“All the Worlds A Stage”
In the short story “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, the author shows the contrast between moods of happiness and sadness. The protagonist Miss Brill wakes up on a normal morning and is excited to go into the park like she does every weekend and wear her beautiful fur. Miss Brill sees this particular morning as perfect, with “the blue sky powdered with gold and great spots of light like white wine.” (33) When Miss Brill is in the park, she feels her importance in the “play” of life when she watches the people around her. Her mood changes to sadness when a young couple sits on the bench with Miss Brill and makes fun of the things that make her happy.
Miss Brill is an older, single woman who lives alone. The only interaction that she has with people is when she sits in the park and watches other people live their lives. She is “quite expert, she [thinks], at listening as though she didn’t listen, at sitting in other people’s lives for just a minute while they talked round her.”(34) To some people, Miss Brill would seem like a pathetic loner who lived through watching other people, but she felt that everyone in the park, including her, “were all on the stage. They weren’t only the audience, not only looking on; they were acting. Even she had a part”(35) which was to sit on the bench every Sunday and look on. This part of the story is being told in a limited omniscience point of view which brings the audience closer to Miss Brill and feel the excitement and happiness that she feels towards the “play” that she takes part in every Sunday.
When a young couple sits on the bench that Miss Brill is still occupied on, she is excited to see the young “hero and heroine”(36) of this play that is taking place in her life. When she listens in on what the young couple is saying, she hears hurtful things being said about her, like that she is a “stupid old thing”(36) who has a “silly old mug”(36) and even went as far as to insult Miss Brill’s beautiful fur. These remarks hurt Miss Brill because it brings her back into reality that life really isn’t perfect. She leaves the “play” and the point of view of this short story turns into an objective narrative. Miss Brill’s thoughts that were shown to the audience in the beginning of the story, seem to be turned off. Miss Brill does not do the things that she loves to do after watching the “play” like buying honey cake at the bakers. Instead, she goes right home and goes “into the little dark room - her room like a cupboard - and [sits] down on the red eiderdown ..for a long time.”(36) The size of Miss Brills room truly shows her loneliness and how watching the play was the only thing that really made her happy.
The switch of the point of view throughout the story shows the change in the feelings of Miss Brill. In the beginning of the story, Miss Brill is convinced that the world is beautiful and has a place for her in its “play”. When she is insulted by the young couple, the narration shows how Miss Brill was affected by it. The insults bring Miss Brill back into reality that she is alone in the world. The limited omniscience narration helps the audience connect to Miss Brill and feel the hurt and rejection that she feels by the end of the story.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Insinuate Essay
Blair Waldorf
September 10, 2008
Period 3 AP English
Insinuate- v. stem of Latin insinuare, f. in (In -2) + sinuare, to bend in windings, to curve. Nearly all of the Eng. Senses were already in Lat.; the fig. senses of the L. were the first to be adopted in Eng.
1. trans. to introduce tortuously, sinuously, indirectly, or by devious methods; to introduce by imperceptible degrees or subtle means.
1647- H. More Song of S. 111. App., Pref., “Nor is it harder to phansie, how these Praexistant Souls insinuate into Seed, Embryos, or Infants, then how created ones are insinuated.”
1671- R. Bohun Wind 146. “Open the pores of our body by heat and then insinuate the malignant influences.
1678- Cudworth Intell. Syst. I. v. 744 “These Philosophers concluded concerning Souls, that.. They were Insinuated or introduced into Bodies, in Generations.
1746- Berkley Let. To Prior 20 May in Fraser Life vii. 316. “The insinuating of such salts into the woods.”
1809- Kendell Trav. III lixivi. “Trees, which insinuate their roots into the figures, are senn in all the lower parts of the mountains.”
1850- Robertson Serm. Ser. III. 3 “There are poisons so destructive that a single drop insinuated into the veins produces death in three minutes.”
1852- Motley Corr. I. v. 133 “Our street was narrow, and the machine could by no possibility be insinuated therin.”
Synonyms- worm, infiltrate, implicate, imply.
Antonyms- conceal, hide, withhold.
Insinuate
The use of the word insinuate suggests a malicious, planned-out introduction or assumption. The part “in” of the word insinuate means to put into. The part “sin” of the word shows a sinful characteristic that comes with the word. The word insinuate has a negative connotation because by putting the definitions of the roots, a person would get the definition of the word insinuate to be “to put sin into.” Another way that the word holds this negative connotation is because the definition includes the words, sinuously and devious which both are shown as negative words.
The reason that a person may insinuate a another person or an idea because they need to find an opportunity to get their way in an indirectly way, so it not obvious that they wanted something to happen. In literature, the act of insinuating may go along with the devious character because it would fit in with the characteristics of this person. In songs, an artist may use the word act of insinuate in reference to themselves to show their side of maliciousness. In reference to another person, the artist usually is saying that someone was insinuating and did not how it happened and/or what came out of it. The word insinuate can be applied to modern high school gossip. A person may be saying something about another person and imply something else that is technically something unsaid. A typical high school student would notice this insinuation and assume what the other person is trying to say and make this piece of information into a juicy story.
Insinuations can cause problems in literature and in life because it can lead to altercations because many negative things can come out of it. Also, people may get taken advantage of emotionally hurt and betrayed by the person who insinuates. Insinuations can also create excitement in plot lines and character relationships. Also, when readers insinuate in what they are reading, it can help them use their imagination and foreshadow what may happen further on in the book.
The word insinuate has been used for over 350 years and has managed to stay in the same context of to introduce indirectly with sinful intentions.
September 10, 2008
Period 3 AP English
Insinuate- v. stem of Latin insinuare, f. in (In -2) + sinuare, to bend in windings, to curve. Nearly all of the Eng. Senses were already in Lat.; the fig. senses of the L. were the first to be adopted in Eng.
1. trans. to introduce tortuously, sinuously, indirectly, or by devious methods; to introduce by imperceptible degrees or subtle means.
1647- H. More Song of S. 111. App., Pref., “Nor is it harder to phansie, how these Praexistant Souls insinuate into Seed, Embryos, or Infants, then how created ones are insinuated.”
1671- R. Bohun Wind 146. “Open the pores of our body by heat and then insinuate the malignant influences.
1678- Cudworth Intell. Syst. I. v. 744 “These Philosophers concluded concerning Souls, that.. They were Insinuated or introduced into Bodies, in Generations.
1746- Berkley Let. To Prior 20 May in Fraser Life vii. 316. “The insinuating of such salts into the woods.”
1809- Kendell Trav. III lixivi. “Trees, which insinuate their roots into the figures, are senn in all the lower parts of the mountains.”
1850- Robertson Serm. Ser. III. 3 “There are poisons so destructive that a single drop insinuated into the veins produces death in three minutes.”
1852- Motley Corr. I. v. 133 “Our street was narrow, and the machine could by no possibility be insinuated therin.”
Synonyms- worm, infiltrate, implicate, imply.
Antonyms- conceal, hide, withhold.
Insinuate
The use of the word insinuate suggests a malicious, planned-out introduction or assumption. The part “in” of the word insinuate means to put into. The part “sin” of the word shows a sinful characteristic that comes with the word. The word insinuate has a negative connotation because by putting the definitions of the roots, a person would get the definition of the word insinuate to be “to put sin into.” Another way that the word holds this negative connotation is because the definition includes the words, sinuously and devious which both are shown as negative words.
The reason that a person may insinuate a another person or an idea because they need to find an opportunity to get their way in an indirectly way, so it not obvious that they wanted something to happen. In literature, the act of insinuating may go along with the devious character because it would fit in with the characteristics of this person. In songs, an artist may use the word act of insinuate in reference to themselves to show their side of maliciousness. In reference to another person, the artist usually is saying that someone was insinuating and did not how it happened and/or what came out of it. The word insinuate can be applied to modern high school gossip. A person may be saying something about another person and imply something else that is technically something unsaid. A typical high school student would notice this insinuation and assume what the other person is trying to say and make this piece of information into a juicy story.
Insinuations can cause problems in literature and in life because it can lead to altercations because many negative things can come out of it. Also, people may get taken advantage of emotionally hurt and betrayed by the person who insinuates. Insinuations can also create excitement in plot lines and character relationships. Also, when readers insinuate in what they are reading, it can help them use their imagination and foreshadow what may happen further on in the book.
The word insinuate has been used for over 350 years and has managed to stay in the same context of to introduce indirectly with sinful intentions.
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