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Literal and Literally Analysis of a Passage
The literal meaning is one that takes the most basic sense of the words or phrases. It does not look into the metaphors or hidden meanings within the phrases and words. Under the literal meaning, the given passage is describing the life of a girl or female who is going through a moment of turmoil in her life. She is not content with the life she has. This is seen from the line “… in a deep recess, crouched discontent”. The girl wishes that her life could be more or at least offer her something more tangible to hold on to; “… her need for something, something vaguely familiar, but which she could not put a name to.” It is thus clear that she is unsure of what she really wants or needs; all she knows is that something is missing.
Whatever it is that is missing has begun to make her life dull and intolerable as seen in the line “… She began to lose confidence in the fullness of her life, the glow began to fade from her conception of it.” The lady feels trapped by her own life; “She went through moments of overwhelming anguish. She felt shut in, trapped.” The general idea that comes up when one reads the passage is of a lady whose life is full of challenges and dullness that she is beginning to lose hope of a better day. She also has no one to turn to hence the feeling of entrapment in her own life and skill.
The literary meaning seeks to unearth the metaphors, emotions, moods, tones, and exaggerations used in words or phrases of a given literature. Literary devices help the reader connect at a deeper level with the characters in the literature. The given passage contains several literary meanings. The first one is the use of metaphors. The lady’s anguish and troubles are compared to a “Deep recess” to show how intense the feelings were. The phrase “…the glow began to fade from her conception of it” is hyperbolical. Life is also given the animated ability to glow. It further expounds on just how much the character had lost confidence in her life.
There is evidence of the use of imagery in the text. The lady’s discontent is described as “crouched.” We see repetition as a means of an emphasis on the character’s sadness and anguish; “…her need for something, something vaguely familiar.” It is ironic how the character feels and knows she needs something but does not precisely know what it is. The overall tone of the passage is sad. One can imagine and connect with the character’s pathetic and hopeless life. This is due to the use of a word such as “crouched discontent,” “almost intolerable,” and “overwhelming anguish.” The same words express a mood of sadness in the passage.
There are several themes that emerge from the passage. One can identify the themes of hopelessness and loneliness. These two themes and the literary meaning of the passage are instrumental in helping us the significance of the passage to the larger work. One can tell what makes the character behave as she does in the larger work. Under the theme of hopelessness, the character in the passages feels like all hope of her life being better is lost. As the days pass by, she loses the confidence of her life ever regaining its glow and fullness. She, therefore, battles with feelings such as discontent, lack of confidence, intolerance, and anguish that is overwhelming.
She even loses her conception of life. This can be interpreted as her having lost the meaning of life. She thus may no longer feel the need or urge to live. All she knows is that she needs something though she cannot put a name to it. She, therefore, cannot examine what it is she needs because she does not know it, which leads to further despair. Deep within, she keeps hoping that things get better, and everything works out as she expects. The reader can quickly identify with her sadness and feelings of hopelessness.
The theme of loneliness is also very clear from the passage. Despite the turmoil that the character is undergoing, she does not feel as though she has someone to lean on, someone to offer her the support and hope she so much needs. As a result, she feels shut-in and entrapped in her own self. If she had a support system, maybe they would be able to guide her on what it is she actually needs and wants from life. This would, in turn, help her regain hope and the fading glow of her life.