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Topic Proposal: The Illusion of Ideal Family Ties and Blind Prejudice in Hemingway’s Story
Ernest Hemingway is an internationally renowned American novelist and short-story writer whose works are particularly striking for the peculiar moral imperatives. Therefore, the topic proposal argues that limited knowledge and interest in native and foreign cultural backgrounds, people, and society lead to a similar narrow-minded perception of the world and human diversity. Such a blind racial prejudice emphasizes the complex illusion of true love and strong family ties of the strangers. In “A Canary for One,” Hemingway skillfully conveyed the themes of self-identity, control, unhappiness, and divorce (Schumacher). The sudden disclosure and ironic twist of the story make a reader consider the metaphorical foundation of the end of the marriage, amplified by the unique story structure.
The secondary sources, such as scholarly journal articles by Michael Prusse and Alina Schumacher, will significantly contribute to the argument’s development. Both articles agree on a dominating role of the mother and the symbolic approach to depicting the captivity within the family or marriage. However, Prusse states that the canary represents “a multifaceted symbol for being trapped” (223), while Schumacher defines the character’s behavior as “a symbol for American nationalism and general skepticism towards foreign influences” after WWI (7). Hence, both sources differ in the authors’ vision of the main points of the story and contrasting focus.
Schumacher introduced a noteworthy point of a mother as a place of socio-economic turmoil, which might provoke societal degeneration. The two sources considerably expanded my knowledge on the topic and the general understanding of the story from a more social perspective. Their goal is to demonstrate the damaging impact of blind prejudice, narrow-oriented nationalism, and misconception of love and marriage through the prism of modern social structures. The sources might synthesize in identifying the hidden, symbolic meaning of the story and analyzing it from the negative and absurd implications of the American lady’s behavior and mindset.
Bibliography
Hemingway, Ernest. “A Canary for One.” Scribner’s Magazine, vol. LXXXI, no. 4, April 1927, pp. 339–450.
It is a primary source of Hemingway’s story “A Canary for One.” This work provides a broad spectrum of the underlying themes and controversial topics relevant to the research discussion. Most of them are focused on the illusionary happiness of marriage, biased nationalism, and the destructive role of the mother. However, according to the story’s name, the author’s main point is undisclosed captivity and socio-economic conditions that shape the public mindset.
Prusse, Michael C. “Echoes of Charles Dickens’s Little Dorrit in Ernest Hemingway’s ‘A Canary for One.’” ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes, and Reviews, vol. 31, no. 4, 2018, pp. 223–225. MLA, Web.
It is a secondary source supporting the development of the core argument of further research. In his article, Prusse reveals that Hemingway’s story, “A Canary for One,” is, in fact, a quasi-autobiographical story created at a pivotal moment in the author’s personal life. Prusse also emphasizes how the story is pervaded with emotional struggle and complex symbol of entrapment.
Schumacher, Alina. “Disenfranchised Mothers and Maternity Insurance – Tracing Progressive Arguments in Ernest Hemingway’s Short Stories.” COPAS—Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies, vol. 18, no.1, 2017, pp. 1–20. Web.
It is a secondary source that helps expand the central argument of future research. Schumacher’s article is valuable for examining the role of a mother and motherhood from the negative yet realistic perspective and the need for Progressive feminist reading of the story. Understanding the gender approach and motherhood trope in establishing the modern-day society is critical to elaborate more insightful reflection and argument on Hemingway’s work.
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