Irony In Jane Smiley's Poem 'Halloween'

This paper will be a unique interpretation coupled with an analysis of rhetoric in A Thousand Acre’s by Jane Smiley. This non-fiction novel is told in third person omniscient and is focused on the point of view of one of the main characters, Ginny Cook. A Thousand Acres was a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear; set on a large farm and small town in Iowa. This setting is important to the plot because it is more realistic compared to a far away mystical land that is detached from its audience. Smiley uses various rhetorical and literary techniques within her book to engage readers while still keeping to the basic storyline previously written by Shakespeare. Smiley’s use of language positively aids the imagery and emotions seen

The central irony in The Plague lies in Camus' treatment of "freedom." The citizens of Oran become prisoners of the plague when their city falls under total quarantine, but it is questionable whether they were really "free" before the plague. Their lives were strictly regimented by an unconscious enslavement to their habits. Moreover, it is questionable whether they were really alive. It is only when they are separated by quarantine from their friends, lovers and families that they most intensively love them. Before, they simply took their loved ones for granted.

The witch is a recurring symbol found in literature and popular culture from the earliest of times. She lived on the fringes of society, outcast and was treated with fear. The fear was the result of her being the ‘other’ to the power yielded by man, patriarchy and society. She was the other to all the ideals of womanhood that society had marked for women. Her power lay in her disruption of these authorities and her refusal to be controlled. The women not in accordance with the societal concepts were demonised as witches and stripped of her identity as a person, a woman.

In literature, many authors love for throw an unexpected twist as the end. Shirley Jackson is no exception. In the short stories “The Lottery” and “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson both take twist that the reader doesn’t expect. In “The Lottery” a small town gathers to draw a winner; however Tessie Hutchinson is not delighted to be the winner. Also in “The Possibility of Evil” another small town has an unexpected villain who resides on Pleasant St. Shirley Jackson uses literary devices to depict twist at the end of her short stories because she used literary devices such as syntax, irony and mood.

Celebrated on October 31st, the festival of Halloween (also known as Samhain) includes dressing in costume, trick or treating, and decorating. Tracing back in history Halloween is considered to be one of America’s oldest holidays, and is still celebrated today. Halloween is believed to come from Celtic rituals. Celtics believed the cosmological myth of Saman (Lord of the Dead). Saman would call on the souls of the people that passed away that year to take them to the afterlife or underworld; the Celtic underworld identifies with the Christian Hell. In order for the spirits to believe they were on their own, the living would wear costumes and mask their identities, along with fairies, witches and demons. This functions as a cosmological myth because it provides a creation story and framework in which this universe occupies and includes many other realms of existence. Another tradition that followed was to give food to the Saman, to persuade him to be more tolerant while he judged the dead ancestors of the living, which he would chose to take to the underworld. In this essay I will further investigate what the origins of Halloween consist of and how it offers reasoning for trick-or-treating. Also I will examine how trick-or-treating, which is still continued today, is connected to ancient Celtic festivals.

The modern film The Witch by Robert Eggers is set in the 1630’s in New England and follows a Puritan family in their struggles against witches and witchcraft after being banished from the Commonwealth. The story depicts the fears of witches and witchcraft from a Puritan perspective while drawing on portrayals from the Pagan and Christian tradition of the witch to reinforce this image. The Witch uses Pagan, Christian and Puritan concepts of witches and witchcraft to establish an superstitious atmosphere filled with fear, uncertainty and paranoia; this effect aims to represent a similar psychological state of mind the Puritans had towards witches during the Salem witch crisis. Firstly, the elements The Witch uses to develop this atmosphere are images of common witch familiars and animals that have been attributed to them throughout history. Secondly, witchcraft that have been believed to be performed by witches as well as their association with the devil establishes a sense of superstition. Finally, the personality and physical traits of the witch’s character is used to enhance the fearful atmosphere throughout the film. Appearances of animals and familiars associated with witches occur throughout the film and gives a foreboding sense of what is to come.

That violent, crazy act was the last act of childhood. For as I gazed at the immobile face with the sad, weary eyes, I gazed upon a kind of reality which is hidden to childhood, The witch was no longer a witch but only a broken old woman who had dared to create beauty in the midst of ugliness and sterility. She had been born in squalor and lived in it all her life.”

Nathaniel sat on his horse beside the local ironmonger's shop. There wasn't a light on in the whole street, but he would see it coming. Most had decided to make it an early night but some, those who also knew of its route, were peering out from windows. Constantly parting gaps in the curtains, where several faces gawked. The elderly, curious children. Families peering out as though they knew something awful, yet sickeningly festive, to their community was on the verge of passing their properties. Everyone was waiting for it and they knew of Nathaniel's intentions of trapping, hopefully killing, the mischievous being. Not everybody was happy to

Thus, the lonely being becomes the infamous creature of Halloween

"Will that be all, Mother?", asked her daughter, hauling the last of the ground roots and herbs inside the dungeon rooms and setting hem on the floor near her mother's feet, Abigail smiled, nodding a little at the girl. "What's all this for anyway? You turned into a witch?",, Abigail laughed. "You wish, my darling. But no, it's for something rather special, I have to call upon something, and I've been told this-", she gestured to the candles, chalk and herbs in Mason jars around her, 'was the only way to do it.". Her daughter, smirked, looking around the room, "I would stay, but- witchcraft isn't really my thing.". Abigail shrugged, "Understood.". She one she shouldn't have bragged to Maxim earlier about her wonderful daughter, but how

First, Ghosts and the witches lead a very

As the clock seemed to slow to a crawl I found myself barely being able to choke down my turkey sandwich. So, I discarded it. Electing to spend the rest of the period just staring out the window while making a sincere effort to avoid any accidental eye contact with the real witches of Mt. Harrison. It was excruciating waiting for time to pass, and I had hoped-to-no-ends that the bell would ring soon. Because every time I glanced away from the window, I thought—although it could have been just paranoia—that I saw about a third of the kids in the cafeteria looking over at me. They would quickly avert their eyes to avoid being caught staring at me, but I knew they

As I came to the Parris’s house, I was rather on the serious side. I made Mary Warren have a feeling of shame. Then Abigail came in. I… still felt sinful of my affiliations with her, but nonetheless, I ask Abigail with a smile what’s the mischief this time. She told me it was just some silly game that they had. She then proceeded to flirt with me, and said multiple things about the event that cause the town to say witchcraft. Her uncle, Revered Parris, scared off the group when they were doing an event in the woods, and Betty was just frighten is all. The smile on my face grew noticeably wider as I said they’ll be hitting the stocking before they turn twenty. I took a step to go back, but she leaps into my path. She told me to say a word, the

“Dexter, I love you so much. So, so much, and I probably always will […] I just don’t like you anymore. I’m sorry.” (210).

“In the year of 1989, there was a street named Elm, in the state of Wyoming. Few chose to live on that street, and they all knew about the haunted house, up on the hill, on the west side of town, coming off of Elm. Once, I spent the week with some friends and, Halloween came upon us, while I stayed with them.” I was telling my first-grade brother and his friends stories to scare them out of their wits. Besides, no one wants little kids tagging along with you to go trick or treating, when you could go with your friends to Haunted Houses, and not ones set up by the town hall. “We were just about to pass the house, not thinking anything of it, when we heard a moan coming from Old Man Reaper’s house.” Their eyes grew wide with fear. Mr. G.