Monday 1 August 2011

A fine example of Well-drafted Report for those who are asking - what does it look like?

Dear Sir,

I've finished "Death of a Salesman", "A Modest Proposal" and "The Old Man and the Sea".

In "Death of a Salesman", we find old Will Loman, 63, with ever a supporting pillar-wife Linda-and two sons; Biff being the older and Hap the younger son. We find Willy not happy with his life and often drowns into hallucinations and illusions about past events as he wants to relive those moments rather than his present state. He, like many other American men of that century, is in conflict with the society. He tries to compete with the materialistic America but is a failure every time. He does not get income anymore and he fails to mold his son, Biff into success. This shows the inability of Willy Loman to fulfill his dream of living a life more prosperous and rewarding but refuses to accept what he is- ordinary, average and unremarkable. 

The novella "The Old Man and the Sea" is an epitome of how courage and perseverance can pay off ultimately and how relentless effort can make one win even though all seems to be lost. Santiago- one proud old fisherman- who even in the face of old age and utter bad luck does not surrender. He does not get derailed when people say he has lost his talent of catching big fishes, rather, he takes it as a challenge. It is thought that Hemmingway intended to portray Santiago as Jesus as there are ample symbolisms in the short story alluding to the experiences of Jesus Christ. 

In "A Modern Proposal", the writer, Jonathan Swift makes a completely out-of-the-world and ridiculous proposal of how to help the poor Irish people to gain food and live a better life. After the first reading I thought the idea was funny ( I did laugh while reading it) and beyond absurd. But,of course, as I read more I realized there was more ironical sense to it than I comprehended. The writer used some lines to actually intend the opposite of what he said. He says that serving fat child at an inn would win the keeper much profit and free him of some burden. With this he means the shameless exploitation the English do with people of Ireland.

Thank you

Romana

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