Ian McEwan - On Chesil Beach (2007)

Plot Summary
Edward and Florence are married in 1962 July, straddling two eras where the conduct of sex and the roles of gender in marriage are still taboo but being questioned increasingly. On the night of their marriage both Edward and Florence are inwardly trying to cope with the anxiety and nervousness over the consummation of their relationship, leading to many missed signals and confusion. At the key moment disaster strikes and their marriage is effectively over, after they each blame each other they never meet again. The story repeatedly flashbacks to the beginnings of their relationship up until this night.

Historical Context
- 1950s = sex and contraception still taboo and the roles of women in marriage were somewhat rigid. Post-war era in Britain where women had begun to work, but still considered the subservient sex.
- 1960s = liberality of this era explored in the novel emphasised the struggles of the characters in their pursuit of love and how sex hindered such pursuits. Indeed during the latter end of the novel McEwan shows the speed and indlugence of the era, with loose women and sex becoming readily available, the taboo broken down.

Structure
- McEwan uses flashbacks to create a whole story, using the perspective of both Florence and Edward to highlight their differences, particularly in their gender's expectations of sex.
- By flicking between the two he creates a balanced image and allows the reader to understand both sides in a way that would not have been available at the time. He keeps the two to the same time frame, even discussing when the 2 stories may have overlapped.
- Whole story revolves around the wedding night but continuously flashes back until it reaches the present - showing how sex was at centre of both characters minds, it being the first exploration of sexual love.
- Past the wedding night it rapidly goes through the 60s (showing the speed of it arguably?)and remains in Edward's perspective. Gives traditional dominance to Edward, that which he yearned for with Florence, however he doesn't seem happy - rather showing the ease in which he let sexual relationships in particular fizzle and fade, leaving him aged and finally aware of the truth.

Edward
- Comes from a more modest middle class background than F, his father being an overworked school teacher who attempts to maintain a chaotic household with a brain damaged wife. This lack of a coherent feminine influence, his twin sisters being much younger, arguably is the reason behind his calamity of a wedding night as his misunderstanding of Flo's body language comes rooted from a lack of understanding of women altogether.
- There is a suggestion that he is in love with the idea of Florence but not her, herself. Indeed her priviledged background, the house and cars it brings along with the challenging intellect of her mother and the classical music she introduces him to opens his eyes to a whole other way of life of which he happily surrounded himself - accepting a job from her father as opposed to pursuing his true passions of history. Evidence for this comes from his repeated yearning for the "ideal" daughter, looking just as Flo does with an "alice band", representing all he loves about his partners' background and culture.
- his interest in history suggests he is always looking backwards, at the old views and opinions of the culture where sex is taboo and women are subservient, indeed his sexual inclinations towards Flo show his desire to possess her (the tongue scenario).

Florence
- Her background is typical of the upperclass "Oxford" esque stereotype, her mother a formidable lecturer in philosophy and her father a wealthy businessman, but who longs for a boy. Indeed this rigid stereotype, lack of sentimental family members and the need to express herself arguably leads her towards Edward (who comes from chaos) and the liberality of music, of which she blossoms.
- Her lack of interest in sex contrasts with Edward who is clearly thinking about it, rather she looks for a purity of love, not wanting to be possessed by anyone (modern view). On the wedding night it is clear she wants to please Edward because she knows what is expected of her, however this catalyses an internal reaction against the whole concept of sex and the ownership involved in regards to Edward and her body. Indeed, her control of her instrument shows her need for independence and personal authority. While she is caught between knowing what is expected of her and what she herself believes shows this straddling of the two eras and leads to the misunderstandings that cause the failure of the night.

Quotations

“This is how the entire course of a life can be changed: by doing nothing.” - Edward's lack of action cost him his life's happiness.

“All she had needed was the certainty of his love, and his reassurance that there was no hurry when a lifetime lay ahead of them.” - The rush into marriage (arguably led by sex and social convention) is mirrored by the sudden rush that occurs in the narrative after the event and shows how rushing things in life only leads to unhappiness.

“But it was too interesting, too new, too flattering, too deeply comforting to resist, it was a liberation to be in love and say so, and she could only let herself go deeper.” - Edward was an escape from her rigid life for her.

“It is shaming sometimes, how the body will not, or cannot, lie about emotions.” - Body language does not lie though words can, by misinterpreting the body you miss the truth.

“When they kissed she immediately felt his tongue, tensed and strong, pushing past her teeth, like some bully shouldering his way into a room. Entering her.” - Highlights Edward's possessive nature and his desire to own her in a bodily sense.

He was a country boy, a provincial idiot who thought a bare-knuckle swipe could impress a friend. It was a mortifying reappraisal. He was making one of the advances typical of early adulthood: the discovery that there were new values by which he preferred to be judged.” - Shows Edward's roughened character and physical desires. Also highlights how social expectations can ruin relationships.

Notes on 'Dubliners' by James Joyce (1914)

The Sisters:
Plot summary - A young boy is told that his tutor, Rev. James Flynn, has died and yet the boy seems to already be aware of his passing. The story shows the reaction towards his death and highlights certain religious practices that prepare the dead for heaven. There is an overtone of suspicion throughout as the Reverend's behaviour is put under scrutiny and the question of him commiting a sin is suggested.

The boy shows an obsession with language and communication through his analysis of words such as paralysis, gnomon and simony and the way in which he mentally questions the conversation of his family; for instance the repeated use of ellipsis. One may view this boy as a personfication of Joyce's own obsession with language and his attempt to provide an insight into the communication of 20th century Dublin.

The words Joyce uses appear to have been stated merely in a train of thought, but the reader can see that they have been chosen specifically for a purpose. Paralysis, gnomon and simony may be linked by the idea of prevention. While paralysis prevents the nerves from feeling and thus inhibits movement, a gnomon is the needle on a sundial that prevents light, thus creation a shadown. Simony refers to the buying and selling of pardons in order to prevent the soul going to hell. One may suggest that in all three meaning what is left is something false, not quite pure, which in the context of the reverend suggests that he too was corrupt.

The repeated use of ellipsis in conversation may provide ground for the idea of uncertainty, that those speaking have no solid opinion of a situation but rather leave empty sentences. The character of Old Cotter in nparticular epitomises this idea, repeatedly stating "I have my own theory" and "I'll tell you my opinion" and then drifting off the subject, returning to his topic of comfort "faints and worms". Joyce seems to be suggesting then that the working classes of Dublin were somewhat narrow minded in their thought with no real ability to speak of things outside of their own personal sphere. However, one could say that there is a meaning implied within the unfinished sentences, rather the truth is too being prevented from the boys understanding, ellipsis acting as censorship; "I puzzled my head to extract meaning from his unfinished sentences".

The boy describes a "freedom, as if I had been freed from something by his death", twisting the word paralysis to refer to his own state. The reverend had been his tutor and taught him the "responses" of the Mass, arguably feeding a false communication into the young boys "impressionable" mind. Through his death the boy is now free to pursue alternative perspectives and determine a voice for himself.

The phrase "poor James!" is repeated numerously, seemingly stripping him of his official title and implying a poverty of some kind; be it monetary or spiritual.

An Encounter:
Plot Summary - A group of boys seek the adventures of the Wild West; bravery, heroism and the promise of glory. They prepare to skive school, and the story details their journey through Dublin and their encounter with a strange old man.

The words used in the first story, The Sisters, seem to pave the journey of the second and shape its meaning:

Paralysis - The narrator remains rooted in the conventions of his routine life even when he seeks adventure. The monotony of the old man's anecdotes, speech and his behaviour (walking up and down repeatedly for instance) showcases such a routine. Arguably the man shows both the darker realities of the unknown and the strange elements of the familiar.

Gnomon - Time is significant in this story as it acts as the boundary of the boys adventure, a point at which they must return in order to hide their misbehaviour.

Simony - Religion too plays a great part in The Encounter but is described as something that provides social gain, "His parents went to eight'o clock mass every morning". The divide between Catholic and Protestant is also showcased by Leo being chastised for reading a magazine instead of studying, only Protestants would read it etc... and then again when two Protestant boys throw stones at the narrator and his friend in their travels through Dublin; the metaphor of the battle enhances such an image of division.

The boys seek to reach the Pigeon House, the electrical power station, something that epitomises the lust they have for excitement, the energy and spark of life they wish to feel. However, the monotonous routine of life prevents them from achieving this as time dictates their return; though they seek to break the boundaries of Dublin life they are confined by it still.

On two occassions Joyce's narrator mentions "green eyes". On the first the boy is watching the sailors on board a vessel and imagining the stories and adventures this ship has to offer. In an allusion to the heroes of Homer's The Odyssey the boy looks to see whether they too have green eyes, presumably those that mirror the drama of the sea. However, he is disappointed and finds instead green eyes, the supposed mirrors of brave and new experiences, in the old man, showing how not all adventures provide heroes but often the stranged and warped.

Araby:
Plot Summary - An un-named boy tells of life on his street, living in a house where a priest died, and in particular the infatuation he feels for "Mangan's sister". After watching her every morning without communication she finally speaks and asks whether he is going to Araby, a Dublin bazaar. He promises to go and buy her something but by the time he arrives, after being delayed by his uncle and the train, all the stalls are closed and he realises that, though it promised exoticism, it was only vanity that led him to this disappointment; this in turn makes him give up on the girl as he believes she too will only offer disappointment in the end.

Here Joyce provides an example of that which the old man in the previous story spoke of, namely boys who chase after "sweethearts". Indeed, this boy shows almost the opposite of paralysis in his infatuation as involuntary behaviour occurs, "Her name sprang to my lips at moment in strange prayers". The boy too shows a parallel with the narrator of An Encounter, showing a resentment at the tedious routine of school and "intervening days". Throughout the story, time too mocks him with its rhythmic and unchanging "ticking" and "intolerable delay". Seemingly inevitably, this narrator follows the disappointment of the previous as both see that exoticism and adventure is a vanity neither can achieve in Dublin. The English accents and flowered teapots which remain at the bazaar are a far cry from its luxurious and sensual connotations, thus leading the boy to give up all hope on both the bazaar and the girl whom, described as "brown" as those of poetical Arabia, he can only assume would also be a disappointment. It is in this way that An Encounter and Araby may be considered parallel as they suffer an incompletion in their adventure.

The idea of continuations and incompletions appears prevalent within this story; the girl for instance cannot accompany the narrator to the bazaar as she has routine commitments to attend to. While saying this she notably twists a bracelet round and round her wrist, almost implying they are chains or handcuffs to which she must adhere to. The conversation between the Englishmen and women at the bazaar too follows a repetitive and somewhat circular pattern, repeating "O" before every sentence and arguing backwards and forwards in a motion parallel to that of a clock ticking. It seems then that monotony is inevitable and the wonders of the likes of Arabia are inaccessible to Dubliners.

Eveline:
Plot Summary - Eveline is a woman attempting to make a decision as to whether to leave Dublin for Buenos Aires and make a new life for herself married to Frank, or stay as she promised her mother and look after her occasionally violent father. As she sits with two letters in her hand she recalls fond memories of her childhood but after hearing an organ, which reminds her of the life her mother had, she impulsively leaves. At the port however a flood of anxiety comes over Eveline and she remains rooted to the ground, unable to move and the ship leaves without her.

Paralysis again plays a major part in the result of this story as it seems apparent that all Dubliners are anchored, desiring adventure and a new life but at the same time fearing it, thus rendering them unable to achieve anything beyond its boundaries. Dublin is then portayed by Joyce to have its own force of gravity, retaining its people by the forces of time and ensuring they can never leave.

Eveline is the first female narrator and also the first to name themselves. Arguably Joyce used this name to make a pornographic reference to a story in which a woman has sex with her father, adding a further controversial dimension to the story without overtly stating so. This idea places her father's character on par with the perverted old man in The Encounter, showing another example of Joyce's stories overlapping; possibly highlighting a shared experience for all Dubliners or the fragment of Joyce's own experience being explored in different methods.


After the Race:
Plot Summary - This story details the character of Jimmy Doyle revelling in the luxury and influential social circles that come with wealth. After meeting Charles Ségouin at Cambridge he reaps the benefits of this friendship by being allowed to ride in one of the winning race cars that have recently driven through Dublin. The story then tells the events of the night, resulting in a disastrous card game for our protagonist and ending with him having a revelation about his behaviour, showing him to have regret for his lavish and unthinking expenditure.

Jimmy is physically taken on a journey by wealth, firstly the car ride and then being taken round the fashionable areas of the city, bumping into further acquaintences who provide further luxuries (for example the yacht). Jimmy's father encouraged this journey, arguably catalysing it by rejecting any patriotic feeling for Ireland and sending him to have an English education and financially supporting French companies. The monetary loss Jimmy experiences by losing the card game in juxtaposition with the French and Dutch victories in the car race shows how such a journey into wealth, success and high society, attempting to transcend Dublin, along with the description of poverty in which the race takes place shows how Dublin is being exploited and abandoned by the success of the "Continent"- something Jimmy himself feels through regret of his actions and the realisation that he can not rest and look differently upon things tomorrow, for "Day break" has already arrived. The card game acts as a catalyst for ephiphony and Jimmy experiences his first taste of impoverished Dublin.

Two Gallants:
Plot Summary - Corley and Lenehan are two men living on the edge of financial ruin and scraping a life for themselves. They concoct a plan in which Corley's latest romance, a "slavey", is persuaded to give them some money. While Corley meets the lady in question in order to start proceedings, Lenehan is left to his own devices and walks aimlessly around the streets of Dublin, stopping only to eat a meal of peas and ginger beer. Waiting for Corley to return he begins to doubt his loyalty and thinks he has betrayed him, running off with the money himself. However, when Corley arrives the woman runs into her place of work and returns with a single gold coin (twenty shillings/£1).

There is a definite parallel portrayed by Joyce between this story and the state of Ireland. He achieves this parallel in the following ways:
- Traditionally Ireland has been portrayed in literature as an abused woman, for instance in Seamus Heaney's Act of Union whereby the metaphor of rape is used. The action therefore of persuading a woman out of money then adheres to such an image.
- Lenehan's meal consists of the Irish colours, orange and green, something that notably lifts his spirits after his aimless wanderings but which he spends only "three halfpence" on; something that shows his poverty and the way in which he lives his life on the very edge, "walked on the verge of the path".
- When walking the men hear a man playing the harp, something traditionally symbolic of Ireland and her past; Thomas Moore popularised this in his Irish Melodies. Lenehan later mimics the harpist, tapping the rhythm while he walks through Dublin suggesting that Lenehan is in some way the same as Ireland but alternatively guilty of abusing it as it haunts him (indeed he is part of the plan to exploit the Coley's maid).
- The theme of betrayal is something prevalent within both Two Gallants and Ireland's political past:
1. Betrayal of the "slavey" for monetary gain.
2. Lenehan believes Coley has betrayed him and taken the money.
3. Coley betrays others and arguably his country by choosing not to work out of idleness and misrepresenting himself. Indeed he is described to have been told the "hard word"; that there are jobs but he doesn't wish to do them. Furthermore he betrays people's trust by being a police informer, mispronouncing his name to "Horley" (or as a pun, Whorely) and by telling his "slavey" that he works at "Pim's".

The Boarding House:
Plot Summary - Mrs Mooney set up a boarding house with her children after seperating from a drunken husband; Polly was to "entertain" the guests" and her son Jack was a physical force. Mrs Mooney is nicknamed The Madam as she runs a particularly tight ship. When Polly and one of the guests start a secret affair Mrs Mooney does nothing, to the surprise of her daughter, merely biding her time before she has deciphered what "cards" she holds. Mr Doran sees that he only has two options, to run and ruin his reputation or marry Polly.

With a nickname of The Madam and Polly's entertainment of the guests with songs such as "I'm a naughty girl" it seems that this boarding house is being run much in the same way as a brothel. Joyce's description of Mooney and her calculative monetary ways, e.g. with the locking up of the butter and sugar, shows her ability to seek a bargain; something she appears to apply to her daughter's marraige. By biding her time and describing all the "cards" she holds she is certain that she can "win" her daughter a solid match; presenting the image of a game. It is questionable whether Polly is being played as an ignorant or knowing pawn as, while she seems confused by her mother's lack of disapproval and intervention for her behaviour, when Mr Doran speaks with her mother she seems perfectly at ease, rather fixing her hair and thinking fondly of the future. Either way, it is a game that laid a trap and which caught a prey.

Marraige itself is portrayed as something to merely determine one's social position. Be it because of Mrs Mooney's disastrous marriage or not, she dwells not on the moral issue of Mr Doran's actions but rather how she can play them to her advantage. Mr Doran too seems to debate to himself the social advantages and disadvantages of marrying Polly; is marrying below his status worse that ruining his reputation. Society's views seem personified by Jack Mooney, whom as Doran meets on the stairs, showcases his disapproval in his facial expression.

The downward direction Mr Doran takes in his journey down the stairs seems symbolic of a fall whatever decision he makes.

As a place where “everyone knows everyone else’s business,” the boarding house serves as a microcosm of Dublin. Various classes mix under its roof, but relationships are gauged and watched, class lines are constantly negotiated, and social standing must override emotions like love. The inhabitants are not free to do what they choose because unstated rules of decorum govern life in the house, just as they do in the city. Such rules maintain order, but they also ensnare people in awkward situations when they have competing and secret interests. Even the seemingly innocent Polly ultimately appears complicit in Mrs. Mooney’s plot. After threatening to kill herself in despair, she suddenly appears happy and unbothered about the dilemma when she is left alone, and she knows Mr. Doran will comply with Mrs. Mooney’s wishes. In “The Boarding House,” marriage serves as a fixture of life that Dubliners cannot avoid, and the story shows that strategy and acceptance are the only means of survival. [From Sparknotes.com]

A Little Cloud:
Plot Summary - Little Chandler, named so because of his small introvert features and timidity of character, spends the day thinking of his evening meeting with old friend Gallaher, a successful journalist who moved to London 8 years ago. On his way to the pub where they are to meet, Chandler considers his social superiority to Gallaher and sees it unfair that he should not have been a successful writer. When they meet Gallaher tells tales of the promiscuous and immoral cities of London and Paris, something Chandler both dreams of and condemns. On returning home Little Chandler considers the confinement of his own life, but then feels remorse as he takes his own inability to live out on his son and wife.

Throughout the story Chandler is obsessed with the literary approval that comes with great writing and also the approval of a somewhat patronising Gallaher. However, though he dreams of the respect and fame writing brings he never actively writes anything to justify his yearning. Indeed, he states he can never even read poetry out loud out of embarressment. Little Chandler may be said then to suffer from a paralysis as he is unable to make himself live anything but a melancholy and straight-laced life in the confines of Dublin. Such paralysis seems to stem from his religious ideals and the embedded morality that lives within him preventing him from actively seeking more from life, and yet also which ensures his condemnation and ignoral of others; for instance the impoverished.

Counterparts:
Plot Summary - Farrington is a man who works as a copier for a law firm and is behind with his work. The story shows the progression in his anger and his thirst as he abandons his work for drink. After realising he will not be able to get an advance on his wages he pawns his watch so that he can meet his friends in the pub. Though his entire day revolved around drink, he is not satisfied even when at the pub, getting angry at a woman ignoring his advances, his expenditure on other people's drink and losing in an arm wrestle. All this results in him taking his anger out on his young son; seemingly a routine cycle.

Alcoholism is evident from the very first description of Farrington as "wine coloured". He seems unable to concentrate on anything, rather trailing off to think about the evening's promise of alcohol. Joyce uses ellipsis to effectively show how Farrington is unable to complete anything, rather providing empty sentences, for instance "In no case shall the said Bernard Bodley be.." which seems to leave out the whole crux of the subject. Alcohol s right described as "poison" as, though addicted and finding pleasure in the present, it leaves on anger in the pursuit of it and the aftermath. It seems his alcoholism arose because of the monotony and routine life he leads, as is evident in many of Joyce's other stories, and yet alocholism itself is a vicious cycle of addicition and anger.

The title Counterparts highlights such monotony, showing that Farrington's only purpose is to rewrite things that have already occurred - no thought required just a body with an ability to write. However there seems a twisted irony as Farrington craves his routine pub crawl, something he daydreams of all day and yet never satisfies him because of its own monotony:
- There is a roundness even of the coins he is spending, "making a little cylinder", but which has limited depth, meaning he has to find more from somewhere.
- He runs through the days events only so he can repeat them to his friends later.
- He is angered by the traditional circular motion of taking turns to get a round of drinks, feeling he is being robbed.
- When he returns home angry from a night of drinking he bullies his family, who in return bully him when he is sober, "His wife was a sharp-faced woman who bullied her husband when he was sober and was bullied by him when he was drunk". Even at the end the boy repeats "I'll say a Hail Mary for you" in between ellipsises.

At the same time Farrington seems obsessed with the extraordinary, for instance the women described in the story provide a different perspective, something removed from his cycle. There is an emphasis on the description of colour when Joyce described the lady in the pub, "peacock-blue", "bright yellow" and "large dark brown", which ensures Farrington is drawn to her. However when she walks past him, with her London accent he is angered by the sheer unobtainability of her.

Clay:
Plot Summary - Maria is a well loved employee of a Protestant-run launderette and is particularly organised and shows immaculate attention to detail. The story shows her travels to the shops and then to the house of the boy she nursed and mothered for Halloween. After realising she has left some of her wares on the tram Maria gets particularly agitated, to the point where she almost cries and has to get distracted by traditional games. In the blindfolded game Maria gets a saucer of clay, signalling early death, she then plays again and gets the bible, suggesting a life within a convent. At the end of the story Maria is asked to sing a song and unknowningly repeats the first verse.

Interestingly the character of Maria follows on from Counterparts and the boy pleading to his father by saying he'll say Hail Mary's for him. Indeed Maria seems to possess the virginal "veritable peace-making" qualities associated with the Virgin Mother, and is even Catholic herself. This is emphasised by the ladies making a toast for her and also her recieving the Prayer Book in the Halloween game.While these qualities make her someone very much loved by all around her it seems it also ensures her monotonous life, as is becoming a motif in Dubliners.

Her obsession with the minute details, for example splitting up the minutes of her day so that she knows exactly when she will need to depart and later going into a different shop because the icing on the plumcake was too thin, suggests that her life is so narrow that although she attempts to appear "neat and tidy" with her ocntrolled life there is so little to focus on that the small details become massively significant to her, i.e. her crying over forgetting the cake. By recieving the clay then in the game the metaphor of an early death may be applied to her life, as a life where one is not truly living can only be described as a form of death.

By repeating the first verse of the song again she seems subconciously to be highlighting her true desires, "I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls...that you loved me still the same". No-one mentions her error and thus it appears Maria cannot see the repetition of her own life.

The last line "That you loved me still the same" and the beginning comment about getting the "ring" which made Maria so uncomfortable suggests that her life took such a route by not having anyone to love wholly herself. Indeed she only nursed Joe and is not his really mother and though she is loved by many it is not a romantic love.

A Painful Case:
Plot Summary - Mr Duffy is a bank cashier that leaves on the outskirts of Dublin and makes the same journey every day, eats in the same restaurants and allows himself an occasional trip to the opera or theatre. On one such trip he meets Mrs Silico and her daughter and begins to make a regular occurance of conversing with her about their mutual intellectual interests. Mrs Silico's husband is a Captain who no longer finds pleasure in his wife and thus renders her lonely; a void which Duffy fills. However, when one evening Mrs Silico is overcome with passion and raises his hand to her face Duffy breaks the relationship off as he fears it will disrupt his routine. After two years he reads about her death in a newspaper and, after at first being angry and condemning of her fall into alcoholism, he has a moment of epiphony as he sees that he killed her. Though he becomes melancholy at the thought of his "outcast" life he does nothing to change it and merely allows it to pass.

Music is all that frees Mr Duffy and yet when written it too must follow strict rules and particular notes in order to be achieved.

By living on the outskirts of the city it is Duffy himself who rejects life, not as he believes lif that has "outcast" him. Indeed, life offered him the companionship of Mrs Sinico and yet he rejected her because of the disruption she would have made to his routine lifestyle. Both life and death offer him a revelation, as Mrs Sinico's death eventually makes him see that to love brings life. However he "allows" both to go unfulfilled and returns to his own miserable existence of his own free will - as is true of many characters within Dubliners.
There is again a reference to the eyes, something that throughout the book is becoming to characterise people and how others percieve them. In this case Mrs Silico has "very dark blue" eyes, signifying water. Mr Duffy is described as "saturnine", meaning he is of the water star sign sagittarius and his melancholy may only be cured by music. What with this connection via the ever-moving force of water and their interest in the arts it becomes clear Mrs Silico is Duffy's "soul's companion". Water follows the easiest path, something Mr Duffy can adhere to, however when one path is blocked it merely finds another, completely out of the norm, arguably something that can explain Mr Duffy's fear of the love displayed before him.

Ivy Day in the Comittee Room:
Plot Summary - This story takes place in the old headquaters of the legendary Irish politician Charles Parnell, who was betrayed by his government and then died in 1891. A group of men are hired to canvass votes and support for local publican Tierney, who is running for Lord Mayor. However, because of the wet weather there is little zeal and rather the men sit awaiting payment in a darkened room and talk mainly about the past. Different characters walk in and out of the room sporadically but there remains a definite lack of activity. When discussions arise about Parnell's policies Mr Hynes recites a poem he wrote about his death and the betrayal that occurred, silencing the men and allowing them to see the inadequacy of politics now.

The death of Parnell is obviously the key theme within this story and may be used to show the lackadaisical efforts of the men and politics. The character of Old Jack is first introduced as raking "the cinders" of a dwindling fire together. As the oldest man in the room, and the most silent, it may be he then that truly remembers the work of Parnell and he that is attempting to preserve it, though his efforst seem somewhat to no avail. He takes little part in the discussion other than describing the impudence of his son, "What's the world coming to when sons speaks that way to their father?" This reference to a blood-line may be used as a metaphor for the successors of Irish politics, something emphasised by the way in which the men disregard the candidates as "shoneens" and corrupt, "You must owe the City Fathers money nowadays if you want to be made Lord Mayor". Such corruption however is something that he men too take a part in, being obsessed with their payment as opposed to the atual political zeal and enthusiasm supposed to be surrounding a campaign.

This reference to religion alongside the character of the mysterious Father Keon provides the reader with Joyce's image of religion. Indeed at first the characters can not distinguish Father Keon between a "poor clergyman or a poor actor", his "shabby" appearance possibly showing the Irish faith to too be threadbare. In order to survive Father Keon has to resort to common "business matter[s]" to "knock it out" as he doesn't belong to any particular institution and thus has to find his own way of survival.

Betrayal too is a common theme within this story, the betrayal of Charles Parnell being portrayed and emphasised in Mr Hency's poem, "slain by the coward hounds" and "treachery sundered him from the thing he loved". The character of Hynes is believed to be an informer for the other candidate, coming to betray the trust of the other men and report back to his own employer.

A Mother:
Plot Summary - Mrs Hearney is obsessed with keeping up appearances and strives for perfection in even the most menial of tasks. She marries not out of love but for safety and dictates the route her daughter Kathleen will take by dictating her education in piano, French and Irish. Her daughter then seems the personfication of the Irish cultural revival and is invited to play in a series of concerts. Her mother ensures a contract of 8 guineas is set up with the inexperienced Mr Holohan and the takes control of the concerts by giving him advice on the proceedings. However on the first night of the concert she is appalled by the low standards and decorum of the entire production, including the behaviour of the audience, and upon hearing that they will cancel the third concert to ensure a good turnout for the finale is obsessed that her daughter's contract remains unharmed (along with her reputation). Such obsession is her downfall though as in her quest to seek fulfillment of her rights AND hold herself like a lady it seems an impossible oxymoron is formed and she humilates herself with her angry unravellment.

Like so many of the characters within Dubliner Mrs Kearney's desire to better herself remains unfulfilled and actually her reputation takes a nose dive. By being unable to relinquish control of the situation she angers herself where no-one else sees a problem. It seems she too suffers a form of paralysis, she can no free herself from the hold her ultimate aspiration has over her and thus behaves in a way that jeopardises it.

This story does however raise the issue of equality and civil rights as one can see the concern she feels for her daughter's welfare and that she should be treated as a man would be. By constantly being deferred and ignored Joyce points out the lackadaisical approach of the men towards her demands, the reptition of which renders her anger unrestrained. Arguably Mrs Kearney is the personification of Ireland as an abused woman, aiding Mr Holohan only then to be belittled and ignored.

Grace:
Plot Summary - Mr Kernan, a formerly promising businessman takes a fall down the stairs in a symbolic method of showcasing his fall in morality, fatherhood and business. After being returned home by old friend Jack Power, Power notes the lower-class accents of his children and the way in which his wife speaks of his neglection of the family. Power then concots a plan with his wife and several other men to reform Kernan in the traditionally Catholic way. Though they succeed in getting Kernan to a retreat he refuses to light a candle as he doesn't believe in magic.

There is some repetition of shape in this story with "arcs" and "arches" showing the rise and fall of certain characters but also the religious significance of the alter.

The fact that on his fall Kernan bites his tongue, rendering him unable to communicate the events that led to his fall may somewhat show is inability to see his own mistakes and rectify them. Indeed it takes the pressure of his friends plotting to even get him to the retreat. Even then he rejects lighting candles, labelling them as "magic lantern business". Previously the men were reciting mottos of the Pope "Lux upon Lux" and "Light in Darkness", showing how possibly Kernan fears that his life will be exposed and an unwillingness to reform and face up to his mistakes.

The Dead: (See notes in book)

Coursework Ideas

English Literature Course Work Ideas - Bethany Stuart

The Butterfly - Emily Bronte

The Butterfly by Emily J. Brontë: August 11th 1842

 Taken from The Beligian Essays: Charlotee Bronte and Emily Bronte

In one of those moods that everyone falls into sometimes, when the world of the imagination suffers a winter that blights its vegetation; when the light of life seems to go out and existence becomes a barren desert where we wander, exposed to all the tempests that blow under heaven, without hope of rest or shelter - in one of these black humors, I was walking one evening at the edge of a forest. It was summer; the sun was still shining high in the west and the air resounded with the songs of birds. All appeared happy, but for me, it was only an appearance. I sat at the foot of an old oak, among whose branches the nightingale had just begun its vespers. "Poor fool," I said to myself, "is it to guide the bullet to your breast or the child to your brood that you sing so loud and clear? Silence that untimely tune, perch yourself on your nest; tomorrow, perhaps, it will be empty." But why address myself to you alone? AIl creation is equally mad. Behold those flies playing above the brook; the swallows and fish diminish their number every minute. These will become, in their turn, the prey of some tyrant of the air or water; and man for his amusement or his needs will kill their murderers. Nature is an inexplicable problem; it exists on a principle of destruction. Every being must be the tireless instrument of death to others, or itself must cease to live, yet nonetheless we celebrate the day of our birth, and we praise God for having entered such a world.

During my soliloquy I picked a flower at my side; it was fair and freshly opened, but an ugly caterpillar had hidden itself among the petals and already they were shriveling and fading. "Sad image of the earth and its inhabitants!" I exclaimed. "This worm lives only to injure the plant that protects it. Why was it created, and why was man created? He torments, he kills, he devours; he suffers, dies, is devoured - there you have his whole story. It is true that there is a heaven for the saint, but the saint leaves enough misery here below to sadden him even before the throne of God.

I threw the flower to earth. At that moment the universe appeared to me a vast machine constructed only to produce evil. I almost doubted the goodness of God, in not annihilating man on the day he first sinned. "The world should have been destroyed," I said, "crushed as I crush this reptile which has done nothing in its life but render all that it touches as disgusting as itself." I had scarcely removed my foot from the poor insect when, like a censoring angel sent from heaven, there came fluttering through the trees a butterfly with large wings of lustrous gold and purple. It shone but a moment before my eyes; then, rising among the leaves, it vanished into the height of the azure vault. I was mute, but an inner voice said to me, "Let not the creature judge his Creator; here is a symbol of the world to come. As the ugly caterpillar is the origin of the splendid butterfly, so this globe is the embryo of a new heaven and a new earth whose poorest beauty will infinitely exceed your mortal imagination. And when you see the magniiicent result of that which seems so base to you now, how you will scorn your blind presumption, in accusing Omniscience for not having made nature perish in her infancy.

God is the god of justice and mercy; then surely, every grief that he inflicts on his creatures, be they human or animal, rational or irrational, every suffering of our unhappy nature is only a seed of that divine harvest which will be gathered when, Sin having spent its last drop of venom, Death having launched its final shaft, both will perish on the pyre of a universe in flames and leave their ancient victims to an eternal empire of happiness and glory.

 

What view of nature does this essay present?

- Nature is self destruictive; i.e. the nightingale invites death by singing and alerting its environment to its presence. The concept of the caterpillar destroying the flower also portrays how everything seeks the destruction of others.

- Alive, nature is corrupt and only freed by death (the butterfly).

- Earth is 'merely the embryo' from which good will arise. All of nature is in some sort of purgatory, awaiting rebirth through death; spiritual as opposed to bodily.

- When in 'one of those moods' we can see through the glossy exterior to the 'barren desert' that actually lies beneath - suggestive of an illusion, a shadow of the actual world. Almost as if the devil has masqueraded as beauty or hell as heaven.

How does this shape our reading of Wuthering Heights?

- The Heights and its inhabitents epitomise this self-destruction in the way that they cause their own downfall and, not only corrupt, but catalyse the desturction of others at the Grange.

- Cathy is only peaceful and serene when she dies and is freed from the cruel reality of life. Indee dthe young Cathy seems to be the butterfly of the story as her mother is shown to live on through her.

- Heathcliff personifies evil by inflicting on others what he once recieved. While Cathy is freed by death he is cursed by remaining alive and thus seeks the destruction of others...is this cruelty or kindness?

- The next generation show the cycle of destruction. Though one can argue that they are their parents reborn (butterflies), one could state that good can not come until all are dead and so this genberation must then repeat the destruction of the former.
- Young Cathy never celebrates ' the day of [her] birth' as it symbolises death for her father Edgar. Does he then have the right idea? Is it foolish to celebrate being alive in this world of sin when one could be freed by death or lack of existence?

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

Plot Summary:
The novel follows the character of Pip through his journey from his childhood in a working class background to his adulthood in an upper class environment upon the realisation of his "Great Expectations". Pip meets the escaped convict Magwitch on the dark Kent marshes and aids him with food and a file to release him from his chains. This action changes the course of Pip's life forever, however he is unaware of this until Magwitch reappears many years later. From the moment Pip met Estella at Miss Havisham's, he felt a desire to better himself, taking her unkindness and dismissal of him as common to heart and beginning to resent his humble upbringing, "There had been a beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham's who was dreadfully proud, and that she had said I was common, and that I knew I was common" and  "How common Estella would consider Joe, a mere blacksmith". This catalyses a change in Pip's character as he becomes ovelry familiar with the upper classes and upon his great expectations lives friviously and with thought only for material possessions, ""I wonder he didn't marry her and get all the property," said I." Pip's friendship with Herbert Pocket is a true one and yet their ideas about money are greatly different, whilst Herbert is repeatedly working to find "Capital", Pip undermines this by secretly paying people to employ him. It is not until Magwitch returns, revealing himself as Pip's benefactor that his attitude changes and he begins to realise the mistreatment he showed to the figures of his past.

Pip (Phillip Pirrip):
Great Expectations may be described as a buildungsroman as it follows the protagonist Pip's life and shows eventual maturity. Along this journey Pip witnesses and experiences many different types of love; his obsessive and painstaking love of Estella lasts a lifetime and causes Pip to question his own identity and seek another more fitting. His friendship with Herbert Pocket represents a platonic love within the novel, evident by Pip's desire to see him succeed and his inability to let Herbert leave England independently. "Herbert received me with open arms, and I had never felt before, so blessedly, what it is to have a friend ". As his fortune turns upon the death of Magwitch and his "portable property" lost he begins to realise the ingratitude he showed to both Joe and Biddy whilst lost within his own self-importance.

Miss Havisham:
Miss Havisham is amongst the most haunting of characters within Great Expectations, she personifies the pain caused by a broken heart presented by the literal decay of herself and her home, frozen in time via the clocks, "It was then I began to understand that everything in the room had stopped, like the lock and the watch". Jilted on her wedding day by the elusive Compeyson she vowed never to see daylight again and to cause pain onto men as pain was caused to her. Her story is unravelled throughout the novel and Pip begins to understand why she is the way she is and why she has brought Estella up to break hearts, "Let me see you play cards with this boy", seeing it as personal revenge.

Estella:
Estella may be described as a pawn in a vengeful game played by Miss Havisham, releasing her revenge on the rest of mankind. Brought up to be proud and cruel from their first meeting Estella succeeded in making Pip feel inferior. However, ironically, Pip discovers that she is the daughter of Magwitch but who was lost as Jaggers took in her mother after she committed murder. Estella therefore comes from the dregs of society and yet, although Magwitch had commited much crime and sin throughout his life his only desire was to make a gentleman out of Pip - something he could not achieve for himself. On the other scale Miss Havisham, wealthy and of a high class adopted Estella not out of love but in order to mould her into a weapon. Again, whilst marrying the hideous Drummle over Pip she gain suffered at the hands of wealth until the final chapter where both Pip and Estella return to Miss Havisham's house's remains.“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching. . . . I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape.” These are the first words Estella speaks wholly independently from influence and with any positivity in meaning.

Joe:
Joe from the beginning has showed a humble and yet powerful love for Pip almost in consolation for the resentment his wife, Pip's sister, showed in raising him "by hand". 'And bring the poor little child. God bless the poor little child,' I said to your sister, 'there's room for him at the forge!'"". This protectiveness never ceases and his own beliefs never shaken as he seeks not money or betterring himself but rather a happy life with a steady income, ""But if you think as Money can make compensation to me for the loss of the little child – what come to the forge – and ever the best of friends! –". This quotations is spoken to Mr Jaggers whom, upon dealing with a corrupt society daily, has lost any belief in relationships that look beyond money or gain but rather focus on love. Whilst Jaggers may arguably present the selfishness and greed of society at this period, Joe defies this assumption.

Magwitch:Magwitch has lived his whole life in corruption and, though he remained in the constant eye of the judge up until his death, his meeting with Pip and the resultant sacrifice of all his wealth in order to make a gentleman of the boy who helped him, ensures that Magwitch died achieving something positive. This most mysterious of benefactors may be described in parallel with Miss Havisham and yet completely opposite at the same time - both sought to take responsibility for a child and yet whilst the upper class society belonging to Havisham sought to form a vengeful, cruel and cold woman that may not be broken by man, Magwitch sought to create a true gentleman, ""As I giv' you to understand just now, I'm famous for it. It was the money left me, and the gains of the first few year wot I sent home to Mr. Jaggers – all for you – when he first come arter you, agreeable to my letter." Indeed Magwitch may also be using Pip as a replacement for his paternal instincts as he would have been of similar age to Estella, the child he lost "Look'ee here, Pip. I'm your second father. You're my son – more to me nor any son. I've put away money, only for you to spend." This is particulalry poignant as they met at the grave of Pip's own father.

Quotations:
"I wished Joe had been rather more genteelly brought up, and then I should have been so too."
"Whatever I acquired, I tried to impart to Joe. This statement sounds so well, that I cannot in my conscience let it pass unexplained. I wanted to make Joe less ignorant and common, that he might be worthier of my society and less open to Estella's reproach."

- Shows Pips desire to enter into the upper classes and also the influence Joe had on him as he feels he has been mirrored upon him.
"Whenever I watched the vessels standing out to sea with their white sails spread, I somehow thought of Miss Havisham and Estella; and whenever the light struck aslant, afar off, upon a cloud or sail or green hill-side or water-line, it was just the same"
"She reserved it for me to restore the desolate house, admit the sunshine into the dark rooms, set the clocks a going and the cold hearths a blazing, tear down the cobwebs, destroy the vermin – in short, do all the shining deeds of the young Knight of romance, and marry the Princess."
""It would have been cruel in Miss Havisham, horribly cruel, to practise on the susceptibility of a poor boy, and to torture me through all these years with a vain hope and an idle pursuit, if she had reflected on the gravity of what she did. But I think she did not. I think that in the endurance of her own trial, she forgot mine, Estella."

- Speaks about dreams, futures, plans and hopes.

"The unqualified truth is, that when I loved Estella with the love of a man, I loved her simply because I found her irresistible." - Arguably Pip is only in LUST with Estella rather than LOVE? In love with the idea?
"Before I could answer (if I could have answered so difficult a question at all), she repeated, "Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces – and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper – love her, love her, love her!" - Shows the revenge Havisham wishes to do unto those who love Estella.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Plot Summary:
"The Picture of Dorian Grey" uses the character of Mr Grey to optimise how sin and evil may influence and destroy a man's soul. There is a definite 'Faustian' theme with the wish of Dorian to preserve his external beauty and youthfulness, instead using the painting created by Basil as an outlet for his sins. As he becomes obsessed with the aesthetic throughout his life the picture decays and pays the price for his own misdealings. As a result of this obsession love also is cast away, with lust being used as a replacement; for example he believes himself in love with Sybil Vane and yet when she reveals her true self on stage, removing the mask formed from her acting, Dorian rejects her and causes her suicide. The purest love within the novel is the love Basil has for Dorian. He portrays this love through the painting he creates of Dorian, "I have put too much of myself in it" and "Shown in it the secret of my own soul". The preface written by Oscar Wilde for this novel highlights the key messages that the reader should consider; "All art is at one surface and symbol...those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril".

Dorian Grey:
Described initially as an "Adonis", a beautiful and youthful creature untouched by the corruption of society. However, once introduced to Lord Henry such beauty, encapsulated by Basil, becomes realised and Dorian sees only the external. Afraid of decaying from age and sin he exclaims that he wishes to expel all corruption from his life onto Basil's creation. This creation, as created from love, has captured the very soul of Dorian and thus when he eventually attempts to destroy it, he destroys his soul and dies while the picture returns to its original perfection. Towards the end of the novel Dorian attempts reformation as he realises what he has become, however this is out of vanity and so the picture remains corrupt.

Lord Henry:
Henry is the epitomy of a "bad influence". His opinions of life are promiscuous and leave little room for tender feeling and appreciation of inner beauty and true love, "His principles were out of date, but there was a good deal to be said for his prejudices." He preys on Dorian feeding him books and stories that entice him into corruption. One could easily compare him to the devil whilst Basil remains a good and yet unheard influence upon Dorian. He teaches Dorian of his own beauty and youthfulness and catalyses a life-long fear that this will decay.

Basil:
Oscar Wilde stated that "The artist is the creator of beautiful things" and thus why Dorian blames him for creating a taunting preservation of his own beauty that will remain untouched whilst he ages. This fear planted by Lord Henry thus grows to the point at which Dorian murders Basil, in anger and realisation of what his soul has now become. Basil's obsession with Dorian runs much deeper than his aesthetic, "He is necessary to me" and thus is the only presentation of true love within the story. It seems particularly poignant therefore that Dorian murders the only person who truly loved him. His fear of revealing the painting comes from his fear of revealing himself within it "My heart shall never be put under the microscope" as not only would homosexuality be illegal at this point but also the issue of unrequited love would undoubtedly arise.

Quotations:
"I had a strange feeling that fate had in store for me exquisite joys and sorrows" (Basil about Dorian)
"My heart shall never be put under the microscope"
"Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face, it cannot be concealed"
"If it was only the other way! If it was I who were to be always young, and the picture that were to grow old! For this--for this--I would give everything!" (Dorian's deal to the devil so to speak)
"Here is the first passionate love-letter I have ever written in my life. Strange, that my first passionate love-letter should have been addressed to a dead girl." (Dorian about Sybil Vane)
"People who love only once in their lives are ... shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination." (Lord Henry's views on love)