Thursday, 20 October 2011
Friday, 14 October 2011
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?
- 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?
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
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.
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
"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)
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
AS Wider Reading - What could be used for love through the ages?
Novels
"The Catcher in the Rye" J.D Salinger (1951)
Time Period: Modernist/Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: Holden Caulfield, teenage boy in the 50's of the US, narrates his own journey into adulthood - or rather his fall into it - and portrays the inner workings of this newly formed generation of adolescence, a concept new to the 50's. Caulfield thus uses explicit language and ponders the mystery of sex in order to mask his own insecurity and falsity, whilst condemning others as "phonies". Story ends with Caulfield in, supposedly a mental institution repeating his story after presumably suffering a breakdown. Novel has abundant images of transition and may be used in the context of love as he shows love for his sister, Phoebe, along with Jane Gallagher, a childhood sweetheart.
Quotations:
"I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff"
"You never even worried with Jane, whether your hand was sweaty or not. All you knew was, you were happy"
"Sex is something I really don't understand too hot"
"Old Phoebe. She was somebody you always felt like talking to"
"Lolita" Vladimir Nabokov (1959)
Time Period: Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: The highly educated Humbert Humbert stays with Charlotte Haze and her daughter 'Lolita' in Ramsdale after the break up of his marriages in France and in inspiration for a new novel. His obsession with "nypmhets" is catalysed by Lolita and immediately Humberts obsession grows and consumes him; marrying her mother to become her father, taking her on a road trip so as to be alone and even paying her to stay with him. The novel shows this obsession grow and also the point at which he forces Lolita into running away. Whilst not justifying paedophilia exactly Nabokov gives insight into the mind of one posessed by young girls and thus may be used in the context of obsessive love as Humbert's obsession blinds him and whilst he loves Lolita he does not do what is best for her. He realises his guilt often whilst describing his love for Lolita, along with using french and images of fairytale to perversely almost appeal to her youth. However, Humbert's other love affiars are also portrayed and his relationship with Annabel in particular may be used to suggest why his fancies remain locked in time, frozen within a young girl, the embodiment of Annabel.
Quotations:
"All at once we were madly, clumsily, shamelessly, agonizingly in love with each other."
"I broke her spell by incarnating her in another"
"I knew that I had fallen in love with Lolita forever; but I also knew she would not forever be Lolita"
"I loved you. I was a pentapod monster, but I loved you. I was despicable and brutal, and turpid, and everything, mais je t'aimais, je t'aimais."
"Make those twenty-five steps. Now. Right now. Come just as you are. And we shall live happily ever after."
"The L Shaped Room" Lynne Reid Banks (1960)
Time Period: Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: Jane is embarking on the journey of single motherhood in the 60's a time when such a thing was greatly frowned upon, and indeed she seems to punish herself by taking lodgings in the L shaped room. However, at the very bottom of the social pile alongside Jews, Blacks and prostitutes, others segregated, she finds love of friends and love of the struggling writer Toby. Such and odd community provides Jane with the strength to continue her pregnancy as she gains self-empowerment. In terms of love she explores the relationship between her and her father, the father of her child and the new love of Toby. When speaking about her past she never mentions people’s names only stating; “The actor” or “The doctor”. This changes when she enters her new home in the “L-shaped room” as Toby sees right through her “mystery-woman” act and opens her up, however, she still likes to categorise her work from home life.
Quotations:
"That poor half-baked little bitch is going to have a baby, without ever having understood what love really means."
[Toby and Terry]"Two dogs stand facing each other...The pointless, primitive fighting instinct of the male"
"Well of course i've been in love...I suppose. I mean, I must've been musn't I?"
"The Bluest Eye" Toni Morrison (1970)
Time Period: Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: Great example of post-modernist literature as the novel uses several narrators and perspectives to tell the story that takes place in the Great Depression in Ohio. It becomes evident that each narrator's reliability is different and the reader has to actively seek the truth. Pecola is a young black girl, impregnated by her father, abused and of the belief that what is white is beautiful. Her obsession with Shirley Temple and having "blue eyes" is all in the desire to be percieved, and percieve herself as beautiful in a world where she feels dirty and unworthy. It becomes evident that her mother and father too had troublesome childhoods; her mother being defined by her disability and her father rejected by his own. Claudia (9) is the voice of reason and arguably the perspective the reader should take the most truth from. The novel may be used in terms of love to show the selfless love of Claudia and her sister towards Pecola as a result of the love given to them by their own parents, along with highlighting the perverse nature of the Breedlove family and how the lack of love they recieved from their own family and society affected the next generation.
Quotations:
"Love, thick and dark as Alaga syrup, eased up into that cracked window. I could smell it – taste it – sweet, musty, with an edge of wintergreen in its base – everywhere in that house." (Claudia)
"Dandelions. A dart of affection leaps out from her to them. But they do not look at her and do not send love back. She thinks, 'They are ugly. They are weeds." (Pecola relates and loves the ugly weeds)
"She regarded love as possessive mating, and romance as the goal of the spirit." (Pauline)
"The hauntedness would irritate him – the love would move him to fury. How dare she love him? Hadn't she any sense at all? What was he supposed to do about that? Return it? How?" (Cholly doesn't know how to return the love of his daughter)
"Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe"
"Disgrace" J.M Coetzee (1999)
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"A Streetcar Named Desire" Tennessee Williams (1957)
Time Period: Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: Plot focuses on Blanche DuBois and the spiritual and physical journey she faces upon the crumbling of her beloved "Belle Reve" - the old fashioned America. She seeks the arms of a man as she feels no identity within herself, she looks to prostitution and her sister to find warmth but both efforts are fruitless. Her spiralling madness alienates Stanley, Stella's husband, and the two conflict in a way symbolic of the old south and new south. There is much comparison between Blanche and a moth, being attracted to the warmth of men and then being burnt by them. Williams uses great dramatic motifs and devices such as the street noise, lighting, "Polka" and detailed stage directions that almost make the reader more priviledged than the audience. In terms of love this play may be used as the passionate love between Stella and Stanley is animalistic almost, the familial love Stella attempts to show her sister and the confusion Blanche has over ove - in particular her late husband whom she feels guilty over still upon discovering his true sexuality. Love seems to be the light that Blanche is attracted to and yet she seems unable to reach it.
Quotations:
" Remember what Huey Long said – "Every Man is a King!" And I am the King around here, so don’t forget it!"
"Since earliest manhood the center of his life has been pleasure with women, the giving and taking of it, not with weak indulgence, dependently, but with the power and pride of a richly feathered male bird among hens"
"Blanche moves back into the streak of light. She raises her arms and stretches, as she moves indolently back to the chair"
"What you are talking about is brutal desire – just – Desire! – the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bans through the Quarter, up one old narrow street and down another…"
Time Period: Modernist/Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: Holden Caulfield, teenage boy in the 50's of the US, narrates his own journey into adulthood - or rather his fall into it - and portrays the inner workings of this newly formed generation of adolescence, a concept new to the 50's. Caulfield thus uses explicit language and ponders the mystery of sex in order to mask his own insecurity and falsity, whilst condemning others as "phonies". Story ends with Caulfield in, supposedly a mental institution repeating his story after presumably suffering a breakdown. Novel has abundant images of transition and may be used in the context of love as he shows love for his sister, Phoebe, along with Jane Gallagher, a childhood sweetheart.
Quotations:
"I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff"
"You never even worried with Jane, whether your hand was sweaty or not. All you knew was, you were happy"
"Sex is something I really don't understand too hot"
"Old Phoebe. She was somebody you always felt like talking to"
Time Period: Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: The highly educated Humbert Humbert stays with Charlotte Haze and her daughter 'Lolita' in Ramsdale after the break up of his marriages in France and in inspiration for a new novel. His obsession with "nypmhets" is catalysed by Lolita and immediately Humberts obsession grows and consumes him; marrying her mother to become her father, taking her on a road trip so as to be alone and even paying her to stay with him. The novel shows this obsession grow and also the point at which he forces Lolita into running away. Whilst not justifying paedophilia exactly Nabokov gives insight into the mind of one posessed by young girls and thus may be used in the context of obsessive love as Humbert's obsession blinds him and whilst he loves Lolita he does not do what is best for her. He realises his guilt often whilst describing his love for Lolita, along with using french and images of fairytale to perversely almost appeal to her youth. However, Humbert's other love affiars are also portrayed and his relationship with Annabel in particular may be used to suggest why his fancies remain locked in time, frozen within a young girl, the embodiment of Annabel.
Quotations:
"All at once we were madly, clumsily, shamelessly, agonizingly in love with each other."
"I broke her spell by incarnating her in another"
"I knew that I had fallen in love with Lolita forever; but I also knew she would not forever be Lolita"
"I loved you. I was a pentapod monster, but I loved you. I was despicable and brutal, and turpid, and everything, mais je t'aimais, je t'aimais."
"Make those twenty-five steps. Now. Right now. Come just as you are. And we shall live happily ever after."
Time Period: Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: Jane is embarking on the journey of single motherhood in the 60's a time when such a thing was greatly frowned upon, and indeed she seems to punish herself by taking lodgings in the L shaped room. However, at the very bottom of the social pile alongside Jews, Blacks and prostitutes, others segregated, she finds love of friends and love of the struggling writer Toby. Such and odd community provides Jane with the strength to continue her pregnancy as she gains self-empowerment. In terms of love she explores the relationship between her and her father, the father of her child and the new love of Toby. When speaking about her past she never mentions people’s names only stating; “The actor” or “The doctor”. This changes when she enters her new home in the “L-shaped room” as Toby sees right through her “mystery-woman” act and opens her up, however, she still likes to categorise her work from home life.
Quotations:
"That poor half-baked little bitch is going to have a baby, without ever having understood what love really means."
[Toby and Terry]"Two dogs stand facing each other...The pointless, primitive fighting instinct of the male"
"Well of course i've been in love...I suppose. I mean, I must've been musn't I?"
Time Period: Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: Great example of post-modernist literature as the novel uses several narrators and perspectives to tell the story that takes place in the Great Depression in Ohio. It becomes evident that each narrator's reliability is different and the reader has to actively seek the truth. Pecola is a young black girl, impregnated by her father, abused and of the belief that what is white is beautiful. Her obsession with Shirley Temple and having "blue eyes" is all in the desire to be percieved, and percieve herself as beautiful in a world where she feels dirty and unworthy. It becomes evident that her mother and father too had troublesome childhoods; her mother being defined by her disability and her father rejected by his own. Claudia (9) is the voice of reason and arguably the perspective the reader should take the most truth from. The novel may be used in terms of love to show the selfless love of Claudia and her sister towards Pecola as a result of the love given to them by their own parents, along with highlighting the perverse nature of the Breedlove family and how the lack of love they recieved from their own family and society affected the next generation.
Quotations:
"Love, thick and dark as Alaga syrup, eased up into that cracked window. I could smell it – taste it – sweet, musty, with an edge of wintergreen in its base – everywhere in that house." (Claudia)
"Dandelions. A dart of affection leaps out from her to them. But they do not look at her and do not send love back. She thinks, 'They are ugly. They are weeds." (Pecola relates and loves the ugly weeds)
"She regarded love as possessive mating, and romance as the goal of the spirit." (Pauline)
"The hauntedness would irritate him – the love would move him to fury. How dare she love him? Hadn't she any sense at all? What was he supposed to do about that? Return it? How?" (Cholly doesn't know how to return the love of his daughter)
"Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe"
Time Period: Contemporary
Basic Plot: Disgrace follows Professor David Lurie as he enters into relations with student, and arguably muse, Melanie Isaacs. He becomes obsessed by her and yet the concept of love seems to fail him completely. His use of prostitutes and his inability to love show that he lives love through literature and cannot relate it to reality. After suffering disgrace in the city he moves to the country where the remnants of Aprtheid South Africa are still abundant. The rape of his daughter at the hands of black people shows not only the masculine instinct of ownership and posession, something Lurie actually empathises with, but also how this new South Africa is born of rape and is a confused and illegimate fusion of two identities. Obsession is therefore evident along with a warped sense of romantic love that is caught in his love of the works of Byron but which Lurie cannot make tangible. There are few quotations about love but plenty of sex that show the absence of love;
Quotations:
"For a man of his age, fifty-two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well. On Thursday afternoons he drives to Green Point. Punctually at two p.m. he presses the buzzer at the entrance to Windsor Mansions, speaks his name, and enters."
"Were he to choose a totem, it would be the snake. Intercourse between Soraya and himself must be, he imagines, rather like the copulation of snakes: lengthy, absorbed, but rather abstract, rather dry, even at its hottest."
"He existed in an anxious flurry of promiscuity. He had affairs with the wives of colleagues; he picked up tourists in bars on the waterfront or at the Club Italia; he slept with whores"
"Not rape, not quite that, but undesired nevertheless, undesired to the core."Drama
Basic Plot: Disgrace follows Professor David Lurie as he enters into relations with student, and arguably muse, Melanie Isaacs. He becomes obsessed by her and yet the concept of love seems to fail him completely. His use of prostitutes and his inability to love show that he lives love through literature and cannot relate it to reality. After suffering disgrace in the city he moves to the country where the remnants of Aprtheid South Africa are still abundant. The rape of his daughter at the hands of black people shows not only the masculine instinct of ownership and posession, something Lurie actually empathises with, but also how this new South Africa is born of rape and is a confused and illegimate fusion of two identities. Obsession is therefore evident along with a warped sense of romantic love that is caught in his love of the works of Byron but which Lurie cannot make tangible. There are few quotations about love but plenty of sex that show the absence of love;
Quotations:
"For a man of his age, fifty-two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well. On Thursday afternoons he drives to Green Point. Punctually at two p.m. he presses the buzzer at the entrance to Windsor Mansions, speaks his name, and enters."
"Were he to choose a totem, it would be the snake. Intercourse between Soraya and himself must be, he imagines, rather like the copulation of snakes: lengthy, absorbed, but rather abstract, rather dry, even at its hottest."
"He existed in an anxious flurry of promiscuity. He had affairs with the wives of colleagues; he picked up tourists in bars on the waterfront or at the Club Italia; he slept with whores"
"Not rape, not quite that, but undesired nevertheless, undesired to the core."Drama
Time Period: Post-Modernist
Basic Plot: Plot focuses on Blanche DuBois and the spiritual and physical journey she faces upon the crumbling of her beloved "Belle Reve" - the old fashioned America. She seeks the arms of a man as she feels no identity within herself, she looks to prostitution and her sister to find warmth but both efforts are fruitless. Her spiralling madness alienates Stanley, Stella's husband, and the two conflict in a way symbolic of the old south and new south. There is much comparison between Blanche and a moth, being attracted to the warmth of men and then being burnt by them. Williams uses great dramatic motifs and devices such as the street noise, lighting, "Polka" and detailed stage directions that almost make the reader more priviledged than the audience. In terms of love this play may be used as the passionate love between Stella and Stanley is animalistic almost, the familial love Stella attempts to show her sister and the confusion Blanche has over ove - in particular her late husband whom she feels guilty over still upon discovering his true sexuality. Love seems to be the light that Blanche is attracted to and yet she seems unable to reach it.
Quotations:
" Remember what Huey Long said – "Every Man is a King!" And I am the King around here, so don’t forget it!"
"Since earliest manhood the center of his life has been pleasure with women, the giving and taking of it, not with weak indulgence, dependently, but with the power and pride of a richly feathered male bird among hens"
"Blanche moves back into the streak of light. She raises her arms and stretches, as she moves indolently back to the chair"
"What you are talking about is brutal desire – just – Desire! – the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bans through the Quarter, up one old narrow street and down another…"
Monday, 11 July 2011
Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen
Plot Summary:
The story focuses on the Bennet family and in particular the headstrong second sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth's character defies the usual domestic and docile heroine as she rebels against society's prejudice. However, in doing so she captures the attention of the seemingly proud and stubborn Mr Darcy, filthy rich Colin Firth lookalike, who is a prime example of appearances being deceptive. Whilst the Bennet family disgrace themselves, Lydia running off with Wickham, and then redeem themselves through the marriage of Jane and Mr Bingley public opinion is defied, with love surpassing wealth and social standing. The story explores the conventions of marriage, social etiquette, social prejudice and the real value of money in the early 19th century.
Elizabeth - The central character, initially described as "tolerable" in looks by Darcy, her stubborn and yet curious personality attracts. Indeed she is a refreshing presence in the social circles of the upper class, as the likes of Miss Bingley merely appease and swoon over Darcy never showing an alternate opinion or any values but of wealth and status. She completely rejects all conventions, dismissing Mr Collins' proposal, speaking her mind openly and having the balls to answer her father back when she believes a wrong decision is being made. She thus completely differs from the rest of her sisters who aspire to the usual conventions of a "good match" in marriage. Arguably, Elizabeth is a personification of the Romantic Era, portraying the differences in social class, the reality of the countryside and ironically gaining the best marriage from being herself.
Mr Darcy - A man of great wealth and status, enters the plot alongside Mr Bingley, whom he has great influence over. Though initially portrayed as the villain it becomes clear that he actually is one of the most loving characters; obsessed with Elizabeth, not wishing his friend to be hurt by Jane whom he believed "indifferent" and particularly protective over his sister Miss Darcy whom was under the spell of Wickham. Darcy prevents the Bennet family from scandal, unbeknown to Mrs Bennet who insists on hating him, as well as providing great financial aid to the "inferior" family estate. He is particularly courtly and proper in his manner of love, remaining formal but with moments of passionate rhetoric that show his education and upbringing are not enough to mask his emotions at certain points.
Types of Love Shown:
- Familial Love of the Bennet Family, particularly between Jane & Elizabeth
- Selfless Love in the actions of Mr Darcy that were all for Elizabeth
- Unrequited Love in the proposal of Mr Collins and also the sentiment felt by the jealous Miss Bingley whom loves Darcy.
- Romantic Love
Quotations:
"But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes." (Darcy about Elizabeth)
"Could she have seen half as much love in Mr. Darcy for herself, she would have ordered her wedding clothes. But the case is this: We are not rich enough or grand enough for them […]" (Elizabeth to Jane)
"Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained."
"In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." (Darcy to Elizabeth = Love is all conquering! However, note his formal manner)
"My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish; secondly, that I am convinced that it will add very greatly to my happiness; and thirdly--which perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier, that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness." (Collins gives his REASONS for marrying quite as if a list, shows that in this time marriage was for money and status)
"But if a woman is partial to a man, and does not endeavour to conceal it, he must find it out." (Presents love and courting as a game of tactics)
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Reading List:
Literature displaying LOVE THROUGH THE AGES...
Middle Ages
The concept of courtly love was greatly present within all arts of the middle ages and, though the novel not in fashion or really invented yet, ideas of nobility and social status greatly dominated.
- Geoffrey Chaucer "The Canterbury Tales" (14th Century) READING
Romantic Period (1775 - 1840)
The romantic period was a time in which people began questioning the prejudged ideas that had dominated society's thought pattern. Indeed in terms of literature the concept of sensibility arose and novels became more about creating an emotional response from the reader. The class system is in full swing and so social identity is a large factor.
- Jane Austen "Pride & Prejudice" (1812) READ
- Jane Austen "Emma" (1816)
Victorian/Edwardian Era (1840 - Early 20th Century)
At this time, the concept of the romantic is still present but has progressed to incorporate morality, education and social class even more prominently. Indeed at this time trade and the British empire was at its peak and many works highlighted the realities of the lower labouring classes.
- Emily Bronte "Wuthering Heights" (1847) READ
- Charles Dickens "Great Expectations" (1860) READ
- Louisa May Alcott "Little Women" (1868) READ
- Oscar Wilde "The Picture of Dorian Grey" (1890) READ
Modernist Era (Beginning of the 20th Century)
The 20th century caterpaulted the world into science and technology,with discoveries such as quantum mechanics ensuring that science was further away than ever expected in understanding the universe. Along with science, society completely altered. Communist spread throughout much of Europe, mass communication enabled people to view global news and experience it = cultural homogenisation as people became concerned about other people and the impact humans were having on the earth. The world wars, along with other political and racial issues, and their impact inevitably filtered into literature.
- TBA!
Post Modernist/Contemporary Era (Latter end of 20th century)
In terms of literature the contemporary novel rejects the tpically linear story, preferring to fuse genres and language styles to make the reader think! Margaret Atwood stated "A novel is about someone moving through time".
- Toni Morrison "The Bluest Eye" (1970) READ
- Margaret Atwood "The Handmaid's Tale" (1985)
Middle Ages
The concept of courtly love was greatly present within all arts of the middle ages and, though the novel not in fashion or really invented yet, ideas of nobility and social status greatly dominated.
- Geoffrey Chaucer "The Canterbury Tales" (14th Century) READING
Romantic Period (1775 - 1840)
The romantic period was a time in which people began questioning the prejudged ideas that had dominated society's thought pattern. Indeed in terms of literature the concept of sensibility arose and novels became more about creating an emotional response from the reader. The class system is in full swing and so social identity is a large factor.
- Jane Austen "Pride & Prejudice" (1812) READ
- Jane Austen "Emma" (1816)
Victorian/Edwardian Era (1840 - Early 20th Century)
At this time, the concept of the romantic is still present but has progressed to incorporate morality, education and social class even more prominently. Indeed at this time trade and the British empire was at its peak and many works highlighted the realities of the lower labouring classes.
- Emily Bronte "Wuthering Heights" (1847) READ
- Charles Dickens "Great Expectations" (1860) READ
- Louisa May Alcott "Little Women" (1868) READ
- Oscar Wilde "The Picture of Dorian Grey" (1890) READ
Modernist Era (Beginning of the 20th Century)
The 20th century caterpaulted the world into science and technology,with discoveries such as quantum mechanics ensuring that science was further away than ever expected in understanding the universe. Along with science, society completely altered. Communist spread throughout much of Europe, mass communication enabled people to view global news and experience it = cultural homogenisation as people became concerned about other people and the impact humans were having on the earth. The world wars, along with other political and racial issues, and their impact inevitably filtered into literature.
- TBA!
Post Modernist/Contemporary Era (Latter end of 20th century)
In terms of literature the contemporary novel rejects the tpically linear story, preferring to fuse genres and language styles to make the reader think! Margaret Atwood stated "A novel is about someone moving through time".
- Toni Morrison "The Bluest Eye" (1970) READ
- Margaret Atwood "The Handmaid's Tale" (1985)
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