A Princess of Mars Study Guide

A Princess of Mars is a science fantasy novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan. The novel is the first of a series of novels following the adventures of John Carter and the Martian society he encounters.  Burroughs was inspired to write the novel mainly out of financial desperation—he needed money, and thought writing a novel would be an easy way to get some. He sold the first version of the novel to All-Story magazine in 1912 for about $400. Today, A Princess of Mars  is considered a seminal but extremely flawed—ridden as it is with racially biased themes—work of science fiction and fantasy. The novel  remains immensely influential in the science fiction and fantasy genres, and has been cited as an influence by Golden Age sci-fi writers like  Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, and Fredrick Pohl.   Plot Burroughs frames the story as a true report from John Carter, who leaves Burroughs the manuscript after his death with instructions not to publish it for 21 years. John Carter is a former Confederate officer traveling with a fellow veteran in the American southwest after the end of the Civil War in hopes of finding gold. They do discover a rich vein of gold, but are attacked by Apache Indians; Carter’s friend is killed, but Carter finds his way to a remote cave that appears to be a sacred place used in ceremonial rituals, and hides there. While hiding, a mysterious gas knocks him unconscious. When he wakes up, he has somehow been transported to the planet Mars. On Mars, Carter discovers that the different gravity and atmospheric pressure grant him incredible strength and other abilities. He quickly meets a tribe of Green Martians (who are literally green-skinned), who have two legs and two arms each and very large heads. The Green Martians, who call themselves Tharks, are a martial, primitive tribe who do not read or write, and who settle all problems through combat. Carter, who the Tharks think might be a strange example of a White Martian due to his white skin, earns the respect of the Tharks due to his great strength and fighting prowess, and eventually rises to a high rank in the tribe, and becomes a friend of one of the other tribal leader, Tars Tarkas as well as another Martian named Sola. The Tharks attack a group of Red Martians (a human-looking hybrid race resulting from the prescient breeding between Black, Yellow, and White Martians) and capture Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium. The Red Martians are more civilized and advanced, and through a network of canals they control the remaining water on the planet. Dejah is beautiful and tells them that she is on a mission to unite Martians, arguing that since Mars is a dying planet, the only way Martians can survive is if they work together. John and Dejah fall in love, and when Dejah is sentenced to death in the great games by the supreme Martian ruler, Carter and Sola (and their dog, Woolah) rescue Dejah and escape. However, another Green Martian tribe, the Warhoons, attack and Carter sacrifices himself to allow Dejah and Sola to escape. In the Warhoon prison, Carter meets Red Martian Kantos Kan, who was sent from Helium to search for Dejah. They become friends, and when they are forced to fight each other to the death in a gladiatorial game, Carter feigns death. Kan is given his freedom as the victor, and later Carter escapes and the two meet up. They discover that another Martian tribe, the Zodanga, has laid siege to the city of Helium; Dejah was to marry the prince of Zodanga and the tribe will not relent until the promise is fulfilled. On their way to Helium, Carter sees the Tharks in battle against the Warhoons, and he goes to fight alongside his friend Tars Tarkas, who is very moved by the gesture. Tarkas challenges the supreme ruler to ritual combat and wins, becoming the supreme ruler of all Martians. He allies with Carter and Kan to fight the Zodanga and prevent Dejah’s marriage. Dejah confesses her love to John Carter as the army marches to relieve Helium, and as a peace accord is struck John and Dejah are married. For nine years they live happily in Helium. Then, suddenly, the great atmosphere machines that replenish Mars’ air stop working. John Carter leads a desperate mission to repair the machines before all life on Mars ends, but asphyxiates before the repairs can be made. He wakes up back in the cave on Earth. He discovers that nine years have in fact passed since he entered the cave, and he is presumed dead. Another decade passes and Carter becomes wealthy, but he finds himself always wondering if his efforts to save the Martians succeeded, and how Dejah is faring. Major Characters John Carter, a veteran of the Civil War (fighting on the Southern side), Carter is from Virginia and is a mystery, even to himself. Professing to have no memory of his life before he was 30, Carter is a brave and capable man. An expert shot and fighter, when he wakes up on Mars the different gravity of the planet grant him incredible strength, and he becomes a legendary warrior in the dying planet’s primitive culture. Dejah Thoris, a Red Martian with a physical appearance very close to human. A princess of the city of Helium, she is leading an effort to bring the different races of Mars together in a mutual quest for survival. Tars Tarkas, a Green Martian and member of the Tharks tribe. Tarkas is a fierce warrior, but is unusual amongst Green Martians in his emotional intelligence; he is capable of love and friendship, and has a clear intelligence despite the primitive nature of the Tharks. Tarkas is an example of the Noble Savage trope. Sola, a Green Martian who reveals herself to be Tars Tarkas’ daughter. She befriends Carter and serves as the primary exposition tool in the story, explaining Barsoom (the Martian word for Mars) and its culture and history as the story requires it. Kantos Kan, a Red Martian and a warrior from the city of Helium. Sent to locate and rescue Dejah, he encounters Carter in a prison and the two form a strong friendship. Literary Style Told in the first-person from the point of view of John Carter, the story is offered as a form of memoir, with Carter directly relating past events. This allows Burroughs (through Carter) to add in explanatory exposition as needed; Carter often pauses the action of the story he’s telling in order to explain something to the reader. The memoir format allows this to happen without affecting the suspension of disbelief inspired in the reader. At the time, the science-fantasy genre was not a formal category of fiction, and was mainly published in the so-called â€Å"pulp† magazines with little respect. Burroughs was nervous about being perceived as non-serious or even unbalanced, and so he initially published the book under a pseudonym to protect his reputation. This is mirrored in the story by Carter’s instruction not to publish his manuscript until after he is dead, so he can avoid humiliation when people read his story, which they will find unbelievable. This attitude had a flip-side, however, as there were very few rules or templates to follow, and thus Burroughs was free to let his imagination flow. The end result is a story that has a very thin plot, and which is structured mainly as a series of explorations of Mars, punctuated by battles and duels. In fact, the plot can be boiled down to five basic occurrences: Carter arrives, is taken in by the TharksCarter meets and falls in love with Dejah, helps her escapeCarter befriends KanCarter, Kan, Dejah, and Tarkas attack HeliumThe atmospheric machines fail, Carter returns home The rest of the story is essentially not germane to the plot, giving it a loose, travelogue-style structure. This doesn’t harm the story, however, because Burroughs is very good at rendering the battle and fight sequences, which add a great deal of excitement to the story even if they do nothing, usually, to advance the plot, and because this structure assists in world-building to a tremendous degree because Burroughs is free to describe the dying planet and its ancient, fractured culture in great detail while John Carter travels from place to place. Themes The novels racial and cultural themes are   in the early 20th century, the racial and cultural themes of the novel are notably old-fashioned in some ways. The Noble Savage Trope. Burroughs sees the races of Martians as defined by their skin coloring, and there is an implied thematic link between the Apache warriors who hunt Carter in the beginning of the story and the savage Green Martians he meets later. The  Apache are presented as bloodthirsty and cruel, and the Green Martians are depicted as ignorant and primitive (though are admired for their fighting ability). Despite this, Tars  Tarkas  is shown to have intelligence and warmth. This concept of the noble savage — portraying non-white characters  as honorable and decent but still inferior to white characters — is a racist trope that crops up man times in Burroughs work.  Burroughs viewed race as a defining characteristic, and his racism (a mainstream view at the time of his writing) is evident throughout the text. Civilizing Influence. Another aspect of the racist attitudes in the book is the idea that Carter, as an educated, civilized white man, has a civilizing influence on the Tharks in general and Tars Tarkas specifically. This idea that white culture was beneficial to ‛savage’ cultures was used as a justification for slavery before and during the Civil War. The novel suggests that the Martians are improved by contact with a single white man. The Frontier. A Princess of Mars was written at a time when the American frontier seemed to have been lost forever; in place of the ‛wild west’ and the total freedom of the vast unsettled West, the country seemed to be consolidating and imposing order everywhere. Burroughs depicts Mars as a new frontier, a vast place with no over-arching authority where a man could use his natural talents to achieve whatever goals he wished. Science. Burroughs based some of his concept of Mars on what was, at the time, legitimate science. However, his approach to science and physics in the story is decidedly loose, and he makes no attempt whatsoever to explain some of the incredible aspects of the story—for example, Carter’s mysterious transport to the red planet simply happens, without any explanation. When he returns at the end, it is clear that time has actually passed—there is no humbug about possible dreams as is found in other ‛portal stories’ where people travel to fantasy realms. One theme of the book is that science cannot explain everything, and not everything needs to be understood. Key Quotes â€Å"I opened my eyes upon a strange and weird landscape. I knew that I was on Mars; not once did I question my sanity or my wakefulness†¦ You do not question the fact; neither did I.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"A warrior may change his metal, but not his heart.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I understand that you belittle all sentiments of generosity and kindness, but I do not, and I can convince your most doughty warrior that these characteristics are not incompatible with an ability to fight.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Twenty years have intervened; for ten of them I lived and fought for Dejah Thoris and her people, and for ten I have lived upon her memory.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Give a Martian woman a chance and death must take a back seat.† A Princess of Mars Fast Facts Title: A Princess of MarsAuthor: Edgar Rice BurroughsDate Published: 1912Publisher: A. C. McClurgLiterary Genre: Science-FantasyLanguage: EnglishThemes: Race, the noble savage, the frontier, and freedomCharacters: John Carter, Tars Tarkas, Dejah Thoris, Sola, Kantos Kan Sources â€Å"A PRINCESS OF MARS.† Gutenberg, Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/files/62/62-h/62-h.htm.McGrath, Charles. â€Å"John Carter, Based on Princess of Mars.† The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Mar. 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/movies/john-carter-based-on-princess-of-mars.html.Wecks, Erik. â€Å"A Princess of Mars Book Discussion Over on the GeekDad Forums.† Wired, Conde Nast, 15 Jan. 2018, www.wired.com/2012/03/a-princess-of-mars-book-discussion-over-on-the-geekdad-forums/.â€Å"SF REVIEWS.NET: A Princess of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs, www.sfreviews.net/erb_mars_01.html.â€Å"Writings.† Famous (and Forgotten) Fiction-Writings-The Mystery of the Raymond Mortgage by F. Scott Fitzgerald, famous-and-forgotten-fiction.com/writings/burroughs-a-princess-of-mars.html.

Motherhood and Fatherhood Roles in Sula by Toni Morrison - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1219 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/02/15 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Fatherhood Essay Did you like this example? In Toni Morrison’s Sula, Morrison uses the duality of motherhood and fatherhood to emphasize gender roles. Morrison tells us what society’s vision of what moms and dad should be and what they should do. She points that moms and dads are to stay within their gender roles because society’s hierarchy, which shows that men have more power and duty and are more important to the world than a womens, will be eventually messed up if they don’t stay within their roles. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Motherhood and Fatherhood Roles in Sula by Toni Morrison" essay for you Create order In society women are mainly given domestic roles like cleaning and cooking. They are expected to have children and get married, now they have to provide for a whole family and women don’t even get to work most of the time so the money in the house only comes from men. Men on the other hand are completely opposite, they technically have free will to do anything because men have more say and power than women. Men are expected to go out and get a job, fight in the war, get pleasure as he pleases. Toni shows these characteristics of both men and women in the book Sula, but also in the duality of motherhood and fatherhood. The motherhood role in Sula plays a humongous part in almost all the female characters lives. At some point in time throughout the book each female has motherhood moments whether it be negative or positive. In Sula, a mother is defined as domestic, or has to uphold â€Å"traditional values,† meaning that they stay home, take care of children, clean, cook, and make sure her spouse is happy. Some women like Hannah who is the daughter of Eva and mother of Sula, and Nel who is the daughter of a New Orleans prostitute Helena Wright feel as if it is their obligation to live up to those expectations for the rest of their lives. Where Sula on the other hand rejects these expectations and gender roles of a mother. Sula Peace grew up next to her mother Hannah Peace. Hannah as a mom was very intimate and had a way with men. She felt like a woman’s job was to please men. Morrison states, â€Å"Hannah rubbed no edges, made no demands, made the man feel as though he were complete and wonderful just as he was.† This quote speaks on gender roles and motherhood of how women are supposed to treat men in that point in time. Hannah isn’t the only one Morrison speaks on. Nel exemplifies motherhood qualities because she does exactly what society wants her to do. Nel gets married to a man named Jude, they eventually have children. Nel and Jude were happy. Jude was a working man while Nel stayed home, took care of the kids, cooked, cleaned and made sure Jude was happy. Women have always been second to men. Women weren’t really allowed to have jobs or even get an education. But not every women likes to follow the rules of society. In the book Sula Morrison makes sure that some of her characters juxtapose the motherhood roles of society, rejecting the gender roles of a female. Sula is a prime example. In the book, Sula (the character) rejects the female gender norms by not getting married. With her not being married, she is criticized by family and friends. Eva the grandmother of Sula, said to Sula, â€Å"Ain’t no woman got no business floatin’ around without no man.† This reveals that women that don’t follow the motherhood and gender roles of society will be talked down on because it is an expectation for all women. As the story goes on Sula never gets married. She gets into a relationship but it ends after a short period of time. Sula was the female that went to college and got her education unlike her best friend Nel. Sula wasn’t the only one who didn’t accept motherhood duties. Helena Wright, mother of Nel was not a very good mother to her kids. It was probably beca use she didn’t really have a mother figure herself. Her birth mom Rochelle was creole prostitute and didn’t have much to do with Helena. Therefore Helena never had an example to look at. At her own child’s wedding she couldn’t gain enough energy to get her act together. It states, â€Å"She was not only a little drunk, she was weary and had been for week†. Helena was not in a mental state to be a mother so she messed up most of the time. This continues to connect to gender roles because her child counted on her mom to prepare most of the food and clean up. â€Å"Her house had to be thoroughly cleaned, chickens had to be plucked, cakes and pies made..† Helena is so wrapped up in her mental world that she strays away from her motherhood and gender role duties. Males play a major part in the duality too. Fathers. Fathers are supposed to be the one who works a nine to five job 5 days a week and has to come home to a clean home, food prepared. Males have always one upped on women. Males can go to college, sleep around with women, get a good paying job and women aren’t supposed to complain or talk back about it. Ajax is a man that Sulla gets attached to. During their first encounter when Nel and Sula were young. He called them â€Å"pig meat† which really shows that men don’t really care about females nor do they have respect for them. But as Sula aged she became attached to Ajax. Ajax was a known young man. Morrison states, â€Å"Ajax was very nice to his women. His women of course, knew it and it provoked them into murderous battles over him in the streets.† This reveals that men don’t don’t personally care about women. They feel as if they are able to sleep around and get pleasure when they want. So Morrison makes the roles of males very clear throughout the book Sula. The fathers in the book Sula don’t play a major role in their kids lives. Almost all of the fathers in the book abandoned their family at some point in time. Eva’s husband Boyboy Peace abandoned his wife and 3 kids were small. Jude ends up abandoning Nel and his kids after an affair with Sula. The women in the book like Sula has to care of themselves. Sula states â€Å"Then I really would act like what you call a man. Every man I ever knew left his children† This reveals that fathers, black fathers at that don’t stay around long. Which is actually a connection to reality. In conclusion, the duality of motherhood and fatherhood connects back to gender roles. Society build women to be a certain way; domestic. While on the other hand they chose men to be superior, even though the men in the book weren’t really around. Society makes it seem like women aren’t or can’t live without men in their life. But Sula breaks that chain that society puts women in. So as readers we can point out examples of motherhood and fatherhood roles and how they are broken.

How to Improve Services Free Essays

Jonathan Swift’s poem, The Lady’s Dressing Room, is a comic satire that seeks to show readers the inescapable humanity – and its flaws and gory ugliness – that women have to live with no matter how hard they try to make themselves appear immaculately beautiful on the outside. It could be read as a criticism of the extreme efforts women do to make themselves beautiful, and as a criticism of the beholder, the man, who is enamored by the physical beauty only to realize the imperfections being hidden underneath that flawless exterior in the lady’s dressing room. The dressing room is where the transformation takes place – this is where the lady goes in simple and when she comes out she is a radiant beauty and men cannot help themselves. We will write a custom essay sample on How to Improve Services or any similar topic only for you Order Now That is what the poem implies that is why the poem begins with a man, Strephon, who is enamored by Celia who takes at least five hours to prepare herself, sneaking in the dressing room to find out why, and discovers the horrors that goes on not only inside the room but also with his beloved Celia’s body beneath those laces and brocades. He discovers: first a dirty Smock appear’d, Beneath the Arm-pits well besmear’d. Strephon, the Rogue, display’d it wide, And turn’d it round on every Side. On such a Point few Words are best, And Strephon bids us guess the rest; But swears how damnably the Men lie, In calling Celia sweet and cleanly. That in fact, Celia is not as perfect as she seems – her clothes have perspiration and bad smell on them. hat follows next is a series of finding other items Celia uses to prepare herself – combs with dirt, dandruff and sweat, a piece of cloth with oil used to cover wrinkles, gloves made from Celia’s dog’s skin when it died, and various little jars filled with pomade, paint, ointments, all these used to cover her imperfections. Strephon even finds the discarded stockings that reveal stinking toes. No wonder that at the end of the poem, Strephon could no longer look straight at any woman, for his imagination always conjures the image s he saw in the dressing room and saw their stinks, their flaws that they try so hard to hide. The narrator of the poem says that this is vengeance for his peeping, for if Strephon did no such thing then he could still be blessed when he sees beautiful women without knowing â€Å"such gaudy Tulips rais’d from Dung†. Hence this is the curse of the lady’s dressing room, that it took the magic and wonder for the beholder and made him see the woman as the imperfect creature masquerading to be a work of art. However, the dressing room is also a curse for Celia and all women, as it is the chamber where they feed their obsession to make themselves beautiful for men. In the poem the narrator mentioned â€Å"Celia’s magnifying Glass†, which is simply a mirror, but in this mirror everything was enlarged, that it can †¦to Sight disclose, The smallest Worm in Celia’s Nose, And faithfully direct her Nail To squeeze it out from Head to Tail; For catch it nicely by the Head, It must come out alive or dead. — that it makes her so insecure to make her spend time to look for even the minutest flaws that no one would see anyway. The woman spends a minimum of five hours (perhaps an exaggerated figure, but the point is that women spend a large amount of time preening) and fails to see that real beauty comes from within, not on what is reflected by a piece of glass. The poem shows the readers an image of the preparation taken to make one look good outside but in so doing shows that perhaps it is nature’s way that makes it so difficult – that we should learn to appreciate each other and ourselves, flaws included, for we all have them. This is not to say to forgo hygiene, but merely to examine what activities we spend time on. The curse of the dressing room is that it makes us believe in the illusion that media sells us: the dream of that perfect skin, that Barbie body, that photoshopped face, that if we make up ourselves as long as we need to we can transcend our human bodies’ flaws. But we cannot, because all these are parts of what makes us who we are. How to cite How to Improve Services, Papers