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  • Essay / A contrast between the stories of Yen Mah and William Somerset Maugham

    One abandons his family to pursue his dreams while the other achieves goals to gain the family's acceptance, the main characters of two Touching stories intertwine into the experience although they face different situations. difficulties and obstacles. Across different historical periods, in different age groups, and set in different locations, the memoir Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah and the historical fiction The Moon and Sixpence by William Somerset Maugham always depict stories with similar elements and ultimately comparable lessons. Both authors describe the growth of character through the peaceful endings leading to self-realization of their turbulent lives. In Falling Leaves, Yen Mah expresses a heartbreaking story based on her traumatic childhood experiences related to her abusive relationship with her stepmother. In The Moon and Sixpence, Mangham depicts a character's journey to achieve his dream as a painter at the cost of abandoning his family and his former lifestyle. Although the novels Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah and The Moon and Sixpence by William Somerset Maugham differ from each other in the manner in which the theme and aphorism are expressed, both authors employ similar rhetorical techniques in the arrangements as well as in the voice and tone to create a greater impact. on readers while preserving the purest emotions behind the story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayYen Mah and Maugham incorporate similar structures by deliberately beginning and ending the narration of the story with significant events and perspective unique rather than following chronological orders. In Falling Leaves, Yen Mah uses a distinctive organizational model that not only interests the reader but also evokes impactful connections. Instead of starting the novel chronologically, Yen Mah opens the novel with a pivotal scene, her father's funeral, in order to establish the tone of the novel and provide family context while grabbing readers' attention. For example, Yen Mah illustrates that although their stepmother Niang said that their father, who was a wealthy businessman, died penniless, "no one said anything...No one put question the legitimacy of Niang's actions. The seemingly unusual actions of the characters and the power possessed by Niang keep readers interested in reading further to discover the reasons for Niang's authority within the family. The use of short syntax in the prologue effectively sets the tone of the entire novel by expressing emotional events in a detached, calm and. In addition to the opening of the novel, the structural organization of the ending of the novel also uses significant life events: "day after day, as I sat next to her and watched her sink into a coma from which she never woke up, I believe that my proximity would help her on her last journey.” By ending the novel with the death of Aunt Baba, the only character Yen Mah felt connected to, Yen Mah effectively prompts the reader to make emotional connections with Yen Mah's ultimate realization, recognizing his past desire for acceptance as inessential . The powerful ending also reflects the sad events Yen Mah experiences as well as the theme and title of the book, falling leaves return to their roots. Overall, the organizational patterns that Yen Mah intentionally implements create a significant impact on how readers perceive the noveland the emotional appeal associated with it. Likewise, The Moon and Sixpence follows the same arrangement by strategically avoiding narrating chronologically in order to better reflect the characteristics of the protagonist and deepen the emotional impact. Writing in the third person, Maugham begins the novel with narrator Crabbe's description of the protagonist Strickland after Crabbe undertakes Strickland's journey with him. For example, narrator Crabbe points out that in art, "Charles Strickland's greatness was authentic" but that he also "lived in obscurity." He made enemies rather than friends.” By describing Strickland from Crabbe's later perspective after he had already known Strickland, Maugham establishes a distinct insight into Strickland's personality that allows readers to understand Strickland's future actions as the story progresses. Such a unique contrast in Strickland's personality as a person and artist inspires the reader to know more about this character. Additionally, Maugham intentionally ends the novel abruptly to connect with the beginning of the novel and form a complete story cycle. For example, Maugham ends the novel with a seemingly irrelevant detail: Uncle Henry "remembered the days when you could get thirteen Royal Natives for a shilling." Like Yen Mah, Maugham intentionally uses such organization of the novel to end the novel peacefully, but precisely with an emphasis on family. The overly specific reference and imagery harks back to the earlier period of life when Strickland lacked familial warmth. Royal Natives symbolizes the desire for a caring family and longs to return to the short moment of familial love of Strickland and the author himself. The way Yen Mah and Maugham begin and end the novel effectively inspires readers to further explore the characters and form emotional connections. The stories of Yen Mah and Magham share not only similar structures, but also tones that express the characters' journeys in a detached and emotionless mansion. . Throughout the novel, Yen Mah uses the first person and a detached tone in order to portray an authentic story and appeal to ethos. For example, Yen Mah begins the childhood narrative with the prologue statement: “To explain our collective docility that afternoon, I must return to the very beginning. A Chinese proverb says that “luo ye gui gen”. The use of the first person directly represents his real experiences and memories, thus making the story more realistic to directly illustrate to the readers the purest capture of the experiences in the novel. The use of the first person pronoun “we” has the greater effect of indirectly illustrating Yen Mah's respect for her family and her desire to be accepted. Moreover, Yen Mah expresses the story in a detached tone, even during significant events and extremely low moments in his life. For example, Yen Mah's tone is emotionless even after her mother's death: "The headache and fever started three days after I was born... Her condition worsened." The monotonous, emotionless tone of the whole thing stands in direct contrast to the dramatic changes in her life and the calm tone as she recounts these changes. He also appealed to ethos by focusing on recounting the details of the story with a placid tone in order to preserve his most authentic life experience. In the same way, Maugham also uses the first person point of view as well as a detached tone in order to present a unique point of view and adds an extra layer of gradual understanding between two characters. For example, after telling Strickland's story, the narrator reflectsthat “my study of Strickland's character suffers from a more serious flaw than my ignorance of many facts...I have written about his reactions to women; yet they represented only an insignificant part of his life.” By using the first person point of view to describe another person's life, Maugham makes the story richer and more complex by including the narrator's opinions and growth, thus ultimately revealing the progress of the narrator's ability to understand Strickland on a deeper level. Maugham also makes great use of the advantage of the first person point of view to illustrate the opinions and judgments throughout protagonist Strickland's journey. Additionally, like Yen Mah, Maugham also uses a detached tone to hide the strong emotions gained from his experiences. Expressing messages revealing meanings behind the emotionless tone. While Dirk helped cure Strickland of his illness, Strickland had an affair with Dirk's wife Blanche and led her to leave Dirk and commit suicide after Strickland rejected her. Even after such a painful event, the narrator calmly sums it up: "As lovers, the difference between men and women is that women can love all day long, but men only from time to time." In an emotionless tone, Maugham points out in a factual manner the painful principle which indirectly causes Blanche's death while generalizing this contrast between men and women to humanity. More importantly, the calm tone mocks Strickland's actions of not being determined, making Blanche's death seem more regrettable to readers. Yen Mah and Mangham's use of the first person and a detached tone makes the stories more authentic and elevates their impact on readers by using a contrast between the emotionless tone and the miserable events. Although obvious similarities are present in the story of Yen Mah and Mangham. Using rhetoric, their style differs mainly in how themes and symbolisms were expressed, as Yen Mah illustrates them explicitly through Chinese titles while Mangham does so explicitly. Throughout Falling Leaves, Yen Mah cleverly titles each chapter with a lesson from his experience to form a web of interconnected elements that all contribute to the overall theme and didactics of the book, Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots . After receiving the sad news of her grandmother's death, Yen Mah describes that "her life had evaporated like a yi chang chun ment (an episode from a spring dream)." The simile effectively describes how the death of his grandmother marked the end of an era of happiness and foreshadows an era of darkness under Niang's regime. The word “evaporate” cleverly expresses the loss of his grandmother and forms a link with a Chinese aphorism. Ultimately, Yen Mah ends with the final anaphora: “The circle is complete. Luo ye gui gen. (The leaves that fall return to their roots).” The explicit restatement of the theme that serves as a guiding principle throughout the novel allows readers to fully understand the importance of these lessons and further highlights one's personal identity as shaped by one's culture and experiences. The symbolism reveals Yen Mah's growth as she now fully understands that she no longer needs to seek acceptance from the people around her; rather she found Aunt Baba because her roots are and will always be there for her even if the cycle of life continues into the future. Unlike directly stating themes and lessons, Mangham uses story details to reflect the impact of the novel's theme and title, The Moon and Sixpence, implicitly. THE.