ignore this please
Olivia Dimacco WW2 “The Other Paris” August 21, 2014
Marvis Gallant describes Carol and Howard as two intellectual colleagues that are forced into an engagement by society’s beliefs. Carol believes that a true marriage only works if the newlyweds share “a common interest, such as a liking for Irish setter … similar economic backgrounds, financial security, belonging to the same church.” This is not the case, but Carol believes that if she doesn’t marry at the age of twenty-two, then she will die a lonely spinster. Outside influences inspired Howard to act out of character and propose to the woman he’d known for a solid three weeks. Another instance of society conforming marriage is that Carol believes that love is an object, “it would wither exposed to bad weather or in dismal surroundings…given a good climate, enough money, and a pair of good-natured intelligent people, one had only to sit back and watch it grow.” This is completely unrealistic to expect love without putting forth effort, but that was society’s belief back in the 1950’s when this article was published. Gallant encompasses such a large social issue and gives his characters life throughout this short story. This is the part where I’m going to be completely honest and say that I really suck at finding techniques throughout stories and explaining them, but I’m trying anyway. Gallant uses several literary techniques, but the two most prominent are his use of imagery and personification. The first paragraph explains Carol’s unrealistic expectations of her wedding proposal, in which “she would have imagined, quite sincerely, a scene that involved all at once the Seine, moonlight, barrows of violets, acacias in flower, and a confused misty background of the Eiffel tower and little crooked streets.” This allows the reader to visualize this romantic setting before being crushed by Carol’s real proposal. Another aspect of Gallant’s writing is his use of personification. He speaks about love as if
Marvis Gallant describes Carol and Howard as two intellectual colleagues that are forced into an engagement by society’s beliefs. Carol believes that a true marriage only works if the newlyweds share “a common interest, such as a liking for Irish setter … similar economic backgrounds, financial security, belonging to the same church.” This is not the case, but Carol believes that if she doesn’t marry at the age of twenty-two, then she will die a lonely spinster. Outside influences inspired Howard to act out of character and propose to the woman he’d known for a solid three weeks. Another instance of society conforming marriage is that Carol believes that love is an object, “it would wither exposed to bad weather or in dismal surroundings…given a good climate, enough money, and a pair of good-natured intelligent people, one had only to sit back and watch it grow.” This is completely unrealistic to expect love without putting forth effort, but that was society’s belief back in the 1950’s when this article was published. Gallant encompasses such a large social issue and gives his characters life throughout this short story. This is the part where I’m going to be completely honest and say that I really suck at finding techniques throughout stories and explaining them, but I’m trying anyway. Gallant uses several literary techniques, but the two most prominent are his use of imagery and personification. The first paragraph explains Carol’s unrealistic expectations of her wedding proposal, in which “she would have imagined, quite sincerely, a scene that involved all at once the Seine, moonlight, barrows of violets, acacias in flower, and a confused misty background of the Eiffel tower and little crooked streets.” This allows the reader to visualize this romantic setting before being crushed by Carol’s real proposal. Another aspect of Gallant’s writing is his use of personification. He speaks about love as if