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Macbeth By Shakespeare | Macbeth Summary, Characters and Themes

Introduction

Macbeth is one of the most eminent and successful tragedies By William Shakespeare. The Macbeth full title is The Tragedie of Macbeth. It is a five-act play and the shortest of Shakespeare’s tragedies. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. Macbeth is written between 1606-1607 and published in the first folio of 1623. The whole story of the play moves around its major character Macbeth.

The play tells the story of Macbeth, a Scottish general who receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become the king of Scotland. Driven by his ambition and influenced by his wife, Lady Macbeth, he murders King Duncan and usurps the throne. However, his guilt and paranoia lead him to commit more crimes and atrocities, until he is finally defeated by his enemies and killed.

About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, is widely considered one of the greatest playwrights in literary history. He wrote numerous plays, sonnets, and poems during the Elizabethan era, and his works are renowned for their depth, insight, and universal appeal. Shakespeare wrote a galaxy of tragedies and comedies in his life, including – Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Julius Casar, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and many more.

D. H. Lawrence, a great English writer, and poet says about Shakespeare’s work greatness –

“When I read Shakespeare,
I am struck with wonder
that such trivial people should muse
and thunder in such lovely language.”

Characters Of Macbeth

Macbeth – The protagonist and tragic hero of the play. A nobleman and Scottish general who becomes consumed by ambition and greed, leading him to commit heinous acts.
Lady Macbeth – Macbeth’s wife, who encourages him to pursue his ambition and take drastic actions to achieve it.
Banquo – A nobleman and Macbeth’s best friend, who becomes suspicious of Macbeth’s actions.

Macduff – A nobleman and antagonist to Macbeth, who ultimately seeks revenge for the murder of his family.
King Duncan – The King of Scotland, whose murder sets off the chain of events in the play.
The Three Witches – Supernatural beings who prophesy Macbeth’s rise to power and his downfall.
Various other characters, such as Malcolm, Donalbain, and minor nobles, who play important roles in the story.

Themes of Macbeth

Ambition – “Macbeth” explores the corrupting influence of unchecked ambition and its destructive consequences. Macbeth’s insatiable desire for power leads him to commit ruthless acts, ultimately resulting in his downfall.
Guilt and Conscience – The play delves into the psychological impact of guilt and the weight of a guilty conscience. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are plagued by guilt, leading to their moral and mental deterioration.

Fate and Free Will – “Macbeth” raises questions about the role of fate versus free will in human lives. Macbeth’s actions are driven by his ambition, but also influenced by the witches’ prophecies, leading to the debate of whether his fate was predetermined or a result of his choices.
Appearance vs. Reality – The play explores the contrast between appearance and reality, as characters often hide their true intentions and manipulate others.

This theme is exemplified through the deceptive actions of the witches and the facade that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth present to the world.
Gender Roles – “Macbeth” also touches on gender roles and expectations, as Lady Macbeth defies societal norms of her time by being ambitious and manipulative, challenging traditional gender roles.

Macbeth Story Summary

The play starts with a war that is being fought between Norway and Scotland and in which Scotland won. All the credit for the victory of war is given to Macbeth. Macbeth and Bonque were very faithful generals of Scotland’s king named Duncan. When both Macbeth and Bonque were coming back then they see three sisters who are witches, who prophesy that Macbeth will become Thane Of Cawdor and One day the king of Scotland. They prophesy that Bonque’s son would become the king of Scotland after Macbeth.

Having heard the prophecy of the three witches, both of them were very shocked, and then suddenly the king of Scotland Duncan announces – that he has rewarded Macbeth’s bravery on the battlefield by making him Thane of Cowdar, So the prediction of the witches became true Macbeth immediately fantasizes about murdering Duncan and becoming king, but pushes the thought away. Later that day, Duncan announces that his eldest son Malcolm will be heir to his throne.

Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband about the prophecy and Duncan’s imminent arrival. She knows her husband is too kind to follow his ambition and vows to push him to murder Duncan and take the crown that night. Macbeth first resists his wife’s play, but his ambition and her constant questioning of his courage and manhood win him over. That night they murder Duncan and frame the men guarding Duncan’s room.

The next morning, Macduff, another Scottish thane, discovers one can die and raises the alarm. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth pretend to be shocked and outraged. Macbeth murders the guardsmen of Dunaan’s room to keep them silent but Macduff successfully escapes from Scotland. Duncan’s son thinks they may be the next target and flee. Macbeth is made king, and because they ran, Duncan’s sons become the prime suspects in their father’s murder.

Boquo knows the witches’ prophecy so he is suspicious of Macbeth. Macbeth remembers the prophecy that Bonquo’s son will become the king after so he decided to kill Bonquo’s son. Macbeth gives a feast and invites Banquo and many thanes. Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his son. In the darkness, Banquo is murdered, but his son ran away from Scotland. At the feast, Macbeth sees Bonquo’s ghost, though no one else does. Lady Macbeth dismisses the feast and tries to calm her husband.

Once again Macbeth visits the three witches to learn more about his fate. They show him three apparitions who tell Macbeth to beware Macduff, but also that can defeat him and that he will rule until Birnam Wood marches to a castle. Since all men are born of women and trees can’t move Macbeth takes this to mean he’s invincible. Yet the witches also confirm the prophecy that Bonquo’s son will one day rule Scotland.

Macbeth sends men to Macduff’s caste to kill Macduff and Malcolm prepares to invade Scotland. When news comes to England of the murder of Macduff’s family, Macduff, weeping vows revenge. While the English and Scottish under Malco march towards Dunsinane, Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalking and Imagining blood on her hands that can’t be washed off. Macbeth has become manic, cruel, and haughtily -many of his men desert Malcom’s side.

In Birham Wood Malcom and his generals devise a strategy to hide their numbers. They cut branches to hold up in front of them. As Macbeth prepares for the siege, Lady Macbeth dies Malcom’s forces appear looking like a forest marching toward the castle. Malcom’s forces quickly capture Dunsinane, but Macbeth himself fights on, mocking all who dare to face him as men born of women. But Macduff reveals that he was ultimately ripped from his mother’s womb. Macduff kills Macbeth, and Malcolm is crowned king of Scotland.

Now we can say that Macbeth is not evil by nature to get he was corrupted or misguided by witches and by his own wife Lady Macbeth. That is why Laday Macbeth is known as the 4^th witch of Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth.

Conclusion

In “Macbeth,” Shakespeare portrays the destructive nature of unchecked ambition and the consequences of succumbing to inner darkness. The play delves into the complexities of human nature, exploring guilt, fate, and the corrupting influence of power. Through vivid characters and poetic language, Shakespeare creates a haunting tale of ambition gone awry, showcasing the tragic consequences of human frailty and moral decay. “Macbeth” continues to be studied, performed, and appreciated for its enduring relevance and timeless Literary Work.

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Sula By Toni Morrison Summary, Themes, Characters, and Analysis

Literature, English Literature, Novel

Introduction

Sula is Tony Morrison’s second novel which deals with the life experiences of two African American friends, Sula and Nel, from their childhood to Sula’s death. It is the story of a small black community in Ohio, which takes place after World War 1. By depicting the lives of Sula and Nel, the author describes racial and gender relationships in postwar segregated America of the 20^th century. Morrison began writing Sula in 1969 and first published it in 1973.

The book addresses issues of racism, bigotry, and suppression of African Americans, it depicts the despair people feel when they can’t get decent jobs. For example, Eva, One of the characters of the novel cuts off her legs to get money to raise her family. Some people had to grovel to whites simply to get by, as Helene does on a train heading through the South. However, others fought back, as Sula does when she threatens some white boys who are harassing her.

The book was nominated for a National Book Award in 1947.

About Toni Morrison

Chole Anthony Wofford Morrison, known as Toni Morrison was an American novelist. Her first novel The Bluest Eye was published in 1978. She was born in 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. She studied English at Howard University. She was the author of 11 novels as well as children’s books and essay collections. Among them were celebrated works like Song Of Soloman, which received the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1977, and Beloved which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. She was the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1933.

Character Analysis Of Sula Novel

Shadrack

Founder of National Suicide Day, Shardrak is a veteran of War.

Sula

The daughter of Hannah Peace and granddaughter of Eva Peace. She is a close childhood friend of Net Weight. Suja has a birthmark on her eyelid.

Nel Wright

Nel is the daughter of Wiley and Helene Wright. She was friends with Sula in childhood. After graduation from school, Nel marries Jude Greene.

Helen Wright

Helen is taken away from her birth mother Rochelle a Creole prostitute, by her grandmother Cecil Sabat. She marries Wiley Wright and gives birth to daughter Nel after 9 years of marriage.

Wiley Wright

Wiley Wright is the great-nephew of Cecile Sabat. He is also Helene Sabat’s husband and Nel’s father. Wiley spends a lot of time away from home as a chef at a shipping company called the First Lakes Line.

Cecile Sabat

Cecile is the great-aunt of Wiley and the Grandmother of Helen. She raises Helene in a religious way.

Hannah Peace

Hannah is Sula’s mother and Eva’s eldest child. Hannah is known at the bottom for sleeping with many men, married or unmarried. She dies in a tragic fire accident.

Eva Peace

Eva is the mother of three – Hannah, Pearl, and Ralph. She mysteriously loses one of her legs after she is left by her husband BoyBoy.

Pearl Pece

Eva’s youngest daughter Pearl is the only daughter of Eva’s children who moves away from Medallion permanently. Pearl moves to flint Michigan at age 14 with her husband.

The Suggs

Mr. and Mrs. Suggs are neighbors of the Peace family. They assist Eva after she is abandoned by BoyBoy.

BoyBoy

BoyBoy was Eva’s womanizing and abusive husband. He abandons Eva and the children without money or food.

Rochelle

Rochelle is Helene’s Creole-speaking mother from New Orleans. She is a former prostitute and smells like gardenias.

Jude Greene

Jude marries Nel at 20 years of age. He is a waiter. Jude abandons Nel and his children.

Rekus

Rekus is Sula’s further. He dies when she is three years old.

The Deweys, Tar Baby, Henri Martin, Ajax, Pasty and Valentine, Chicken Litte, and Teapot.

Theme Of the Novel

There are several themes in Toni Morrison’s novel Sula including – Friendship, Racism, Love, Sex, Motherhood, and Death.

Friendship

Nel and Sula’s friendship is the central theme of Sula. Nel and Sula spend all of their time together, playing by the rivers, fighting off bullies, and weathering tragedies. When Sula accidentally drowns Chicken Little in the water Nel confronts her, insisting that it isn’t her fault.

When Sula returns as a young woman after 10 years away, Nel accepts her immediately and the two friends laugh in Nel’s kitchen as if they had never been apart. However, their meeting would soon turn from sweet to sour. Friendship is shattered by Jude’s infidelity with Sula and this is one wrong that Nel cannot forgive. After three years Nel decides to visit Sula after she falls ill. When Sula dies, at first Nel is not sure how she feels. Much later, Nel cries for the death of Sula. Sula and Nel’s friendship has gone togetherness, betrayal, and then forgiveness.

Racism

The Racism experienced by the people of Bottom is pervasive and absolutely central to everything that occurs in the story. Early in the story, the two young girls are harassed by a group of white bullies Nel realizes this will be an unavoidable part of her life. But Sula decides enough is enough. As a young, powerless black girl, the only way she can retaliate is to scare them.

Later in the novel, according to the people of the Bottom, the most intolerable act Sula commits is sleeping with white men. Morrison here wants readers to know that because white people were viewed as the devil, any interaction Sula has with white men on a sexual level is also perceived as thoroughly evil.

By the end of the novel in 1965. Nel notes that black people have moved from the Bottom and are now living in Medallion, Some even work at cash registers handling money, an unthinkable situation when she was a child. Racism hasn’t left, though segregation is loosening a bit, attitudes are just the same in most cases, and economic prosperity is still reserved only for white.

Love

One of the main themes revealed in The Sula by Toni Morrison is Love. The main characters revealing their of Love are Sula and Nel, who have been dependent on each other ever since the beginning of their relationship. Sul and Nel, two friends have starkly contrasting ideas, even then they love one another as friends, but they were reluctant to express their feelings due to their inability to recognize their emotional bonding.

Sex

In the novel, Nel and Sula are twelve years old when they start waking past the men and they are experiencing the first stage of sexual awakening. They know they do not like the stares and Comment they get. Nel and Jude have just gotten married and they can’t wait to have sex. This scene represent a more traditional view of sex. Sula and Nel view sex differently. Nel feels that once Sula has slept with Jude, he’s no longer hers, he’s gone from her life together. But Sula doesn’t see it that way. Sula has slept with many men.

Motherhood

The novel describes the various stress and sacrifice of motherhood and offers a varied examples of Motherhood. Rochelle, Helene and Nel, Sula and Hannah, and Nel and Helene all experienced their moments where things got tense Rochelle and Helene always had tense moments because Helene does not like the fact that Rochelle is Care free prostitute. Things got tense between Hannah and Sula when Sula hears that her mother does not like her but she claims that she loves her. Just as Cecile raises Helene in a disciplined and strict home, so too does Helene raise her own daughter, Nel, Stifling her imagination.

Death

In her novel Sula, Toni Morrison addresses many different themes. However, one of the themes that really grabbed my attention was the theme of death. Each character in this novel has a different way of coping with or accepting death emotionally. The first death in the book is witnessed by Shadrack on the battlefield during World War 1. Shadrack sees a soldier having his head blown off during battle and running without mostly affected by this soldier’s control and his fear of death, Shadrack creates a holiday called National Suicide Day on January 3, 1920.

On 3 January 1942, Shadrack decides to celebrate National Suicide Day one more time. While he is marching through town, people start to join him to celebrate this day, but at the end of the road, the town’s people start to smash and destroy the tunnel. During all his chaos, the tunnel collapse and kills everyone who is behind Shadrack.

Another important death in this novel is accidental. Sula was playing with Chicken Little when he lost his grip and landed in the river and drowned. Chicken Little death leaves a permanent impact on Nel and Sula’s lives.

Analysis Of The Novel

Sula opens with a description of “The Bottom” the African American section of a town called Medallion in Ohio. In the first section of the novel, the origin story of the Bottom is revealed as well as how it got its name. A white farmer promised freedom and a piece of Bottomland to his slave if he would perform some difficult chores for him. Upon completion, the farmer regrets his end of the bargain. He did not want to give up the land. He gave the hilly land, convincing the slave the land was worthwhile by claiming that because it was hilly, it was closer to heaven.

The bottom is a black community in Ohio, situated in the hills above the mostly white, wealthier community of Medallion. In the 1910s there is a man living in the Bottom named Shadrack. In 1917 he goes off to fight in world war 1. He witnesses great violence in Europe and returns to Bottom a broken man suffering from a shell shack. Shadrack then proposes a holiday for the people of Bottom National Suicide Day. On this holiday, people who don’t want to continue living with the fear of death are invited to bill themselves.

Another resident of the Bottom is Helene Wright. She is the daughter of a prostitute but was raised by her grandmother in a strict environment. Helene marries Wiley Wright and moves to Bottom. They had a daughter named Nel. She raised her daughter as a respectable woman. When Nel is a young girl, Helene takes her back to New Orleans to visit her grandmother Cecile. On the train, a white train conductor harasses Helene Nel and Helene arrives too late Cecile is already dead. They meet Rochelle, Helene’s mother, who is a prostitute and shows no affection and concern for Helene or Nel.

Another resident of the Bottom is Sula Peace, a girl with a strange birthmark, shaped as a stemmed rose on her face. Sula is raised by her grandmother. Eva Peace and her mother Hannah Pearl. Eva was married to a man named BoyBoy, who left her after she’d given birth to three children – Hannah Pearl, and Plum. Eva devoted herself to raising her children.

She cut off her leg in order to collect the insurance money. Eva’s youngest child plum, went off to fight in World War 1 and when he returned home, he become addicted to drugs. Eva doused Plum with Kerosene, while he was sleeping and set him on fire, burning him alive, Hannah Eva’s eldest daughter sensed that Eva was responsible for Plum’s death.

Sula and Nel are twelve years old and have become good friends. Sula protects Nel from bullies in the city. One day Sula and Nel go down to the Ohio River where they find Chicken Little, a young boy. Sula dares Chicken Little to climb a high tree. Suddenly Chicken Little flies into the river. Terrified that they have killed a chicken Little Sula and Nel run for help and to see if anyone witnessed the accident.

The nearest house is a shack that belongs to Shadrack. Sula thinks that he did witness the accident. Sula and Nel run out. During these years Hannah Pearl is burned alive, for reasons that nobody can understand. When Nel turns 17, she marries local boy Jude Greene and has three children with him. During his time Sula goes to college and travels to the American cities looking for love but only ever finding men who want to sleep with her.

Sula returns to Medallion and reunites with her old friend Nel. When Sula greets Jude, Jude is immediately fascinated by her shortly thereafter Jude begins an affair with Sula. One afternoon, Nel comes home to find Jude and Sula in bed. Jude leaves Nel and his Children to be with Sula. After Sula discards him, he buys a bus ticket to Detroit and is never again seen. Meanwhile, Sula starts a romance with Ajax, a local man.

Several years later Sula falls ill and Nel visits her. Unable to get a clear answer from Sula about why she slept with her husband, Nel leaves her friend and never sees her again. Sula dies shortly thereafter.

After Sula’s death, a frost comes to the Bottom, followed by a wave of disease. In January 1941, Shadrack walks through the streets, celebrating his annual National Suicide Day. Dozen of people walk behind him, yelling and cheering for National Suicide Day. Disgusted with the hypocrisy of white businessmen, the people of the Bottom hurl stones at the road. Suddenly, a piece of the Cliff breaks off, and dozens of people fall to their deaths.

In the end, Nel is a middle-aged woman. She goes to visit Eva Peace. Eva asks Nel why she killed Chicken Little. Nel shocked, insists that it was Sula, not she, who killed the boy. Nel realizes that she’s missed Sula all these years. She cries out for her old friend, but no one can hear her.

Conclusion

Thus, the Novel Toni Morrison‘s “Sula” shows us the harsh realities of poverty, race, and class. Further, this story is mostly about female friendship among African American women. Although Sula was written over a decade ago, many of its themes and settings such as poverty, class, violence, and fear as well as social, racial, and religious status still surround African American Society.

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Wide Sargasso Sea Summary | Wide Sargasso Sea Character Sketch

Literature, Character Sketch, English Literature

Introduction

Wide Sargasso Sea is a novel by Dominican British author Jean Rhys. It is a story of Antoinette Cosway and her descent into madness at the hands of the cold-hearted and money-hungry Mr. Rochester. It was first published in 1966 and the novel is divided into three parts. Adapted from Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” Rhys wrote Wide Sargasso Sea in an attempt to explain Brote’s character, Berth Mason, the violently insane wife of Edward Rochester who was isolated from the rest of the world and locked in a third-floor room. In this novel, Rhys illustrates the emotional trauma, Sexual repression, and social isolation that Antoinette faces at the hand of Rochester resulting in the loss of herself and her sanity.

About Jean Rhys

Jean Rhys was a British writer born and raised on the Caribbean island of Dominica. She is best known for her last novel ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ considered a prequel and post-colonial response to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Among her world-famous works included – The Left Bank and Other Stories, Quartet, Voyage in The Dark, Good Morning, Midnight, Tiger Are Better Looking, and Wide Sargasso sea.

Character Sketch Of Wide Sargasso Sea

Antoinette Cosway

The daughter of former slave owners in Jamaica. She is a lonely young girl who grows up with no friends and a mother who giver her very little Affection. Her husband moves her to England and locks her in the attic until she becomes delusional. She is based on the Character Bertha Mason from Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre.

Antoinette Cosway Mason

Antoinette beautiful young mother. She is the second wife of both Alexander Cosway and Mr. Mason. She is the subject of the town’s gossip and feels abandoned and persecuted by everyone except those close to her.

Pierre Cosway

Antoinette’s physically and mentally disabled little brother.

The English Gentleman (Rochester)

Antoinette’s English husband narrated part two of the story. He is pressured into marrying Antoinette by Richard, her stepbrother, though he knows nothing of her or her family. He soon regrets agreeing to marry Antoinette. He has an affair with one of the servants.

Daniel Boyd / Cosway

A spiteful, angry man, Daniel Boyd is one of Alexander Cosway’s illegitimate children by one of his slaves.

Sandi Cosway

Another one of Alexander Cosway’s bastard children. He defends Antoinette when she is harassed on her way to school. Daniel also suggests that Antoinette and Sandi were sexually involved when they were younger.

Aunt Cora, Christophine Dubois, Richard Mason, and Grace Poole are other characters In this novel.

Mr. Mason

A wealthy English man who takes Annette as his second wife.

Post Colonialism In Wide Sargasso Sea

Post Colonialism means a piece of literature reflecting on the effects of Colonialism. It is the period when the wrath of Colonialism came to an end in most of the colonized countries. It was during that time when many works started getting published by decolonized writers, stating the bittersweet memories of their experiences from the colonial regime. Those piece of literature published after colonial rule is referred to as post-colonial literature. However, in the world of post-colonial literature, the name of British woman writer Jean Rhyn is printed in gold.

Wide Sargasso Sea is considered as Rhys’s masterpiece contribution to the era of Postcolonial literature. It deals with colonial issues such as identity and social ranking due to colonial hierarchal structures and for that reason, post-colonial criticism is a suitable approach to the novel. As a work of post-colonial fiction, it captures the pathos of a society undergoing deep and bitter change. Rhys chooses to relate the essence of this conflict through the relationship of White Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway and her English suitor Edward Rochester.

At the Starting of the novel, the Jamaican slaves are portrayed as enraged beings, upset for any reason. Three are traits of hybridity linked to slavery in the novel. For example – Christophine tends to stand apart from the other Jamaican servants because she is initially from the French Caribbean island of Martinique. Therefore, there is a large population who belong to mixed races because white slave owners in the Caribbean and other parts of the colonized countries were infamous for sexually abusing and impregnating female slaves. Sandi and Daniel Cosway, two of Alexander Cosway’s illegitimate children are also examples of hybridity in the colonized communities.

In the Colonial era, it was common for white rulers to sexually abuse female slaves as there was little to no say for the enslaved. White people looked at the slaves as objects of pleasure, and entertainment and as beings who were only born to serve them. The white exploited their slaves in every possible way.

In the 19^th century when Colonialism was intact, along with slavery and other issues gender issues were nothing new. Rhys also explores women’s subjugation to male authority in Wide Sargasso Sea. In the novel female characters are intruded as feeble beings who are dependent on men for legal, sexual, and financial security.

The men in the novel “Wide Sargasso Sea” can be categorized as ultimate opportunists who use their wives as a key to access wealth. Both Annette and Antoinette are dependent on men near them like children depending on their parents for things.

Slavery In the Wide Sargasso Sea

Slavery is a significant aspect of this novel. The story is set in Jamaica during the late 1830s and the 1840s. At this time in history, Jamaica was ruled by England. However, Slavery tends to be a pertinent issue for many countries around the globe. It had been there for centuries but was at a higher degree during the time of Colonialism. People of Inferior races were deemed as slaves and were beaten up for issues that were not necessarily of concern at many times. In the novel there, is a constant rift between the Creoles and the Jamaicans. The Black people continue to serve the Creoles even after the passing of the Emancipation Act in 1833.

Part one of the novel sheds light on the ex-slaves who had worked on the sugarcane plantations of the rich Creoles. Although the Emancipation Act freed the slaves the servants were still ill-treated by their white employers.

Character Of Rochester

Antoinette’s English husband who though never named in the novel. He narrates the longest part of the novel and from his story, it quickly becomes clear that he is based on the hero of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Rochester, the youngest son of a wealthy Englishman travels to Jamaica for financial independence, as his older brother will inherit his father’s estate. He is pressured into marrying Antoinette, although he has only just met her and knows nothing of her family.

Rochester marries Antoinette for a large sum of money but never connects with him. Soon after the wedding, he decides that he has made a terrible mistake, as he comes to believe that he has been tricked into marrying a girl with bad blood in her veins. He is controlling and unfaithful, believing his wife is conspiring against him. He renames Antoinette Bertha in an attempt to dominate her. After witnessing Antoinette’s mental collapse he takes her to English and locks her in the attic of his mansion.

Analysis of The Novel

The novel is broken up into three parts, the first details Antoinette’s Childhood in Jamaica, the second is about her unhappy marriage to an English gentleman and the decline of her mental state, and the third focuses on her imprisonment in Mr. Rochester’s attic in England.

Part One

The Novel begins in early 19th-century Jamaica. A young white girl named Antoinette, the daughter of former slave owners, lives on Coulibri Estate, her family’s Rudown plantation with her mother, her sickly younger brother, Pierre. Moneyless due to the Emancipation Act of 1833 which freed the slaves, her father dead and her mother’s mental health steadily declined. Antoinette’s only friend is a young girl named Tia, the daughter of one of the servants, who one day turns against Antoinette unexpectedly.

One day a group of well-dressed visitors comes to Coulibri. Among them is a wealthy Englishman named Mr. Mason. After a brief courtship, Annette and Mr. Mason are married. Mr. mason restores Coulibri to its former glory and brings in new servants. During a protest their house is set on fire. After the fire Antoinette becomes dangerously ill for weeks.

Six weeks later Antoinette wakes up and learns that she has been ill since the incident. Cora, tells her that Pierre died and her mother had gone mad following the trauma of that night, so Mr. Mason sent her to the country to recover. Christophine takes Antoinette to visit her mother, but her mother violently flings her away.

For the next several years, Antoinette lives at the convent school. Mr. Mason visits Antoinette occasionally but always brings her gifts. During this time Antoinette’s mother dies. When Antoinette is seventeen, Mr. Mason decides he will marry her to an English gentleman.

Part Two

Part two is narrated by Antoinette’s new husband. It begins with their arrival at Granbois, a small estate on one of the Windward Islands owned by Antoinette’s mother where they intend to spend a few weeks for their honeymoon Rochester, who is unnamed in the beginning and only agrees to it because Mr. Mason’s son, Richar Mason offered him 30,000 pounds.

Soon after Rochester feels uncomfortable with his wife. Antoinette begins to sense that Christophine for help. Christophine tells Antoinette to leave the man, but she refuses. That night, Antoinette returns home and tells her husband about her past. They talk late into the night and when he wakes, he believes he was poisoned. He runs out of the house and into the woods. He sleeps in the wood for several hours and when he wakes again, he returns to Granbois where Amelie, One of the servants, brings him wine and food. He sleeps with Amelie while Antoinette sits in the next room, able to hear everything.

The next morning, Antoinette goes to Christophine’s home. When she returns, she is drunk. When Antoinette calls for more to drink, her husband refuses to give her the bottle. After this Rochester decides to return to England and take Antoinette with him.

Part Three

In the third and Final Part, Antoinette is the narrator. In England, she lives locked in the attic under the care of a servant named Grace Poole. Now violent and deranged, Antoinette has lost all sense of time. When her stepbrother Richard comes to see her, she attacks him with recurring dreams of flames burning down the house, and the novel ends as she escapes her prison, holding a candle.

Conclusion

Thus, Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea depicts many post-colonial yet modern issues that many can relate to. She penned the novel by reconciling the plot with her own experiences. Issues such as slavery male dominance and displacement are still part of our world but at different levels.

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The Old Man And The Sea By Earnest Hemingway | The Old Man and The Sea Summary

Literature, English Literature, Novel

Introduction

The Old Man and The Sea is a novel nicely written by Earnest Hemingway. The Old Man and The Sea were written in 1951 and published in 1952. The Old Man and The Sea is the story of an epic struggle between an old fisherman Santiago and a big fish Marlin.

About Author

Earnest Hemingway is popularly known as one of the greatest American novelists, short story writers, and journalists. Hemingway started his literary career with his first novel The Sun Also Rises. He wrote approximately 7 novels, 6 short stories, collections, and 2 non-fiction works. A lot of his works were published posthumously.

Among his novels The Old Man and The Sea, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom The Bell Tolls, The Sun Also Rises, A Movable Feast, are world famous. For his contribution to American Literature, he was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He was awarded Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and The Sea novel and it was the last major work of fiction that was published during his lifetime.

The Old Man And The Sea Summary

The Old Fisherman Santiago was a seasoned fisherman. He fished in the Gulf Stream near the coast of Cuba. He failed to catch any fish for the last Sundays. He was declared unlucky by other fishermen of the locality, A young boy Manolin used to work with him as an apprentice. His continuous failure in catching a fish influenced the mind of the parents of Manolin although Manolin continues to help Santiago launch and retrieve his boat from the ocean each day.

Manolin cares for Santiago, bringing him food and clothing, and in return, Santiago tells. Manolin stories about baseball legends and his younger day fishing in a boat off of Africa. Every night, Santiago dreams of lions on the beaches of Africa. Early each morning Santiago walks up the road to the Manolin family’s home to wake him up for work.

On the morning of the 85th day, Manolin helps Santiago launch his boat into the sea. Santiago dropped four baits of different depths in the Sea. The first bait was at the depth of fifty fathoms, the second was at the depth of seventy-five fathoms, the third at a hundred fathoms, and the fourth was held at one hundred and twenty-five fathoms.

Finally, in the early afternoon, he catches a ten-pound “Tuna”, which he decides will be his meal for the day. Afterward, Santiago feels a hard pull on his line and realizes that a huge marlin has caught his hook. Because the marlin is so big Santiago cannot pull it in. Santiago wished that the boy would have been with him to help in publishing the fish.

On the Second dog, the old man had a chance to look at the fish which jumped out of the water for air. The old man was standing at his place in the boat and he was profusely sweating. During his contest with the fish, his right hand was injured and his left hand was cramped. He felt lonely.

Santiago was not so religious but at this time he prays and said:
“I will say ten our fathers
and ten Hail Marys that
I Should catch this fish,
and I promise to make a
pilgrimage to the Virgin
de cobre if I catch him.”

He wonders what his hero ‘Joe DI Maggio’ would do if he were in Santago’s situation.

On the third day at sea, he lets out a small line and catches a dolphin fish to eat. He rests for a few hours but is woken by the marlin jumping frantically. Santiago continues holding the line, although it has been cutting into his hand at the same time. The mariner tries and begins circling the boat as Santiago grows weaker from lack of sleep and exhaustion. Finally, Santiago used all his strength to harpoon and kill the marlin.

Santiago ties the marlin to the side of his boat and begins sailing back toward Cuba. During the homeward journey, Sharks attack the boat, tearing the flesh from the marlin. The Shark attacked the tail of the big fish and ate at least forty pounds of flesh. The old Man drove his harpoon into the brain of the shark. The Shark died at once and went into the sea. In this fight, The Old Man was deprived of his harpoon along with the rope. At this point, the old man said: “A Man can be destroyed but not be defeated.”

The Old Man had to face the attack of two more sharks. He killed these sharks with the knife and tied it to the end at the oar. In this attack, they seemed to have eaten one-fourth meat of the dead Marlin. Before sunset, more sharks attacked the big fish. The old Man beat their head with his club and injured them seriously. They also ate the Old Man’s large amount of fish the Marlin.

At midnight, he saw the brilliant lights of Havana. He was near his destination. Then again a pack of sharks attacked the fish. He took up his club and beat them mercilessly. The old Man succeeded in killing them but at that time, only the skeleton of the fish was left. Leaving Marlin’s skeleton still tied to his boat in the harbor, Santiago goes to sleep in his hut.

The next day, Manolin finds Satiago asleep in his shack. Manolin is overjoyed to see him but cries when he sees the cuts on Santiago’s hand. He brings Santiago coffee, passing the crowd of fishermen who are marveling at the marlin’s giant skeleton. When Santiago wakes up, Manolin tells him he does not care what his parent says: He is going to start fishing with Santiago again.

Conclusion

Thus, Life and Death are prominent themes in this novel teaching us lessons about patience, Santiago’s courage, and friendship. So now we can say that The Old Man and The Sea is one of the best novels by Earnest Hemingway.

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Literature Notes

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Iliad By Homer | The Iliad | Iliad Characters

Literature, English Literature, Poem Analysis

The Iliad is an epic poem, meaning a grand, very long poem about gods and heroes. Homer wrote down the Iliad around 750 B.C. It is the oldest written poem in western civilization.

Iliad Characters

Achilles – Protagonist

Achilles is the leader of Myrmidons who fight on the side of the Achaeans against Troy. He is the son of Thetis, a sea goddess, and Peleus a mortal.

Hector

Hector is a brave and fierce warrior and prince of Troy. He is fighting for his city and family as much as honour and glory.

Agamemnon

Agamemnon a powerful and proud man is the top commander of the Achaean army. He is a good fighter, but his leadership style is harsh, but his leadership style is harsh, and he shows no mercy is harsh, and he shows no mercy to enemies. Agamemnon is often called Atrides.

Thetis

Achilles’s sea-goddess mother protects and advocates for him throughout the poem.

Paris

Brother of Hector and 2^nd son of Priam.

Patroclus

Friend of Achilles. They were raised together.

Menelaus

The King of Sparta, the younger brother of Agamemnon.

Odysseus

The next great warrior of Geeks after Achilles.

Hecuba

The Queen of Troy.

Priam King of Troy

Character Map

Introduction

The Iliad is an epic poem, meaning a grand, very long poem about gods and heroes. Homer wrote down the Iliad around 750 B.C. It is the oldest written poem in western civilization. Greece had suffered several hundred years of a dark age – as in no writing prior to this. It is the story of Achilles and the Iliad, which Homer himself did not invent was told by word of Mouth.

Book one of The Iliad is entitled The Quarrel Between Agamemnon and Achilles. In this book, Homer introduces the conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles. The story of Book 1 begins nine years after the war began. In the tenth year of the Trojan War, Achilles, the greatest fighter for the Achilles, is furious.

About the Homer

Homer is known for his two epic poems – The Iliad and The Odyssey. He was the greatest poet of ancient Greek. He lived during the era of the Trojan war in the early 12^th century. It is uncertain where exactly he was born and lived. Plato, Aristotle, Dante Joseph Conrad, and James Joyce were very much influenced by Homer’s work. He was also known as Blind Bard. He composed a collection of poems that depicts the events of the Trojan War in a book of poetry titled the Epic Cycle. He also included a collection of 33 Greek songs honoring various gods.

Theme Of The Iliad

Iliad covers a bunch of universal topics from love and friendship to honor and glory as presented in the epic poem. There are some important themes in the poem:

Honor and Glory
The Intervention of The Gods
Love
Mortality
Fate and Free will
Pride

The setting of The Poem

The Iliad is written in a dactylic hexameter. It is as dominant in Greek and Latin poetry as iambic pentameter is in English. The dactylic foot is formed with one long followed by two short syllables. It has a total of six feet.

For example: _UU_UU_UU_UU_UU_UU_

Here ( _ ) symbol is for long syllables and (U) is used for short syllables.

Book 1 Of The Iliad Summary

In the beginning, Homer invokes the Muse to help him tell this story. The story is about the rage of Achilles, the greatest Greek hero to fight in the Trojan War. The story starts with Priam the king of Troy having two sons – Ilector and Paris. Once Paris starts liking the Queen of Sparta name Helen, who is already married. Helen is the wife of Menelaus the king of Sparta.

Helen also started liking Paris and both of them secretly leave for Troy. This incident enrages Menelaus and he goes to his brother Agamemnon for help. Agamemnon promised to help her and then calls all the kings of Greece. Which included the King of Ithaca, Odysseus, the great warrior Achilles, his cousin Patroclus, Ajax, etc. Together they all start marching on Troy.

Price Paris challenges Menelaus to sword fighting but Paris is defeated by Menelaus. Soon a fight breaks out between the armies of both countries. One day some soldiers of Greece capture two beautiful girls. Chryseis and Briseis are brigs with them. Agamemnon commander in chief of the Achaean army takes Chryseis as his Prize. Achilles one of the Achaean’s most valuable warriors, claims Briseis. Chryseis’s father a man named Chryses who serves as a priest of the god Apollo, begs Agamemnon to return his daughter and offers to pay an enormous ransom. When Agamemnon refuses, Chryses prays to Apollo for help.

Apollo sends a plague upon the Greek camp causing the death of many soldiers. After ten days of suffering, Achilles calls an assembly of the Achaean army and asks for the cause of the plague. Calchas a soothsayer reveals the plague as vengeful and strategic more by Chryses and Apollo. Agamemnon says he will return the girl if Achille gives him, his prize, the girl, Briseis. Agamemnon’s demand humiliates and infuriates and proud Achilles. Agamemnon threatens to go to Achilles’s tent in the army’s camp and take Briseis himself. Achilles stands poised to draw his sword and kill the Achaean commander. Athena’s guidance, along with a speech by the wise advisor Nestor, finally succeeds in preventing the duel.

That night, Agamemnon puts Chryseis on a ship back to her father and sends heralds to have Briseis escorted from Achilles’s tent. Achilles prays to his mother the sea – goddess Thetis to ask Zeus, King of the Gods, to punish the Achaeans. Meanwhile, the Achaean commander Odysseus is navigating the ship that Chryseis has boarded. When he lands, he returns the Chryseis. Chryseis, overjoyed to see his daughter, Prays to the god to lift the plague from the Achaean camp. Apollo acknowledges his prayer.

But the end of the plague on the Achaeans only marks the beginning of worse suffering. Ever since his quarrel with Agamemnon, Achilles has refused to participate in battle and after twelve days Thetis makes her appeal to Zeus, as promised, asking him to honor her son by granting the Trojans victory while Achilles remains out of the battle. Zeus is angered and says that helping the Trojans would force him into a fight with his wife. Hera supports the Achaeans. However, he agrees and bows his head as a sign of promise.