Wang AP Lit

What is the significance of the water mark on the table? Was Macon Dead's father lynched? What is the significance of the children's names being from the Bible?

Does Virginia Woolf want readers to admire Clarissa, or pity her? Why does Clarissa admire Septimus's decision to commit suicide? Why does the novel end right before Clarissa speaks with Peter?

          The treatment of mental illness seems to be a recurring theme in my writing throughout this year. Indeed, during Woolf’s and Faulkner’s writing years, many young men were returning from the Great War (World War I) and had seen unprecedented amounts of horror and violence. To worsen matters, in society, there were little to no resources for war veterans coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which was referred to as “shell shock” at the time. In Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf uses Septimus Warren Smith to bring to light the poor treatment of war veterans. She presents two doctors with differing views, Sir William Bradshaw and Dr. Holmes, but both ineffective, in order to criticize the cruel treatment of the mentally ill.             At first, Sir Bradshaw seems to be caring. After all, Woolf describes him as “understanding of the human soul” (95). Moreover, Bradshaw appears to disappr...

Why does Woolf repeatedly mention "flowers" and use "flowers" as a verb? How does Peter Walsh's perception of Clarissa differ from that of Clarissa herself? Why does Septimus's narration frequently include the words "scientific" and "machine"?

In Mrs. Dalloway , Virginia Woolf focuses on everything in the everyday life. Whether it is the backfiring of motor vehicle, the bustle of traffic, or the flight of an airplane, Woolf seeks to find meaning in the daily lives of Londoners. Woolf’s perspective is third-person omniscient, which allows her to explore the consciences of everyone on London’s streets. A bystander strolling along the sidewalk becomes much more than an element of the setting, and the reader learns much more about the common person’s views. We see the young fearfully and naively wandering the city, and aged upper class women fret over their social and love lives.             I found Septimus to be very fascinating, and Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness narration effectively characterizes him. Woolf states, “Septimus had fought; he was brave; he was not Septimus now” (23). Since Mrs. Dalloway takes place shortly after the conclusion of World War I, we can i...

            Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story “A Temporary Matter” overwhelmingly exudes sorrow. It follows the lives of a married couple who lose their baby in a miscarriage, and subsequently become alienated from one another. Through the melancholy tone and diction, Lahiri communicates the idea that sorrow alienates one from his or her usual character and strains existing relationships.             Throughout the short story, Lahiri describes how Shoba and Shukumar, the married couple, have changed from their usual selves after the death of their unborn baby. For example, Lahiri characterizes Shoba as being very organized and prudent before her miscarriage and states, “She used to put her coat on a hanger, her sneakers in the closet, and she paid bills as soon as they came” (6). Yet after her miscarriage, Lahiri notes, “[Shoba’s] labeled mason jars lined the shelves of the kitchen, in endless sealed py...