scholarly journals Contemplating COVID-19 through disease and death in three short stories by Edgar Allan Poe

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 848-863
Author(s):  
Novita Dewi

Wort-case scenarios depicted in literary works may function to mourn and warn people about the real situation, such as the spread of COVID-19 that has altered worldwide life drastically. This study offers a reflection on the current pandemic time through a close reading of selected American classic literary works. The imagination of fear, isolation, and mask-wearing in Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories is resonant with the new expressions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three short stories by Poe, i.e., ‘The Masque of the Red Death’, ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, and ‘The Sphinx’ are chosen for examination using the thematic analysis method. Repeated reading of the short stories shows that parallels can be drawn between these stories and today’s phenomenon about anxiety, social restriction, and health protocols. What can be implied from the analysis are as follows: (1) Fear of the disease results in the characters’ added distress, (2) The characters’ aberrant behaviour as to overprotect themselves is exacerbated by the dreadful situation, and (3) Poe’s obsession with dread and death to shock the readers can be historically traced through his own inner predicaments, ill-health, and the 1832 Cholera contagion. In conclusion, the findings resonate with the COVID-19 epidemic’s upshots. 

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 1706
Author(s):  
Weiguo Si

Algirdas Julien Greimas is the most influential French structural linguist. He puts forward the profound semiotic square, which has been widely used in the research of literature to reveal the implied meanings and relationship between complex things. The Call of the Wild written by the American naturalistic writer Jack London is his representative work. It has been studied by a lot of scholars from different perspectives since its birth. This thesis applies semiotic square theory, further classifying characters in this novel: Buck is the X; Trafficker is the Anti X; Spitz is the Non X; John is the Non anti X. By the use of the comparative analysis method and the textual close-reading method this thesis analyzes the plot and the deep structure of The Call of the Wild. The result of this thesis is as follows: the relation between Buck and the traffickers is oppression and resistance; the relation between Buck and Spitz is competitor; the relation between Buck and John Thornton is protective and grateful. Through classifying the action elements, readers can see the narrative structure of this novel, which is not stated flatly but with its own unique tortuosity and complexity and it is conducive to deepening their understanding about the artistry and profundity of this novel, and help readers better understand the Superman image of Buck, the main character in The Call of the Wild, and provide them with the effective example in appreciating Jack London’s other literary works.


ATAVISME ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32
Author(s):  
Eggy Fajar Andalas

Pada September 2014, Gramedia memperkenalkan karya Benny Arnas yang berjudul Cinta Tak Pernah Tua ke publik sebagai kumpulan cerita pendek. Meskipun kedua belas judul cerita yang ada di dalam karya ini ditulis dan telah dimuat sebelumnya dalam berbagai media massa nasional pada rentang tahun 2010-2014, pembaca akan menemukan keterjalinan kisah antarjudul cerita di dalamnya. Hal ini menyiratkan adanya problematik naratif sekaligus genre yang menyertai kelahiran karya ini. Penelitian ini bertujuan menjawab pertanyaan apakah Cinta Tak Pernah Tua merupakan sebuah karya sastra bergenre kumpulan cerita pendek, seperti yang dilabelkan oleh penerbitnya, atau sebuah novel? Mengapa karya ini menjadi problematik jika dilihat berdasarkan genrenya? Dengan melakukan pembacaan dekat dengan perspektif naratologi Gerard Genette, penelitian ini menghasilkan temuan bahwa Cinta Tak Pernah Tua bukanlah kumpulan cerita pendek, tetapi novel meskipun secara genealogis kelahiran kedua belas kisah sebagai satuan cerita yang terpisah. Pemahaman terhadap dimensi genre sebuah karya sastra tidak dapat disandarkan pada faktor-faktor yang berasal dari luar dimensi naratif karya.[Poblematic Genre of Benny Arnas Cinta Tak Pernah Tua] In September 2014, Gramedia introduced Cinta Tak Pernah Tua written by Benny Arnas to the public as a collection of short stories. Although the twelve story-titles in this work have been written and previously published in various national mass media in the range of 2010-2014, readers will find that the stories intertwine. This implies "problematic" narrative as well as a genre that accompanied the creation of this work. This article aims to answer the question of whether Cinta Tak Pernah Tua is a literary work collection of short stories, as labeled by the publisher, or a novel? Moreover, considering its genre, why is this work so problematic? By doing a close reading with Gerard Genette's narratology perspective, this research argues that Cinta Tak Pernah Tua is not a collection of short stories, but was actually a novel although genealogically the twelve stories were produced asseparate storiess. The understanding of a literary works genre dimension cannot rely on factors external to the narrative dimension of the work.Keywords: Cinta Tak Pernah Tua; genre problems; narratology; narrative structure


Jurnal KATA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Nanny Sri Lestari

<p>Sebuah peristiwa, dalam kehidupan manusia, dapat menjadi inspirasi bagi penulisan sebuah cerita. Pengarang, sebagai bagian dari masyarakatnya, mengangkat relung-relung kehidupan manusia, ke dalam sebuah cerita. Namun harus dipahami, bahwa pengalaman pengarang dalam kehidupannya sehari-hari, juga mempengaruhi subjek yang ditulisnya. Saat ini tidak dapat dipungkiri lagi, bahwa teknologi komunikasi yang sangat canggih, telah mempengaruhi perkembangan karya sastra. Media penulisan karya sastra, tidak lagi melalui media cetak seperti kertas tetapi sudah melalui peralatan modern yang sesuai jamannya. Namun demikian ragam karya sastra prosa, seperti cerita pendek, justru mampu mengisi ruang media kommunikasi tersebut. Dua orang pengarang, yang menulis cerita pendek di media masa, berusaha mengangkat isu tentang lingkungan. Isu yang diangkat, lebih menekankan kepada masalah lingkungan alam dengan mengangkat isu tentang pohon sebagai bagian dari kehidupan manusia. Tujuan penelitian ini, untuk menelusuri struktur cerita pendek yang mengangkat isu lingkungan dalam jalinan ceritanya. Untuk memenuhi tujuan penelitian, langkah awal dari penelitian ini, adalah melakukan pendekatan struktur cerita, yang kemudian dikaitkan dengan pencarian makna cerita tersebut. Sering sekali di balik sebuah cerita ada pesan yang ingin disampaikan kepada masyarakat pembacanya. Bentuk pesan tersebut tersirat, dalam jalinan struktur cerita pendek tersebut. Pesan yang disampaikan, dalam kedua cerita pendek tersebut,  adalah pesan tentang lingkungan alam, yang  saat ini tidak pernah diperhatikan oleh masyarakat. Dengan alasan, kebutuhan ekonomi yang sangat dominan.</p><p><em>An event, in human life, can be an inspiration for writing a story. The author, as a part of his society, lifts the niches of human life, into a story. But it must be understood, that the author's experience in everyday life, also affects the subject he wrote.</em><em> </em><em>Today it is undeniable, that highly sophisticated communication technology, has influenced the development of literary works. Media writing literature, no longer through print media such as paper but have been through modern equipment that fit his era.</em><em> </em><em>However, the variety of prose literary works, such as short stories, is able to fill the media space communications. Two authors, who write short stories in the mass media, try to raise issues about the environment. Issues raised, more emphasis on the issue of the natural environment by raising the issue, about the tree as part of human life. The purpose of this research, is to trace the structure of short stories, which raised environmental issues in the composition of the story. To fulfill the purpose of research, the first step of this research, is to approach the structure of the story, which is then linked with the search for the meaning of the story. Very often, behind a story, there is a message to be conveyed to the readers. The form of the message is implied, in the composition of the short story structure. The message conveyed, in both short stories, is a message about the natural environment, which today is never noticed by society. The message conveyed, in both short stories, is a message about the natural environment, which today is never noticed by society.</em></p>


Author(s):  
Nooreddine Iskandar ◽  
Tatiana Rahbany ◽  
Ali Shokor

Abstract Background: Due to the common instability caused by political and security issues, Lebanese hospitals have experienced acts of terrorism multiple times. The most recent Beirut Explosion even forced several hospitals to cease operations for the first time in decades—but studies show the preparedness levels for such attacks in similar countries are low. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the experience of Lebanese hospitals with terrorist attacks. Methods: This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders to assess their experience with terrorist bombings. Data was analyzed using the thematic analysis method. Results: The researchers found that Lebanese hospitals vary greatly in their structures and procedures. Those differences are a function of 3 contextual factors: location, culture, and accreditation status. Hospitals found near ‘dangerous zones’ were more likely to be aware and to have better response to such events. A severe lack of communication, unity of command, and collaboration between stakeholders has made the process fragmented. Conclusion: The researchers recommend a larger role for the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) in this process, and the creation of a platform where Lebanese organizations can share their experiences to improve preparedness and resilience of the Lebanese healthcare system in the face of terrorism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-13
Author(s):  
Patricia Wulandari

A good literary work can provide information about various kinds of community life,including life related to religiosity. Literary works are closely related to religisiutas,because of that, various works appearing showing the religiosity of society, one ofwhich is the Javanese. Modern Indonesian literary works that illustrate this are thecollection of short stories from Umi Kalsum by Djamil Suherman, the lyrical prosePengakuan Pariyem by Linus Suryadi AG, and the novel Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk byAhmad Tohari. Each of these works represents the diversity of Javanese society. Thecollection of short stories from Umi Kalsum shows the religious side of the communitycalled the santri who are so obedient in carrying out their worship. The lyrical proseof Pariyem's confession provides information on how a babu is so resigned to seeinglife, but in her soul holds the wisdom of Kejawen. Meanwhile, Ronggeng Dukuh Parukdescribes the Javanese people who worship the spirits of their ancestors. Even thoughthey have different religions, they basically want harmony. Javanese people who livein santri enjoy harmony when they live with strong Islamic values. The Javanesepeople of the Gunung Kidul area live in harmony if they are always nrimo and see lifeas it is according to its Javanese nature. The Dukuh Paruk community attainsharmony that originates from the worship of the spirit of Ki Secamenggala.


2003 ◽  
pp. 203-222
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Miljkovic

This essay discusses Grigorije Bozovic's literary and publicistic work and the degree to which it offers factography for anthropogeographical anthropological (that is, related to racial features), ethnographic ethnopsychological, sociological and characterological studies of our nation living in the regions discussed in his literary and publicistic works. The author particularly analyses his traveller's reports Sa sedla i samara (From the Saddle and Pack-Saddle), Crte i reze (Lines and Bars), Po Drenici (In Drenica) and others; it also analyses the short stories published in Srpska Knjizevna Zadruga (Serbian Literary Cooperative) (Rodjak / A Relative) and in the collections with the titles Roblje Zarobljeno (Captured Slaves) and Neizmisljeni Likovi (Nonfictional Characters). On the basis of the reviews and analyses of Grigorije Bozovic's publicistic and literary works in this essay, one could make a conclusion that they represent a significant scientific material and more than just that, the material relevant for the study of our and other nations in these Balkan regions.


Society ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 677-694
Author(s):  
Rahma Isnania ◽  
Nanang Martono ◽  
Tri Rini Widyastuti

The upper-class dominates various social spaces in society, including children’s stories. Children’s stories as a means of socializing values also participate in socializing upper-class habitus in the storyline. This study aims to describe the children’s habitus as narrated in short stories published in Bobo magazine. The method used in this study is the quantitative content analysis method and critical discourse analysis. This study’s object is about 174 short stories published in Bobo magazine from January 2019 to August 2020, of which 110 stories were taken randomly as samples. The results show that most of the children’s habitus narrated in the stories were upper-class children’s habitus, reaching out to 87 or 79.1% of all stories. Meanwhile, lower-class children’s habitus was found in 30.9% of all stories. The habitus of upper-class children featured in the story consisting of go on an excursion, luxury living, own electronic goods, own expensive good, wearing nightgowns, reading, and writing. On the other side, the habitus of lower-class children habitus featured in the story consisting of playing traditional games, living in poverty, and doing lower-class work. In conclusion, the upper-class children’s habitus appears more dominantly within short stories in Bobo magazine. This study’s results are expected as recommend to parties related to children’s stories publication to present more balanced stories.


Author(s):  
Maria S. Sloistova ◽  

The paper focuses on complex research and description of creative reception theory and typology. There are provided definitions of such terms as reception, creative reception, creative reception strategies, and others. The author builds the typology of creative reception on the basis of works by E. V. Abramovskikh, S. Ye. Trunin, M. V. Zagidullina, V. I. Tyupa, and M. Naumann. This typology includes two types (or levels) of creative reception, defined as classic and postmodernist. Each of the types is characterized by a number of strategies, i. e. ways of representing an artistically received text in one’s own work. The classic type strategies (formal, authentic, neutral and antithetical) focus primarily on plot transformation. As for the postmodernist level, the author singles out two strategies: congenial and play. The theory and typology of creative reception is substantiated with some examples of reminiscences and allusions to English and world poetry. The examples under analysis are taken from the following prose works by the outstanding English postmodernist writer John Robert Fowles (1926–2005): the novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969), the collection of long short stories The Ebony Tower (1974), the philosophic book The Aristos (1964), and also the lyric collection Selected Poems, published posthumously in 2012. The collection has not been translated into Russian yet. Therefore, the poem under analysis (Islanders) has been translated into Russian by the author of the present paper. The paper also deals with indirect Biblical reception which is found in the allusion to the ivory tower. The allusion gave the title The Ebony Tower both to Fowles’ long short story and collection as a whole. The author of the paper draws a conclusion about the dominant creative reception strategies in the literary works under analysis and also about the possible use of the presented creative reception typology in analyzing works by other writers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-233
Author(s):  
Hanita Hanim Binti Ismail ◽  
Mohammad Nusr Al-Subaihi

Background and Purpose: The development of scholarship on Malaysian Literature in English (MLiE) continuously receives attention, especially on one particular direction, which is the studies of the Malays. Inspired by the Malay proverb “Diluah mati mak, ditelan mati bapa” (Malay for ‘between the devil and the deep sea), this study looked into local literature in relation to powerlessness and its social complexity where we argue that the Malays are often caught in-between entanglements that prohibit individualism, as due to societal prejudice.   Methodology: This study employed thematic analysis where upon familiarizing with Azhari’s short stories, namely Mariah and of Bunga Telur and Bally shoes, the researchers identified themes that help understand the types and causes of powerlessness as illustrated in the short stories before associating the Malays’ state of powerlessness and their emotional suppression.   Findings: Findings revealed that both genders suffer from the Malay prejudice and their own lack of emotional strength, causing both to be powerless captives in different contexts, unlike the Western societies where similar situations might lead to alienation.   Contributions: The study contributed towards the understanding of social phenomenon, namely issues regarding powerlessness among the Malays. Such contribution is significant at developing potentials within building national talent, especially those regarding family and spiritual values.       Keywords: Che Husna Azhari, emotional suppression, Malays, Malaysian literature in English, powerlessness.   Cite as: Ismail, H. H., & Al-Subaihi, M. N. (2020). States of Malay powerlessness in the works of Che Husna Azhari. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 5(1), 211-233. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol5iss1pp211-233


Author(s):  
Oleksandr Brayko

The paper considers the means of representing space in Yevhen Hutsalo’s prose which are suitable for comparison with the painting technique. Coloring is one of determining graphic resources of a picture. The artistic effect of the figures and spatial compositions fixed on canvas is to a great extent predefined by the color solution of the subjects and air environment depicted. In order to make the world of imagination more representational the literature used to involve visual imagery in a verbal design, in which color and light markers not only specify a representation of fictitious or real situation but also give some lyrical, epical or dramatic coloring to the narration, increasing the expressivity of a picture. In the descriptions of landscapes in the short stories by Yevhen Hutsalo one may find the verbal analogues of such painting tools as color dominant, color harmony, lighted up and shaded areas. The dynamics of color solution in a verbal picture, the introduction of new hues and their combinations, and the constructing of light environments help to strengthen the emotional effect of the narration and make some special mood accents. The change of chromatic range and interpretation of painting components of the verbal image liken the narration to the melodious and sound transitions in music and editing tools in filmmaking. The color effects contribute to plasticity of the represented objects or, on the contrary, make their representation less material, give some decorative or symbolic sense to the nature. The story “On the Shining Horizon” may be compared to the cycle of paintings by Oscar-Claude Monet “Rouen Cathedral”. The unsteady landscape of Y. Hutsalo is marked by interpretative activity of the narrator. The landscape descriptions with a less vivid and not too rich, i. e. comparatively weak in terms of stimulating emotions, color range are also endowed with a noticeable expressive potential. In accordance with the requirements of expression in painting the verbal chiaroscuro also may give dynamics to relatively static environment. The paper offers a comparative analysis of the verbal ‘pictures’ and their corresponding paintings-predecessors.


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