The Shipping News Essays

The Shipping News Essays The Shipping News Essay The Shipping News Essay The countryside in Newfoundland is grim and rough in comparison to the pastoral beauty of Wessex. The description of landscape is less significant than in Tess of the DUrbervilles; Proulx concentrates more on the seas power as the force that shapes the lives of the habitants, and the importance of dwelling in representing Quoyles life and battles. Her narrative is strongly metaphorical and shares some of Hardys lyricism, his rich language, and this combined with fragments of local dialect injected into her prose fully submerses the reader into the world of the Newfoundlanders. Quoyles life in Bedraggled Mockingburg is one reflected by his squalid house, with its grey sheets and cribs jammed close like bird cages. It is indeed a caged, oppressed existence, superficial and unsatisfying. He feels out of place with his surroundings, alienated, isolated and uncomfortable. He has a sense that the triviality that surrounds him is the stuff of others lives. He is waiting for his to begin, longing for a more resolute, gratifying life.  After the death of his parents and his cruel, carnal wife, he returns with an old aunt to the land of his fathers, Newfoundland, to start a new life in a fresh place, a place of rugged, perilous beauty: Miles of coast blind wrapped in fog. Sunkers under wrinkled water, boats threading tickles between ice-scabbed cliffs The alchemist sea changed fishermen into wet bones  Here he takes refuge in a house that is severe, bare, and empty. This house is a crucial metaphor in the novel, the mysterious house of his ancestors, pumiced by stony lives of dead generations, full of myth. Dragged to the headland across the ice, bolted and chained unnaturally to the rocky headland, Quoyle feels as if the house is A bound prisoner straining to get free. In this place he is swallowed by the shouting past. In the end the house is torn from its shackles by the wind, blown away, freed from its bondage. It is here we see a unity of person and place that is so evident in Tess of the DUrbervilles; Quoyle is the houses equivalent in human form, he has been dragged a great distance, bolted to his ancestry and emotions, unable to break free from the past. When the house is set free by a great storm, Quoyle is also released, able to understand himself as an individual, not merely a member of a corrupt family. Dwellings are used in some corresponding ways in the two novels. Tess has connections with various dwellings that are similar to Quoyles. She is haunted by the ancient DUrberville family, on the night of her wedding. The portraits of DUrberville ladies mock and sneer at her from the walls, smirking in merciless treachery, adding to her sense of guilt and impending doom in the run up to her disastrous confession to Angel. Ironically, it is the treachery of her family that has given her something to confess in the first place. Tess also feels the oppression and desperation felt by Quoyle in Mockingburg when she is forced to live with Alec in the grand but seedy Sandbourne. She feels a brief flutter of happiness when she spends a few days with Angel in the empty, fairytale Bramshurst Court; momentarily swept into an oblivious state of euphoria. This place is a brief refuge for the lovers, so exhausted and battered by fate. Here, in secluded and peaceful surroundings, they spend the only time together as husband and wife with no dark secrets, acting out a poignantly innocent charade, half-pretending that their lives will continue in peace, clinging to a fantasy. This short period is the calm before the storm, a moment of tranquillity which is destroyed soon after, when Tess is caught and executed. The Shipping News charts the struggle of people to live with an immense elemental power, the sea, at whose mercy they are. It is one of the most powerful images in the novel, and is described by Proulx as almost a deity, a primitive demi-god, an ambivalent force, terrible and generous, giving and ending life, paying no heed to human hopes, struggles and morality. The people of Newfoundland treat this force as such an entity, with hushed respect and fear. When Quoyle arrives in Newfoundland, he is not familiar with its way of life, or the might of nature. He cannot swim, is afraid and overwhelmed by this water, haunted by lost ships, fishermen, explorers gurgled down into sea holes as black as a dogs throat. Bawling into salt broth. His near drowning in chapter 26 can be seen as a wild baptism, a symbolic acceptance and immersion into the Newfoundland culture and society. The old Quoyle sinks with the useless boat which embodies his ignorance, and a new Quoyle is born, one who recognises his need to learn and to adjust to a new place and existence. The overwhelming force in Tess of the DUrbervilles is fate, a power that controls events and actions. In this novel, nature and weather are relatively benign; manifestations of fate, used to accentuate the characters experiences and occasionally to foreshadow events. The force of fate is portrayed as much more negative than the sea in The Shipping News; it is generally cruel and arbitrary, especially in relation to poor Tess. Fate is responsible for her encounter with Alec Stoke-DUrberville, her subsequent violation, the death of her child, and ultimately, her death. Although often hauntingly beautiful, nature is at times sinister, threatening, an omen: The occasional heave of the wind became the sigh of some immense sad soul, conterminous with the universe in space, and with the history in time This fatalism, seen in many of Hardys other novels, reflects his view of life. Tesss personal fatalism is a typical characteristic of her upbringing in rural poverty; she was reared in the lonely country nooks where fatalism is a strong sentiment.  Proulxs literary style is unusual, in comparison with Hardys, but in a world where authors strive to find original structural devices, The Shipping News is not so remarkable. Proulx often writes ungrammatically, disjointedly, in fragmented sentences. The protagonist, a newspaper reporter, presents his thoughts and feelings as headlines, so it seems fitting that, although at times Proulxs narrative is disruptive to the reader, it is reminiscent of newspaper shorthand. The most extraordinary device she uses is the knot definitions that introduce each chapter. Knots are of literal importance in the novel; fishermen, sailors and upholsterers use knots as part of their livelihoods. However, in this novel, they are more a metaphor for the versatility of human beings, specifically a metaphor for the lives of the Quoyles, who must undo the binds of the past in order to have a future. Knots tie Quoyle to his ancestors; the gruesome knotted hair brooch and the knots of Nolans sorcery. As the last chapter definition says, there will always be new knots to discover. Quoyle must release himself from the old knots and tie new ones. Both authors use setting as an essential component to their stories, instead of merely using it as a backdrop. In essence, Hardy uses the landscape in Tess of the DUrbervilles not only to magnify her experiences but literally to be her experiences in an alternative form. In Hardys own words, My art is to intensify the expression of things as is done by Crivelli, Bellini, etc., so that the heart and inner meaning is made visibly visible.(An extract from one of Hardys notebooks). Proulx uses the setting in her novel to mark each stage of her protagonists life, and like Hardy, to symbolise his struggles and the influences upon him. In my opinion, the power in both novels is derived, to a large extent, from the atmosphere created by the surroundings, whether the raw coast and fierce elements of Newfoundland or the idyllic warmth and beauty of Hardys Wessex.

5 Secrets of Persuasion Use NLP to Influence Your Readers - Freewrite Store

5 Secrets of Persuasion Use NLP to Influence Your Readers - Freewrite Store Persuasive writing is a skill that every writer needs to master. That’s true whether you’re writing blogs with affiliate links, emails to your subscribers, or landing page copy to promote a product. There are lots of ways to approach writing persuasively, but one of the most effective is Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970s, Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a communication tool that can have a big impact on your readers - if you know how to use it right. Of course, you’ll find people who dismiss the tools and techniques of NLP as being ‘mumbo-jumbo’ - but, then, they’re the kind of people who would have said it was impossible to put a man on the moon. NLP works. It works for businessmen when they’re closing a massive deal, and it works for writers who need to convince your readers to do something. It doesn’t matter whether it’s clicking a link, completing a form, or making a purchase, when you use NLP, your ability to persuade increases. The Power of Persuasion Neuro-linguistic programming is so-called because, effectively, it uses words (linguistic) to reprogram (programming) the brain (neuro). It’s been compared (quite negatively) to manipulation. It can, of course, be used manipulatively, but there’s so much more to it than that. It’s used in coaching and even in therapy to change the way people think about things. So, how does NLP work to persuade people to change the way they think? Courses to train as an NLP practitioner are taught over seven days, so condensing the principles of NLP into an article isn’t easy. Nonetheless, I’ll share with you key insights from NLP that are particularly pertinent for writers. Foundations of Neuro-Linguistic Programming for Writers While some copywriters shun NLP as being far too ‘out there’, there are lots of skilled copywriters who understand how to use it to maximize results. By now you’re probably eager to find out how you can do that too, so let’s dig in. 1. The Language of the Senses NLP is all about the way that language is used to influence others, but it’s more than just about the words. It’s about what the words we use evoke in the people we’re addressing. In NLP, language is sensory - because all the information that we process can only enter our brains through the five senses. Most people have a sensory modality preference - whether you’re aware of it or not. There are three sensory modalities in NLP - visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (feelings). NLP teaches that influencing your readers starts when you use language that appeals to their sensory modality preference. For example: Visual: â€Å"Can you see what I mean?† Auditory: â€Å"Can you hear what I’m trying to say?† Kinaesthetic: â€Å"Does it feel right to you?† When you’re writing, you can’t know (in most cases) what your readers’ preference is, so you should incorporate all three senses into your writing to maximize the potential impact of your writing. 2. Story Time As a writer, you probably love to tell a good story, right? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that storytelling is a great NLP technique that you can easily exploit. When you couple your natural storytelling abilities with the (hidden) power of language in NLP, you’ll be able to exert huge influence over your readers. It happens to you all the time - even if you don’t recognize it happening. The movies and TV shows you watch exert influence over you all the time, with hidden, subtle messages that you don’t notice because you’re engrossed in the unfolding story. Using story to influence your readers is a matter of using metaphors and analogies that enter the subconscious. Metaphors work on a deep subconscious level to affect how your readers feel or think. 3. Homophonic Influence Homophones, words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings, are a subtle way to subconsciously affect your readers’ decision-making processes. Let’s look at an example that you could use in landing page copy for a sales page: â€Å"By now, you should be able to see the power of using NLP in your writing copy. But, if you want to fully understand how to maximize the impact of your writing, increase your sales and grow your business beyond your wildest dreams, we have something more for you. Our eBook, ‘Unlocking the Secrets of Sales Copy’ normally retails at $99 but, for 48 hours only, you can get your hands on it for just $7.† Placing the words ‘by now’ at the beginning of that paragraph is using a homophone to prime the buyer’s brain. ‘By now’ and ‘buy now’ sound the same when you read them aloud in your head - and that subconscious influence on your reader can have a big impact on the number of people who click on the ‘buy now’ CTA button below the paragraph. 4. Effective Emotional Influence As a writer, you need to be able to affect your readers’ emotions in order to get results. Affecting emotions effectively, however, is a skill that can take time to learn. NLP teaches that you use facts in order to basically tell people how to feel (or, at least, how you want them to feel) when you use facts. Charities making appeals for donations have expert copywriters who are exceptionally skilled at using facts and other emotional tools in their writing. For example, a popular NLP-inspired technique is to tell prospective donors how their donation can change the lives of the people receiving the funds. â€Å"Your donation of $20 will feed a family of four for a whole month.† Another way charities use emotional influence in their writing is to demonstrate how a small sacrifice on the donor’s part can make a significant difference. â€Å"If you sacrifice your favorite coffee-shop latte or cappuccino just one day each week, your donation of $20 per month will pay for Jessica to attend boarding school to continue her education, including her boarding fees, supplies and food for the month.† 5. Pattern Interrupts Interrupting the flow of your writing - or disrupting the flow - by introducing a new, unexpected idea, is a great persuasive technique that NLP trainers really applaud. It’s all about breaking thought patterns - which enables you to directly access the subconscious mind. It’s a technique that stage hypnotists use - though I’m not suggesting for a minute that you need to hypnotize your readers! Politicians and smart public speakers use it, too, so it’s worthwhile learning how to most effectively use this technique in your writing. One example of how you can use pattern interrupts is to introduce confusing or unexpected language into the middle of your ‘pitch’. The way you do this will depend on your audience, but you could try using sudden oblique references, or making reference to unrelated details – or, even, using swear words within your copy. The sudden change of direction gives you a brief opportunity to take advantage of your audience’s confusion. If you’re writing a sales or landing page, you could use callouts and testimonials to achieve pattern interrupts. By distracting your audience’s attention to something new, you have a new window of opportunity to appeal to the subconscious, refocus their attention, or disarm them. Delve Deeper into NLP If you want to maximize the persuasive potential of your writing and influence your readers more, it’s worth exploring NLP in more detail. NLP training is available around the world and investing in an NLP course can have a huge impact on your persuasive writing. You could even explore NLP coaching to build your confidence as a writer. Far from being ‘mumbo-jumbo’, neuro-linguistic programming is an effective means of exploiting the science of persuasion. The more you understand how NLP works, you’ll be able to recognize the techniques that other writers are using to influence your decisions, too.