Grief and Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Grief and Life - Essay Example At first she thought that the feeling of meaninglessness and the feeling of grief are very different from each other. But she realizes, after being a mother and a wife, and after losing someone she dearly loves, that what she felt as a child was very similar from the grief that struck her as an adult. This essay talks about the journey of Didion through grief, particularly how she describes her experience with grief in terms of the feeling of meaninglessness that plagued her throughout her young life. Didion explains how different our notion of ‘grief’ is from what it really is in real life. She explains how our expectations of grief are too ‘simple’ or ‘easy’. We know that we will lose someone we love. We expect to go through definite changes, and ‘heal’ immediately. We expect that we should be strong during this very tough time (Worden, 40). Didion explains such in the following manner: â€Å"In the version of grief we imagine, the model will be ‘healing’. A certain forward movement will prevail† (Didion, 392). We think that the normal course of grief is toward ‘healing’ or ultimate ‘acceptance’ of a loss of a loved one. That we do not have to exert too much effort in moving on because everything will resolve by itself. She adds that â€Å"we imaging that the moment to most severely test us will be the funeral, after which this hypothetical healing will take place† (Didion, 392). She mentions ‘hypothetical’ to emphasize the fact that this belief is somewhat flawed. However, based on her experience with grief, it is an emotion that does not subside easily; it is an emotion that is very difficult, sometimes impossible, to deal with. As Didion says, â€Å"We have no way of knowing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Grief is something that is uncertain; something that is unimaginable (Didion, 392). Grief is a feeling of

Compare and contrast Shakespeare's portrayal of women in Hamlet and A Essay

Compare and contrast Shakespeare's portrayal of women in Hamlet and A Midsummer's Night Dream - Essay Example She seems powerless and innocent and this can be compared to real life chauvinist society in which women are seen to be dependent on the males. Other characters use her as a tool to reach their goals and this can be witnessed in Act II when Polonius uses Ophelia as a spy to find out the reasons behind Hamlet’s peculiar and curious behavior. Ophelia is loved by her father, Polonius and her brother, Laertes to an extent that keeps her unaware of the bitter realities of life. Her innocence is justified by her unawareness about the state matters and childlike desires of gathering flowers. This innocence can again be compared to the real life women who are considered to be innocent in comparison to the male counterparts. She is loyal and is ready to return the love she receives by any means. Her loyalty and obedience to her father can be witnessed in the scene when her father stops her from seeing Hamlet. At this particular scene she replies â€Å"I shall obey my Lord† (1.4. 10). Ophelia portrays the picture of an impeccable and frail woman of that era. "Her whole character is that of simple unselfish affection" (Bradley 130). On the other hand, Hippolyta, one of the leading characters of ‘A Midsummer’s night dream’ depicts a rather strong, determined and powerful character. She contradicts the situations and character traits of Ophelia. Hippolyta exposes the characteristics of a fighting leader and portrays a completely different picture about a woman. Her different sense of judgment is observed with her decision to marry Theseus who has defeated her in a battle. Unlike Ophelia, she chooses to marry a person who was against her. Ophelia chose to follow her father and brother owing to their compassion and affection towards her. Theseus explains Hippolyta’s choice of marrying him in the following lines: Hippolyta, I woo?d thee with my sword, And won thy love doing thee injuries (Act I, scene I 16-17) Hippolyta’s characte r appears in the starting of the play with Theseus discussing ther wedding. Hippolyta is less expressive in the play and appears only with Theseus throughout the course of the story (Bloom & Marson 2008, p. 18). Love plays a major role in Shakespeare’s novels. His female characters portray their love towards their counterparts in one way or the other. Ophelia is one of the Shakespeare’s characters who are true, genuine and devoted to their feelings of love. She is weak, dependent and obedient to her father and brother’s will. Yet, her feelings towards Hamlet were honest, true and strong but she still stopped seeing him after she was ordered so. Hippolyta on the other hand was a bold character who would have acted in a different way in a situation which Ophelia went through. Like the women of that era, Ophelia however was forced and obliged to obey her family. She, thus, disregards any further relationship or communication with Hamlet (Jameson 1967, p. 161). Hipp olyta and Theseus have contradictory nature and views as seen in the opening scene when they are discussing about the imaginations and lovers’ story. Hippolyta appears quite, calm and passive throughout the play. Her calm nature in the play rejects the misconceptions about the Amazonian women, which in the Elizabethan age were known as strong opponents against men. Theseus’s love towards Hippolyta is much obvious by his speeches than Hippolyta’s expressionism. She reserves her comments and feelings yet her acceptance of