparitions which appear to Macbeth are, Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff, Beware the Thane of Fife. / Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man; for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth. / Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him. Macbeth translates these prophecies as a meaning that he will reign as king until the day he dies of natural causes and will no longer have to fear Macduff for he can do no harm to him. Although he is assured by the equivocate predictions, his uncertainty gets the better of him. This can be seen in his actions; he kills Macduff s family but leaves the man himself alive, he enters into battles screaming that no man of woman born shall ever harm him, not knowing that Macduff was born of Caesarian section, and eventually his foolish actions lead to his death at the hand s of Macduff. It is the equivocation of the apparitions that lead him to this course of action. In his apathetic, power-hungry state, Macbeth chooses to hear only the surface message and not the deeper warning. Nevertheless, the apparitions made it very easy for him to do this. They used equivocation to hide the truth. Macbeth, unable to control his desire to keep his power, interpreted those words in a way that would ensure his ownShow MoreRelatedMacbeth Equivocation Essay1003 Words   |  5 Pagesstory of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a classic one of betrayal and destiny. One of the major themes of the play is the use of equivocation to create ambiguity. The definition of equivocation from the Oxford dictionary is: the use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself; prevarication. The very definition of equivocation contains the use of ambiguity, thus making the two very connected in terms of the story of the play. 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As Bernard McElroy says in his literary criticism about Macbeth, â€Å" When con fronted with the possibility of committing aRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Macbeth 1399 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, resonates the damnation and inevitable dissolution of man in the face of compunction, facades and vaulting ambition. Through the use of dramatic irony, symbolism and soliloquies, Shakespeare denotes the happenings of a tragic hero who ambles on the verge between moral and immoral; the inception after which humanity cascades to pieces. Ultimately through this farrago of self-seeking divinations, disdainful desires, decimating machinations and an ultimate plunge fromRead MoreEssay about Certain Ambiguity in Shakespeares Ambiguous Macbeth2636 Words   |  11 PagesCertain Ambiguity in Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Bard of Avon does not make all meanings explicit in his tragedy Macbeth. Of course, much of the ambiguity is intentional. In this essay we shall explore the instances of ambiguity in the play.    In Everybodys Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies, Maynard Mack comments on the purposeful obscurity in which Shakespeare keeps the three Witches:    The obscurity with which Shakespeare envelops their nature and powers is very probablyRead MoreStudy Guide Literary Terms7657 Words   |  31 Pagesalludes (refers) to the biblical figure John the Baptist in the line Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter, . . . In the New Testament, John the Baptists head was presented to King Herod on a platter 5. ambiguity-A statement which can contain two or more meanings. For example, when the oracle at Delphi told Croesus that if he waged war on Cyrus he would destroy a great empire, Croesus thought the oracle meant his enemys empire. In fact, the empire Croesus