1971. The significance of a title such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is so easy to discover. However, in other works (for example, Measure for Measure) the full significance of the title becomes apparent to the reader only gradually. Choose two works and show how the significance of their respective titles is developed through the authors' use of devices such as contrast, repetition, allusion, and point of view.
It is true that some titles portray the inner context in a quite obvious manner. What is "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" about? Oh, some boy named Huckleberry Finn goes on some adventures; it is clear. However, titles such as "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" or "Brave New World" do not explain the anything about the plot when one looks at the cover of the book.
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is actually about patients within a mental ward, and they are not treated with respect a lot of the time. The protagonist, Randle McMurphy, is entered into the ward because he was diagnosed as a psychopath after he was sentenced to serve time in prison. McMurphy is the "one" who flies over the cuckoo's nest. This is not apparent in the title, and the "cuckoo's nest" is the ward, itself. A reader needs to piece these elements together in order to understand the title of the book. Throughout the novel, things change throughout the ward the moment McMurphy enters. He helps and hurts those around him, but he is a major impact over all. Basically, the novel develops themes of independence and confidence. There are many, many symbols that create the image of the title, and McMurphy's impact is a major one.
"A Brave New World" uses personification in its title, and that makes it an engaging and creative title; however, it is not simple to guess what goes on during the text of the novel. The idea of a "Brave New World" is created in the novel by a society that is fully dependent on the work of the government. The government controls every aspect of the society, and they place people in different classes based on the development that is forced upon them at birth. This is a perfect example of a dystopian society in which everything seems to run smoothly and VERY controlled, but at the same time, there are many flaws in the system. The idea of "brave" that is portrayed, has to do with the fact that the society was able to survive amongst the all-powerful government. It is a world that one would not here of today; it is a new world, a brave one.
Both of these titles take some thinking and studying to truly see the themes that they are portraying, but the hidden message inside of the titles are quite prominent. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Brave New World" are classic pieces of literature with very different ideas but the same idea in the structure of their titles.
Morgan, you have a good start on this essay. Your thesis made it very clear what you were going to talk about. I kind of understand your arguments; however, you need to organize your two body paragraphs better. First off, make sure your topic sentences make it clear what you’re going to be arguing. Starting off your paragraph with “’One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ is actually about patients within a mental ward…” makes it sound like you’re writing a summary, not a persuasive essay. Besides that, make sure you’re pointing out specific techniques that the author uses and cut out information that isn’t pertinent to your argument. For example, I don’t really see how the fact that the patients “are not treated with respect a lot of the time” is relevant.
ReplyDeleteMorgan, I think you did a really good job of explaining the titles and how they pertain to the story line. I especially liked the examples you chose. I have read a brave new world and the title actually made me want to read it. Authors have to put a lot of thought into titles because people who don't know anything about the book might base whether they want to read it or not off of that. They often have lots of symbolism instead of just coming out and saying what is going to happen in the story line. For example when you mentioned "One flew over the Cuckoo's nest" The nest is symbolic of the ward. I think you did a really good job of showing the significance of the titles of the books you chose. Some things I would add are that I feel like you should have talked more about the author's techniques that he/she used to develop the significance of the title. I also agree with Haley that you should cut out useless information. Other than that great job!
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job tying the titles and significance together. With "One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest" I was able to see where each aspect of the title developed. I haven't read this book yet, but your description made me want to read it! That being said, I got the impression that about half of that paragraph was a summary, when the prompt calls for an analysis. When I write I struggle with including too much information (especially when it comes to summaries.) I try to start off with a few bullet points of what I want to say. That way I don't get carried away with the details and am able to double-check my work against what I want to get across.
ReplyDeleteI've read "Brave New World" and I never noticed the personification in the title! Great eye! I think the author got the title from Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' (Act V, Scene 1). I'm not sure but that might hold some significance that you could pull ideas from.