The Stranger #3

Meursault's feelings toward the external world continue to be very indifferent. His values are his own; he does not allow society to dictate them. For example, Meursault views religion with this indifference. During Meursault's murder trial, when the magistrate waves a crucifix in Meursault's face, Meursault reports to the reader that the magistrate speaks very "quickly and passionately" of his profound faith in God (68). While Meursault's narration is usually fairly bland, these two adverbs create a clear image of the magistrate that contrasts strongly with the relaxed and measured movements of Meursault. As a result, the magistrate appears juvenile in his proclamation of his faith. By making a mockery of a man of faith, Meursault communicates his disinterest in religion and its lack of rationality and reason. He follows his own code of morals rather than that of any organized religion.

"Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost

Thesis: The speaker of Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay" conveys a tone of resigned acceptance through his use of alliteration, allusion, and selection of diction.

The speaker employs alliteration in order to convey his tone of resignation.  In line 2, four of the five words in the line begin with the letter "H".  As a result, the line sounds and feels breathy and fleeting.  These feelings represent the speaker's view of youth.  This line suggests that the speaker sees youth as too short and as hazy and obscure.  The speaker softly acknowledges here that youth and life do not last as long as one may wish.  Furthermore, the tone created by the soft phonemes of the second line is further accentuated by the hard "G" sound of "green" and "gold," which immediately precede that line (1).  The contrast of these consonant sounds enhances the speaker's resigned tone.

The Stranger #2

Meursault is very detached from the external world, particularly from the world’s cultural expectations.  Meursault recounts his tale in the format of a sequence, showing very little emotion and using short sentences with no flow.  For example, Meursault begins Chapter Three, “I worked hard at the office today.  The boss was nice” (25).  One sentence has seven words, and the next has four.  They reveal no more than they need to for the reader to know the most basic plot of the chapter.  In fact, these sentences state so little that they do not even explicitly tell the reader that there is a connection between his hard work and the way his boss treats him.  As a result of this lack of cause and effect, while Meursault works hard, he does not seem to see any reason to, and so his work has no psychological or emotional experience behind it.  It is simply an action that is happening to him.  Similarly, his involvement with Marie is strikingly devoid of any emotion or intimacy.  When she asks Meursault if he loves her, he tells her that “it didn’t mean anything but that [he] didn’t think so” (35).  Marie expects because of the standards of her culture that Meursault will tell her either yes or no.  To the contrary, society’s expectations do not concern Meursault, and he chooses not to search for the specific emotion that his culture has arbitrarily named “love.”  Instead, he chooses simply to feel what he feels, and if his wishes can work in harmony with hers then so be it.  By responding indifferently to Marie’s love, Meursault does not make an effort to fit into one of society’s most universal and enduring structures.

"For a Lamb" by Richard Eberhart

Richard Eberhart’s “For a Lamb” has a tone of resigned tragedy.  The speaker describes the lamb using the word “putrid”, which contrasts sharply with the traditional innocent and peaceful connotations of a lamb (1).  This contrast creates a shocking image and therefore a tragic mood.  The speaker uses “sleep” as a euphemism for death, enhancing the sense of tragedy by understating it (2).  In the second stanza, the speaker asks, “Where’s the lamb?” (5). Like the “sleep” euphemism, this questions adds to the tragic tone because of its innocence.  This innocence contrasts with the “putrid” death of the lamb, making it seem more tragic.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #8

At the end of the book, Dorian has finally begun to see his evil nature.  When he walks with Lord Henry, and he tells Dorian more and more of his epigrams as he usually does.  However, Dorian reacts differently in this scene than he ever has before.  He does not accept them as fact, and he becomes skeptical of Lord Henry’s central philosophy.  When Lord Henry mocks the romantic relationship Dorian has with a country girl for example, Dorian reacts with a paragraph-long monologue, telling Lord Henry, “I can’t bear this, Harry! You mock at everything, and then suggest the most serious tragedies” (155).  Dorian has finally learned to think critically and objectively, to question Lord Henry’s convincing epigrams, and to stand up for himself.  Later, as Dorian observes two men gossiping about him, he reflects that “He was tired of hearing his name now” after recalling “how pleased he used to be when he was pointed out, or stared at, or talked about” (161).  Dorian sees now what other people think of him, and he has come to realize that he is not the man he would like to be.  He has become cruel and vane, and the people who used to adore him have noticed and have begun to hate him and gossip about him.  Dorian is disappointed in himself, and he realizes in the final chapters of the novel that he must distance himself from Lord Henry and reform his ways.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #7

Dorian continues to stray away from his initial innocence in this section of the novel. He continues to succumb to the influence of Lord Henry, who is rather unpopular among all of Dorian's acquaintances. Last Narborough, for example, is quick to voice her disgust of Lord Henry's lateness, indicating her impatience with him (129). Dorian is also at this party, which he finds extremely bored without Lord Henry's company. This boredom is evident when he sees "some consultation that Harry was to be" at the party (129). Even after almost twenty years of friendship with Lord Henry, Dorian cannot help but be heavily dependent upon him for friendship and influence.

Dorian is still unable to confess of his murder of Basil, even when he comes across more perfect opportunities to do so. When Lord Henry shows concern about Dorian's suspicious behavior at Lady Narborough's party, Dorian responds dismissively, "I am quite well, Harry. I am tired. That is all" (133). At this point, Lord Henry is the one man who may still be able to empathize with Dorian for anything; as both Basil and the reader can observe, Lord Henry is the closest thing to friend that Dorian has left. Even so, Dorian is still unable to confide in Lord Henry. The fact that he is unwilling to tell his most trusted friend, in the one situation in which he is least likely to be the subject of the intense judgment of his peers, is evidence that Dorian is still unwilling to take responsibility for and learn from his crime.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #5

After Dorian begins to read the book and continues to hide the portrait, his corruption grows, and his relationship with Basil dwindles as Lord Henry's influence takes over. In Chapter IX, Dorian completely alienates Basil; he refuses to let Basil see the portrait into which he poured his soul. During Basil's visit, Dorian takes advantage of him: "instead of having been forced to reveal his own secret, he had succeeded, almost by chance, in wrestling a secret from his friend!" namely that Basil is afraid that he exposes too much of his personal emotions in his masterpiece (85). Dorian does not feel the slightest guilt in this turn of events, but only relief and satisfaction. Basil has professed his love and adoration for Dorian, and instead of motivating Dorian to return to being the Dorian that Basil misses, his confession only feeds Dorian's arrogance and expedites his corruption. He alienates Basil not only by becoming less and less of the man Basil loves, but by treating Basil as a tool to be used and exploited. Furthermore, when Dorian hides the portrait from his own sight, he further serves both ends of accelerating his corruption and pushing Basil away. Not only does he hide away the only gauge he has that measures the degradation of his soul, but he also shoves aside the masterpiece through which Basil expresses his profound love for Dorian.