Skip to main content

How does the theme of confinement appear in Pale Horse, Pale Rider? Please offer a second opinion on my interpretation of confinement in regard to...

What an interesting idea for an assignment (which I assume will eventually be an essay).  I find it interesting because the theme of confinement is not necessarily a common theme mentioned in Pale Horse, Pale Rider, but you can definitely make a case that the theme is both present in and important to the story.


First, let me comment on your original ideas.  Your ideas are superb, but they just need to be honed a bit.  You do too much summarizing in the beginning of your thought process here.  However, your ideas behind the confinement theme are wonderful.  For example, you are correct in asserting that Miranda is confined by influenza during the epidemic. Secondly, you can definitely prove that Miranda is further confined to live in a world without Adam after Adam dies.  (Luckily, her friends will not accept Miranda giving up on life like this.)  Your ideas about confinement, though, are hidden within sentences full of summary.   If your goal is to discuss (and prove) the theme of confinement, then perhaps you should begin with an outline of how your essay will look.


Your introduction could contain many sentences of summary that you originally suggest.  Then simply filter down to the theme of confinement and your thesis.  A good thesis might be as follows:  The theme of confinement can be found in Pale Horse, Pale Rider through Miranda’s original dream, Miranda’s job as a reporter, Miranda’s experience with influenza, and Miranda’s loss of Adam.  Each of your body paragraphs should focus on each of these confining elements.  Although you thoroughly explain confinement through the flu and through the death of Adam, I would suggest two new ideas that can be turned into body paragraphs:  the confinement of Miranda’s original dream (about death) and the confinement of Miranda’s job as a reporter. 


In regard to Miranda’s original confining dream, Miranda is pursued by death, who is the “stranger” in the dream, ready to ride with her at dawn on horses used for fox hunting.  Miranda evades death in the dream by not riding with the “stranger” at dawn, but she admits there will be another time.  How is this dream confining?  It confines Miranda’s future thoughts to the subject of death and proves that her subconscious already has death as a focus.


Miranda’s job as a reporter is also confining (and could serve as another body paragraph).  Miranda’s job as a reporter does help her earn a living but also causes her great stress.  Miranda is pigeonholed into reviewing dramatic productions for the local newspaper.  This involves continual confrontations with actors that Miranda has previously criticized through her writing.  This is also confining in that Miranda is forced to attend both plays and vaudeville shows for her work instead of for pleasure. 


Your conclusion should reword your thesis and then present a new idea.  I would suggest that Adam as well as Miranda’s friends are the characters that help release her from confinement. Before Adam passes away, he mentally frees her from the stress of her job.  After Adam passes away, it is her friends that will not allow her to be “confined” to the earth by sinking into depression. This is an interesting new concept to present in the conclusion of your essay.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more