Jotted Lines

A Collection Of Essays

Menu
  • Literature
  • Media Studies
  • History
  • Management
  • Philosophy
  • Economics
  • Gender Studies
  • Psychology
  • Law
Menu

Tag: Themes

The Aleph – Themes

Posted on March 5, 2023March 5, 2023 by JL Admin

 The Nature of Memory In his parable ‘‘The Witness,’’ Borges imag[1]ines the last man to have witnessed pagan rituals dying in Anglo-Saxon England and remarks, ‘‘with him will die, and never return, the last immediate images of these pagan rites.’’ Because of this, ‘‘the world will be a little poorer,’’ since it will have lost…

What We Cannot Speak About We Must Pass Over in Silence – Themes

Posted on February 21, 2023February 21, 2023 by JL Admin

 Imprisonment  “What We Cannot Speak About We Must Pass Over in Silence” features the narrator’s obsession with the imprisoned son of his dead friend. The story offers a critique of the prison system, reflecting the author’s activism on the subject. As of 2006, Wideman’s son and younger brother were both serving life sentences for murder,…

Someone to Talk To by Deborah Eisenberg – Themes

Posted on October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 by JL Admin

 Loneliness and the Need to Be Heard  The main character of “Someone to Talk To,” Aaron Shapiro, is coping with the departure of his live-in girlfriend of six years. In addition, he is far from home, in an unfamiliar country torn by years of civil war. As the story progresses and the reader learns more…

Paris 1991 – Themes

Posted on September 30, 2022September 30, 2022 by JL Admin

 Self-fulfillment  Although readers do not get many details about Marion’s life, Rebecca suggests that her mother experienced the same kind of discontentment as does she. When she buys the devil postcard, Rebecca implies that Marion lived vicariously though her daughter’s travels, ones that she, as a married woman during the 1950s and 1960s in the…

The Necessary Grace to Fall – Themes

Posted on September 29, 2022September 29, 2022 by JL Admin

 Mortality, Suicide, and the Affirmation of Life  The characters vary greatly in the extent to which the life force and the desire to live flows through them. Leonard, with his physical fitness, well-defined muscles and constant munching of “energy bars,” has a strong hold on life, as does the aggressive Carla, with her desire to…

The Middleman by Bharati Mukherjee – Themes

Posted on September 27, 2022September 27, 2022 by JL Admin

 Amorality, Deceit, and Self-interest  The world depicted in the story is a brutal, violent, cynical one. With the possible exception of Andreas, the guerrilla leader, the characters are concerned only with how they can exploit the situation for their own benefit. The finer qualities of love and friendship and behavior guided by moral standards are…

Melon by Julian Barnes – Themes

Posted on September 26, 2022September 26, 2022 by JL Admin

 Aristocracy  “Melon” focuses on a particular member of the English aristocracy, showing different facets of him over the course of years, highlighting the different perspectives that one can have as a member of the ruling class. When he is young, he is not the master of his world but instead is watched over by his…

Meeting Mrinal – Themes

Posted on September 25, 2022September 25, 2022 by JL Admin

 Women Caught between Two Cultures  “Meeting Mrinal” shows the predicament of Asha, a woman who grew up in India, had an arranged marriage according to Indian tradition, and then had to adapt to a new lifestyle and culture as a divorced woman. The first change, taking place before the story opens, comes when she immigrates…

Last Courtesies – Themes

Posted on September 22, 2022September 22, 2022 by JL Admin

 Alienation  In one way or another, all of the characters in Leffland’s short story “Last Courtesies” live isolated lives. The least alienated may be Jody, even though she is described as having many male suitors come to her apartment each night (and Vladimir calls her as a prostitute). On one level, Jody appears to be…

Immortality by Yiyun Li – Themes

Posted on September 20, 2022September 20, 2022 by JL Admin

 Mind Control  The story shows some of the negative consequences of a totalitarian system, in which the government controls every aspect of people’s lives, including how they behave and what they think. The minds of the townspeople are controlled by the Communist Party, which is their only authority for what is happening both in their…

Posts navigation

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 26
  • Next
©2025 Jotted Lines | Built using WordPress and Responsive Blogily theme by Superb