A Thousand Acres as Movie is Melodramatic and Bogus Essay

A Thousand Acres as Movie is Melodramatic and Bogus nbsp; Perhaps Jane Smileys Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres was a bit over-rated. For one thing, the books dark secret seemed utterly implausible. I just didnt believe that the books protagonist and narrator, a 37-year-old Iowa farm wife named Ginny, could have completely repressed the fact that her father had sex with her when she was 15 years old, night after night, for a year. For True Believers in Repressed Memory Syndrome, this might sound like gospel: I found it melodramatic and bogus. Furthermore, the sensitive-unto-death narrative voice was dissonant and grating: Ginny came across as too intelligent and self-aware to be as clueless and numb as she†¦show more content†¦Above all, they play it too safe. Perhaps if they had added new material, approached Smileys story from different directions, they could have made a film that would have been truer to the spirit, if not the letter, of her book. Ploddingly literal, A Thousand Acres is basically a star vehicle that relies on superior acting to redeem it. It does have superior acting, but thats not nearly enough. nbsp; The story involves a tyrannical old patriarch, Larry Cook (Jason Robards, whose skills are not really utilized), who, apparently forgetting the unpleasant fate that befell Lear, decides to give his farm away to his three daughters -- Ginny (Jessica Lange), Rose (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Caroline (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Larry -- Lear; Ginny -- Goneril; Rose -- Regan; Caroline -- Cordelia. Get it? But Smiley turns that phallocentric old fable on its politically incorrect head: Instead of being hounded to madness and despair by evil children, this patriarch is the evil one, a rigid, remorseless old man who, we learn, seduced not just Ginny but Rose, too. And he doesnt need to be driven to madness: He goes pretty much off the deep end, for reasons that are never explained, right after he gives away his property. nbsp; Ginny and Rose, like their horrific Shakespearean namesakes,

The Different Types of Comedy Employed by Shakespeare in...

The Different Types of Comedy Employed by Shakespeare in Twelfth Night William Shakespeare wrote Twelfth Night in 1914 as he was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I to write a comic play for very important Italian courtier. The play included themes of love, confusion, disguise and other particularly funny topics from Shakespearean time. The title Twelfth Night fits in well with the comic play for a number of reasons. Twelfth Night is the name used for the Twelfth Day after Christmas. On this day (6th January), decorations are taken down, pranks are made and the servants and masters inverse. Two characters that appear in the play, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, would like this period of time as†¦show more content†¦He stops their party and tells them off because of his beliefs as a puritan. Malvolio: My masters, are you mad? or what are you? Have ye no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night? Do ye make an alehouse of my ladys house, that ye squeak out your coziers catches without any mitigation or remorse of voice? Is there no respect of place, persons, nor time in you? (Act 2 Scene 3, Line 75) Maria, Feste, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are furious with him and want revenge. Maria then thinks up a plan of writing a letter from Olivia (The one he loves) to Malvolio. It consumes of Olivias heart liking Malvolio and instructs him on what to do. Maria: I will drop in his way some obscure epistles of love; wherein, by the colour of his beard, the shape of his leg, the manner of his gait, the expressure of his eye, forehead, and complexion, he shall find himself most feelingly personated. I can write very like my lady your niece: on a forgotten matter we can hardly make distinction of our hands. Sir Toby: He shall think, by the letters that thou wilt drop, that they come from my niece, and that shes in love with him. (Act 2 Scene 3, Line 131) Most of William Shakespeares humour in Twelfth Night is from a comic device called dramatic irony. For example, By my life, this is my ladys hand!Show MoreRelatedSatire : The Fundamental Function Of Satire1644 Words   |  7 PagesComedy plays a fundamental role in my life, ranging from the witty encounters with likeminded people and the way that humour permeates through my family life. On a personal level, I tend to enjoy satirical comedy above all other sub-genres, and in particular, slapstick comedy. Satire is a technique employed by writers and comedians alike to expose and criticise corruption and shortcomings of an individual or a society by using humour, irony and/or exaggeration. 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How Authors Affected the Frontier Movement Essay Sample free essay sample

The Frontier Movement is a period in American history that refers to the westbound motion of Americans toward the Pacific Ocean during the mid-1800s lasting until the early 1900’s. This motion was characterized by an expansionist ardor for chance and escapade. but was besides to a great extent characterized by widespread societal subjugation and reform. It was during this clip that both writers and reformers were inspired to compose and portion their thoughts. many of which called attending to the frequently ignored societal unfairnesss of the clip. These author’s thoughts non merely were inspired by the motion ( the beginning of American Literature ) . but besides to a great extent fueled and contributed to the motion in return. Writers Mark Twain and Susan B. Anthony. for illustration. played an of import function in the frontier motion through their Hagiographas as they used these to convey the feelings they held toward America’s crooked societal favoritism an d socio-economic disparities. We will write a custom essay sample on How Authors Affected the Frontier Movement? Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Mark Twain and Susan B. Anthony are considered to be two of America’s first American Literature writers. Mark Twain. known as the â€Å"Father of America Literature† . became an writer in the West after the terminal of the Civil War. Susan B. Anthony. known as one of the first women’s militants. plants focused chiefly on the gender inequality customary of the clip. Both of these author’s plants are recognized as being bold and reflecting much of the American frontier movement’s attitude and complaints. Their plants helped fuel their readers understanding of who they were and helped animate their audience in the spirit of the frontier motion. Mark Twain’s works frequently embodied the freshly discovered American frontier spirit of individualism and escapade. His plants were both entertaining and bucked up Americans to make their ain fate. This was both a popular and important impression during the frontier motion as it embodied the idea’s Americans had about spread outing due west in hunt of a new life. In add-on to his inspirational and humourous plants. his Hagiographas besides addressed the societal favoritism he witness during the epoch of the frontier motion. Many of his plants. like Huckleberry Finn for illustration. showed the possibility of conveying alteration to a universe dominated by racism and folly. His works both captured American’s imaginativeness. inspired American’s frontier attitude. and called attending to societal wrongs. Susan B. Anthony’s works focused more on the daring of the American. Rather than idolising the spirit of America. she frequently called Americans out on the societal unfairnesss prevalent throughout America during the frontier epoch and promoted alteration. She called attending to both American racism and particularly gender inequality. While Americans were get downing to place the distinctly American features they took pride in. Susan B. Anthony identified the facets of American life that Americans came to recognize they should be ashamed of. Her Hagiographas and causes were bold. reflecting the rugged American Spirit. but her plants besides helped determine the societal facets of the American Frontier motion. The frontier motion of America marked the beginning of American individuality. and therefore the beginning of American Literature. It was this motion that influenced the plants of going writers. many. who in bend. influenced the frontier motion. Mark Twain and Sarah B. Anthony both contributed to the frontier motion through their Hagiographas in that they helped Americans recognize their individuality. During the frontier motion. Americans began to see themselves as an adventuresome and bold people. and it was these writers who helped Americans addition and develop an apprehension of who they were. even though their thoughts were frequently negative. In short. by supplying Americans with literature about who the American people were. the writers helped animate Americans to show this new attitude of escapade and acknowledge American societal values in the Frontier Movement.

Understanding the Hummingbird Update

What Google’s Latest Algorithm Change Means to Businesses Consumers As always, the latest Google update has everybody talking. And little wonder. According to Forbes, â€Å"The update, code-named Hummingbird, is the biggest change to the underpinnings of the world’s leading search engine since early 2010, when Google upgraded its algorithm to one it called Caffeine.† Designed to coincide with Google’s 15th anniversary, the Hummingbird update consists of an entirely revamped algorithm that makes Google capable of responding more effectively to long, complex â€Å"conversational† search queries, making many question the future value of keywords and traditional SEO methods. Creating still greater worries for search marketers, Hummingbird follows closely on the heels of Google’s recent decision to switch to secure search for all users — with the two changes combining to create a one-two punch that’s causing a few equilibrium issues for webmasters. A New Google Search Algorithm Silently Slipped In While already in effect, having been gradually — and surreptitiously — introduced over the last month or so, the latest revamp of Google’s search formula, despite affecting about 90 percent of global searches, has apparently been noticed by few. Yet, those who pay closer attention to their search results may have already begun seeing more relevant links appearing in their SERPs in response to their most complex search queries. As for businesses, some may potentially have seen their search traffic rise or fall since the implementation of the new algorithm, depending on their current SEO practices. Yet, no matter which side of the search equation you happen to be on, this development represents good news for those who aren’t trying to game the system. As a consumer, you’ll be more likely to get the answers you actually want rather than those that relate to the various literal meanings of the terms used in your query, many of which, prior to the update, would have had absolutely nothing to do with your actual search goal. As a business, you should see more organic traffic reaching your website that may never have ended up there through literal keyword â€Å"relevance† alone. Analysis Advice for Businesses in Light of Hummingbird What is the upshot of the new Hummingbird algorithm, and how will it affect search marketers and the webmasters who oversee their websites? Perhaps even more importantly, what can businesses do to come out on the winning end of the deal in the aftermath of Hummingbird? The following information and suggestions should help reassure those website owners who are not resorting to Gray Hat or Black Hat SEO tactics to draw undeserved traffic to their sites: 1. As alluded to above, the new wider implementation of the conversational search that Google originally began using in its Chrome browser when it introduced Knowledge Graph last year and is now applying across the entire Web should offer brand new opportunities to businesses as searchers take advantage of Google’s ability to respond to the overall meaning of their queries and are thereby directed to relevant websites they may never have otherwise found. As always, websites that contain a wealth of related terminology sprinkled throughout their content to support their main keywords will give Google much more to work with in parsing these conversational queries in such a way that the right users find their sites. 2. SEO is not dead. Keywords may no longer be used in quite the same way they were previously — a good thing overall since they were so often misused or ineffective — yet they will still feature prominently in search queries in the sense that they will remain a vital part of the language used to express the searcher’s intent. As one analyst has stated, â€Å"As long as search engines require us to enter some type of term in order to find information, nobody can convince me that keywords aren’t and won’t continue to be important.† 3. Despite the comprehensive changes brought about by Hummingbird, one thing still hasn’t changed where Google is concerned (and never will): Publishing relevant, helpful, value-added unique content that’s aimed at people and not search engines is the best way to rank well in Google search results. As long as businesses publish original, high-quality content that meets peoples’ needs and attracts credible inbound links, they have little to worry about. As the analysis of one CBS Moneywatch writer concluded, â€Å"The upshot for many companies is that they’ll need to become less reliant on keywords in collecting customer data and focus more on providing content that is of value to the people they want to reach.† For businesses, this may be the crux of the Hummingbird matter.