In what ways do authors approach "opening" their work to readers? Consider exposition, initiating action, establishing tone, characterization, foreshadowing, thematic foundations, etc.
If you're stuck. . .here's the kind of thinking I'm trying to elicit. . .
1.
What
are the advantages to the author’s chosen point of view?
2.
Does
the author use point of view primarily to reveal or to conceal?
Or think about hero's journey!
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The Departure
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Home Culture – a place the
protagonist thinks is normal, familiar, common
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Call to Adventure – a normal occurrence
motivates the character to feel restless with his/her life
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Refusal of “The Call”
– character
chooses not to move forward usually out of fear of the unknown
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Supernatural Aid – character given a
supernatural/guiding/
guardian
person or item to assist the step forward into the unknown
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Crossing the 1st
Threshold – moves
out of the comfort zone and walks alone – usually confronted by an obstacle
to overcome before full entry into the unknown
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The novel I have begun reading is "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. The opening to the novel is quite lengthy, and Hosseini reveals a lot about the narrator's past, the narrator's family member's and the villages past. The narrator remains unknown, or at least not specified, although my assumption is the protagonist, Mariam, is narrating her past life, even though she would be referring to herself in third person.
ReplyDeleteMariam lives in a small house on the outskirts of the town. Her mother, who lives with her, had had an affair with a rich man named Jalil and therefore became pregnant with Mariam. The town looked down upon Mariam’s mother because she served to and waited on the man who fathered her child. As a result of becoming pregnant and in order to not shame Jalil and his family’s name she was exiled to a small house where no one would have to see her. The mood of the novel shifts drastically when Mariam is a child and is stuck between her mother, Nana, and her father, Jalil. Jalil comes to visit Mariam once a week in her little house and Mariam’s mother complains about Jalil and tells her daughter horrid stories of their past together yet Mariam, though she seldom sees her father, loves him more than her Nana and she envies his adventures.
The narrator repeatedly mentions that “Mariam would live the first fifteen years of her life” in the little house. This causes me to inquire that this is foreshadowing the initiating action, where Mariam will leave, most likely against her mothers will, and go to the town and look for the places her father tells stories about. The narrator depicts Mariam’s intense interest in her father’s tales and continuously adds in Mariam’s disinterest in what Nana has to say about Jalil and his tall tales. Since this novel takes place in the 1950’s Middle East, I would presume that Mariam will encounter many issues along her way and began her main journey.
Nothing jumps out at me as foreshadowing other than Jalil’s stories, but considering the immense amount of background information and setting description, I can assume that the multiple places described will reappear as the novel goes on. Also, knowing the background stories of Mariam’s childhood and having read both sides of the stories between Jalil and Nana, there may be a revelation of the truth about Mariam’s birth and her parents.
Kellie Gilluly
"God will give him blood to drink!"
ReplyDeleteBased upon my enjoyment of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, I decided to read another of his novels; The House of Seven Gables. Again, Hawthorne chooses to portray the grim lifestyle of early Puritans and their witch hunting endeavors. Before the novel begins, a fair section of the book is dedicated to an introduction including Hawthorne's life and works and the historical context of the novel as well as a preface. After all of this we can finally get into the actual book.
The House of Seven Gables is written as the narrator's, presumably Hawthorne's, telling of an old story about the aforementioned house. The narrator gives ample background about the situation with the building as it was in the past; a land dispute between a Colonel Pyncheon and a Matthew Maule. Maule established his estate on a fair piece of land "hewn out of the primeval forest" (uh-oh) in an area not so fair. The estate itself was "shaggy with thatch" but the land was home to natural spring. As more Puritans arrive and the community builds, the estate catches the eye of a wealthy man. Pyncheon claimed to be a proprietor of the land on which Maule built his home and uses the witch trials to get his way. Maule eventually was accused of being a witch (or wizard?) and the townspeople executed him thus allowing Pyncheon to claim the land. Before his death, Maule curses Pyncheon with the quote mentioned above. A time later, Pyncheon holds a gathering at his new estate. Mysteriously, he is found dead in his room, blood trailing down his lips, the remnant marks of fingers around his neck. Consequently, the story unfolds into a mystery of the Colonel's death and the people search for a way to end the curse.
The story, eloquently written, feels like a conversation between narrator and reader. It makes me feel more acquainted with the tale being told and more curious as to what will result of the curse. The way Hawthorne uses the third person omniscient view is also interesting in the writing of the piece. The events are mysterious to the characters experiencing them, but, as the reader, we can see the inner workings of the novel. Like I mentioned previously, since the novel feels like a conversation, the reader can ask questions and find the desired answer, though not necessarily immediately. As I am not very far in the novel, partially impeded by Hawthorne's vocabulary, I look forward to reading on!
As a film buff, I could not resist the opportunity to read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. I had never seen the film before, so reading the book first would be beneficial as I would not compare it to the movie like I often do with other books.
ReplyDeleteKesey writes the book from a first person perspective. Backstory and character information is not really given here and handed to the reader like what happens in most novels. A lot of points are left in the dark so we get a sense of fear from the institution that the book takes place in in addition to the nurse, and her aides that "Chief" Bromden describes. The reader also gets a mysterious look at McMurphy, which I assume is the character that Jack Nicholson played just based off of Nicholson previous performances and McMurphy's personality.
Nurse Ratched, what a woman. Kesey uses the perspective of (I'm going to shorten his name) the Chief to his advantage in this instance. From his unique point of view (he pretends to be deaf and mute) we can see the person she actually is from the beginning of the book. When the audience first encounters her, she is yelling at her aides or "the black boys" as the Chief calls them, until patients come out to see what is going wrong when Ratched immediately changes her composure as to not scare off the other patients. Much of her dialogue is put in italics to show the reader what she is stressing in her sentences. The Chief describes her as “big as a tractor." (Kesey 5) when she gets angry.
The Chief's status allows the reader a look into the Nurse Ratched's true intentions that most of the patients are not aware of. I feel that this ignorance will be a huge motif in this book. Somebody may know something and not tell others which will be bad for the welfare of the protagonists. I must say for a book about the insane, I find myself pitying them more so than I do when they are portrayed in other forms of media. This has my attention, I think Kesey will have an important message here.
I love One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest! Personally, I enjoy how Kesey wrote the Chief as a removed narrator, since it adds a unique and removed perspective of the events occurring throughout the novel. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story as much as I did!
Delete“All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true. One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn’t his. Another guy I knew really did threaten to have his personal enemies killed by hired gunmen after the war. And so on. I’ve changed all the names.” (Vonnegut 8)
ReplyDeleteDue to its enthusiastic recommendation by a friend I decided to read Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five as my independent novel for AP Literature. At present I am on page 22, little more than ten percent of the way through, and the novel has yet to disappoint me. When first picking up the novel, I was not sure what to expect to find within, but the first paragraph (as shown above) hooked me. Vonnegut does not dance around his reader with metaphors and imagery, but rather bluntly begins with stating how the contents of the novel were real events.
Within the first line, Vonnegut speaks with a blunt tone, as if he is just presenting the facts as they are and leaving them for the reader to see. He is informal in his sentence structure, almost as if telling a story to a room of people. Vonnegut does not waste time presenting more exposition than he needs to, other than the first sentence, “All this happened more or less” (Vonnegut 8). From there Vonnegut jumps right into giving away two plot points, foreshadowing someone getting shot over a teapot and another making death threats to his enemies. Throughout the first chapter Vonnegut stays within his matter-of-fact tone, only explaining events he feels are important and implying other events he feels are not important to the overall story. By stating all the events in the story happened, Vonnegut sets the novel in past tense, going along with the feel that he is telling people in a room a story. Similar to the tone, the tense of the novel does not change in the first chapter of the novel, connecting back to the idea addressed in his first sentence of how the events have happened in the past and he is recalling them in this book now. By including such devices, Vonnegut sets up the rest of the novel to be exactly the same: blunt, matter-of-fact, past tense, and horrible. As the story continues, the reader should expect Vonnegut to not leave out any of the brutality or horror of real war or to water it down in any way, especially within the scenes he foreshadows in the beginning. In addition, the reader should rather expect Vonnegut to focus on these moments and describe them either in exact detail or with blunt generalization, varying between the two as he pleases. With Vonnegut’s “warning” in the first paragraph in mind, readers should be ready for the events that take place seeing as, he does say “All this happened, more or less” (Vonnegut 8).
It was hard to stop reading after the first chapter, but I forced myself to in order to keep my mind isolated on only the beginning of the novel and not focus on anything later on. The way Vonnegut writes Slaughterhouse Five implies a certain underlying flow which drags the reader in and does not let go. This is ironic, seeing as Vonnegut lures the reader in with excitement shrouded by small talk. However, Vonnegut’s tone makes the reader feel as if the two of them are sitting in a room together while Vonnegut tells them a story. It has a cherubic feel to it when reading, as if it was a grandfather telling his grandchildren old war stories to interest them. Vonnegut’s voice causes me as a reader to feel comfortable while reading the story, like it is being told to me, and due to this I cannot wait to delve back in and read more.
I selected to read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, a novel following "ghetto nerd" Oscar and his Dominican-American family.
ReplyDeleteDiaz utilizes colorful narration in order to establish the tone of the piece. Speckled with wonderful Spanish expletives and expressions, the dialogue paints a humorous and candid image of the world. The text is interesting and adventurous.
Addressing issues such as masculinity, familiar responsibility, sex and the age-old "fitting in", the narrator establishes a vibrant picture of life living in the Dominican ghetto. I believe that these issues will serve as the plot throughout the novel, that us readers will witness Oscar overcome being raised in a world he does not feel he belongs to.
For example, chapter one begins by entailing Oscar's glory days--when he was seven and could pull chicks like no ones business. Unfortunately, he pushes his luck (unhappy with one girlfriend, he recruits both Maritza Chacón and Olga Polanco) and the plan backfires. Ever since this day he is a self proclaimed "ghetto nerd", a perpetual virgin and worse, the emasculated little brother in his Dominican family. This issue establishes a place from where Diaz can craft a "coming of age" tale from Oscar's comic-ridden existence.
Also, the introduction of fukú foreshadows misfortune later in the text. Fukú is the Caribbean bad luck cursed used to explain everything from JFK´s assassination to a hangnail. I believe that the Wao family will befall fukú. This also allows for the opportunity for the family to overcome the fukú, creating an almost "coming of age" in the "New World" novel and possibly allowing Oscar to embark on his own hero's journey.
"A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over: 'Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi!"
ReplyDeleteIn the first words of Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" the author sets up the basis of the entire novel. Like the bird in the cage, the protagonist, Edna, is a woman trapped in a loveless marriage who gains her freedom only by experiencing a spiritual and sexual rebirth.
From the offset of the novel, the reader is introduced to Mr. Pontellier, Edna’s husband. From his actions, it is clear that he is a traditional man who enjoys the patterns of everyday life. Enter in his wife and his acquaintance, Robert Lebrun and a clear and present tension fills the room. While Edna and Robert sit together, laughing about the past events of the morning, Mr. Pontellier remains stoic, not understanding their folly. Eventually, when he gets up to leave, Mr. Pontellier beckons Robert to come with him. However, Robert tells him quite frankly that he would rather stay and continue his conversation with Edna. With this, a line is drawn between Mr. Pontellier and his wife. In his eyes, his wife should obey his “traditional values,” as he believes that’s how a woman should act. From Edna’s point of view, she does not fit the mold of wife and mother, nor does she want to. This is not more clear than when Mr. Pontellier arrives home from Klein’s Hotel and demands Edna go check on the children. She does this begrudgingly, but afterwards, instead of returning back to bed, Edna goes to the porch and cries. In short “Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within an about her.” She knew what the world expected of her, but she also knew that she couldn’t be who everyone wanted her to be. This was the beginning of her awakening.
What’s interesting about “The Awakening” is that unlike other novels like it, the story is told through third person omniscient. By doing this, Chopin allows for an objective view of the events that occur in the novel. Conversely, this view also allows for the readers to see into the thoughts of each of the characters. Because of this, the reader gets a better understanding of who Edna is. Not only do we see into the eyes of Edna herself, but we also get a look into what the other characters think of her. To Mr. Pontellier, Edna is a piece of property he’s struggling to control, yet, to Adele, Edna’s friend, she is a traditional woman who will surely misinterpret Roberts actions as affections. Each character sees a different part of Edna, and so they all have a different piece of who she is. When the reader takes these pieces and puts them together, they gain a better and trust worthier idea of whom Edna is.
From the beginning of the novel, the pages are filled with foreshadowing. In Edna’s eyes, “the voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.” Once she realized this, Edna became aware of the dual life she was living. One where her outward existence conformed to society while her inward existence constantly questioned and challenged the norms. While this marked the beginning of Edna’s self-discovery (represented by the sea), it also made her aware of the fact that few reach the conclusion she has, and that in going on this journey many people “will perish in its tumult.”
I'm really sorry if this post is terrible - I finished it and clicked "preview," and it deleted everything I wrote... I don't like technology, and it doesn't like me.
ReplyDeleteI love Keira Knightly, Colin Firth, and Greer Garson. Therefore, naturally, I thoroughly enjoyed the 1940s version of Pride and Prejudice, the BBC mini series of Pride and Prejudice from the 1990s, as well as the modern, 2005 film. Despite running out of options from film and TV mediums, I excitedly chose the book itself.
Similar to Mike's entry, the narrator of my book also appears to be the author, Jane Austen, who is delightfully wordy (I can relate). She describes the soon-to-arrive Charles Bingley, a handsome, wealthy, upper class fellow through the eyes of the protagonist, Elizabeth, and her family, specifically her mother. Austen reveals large parts of Lizzie's family, and, in a way, her society, through the dialogue of her family discussing the visitation of Bingley. The first being that the matron of the household is Lizzie's mother, who bore five girls, is consumed by the desire to marry them off as fast as possible. This is to be expected, of course, considering the setting of the story - 19th century England. Lizzie's father, Mr. Bennet, is a quiet, loving father, who enjoys to torment his wife by withholding "vital" information. Lydia, the youngest sister, appears confident despite her lack of experience. Mary, the middle child, is a bookworm, "a young woman of deep reflection" (9). Other than these characters, the beginning's dialogues don't reveal many other characters in the Bennet family than those.
Something that interested me is how Mr. Bingley is revealed. Most of it seems like it's a gossip column. Nobody's actually talked to Bingley (except for Mr. Bennet), so it seems that the rest of the conversation about him is hear-say. A majority of this stems from Mrs. Bennet, though. At the ball, however, the description of Bingley is by the narrator, which, after reading the hot gossip spread by Mrs. Bennet and Lady Lucas, is more reliable.
Enter, Mr. Darcy! Also revealed at the ball, my first impression of Mr. Darcy from the book is reminiscent of Edward Cullen, for lack of a better comparison. Aloof, handsome, yet unsociable; though, in contrast, Darcy comes off as more pretentious than the vampire lover. In a discussion with Bingley about Lizzie Bennet, he labels her as "...tolerable, but not handsome enough for [him]" (13).
Through this simple conversation, they establish the theme of class, the caste system which tolls so heavily on their society. The ball marks the beginning of the courtship of Bingley and Jane Bennet, the eldest Bennet daughter, and notably the prettiest. Through my past experience with this story, I know that courting is a motif used throughout the story.
I look forward to noting the differences between the book and the films. I know already that there are several differences between the films themselves, particularly in the falling action. Obviously the ending is the same, but there's a small obstacle to the ending in the 2005 film that is starkly different from that of the 1940 film. Another difference I plan to note is the characterization of Lizzie, due to different interpretations of her character by the actresses playing her in the films and the BBC miniseries. I look forward to more of Austen's wonderful book.
So far, do you like the books or movie better? I believe there is a movie for my novel, "A Room with a View," but I have never seen it. A lot of times I feel classic books are better than their movie adaptations, mainly because of the detail, so I tend to favor books. =)
DeleteTo be completely honest, it could go either way. There's something so different between the two. I feel a better connection with the movie, but I do like how much more detail I get from the book. :) I watch the movie and I see, for instance, the part when Darcy helps Lizzie into the carriage, and his hand kind of stretches with excitement as he walks away. I can only imagine how things like that are written out in the book! *__* Even more romantic!
DeleteI read "Pride and Prejudice" this weekend, I couldn't put it down! There is also a Bollywood version of the story, called Bride and Prejudice. It has quite a different feel to it, but it's enjoyable all the same. If you watch it, listen for Mr. Collins' laugh!
DeleteThere is also a cheesy, modern version called Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg if you want to experience a different take on the classic story!
DeleteErnest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms" is one of his first full novels. Published in 1929, the book describes a "Great War" (WWI) through the eyes of an ambulance driver, Frederic Henry.
ReplyDeleteTo set the reader up for the glory of war, Hemingway spins a tale of a slowly advancing conflict, one which had just passed through a small town in the mountains of Italy. In the first year of the story, a singular mountain had been obtained by the Austrian army. The Italians, British and Americans resisted and planned several attacks for the upcoming winter.
This work of "fiction" is based in the personal life of Hemingway himself. Apart from an affair with a nurse named Catherine Barkley, the story and biography parallel one another. The story's beginning is deeply rooted in Hemingway's experiences in World War I. As Kelly's subject "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini also shows, the novel's place in history plays a key role in its themes and purpose.
The tone of the piece reflects the sense of community and confusion often found in a war zone. The brotherly love is portrayed when Lt. Rinaldi "woke up when he heard me enter the room. ...he put his arm around my neck and kissed me"(Hemingway 11). Apart from Italian customs, the lieutenant often shows such affection towards all members of the ambulance corps. Even though such love is present, every member of the army feels segregated and confused by the war. Frederic Henry spent many moments questioning the purpose and his role in the war. He argued "I knew I would not be killed. Not in this war. It did not have anything to do with me" (Hemingway 37). Often, finding purpose in life or a situation relates to an existentialist mindset, a popular topic when Hemingway wrote the novel.
Viewing the war through the eyes of an American in the Italian Army, the reader can relate to the narrators thoughts and actions more easily. American roots are discovered as Henry makes his way though Italian culture, giving a reflection on the American mindset. This Earthly perspective also provides key information about the thoughts and emotions of the protagonist as he progresses. There, the tone and mood are established more easily and powerfully. For instance, the confusion and pain of a mortar strike are more lifelike in first person than in third.
If you haven't already, I suggest you look into The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. It, too, is a fictitious but true telling of a man's experience during war. I wonder why the authors claim the stories are both true and false?
DeleteIn the novel "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker, the author begins the story by abruptly describing how "mother" refuses to go to bed with her husband because she feels ill. In response, when the woman leaves to see a doctor, the father initiates sexual relations with the protagonist, "You better not tell nobody but God. It's kill your mammy" (Walker 1, first line). As such, the author writes the story in "letters" to God from the protagonist, the girl obviously listening to her father's demands.The girl then reveals that her mother dies, but before doing so the woman had an abrasive attitude. The protagonist has become pregnant from the rape and her mother refuses to admit to herself the blatant truth. Although she knows the true answer, the woman continuously asks her daughter about the father of the child but the girl never tells the truth and says the child belongs to god. Similarly, the protagonist tells her mother that God killed the baby.
ReplyDeleteThe father begins expressing a disgust for the protagonist and begins pushing her away. Also, he sells the girl's second child to a different family. However, soon the father begins expressing an interest in his younger daughter, Nettie. Although hoping to find someone to marry, the protagonist protects the younger girl and the father eventually marries a young girl.
Perhaps less wary of men than her older sister, Nettie finds a boyfriend who lost his wife. Although the man, referred to as Mr._____, visits every Sunday, she urges Nettie to continue with her studies instead of pursuing the man. Even though the father has his new wife, the protagonist continues to stop her father's sexual advances. Also, the author reveals that the protagonist has become barren "A girl at church say you git big if you bleed each month. I don't bleed no more" (Walker 6).
Eventually, Mr._____ asks for Nettie's hand in marriage. However, the father refuses to give his blessing, most likely because he still has interest in her. However, he blames this refusal on the man's several children, Nettie's inexperience, and on a "scandal" with Shug Avery. Uncertain of what Shug Avery means, the protagonist asks her step-mother. The girl finds a picture of Shug and the protagonist begins idolizing her from first sight. Astounded by her beauty and elegance, the girl obsesses over the woman. This acts as the initiating action because it causes a passion to develop in the girls previously empty, horribly tragic life.
Throughout the novel the protagonist never truly focuses on herself. For example, the narrator does not disclose her own name. Similarly, she does describe anything about herself except the times where she would "git big", which was a way of saying she experienced pregnancy. The protagonist primarily discusses the actions of other people and does not make herself the center of attention. The author writes the narration this way in order to express an idea of the girl not possessing an identity. The author does this to inform the readers that the girl simply possesses no ambition or sense of self. However, after discovering Shug Avery, this changes and the protagonist finds something to strive for and to desire. Up to that point, the protagonist (named Celie) simply went through the motions of life and tried her best to do what she needed. But now that she has a passion, Celie finally earned an identity and can perhaps grow into an independent women.
Do you think that the protagonist addressing God is just meaningless following of her father/rapist's request, or do you think it could be her crying out for a "savior"?
Delete“She promised us south rooms with a view close together, instead of which here are north rooms, looking into a courtyard, and a long way apart. Oh, Lucy!” (Forster 7).
ReplyDeleteI first found myself drawn to A Room with a View merely because of the title, but then due to the summary (and also the book cover, it was stunning!), I became intrigued. Under normal circumstances, a novel about a rich young girl torn between two men would not interest me, but Forster’s work, from what I deduced from the opening, also focuses on the idea of status and respectability. Romance and respectability hardly ever seem to mix well, which makes for a curious and sometimes entertaining read.
Miss Bartlett’s disappointed opinion about the rooms prepared for her and her niece, Lucy, starts off the novel in medias res. While most titles of novels appear later on in the text, A Room with a View almost immediately turns up because the two characters had been looking forward to two nearby rooms facing a view of Italy. Further explanation remains unclear.
Fortunately for readers, Miss Bartlett’s initial statement reveals much about her and Lucy’s status, for the two openly complain about the Signora’s chicanery with the room assignments, Miss Bartlett more so than her niece because she feels in charge of her. Additionally, her reaction to people of lower status exhibits her upbringing back in London. Overhearing the conversation, an elderly man approaches Miss Bartlett and Lucy with “‘I have a view, I have a view’” (Forster 8), shocking Miss Bartlett with his interruption. The strict woman “knew that the intruder was ill-bred, even before she glanced at him” (Forster 8), and proceeded to adopt a glassy-eyed look after glimpsing the man’s clothes in an attempt to deter him. Despite this, he offers to switch his and his son’s rooms with the two travelers’, and Miss Bartlett openly refuses, but upon his insistence she feels “powerless in the presence of brutality” (Forster 9), further exposing her disgust with both the male gender and the status they hold.
Meanwhile, Lucy appears more concerned with the similarities between London and Italy on her journey thus far. Her disappointment with the Signora’s familiar accent rather than an Italian one, as well as the lack of an authentic view of Italy, reveals her longing for adventure and variety. Compared to Miss Bartlett, Lucy treats the father and son warmly and begs for her cousin to accept the father’s offer. Her first impression of George, her soon-to-be love interest of the novel, highlights not his status, but his quiet, reserved demeanor, “perplexed and sorrowful” (Forster 9).
Forster’s characters, upon introduction into the novel, exhibit qualities of parallel characters. Lucy’s kindhearted and adventurous ways differ greatly from Miss Bartlett’s, or Charlotte’s, judgmental, cautious approach to Italy and Lucy’s behavior. Likewise, George Emerson and Cecil Vyse, her other “love” interest who has yet to appear, will most likely have opposing traits as well, especially in class and status. The parallels between Forster’s characters reveal the struggles with social status and its limiting qualities when pitted against those of higher class. However, Lucy and George’s eventual romance, though frowned upon, should challenge the societal norms which normally set them apart.
Similar to Taylor, Forster writes A Room with a View in third person omniscient, where the reader glimpses the thoughts and opinions of multiple characters. In the opening of the novel, much of the narration reveals Charlotte and Lucy’s thoughts, from Charlotte’s disgust with the Emersons to Lucy’s contemplation of “Was this really Italy?” (Forster 12). Although the plot seems easy to predict, I look forward to reading further into the novel. I sense a “Romeo and Juliet” kind of story, though with a much more entertaining plot.
Side note... I guess there are no italics in blogs so A Room with a View should be "A Room with a View"!
ReplyDeleteRarely do readers experience such a personal opening like that of Thorton Wilder’s play Our Town:
ReplyDelete“No curtain.
No scenery.
The audience, arriving, sees an empty stage in half-light.
Presently that STAGE MANAGER, hat on and pipe in mouth, enters and begins placing a table and three chairs downstage left, and a table and three chairs downstage right.” (1.3)
This literally sets the stage for a unique and unassuming scene in which the Stage Manager becomes the narrator, breaks the “fourth wall,” and speaks directly to the audience. He explains this is “a play called ‘Our Town’ by Thorton Wilder” and continues to list the director and actors involved; the name and geographical coordinates of “our town” Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire; the date, “May 7, 1901”; and the time of day, “just before dawn” (Wilder 1.4). While this harkens back to a Sophoclean or Shakespearean chorus approach, for modern viewers/readers of drama unaccustomed to such a stark scene in both scenery and sentence structure, it creates an uncomfortable tension. After the initial discomfort, however, Wilder creates an intimacy with his use of the Stage Manager’s second person point of view. For our class, it even echoes a sense of a minimalist, Beckett-esque approach of the modernists.
After the audience hears the signal of a rooster crowing, a sound universally associated with a new day, the Stage Manager continues developing the background for the play as he leads the audience through a visualization of Grover’s Corner. Following the “streaks of light over in the east there, behind our mount’in” through main street and by the railroad tracks, he invites the viewer/reader into the layers of ethnicities, religions, and social castes in the small rural town (Wilder 1.4). In his visualization, the Stage Manager weaves in the word “you” and rhetorical questions to maintain the intimacy that he himself seems to feel for the town. After enrapturing the audience with his “tour,” he then smoothly transitions to Doc Gibbs’ house and begins to develop the foundation for the main characters and initiating action of the play(Wilder 1.4). By maintaining his personal and matter-of-fact syntax and diction, Wilder’s narrator uncovers more background in merely a few pages than an average playwright could in the first scene.
Besides his use of second person point of view, Wilder adds the element of omniscience by using the Stage Manager as a character, furthering the “personal” in his opening. The viewers of the time may have assumed the Stage Manager would just narrate what happens in a straightforward present-tense narrative, yet amidst his exposition, he reveals comments like “the first automobile’s going to come along in about five years” (Wilder 1.5) and “Doc Gibbs died in 1930. The new hospital’s named after him” (Wilder 1.7) to show the chronological distance the Stage Manager has from the events of 1901. This distance does not reflect detachment, however; instead, his omniscience permits some freedom with his commentary and at the same time provides a proximity in both the details and the reverence in his description—all of these work together to garner a reliability within a point of view normally seen as flawed.
Exposing the setting, the layers of the town, and the trustworthiness of the Stage Manager as narrator, Thorton Wilder creates a solid foundation for his play where he will likely reveal more about why the narrator states, “In our town, we like to know the facts about everybody” (Wilder 1.7).
A nurse, standing in front of a house, talks to the Earth and the elements. She recalls the torment of the past and what it has wrought upon the household she abides over. This is how Medea by Euripides begins.
ReplyDeleteBy way of the first monologue, the rest of the play is given a purpose. The audience is immediately introduced to the story of the life Medea through the eyes of the Nurse and it becomes the background from which all other events will be done. As it is told, Medea was in love with Jason, so much so that she sailed to the land of Iolcus and rescued him from his capture. But soon after, Jason abandoned her for another woman, leaving her with children to care for and a heart full of grief. She spirals into a deep depression, refusing to eat or even raise her head. She even calls upon the Gods to invoke their witness upon her struggle. The Nurse grows worried for the safety of the family. “She will not give up her rage,” the Nurse explains, “before she strikes out at someone. I pray it will be enemies and not loved ones she hurts” (Euripides 4). Already, a clear problem is introduced by Euripides. But the initiating action which will set the plot in motion comes when Pedagogue, the servant of the house, accidentally lets a secret slip from his mouth. It was rumored by a group of old men that Creon, the ruler of the land, was planning to banish Medea and her family from Corinthian territory. From this dilemma, an entire story will arise and the audience will be able to follow Medea’s journey.
But the struggle of Medea will be portrayed from the third person limited point of view of the Nurse. Only the thoughts and actions of the Nurse are known while the other characters are portrayed on an external level. The Nurse becomes the central character and the audience is able to witness the development of Medea through her eyes. By establishing this point of view, Euripides is granted more freedom than first person, but less than third person omniscient. This allows him to fully engage his audience in the best way possible.
Also present in the beginning of this play was much foreshadowing. It was foreshadowed that wealth and the gods will play an important role in the outcome of events. This is not only represented by Medea’s own call upon them, but also by the Nurses own thoughts. “It brings all the greater ruin when some god feels spite toward a house” (Euripides 4) the Nurse explains. To the audience of Euripides in 431 BC, the gods were not just an idea, but a constant and powerful presence. Their presence in this play is almost a guarantee. Wealth related foreshadowing is also present. “Excess never should have a place in our lives.” (Euripides 4) the Nurse forbids. Medea inherited great wealth when she married Jason but this wealth may later come to haunt her. This idea of wealth may possibly even help to develop the theme of this play. Many of the struggles of Medea, such as her grief over her loss of Jason, show a surprising familiarity to the modern man, despite the age of this piece. It will be interesting to see what else we have in common with those who lived 2445 years ago. From what has been read, Euripides carefully chooses his words and not a line is wasted. Perhaps, and hopefully, the play will take a turn which is completely expected.
I have wanted to read Jane Eyre, a novel by Charlotte Brontë, for quite some time and looked quite forward to the novel. And, as of now, the piece fails to disappoint. The title character, Jane, lives with her uncle’s wife and her three cousins at Gateshead Hall, with the family rejecting the girl and mistreating her with abusive words and actions. Jane strives for a change, especially following Mrs. Reed, her aunt, locking her up in the same room in which her uncle passed, revealing the necessity for Jane to escape her current condition. In that moment, as Jane screams out for help and enters a panicked state, Jane realizes the true extent of her aunt’s cruelty.
ReplyDeleteThe moment represents an important point in the novel’s plot, as Jane’s experience in the red-room marks the start of her hero’s journey. Prior, Brontë revealed how, although Jane felt unhappy in her current situation, she dealt with the circumstances and slid by in life. She existed in the ‘Home Culture’ of her journey, as she accepted such a life as normal. Yet, as soon as the red-room incidence, Jane requested she get sent to off to school, therefore leaving the household and the constant abuse, and even spoke out against her longtime oppressor, Mrs. Reed, stating, “I shall remember how you thrust me back—roughly and violently thrust me back—into the red-room, and locked me up there, to my dying day” (Brontë 32). The moment represents her ‘Call to Adventure,’ promoting her to create a change in her lifestyle and begin a new chapter in her life story.
Additionally, Brontë wrote the novel in Jane’s perspective, yet Jane appears to be reflecting on these events as they occurred in the past, rather than experiencing them as the novel progresses. The diction which Brontë uses surpasses that of a ten-year-old, so writing the piece in present tense makes little to no sense. The tense with which she writes allows for the character to reflect on the past, and add additional information unknown by Jane in her ten-year-old age. Although I have yet to discover the themes in the novel, the perspective may allow Brontë to reveal them in a clearer and easier way, since Jane will be reflecting on the lessons she has learned and how she may have wished to change or repeat her actions.
According to Foster, the first page, or few pages, of a novel reveals a great deal about the upcoming story. I feel Brontë mainly utilized the first couple of pages to reveal Jane characterization, especially displaying her as an outcast in her current situation. Jane states how, “Eliza, John, and Georgiana were now clustered round their mama in the drawing-room… Me, she (Mrs. Reed) had dispensed from joining the group” (Brontë 1), showing her seclusion from the rest of her ‘family.’ Mrs. Reed believes Jane an antisocial, drab, and unattractive young girl, yet Jane’s perspective allows the reader to recognize Mrs. Reed’s descriptions as false. Brontë characterizes Jane through indirect characterization, mainly through Jane’s actions and inner-thoughts. For instance, Jane’s curiosity and love of reading reveals her as thoughtful and perceptive, rather than childish and foolish. Evidently, while the opinions people tend to falsely hold about Jane may affect her on her upcoming journey, the opinions may also allow for Jane to discover herself even amongst the collective voice of society, possibly lending itself towards one of the novel’s eventual themes.
As I progress further into the piece, I hope to continue to find enjoyment in Brontë’s acclaimed novel.
Perhaps the most influential reason that I chose to read Catch .22 by Joseph Heller is my fascination with war novels, a nice addition after reading The Things They Carried over the summer. However, to be honest I was aware of the concept of a catch .22 but I really didn’t comprehend what one truly was, therefore furthering my decision to read the book. Several chapters in now and I am pleased to say that the book not only provides an insight to bureaucratic power but also a pleasurable reading experience.
ReplyDeleteOne does not have to read more than the first page of Catch .22 to comprehend Joseph Heller’s use of elaborate diction. Within the first three sentences I had to look up the definition of the word jaundice. (For those of you that don’t know the definition is as follows: n. a medical condition with yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes.) Heller not only implements sophisticated language but he also inserts vernacular when an interaction between the soldiers occurs. This makes the novel relatable but also asserts the authors intelligence. Also within the first few pages it becomes obvious that the story is told from the third person, only seldom does he focus on a character other than Yossarian, the novels protagonist.
Also embedded within the first chapter, Heller utilizes foreshadowing of the “predicament” (aka the Catch .22) in which the protagonist will be engaged in later in the novel. Although this predicament is not specified there are several instances that take place earlier in which conflicting events occur or stagnation is reached through indecision. For example, Yossarian cannot be treated at the hospital because he is just shy of being jaundice. If he was jaundice he would have the ability to be treated, but because he is slightly jaundice he cannot. On the other hand not being jaundice would lead to his release from the hospital but because he slightly jaundice he is considered ill. Thus he remains in the hospital. Tone is another element aspect of the novel which Heller introduces in the beginning of the novel. It is quite obvious to the reader that the narrator possesses a satirical emphasis. One aspect of satire presents itself to the reader when Yossarian decides to make games up while censoring the enlisted men’s letters. When a C.I.D. man comes to investigate the letters he ironically becomes ill himself and remains at the hospital.
As opposed to traditionally easing into the underlying themes and important plot aspects, Joseph Heller has introduced several key elements to the novel within the first few pages. Although not specifically explaining the purpose of many of the occurrences in the first few chapters it provides the reader with insight and motivating factor to continue through the novel.
I read The Things They Carried as well during the summer, and I started to see some similarities between that book and Catch .22 when you described how Heller slips some important things into the book right at the beginning. I remember when I first began reading Carried, I was taking notes on the weights of all the objects, physical and emotional, that O'Brien said the soldiers carried with them in Vietnam. I was sort of scrambling to figure out what the significance was -- I like to try to find a book's title in the text, and then try to figure out why it's important to the story. It definitely came earlier in the book than I was expecting. Even though I haven't read Catch .22, I can remember that I shifted my focus slightly as I kept reading Carried, and the significance of those pieces of information the author slips in at the beginning became apparent soon enough. I don't know if my strategy will be of any use to you, but in case you ever get stuck while reading your book, think about what you've seen so far and look at it from a different angle.
DeleteDo you think that the use of the catch-22 (like your example of the jaundiced soldier) holds a relevance to the novel beyond plot? I agree that it would fit the bill for foreshadowing, but can it also reveal anything about character or contribute to the greater theme?
Enjoy your reading! Hope you take the time to have some fun with the book as well as to analyze it.
Due to a fellow student’s recommendation, I decided to read “Daisy Miller” by Henry James, a novel focusing on the life of Frederick Winterbourne that drastically changes when he meets young American, Daisy Miller. In this novel, James incorporates diction fit for the time period of the book, the nineteenth century. Overall, the playful descriptions and interactions between characters set a curious and gossipy tone that grabs the reader’s attention.
ReplyDeleteJames opens the novel with a brief backstory of the narrator, Winterbourne, and the setting, Vevey, Switzerland. Through the third person perspective, readers learn that the story being told began two or three years before when Winterbourne traveled to Geneva to visit his aunt and an older woman whom he was having an affair with. After introducing Randolph Miller, James smoothly presents the beautiful Daisy Miller. By highlighting the childishness of Randolph in their encounter, James juxtaposes the siblings and further emphasizes Daisy’s at first ladylike composure. Additionally, Daisy’s fresh features contrast those of the older woman Winterbourne was currently seeing when the narrator explains “They were wonderfully pretty eyes; and, indeed, Winterbourne had not seen for a long time anything prettier than his fair countrywoman’s various features” (James 8).
Once the opening progresses, Daisy opens up to Winterbourne and vice versa. By telling the story from Winterbourne’s point of view, James gives a thoughtful first impression of Daisy and the flirtatious vibe she puts across. Moreover, based on what I have read in the beginning of the novel, potential themes or motifs include innocence, originally introduced when Winterbourne comments on Daisy’s age, and being foreign. Daisy and Winterbourne are considered foreigners in Europe, while they are also foreign to each other. When the narrator ponders, “what were the regular conditions and limitations of one’s intercourse with a pretty American flirt. It presently became apparent that he was on the way to learn” (James 14), he notes that the unfamiliar encounter is that much more exciting and enticing.
In addition, the book is slightly ironic because it is supposed to be all about Daisy Miller, but the readers only really get Winterbourne’s perspective of her. Although the anecdote is told by the narrator, the narrator is really just retelling what Winterbourne is thinking. Readers are unsure of whether or not the narrator can be viewed as trustworthy. It was also slightly confusing because at times, James broke the third person perspective with a few first person lines when he wrote “What I should say is, simply, that when certain persons spoke of him they affirmed that the reason of his spending so much time at Geneva was that he was extremely devoted to a lady who lived there—a foreign lady—a person older than himself” (James 2-3). This wording adds to the air of gossip in the book and suggests Winterbourne has an engaged love life before Daisy comes along.
I really enjoyed this book when I read it in the spring! While reading I was intrigued by a strong juxtaposition of American and European cultures. Also, Foster used "Daisy Miller" as an example of Vampirism in his novel "How to Read Literature Like a Professor". Keep these two lenses in mind--they could, perhaps, reveal new dimensions of the story!
DeleteI've tried on a couple devices but for some reason it won't let me directly reply to Taylor's post. Anyway, this is directed to Taylor.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to "The Awakening," "Daisy Miller" is written in third person; however, the narrator isn't objective and only follows the thoughts of one man throughout the novel. It appears as though our books are alike in that they are about a woman, but told through the voice of someone else. While your novel gives multiple views of Edna, I can only see one side of Daisy. For all I know she could be very different from how she acts around Winterbourne. Also, my brother read this book and disliked it. I am curious to see how you like it (from a female's perspective and as someone who I know will consider the author's writing etc). Let me know how it is!
I know for my book seeing these different sides of Edna makes me feel like I'm gaining a better understanding of who she is. Do you think because your author wrote "Daisy Miller" in third person limited that the narrator is untrustworthy, or that you don't know Daisy as well? Or do you get the feeling that what Daisy thinks/feels is the truth? Also, if the book was written in third person omniscient and not third person limited, what do you think the other characters would think about Daisy?
DeleteWell, the third person limited gives the perspective of Winterbourne, the man courting Daisy Miller. For your first question, I believe it is more that we as readers don't know much about Daisy because the narrator is pretty objective. As of now, readers get the feel that Daisy is a pretty American flirt who enjoys being the center of attention and based on her actions (I have read more than when I originally wrote this blog) I truly doubt there is another side to her; however, I'll never know unless something is revealed further on in the book. If the book was written in third person omniscient as opposed to third person limited, I can definitely assume what the other characters might think. For one, Winterbourne's urbane aunt would comment on how Daisy is such a commoner and a flirt looking to latch on to a wealthy man such as her nephew. Daisy's mother, who seems to keep to herself, would most likely openly disagree with Daisy's "gentlemen's society" and wish for all of their sakes that Daisy would stop chatting up strangers. The only one I feel hesitant about is Eugenio, Daisy’s family courier. It almost seems like he is annoyed with the entire family, but then again I also get the vibe that he cares for them. The author does a good job of characterizing the other characters so it is relatively easy to guess what they are thinking. I know the basic gist of “The Awakening” and the scandal that goes on with Edna but I’m curious, what do you think of her? I mean is it the sort of thing where you sympathize for the character? Do the multiple point of view make the readers like Edna or the other way around?
DeleteThe beginning of Madame Bovary actually has, at least from the first part, three Madame Bovary’s. The starts not with the senior Madame Bovary, but the narrative follows the story of her son Charles Bovary. The first chapters progress follows Charles life from school to his current career as a doctor. He gets married to a woman far older than himself who becomes the second Madame Bovary of the story. During their marriage, however, he begins treating a man, Mr. Rouault, whose daughter, Emma, Charles falls in love with.
ReplyDeleteHis falling in love could be the start of the real meat of the story, only the reader has to remember that the story is not going to be about Charles Bovary and his journey. It is going to be about Madame Bovary. Still, some plot occurs, but it is mostly setting up the scene for Emma to step up and become the Madame Bovary the story is going to follow.
Eventually Charles wife dies and he is free to marry Emma. This is where the narration starts to follow Emma, and the actual story begins. Up until then the “housekeeping” part of the novel was the main focus, establishing characters, creating scenery, developing the history and the fictional world. Now the official Madame Bovary has been introduced her hero’s journey can begin.
Emma’s beginning is in the Home Culture of a sort. She is in the same place as she has always been in, somewhere that is familiar to her. A megar home with comfortable accommodations. Still, she, even from the start is disatisfied. She dislikes her mundane life and wishes to live the lives of those she read about in novels back when she was at the convent. She wants a life with castles and Dukes and romance that Charles, despite loving her unconditionally, cannot give her.
Emma’s call to adventure comes pull her from her boredom when the Marquis d’Andervilliers invites her and Charles to his chateau in Vaubyessard. This story has many beginnings. It started with Charles, following his journey through life until meeting Emma, where her story began and the plot in general. Now Emma’s journey is officially beginning with her taste if luxury. At the castle she meets fine people who all have so many beautiful possessions, dances with Viscounts and important figureheads, and ignores her clumsy husband above all else.
When she eventually has to leave she is distraught, and perpetually bored. Nothing is interesting enough to amuse her anymore. She has tasted luxury and she cannot go back to the way her life was before. Within the first chapters after her introduction, Emma Bovary has experienced the home culture aspect of her journey, in addition to the call to adventure, and potentially the refusal, as she is forced from the lifestyle she desires not of her own accord, but by outside forces.
By chapter two of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” Oscar Wilde establishes a potent flower symbolism. Even in the first paragraph it mentions that Hallward’s studio was “filled with the rich odor of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden...the delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn” (Wilde 67). Hallward’s garden is filled with beautiful delicate flowers all in the perfect state of beauty. Lord Henry’s library is set out with gilt daisy’s, which I will return to as it is important, and bowls of parrot-tulips. Dorian described Lord Henry’s hands as being “flower-like” (Wilde 98). The whole first chapter flowers keep being mentioned, I doubt the have anything truly to do with the plot but rather they symbolize and foreshadow the story of Dorian Gray.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to note that flowers are only ever mentioned in conjunction with Dorian Gray, at least this far into the story. In the first sentence, as I quoted before, both Lord Henry and Hallward admire a picture of Dorian Gray made by Hallward. The portrait is not the real Dorian Gray, but the flowers being prominent around the portrait as well as Dorian himself create the foreshadowing. Dorian and the portrait will become linked in the cycle of eternal youth and constant death, the same cycle as the flowers.
Lord Henry, in his speech to Dorian, uses flowers as an example of Dorian’s beauty and youth. He notes how flowers may wither and die but at the same time every year they will return to their former beauty. Humans, however, wither and die over time and never return to their beauty or keep their youth. While he says this young Dorian observed a bee land on a Tyrian convolvulus and begin it’s pollination. (Wilde 100) Pollinating a flower speeds up the aging process in the flower causing it to die sooner. Lord Henry is the bee, pollinating the young flower Dorian with his ideas and views on society. This pollination leads to Dorian’s outburst of rage upon Hallward’s painting, wishing spitefully that it would age and he would remain young forever, and that he “[is] jealous of everything whose beauty does not die” (Wilde 103).
Flowers do not stay beautiful forever, they do die for a time during the winter. But to preserve a flower would stop it from ever aging. To gild something means to cover it in gold. It is often done to flowers to stop them from decaying. The gilded daisy’s in Lord Henry’s will never age; they will never lose their beauty because they are preserved in the form of art. Art stops death and decay from occurring in the flowers and Dorian who ages only in the portrait, but it also stops the flower from sharing it’s lovely scent and people no longer can feel its soft petals. Dorian it stopped from aging and so he will watch his friends die without him, he will not know what it is to be human anymore because he will not go through the process all humans are supposed to experience. Preserving something so beautiful makes it cease to be that which made it beautiful, but it prevents it from the end which it was destined to meet.
For my Independent Reading selection, I ended up choosing Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel that tackles issues such as slavery, prejudice, justice, and morality. In the opening chapters, I’ve already gotten a taste of what made this novel so controversial in the days leading up to the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteTone is established from the first lines of the novel, notably through the effective usage of dialect. For those of you who read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in English class last year, Stowe uses a similar Southern dialect for similar reasons. One of those tone-establishing reasons is that the local dialect gives the novel a more local, authentic feel when dialogue occurs. However, Stowe presents her novel through a third-person perspective, so dialect only comes into play during dialogue (I’ll get back to POV later on). Another reason is that dialect reveals character. In the discussion between Mr. Shelby [Tom’s current, kind owner] and Mr. Haley [Tom’s prospective buyer], there is a noticeable contrast between Shelby’s proper English and Haley’s “free and easy defiance of Murray's Grammar” (Stowe 1). To make this difference painfully clear, Stowe describes the opportunistic Haley as possessing “that swaggering air of pretension which marks a low man who is trying to elbow his way upward in the world” (Stowe 1). Dialect shapes the reader’s views of the characters, which in turn affects the opening tone of the novel.
Although tone can be felt more strongly than explained in the first chapters, foreshadowing can definitely be pointed out on the pages. In these first few chapters, the reader is presented with the story of George Harris, a bright young Negro slave who comes to work in a bagging factory and impresses the men of the factory. George is too good, in fact -- in behaving as a respectable, intelligent man, George inadvertently causes his owner “to feel an uneasy consciousness of inferiority” (Stowe 11). As a result of his intelligence, which under normal circumstances should have put him in a position to move up in the world, his master takes him out of the factory and puts him to work in the fields -- labor that George resents, as he recognizes it is beneath him. I believe that this short backstory serves as a foreshadowing of Tom’s life: Tom, like George, is a slave with exceptional qualities, but will ultimately have his gifts go to waste by the foolish decision of a corrupt owner. It’s a question of morality -- this is the story of a good man, a man who happens to be a slave, who gets stuck with an awful lot in life. The issue for which Stowe lays the groundwork, even this early in the novel, is that slavery is a moral evil because it allows a man’s good gifts to go to waste in the name of a false ideal like racial supremacy.
Stowe uses point-of-view to open the novel as well. As I mentioned earlier, Stowe primarily tells the story from a third-person perspective, while at the same time offering readers a close view of the characters’ actions. I believe this structure is important to the novel’s success: in the absence of a specific narrator, yet surrounded with intimate knowledge of the story, Stowe offers the reader the chance to experience the story through whatever lens his wishes to view it. It’s worth mentioning that, at the time the book was printed (1852), this novel offered an unusual take on a slave’s life for some audiences. For true supporters of the concept of slavery, black people were seen as somehow less than human. For such people to read a novel that presents the black slave as being of better moral standing than his white master, it’s no wonder that this take on the issue generated a considerable amount of controversy. It’s still a little early for me to feel ready to “lock in” my answer, but I think POV primarily reveals the driving issue of the story -- it forces readers (and especially forced Civil War-era readers) to examine their understandings of morality from an unexpected viewpoint.
In Foster’s How to Read Novels like a Professor, he writes that even the first sentence can give you everything you need to know to read the novel. I decided, therefore, to focus my post on the first line of Anna Karenina and the implications it has had throughout the opening scenes of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to begin by briefly explaining why I chose to read this lengthy story. It remains a rather well-known fact that I am a huge fan of Gossip Girl and Anna Karenina coincidently happens to be the main character’s favorite book. Since the novel had managed to squeeze itself into a current day TV drama about teenagers, I believed there would be something especially relevant I could glean from the work. Thus began my reading journey (serious about journey- the book is 868 pages).
Over the summer, I attempted to start the book but only read the first twenty or so pages. The first line, however, stuck out to me in my initial reading. As I started the book a second time with a more sophisticated and analytical mindset, the first line shimmered with promise. Sometimes it may be difficult to see the underlying meaning within a line or passage of text, however, the first line reading “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” (Tolstoy 1), initiated within me an immediate response.
Several of Foster’s eighteen elements overlap with what we were asked to consider, the first being foreshadowing. The first line of the novel implies impending familial conflict as well as a possible theme involving family. Tolstoy, immediately following this line, launches into a recount of the past three days in the Oblonsky household; overridden with lust, scorn, anger and neglect. Mr. Oblonsky had an affair with the French governess and Mrs. Oblonsky refuses to leave her bedroom. Most of the hired staff has quit and the children are barely looked after as a result. The author categorized the reasons why the Oblonsky family is unhappy and then proceeds into Mr. Oblonsky’s social circle, examining the problems and fears within the Russian aristocracy.
As I briefly mentioned above, the first line of the novel also presents thematic foundations. An evident theme early on in the novel is family: how it is perceived in different classes within Russia. Oblonsky thinks he loved his wife Dolly, but married her more as a business deal than out of true affection. His friend Levin, however, is infatuated with Dolly’s younger sister Kitty. He is a man of the land and does not consider himself “worthy” to marry her but very much desires to. The viewpoints on family and love are completely different between the two friends.
Tolstoy recounts his story in the third person which I have found to be quite beneficial to my understanding of the story. There are many characters in the book so the POV is helpful in learning who the characters are as well as their own POV towards the story’s actions. It reveals more regarding reactions of the characters and how their lives intersect which ultimately will end up tying back to and strengthening the theme.
I chose to read Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", a novel I have been anxious to read for months now. I came across Austen's work while reading another story, one with which the protagonists exhibit similar characteristics and plot lines of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett, in turn making me have a desire to read this book.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning of the novel, it was clear the writing was done in third person omniscient. Though the focus is mainly on Elizabeth, it also shifts to the thoughts and feelings of Darcy and several of the other characters. Third person omniscient allows for more than one characters thoughts, opinions, and emotions to stretch across to the reader. The story with which I came across "Pride and Prejudice" accomplished this through changing point of view every other chapter or a couple of times within each chapter. I believe the third person omniscient reveals just as much. For example, had the novel been written from the point of view of Elizabeth Bennett, the reader would not be aware that Mr. Darcy "had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her" unless he said so in dialogue (Austen 35).
Not only did Austen provide the emotions and thoughts of the characters, but she also exemplified development within the opening alone. To begin, word of mouth and gossip seems to be a common thread. Everybody knows something about everybody. For example, Mr. Wickham tells Elizabeth of Darcy's father, how Wickham was promised money after his death, to provide for him amply, but how Darcy took that from him, and Darcy's wickedness towards Wickham (Austen 54). Likewise, Elizabeth's sister, Jane, explains a different side of the story to Elizabeth, one told to her by her suitor and Darcy's acquaintance, Mr. Bingley, in which the roles are reversed and it is Wickham that is wicked to Darcy. Another instance is regarding the connection to Mr. Darcy and Lady Catherine as assumed by Mr. Collins. He apparently, "happened to overhear the gentleman himself mentioning to the young lady who does the honours of this house" (Austen 66). This further exemplifies the characters needs for gossip.
The opening also reveals Elizabeth's independence. Her mother, Mrs. Bennett is the one that is so quick to get her married. However, Elizabeth is not looking so much for wealth and money as her mother does in trying to find a suitor. She does not want to taint her happiness (Austen 74). Elizabeth is also aware that she doesn't need to be married at the given moment. This becomes clear when she rejects Mr. Collins offer to marry her. Even though a man is offering to take her hand she still feels confident to decline as he is not what she is looking for. When Mr. Collins arrives to speak privately with her, Mrs. Bennett jumps at the opportunity while Elizabeth does not simply agree to be married for the sake of being married. She tells him that he "'must leave me to judge for myself, and pay me the compliment of believing what I say'" (Austen 74).
This concept of marriage is one that presents itself in several of Austen's novels. Her novels are also believed to provide evidence suggesting they "implicate a society that restricted women's opinions to either marriage or a dismal spinsterhood" (Austen v). The topic of marriage is clearly present in the opening with Elizabeth's sister, Jane, being set to marry Mr. Bingley and Mrs. Bennett anxious to get all of her daughters married. "Pride and Prejudice" certainly fits the mold of Austen novels. Marriage plays a huge role in this novel, as implied through the high importance and relevance in the opening.
As I continue with this novel, I am anxious to watch Elizabeth develop, to watch Elizabeth and Darcy develop no matter the outcome. I don't particularly believe in love at first sight. I believe in infatuation at first sight and love after the fact or at least not right away. I believe that, with what I have read so far, Darcy and Elizabeth have exhibited infatuation at first sight. I'm excited to read the love come in to play.
DeleteI apologize if my response is poorly written, as the comment box makes it difficult to correct my response and fix the areas that need repairing.
ReplyDeleteMy reason for choosing “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway is rather simple, as I had picked the book solely off my knowledge of Ernest Hemingway’s unique writing style, which is something I enjoy about his works. Like most texts by Hemingway, the book is based off of some of his experiences during war, more specifically his time spent as a reporter during the Spanish Civil War. This is interesting because Hemingway inserts a lot of himself into the narrator Robert Jordan, which allows the reader to not only learn about Hemingway’s personality, but also to predict some of the events in the book, along with Robert’s reactions.
I feel that the book truly begins with the quote by John Donne, because the quote not only sets the tone, but also hints at the plot ahead. After this quote Hemingway devotes a respectable amount of time just describing the landscape of the area where the book starts from the perspective of the narrator, Robert Jordan. Hemingway then also paints an image of the narrator and his guide, Anselmo, as they discuss blowing up the bridge for a currently unstated reason. Shortly after these descriptions, while Robert Jordan waits for Anselmo to meet with his comrades so they do not shoot Jordan, Robert has a flashback in which he remembers his orders to blow up the bridge. When he receives his orders, Jordan seems to be undaunted by the task, calmly remarking that he has blown many bridges before, and does not care what happens to him. The personality displayed here is an important one to note, because it is through the eyes of Jordan (although later on in the book, the viewpoint is occasionally through the eyes of a different character) that the reader reads much of the book. Continuing on from this flashback as Anselmo returns, Jordan soon meets a particularly ugly (as described by Jordan) man who is immediately suspicious and hostile to Jordan, even more so when Jordan tells him of his objective. Finding out that the hostile man’s name is Pablo, the reader is presented with an immediate adversary to Jordan’s plans. As they continue to a horse stable where Pablo expresses his pride in the horses, Jordan concludes that Pablo cannot be trusted and may pose a threat to his mission. Shortly after this though, the chapter soon ends.
Although I shortened the first chapter quite a bit, this stating of facts is particularly important to how Hemingway introduces his book. Not wasting any time introducing each individual critical part of a book, he immediately states where the book takes place, the “quest”, the “hero”, what he looks like, his ally, what they look like, and why he is going on the “quest”, and even a possible obstacle in his quest. This allows Hemingway to immediately proceed with the plot rather than slowly creating the grounds on which the plot will then proceed from like some other texts do.
I chose to read "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. The novel is very lengthy but I have heard and read many reviews that say this is one of the best pieces of American literature.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Heller created a slew of characters and named each chapter of the novel after each one (there are a lot of chapters). This is one of the problems I have with the book. There are many characters and at times this causes confusion for me trying to remember each character. The main protagonist and absurd hero, Captain Yossarian who is a B-25 bombardier of the 256th Bombardment Squadron in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War 2.
Another problem I have with the book is the chronology. The third person narrator jumps from the past and present often which also causes confusion when I'm reading.
Heller introduces us to a lot of different characters who become more and more important as the book goes on. He also explains to us what Catch-22 is and its impact on all the pilots. Catch-22 is a situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules. The Army Air Force only requires soldiers to fly 50 missions but Yossarian's commanding officer keeps changing the required amount. A rule the Army Air Force has is the pilot always has to follow any of the commanding officer's orders. So Yossarian is stuck having to do more missions than are required.
It will be interesting to see what becomes of Yossarian and his fellow pilots as well as Catch-22's impact on them.
"Anna Kerenina" is over 800 pages of beautiful. I suppose I decided to read it because my sister ripped up my dad's copy of the book and the tatters and the title caught my notice as it lingered on the shelf...
ReplyDeleteThe first sentence struck me. I recognized it as a favorite line my father would recite now and again. Upon seeing it, I recognized it's thought on a level even more personal. I believe Tolstoy and I may think similarly:
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”
(Tolstoy 1).
Leo Tolstoy commences his novel, "Anna Karenina," with a third person point of view, focusing on various characters here and there. In this way, the reader gets a glimpse of the desires and perspectives of each character concerning an intricate series of events. In the first twenty chapters or so, Tolstoy provides this sort of insight on nearly every character met, solely omitting the novel's namesake: Anna Karenin. Mrs. Karenin's arrival is anticipated by many, including the reader, as there is a sort of suspense built up till the moment she steps out of the train carriage upon her arrival in Moscow.
Her presence was initially requested by her brother, Stiva Oblonsky, for he was wading through the crumbs of a crippled marriage. He devastated his wife Dolly after committing adultery with their French Governess. Both spouses still believed with utmost confidence their sister could patch up whatever remains of love, or family. This broken marriage, and numerous other unlucky omens that follow can only foreshadow an ominous, and perhaps unrewarding love story. Love is doomed from the start.
Meanwhile, Oblonsky's oldest friend Levin has returned to Moscow from the country to propose to Dolly's sister, Kitty. Love consumes Levin, and he so eloquently describes this to Oblonsky, “All the girls in the world were divided into two classes: one class included all the girls in the world except her, and they had all the usual human feelings and were very ordinary girls; while the other class -herself alone- had no weaknesses and was superior to all humanity” (47), so his anguish was nearly overwhelming when Kitty all too easily declined his proposal. This serves as a second unlucky omen.
Kitty refused Levin for the interest and the possibility of another husband, Count Vronsky. Kitty and her mother expect Count Vronsky to propose to Kitty as soon as his mother, Countess Vronsky, arrives in Moscow on the same train as Mrs. Karenin. Little known to them, Vronsky has no intention to ask Kitty's hand. Unlucky omen #3.
When the two arrive, Anna Karenin meets Vronsky for the first time at the train station. They seem to take quite a liking to one another, which many moments in future pages confirms. Moments after the acquaintance is made, a man working on the tracks was run over and killed by the train, out of sheer negligence. Unlucky omen #4.
These omens create a dark shadow which may loom over events to occur in coming pages. But this seems to contribute to the possible foundation of a theme alluded to in the very first sentence, a theme of misfortune playing a key part in happiness. Or perhaps, that unhappiness and flaws are essential to any sort of fulfillment--especially in love. Various other philosophical questions seem to be budding, one of which is a theme of the modernization of society. This I base on the varying opinions of certain characters in the novel, concerning marriage. The old belief that marriage comes and love must follow is being replaced by the idea that love should be found before marriage.
Such an opening provides a dramatic and exciting tone for the rest of the novel. All the life, the spectacles, the tensions, and the questions of the first chapters shall certainly not cease in pages to come!
Peter Shaffer’s play, Equus, begins with “All reined up in old language and old assumptions, straining to jump clean-hoofed on to a whole new track of being I only suspect is there. I can’t see it because my educated, average head is there. I can’t jump because the bit forbids it…” (Shaffer 10). The play is introduced with several descriptive interactions on scene, character, and setting. These details then led into a dialogue between two psychologists.
ReplyDeleteThe play then leads an intriguing perspective. As the plot continues, the reader only learns as much about the patient as the doctor does. It is through exploration of the main character, a boy who blinded six horses without motivation, that the reader learns of his complex and passive aggressive home life. The young boy has had a deep obsession with horses, but after one experience, refuses to ride. The characterization of the boy is terrifying, he screams horrid noises in his sleep and says unsightly things to his elders. All is forgiven though in the exchange for information about his seemingly unplanned act of abuse. It is through a deeply psychological perspective in which the true character of the boy, and his acts, will be revealed.
Shaffer then explores the role of religion in society. Shaffer uses the concept of religion to exhibit a rift created between the boy’s mother and father. The issue between parents draws attention to the psychological affect negative relationships can have on a growing child. The author insinuates extremely religious values of the boys mother combined with the negative ideals of the boy’s father create a boy who is unsure of who’s values to carry. As the play continues the boy struggles with the idea of compromise. The psychologists asks him questions and days later he blurts out an answer. The psychologist provides no emotional satisfaction to either the reader or the boy as he does not comply to the boys harsh language or crude remarks. The contradicting personalities of the psychologist and the boy create a setting that complicated and complex.
Circling back to the quote mentioned at the beginning of this analysis, the writer’s style is intriguing and, in a sense, calming. I find that the perspective of the play realistic to a true therapy with the psychologist. As readers, we are presented with a case and asked to evaluate the possible motivates behind the boy’s actions. As psychologists we must wait for the boy to open up and develop as character. As readers Shaffer asks us to ignore the all to human instinct to judge the surface of both the book and the boy.
How better to open a novel than by throwing the reader into the middle of an argument amongst close friends? Oscar Wilde starts his controversial novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with a golden London day as Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward discuss Hallward’s latest painting, one of supreme quality and exquisite taste: a portrait of Dorian Gray. Driven almost exclusively by dialogue in between the two men, the opening chapters of the novel set the tone and point of view for the novel.
ReplyDeleteThe third-person limited point of view in this novel offers a great deal to the dialogue, but at the same time places the reader on the outside of the lives of these mysterious and opinioned men. Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward spend a great deal of time gazing at Hallward’s most recent masterpiece, which depicts a man of such youth and beauty that Wotton suggests his friend display the portrait. Claiming he, “I really can't exhibit it. I have put too much of myself into it”, Basil rejects the idea and says the portrait is for his own purposes. Confused by Hallward’s reluctance, the two men spend the remainder of the first chapter in a biting back and forth, discussing youth, mortality, and true beauty. The pseudo-omniscience of the narrator offers a wide array of points, ranging from the artfully crafted descriptions of the garden and home in which Hallward paints to the cynical assertions of Wotton, but all the same there are limits to this point of view. Without specific focus on one of the characters, the reader is left on the outside of the characters true thoughts and feelings and must read into their actions through dialogues. True, the removal of the narrator from the story allows a wider scope for the reader to view, but as with novels of this point of view too much is left unsaid. The personal dialogues and evocations of true emotion between the men make the reader uncomfortable; the reader naturally feels on the outside and as if one does not belong among the men sharing in their conversation. The point of view, however, allows for the reader to experience every savory detail of the duo’s bite and clarity.
The intrigue of the conversation only heightens when Dorian Gray, the golden youth from the painting, comes to the studio for a final session to be immortalized in paint. Once more, the point of view offers a multi-faceted perspective as Wotton and Gray escape to the garden to converse on light topics such as the true nature of beauty and influence. Wotton prattles on, flinging his poignant opinions about the room like gasoline soaked rags, just waiting to be set ablaze. His tenacity and cynicism proves too much for the boy, who refuses to engage in Wotton’s harsh words. The reader cannot help but empathize with the beautiful man, for Wotton’s overwhelming analysis of nearly everything in life leaves us exhausted and confused. This is not to say that Wotton does not make logical or thought provoking points, but the frequency and depth of these points dominate the novel’s opening. The third person limited point of view facilitates these feelings, allowing the reader to get a feel for the mixed emotions of the scene, opening the novel in style and depth.
Underneath the many points and assertions of Wotton lies a great cynicism and criticism of nearly everything. This judgmental and pensive tone propels the plot and dialogue between the characters. Personally, I love to hear this man’s unique views on life; here is a list of my favorites lines to offer a sample platter of Wotton’s critical nature:
• “Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love: it is the faithless who know love's tragedies”
Delete• “And Beauty is a form of Genius—is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation”.
• “Nothing remains then but the recollection of a pleasure, or the luxury of a regret. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.”
• “Always… Women are so fond of using it. They spoil every romance by trying to make it last for ever”
• “Every moment that passes takes something from me, and gives something to it.”
• “The only thing he considers of any importance is whether one believes it oneself… the value of an idea has nothing whatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses”
Although his opinions are pointed and may not be aligned with reader’s personal beliefs, it is hard to ignore the assurance and logic with which he formulates his arguments. This tone of criticism and reason resound through the text, picking apart love, beauty, women, and even opinion itself. If this is how the novel begins, it will certainly be an adventure to continue through the text.
For my independent selection, I originally decided on Margaret Atwood’s “Oryx and Crake.” (I can’t italicize or underline so I’m just going to put everything in parentheses). However, based on Brad and I’s lack of communication, I gave up my attempt at getting my hands on the novel and instead decided to read Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” I decided to read this novel instead first and foremost, because I already owned it, but also because about a year ago I started the novel, and got so busy I never finished it. This independent reading assignment not only gives me an excuse to read the whole work of literature, it allows me to start from the beginning and fully appreciate this work of literature.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to Erica’s point of view, I’ve always enjoyed the movies behind “Pride and Prejudice,” and I began reading it last year after watching a Youtube vlog series based off “Pride and Prejudice,” set in modern day called “The Lizzie Bennett Diaries.” Based on my prior knowledge of sequence of events, the opening of the story was familiar. I’ve always loved the first line. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen 1). I’ve always considered this line to be a wonderful set up to the plot of the novel, especially the first few short chapters. Within the first few chapters, we not only meet our beloved narrator Elizabeth Bennett, but we also learn of her sisters Kitty, Lydia, and Jane. Within the first few pages of the piece, we also meet Mr. Bingley, the new suitor who has moved in across town and whom the Bennett’s mother is fixated upon, as the first line perfectly describes her views on men: marriage material or they’re not worth it.
This also sets up a very handsome setting for a love story to take place, as it is a well-known fact that “Pride and Prejudice” is a love story. Mr. Bingley is regarded at first through gossip and the eyes of others, until the initial opening ball, in which his fascination with Jane becomes apparent. The eldest Bennett sister, while not the narrator, steals away Mr. Bingley just in time to reveal the handsome but cynical Mr. Darcy, whom everyone immediately hates based upon his attitude towards the other attendees at the ball. Jane Austen, through wordy Victorian dialect and a beautiful aptitude for painting the picture of these maidens and their suitors (I might be binge-watching too much Reign these days) and very quickly sets up the scene for her readers. The introduction of the mysterious and cynical Mr. Darcy paints him as an antagonist with a dark history, and foreshadows a strange future for him and our narrator. I am really excited to actually finish this book, especially now that it’s required I have no excuse to not finish it. I am ready to fully read this classic work of literature. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed Jane Austen’s style, seeing as I was nervous about reading something from such an older time period.
“They’re out there” (Kesey 1). With such a vague, mysterious, short line, Ken Kesey opens up his novel One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which sets up the entirety of the rest of the novel.
ReplyDeleteKesey writes from the first person perspective of Chief Bromden, a huge Native American in a mental ward at a hospital. There is no official introduction as to why he is there, although he does state that he is pretending to be deaf and mute, therefore allowing him to observe the conversations and activities of those around him. Although he is faking his deaf and muteness, he still has a few actual mental issues which result in a variety of hallucinations, which cause there to be a lack of clarity into what is actually occurring and what is being made up by his mind. One of the main hallucinations which Bromden experiences in the very beginning of the novel is of the Nurse Ratched, where he suddenly describes her as multiplying in size to be as huge as a tractor and smelling of machinery. This hallucination then not only portrays Bromden’s mentality, but it also captures the nurse’s character as Bromden observes her, and shows that while it may have been a hallucination, she still has a deep level of cruelty which will be shown throughout the rest of the novel.
Along with the hallucinations of the nurse, he repeatedly describes a “fog” overtaking the ward. This fog sticks out as weird due to the fact that they are indoors and no one else in the ward seems to be bothered by it. As Foster stated in How to Read Literature Like a Professor , fog is often used by authors to portray that the characters are not seeing things clearly. This teamed with the hallucinations, lowers Bromden’s reliability as a narrator of the novel. While he has a view from which he can observe more than others on average, this view which he does have may not always be accurate. But Bromden addresses this because he mentions how everything seems to be too horrible to believe and that he still has a distracted view about the following events of the novel but that “it’s the truth, even if it didn’t happen” (Kesey 9). By doing this, Bromden’s reliability as a narrator is really questionable, and it overall just increases the vagueness and also mysteriousness of the novel which is to follow.
As vaguely as he opened the novel with “They’re out there” he ends the introduction just as mysteriously with mentions of the future events which he will be telling as being terrible and hard to believe, but still being the truth, giving off that that the following novel will have a similar mysteriousness.
If you’re not completely and utterly lost the first time you crack open Catch 22, you’re as crazy as the protagonist Captain Yossarian. Heck, every single member of the Army Air Force’s 256th squadron is crazy, if you take Yossarian’s word for it. He’s the craziest soldier of all the allies in WWII Europe, because he doesn’t care about medals, or stopping Germany, or fighting for his country, he just wants to stay alive. Yossarian lives by one maxim, it doesn’t matter who wins the war if you’re dead. Due to his inexplicable desire to stay alive while fighting a war, Yossarian avoids completing his missions as a bombardier at all costs. Yossarian remains surrounded by hundreds of other men who also don’t do their jobs on the small island base of Pianosa.
ReplyDeleteNow let’s backtrack a bit. Catch 22 opens in an army hospital, with doctors musing incoherently about the state of Yossarian’s liver. Joseph Heller’s use of a third person omniscient narrator greatly aides his satirical aim of highlighting the absurdity of war. Heller depicts all parties involved in the war as absurd in his work of satire.