Time comes and goes. We see it as it is and as it has been. To the eyes of William Goldman, time is the spirit and soul. His literature has been all time suspense. I had the privilege of becoming one of his followers in literature. The Marathon Man and Brothers, are two of his best works. At the end of this literature exploration I learned a little more about life. The Marathon Man had a strong meaning; suspense, drama, and action were three of the elements that made this book a best seller. Not falling far behind another of his works, Brothers, is an inspirational story that will break your heart.
Its an interesting page-turner that will teach you a little about life. I will also disclose some of the literary form of each of the books. Brothers, and Marathon Man, each consisted mostly of irony and unexpected situations. Suspense was the key on every page. Something different was always happening; knowing what was going to come next was unexpected. When reading you would anticipate what was going to happen but would find htat the opposite was the outcome. The author, William Goldman, had a way of (something) your brain and convincing you that on the next page you would read what you thought had been foreshadowed..
To your surprise another problem would occur. The next page wasnt the solution but part of it. The meaning of his books was more than a simple one, it was a small part of William Goldmans life. Goldmans life was very interesting. He was 29 when his first son died at the age of three. Goldman was not a man of power and he never held a place in high society. His father was the owner of a small farm in a small town in Ohio. He was a farmer boy without any education when he started to read his first book, A Small World. There is not much information about William Goldman, but the little information there is, is very specific.
Goldmans son, James Goldman, wrote a little about his father and his life in the book, A Small Memorial. Other novels by William Goldman are, The Temple of Gold, Your Turn to Curtsy, My Turn to Bow, Soldier in the Rain, Boys and Girls Together, No Way to Treat a Lady, The Thing of it is, Fathers Day, and The Princess Bride. He has written one book of nonfiction, The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway, a book for children. Wisser, and the screenplays for Harper, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Great Waldo Pepper.
He also collaborated with his son James Goldman on the play Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole end with James Goldman and John Kander on the musical A Family Affair. Mr. Goldman lived in New York City with his wife and two daughters, Susan and Nancy. His son James lived in Ohio, he lived with his grandparents on the farm. James, who is also a writer, helped his father in different plays and other writers in the musical presentation of their books. Sussan and Nancy, Williams daughters also made a big difference in William Goldmans career as a writer. On the birth of his first son, whose name is unknown and died at the age of three.
He wrote a touching book, Fathers Day. This book had the most significance in William Goldmans life, as within that time. It talked about how he saw his little boy grow from a little infant, to a little boy, and how he would have seen him grow from a little boy to a big boy. He never had the chance because his son died as a child in a car accident. His wifes name is unknown to me, but from his point of view she was an angel, which ment everything to him. His wife had created for him what he called home, His temple of gold. He loved his wife like he had never loved no one. In the front cover of the book it said, Dedicated to the woman I love.
To the eyes of many, William was a dreamer, a dreamer whose all dreams would come true. His daughter Sussan, the first child after his sons tragedy, was the character of No Way to Treat a Lady. As a little girl Sussan always put her mothers clothes on, she would get grounded for it and William came out with this book after his daughter told him it was, No way to treat a lady. This book is about a little girl with big dreams. Through out the years William Goldman became well known within high publishers. He had many best sellers and wrote many novels in which he explained and described and shared with all of us his dreams.
Now a days, he is still a well known writer. He might not write like Stephen King, but he sure knows how to touch your heart. Throughout the years writers have come and gone. William Goldman came to stay. The adventures that he wrote about, mostly his life and dreams, make you become one with the narrator. It gives you a feeling and teaches you life from his own experiences. Among his many books, I read two of them, The Marathon Man, and Brothers. Disclosed are all the points of each story positive and negative outcomes, and its literary terms.
Each of the stories I read had a different meaning in which emphasized a little of William Goldmans life. Marathon Man, was inspired by a friend of his, Thomas Babington Levy. Babe, who is a former Rhodes Scholor, and a gifted graduate student at Columbia University also another of his books, Brothers. Brothers, was a wonderful book, and experience with two brothers in love with the same woman and sad and touching story. As a writer Goldman accomplished many things, but the one he dreamt about more every night was happiness. It seemed that William Goldman, became part of a circle of dreams.
One dream would lead to the other and another until you get where you wanted to be and then end up where you started. His dream of becoming happy became true, but as a dream it always ends. His wife died in 1989 in a car accident the same way his son died may years earlier. His Temple of Gold had been destroyed. He once wrote To the one I love, its a memory that will keep on living. Among all his work, his daughter had a baby in 1991 and he became a grandparent. In memory to the death of his wife he stated a book titled The Dream I Once Had.
He never finished the book for which he died on Nov. 3th 1994 at the age of 47 in a car accident. With all his work he left beautiful books behind. The beautiful story of Brothers, is the one that will touch your heart, no matter how cold you are or how sentimental, it will touch your heart. A beautiful story written by William Goldman, Brothers. A love story between two brothers who fell in love with the same woman. Mark and David, they bother loved Maira. A beautiful simple woman who loved David but was with Mark just for not wanting to break his heart. He only took her to the park and told her he love her, she couldnt resist his kisses and they became one.
As time went by she realize that she didnt love him like he loved her. She tried to tell him but he was so in love and took it as an obstacle he could overcome, but she didnt. One day she went out with David all night and he received a phone call from her mother. She wanted to know if she was there. She wasnt and he didnt know were she was. He ran out and looked for her in all the places he could think of, but he never found her. In the morning when he got home he received a call that she was with his brother and had spent most of the night with him. He cried and felt hurt, so much he even thought about taking his life.
He would see her walk by and he couldnt look at her in the eyes, all he would remember was the last time he kissed her. The way she looked at him, how her heart was beating. He could feel it all. Now it was all gone, there was nothing for him, now his brother didnt love her and he couldnt go back to her and has to live with the pain inside. She still walks on the streets and every time he sees her, they dont talk and just keep walking, just like strangers. A beautiful story, it made me feel what was going on in the story. William Goldman knew how to write beautiful stories.
On this book he put lots of suspense and drama, but what kept me interested in the story was the irony. Irony is the opposite of what is expected. The book was mostly composed of irony. The whole book from beginning to end. As an example of irony in a specific dialog will be impossible, I can give a small ex, as a whole book. Mark told Maira, I will love you forever, and Maira said Forever it will. The expectancy was eternal love and in return happiness. To our surprise the outcome was a sad ending in which love was not there. Mark will love her forever, but he will only love her within himself.
The significance is love, no matter what a person do, love cant change from today to tomorrow, and it cant stay forever. Some how he will forget her touch and the love he had for her, but deep within himself, he will wonder what forever was. Not only irony was present in this book, some apostrophe was part of the book also, apostrophe is a figure of speech in which someone (usually absent), some abstract quality or nonexistent personas is directly addressed as through present. In Brothers, Mark was talking to the picture of Maira and told her, It may seem Im in pain, it may be I am, but how do you know if you dont feel like I do. p. 147 Brothers)
The significance was that no one would now what he is going though but him. This story was mostly a Catastrophe, or a tragedy that led to the event of a broken heart and lost love that will keep loving in the heart of Mark. To Mark love will no longer be the same, he will be always in a position of self defense to all the opportunities he will have of becoming what he always wanted to be, a happy man. At the end of the book, Mark was composed of a catharsis in which an unhealthy emotional state produced by an imbalance of feelings is cured and emotional health restored.
He will walk next to her, but will not cry, will not look at her, because all it will cause will be pain, to him and to her. The significance was pain; it will no longer be in Marks heart, he will not feel love again, not from her, but from someone else. Something that happened in the beginning when Maira said, let it be, it is on his power, meaning that God will let things happen if they are supposed to happen; an example of determinism which means that all apparent acts of the will are actually the result of causes which determines them.
Maira believed that God would determine things, and it did. Things happen for a reason, where the last words that Maira said to Mark. An epistle, a letter, was written to Mark from Maira. It explained how she didnt want to hurt his feelings, why she didnt want to love him no more, and how things couldnt be, but Mark took it as an obstacle they had to face together. The letter was intended to tell Mark that Maira didnt love him, but Mark thought it was to prove his love. Mark was a character who praised Maira, or an eulogy, formal, dignified speech or writing, highly praising a person or thing.
He would tell all to Maira, love her with all his heart. He would put her before everything else. His God was her. He would of gave his life for her. The significance when he said There is nothing greater that you was love, respect and loyalty. What he gave her and he didnt receive. Maira was a person with hubris or overwhelming pride. A pride which resulted in the misfortune of the protagonist of a tragedy. Maira could of talk to him in the eyes, or either him. He could of done it too, but both of them had to much pride, now the walk next to each other like strangers.
She lost his love because he wasnt going to wait for her to come back to him; it hurt too much. David gave up on her and now she had no one; how she felt about it only she knows. At the end of the story, Maira told Mark, how she didnt love him. How she tried to tell him but he wouldnt listen, he couldnt understand. William Goldman used euphemism to make the story more tragic and with more pain. Euphemism is a figure of speech in which an indirect statement is substituted for a direct one in an effort to avoid bluntness. Maira told straight to Mark has she didnt love him.
It made things better for Mark. Marks mother told him once, listen to your old woman, I know what Im talking about; experience is something with no shortcuts. Maxim was used in this book many times by Marks mother. Maxim is a short, concise statement, usually drawn from experience and offers some practical advice in an adage. The significance was experience, she knew for living long. Mark once told Maira when he met her for the first time, I want to know you, the biggest secret that you have, the biggest lie you ever told, the angriest letter you ever sent.
I want to know all the secrets within yourself. I want to know you like I know myself, I want to know all the things you done, the saddest song you ever heard and the most you said with just one word. There is no doubt how Mark loved Maira and it is obvious how his life change from him been a dreamer to his dream becoming true, and then a nightmare. A simple example of irony. William Goldman had done many books, but this is the one he took credit the most. Its the book that touched many of his followers, it made him well known.
Brothers, had a warm feeling, a story in which two brothers love the same woman, Mark who had never loved like he had loved Maira and David, who just came on hurting his brothers feelings. Two brothers one in love with the one that will change his life. Mark, who will live in pain for the rest of his life. Maira, whos heart was broken by David after she breaks Marks heart. Suspense was all the key to this story. Not far behind Marathon Man, another of his best works is been read by his followers and praised by the publishing companies.
Marathon Man is a story of guilt and innocence and of the way the sins of the past rise up to haunt us, it is a thriller of exquisite measure, a stark tale of stalker and prey. Thomas Babington Levy, Babe, is a former Rhoder Scholar now a gifted graduate student from Columbia University. He spends every free minute running and daydreaming of becoming a marathon man as well as an intellectual of staggering accomplishments. Champion and Ph. D. then the baldheaded man appears from out of nowhere and pushed Babe on to a different course, one that leads him from his ordered life into another of uncertainty and peril.
His brother, who had been gone from his side since his father killed himself, had returned. He brought with him problems, problems that have no solutions. Babe will be the victim of a man who is afraid of losing millions of dollars worth of diamonds. He has to kill Babe’s brother and then after knowing that Babe knew, he tried to kill him to. Babe looks for help with his girlfriend, but it only happens that his girlfriend is with the bad man and she works for them. She died trying to protect Babe. Babe killed all the men working for the bald man and he tried to take the diamonds away form him.
After getting the diamonds he threw them in the water and they got lost in the river, all the killing had ended and Babe was free. The bald man stayed looking for the diamonds and he was killed by the people, after finding he had killed millions of Jewish with Hitler in WWII. Marathon Man, was a crazy story with a sequence of drama and suspense. Every page had meaning through out the book. William Goldman made this book with a perfect A. He included irony, conflicts, symbolism, illusion, and may others. In which I will disclose later on the next stage of the analysis.
The tone of the story was cold. Tone is a term designating the attitudes towards the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. Examples will be difficult to explain in phases straight from the book, so in exchanged to it a whole book summary of the tone in which this book was narrated. From the beginning things were clear, how mans dreams of becoming a champion were been killed by the selfish attitudes of his brother. The way it was expressed page through page made this story tone very cold. William Goldman stereotyped each of the characters.
A stereotype is a commonly held or oversimplified mental picture or judgment of a person, a race, an issue, al land or art. Babe was described as a typical dreamer, happy but never aquatinting it. The strong man is the one who thinks not the one who looks at the moon, Babe said, I always wanted to be someone but I should have been more specific. Not only did Goldman use stereotypes but also mixed with his irony it formed a team for his story. Irony is the unexpected, a situation in which things happen that were not expected to happen.
Babe was a graduate from college with dreams, a girlfriend, friends, and a good attitude towards life. He would run for fun and ended up running for his life, fighting for what he once thought was and had no meaning in his life, his brother. Babes brother was a low life and would work for the government. He would kill all whom got in the way of the secret corporations of the government. Babe, a good person, hated his brother and vowed never to do anything for him. It ended up that Babe almost gave his life for a cause he never believed in before. Babe was the protagonist, or chief character in the story of Marathon Man.
He was the good one, the one who lived when it was expected he would die, the one who survived the unknown and the one who always beat the odds. One minute he was in the hands of the enemy, waiting for his death, and the next running for his life, free. His significance was to be free within himself and leave the past in the past. The mood of the story was very difficult to set your mind on. Mood is a state of mind in which one emotion or set of emotions has ascendancy. Goldman wrote this book under a friends narrative. He made Babe sound like a dreamer, a good person who had many things to accomplish.
His brother was like the rest of the people who killed dreams. The significance of the mood was to give juice to the story. William Goldman imputed some hubris in Babes brother, a little bit of too much pride. It made him be whom he turned to at the end of the story. Hubris means an overwhelming pride (excessive pride, ambition, and overconfidence) which results in the misfortune or death. In this case, Babes brother and girlfriend turned out dead. With so much pride he never asked his brother for help until it was too late. His last words were Find them for me. Later he died and his nightmare started.
Babe was hunt down like a dog, almost killed and his girlfriend dead, just for his brothers pride. The significance is pride, too much of it can kill you, and it was what happened to Babes brother and his girlfriend. Babe had a dialectic problem between his life and reality. It seemed that hell was within him; people were dying, dreams were no longer alive. He prayed for the best, but the worst came. Dialectic is a debate or discussion of eternally unresolved issues. The unsuspected happened and Babe didnt know whether his life was like it was before, or it just happened to be like it was.
Reality was killing him and there was nothing he could do; everything seemed to be going wrong. His life was ending, and he couldnt believe his reality was his life; it was a conflict with no solution. Towards the end of the story Babe started to feel pity. It was a finishing touch of epigram by Goldman. Making Babe feel some pity after being so strong showing love and being free. Goldman made Babe human again after turning him into a monster. He killed all the bad guys and his enemies, the bald man. Epigram is any pity. Without the finishing touch that Goldman gave to him made the story worth reading.
