Michael Peroutka

Despite the novel’s richly explored Parisian setting and European characters, Giovanni’s Room is, punctuated with deeply American attitudes and issues. By choosing an American for the protagonist and narrator, David, James Baldwin crafts a novel that is as much about the difficult relationship between Europe and the USA as it is about the difficult relationship between David and Giovanni. Through analysis of the biased, first-person narration of the novel, as well as the dynamics between characters of French, Italian, Belgian and American ancestry, we can establish and support the argument that Giovanni’s Room is a novel that is heavily invested in the question of whether America’s relationship with Europe in the mid-20th Century is too splintered to be sustainable. Although David admits his admiration of Paris at certain points in the novel, these compliments are invariably superficial and unenthusiastic, and often expressed only in dialogue when he is attempting to win the affection of Giovanni. Though he exclaims in conversation that “no city is more beautiful than Paris—“ , this compliment is highly surface and drenched in cliché, describing it as physically beautiful, but still unable to fully understand the culture and history of the city. Furthermore, the dash following this expression is highly evocative of something unsaid, suggesting that this is not his entire opinion, evidence of Baldwin willing to convey that perhaps Americans cannot grasp the full importance…

When Satan set’s his eyes upon Adam and Eve, it is doubtful they he knew how easy it would be to corrupt their minds. Eve, in my opinion was probably the easiest to manipulate and that is why Satan was delighted to come upon her first rather than Adam. Eve, is just like any other woman, so it is quite easy to distinguish what one needs to do to get on her good graces. Due to it being Eve, Satan tempted her with his evil offer by using flattery on her. Apparently flattery will get you anywhere.…

But when the door to the hall, into which no sound from the noisy Metropolis could penetrate, closed behind her, the ore voice of the angel of the cathedral struck at her breast like a steel fist, and she stood still, stunned, raising her hands to her head. Why was Saint Michael crying out so angrily and wildly? Why was the roar of Azrael, the angel of Death joining in so alarmingly? She stepped into the street. Darkness, like a thick layer of soot, lay over the town, and only the cathedral…

Satan laid in the middle of the room on his back, decked in his favorite blessed golden crown, a large gold trimmed cape, and his large diamond encrusted sword pierced through his chest. His majestic black wings had been spread out in the duration of his fight, and one had gotten torn off and thrown across the room, leaving spatters of blackened cursed blood in its path. The other wing was in no better shape, seeing as half of it had been cut off. The agony, the pain that spread throughout the…

In order for a novel to be considered Gothic literature it has to have certain elements. Milton’s Paradise Lost exudes gothic characteristics. The first is Pandemonium. When Satan and his followers are banished to Hell, together they create Pandemonium. Gothic literature is really all about intense emotion and the confusion between good and evil. Powerful emotion is clearly evident in Paradise Lost as there is a constant grasping or pushing and pulling with good and evil, God and Satan. The…

"But how..?" It was a reasonable question, although one Amaimon had not intended to let slip from him, but the words had tumbled out long before he could stop them. Samael had been so strong, so powerful....who or what could have killed him. Lucifer? The two always argued and sure every now and then they had exchanged a few blows, but those were small scuffles and verbal fights....how could it have gotten to the point of murder? And if it had, wouldn't there have been evidence, or even just…

The devil, Satan, Iblis, is known by many names. In the Christian faith he is called Satan, while in Islam he is referred to in various places as Iblis, or Shaytaan in other places. Satan/Iblis, is mainly first introduced to us in the story of Adam and Eve in both the Christian faith and Islam. He is the first disobeyer to God and thus represents the rebellion against God and the path of the wrongdoers. In Islam, it was mentioned that Iblis is a member of a type of God’s creatures called “Jinn”.…

Free will is an extremely important concept in John Milton’s Paradise Lost that greatly impacts the fateful decision made by Adam and Eve. Many questions are raised in the face of a notion such as free will, which prompt the reader and Milton to understand God’s logic and Adam and Eve’s reasoning for turning their backs on it. God makes his new creations “just and right / sufficient to have stood, though free to fall,” and, therefore, obtain the explicitly stated ability to turn against…

Part of the reason that the Pearl of Great Price is so great at preparing people for making further covenants in the temple is because it talks so much about sacrifice. In this paper, I will show was sacrifice means in the Lord’s eyes and how Adam and Eve’s sacrificial behaviors can be applied to other righteous people in the Pearl of Great Price, as well as present day. I will also show the qualifications and blessings of true sacrifice, as well as Satan’s counterfeits for sacrifice,…

Once again, Salinger wasn’t oblivious to the meanings behind each character’s name. In fact, symbolism plays a part in the character Sybil Carpenter. “Sybil, bright with innocence but already tarnishing, symbolizes for Seymour the human condition: like the sibyls of old, she is the unconscious oracle through whom the prophecy is revealed, the instrument of truth” (Lane). A sibyl is defined as “a woman in ancient times supposed to utter the oracles and prophecies of a god” (“sibyl”). It is…