Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Literature - Essay Example This passage is from Devora Baron’s â€Å"Bill of Divorcement† on page 55. The language is a translation of a Jewish author’s work. The length of sentences varies to slowly build up the action. The first sentence has 37 words and active voice shows the woman’s sense of control over her life. The second sentence has twelve words. It signifies how much she loves and adores her husband. The word â€Å"boil† seems to be a metaphor for her â€Å"boiling.† It foreshadows her fate as the one who will be cooked. The last sentence has sixty words and reads like a death sentence. Indeed, the word â€Å"sentence† is mentioned. Furthermore, the â€Å"hardness† or harshness of what happens to her can be summarized in how Isser Ber cannot look at her. He is guilty for what he will deliver to the woman who loved him too much. This passage is significant to the story, because it shows the hardships of women as wives in any patriarchal society, where they are supposed to play specific traditional gender roles. They must fit certain social expectations, or else, they will get sacked and get the Bill of Divorcement. The home that they painfully and patiently built will be gone in an instant that society decrees them unfit as a wife. This passage summarizes how society treats women who cannot be exactly what men want them to be. No matter how much a woman loves or sacrifices for her man, she will get no mercy for not being the woman that society wants her to be. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. H. On the day I became thirteen years old and a member of the congregation, my mother, peace be with her, bound her kerchief around my neck. Blessed be God, who has given His world to guardians. There was not a spot of dirt to be found on the kerchief. But sentence has already been passed on the kerchief, that it was to be lost through me. This kerchief, which I had observed so much and so long, would vanish because of me. This passage is from Agnon’s story, â€Å"The Kerchief† at page 64. The language comes from the viewpoint of a deeply religious person. The sentences vary in length. The first sentence talks about the rite of passage of a Jewish adolescent. His mother must be proud of him to use her best kerchief for him. Agnon believes that God gives His world to His people. The kerchief is also described as spotless, a sign of purity. It is a metaphor for goodness. However, the last two sentences show guilt for losing the kerchief. This passage is significant to the story, because it stands for the meaning of purity. Purity is not something people wear like a kerchief during Sabbath. It is not like an accessory that people can choose to wear or not to wear as they please. Agnon depicts that purity is about following God’s words every day of one’s life, even if it means giving a precious kerchief to a beggar. Through his action of com passion, he shows that indeed, God has â€Å"given His world to guardians,† if these guardians know how to show love and mercy to those who need it the most (Agnon 64). ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. J. The rabbi’s son needs only a single moment to pass silent judgment on the woman who was intended to be his bride: Her dress hangs from her like a sack, her eyes are large, black, and pretty, but she flutters her eyelids