Revision of Open Prompt #5

1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

Conflict between parent and child is one of the most fascinating topics for authors to explore, possibly because they have experienced it. Arthur Miller delves into this complex issue in his play, Death of a Salesman, as Willy Loman and his son Biff struggle through a tense relationship. Miller uses detail and a nonlinear timeline to create and explore the conflict between father and son which ultimately shows his audience that Willy's so-called American Dream will not bring the happiness and success that he expects it to.

Miller uses a nonlinear time line in the play to reveal to the audience some of the sources of the conflict between Willy and Biff. The play begins in present day and often flashes back in time to some memory of Willy's. In the beginning, flashbacks show us that when Biff in high school, the two had a wonderful relationship. Present day, however, the conflict and tension in their relationship is evident. Later, Willy flashes back to a memory of Biff visiting him on one of his trips to Boston to tell his father that he flunked math where he finds a young secretary in Willy's hotel room. Willy tries to talk his way around the truth but eventually just tries to justify his affair by saying repeatedly, "I'm so lonely", to his stunned, devastated son. The nonlinear way the story is told shows the audience the original source of conflict between Biff and his father. Miller also provides details that enhance the audience's understanding of this father/son conflict. Throughout the play, details reveal to the audience Willy's idea of a successful life. In other words, his American Dream includes being involved in business, being financially secure, and being "well-liked". Details also show the audience that Biff's idea of the American Dream is much different than his father's. Many times, Biff has left his home to go out west and Miller's details tell what Biff loves about being there: baby calves being born, open air, "the time to sit around and smoke". This, being contrary to Willy's idea of success and happiness, is a major source of tension between the two. 

This conflict contributes heavily to Miller's main point which is that the American Dream, as Willy sees it, will not bring happiness or success to one who achieves it. In the end, Willy finds himself poor and forgotten in the sales world, despite how important those things have always been to him. He still has not let go of this dream, however, and kills himself so his family can have the insurance money that his death will bring them. At his funeral, which no one but his family and two family friends attend, his wife, Linda, repeats the words, "we're free". Willy, now dead, is certainly not free, nor is Linda, nor their other son, Happy, who continues on in the business world, following in Willy's footsteps. Biff, who chooses again to go out west, is the only one who is really free. He finally realizes who he is and that happiness and success comes of that, not of being "well-liked" and rich as his father always said, which is Miller's main point.

Father/son conflict is a commonly explored theme in literature. Miller uses this theme, which he creates through detail and a nonlinear timeline, to get his message across to his audience. He shows that happiness and success comes from knowing and being true to yourself, not from the American Dream that Willy couldn't let go of, the dream of wealth and being "well-liked".

Revision of Open Prompt #4

1993. "The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter." Choose a novel, play, or long poem in which a scene or character awakens "thoughtful laughter" in the reader. Write an essay in which you show why this laughter is "thoughtful" and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.

A confused adoption lady, a crazy grandma, a day-old cake, some missing pekingese, and lots and lots of boxes. These details and many others, along with some sarcasm and irony, make Edward Albee's play, The American Dream, a funny one. Underneath the laughter, however, an audience is forced to stop and think about what Albee is trying to say. He uses details and language to, as one critic called it, "awaken thoughtful laughter" in his audience, entertaining them while, at the same time, causing them to consider that when people are dissatisfied in their personal lives, they turn to the artificial and fleeting satisfaction of consumerism. 

Albee uses language and many details to make his audience laugh. Humorous language techniques are found in many places in the play. For example, h

e uses alliteration in the phrase "a penchant for pornography" to highlight the comedy of an adoption lady who is interested in the "intimate" things her clients say. He also uses a paraprosdokian when grandma calls their era "the age of deformity", rather than the age of conformity, as one might expect. These language choices, and others, add to the humor of Albee's play. He also 

uses a plethora of details to create funny moments in the dialogue of his characters. For example, Mommy tells Daddy the story of how she went to buy a beige hat that was really wheat and then when she went to return it, they gave her back the same hat, which she then believed was beige. The story is incredibly lengthy, including details about the hat, the store, and everything that was said. The story is also constantly interrupted by Mommy's complaints and Daddy's inability to pay attention to what she says. The result is a hilarious, albeit somewhat irritating, story about a trip to a hat shop. 

All the humorous language and details found in The American Dream, while entertaining, must also be accompanied by real thought on the part of the audience. The techniques Albee uses to make the audience laugh also point to his main message: that if someone is unsatisfied and unhappy with their personal life, they will turn to consumerism to find satisfaction, although it is false and extremely temporary. The paraprosdokian used by grandma, for example, is a funny use of a common phrase, but it also forces the audience to consider how messed up and therefore unsatisfying their lives really are. The details of Mommy's hat story show that, because of her unsatisfying, "deformed" life, she has turned to consumerism to fill the void. 

Even through the lighthearted laughter Albee's humor causes, the audience is also forced to confront the sad, unhealthy aspects of the characters lives. This laughter, while serving its purpose by entertaining, fulfills another duty by making the audience think about what they are actually laughing at which is Albee's meaning that unsatisfactory personal lives will lead people to the false, fleeting satisfaction of consumerism.

Revision of Open Prompt #3

1972. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.

Many great authors manage to hint at major themes in their work in the opening scene. Edward Albee masters this in his absurdist play The American Dream. The play centers around several unhappy characters, specifically Mommy and Daddy, and their so-called American Dream. Albee uses diction and detail in the opening scene of the play to hint at one of the overall themes: that when people become dissatisfied in their personal lives, they turn to the fleeting and artificial satisfaction of consumerism.

The curtain rises on a relatively empty stage: just two armchairs occupied by Mommy and Daddy, a couch separating them. This furniture arrangement hints at the distance between the husband and wife, a detail Albee was adamant about in his stage directions. Other details demonstrate the dissatisfaction Mommy and Daddy feel in their relationship, such as the disinterested way that Daddy listens to Mommy talk about her day. They speak of dissatisfaction in other things that reflect their dissatisfaction with each other, such as the tardiness of whomever they are waiting for, as well as that person's inability to get things fixed. They say over and over again that "that's just the way things are today", as if they have no say in the matter. Diction also supports the idea that they have no control, as Albee uses words like "naturally" and "of course". Albee's diction and details show the audience right away that Mommy and Daddy "can't get satisfaction" from each other or their marriage.

The scene continues with Mommy telling Daddy about the new hat she had bought earlier that day. She says that she bought a beige hat but upon leaving the store and speaking with the chairman of her women's club, she discovers that the hat is actually wheat-colored. She storms back into the store, demanding a beige hat. When the store gives her the exact same hat, insisting it is beige, not wheat, she is "satisfied" and purchases the hat. After she finishes her story, Daddy says, "You did get satisfaction, didn't you." And Mommy says that she certainly did. The satisfaction, then, comes from the purchase made, not from being with Daddy or interacting with anyone in her life. Throughout the story, she continues to use the word "naturally", implying that she cannot change the fact that she only gets satisfaction through shopping. She even says to Daddy, "I can always go shopping." The details used to tell her story, as well as the specific diction choices, show the audience that since she isn't satisfied with her marriage, she turns to consumerism to fill the void. 

Despite Mommy's apparent satisfaction, Albee is sure to make it clear that her satisfaction is false and only temporary. Mommy is originally satisfied with her "beige" hat until only minutes later when she decides that it is "wheat". This detail demonstrates the brevity of consumer satisfaction. Albee is telling us that, with consumerism, as quickly as we get what we think we want, we want something else. Albee also talks about the false nature of satisfaction through consumerism through Mommy's comment about the lights in the store. She tells Daddy, twice, that the store has "artificial lights" which caused her to think the wheat hat was beige. The artificial lights are representative of the artificial satisfaction Mommy finds in the store that they illuminate. 

In the first scene of The American Dream, Albee manages to convey a major theme of the play. He comments on the fact that when people become dissatisfied with some aspect of their personal lives, they turn to consumerism to compensate. He is also sure to let his audience know that the satisfaction found in this way is false and only temporary. This important theme is introduced briefly in this first scene and is brought up again and again through the play.

Revision of Open Prompt #1

1985. A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is its ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a literary work that produces this "healthy confusion." Write an essay in which you explain the sources of the "pleasure and disquietude" experienced by the readers of the work.

More often than not, as humans, we experience many emotions at one time, often conflicting, caused by the multitude of people and circumstances in our lives. Great works of literature, according to one critic, should produce this same effect of "healthy confusion". In Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, a romance set during the Civil War, almost every emotion felt by readers are accompanied by opposite ones. Mitchell uses details and imagery to show characters and events that create the conflicting emotions of "pleasure and disquietude" in the reader which contribute to one of Mitchell's ultimate messages - that no person is either completely good or bad.

Scarlett O'Hara, a young woman of the southern aristocracy, is the novel's protagonist. Throughout the novel, she alternately hates, gets along with, and eventually loves the charming Rhett Butler, a blockade runner who turns up now and then in Scarlett's life. Through her constant use of well-placed details, Mitchell shows readers that Scarlett's character is a head-strong young woman, willing to use any means necessary to get what she wants. For example, when Scarlett's plantation is threatened by heavy property taxes, Scarlett decides to ask Rhett for the money. Mitchell describes in detail Scarlett's fluttering eyelashes, the green velvet curtains out of which she makes a dress, and the tantrums she throws when he refuses her the money. These details certainly create a "disquietude" and displeasure about Scarlett's character. This negative feeling, however, is countered when Mitchell uses more details, as well as imagery, to show Scarlett at her best. Much later, after Scarlett and Rhett have married, Mitchell's gives wonderful details about their daughter, Bonnie, through Scarlett's eyes. Scarlett watches her baby girl and notices the curve of her soft cheek, the gentle curl of her hair, the bright blue of her eyes, and the soft, sweetness of her laugh. This imagery shows the love Scarlett has for her daughter, creating that sense of "pleasure" in the audience to counter the "disquietude".

The techniques Mitchell uses to create these almost opposite emotions in her readers help her to convey an important message of the novel. The details and imagery provided that cause readers to feel so conflicted about Scarlett are used in the same way to create that same feeling about Rhett and many of the other characters. Therefore, it is hard for a reader to say exactly what they feel about a certain character or to classify them as purely good or evil. This is exactly what Mitchell intended, as she is trying to prove to her audience, through these techniques, that no human being is simply good or bad. 

A certain level of "healthy confusion" is necessary to any great work of literature, as one critic stated. A piece comes alive when readers can feel those opposing emotions. Through the use of well-thought out and carefully placed detail, as well as stunning imagery, Margaret Mitchell creates that sense of "pleasure and disquietude" about characters and events in her novel, Gone with the Wind, which ultimately proves Mitchell's point that no person is completely good or bad. 

Open Prompt #6

1986. Some works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological sequence of events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated. Choose a novel, an epic, or a play of recognized literary merit and show how the author's manipulation of time contributes to the effectiveness of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

In the Western World, we are taught to think in a straight line, beginning with point A and ending at point B. In many Native American Indian cultures, however, thought is circular and while it may begin at point A it visits and revisits many other points before reaching the end. This is very apparent in many works of Native literature, particularly in Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony. Silko uses a nonlinear storyline to mimic the cycle of thought and Tayo's eventual realization that all things are connected in a great web, which ends up being one of Silko's most important messages in the novel.

Silko's incredible novel is scattered with smaller stories from the Pueblo people that enhance the narrative. The narrative itself jumps all over the place in Tayo's timeline. One moment he is hunting a deer with Josiah and the next he's in a South Pacific jungle, fighting the Japanese with Rocky. The details Silko uses in her writing help the reader to figure out where in time Tayo is at each point in the story. For example, in one part Tayo is in the hospital in Los Angeles and with little warning or transition, he is back in the jungle, watching who he thinks is Josiah get shot. Silko's details allow her reader to understand the transition of the nonlinear plot. She describes the muggy air and the large mosquitoes, details that would not be found in a white hospital in California. 

The nonlinear storyline that Silko employs in her novel mimics the reciprocal nature of thought and life that is so central to Pueblo beliefs. Just in the way that thought does not follow immediately from one thing to the next, her narrative does not move in a straight line down the timeline. It also represents Tayo's new knowledge of the great web that has been created by Thought-Woman. Everything is connected and as Tayo begins to realize this, the nonlinear plot becomes less confusing for the reader. He understands now that all things are related. This is mirrored in the way that Silko, through Tayo, connects one event to another. Tayo laying in bed, trying to stay sane, connects to a deer he once hunted with Rocky, which leads to the humid jungle, which leads to the bar with Harley and Leroy, and so on. Silko's seemingly crazy timeline is actually just as sane as our world, which, the Pueblo people say, is all connected and all related. 

Despite the confusion the nonlinear plot line creates in Ceremony, it is very important in getting Silko's message across to her readers. The nonlinear story is a representation of the circular thought that is understood by the Pueblo people. At the same time, it helps us understand what Tayo is coming to understand: that all things are connected and related through Thought-Woman's web. 

Open Prompt #5

1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

Conflict between parent and child is one of the most fascinating topics for authors to explore, possibly because they have experienced it. Arthur Miller delves into this complex issue in his play, Death of a Salesman, as Willy Loman and his son Biff struggle through their tense relationship. Miller uses detail and a nonlinear timeline to create and explore the conflict between father and son which ultimately shows his audience that the so-called American Dream will not bring the happiness and success that Willy expects it to.

Miller uses a nonlinear time line in the play to reveal to the audience some of the sources of the conflict between Willy and Biff. The play begins in present day and often flashes back in time to some memory of Willy's. In the beginning, flashbacks show us that when Biff in high school, the two had a wonderful relationship. Present day, however, the conflict and tension in their relationship is evident. Later, Willy flashes back to a memory of Biff visiting him on one of his trips to Boston. Biff had come to tell Willy that he flunked math and finds a young secretary in Willy's hotel room. Willy tries to lie his way around the truth but eventually just tries to excuse himself by saying repeatedly, "I'm so lonely", to his stunned, devastated son. The nonlinear way the story is told shows the audience the original source of conflict between Biff and his father. Miller also provides details that enhance the audience's understanding of this father/son conflict. Throughout the play, details reveal to the audience Willy's idea of a successful life. In other words, his American Dream includes being involved in business, being financially wealthy, and being "well-liked". Details also show Biff's idea of the American Dream. Many times, Biff has left his home to go west. We are given details about what Biff loves about being out west: baby calfs being born, open air, "the time to sit around and smoke". This, being contrary to Willy's idea of success and happiness, is a major source of tension between the two. 

This conflict, among other things, contributes heavily to Miller's main point which is that the American Dream, as Willy sees it, will not bring happiness or success to the one who achieves it. In the end, Willy finds himself poor and forgotten in the sales world, despite how important those things have always been to him. He still has not let go of this dream, however, and kills himself so his family can have the insurance money that will come of his death. At his funeral, which no one but his family and two family friends attend, his wife, Linda, repeats the words, "we're free". Willy, dead, is certainly not free, nor is Linda or their other son, Happy. Biff is the only one who is really free. He finally realizes who he is and that happiness and success comes of that, not of being "well-liked" and rich as his father always said. This realization effectively proves Miller's meaning to the audience. 

Father/son conflict is a commonly explored theme in literature. Miller uses this theme, which he creates through detail and a nonlinear timeline, to get his message across to his audience. He shows that the American Dream that Willy couldn't let go of, one of wealth and being "well-liked", will not bring happiness or success.

Open Prompt #4

1993. "The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter." Choose a novel, play, or long poem in which a scene or character awakens "thoughtful laughter" in the reader. Write an essay in which you show why this laughter is "thoughtful" and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.

A confused adoption lady, a crazy grandma, a day-old cake, some missing pekingese, and lots and lots of boxes. These details and many others, along with some sarcasm and irony, make Edward Albee's play, The American Dream, quite a funny one. Underneath the laughter, however, an audience is forced to stop and think about what Albee is trying to say. He uses details and language to, as one critic called it, "awaken thoughtful laughter" in his audience, entertaining them while, at the same time, causing them to consider that when people are unsatisfied in their personal lives, they turn to the artificial and fleeting satisfaction of consumerism. 

Albee uses language and includes many details to make his audience laugh. Humorous language techniques are found in many places in the play. For example, h

e uses alliteration in the phrase "a penchant for pornography" to highlight the comedy of an adoption lady who is interested in the "intimate" things her clients say. He also uses a paraprosdokian when grandma calls their era "the age of deformity", rather than the age of conformity, as one might expect. These language choices, and others, infinitely add to the humor of Albee's play. He also 

uses a plethora of details to create funny moments in the dialogue of his characters. For example, Mommy tells Daddy the story of how she went to buy a beige hat that was really wheat and then when she went to return it, they gave her back the same hat, which she then believed was beige. The story is incredibly lengthy, complete with Mommy's complaints and Daddy's inability to pay attention to what she says. The result is a hilarious, albeit somewhat irritating, story about a trip to a hat shop. 

All the laughter found in The American Dream must be accompanied by real thought on the part of the audience. That thought inevitably leads the thinker to Albee's main point: that if someone is unsatisfied and unhappy with their personal life, they will turn to consumerism to find satisfaction, although it is false and fleeting. The paraprosdokian used by grandma, for example, is a funny use of a common phrase, but it also forces the audience to consider how messed up and therefore unsatisfying, their lives really are. The details of Mommy's hat story show that, because of her unsatisfying, "deformed" life, she has turned to consumerism to fill the void. 

Even through the lighthearted laughter that an audience may experience during Albee's play, they must confront the sad, unhealthy aspects of the characters lives. This laughter, while serving its purpose by entertaining, completes another duty by forcing the audience to think about what they are actually laughing at and, in turn, about Albee's meaning: that unsatisfactory personal lives will lead people to the false, fleeting satisfaction of consumerism.

Open Prompt #3

1972. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.

Many great authors manage to hint at major themes in their work in the opening scene. Edward Albee masters this in his absurdist play The American Dream. The play centers around several unhappy characters, specifically Mommy and Daddy, and their so-called American Dream. Albee uses diction and detail in the opening scene of the play to hint at one of the overall themes: that when people become dissatisfied in their personal lives, they turn to the artificial satisfaction of consumerism.

The curtain rises on a relatively empty stage: just two armchairs occupied by Mommy and Daddy, a couch separating them. This furniture arrangement hints at the distance between the husband and wife, a detail Albee was adamant about in his stage directions. Other details demonstrate the dissatisfaction Mommy and Daddy feel in their relationship, such as the disinterested way that Daddy listens to Mommy talk about her day. They speak of dissatisfaction in other things that reflect their dissatisfaction with each other, such as the tardiness of whomever they are waiting for, as well as that person's inability to get things fixed. They say over and over again that "that's just the way things are today", as if they have no say in the matter. Diction supports that idea, also, as Albee uses words like "naturally" and "of course". Albee's diction and details show the audience right away that Mommy and Daddy "can't get satisfaction" from each other or their marriage.

The scene continues with Mommy telling Daddy about the new hat she had bought earlier that day. She says that she bought a beige hat but upon leaving the store and speaking with the chairman of her women's club, she discovers that the hat is actually wheat-colored. She storms back into the store, demanding a beige hat. When the store gives her the exact same hat, insisting it is beige, not wheat, she is satisfied and purchases the hat. After she finishes her story, Daddy says, "You did get satisfaction, didn't you." And Mommy says that she certainly did. Throughout the story, she continues to use the word "naturally", implying that she cannot change the fact that she only gets satisfaction through shopping. She even says to Daddy, "I can always go shopping." Details used to tell her story, as well as the specific diction choices, show the audience that since she isn't satisfied with her marriage, she turns to consumerism to fill the void. 

Despite Mommy's apparent satisfaction, Albee is sure to make it clear that her satisfaction is false and only temporary. Mommy is immediately satisfied with her "beige" hat until only minutes later when she decides that it is wheat. This detail demonstrates the brevity of consumer satisfaction. Albee is telling us that, with consumerism, as quickly as we get what we think we want, we want something else. Albee also talks about the false nature of satisfaction through consumerism through Mommy's comment about the lights in the store. She tells Daddy, twice, that the store has "artificial lights" which caused her to think the wheat hat was beige. The artificial lights are representative of the artificial satisfaction Mommy finds in the store that they illuminate. 

In the first scene of The American Dream, Albee manages to convey a major theme of the play. He comments on the fact that when people become dissatisfied with some aspect of their personal lives, they turn to consumerism to compensate. He also tells his audience that the satisfaction found in this way, is false and only temporary. This important theme is introduced briefly in this first scene and is brought up again and again through the play.

Open Prompt #2

1980. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

Some of the most tragic love stories involve a hero or heroine who cannot be with their loved one. Just this happens to poor Walter Hartright in Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, he falls in love with his drawing student, Laura, who is already engaged. Walter suffers privately in his quiet love for Laura as it conflicts with both her promises to her fiance and his promises to his employer, her uncle. Collins uses intense detail to show the apparent hopelessness of Walter's situation which emphasizes the universal tragedy of separated lovers. 

Walter first falls in love with Laura when he is instructing her and her sister, Marian, in drawing at their home at Limmeridge House. Although she is engaged, Laura's fiance, Sir Percival Glyde, is absent from their lives and he is allowed to quietly admire her, while struggling privately with his love for her and his more obligations to treat her as nothing more than a student. Collins uses imagery to highlight Walter's feelings for Laura. They sit in a lovely garden, in full bloom, as he helps her with a drawing. There he notices her soft features, her gentle smile, and her delicate hands. He admires her blonde hair and fair complexion as she focuses on her work. The details given of Laura and the beautiful nature around her show Walter's intense emotion and love for her. Conflicting with this, however, are the details of his struggle. He knows he cannot touch her for he is her pupil and would be violating his employers trust, almost certainly losing his job. More pressing than this, even, is the fact that she is engaged. Socially, as well as morally, confessing his feelings for Laura would be impossible. These details provide an intense look at Walter's internal struggle, which has been and will be felt by many different despairing lovers.

Soon, Walter's struggle can no longer be kept private when Marian realizes that Walter has fallen in love with Laura and kindly advises him to leave Limmeridge. He heeds this advice and journeys to Central America as Laura marries Sir Percival and goes on a 6 month honeymoon to Italy. Collins uses colorful details here, as well, to describe their separation. Walter writes to Marian of his travels through brutal landscapes, often on dangerous missions in rain forests teeming with deadly creates. Laura, meanwhile, is traveling with her new husband through Italy, trying her very best to love him and be his wife, although she is still in love with Walter. Sir Percival, despite Laura's efforts, turns cold and bitter toward her, completely opposite of his prior charming, polite, considerate manner. Their misery in their respective situations creates the terrible tragedy of lovers separated due to the impossibility of the drawing master and his married pupil being together. Walter and Laura's pain at being separated stems from the conflict between their passion and obligations that prevent their marriage, a pain felt by many tortured lovers. 

Despite their strong love, Laura and Walter cannot be together due to their morals and prior responsibilities and obligations. Collins creates the hopelessness of their situations by using intense and beautiful details and long descriptions, emphasizing to the reader the idea of the tragic suffering felt by lovers who cannot be together.

Open Prompt #1

1985. A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is its ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a literary work that produces this "healthy confusion." Write an essay in which you explain the sources of the "pleasure and disquietude" experienced by the readers of the work.

More often than not, as humans, we experience many emotions at one time, often conflicting, caused by the multitude of people and circumstances in our lives. Great works of literature, according to one critic, should produce this same effect of "healthy confusion". In Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, a romance set during the Civil War, almost every emotion felt by readers are accompanied by opposite ones. Mitchell uses details and imagery to show characters and events that create the conflicting emotions of "pleasure and disquietude" in the reader.

Scarlett O'Hara, a young woman of the southern aristocracy, is the novel's protagonist. Throughout the novel, she alternately hates, gets along with, and eventually loves the charming Rhett Butler, a blockade runner who turns up now and then in Scarlett's life. Through her constant use of well-placed details, Mitchell shows readers that Scarlett's character is a head-strong young woman, willing to use any means necessary to get what she wants. For example, when Scarlett's plantation, Tara, is threatened by heavy property taxes, Scarlett dresses to the nines and goes to visit Rhett in jail. Despite the fact that she hates him, she smiles and batts her eyelashes, before finally asking Rhett for the money. The details given in this scene paint a clear picture of Scarlett's character. She makes a dress out of the green velvet curtains at Tara, peers at Rhett from underneath her delicate eyelashes, and, when he sees through her flirtations, storms away like a toddler having a tantrum. These details certainly create a "disquietude" and displeasure about Scarlett's character. This negative feeling toward her, however, is countered when we are given details of Scarlett at her best. Later in the novel, after Scarlett and Rhett have married, Mitchell's wonderful description of their daughter, Bonnie, through Scarlett's eyes, create the "pleasure" that was missing. Scarlett watches her baby girl and notices the curve of her soft cheek, the gentle curl of her hair, the bright blue of her eyes, and later, as a toddler, her curiosity and vivacity. The details Mitchell so carefully weaves into the novel create opposite emotions about Scarlett and her personality.

Imagery also plays a heavy role in creating the "healthy confusion" of emotions in the novel, especially when Mitchell describes the South during the Civil War. At one point in the novel, Scarlett leaves her family at Tara to stay with her aunt in Atlanta. At first, Atlanta has all the charms and romance of a Southern town in the 1860s. Mitchell paints glorious pictures of its people and places. For example, Scarlett goes to a dance with her sister-in-law, Melanie. Although Scarlett is in mourning for her first husband, Charles, she longs to dance. Mitchell describes the atmosphere clearly. She writes of the brilliantly colored skirts twisting and flowing around the dance floor; the sharply dressed Confederate soldiers in their gray uniforms; the banners on the walls of the brightly decorated hall. All of these descriptions create a feeling of immense pleasure as the room seems to come alive inside the mind of the reader. Later, though, as the Yankees attack Atlanta, the town turns grim. During one attack, Scarlett is forced to deliver Melanie's baby and cannot flee the invading army. The scene is described flawlessly. As Scarlett runs through the streets, looking for help, cannons explode in the distance, moving closer and closer to her house; dust rises up from the streets; brightly colored houses lay dark and deserted. Scarlett screams for aid but finds none and as she puts on a brave face for Melanie, the reader can feel her terror. This emotion is completely opposite to the one felt at the dance hall, both created by Mitchell's use of imagery.

A certain level of "healthy confusion" is necessary to any great work of literature, as one critic stated. A piece comes alive when readers can feel those opposing emotions. Through the use of well-thought out and carefully placed detail, as well as stunning imagery, Margaret Mitchell creates that sense of "pleasure and disquietude" about characters and events in her novel, Gone with the Wind.