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.
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