book of eve
Lao Tzu, the Father of Taoism once said, "Those who are worldly-wise know others; those who are truly wise know themselves". This may not always be true in today's modern world. In The Book of Eve written by Constance Beresford-Howe, the movie "Company of Strangers" and in the short story Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett the consequences of the search for self are described. The various characters choose to take different paths in their lives but they were consciously or unconsciously taking a path that would ultimately lead to self-awareness. The various characters either use this self-awareness to change themselves for the better or to follow their old ways and let their knowledge of self be wasted. In Eve's case from The Book of Eve, after forty years of marriage even though she is physically secure with a family, house and money; she feels no sense of identity and finds that a something very important from her life is missing. At the age of seventy she leaves her house to find that missing something with hardly any money and manages to find a small basement apartment that symbolizes her newfound independence. As soon as she gets to the apartment she takes a bath, which is a symbol of baptism or it is an act where she cl
Krapp on the other hand from the short story "Krapp's Last Tape" is aware of his shortcomings unlike the other characters like Eva, Constance, Beth and Mary. He is aware that eating too many bananas will only go on to disturb his bowel movement and his drinking will only result in his body becoming weaker but this knowledge does not change him. He chooses not to do anything about his problem, his awareness does not help him and he cannot overcome his bad habits. He does not have the will power even though he has free will and he chooses to suffer the consequences of his habits. This is unlike any other characters that Krapp is being compared to. Eva, Constance, Beth and Mary slowly become self-aware and when they do, they use this power to the fullest. Krapp like most people recognizes his problems but refuses to deal with them. This makes him this makes his life sad and miserable. Then Eva meets Johnny who is a Hungarian man who works in a factory and is drunk all the time. Johnny is her new chance at love, her new companion. At first he is very annoying but then he starts to bring out her uncomfortable side. All her life she was used to taking care of others, finally she met someone who took pleasure in taking care of her. She slowly starts to gain weight as Johnny starts cooking for her which symbolizes that she is gaining knowledge about herself. Then along the way she meets Jean Paul LeBlanc who makes Eve realize her own disabilities through his own shortcomings. Finally when she has a conversation with her son Neil she comes to term with herself. She knows that she has made mistakes in the past but she accepts them now. Her life has been imperfect and she accepts that too. She reali
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1147
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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