In a person's life, the beginning years help greatly to form who that person will become in his or her future. These years can be considered the building blocks of one's journey to find who he will be come for the rest of his life. The theme of A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man is the struggle and success of finding one's true person. The novel tells multiple segments of the main character, Stephen's life. By doing so, somewhat of a time line is created in which both impacting moments and turning points of Stephen's life are presented. The author used this time line to show very intimate points of the main character's thoughts and actions, which often were conflicts that many people are presented with at some point in his or her life. These conflicts included acceptance with peers, sexual relations, religion, and family pressure. For the majority of the novel, Stephen's obsessive personality caused him to take a strong side to each of these issues, however, as he matured through the novel, conflicts became more and more passive, and he began to reason and calmly work through conflicts, rather than going to extremes.
One technique that James Joyce used to achieve this dynamic character is the third person limited point of view. By presenting scenes as Stephen saw them, and writing in the style of Stephen's maturity at the time, the author created an environment in which Stephen's entire being is presented, causing a full exposure of who he was in that particular moment. This depth of character showed Stephen's focuses, worries, preception of surroundings, and resolutions, which shows not only this character's depth of personality, but the tendency of human internal conflict throughout life. The majority of conflicts presented in the novel were man vs. self over issues previously mentioned. Through the writing style of this novel, James Joyce invites the reader to take part in thoughts that typically, one struggles with on his or her own.
The majority of this novel is written in third person limited, however, part five provides Stephen with a voice, in form of his journal entries. On the 26 of April (page 275), Stephen speaks of his mother's hope that he learn in his life "what the heart is and what it feels." This statement is followed by, "So be it. Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." This passage wraps up the novel with Stephen showing a true change in character from where the novel began. In the beginning, Stephen was an cautuous boy who primarily focused on acceptance, then he began to obsess over religion and his fate. His obsessive personality left no room for chance, no room for mistake. Here, on the other hand, Stephen shows a welcoming of life, admitting that he must continue to move forward to find what comes next. The uplifting tone of the passage suggests that he embraces his future, whereas in the beginning, he feared for the worst in every situation. This embracing provides a closure of the old Stephen, and a welcoming of the future.
Personally, I am torn on my feelings toward A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I disliked this novel for several reasons. First of all, I found that the layout could be a bit confusing at times. I would have been able to follow it much easier had each different scene been its own chapter, because they seemed to jump around quite a bit which took away from the impact of some moments in Stephen's life. Also, I feel that if James Joyce had written the entire novel in first person, Stephen's thoughts would have been much clearer to understand throughout. However, I found the characterization of Stephen very interesting due to his deep thoughts and reactions toward situations. Personally, I found that some of his struggles were easy to relate to, such as the need for peer acceptance, which helped me to be able to place myself deep into the novel in Stephen's shoes, but it is the type of novel that you can't read once and understand every bit of it. Overall, I think that this novel is one that can be considered a great work, and I plan on reading it a time or two more to be able to get everything out of it.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Poem - by William Carlos Williams
Page 419
"As the cat
climbed over
the top of
the jamcloset
first the right
forefoot
carefully
then the hind
stepped down
into the pit of
the empty
flowerpot"
Reflection:
When first reading this poem, my initial thought was to skip over it and find a new one. Then, I read it again, and again, and each time I became more and more intrigued. I think that this poem is an extended metaphor for many peoples' cautious approach to life. The cat in this poem is carefully stepping over the top of a closet, in which he cannot see the other side. Although he was cautious and careful, he still stepped into a "pit" of the flowerpot. The words "empty" and "pit" provide a sense of dark depth in which it will be hard to get out of. This tells of cautious life, I believe, because no matter how careful people are, there are always times that they cannot see what they are stepping into. The simple structure of the poem, short words and short lines, adds to its simplicity to the metaphor.
This poem tells people that perhaps they shouldn't be so cautious about life, because they never know what is over the next jamcloset. So, what's the use in planning out your every step and every move, if you don't know what the outcome will be?
Devices:
This entire poem is a great example of imagery. Description such as "first the right forefoot" and "carefully, then the hind stepping down" help the reader to see the cautious nature of the actions in the poem. Cautiousness is what this poem is surrounded around. This carefulness continues as the cat steps into the "pit." This image shows how often times, people are so worried about how carefully they will live, and how each muscle movement will move, that they don't always see what they are moving into. The image of a cat in a flowerpot provides a sense of confinement, the type of confinement that most creatures do not like to trap themselves in. This further shows how blind actions can really be.
In addition, the lack of punctuation in the poem adds to its imagery. No commas, hyphens, or periods are used, not even at the end. This leaves the reader without time to pause, providing a rhythmic flowing feel to the poem. Thus, the cat is presented as continuing to slowly move throughout the poem. The short words and stanzas also provide a sense of rhythm, as they flow in a similar way throughout the poem. This mental flow of words helps the reader to see the motions of the cat, and how there is no room for a change in speed, intent, or emphasis on any one action, as sentence variation often provides. Each movement is equally done.
Symbolism is also used in this poem. As a whole, the cat symbolizes people. His movements symbolize choices. Just as the cat carefully moves, people carefully chose what they will do next. The top of the jamcloset represents the future. The cat cannot see over the top of the closer, just as people cannot see what is coming next. That is why caution is used-to approach the unknown. The pit of the empty flowerpot shows that no matter how careful one may be in his or her choices, there could always be something unknown in the future. Without this symbolism, the extended metaphor would not be achievable or easily understandable.
"As the cat
climbed over
the top of
the jamcloset
first the right
forefoot
carefully
then the hind
stepped down
into the pit of
the empty
flowerpot"
Reflection:
When first reading this poem, my initial thought was to skip over it and find a new one. Then, I read it again, and again, and each time I became more and more intrigued. I think that this poem is an extended metaphor for many peoples' cautious approach to life. The cat in this poem is carefully stepping over the top of a closet, in which he cannot see the other side. Although he was cautious and careful, he still stepped into a "pit" of the flowerpot. The words "empty" and "pit" provide a sense of dark depth in which it will be hard to get out of. This tells of cautious life, I believe, because no matter how careful people are, there are always times that they cannot see what they are stepping into. The simple structure of the poem, short words and short lines, adds to its simplicity to the metaphor.
This poem tells people that perhaps they shouldn't be so cautious about life, because they never know what is over the next jamcloset. So, what's the use in planning out your every step and every move, if you don't know what the outcome will be?
Devices:
This entire poem is a great example of imagery. Description such as "first the right forefoot" and "carefully, then the hind stepping down" help the reader to see the cautious nature of the actions in the poem. Cautiousness is what this poem is surrounded around. This carefulness continues as the cat steps into the "pit." This image shows how often times, people are so worried about how carefully they will live, and how each muscle movement will move, that they don't always see what they are moving into. The image of a cat in a flowerpot provides a sense of confinement, the type of confinement that most creatures do not like to trap themselves in. This further shows how blind actions can really be.
In addition, the lack of punctuation in the poem adds to its imagery. No commas, hyphens, or periods are used, not even at the end. This leaves the reader without time to pause, providing a rhythmic flowing feel to the poem. Thus, the cat is presented as continuing to slowly move throughout the poem. The short words and stanzas also provide a sense of rhythm, as they flow in a similar way throughout the poem. This mental flow of words helps the reader to see the motions of the cat, and how there is no room for a change in speed, intent, or emphasis on any one action, as sentence variation often provides. Each movement is equally done.
Symbolism is also used in this poem. As a whole, the cat symbolizes people. His movements symbolize choices. Just as the cat carefully moves, people carefully chose what they will do next. The top of the jamcloset represents the future. The cat cannot see over the top of the closer, just as people cannot see what is coming next. That is why caution is used-to approach the unknown. The pit of the empty flowerpot shows that no matter how careful one may be in his or her choices, there could always be something unknown in the future. Without this symbolism, the extended metaphor would not be achievable or easily understandable.
Portrait - by Judith Wright
Page 424
"It was a heartfelt game, when it began-
polish and cook and sew and mend, contrive,
move between sink and stove, keep flower-beds weeded-
all her love needed was that it was needed,
and merely living kept the blood alive.
Now an old habit leads from sink to stove,
mends and keeps the house that looks like home,
and waits in hunger dressed to look like love
for the calm return of those who, when the come,
remind her: this was a game, when it began."
Reflection:
Personally, I found this poem rather depressing. It speaks of the typical stay at home mother who cooks, cleans, sews, and stays home doing the chores of the house while her husband goes out and works. In the beginning, this was good enough for her, as "merely living kept the blood alive." But, halfway through the poem, a shift is presented in which she is no longer happy about what she does; it became an old habit. I think that it speaks to the social issue of women's rights and expectations in society. In this poem, the woman's sole purpose is the home. In the beginning, that is pleasing to her, but later on, you see almost a 'waste of life,' as she is no longer happy with what she is doing. This poem, in my opinion, does a good job of speaking to the stereotypical portrayal of women, and how that vision is not okay.
Devices:
One literary device that I noticed was the connotation and denotation of the words "game" and "home." I'll start with the word "game." The denotation of this word is an amusement or past time. At first, this game of staying home is presented as "heartfelt" and it provides a sense of enjoyment to what she is doing. This game, however, turns into almost an imprisonment half way through the poem. In the last line, the phrase, "this was a game, when it began," remind us that her duties at home are no longer fun and heartfelt, but rather that she is trapped in a never ending cycle of housework. Games also always have a winner and a loser. Perhaps here, the woman has the job of the loser, and the man, the winner. The word "home" also uses both connotation and denotation to provide emphasis on her misery. The phrase "the house that looks like a home" uses two words-house and home- that have the same denotation, yet very different connotations. House and home are both buildings in which a family lives. However, house provides a cold, objective connotation, whereas home gives a sense of warmth and love. These words were put in the same phrase to show that the home that was created in the beginning of the poem is no longer welcoming her work, but it is not simply what she must do, and she is trapped there.
Another device that strongly helped me to reach my conclusion was personification of the "old habit." The "old habit leads" her to do her duties in the home. An old habit is an abstract idea, yet here, it leads her to do the things that no longer provide her with joy. It shows, in a way, that she no longer has control of what she is doing, but rather that it is controlled by her past actions and choices. The control in this statement has been given to the old habit, which led me to believe that she was not happy with it now as she had been in the past. In the beginning, she moved from sink to stove, but then, the habit moved her from sink to stove. This shows that it is not what she wants to be doing, but it is what she is used to doing, so she does it, without question.
"It was a heartfelt game, when it began-
polish and cook and sew and mend, contrive,
move between sink and stove, keep flower-beds weeded-
all her love needed was that it was needed,
and merely living kept the blood alive.
Now an old habit leads from sink to stove,
mends and keeps the house that looks like home,
and waits in hunger dressed to look like love
for the calm return of those who, when the come,
remind her: this was a game, when it began."
Reflection:
Personally, I found this poem rather depressing. It speaks of the typical stay at home mother who cooks, cleans, sews, and stays home doing the chores of the house while her husband goes out and works. In the beginning, this was good enough for her, as "merely living kept the blood alive." But, halfway through the poem, a shift is presented in which she is no longer happy about what she does; it became an old habit. I think that it speaks to the social issue of women's rights and expectations in society. In this poem, the woman's sole purpose is the home. In the beginning, that is pleasing to her, but later on, you see almost a 'waste of life,' as she is no longer happy with what she is doing. This poem, in my opinion, does a good job of speaking to the stereotypical portrayal of women, and how that vision is not okay.
Devices:
One literary device that I noticed was the connotation and denotation of the words "game" and "home." I'll start with the word "game." The denotation of this word is an amusement or past time. At first, this game of staying home is presented as "heartfelt" and it provides a sense of enjoyment to what she is doing. This game, however, turns into almost an imprisonment half way through the poem. In the last line, the phrase, "this was a game, when it began," remind us that her duties at home are no longer fun and heartfelt, but rather that she is trapped in a never ending cycle of housework. Games also always have a winner and a loser. Perhaps here, the woman has the job of the loser, and the man, the winner. The word "home" also uses both connotation and denotation to provide emphasis on her misery. The phrase "the house that looks like a home" uses two words-house and home- that have the same denotation, yet very different connotations. House and home are both buildings in which a family lives. However, house provides a cold, objective connotation, whereas home gives a sense of warmth and love. These words were put in the same phrase to show that the home that was created in the beginning of the poem is no longer welcoming her work, but it is not simply what she must do, and she is trapped there.
Another device that strongly helped me to reach my conclusion was personification of the "old habit." The "old habit leads" her to do her duties in the home. An old habit is an abstract idea, yet here, it leads her to do the things that no longer provide her with joy. It shows, in a way, that she no longer has control of what she is doing, but rather that it is controlled by her past actions and choices. The control in this statement has been given to the old habit, which led me to believe that she was not happy with it now as she had been in the past. In the beginning, she moved from sink to stove, but then, the habit moved her from sink to stove. This shows that it is not what she wants to be doing, but it is what she is used to doing, so she does it, without question.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Handmaid's Tale
Turn on the tv, look at a billboard, or open a magazine, and what are the types of images portrayed in today's society? The sexual exploitation of women in our world seems to take over the media and gives many people a very shallow view of the role of women in society. But what happens when these casually held views are taken to their extremes? Margaret Atwood details a society in which this happened in her novel The Handmaid's Tale. This novel shows uses stereotypes of both men and women to show that such definitions of the roles of each gender will cause people to lose sight of the truth about individuals. The media often portrays women as being the ones who are meant to cook, clean, and have children, because they are not as smart or strong as the men. Offred, the main character, proved throughout the novel to be a smart, witty, and take-charge type of women. Her gifted mind was shown during a game of Scrabble with the Commander, where she showed that those of higher power are not necessarily smarter than those below them. Her induviduality was lost in her new life, where her soul purpose was to bear children. This, however, she was unable to do. The lack of a relationship with Luke, her lover from her old life, combined with her inability (or that of the Commander) to make a child left her feeling that she was living a worthless, meaningless life.
Society often depicts men as the ones who are the bread winners of the home; they are considered more intellectual then women, yet often seem to "have only one thing on their minds." This stereotype was also broken down during Offred's Scrabble game with the Commander. After losing the game, as Offred was about to leave, the Commander asked her for a kiss, and one as though she meant it. He only wanted the passion between himself and another woman, the passion that was missing during the Ceremony, which according to the stereotype of men, would give him what he really wanted. Atwood's novel shows that casually held definitions of gender roles do not always, if ever, define a person.
While reading The Handmaid's Tale, the following passage stuck out in my mind as the definition of how the women in Gilead live:
"Given our wings, our blinkers, it's hard to look up, hard to get the full view, of the sky, of anything. But we can do it, a little at a time, a quick move of the head, up and down, to the side and back. We have learned to see the world in gasps." (Page 30)
Blinders. The women in the society are forced to live only by seeing the things that they are allowed to see. Seeing the world in sections is society's way of keeping things how they want them; of making everyone think that things are working great just the way they are. It is very sad, in my opinion, that the women were forced to see the world in pieces. Physically, the women could not see all the things surrounding them. Yet, it goes deeper than that. They could not see the disrespect for themselves that not only society had lost, but each woman seemed to lose for herself. They could not see the whole picture of the society; they could not see the failure. And even worse, they could not see the hope of change.
Although when I first started reading The Handmaid's Tale, I was unsure of how I would feel about it, in the end, I am truly glad that I read it. While reading, the amount of detail used in many scenes seems to jump out to the reader, but when you begin to look deeper into the meaning and depth of the novel, it shows you the seriousness of the stereotypes that society holds. At times, however, the author seemed to have a lack of focus, as she jumped between flashback and present. This was sometimes confusing at the time, but when the novel was finished and the entire picture was in front of you, every scene helped Atwood to make a strong statement about society. The author's bravery in writing such a novel deserves to be commended, I believe. The novel shows the truth of society, which causes controversy, but no problem has even been fixed without opposing sides.
Society often depicts men as the ones who are the bread winners of the home; they are considered more intellectual then women, yet often seem to "have only one thing on their minds." This stereotype was also broken down during Offred's Scrabble game with the Commander. After losing the game, as Offred was about to leave, the Commander asked her for a kiss, and one as though she meant it. He only wanted the passion between himself and another woman, the passion that was missing during the Ceremony, which according to the stereotype of men, would give him what he really wanted. Atwood's novel shows that casually held definitions of gender roles do not always, if ever, define a person.
While reading The Handmaid's Tale, the following passage stuck out in my mind as the definition of how the women in Gilead live:
"Given our wings, our blinkers, it's hard to look up, hard to get the full view, of the sky, of anything. But we can do it, a little at a time, a quick move of the head, up and down, to the side and back. We have learned to see the world in gasps." (Page 30)
Blinders. The women in the society are forced to live only by seeing the things that they are allowed to see. Seeing the world in sections is society's way of keeping things how they want them; of making everyone think that things are working great just the way they are. It is very sad, in my opinion, that the women were forced to see the world in pieces. Physically, the women could not see all the things surrounding them. Yet, it goes deeper than that. They could not see the disrespect for themselves that not only society had lost, but each woman seemed to lose for herself. They could not see the whole picture of the society; they could not see the failure. And even worse, they could not see the hope of change.
Although when I first started reading The Handmaid's Tale, I was unsure of how I would feel about it, in the end, I am truly glad that I read it. While reading, the amount of detail used in many scenes seems to jump out to the reader, but when you begin to look deeper into the meaning and depth of the novel, it shows you the seriousness of the stereotypes that society holds. At times, however, the author seemed to have a lack of focus, as she jumped between flashback and present. This was sometimes confusing at the time, but when the novel was finished and the entire picture was in front of you, every scene helped Atwood to make a strong statement about society. The author's bravery in writing such a novel deserves to be commended, I believe. The novel shows the truth of society, which causes controversy, but no problem has even been fixed without opposing sides.
Monday, September 13, 2010
We
The novel We is a distopian work that proves the power of human instincts to love and create, and how a society in which such things are absent proves to be lacking joy in life. The society has set out times for activities and jobs of the individuals, who have been trained to work as one unit. Each person is a part of the 'machine' of the nation, and has no room to act out of order. Every job is chosen, every act is monitored, and every slight show of imagination is discouraged. Also discouraged is the love between only two people, and a desire to be with only one person. You see the character's distress when he begins to feel these emotions toward I-330, and how these emotions cause him to act out of order. To our society, this is a normal emotion that is encouraged. By showing the absurdity in the society in the book, the author speaks to the need of indivudiality and natural human emotion in society, and how without it, we would lose all the things that help give us our own faces.
The passage from We that stuck out in my mind was on page 71 in Record 13:
The passage from We that stuck out in my mind was on page 71 in Record 13:
'That means you love it. You're afraid of it because it's stronger than you, you hate it because you're afraid of it, you love it because you can't master it. You can only love something that refuses to be mastered.'"
The reason this passage sticks out to me is because it is one of the few passages in the book that is a connection to our lives. So many of the characters thoughts and actions in this book seemed so absurd to me that I walked away with a greater appreciation for the way we are blessed to be living our lives. Yet, this tries to explain something that is a mystery to most people-love. The fact that someone in such a dry, controlled society was able to come to this realization about love was one of the first signs that she was a particularly special character in the book.
I believe that the phrase, "You're afraid of it because it's stronger than you, you hate it because you're afraid of it," explains why the society has been created in the way that it has been. OneState and the Benefactor found individuality and imagination too strong to be controlled, thus, they became comtrolling of it. Their fear of opposition and challenge from the society encouraged them to try to created a place where everyone is equal and there is no room for change.
I believe that the phrase, "You're afraid of it because it's stronger than you, you hate it because you're afraid of it," explains why the society has been created in the way that it has been. OneState and the Benefactor found individuality and imagination too strong to be controlled, thus, they became comtrolling of it. Their fear of opposition and challenge from the society encouraged them to try to created a place where everyone is equal and there is no room for change.
This novel has so far been my least favorite of the books we read this year. I think that the story itself was interesting, but the way the author went about it frustrated me. I didn't like the randomness of his thoughts; it had my mind running in all different directions throughout the book. It left me with several questions when I was finished with the book, such as their punishment process, V-1, and whether or not certain characters were alive or dead. The message the novel presents is an important one for readers to see, yet the style of writing may cloud the vision.
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