Futility

Futility

See also Despair, Frustration.

American Scene, The

portrays Americans as having secured necessities; now looking for amenities. [Am. Lit.: The American Scene]

Babio

performs the useless and supererogatory. [Fr. Folklore: Walsh Classical, 42]

Bellamy, James

character who goes through phases “playboy, war hero” to suicide. [Br. TV: Upstairs, Downstairs]

Canute

king of England demonstrated the limits of his power by commanding waves to stand still in vain. [Eng. Legend: Benét, 165]

Danaides

fifty daughters, forty-nine of whom are condemned to Hades to collect water in sieves. [Rom. Myth.: LLEI, I: 326]

Fall, The

tale of the monotonous life and indifference of modern man. [Fr. Lit.: The Fall]

Grandet, Eugénie

lacking everything but wealth, she is indifferent to life. [Fr. Lit.: Eugenie Grandet, Magill I, 258–260]

Henry, Frederic

loses lover and child; nothing left. [Am. Lit.: A Farewell to Arms]

Moreau, Frederic

law student whose amatory attachments all come to nothing, concludes that existence is futile. [Fr. Lit.: Flaubert A Sentimental Education in Magill I, 876]

“Necklace, The”

having lost a borrowed diamond necklace, M. and Mme. Loisel suffer ten years of privation to purchase a duplicate, then find that the original was paste. [Fr. Lit.: Maupassant “The Necklace”]

Ocnus,

the cord of eaten by ass as quickly as it is made. [Gk. and Rom. Myth.: Wheeler, 767]

Of Mice and Men

story of George Milton and Lennie Small’s futile dream of having their own farm. [Am. Lit.: Of Mice and Men]

Partington, Dame

tried to turn back tide with mop. [Br. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 807]

pearls before swine

Jesus adjures one not to waste best efforts. [N.T.: Matthew 7:6]

Sun Also Rises, The

story of American expatriates living a futile existence in Europe. [Am. Lit.: The Sun Also Rises]

Tobacco Road

tale of Jeeter Lester and other oppressed, degraded lives. [Am. Lit.: Tobacco Road]

Tregeagle

condemned to bail out Dozmary Pool with leaky shell. [Br. Legend: Brewer Dictionary, 1099]