Lord Of The Flies – William Golding
“Lord of the Flies” by William Golding centers around a conflict between two of the main characters, Jack and Ralph. This essay will look at how the conflict eventually ends in tragedy for most of the people on the island, using the writer’s use of symbolism and the characterisation of the two characters.
The novel tells the story of a group of English schoolboys whose plane crashes on an uninhabited island whilst being evacuated from England. The boys elect Ralph as their leader, and Jack and his choir as hunters. Some of the younger boys worry about a beast which they claim to have seen in the trees. The group start a fire to attract attention from passing ships, however, it burns out of control, killing one of the younger boys. Ralph sees a ship on the horizon one day and runs up to the top of the mountain to find that the fire has gone out. He is angry at the hunters because they were supposed to keep the fire burning, but they were too busy hunting pigs.
One night, Sam and Eric are keeping the fire burning, when they hear a noise in the trees. It is a dead parachutist that has landed on the island, but because it is dark, they do not know this and think it is the beast. They go back to the camp to tell the group and Ralph, Jack and Roger go off to find it.
The group eventually splits in two. Jack and his hunters, along with a few other boys, set up camp on the rocks, whilst the rest of the group stay at the beach. The hunters attack Piggy and steal his glasses. In an attempt to get them back, Piggy is killed by a rock which Roger pushes off the cliff above him. Ralph runs back to the beach to find a naval officer who has come to rescue them.
Golding uses lots of symbolism in the novel, and many of these symbolic objects are related to the conflict. Firstly, the conch is the shell that Ralph uses to call meetings. At these meetings, only the person holding the conch can speak, so it symbolises order, democracy and leadership. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” Jack and Ralph are fighting for leadership in the novel, fighting for control of the conch. This conflict is the starting point for the chaos which leads to the tragedies.
Piggy’s glasses are used to start the fire. “His specs – use them as burning glasses!” Without these, there would be no fire, meaning no food and no rescue, therefore meaning survival. The fire is what cause the first death on the island; the death of the boy with the birthmark. After the boys split in two, Piggy’s glasses are stolen by Jack’s group so they can use them to light fires. This leads to Piggy’s death when he tries to retrieve them. His glasses therefore symbolise life and death.
The “beast” and the pigs head – or Lord of the Flies – both symbolise power and the veil that is present in all of us. Simon talks with the Pig’s head as if it understands him and talks back to him, and realises that the boys are scared of the beast because it exists in all of them. “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the beast. Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt down and kill! You knew didn’t you? I’m part of you?” It’s this evil in the boys which leads to the chaos that results in the deaths.
As the story unfolds, the conflict between the two main characters intensifies, eventually ending in them leading their own separate tribes.
Ralph is a kind, fair-minded character, who immediately takes the role of leader. “We’re having a meeting. Come and join in.” This is not because he wants to boss people around, but because he knows that if they are going to be stuck on the island for a long time, there will need to be some order and authority. “We ought to have more rules.” This shows he is doing all he can to retain peace and keep everything running smoothly.
Jack is quite the opposite of Ralph. He is arrogant and violent and it would seem that Golding has created Jack with the intention of making the reader dislike the character. He is the leader of anarchy on the island, and the leader of the savage tribe which hunts the pigs. “He swung back his right arm and hurled it with all his strength.” This shows he is really determined to make his first kill. At the first meeting, he wants to be leader, but when Ralph is elected, “the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification.” This suggest he is probably used to being a leader, as he is head boy at his school, and does not like it when someone has more power than him. The fact the he feels power when he has a weapon in his hand shows that he a violent character. “Slammed his knife into the trunk and looked around him challengingly.”
At the start of the novel, Jack and Ralph seem to get along quite well, and work as a team. “Jack and Ralph smiled at each other with shy liking.” However, as the story goes on, the difference in personality becomes apparent. The first sign of conflict between the two comes when Ralph and Simon are building shelters at the beach, and Jack is out hunting pigs. Ralph is annoyed that nobody is helping them with the huts and confronts Jack in a very civilised manner. “You wouldn’t mind helping with the shelters, I suppose?” Jack however, replies in a very violent aggressive manner. “Suddenly Jack shouted in rage “Are you accusing me-?”
This clash in personality between Jack and Ralph is the main cause of the conflicts and Golding has used symbolism and characterisation very well to convey this idea.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
"Jane Eyre"
Higher Specialist Study
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte is a powerful and passionate story about a young woman’s search for independence and a chance to find true happiness. Her relationship with her master, Edward Rochester is central to the story. Their passionate love for each other is `effectively shown by Bronte’s use of beauty. Neither Jane nor Rochester are physically attractive. This is crucial to the story because it allows the reader to become completely absorbed in the characters emotional and internal feelings. It truly allows the reader to understand the deep, passionate love that these people have for each other without differing to their physical beauty. It also raises the theme that internal beauty is more important than external. Bronte effectively achieves this by her use of characterisation, plot and settings.
Jane Eyre is an incredibly kind character who has a strong sense of duty and pride. However, Jane herself is not physically attractive. She describes herself as “poor, obscure, plain and little.” She has a beautiful heart though which allows her to look beyond the physical beauty and see inside a person’s soul. As the book is written entirely through her perspective Bronte captures the pure love that Jane has for Rochester. We can see her immediate reactions when she sees him: I did not think I should tremble this way when I saw him- or lose my voice or power of motion in his presence.” Bronte manages to show the depth of Jane’s love for her master. As he is not handsome, we are never under the illusion that Jane is attracted to him because of his looks. It is his kindness, passion and soul that attracts her and makes their love even stronger. A perfect example of this is when she is commenting about his physical appearance: “were not beautiful according to rule, but they were more than beautiful to me: they were full of interest that quite mastered me.” Here, Jane is able to find the beauty in Rochester that others would never notice. This also shows how perfect Rochester and Jane are together. Her reaction to her own external beauty also changes when Rochester proposes to her. The happiness she feels inside is reflected in her face: “it was no longer plain: There was hope in its aspect and life in its colour.” Her complete happiness is shown in her rise in self esteem. Another beautiful trait of Jane’s is that never changes herself. She resists Rochester’s attempts to glamorise her insisting “jewels for Jane Eyre sounds unnatural and strange.” Jane’s turning point in the story is her decision to flee Thornfield. An important part of Jane’s internal beauty is her passion. We are shown her powerful struggles with her passion and conscience. When Jane tells Rochester of her decision to leave the powerful struggle is shown so effectively that the reader truly believes Jane will abandon her moral convictions and run away with him: “physically, I felt, at that moment, powerless.” However Jane stays true to herself and leaves. This is another sign of Jane’s beautiful nature. She is strong willed and is influenced by no-one. “Jane Eyre” effectively shows the life changing journey of this young woman. Bronte uses beauty to show the passion of Jane’s heart and her innermost thoughts and feelings. Jane is the most perfect example of showing that inner beauty is more important than external.
The other main character in “Jane Eyre” is the dark and mysterious Edward Fairfax Rochester. His character changes throughout out the novel which also increases the reader’s appreciation for the text. When Jane first meets him he appears to be vain, asking her if she thinks he is attractive. He is a broken and lonely man and it is through his pure love for Jane that he returns to the man he once was. However, even when they are engaged, Rochester doesn’t fully understand the true beauty of Jane’s heart. He still focuses on the physical side to her by trying to make her look more attractive. He believes that spoiling her will increase her love for him because he himself is not physically attractive. Despite Jane’s resistance “he would yet see me glittering like a parterre.” He believes he has the power to change Jane. Rochester’s actions towards Jane and Bertha can be condemned but Bronte uses his passionate love for Jane to redeem himself. His explanation for his actions allows the reader to fully understand how much he loves Jane and how much he risked to have her: “Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own.” In an ironic twist, it is only when Rochester loses his sight that he can fully see the beauty that is inside Jane. He can’t believe that Jane would still care for him and would want to marry him: “A crippled man, twenty years older than you whom you will have to wait on.” Rochester is a perfect example that beauty does not bring you happiness. His first wife had great external beauty but she was deceitful, insane and brought him tremendous hardship. It is only when he meets Jane that he realises what true happiness can bring. He is a better and more contended man disabled because he now sees the true merits and beauty of his love. The reader’s appreciation of the novel is greatly increased because it shows the internal transformation of a man who managed to look past what he saw on the outside and to feel the beauty of people on the inside.
The plot in this novel also explores the idea of beauty by introducing characters who have external beauty but who are cruel. Blanche Ingram is a rival of Jane’s for Rochester’s affections. She is the complete opposite of our heroine. She is stunningly beautiful: “The noble bust, the sloping shoulders, the graceful neck were all there.” However she has no internal beauty, being spiteful and arrogant. She is used by Bronte to show one of Rochester’s faults- his love of external beauty. We are led to believe that Rochester has fallen in love with Blanche, while all the time it was only Jane he truly loves. Miss Ingram also shows Rochester’s arrogance as he believes he can prove that Jane loves him. At this point in the novel we are seeing the beginning of a change in Rochester but it also shows that he is not yet Jane’s equal in internal beauty. He fully redeems himself in his action towards the Thornfield fire. It showed his lack of selfishness and his loss of arrogance. When Jane leaves Thornfield she also grows as a stronger person. Her time with the River’s family allows her to grow in independence and confidence therefore when she returns to Rochester she is now his match is power and passion. Bronte uses Jane’s departure from Thornfield to further the internal characteristics of our lovers. Their internal beauty is now equal and they are able to appreciate and love each other more.
Another technique that Bronte uses to personify the theme of beauty is the settings of “Jane Eyre”. Jane’s feelings about Thornfield and Moor House show another characteristic of her beautiful nature. Thornfield Hall is described by Jane as a “gentleman’s manor.” However for such a young age, Jane is not fazed or intimidated by living in such grand surroundings. This shows her maturity and confidence. It is only until the arrival of Mr Rochester however that Jane feels any warm appreciation of the house. When he leaves she feels sadness towards the place: “vague suggestions kept wondering across my brain of reasons why I should quite Thornfield.” This is a crucial point in the story because it is the first sign of Jane’s feelings towards Rochester. It also shows that the inside of the house is more important the its external appearance. Thornfield Hall may be grand and attractive but the inhabitants are unhappy. The point is further highlighted by Jane’s attitudes towards Moor House. Another characteristic of Jane’s beautiful nature is that she doesn’t care about style or riches. She is comfortable in her new home. This is shown when she says “a charm both potent and permanent.” This quote shows she enjoys the simpler pleasures in life and she can’t be bought by riches and jewels- another beautiful characteristic.
Charlotte Bronte has successfully convinced the reader of Jane and Rochester’s love by her use of beauty. We do not pay attention to their physical appearance but are drawn and become fully connected with their internal feelings. The lack of external beauty in our lovers is extremely important because it leaves their raw emotions completely exposed. Bronte also manages to create an inspirational role model in her heroine. She shows that in being true to yourself, happiness can be achieved. She didn’t have to be stunningly beautiful to capture his heart and it is all the more satisfying when she can finally say “Reader, I married him.”
By Katie Nicol 5M3
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte is a powerful and passionate story about a young woman’s search for independence and a chance to find true happiness. Her relationship with her master, Edward Rochester is central to the story. Their passionate love for each other is `effectively shown by Bronte’s use of beauty. Neither Jane nor Rochester are physically attractive. This is crucial to the story because it allows the reader to become completely absorbed in the characters emotional and internal feelings. It truly allows the reader to understand the deep, passionate love that these people have for each other without differing to their physical beauty. It also raises the theme that internal beauty is more important than external. Bronte effectively achieves this by her use of characterisation, plot and settings.
Jane Eyre is an incredibly kind character who has a strong sense of duty and pride. However, Jane herself is not physically attractive. She describes herself as “poor, obscure, plain and little.” She has a beautiful heart though which allows her to look beyond the physical beauty and see inside a person’s soul. As the book is written entirely through her perspective Bronte captures the pure love that Jane has for Rochester. We can see her immediate reactions when she sees him: I did not think I should tremble this way when I saw him- or lose my voice or power of motion in his presence.” Bronte manages to show the depth of Jane’s love for her master. As he is not handsome, we are never under the illusion that Jane is attracted to him because of his looks. It is his kindness, passion and soul that attracts her and makes their love even stronger. A perfect example of this is when she is commenting about his physical appearance: “were not beautiful according to rule, but they were more than beautiful to me: they were full of interest that quite mastered me.” Here, Jane is able to find the beauty in Rochester that others would never notice. This also shows how perfect Rochester and Jane are together. Her reaction to her own external beauty also changes when Rochester proposes to her. The happiness she feels inside is reflected in her face: “it was no longer plain: There was hope in its aspect and life in its colour.” Her complete happiness is shown in her rise in self esteem. Another beautiful trait of Jane’s is that never changes herself. She resists Rochester’s attempts to glamorise her insisting “jewels for Jane Eyre sounds unnatural and strange.” Jane’s turning point in the story is her decision to flee Thornfield. An important part of Jane’s internal beauty is her passion. We are shown her powerful struggles with her passion and conscience. When Jane tells Rochester of her decision to leave the powerful struggle is shown so effectively that the reader truly believes Jane will abandon her moral convictions and run away with him: “physically, I felt, at that moment, powerless.” However Jane stays true to herself and leaves. This is another sign of Jane’s beautiful nature. She is strong willed and is influenced by no-one. “Jane Eyre” effectively shows the life changing journey of this young woman. Bronte uses beauty to show the passion of Jane’s heart and her innermost thoughts and feelings. Jane is the most perfect example of showing that inner beauty is more important than external.
The other main character in “Jane Eyre” is the dark and mysterious Edward Fairfax Rochester. His character changes throughout out the novel which also increases the reader’s appreciation for the text. When Jane first meets him he appears to be vain, asking her if she thinks he is attractive. He is a broken and lonely man and it is through his pure love for Jane that he returns to the man he once was. However, even when they are engaged, Rochester doesn’t fully understand the true beauty of Jane’s heart. He still focuses on the physical side to her by trying to make her look more attractive. He believes that spoiling her will increase her love for him because he himself is not physically attractive. Despite Jane’s resistance “he would yet see me glittering like a parterre.” He believes he has the power to change Jane. Rochester’s actions towards Jane and Bertha can be condemned but Bronte uses his passionate love for Jane to redeem himself. His explanation for his actions allows the reader to fully understand how much he loves Jane and how much he risked to have her: “Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own.” In an ironic twist, it is only when Rochester loses his sight that he can fully see the beauty that is inside Jane. He can’t believe that Jane would still care for him and would want to marry him: “A crippled man, twenty years older than you whom you will have to wait on.” Rochester is a perfect example that beauty does not bring you happiness. His first wife had great external beauty but she was deceitful, insane and brought him tremendous hardship. It is only when he meets Jane that he realises what true happiness can bring. He is a better and more contended man disabled because he now sees the true merits and beauty of his love. The reader’s appreciation of the novel is greatly increased because it shows the internal transformation of a man who managed to look past what he saw on the outside and to feel the beauty of people on the inside.
The plot in this novel also explores the idea of beauty by introducing characters who have external beauty but who are cruel. Blanche Ingram is a rival of Jane’s for Rochester’s affections. She is the complete opposite of our heroine. She is stunningly beautiful: “The noble bust, the sloping shoulders, the graceful neck were all there.” However she has no internal beauty, being spiteful and arrogant. She is used by Bronte to show one of Rochester’s faults- his love of external beauty. We are led to believe that Rochester has fallen in love with Blanche, while all the time it was only Jane he truly loves. Miss Ingram also shows Rochester’s arrogance as he believes he can prove that Jane loves him. At this point in the novel we are seeing the beginning of a change in Rochester but it also shows that he is not yet Jane’s equal in internal beauty. He fully redeems himself in his action towards the Thornfield fire. It showed his lack of selfishness and his loss of arrogance. When Jane leaves Thornfield she also grows as a stronger person. Her time with the River’s family allows her to grow in independence and confidence therefore when she returns to Rochester she is now his match is power and passion. Bronte uses Jane’s departure from Thornfield to further the internal characteristics of our lovers. Their internal beauty is now equal and they are able to appreciate and love each other more.
Another technique that Bronte uses to personify the theme of beauty is the settings of “Jane Eyre”. Jane’s feelings about Thornfield and Moor House show another characteristic of her beautiful nature. Thornfield Hall is described by Jane as a “gentleman’s manor.” However for such a young age, Jane is not fazed or intimidated by living in such grand surroundings. This shows her maturity and confidence. It is only until the arrival of Mr Rochester however that Jane feels any warm appreciation of the house. When he leaves she feels sadness towards the place: “vague suggestions kept wondering across my brain of reasons why I should quite Thornfield.” This is a crucial point in the story because it is the first sign of Jane’s feelings towards Rochester. It also shows that the inside of the house is more important the its external appearance. Thornfield Hall may be grand and attractive but the inhabitants are unhappy. The point is further highlighted by Jane’s attitudes towards Moor House. Another characteristic of Jane’s beautiful nature is that she doesn’t care about style or riches. She is comfortable in her new home. This is shown when she says “a charm both potent and permanent.” This quote shows she enjoys the simpler pleasures in life and she can’t be bought by riches and jewels- another beautiful characteristic.
Charlotte Bronte has successfully convinced the reader of Jane and Rochester’s love by her use of beauty. We do not pay attention to their physical appearance but are drawn and become fully connected with their internal feelings. The lack of external beauty in our lovers is extremely important because it leaves their raw emotions completely exposed. Bronte also manages to create an inspirational role model in her heroine. She shows that in being true to yourself, happiness can be achieved. She didn’t have to be stunningly beautiful to capture his heart and it is all the more satisfying when she can finally say “Reader, I married him.”
By Katie Nicol 5M3
Jonathan Holt
The Bell Jar Critical Review Jonathan Holt
“The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath was originally written under a pseudonym in 1936. This book follows a young woman named Esther Greenwood through her unsteady life and takes you through an “emotional rollercoaster” as you become more intrigued by Esther and her strange thoughts. The novel is one which centres around a personal and emotional journey. This study will examine how the author’s use of aspects such as structure helps to convey a journey taking place.
The structure used conveys the state of mind of the main character. Throughout the text Sylvia uses a stream of consciousness narrative, a form of first person narration. This allows the reader to see the whole novel through our protagonist’s perspective, Esther Greenwood. This is portrayed within the structure of the novel. Esther skips from talking in the present tense to talking in the past tense, “Buddy Willard was a hypocrite. Of course, I didn’t know her was a hypocrite at first. I thought he was the most wonderful boy I ‘d ever seen.” This shows the reader that Miss Greenwood is somewhat living in the past, reliving her life with each thought that she has. This continues throughout the novel until Esther realises that she is fortunate to have overcome her deep state of depression and she begins to live each day as it comes. This transformation shows that Esther is realising the value of life and day by day a journey is taking place.
Throughout the novel Miss Greenwood’s life changes immensely and the factor which overcomes the biggest change is her outlook on life as a whole. At the beginning of the novel Esther feels that she is wasting many opportunities and feels that she has no power to change this, “I guess I should have been excited the way most of the other girls were, but I couldn’t get myself to react.” This shows that Esther is realising that she isn’t enjoying he experience fully but she fails to repair that downfall. “But here I was, sitting back and letting it run through my fingers like so much water.” Once again Miss Greenwood realises that she may be wasting one of the biggest opportunities that she is ever going to get but she still fails to repair her pessimistic attitude towards life.
By the middle of the novel Esther becomes very depressed and she even becomes incapable of doing day to day activities, “I can sleep. I can’t read. I tried to speak in a cool, calm way, but the zombie rose up in my throat and choked me off.” This quote shows that Esther is starting to understand that her life isn’t normal and she wants some type of help but something inside her is stopping her from getting it. During her deep state of depression Miss Greenwood sees many doctors, “I hated him the minute I walked in the door.” By passing her judgement so quickly, Esther shows that she isn’t willing to give anyone the chance to give her any type of aid, confirming that she feels that no one can do anything to help her and that she knows best.
By the end of the novel Miss Greenwood realises that she cannot recover from depression on her own and is admitted into a mental asylum. Throughout her time there here negative, depressive attitude changed into one which was happy and somewhat optimistic. Whilst in the mental asylum Esther realises that it is winter and she makes the comment, “The heart of winter,” which shows that she is looking at things in a positive manner. Whilst having a conversation with her old friend Buddy she says, “Oh Buddy, I laughed, I’m alright,” showing that she is on the road to recovery and is embracing it. Esther also shows that she is her own person and no one can interfere wither her life when she says, “I was perfectly free,” showing that she is in charge of her own well-being. The reader knows that Miss Greenwood has made an amazing transformation when she says, “There ought, I thought, be a ritual for being born twice,” proving to the reader that she feels like she is getting a second chance in life and she is embracing it with open arms. This immense change in her attitude from the start of the novel to the end shows how far Esther has come and shows the reader her long, hard journey to recovery.
In the novel there are many references to graphic imagery which shows the reader how Esther deals with the many problems which occur throughout her life. These mainly occur in the middle of the novel when Esther is dealing with her depression. The very first graphic references that Esther uses are fairly mild, “I thought drowning must be the kindest way to die, and burning the worst.” She uses these remarks when she is interacting in everyday conversations and they get worse as the book goes on, “If you were going to kill yourself, how would you do it ?” This simple question escalates out of control and Miss Greenwood puts it into use when she begins to self harm herself, “I had locked myself in the bathroom, and run a tub full of warm water, and taken out a Gillette blade.” She takes her self harming to the next level when she tries to take an overdose of pills, “I unscrewed the bottle of pills and started taking them swiftly, between gulps of water, one by one.” The reader then realises that Esther is deeply suicidal and begins to fear for her health. When Esther finally allows doctors to intervene the disturbing graphic images which she used to have slowly began to disappear and by the end of the novel they disappear completely. This shows the reader that mentally Miss Greenwood has overcome so much, and has taken a mentally straining journey.
When it came to Esther’s illness, she felt rather embarrassed about asking for help and this is shown through the conversations in the novel. This is shown when Miss Greenwood is requesting some more medication and she fails to give each character a title, showing the reader that she is there in body but not in mind,
“You say you want more sleeping pills ?”
“Yes.”
“But the ones I gave you last week are very strong.”
“They don’t work anymore.”
This quote also shows that Esther is using the pills as a “security blanket”, as if they will solve all of her problems which is not the case. By the end of the novel Esther shows that she is comfortable with her illness whilst having a conversation with a close friend, “Oh Buddy, I laughed, I’m alright.” This shows the reader that Miss Greenwood had noticed that her illness is a part of her and she is doing all that she can to overcome it, so there is no need for any embarrassment. This shows a personal journey taking place one which is both metal and physical.
Throughout the novel the reader becomes very attached to Esther and feels as if they know her personally. The journey which Miss Greenwood takes is both mentally and emotionally straining for her and the reader admires her great transformation from a girl who was once very pessimistic and felt that she could do nothing to change her life for the better, to a strong young woman who by the end of the novel has gained much admiration from the reader. The transformation made by Esther no doubt helped her everyday life but it made her a stronger person and someone who appreciated life and the people around her.
“The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath was originally written under a pseudonym in 1936. This book follows a young woman named Esther Greenwood through her unsteady life and takes you through an “emotional rollercoaster” as you become more intrigued by Esther and her strange thoughts. The novel is one which centres around a personal and emotional journey. This study will examine how the author’s use of aspects such as structure helps to convey a journey taking place.
The structure used conveys the state of mind of the main character. Throughout the text Sylvia uses a stream of consciousness narrative, a form of first person narration. This allows the reader to see the whole novel through our protagonist’s perspective, Esther Greenwood. This is portrayed within the structure of the novel. Esther skips from talking in the present tense to talking in the past tense, “Buddy Willard was a hypocrite. Of course, I didn’t know her was a hypocrite at first. I thought he was the most wonderful boy I ‘d ever seen.” This shows the reader that Miss Greenwood is somewhat living in the past, reliving her life with each thought that she has. This continues throughout the novel until Esther realises that she is fortunate to have overcome her deep state of depression and she begins to live each day as it comes. This transformation shows that Esther is realising the value of life and day by day a journey is taking place.
Throughout the novel Miss Greenwood’s life changes immensely and the factor which overcomes the biggest change is her outlook on life as a whole. At the beginning of the novel Esther feels that she is wasting many opportunities and feels that she has no power to change this, “I guess I should have been excited the way most of the other girls were, but I couldn’t get myself to react.” This shows that Esther is realising that she isn’t enjoying he experience fully but she fails to repair that downfall. “But here I was, sitting back and letting it run through my fingers like so much water.” Once again Miss Greenwood realises that she may be wasting one of the biggest opportunities that she is ever going to get but she still fails to repair her pessimistic attitude towards life.
By the middle of the novel Esther becomes very depressed and she even becomes incapable of doing day to day activities, “I can sleep. I can’t read. I tried to speak in a cool, calm way, but the zombie rose up in my throat and choked me off.” This quote shows that Esther is starting to understand that her life isn’t normal and she wants some type of help but something inside her is stopping her from getting it. During her deep state of depression Miss Greenwood sees many doctors, “I hated him the minute I walked in the door.” By passing her judgement so quickly, Esther shows that she isn’t willing to give anyone the chance to give her any type of aid, confirming that she feels that no one can do anything to help her and that she knows best.
By the end of the novel Miss Greenwood realises that she cannot recover from depression on her own and is admitted into a mental asylum. Throughout her time there here negative, depressive attitude changed into one which was happy and somewhat optimistic. Whilst in the mental asylum Esther realises that it is winter and she makes the comment, “The heart of winter,” which shows that she is looking at things in a positive manner. Whilst having a conversation with her old friend Buddy she says, “Oh Buddy, I laughed, I’m alright,” showing that she is on the road to recovery and is embracing it. Esther also shows that she is her own person and no one can interfere wither her life when she says, “I was perfectly free,” showing that she is in charge of her own well-being. The reader knows that Miss Greenwood has made an amazing transformation when she says, “There ought, I thought, be a ritual for being born twice,” proving to the reader that she feels like she is getting a second chance in life and she is embracing it with open arms. This immense change in her attitude from the start of the novel to the end shows how far Esther has come and shows the reader her long, hard journey to recovery.
In the novel there are many references to graphic imagery which shows the reader how Esther deals with the many problems which occur throughout her life. These mainly occur in the middle of the novel when Esther is dealing with her depression. The very first graphic references that Esther uses are fairly mild, “I thought drowning must be the kindest way to die, and burning the worst.” She uses these remarks when she is interacting in everyday conversations and they get worse as the book goes on, “If you were going to kill yourself, how would you do it ?” This simple question escalates out of control and Miss Greenwood puts it into use when she begins to self harm herself, “I had locked myself in the bathroom, and run a tub full of warm water, and taken out a Gillette blade.” She takes her self harming to the next level when she tries to take an overdose of pills, “I unscrewed the bottle of pills and started taking them swiftly, between gulps of water, one by one.” The reader then realises that Esther is deeply suicidal and begins to fear for her health. When Esther finally allows doctors to intervene the disturbing graphic images which she used to have slowly began to disappear and by the end of the novel they disappear completely. This shows the reader that mentally Miss Greenwood has overcome so much, and has taken a mentally straining journey.
When it came to Esther’s illness, she felt rather embarrassed about asking for help and this is shown through the conversations in the novel. This is shown when Miss Greenwood is requesting some more medication and she fails to give each character a title, showing the reader that she is there in body but not in mind,
“You say you want more sleeping pills ?”
“Yes.”
“But the ones I gave you last week are very strong.”
“They don’t work anymore.”
This quote also shows that Esther is using the pills as a “security blanket”, as if they will solve all of her problems which is not the case. By the end of the novel Esther shows that she is comfortable with her illness whilst having a conversation with a close friend, “Oh Buddy, I laughed, I’m alright.” This shows the reader that Miss Greenwood had noticed that her illness is a part of her and she is doing all that she can to overcome it, so there is no need for any embarrassment. This shows a personal journey taking place one which is both metal and physical.
Throughout the novel the reader becomes very attached to Esther and feels as if they know her personally. The journey which Miss Greenwood takes is both mentally and emotionally straining for her and the reader admires her great transformation from a girl who was once very pessimistic and felt that she could do nothing to change her life for the better, to a strong young woman who by the end of the novel has gained much admiration from the reader. The transformation made by Esther no doubt helped her everyday life but it made her a stronger person and someone who appreciated life and the people around her.
Steven Thomson
The full text of 'The Time Machine' is available here, for anyone who wants to read it - The Time Machine
‘The Time Machine’, by H G Wells, is a novel with a dramatic and unexpected ending, one which was created using unusual methods of narration and characterisation. This essay will explain how the dramatic effect was achieved with reference to the aforementioned methods.
The opening chapter of ‘The Time Machine’ begins with the narrator talking directly to the reader, introducing the character of ‘the Time Traveller’ and his intention to travel through time. At this point, the only character with a name is one of the associates present at the meeting, an ‘argumentative man with red hair’ known as Filby; all others present are referred to by their job titles (‘Medical Man’, ‘Provincial Mayor’, ‘the Psychologist’) only. No information is given by the narrator about the characters, and only their words and actions during the meeting are available to the reader to formulate opinions on these characters. This style of narration continues up until the third chapter, with the narrator’s thoughts visible to the reader, and descriptions of peoples’ actions as they go about their business.
At this point, the narrator is sitting in the Time Traveller’s house, waiting for him to begin his tale. From this point, until the twelfth chapter where this story ends, and other than a brief moment in the seventh chapter where the Time Traveller provides his listeners with what he believes to be proof, the narrator simply relays the words of the Time Traveller to the reader; no extraneous thoughts or actions are present, and the text presented to the reader is solely comprised of the Time Traveller’s words, his description of what he said, how he felt, what he did and what he saw during the eight days he had lived while the others in the room had traversed a mere few hours. During this section, the narrator is still talking to the reader, and the Time Traveller is talking to the narrator. Since this section is so long, however, and without anything to act as a reminder of the existence of the narrator, the reader inevitably forgets, and thinks of the Time Traveller as narrating the tale, and talking directly to the reader. When the Time Traveller finishes telling his tale, the narrator reverts back to conveying his own thoughts to the reader, and then, almost without warning, the book ends, leaving the reader with very little time in which to remember that the narrator, not the Time Traveller, is the one telling the tale, and enables the ending to catch the reader unawares; after hearing the Time Traveller’s tale in its entirety told from the perspective of the Time Traveller himself, the last thing the reader expects is for the ending to reveal that the Time Traveller’s fate is unknown, and that he ‘vanished three years ago. And, as everybody knows now, he never returned’.
Having so casually revealed (or not, depending on the point of view the reader chooses to adopt with reference to the subject matter, which is very much an individual preference) the fate of the Time Traveller, the narrator closes the novel with a brief epilogue, during which he influences the reader’s perceptions with some of his own opinions and questions on the fate of the Time Traveller, and his own disposition towards the idea of travelling through time. It is at this point that the reader glimpses the narrator’s personality; before this point in the novel, the narrator merely relayed the words and actions of others to the reader, seldom pausing to relay his own philosophical views, and instead choosing simply to describe the actions happening in the room around him, describing the opinions of other listeners present in the room and often neglecting to inform the reader of his own opinions, and so there is not a great deal of evidence on which to base any assumptions about his personality. In contrast, the Time Traveller himself provides much of the evidence needed to make assumptions about his personality through the way he tells his tale, and the actions and thoughts he describes throughout. Together with the brief descriptions and inferred information about him, the Time Traveller’s own tale helps to build up his character substantially, as the narrative makes it seem as though the Time Traveller is talking directly to the reader during the section where he tells of his experience; this provides a connection with the reader, and the reader sympathises with the Time Traveller, and wants him to emerge triumphant, and his obvious talent and intelligence to receive the recognition that it deserves. Instead, his tale is ridiculed by a series of disturbed men who would rather live a lie than put in the requisite effort to progress their understanding of the truth; the reader sympathises with the Time Traveller as his hard work is rejected, again strengthening the bond between the Time Traveller and the reader. This sense of sympathising with him is helped by the narrator’s own opinion that the story was plausible, subtly influencing the reader to believe the same thing.
In conclusion, the ending takes the reader by surprise, and the sense of having the Time Traveller tell the story is heightened by the lack of details given about the extraneous characters, such as the Editor, and the Journalist; the only character whose personality is explored in any great detail is the Time Traveller, and as such, the only character who the reader feels any form of emotional bond with is the Time Traveller; leaving his fate unknown is a cliffhanger of sorts, and is a completely unexpected twist to a tale in a world in which the hero/heroine almost always surmounts insurmountable odds with seemingly no effort required on their part. It’s far from predictable, and provides a genuinely shocking twist to the tale that provokes thought on the reader’s part, and raises all sorts of questions about the nature of that elusive illusion known as time, as well as delivering both a message and a warning of the future; even in a future where humans no longer exist, and ‘when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of man.’
‘The Time Machine’, by H G Wells, is a novel with a dramatic and unexpected ending, one which was created using unusual methods of narration and characterisation. This essay will explain how the dramatic effect was achieved with reference to the aforementioned methods.
The opening chapter of ‘The Time Machine’ begins with the narrator talking directly to the reader, introducing the character of ‘the Time Traveller’ and his intention to travel through time. At this point, the only character with a name is one of the associates present at the meeting, an ‘argumentative man with red hair’ known as Filby; all others present are referred to by their job titles (‘Medical Man’, ‘Provincial Mayor’, ‘the Psychologist’) only. No information is given by the narrator about the characters, and only their words and actions during the meeting are available to the reader to formulate opinions on these characters. This style of narration continues up until the third chapter, with the narrator’s thoughts visible to the reader, and descriptions of peoples’ actions as they go about their business.
At this point, the narrator is sitting in the Time Traveller’s house, waiting for him to begin his tale. From this point, until the twelfth chapter where this story ends, and other than a brief moment in the seventh chapter where the Time Traveller provides his listeners with what he believes to be proof, the narrator simply relays the words of the Time Traveller to the reader; no extraneous thoughts or actions are present, and the text presented to the reader is solely comprised of the Time Traveller’s words, his description of what he said, how he felt, what he did and what he saw during the eight days he had lived while the others in the room had traversed a mere few hours. During this section, the narrator is still talking to the reader, and the Time Traveller is talking to the narrator. Since this section is so long, however, and without anything to act as a reminder of the existence of the narrator, the reader inevitably forgets, and thinks of the Time Traveller as narrating the tale, and talking directly to the reader. When the Time Traveller finishes telling his tale, the narrator reverts back to conveying his own thoughts to the reader, and then, almost without warning, the book ends, leaving the reader with very little time in which to remember that the narrator, not the Time Traveller, is the one telling the tale, and enables the ending to catch the reader unawares; after hearing the Time Traveller’s tale in its entirety told from the perspective of the Time Traveller himself, the last thing the reader expects is for the ending to reveal that the Time Traveller’s fate is unknown, and that he ‘vanished three years ago. And, as everybody knows now, he never returned’.
Having so casually revealed (or not, depending on the point of view the reader chooses to adopt with reference to the subject matter, which is very much an individual preference) the fate of the Time Traveller, the narrator closes the novel with a brief epilogue, during which he influences the reader’s perceptions with some of his own opinions and questions on the fate of the Time Traveller, and his own disposition towards the idea of travelling through time. It is at this point that the reader glimpses the narrator’s personality; before this point in the novel, the narrator merely relayed the words and actions of others to the reader, seldom pausing to relay his own philosophical views, and instead choosing simply to describe the actions happening in the room around him, describing the opinions of other listeners present in the room and often neglecting to inform the reader of his own opinions, and so there is not a great deal of evidence on which to base any assumptions about his personality. In contrast, the Time Traveller himself provides much of the evidence needed to make assumptions about his personality through the way he tells his tale, and the actions and thoughts he describes throughout. Together with the brief descriptions and inferred information about him, the Time Traveller’s own tale helps to build up his character substantially, as the narrative makes it seem as though the Time Traveller is talking directly to the reader during the section where he tells of his experience; this provides a connection with the reader, and the reader sympathises with the Time Traveller, and wants him to emerge triumphant, and his obvious talent and intelligence to receive the recognition that it deserves. Instead, his tale is ridiculed by a series of disturbed men who would rather live a lie than put in the requisite effort to progress their understanding of the truth; the reader sympathises with the Time Traveller as his hard work is rejected, again strengthening the bond between the Time Traveller and the reader. This sense of sympathising with him is helped by the narrator’s own opinion that the story was plausible, subtly influencing the reader to believe the same thing.
In conclusion, the ending takes the reader by surprise, and the sense of having the Time Traveller tell the story is heightened by the lack of details given about the extraneous characters, such as the Editor, and the Journalist; the only character whose personality is explored in any great detail is the Time Traveller, and as such, the only character who the reader feels any form of emotional bond with is the Time Traveller; leaving his fate unknown is a cliffhanger of sorts, and is a completely unexpected twist to a tale in a world in which the hero/heroine almost always surmounts insurmountable odds with seemingly no effort required on their part. It’s far from predictable, and provides a genuinely shocking twist to the tale that provokes thought on the reader’s part, and raises all sorts of questions about the nature of that elusive illusion known as time, as well as delivering both a message and a warning of the future; even in a future where humans no longer exist, and ‘when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of man.’
Danielle Malinen
“The Wasp Factory” By Iain Banks
Statement of Intent:
This study will examine how the story’s twists ensure that your interest is held until the end, and how this leads to a deeper appreciation of the text as a whole, by discussing the writer’s use of structure, characterisation and theme.
“The Wasp Factory” By Iain Banks is a gripping and unforgettable story, written in first person narrative and told from the perspective of sixteen year old Frank Cauldhame. The story is set over twelve days and each day is dealt with in separate chapters. There are many twists in the novel including the major twist at the end which ensures the readers interest is held until the end.
Throughout the book Banks deliberately leaves key points out so as the reader is left wondering things about Frank and it does not all come together until the end. For example in the novel Frank is always referring to an accident he had when he was a child, but the reader doesn’t find out until midway through the book. Then we find out that Frank had is genitals bitten off by a dog, earlier on in the novel he says: “I hate having to sit down in the toilet all the time. With my unfortunate disability I usually have to, as though I was a bloody woman, but I hate it. Sometimes in the Cauldhame Arms I stand up at the urinal, but most of it ends up running down my hands or legs.” Banks often leaves it to the readers imagination to come up with a scenario for what the problem may be, by dropping subtile hints thoughout the novel. He does this to keep the reader engaged in the novel and urging them to read on to find out the truth.
After reading the novel, all of the pieces of the puzzle come together, when the reader finally finds out the major twist in the novel. That Frank is actually a girl and his father used her for a scientific experiment to prove that people can swap genders. Which is a huge shock because at the start of the novel Frank makes it clear to the reader his hatred towards women, which is extremely ironic as he turns out to be one. The structure of the novel is an important part of ensuring the reader is kept in the dark. Throughout the novel Frank receives phonecalls from his brother Eric who has escaped from a mental hospital. Every phonecall ends leaving the reader hanging, you never find out too much information in these calls: “Hello, Eric. Where are you?’ ‘Here! Where are you?’ ‘Here.’ ‘If we’re both here, why are we bothering with the phone?’ ‘Tell me where you are before your money runs out.’ ‘But if you’re here you must know. Don’t you know where you are?’ He started to giggle.” But they encourage the reader to read on hoping they will find out something important in the next call.
The character Frank leads the reader to believe different things and also manages to hide certain things from the reader, such as the accident with the dog. The character of Frank contributes majorly to the shocking ending of the book, as throughout he is seen as a strong and powerful boy, who will not let anything stand in his way. But at the end the reader sees a more vunerable side to him after he is emotionally distraught by finding out he is actually a girl. Frank has two sides to his personality, he can be eloquent: “I told her she might get a chance, though of course I would have the ultimate control” yet on the other hand he can be rather juvenile: “I built a big kite”. Frank’s father is the least developed character in the novel and you form an opinion on him based on what Frank chooses to tell the reader about him. Banks makes the character of Eric to seem insane, but the reader is unaware as to why that is. Firstly Banks tells the reader about all of the horrible things Eric has done such as burn and eat dogs, he does this to grab the readers attention and to make them want to read on to find out why Eric is the way he is. Banks perhaps portrays Eric as insane to drift the readers mind off of Frank, so as they will not guess the twist at the end.
There are many different themes in the novel, such as identity, cruelty, secrets and the relationship between father and son. Frank portrays his father as a dishonest and ambiguous man. Banks creates their relationship as being one which is very deceptive, especially on Frank’s fathers behalf, which is one of Banks’ central themes. At the end when we find out Frank is a girl Banks forces the reader to form new sentiments about Frank. The reader only knows what Frank tells them, so we don’t know the secrets his father has been keeping from him. The reader is always aware that his father is keeping a secret but want to read on to find out what it is. Frank’s identity is crucial in the novel, as it is the major thing that is being pin pointed in the book. Initially the reader believes he is a boy then later find out he’s a girl, this is a turning point for the narrator as he has to redefine himself as a woman.
To conclude, the fact that Banks has kept the reader in the dark throughout the novel, makes it more enjoyable and contributes to my appreciation of the text because at the end when you find out that Frank is actually a girl, you realise that there have been many hints thrown to you throughout the novel but you were just to blind to see it. Banks often reveals many twists in the book, so you as the reader are not expecting anything outrageous as the main character turning out to be a girl.
By Danielle Malinen 5G1
Statement of Intent:
This study will examine how the story’s twists ensure that your interest is held until the end, and how this leads to a deeper appreciation of the text as a whole, by discussing the writer’s use of structure, characterisation and theme.
“The Wasp Factory” By Iain Banks is a gripping and unforgettable story, written in first person narrative and told from the perspective of sixteen year old Frank Cauldhame. The story is set over twelve days and each day is dealt with in separate chapters. There are many twists in the novel including the major twist at the end which ensures the readers interest is held until the end.
Throughout the book Banks deliberately leaves key points out so as the reader is left wondering things about Frank and it does not all come together until the end. For example in the novel Frank is always referring to an accident he had when he was a child, but the reader doesn’t find out until midway through the book. Then we find out that Frank had is genitals bitten off by a dog, earlier on in the novel he says: “I hate having to sit down in the toilet all the time. With my unfortunate disability I usually have to, as though I was a bloody woman, but I hate it. Sometimes in the Cauldhame Arms I stand up at the urinal, but most of it ends up running down my hands or legs.” Banks often leaves it to the readers imagination to come up with a scenario for what the problem may be, by dropping subtile hints thoughout the novel. He does this to keep the reader engaged in the novel and urging them to read on to find out the truth.
After reading the novel, all of the pieces of the puzzle come together, when the reader finally finds out the major twist in the novel. That Frank is actually a girl and his father used her for a scientific experiment to prove that people can swap genders. Which is a huge shock because at the start of the novel Frank makes it clear to the reader his hatred towards women, which is extremely ironic as he turns out to be one. The structure of the novel is an important part of ensuring the reader is kept in the dark. Throughout the novel Frank receives phonecalls from his brother Eric who has escaped from a mental hospital. Every phonecall ends leaving the reader hanging, you never find out too much information in these calls: “Hello, Eric. Where are you?’ ‘Here! Where are you?’ ‘Here.’ ‘If we’re both here, why are we bothering with the phone?’ ‘Tell me where you are before your money runs out.’ ‘But if you’re here you must know. Don’t you know where you are?’ He started to giggle.” But they encourage the reader to read on hoping they will find out something important in the next call.
The character Frank leads the reader to believe different things and also manages to hide certain things from the reader, such as the accident with the dog. The character of Frank contributes majorly to the shocking ending of the book, as throughout he is seen as a strong and powerful boy, who will not let anything stand in his way. But at the end the reader sees a more vunerable side to him after he is emotionally distraught by finding out he is actually a girl. Frank has two sides to his personality, he can be eloquent: “I told her she might get a chance, though of course I would have the ultimate control” yet on the other hand he can be rather juvenile: “I built a big kite”. Frank’s father is the least developed character in the novel and you form an opinion on him based on what Frank chooses to tell the reader about him. Banks makes the character of Eric to seem insane, but the reader is unaware as to why that is. Firstly Banks tells the reader about all of the horrible things Eric has done such as burn and eat dogs, he does this to grab the readers attention and to make them want to read on to find out why Eric is the way he is. Banks perhaps portrays Eric as insane to drift the readers mind off of Frank, so as they will not guess the twist at the end.
There are many different themes in the novel, such as identity, cruelty, secrets and the relationship between father and son. Frank portrays his father as a dishonest and ambiguous man. Banks creates their relationship as being one which is very deceptive, especially on Frank’s fathers behalf, which is one of Banks’ central themes. At the end when we find out Frank is a girl Banks forces the reader to form new sentiments about Frank. The reader only knows what Frank tells them, so we don’t know the secrets his father has been keeping from him. The reader is always aware that his father is keeping a secret but want to read on to find out what it is. Frank’s identity is crucial in the novel, as it is the major thing that is being pin pointed in the book. Initially the reader believes he is a boy then later find out he’s a girl, this is a turning point for the narrator as he has to redefine himself as a woman.
To conclude, the fact that Banks has kept the reader in the dark throughout the novel, makes it more enjoyable and contributes to my appreciation of the text because at the end when you find out that Frank is actually a girl, you realise that there have been many hints thrown to you throughout the novel but you were just to blind to see it. Banks often reveals many twists in the book, so you as the reader are not expecting anything outrageous as the main character turning out to be a girl.
By Danielle Malinen 5G1
samantha
“The Changeling” Samantha
“The Changeling” by Robin Jenkins is a novel which centres around the theme of the importance of peoples roots and different peoples attitudes towards them. It depicts the story of a young boy, Tom Curdie who is taken on holiday with his teacher, Charlie Forbes. Tom is raised in a slum in the east end of Glasgow called Donaldson’s Court.
Many of the inhabitants of this slum are either mentally ill or have learning difficulties, very few people who live there make a success of their life and inevitably end up spending their life in Donaldson’s Court. It is a viscous cycle and many who live close to the slum know that. However, Tom is very intelligent and many of his teachers recognise this but they believe because he lives in Donaldson’s Court he will end up like every other product of the slum. Charlie realises this and believes that if he takes Tom away from this environment and into a more supportive home he will flourish and gain encouragement and kindness to motivate him through his education. Nevertheless, throughout the novel the reader begins to realise that for Charlie, there is an ulterior motive. He thinks he will gain respect from his colleagues if this succeeds, he is using Tom as an experiment.
Robin Jenkins effectively portrays the idea of deprivation through his use of symbolism and characterisation. This essay will aim to show how these two techniques enhance my appreciation of the novel.
The most important use of symbolism is the concept of the changeling. The title of the novel is fitting because this “the changeling” stems from an ancient myth which said that a child of a family was replaced by a fairy known as the changeling. This symbolises how Charlie favours Tom over his other children and is effectively “replacing” his own children for Tom. This theme is established early in the novel when Tom’s younger sister is crying, “humming a song about a baby stolen by fairies in the Highlands”. As the family are boarding the train to Towellan, Charlie’s wife, Mary sees how Charlie is acting towards Tom “with his arm round the boy’s neck they went in, looking so much like father and son that as Mary saw them she couldn’t help feeling jealous on behalf of her own son”. This is the beginning of the development of Charlie’s fondness towards Tom. Another example of this is when Charlie’s mother in law, Mrs. Storrocks says “if he’d been one of your own you couldn’t have been prouder”. This shows that in the few days Tom has been there Charlie has treated him as if he were his own child, not only that but has been proud of him although he has had no achievements. It also shows that his newly formed relationship with Tom has been noticed by others around him. Another significant moment is when Tom finds a library in Dunroth and decides to look up “changeling” in the dictionary. It says that the “creature” left by the fairies “often applied to ill-favoured person or animal spreading an evil influence”. Once Tom has read this he rereads it because he begins to realise how this is reflected in their situation, “seeing more and more why Mr. Forbes had applied it to him and why Mrs. Forbes had looked at him with such loathing”. After he has read it and come to the realisation he describes feeling “a strangeness” and the reader sympathises with Tom as they know how he truly feels about the family and how distraught he must be that when he finally feels loved no one can forget where Tom comes from.
Another use of symbolism is early in the book when Tom discovers a cat cowering on the staircase in Donaldson’s Court. He recognises the anguish of the cat and the suffering it has had to endure in the slum. He then offers the cat the apple he has earlier stolen for his younger brother, Alec. The cat, however does not accept the gift because it is wary that Tom is still there watching him. Tom knows that the cat does not want to eat the apple because it will make him susceptible to anything Tom may do to him if he lets down his guard. This represents Tom’s relationship with Charlie. Tom has learnt that you never survive Donaldson’s Court unless you let nobody see your true emotions. He does not want to let his guard down around Charlie, even though he is offering Tom a helping hand, for fear that he may become attached and sooner or later he will be let down by Charlie.
Characterisation is effectively used in the novel to depict different characters inner thoughts and feelings. The character of Charlie is well portrayed because in the beginning of the novel the reader thinks Charlie is extremely kind and sensitive to realise that Tom is not just an insolent thief. However, this respect for Charlie begins to waver during the holiday when the reader realises that Charlie may recognise Tom’s intelligence but he does not truly understand or want to understand what Tom really feels. When Mrs. Forbes says that Tom must go home, Charlie replies with “I’ll take him the whole way home”. This shows the reader that Charlie realises his experiment has failed and admits defeat but does not think of how this will affect Tom he just thinks that Tom will never change and he must accompany him to prevent him from stealing anything with his friends. He cannot see that taking Tom away from Donaldson's Court means that he can never return because Charlie and his family have influenced him so much that he will not survive if he has to go back to the slum. In contrast to this in the beginning of the novel when he reads a story description Tom has made of the sea he sees that it is truly wonderful and understands that Tom himself may never be able to go to the sea and therefore feels pity. When he turns to Tom he sees him smiling and thinks to himself , “it was, they said the smile of the certified delinquent, of misanthropy in bud, of future criminality, of inevitable degradation. Forbes refused to accept it as such”. This shows that Charlie can see that Tom is not trying to be impudent, he was smiling because he is aware of how others view him yet they could not be further from the truth. Charlie does not know the true meaning behind this smile and we see that Charlie does not know as much about Tom as he thinks throughout the novel.
Another important character is Gillian, Charlie’s daughter. We see how the roles are reversed and how at the beginning of the novel Gillian appeared to be prejudiced towards Tom and by the end of the novel she is the only person who truly understands him. This first happens when Gillian catches Tom stealing from Woolworths, “instead of rejoicing she was dismayed”. This shows that she was shocked because she was not expecting to have the reaction she did. She expected to feel smug that finally she had found a flaw to Tom and she could use this against him by telling her dad. Instead, she feels closer to Tom because it is as if she had been an accomplice and she knows that Tom has not just done this merely for thrill but for some self-reassurance. This idea is further enforced when it says “it did not make her clear of him, rather did it bind her to him in a way she could not avoid or understand”. One of the most important points where she sympathises for Tom and when she first starts to change her opinion of him is when “she began to realise that this armour, of calmness and patience, forged somehow in the dreadful slum where he had been born, must be heave and painful to wear”. This is where she realises that Tom’s persona he’s built up to survive his life in Donaldson's Court is just an act in order to screen his feelings and that having to do this must be hard for him. However she decides to ignore this feeling and continue to annoy Tom but the reader can see that she is doing it in order to understand Tom further but she does not know how to. Towards the end of the novel when Tom’s family arrive followed by the police wishing to question him about a robbery his friend carried out. Gillian had seen the police and decides to warn Tom when she sees him she tells him they should run to a shed. While they are hiding she says “did you steal those things in Woolworths because – because you didn’t want – to get – too fond of us?” this shows the reader that she has finally been able to understand what Tom really feels and she does not resent him for his attachment to her family and does not look down on his actions.
The main character the theme of roots is portrayed through is Tom. From the beginning the reader knows the reason behind his actions but they do not really sympathise with him until the end of the holiday. One of the first examples which evoke our understanding of Tom is when he is in a lesson and a teacher tells him to step away from his desk because Tom is very dirty. “‘Drop it on the desk and then keep your distance’… Many in the class laughed. He neither blushed nor sulked.” This shows that Tom is used to being treated like vermin and that as part of his act he can handle people treating him like this. Another quote which helps build up his persona is “he knew that if he ever were to be grateful to anybody, his confidence in himself would be destroyed”. This is another insight into the mind of Tom as it conveys how important it is to Tom to survive Donaldson's Court as being “grateful” is another way of letting someone get close to him. Another key point is when the headmaster of the school, Mr. Todd says that despite Tom’s circumstances “‘no child in this school, in this whole city, seeks pity less’”. This shows that Tom is able to accept the life he was born into and does not want others to feel sorry for him because he is perfectly contented with what he has and is. The reader can see Tom’s anguish as he is due to leave the holiday he knows he has come to far with the Forbes’ and cannot return to Donaldson's Court because he has experienced true love and loyalty which has broken his shield of protection and it is now unable to be fixed. Many things build up to the climatic ending where Tom ends his life and we can see that it was the thought of returning to his home after this experience that causes the eventual destruction of everything Tom is, his persona.
In conclusion, Jenkins manages to portray to the reader the idea of the importance of roots and deprivation through how use of symbolism and characterisation in a sophisticated manor. He is able to let the reader know what Tom and fellow characters really think and feel using these techniques.
“The Changeling” by Robin Jenkins is a novel which centres around the theme of the importance of peoples roots and different peoples attitudes towards them. It depicts the story of a young boy, Tom Curdie who is taken on holiday with his teacher, Charlie Forbes. Tom is raised in a slum in the east end of Glasgow called Donaldson’s Court.
Many of the inhabitants of this slum are either mentally ill or have learning difficulties, very few people who live there make a success of their life and inevitably end up spending their life in Donaldson’s Court. It is a viscous cycle and many who live close to the slum know that. However, Tom is very intelligent and many of his teachers recognise this but they believe because he lives in Donaldson’s Court he will end up like every other product of the slum. Charlie realises this and believes that if he takes Tom away from this environment and into a more supportive home he will flourish and gain encouragement and kindness to motivate him through his education. Nevertheless, throughout the novel the reader begins to realise that for Charlie, there is an ulterior motive. He thinks he will gain respect from his colleagues if this succeeds, he is using Tom as an experiment.
Robin Jenkins effectively portrays the idea of deprivation through his use of symbolism and characterisation. This essay will aim to show how these two techniques enhance my appreciation of the novel.
The most important use of symbolism is the concept of the changeling. The title of the novel is fitting because this “the changeling” stems from an ancient myth which said that a child of a family was replaced by a fairy known as the changeling. This symbolises how Charlie favours Tom over his other children and is effectively “replacing” his own children for Tom. This theme is established early in the novel when Tom’s younger sister is crying, “humming a song about a baby stolen by fairies in the Highlands”. As the family are boarding the train to Towellan, Charlie’s wife, Mary sees how Charlie is acting towards Tom “with his arm round the boy’s neck they went in, looking so much like father and son that as Mary saw them she couldn’t help feeling jealous on behalf of her own son”. This is the beginning of the development of Charlie’s fondness towards Tom. Another example of this is when Charlie’s mother in law, Mrs. Storrocks says “if he’d been one of your own you couldn’t have been prouder”. This shows that in the few days Tom has been there Charlie has treated him as if he were his own child, not only that but has been proud of him although he has had no achievements. It also shows that his newly formed relationship with Tom has been noticed by others around him. Another significant moment is when Tom finds a library in Dunroth and decides to look up “changeling” in the dictionary. It says that the “creature” left by the fairies “often applied to ill-favoured person or animal spreading an evil influence”. Once Tom has read this he rereads it because he begins to realise how this is reflected in their situation, “seeing more and more why Mr. Forbes had applied it to him and why Mrs. Forbes had looked at him with such loathing”. After he has read it and come to the realisation he describes feeling “a strangeness” and the reader sympathises with Tom as they know how he truly feels about the family and how distraught he must be that when he finally feels loved no one can forget where Tom comes from.
Another use of symbolism is early in the book when Tom discovers a cat cowering on the staircase in Donaldson’s Court. He recognises the anguish of the cat and the suffering it has had to endure in the slum. He then offers the cat the apple he has earlier stolen for his younger brother, Alec. The cat, however does not accept the gift because it is wary that Tom is still there watching him. Tom knows that the cat does not want to eat the apple because it will make him susceptible to anything Tom may do to him if he lets down his guard. This represents Tom’s relationship with Charlie. Tom has learnt that you never survive Donaldson’s Court unless you let nobody see your true emotions. He does not want to let his guard down around Charlie, even though he is offering Tom a helping hand, for fear that he may become attached and sooner or later he will be let down by Charlie.
Characterisation is effectively used in the novel to depict different characters inner thoughts and feelings. The character of Charlie is well portrayed because in the beginning of the novel the reader thinks Charlie is extremely kind and sensitive to realise that Tom is not just an insolent thief. However, this respect for Charlie begins to waver during the holiday when the reader realises that Charlie may recognise Tom’s intelligence but he does not truly understand or want to understand what Tom really feels. When Mrs. Forbes says that Tom must go home, Charlie replies with “I’ll take him the whole way home”. This shows the reader that Charlie realises his experiment has failed and admits defeat but does not think of how this will affect Tom he just thinks that Tom will never change and he must accompany him to prevent him from stealing anything with his friends. He cannot see that taking Tom away from Donaldson's Court means that he can never return because Charlie and his family have influenced him so much that he will not survive if he has to go back to the slum. In contrast to this in the beginning of the novel when he reads a story description Tom has made of the sea he sees that it is truly wonderful and understands that Tom himself may never be able to go to the sea and therefore feels pity. When he turns to Tom he sees him smiling and thinks to himself , “it was, they said the smile of the certified delinquent, of misanthropy in bud, of future criminality, of inevitable degradation. Forbes refused to accept it as such”. This shows that Charlie can see that Tom is not trying to be impudent, he was smiling because he is aware of how others view him yet they could not be further from the truth. Charlie does not know the true meaning behind this smile and we see that Charlie does not know as much about Tom as he thinks throughout the novel.
Another important character is Gillian, Charlie’s daughter. We see how the roles are reversed and how at the beginning of the novel Gillian appeared to be prejudiced towards Tom and by the end of the novel she is the only person who truly understands him. This first happens when Gillian catches Tom stealing from Woolworths, “instead of rejoicing she was dismayed”. This shows that she was shocked because she was not expecting to have the reaction she did. She expected to feel smug that finally she had found a flaw to Tom and she could use this against him by telling her dad. Instead, she feels closer to Tom because it is as if she had been an accomplice and she knows that Tom has not just done this merely for thrill but for some self-reassurance. This idea is further enforced when it says “it did not make her clear of him, rather did it bind her to him in a way she could not avoid or understand”. One of the most important points where she sympathises for Tom and when she first starts to change her opinion of him is when “she began to realise that this armour, of calmness and patience, forged somehow in the dreadful slum where he had been born, must be heave and painful to wear”. This is where she realises that Tom’s persona he’s built up to survive his life in Donaldson's Court is just an act in order to screen his feelings and that having to do this must be hard for him. However she decides to ignore this feeling and continue to annoy Tom but the reader can see that she is doing it in order to understand Tom further but she does not know how to. Towards the end of the novel when Tom’s family arrive followed by the police wishing to question him about a robbery his friend carried out. Gillian had seen the police and decides to warn Tom when she sees him she tells him they should run to a shed. While they are hiding she says “did you steal those things in Woolworths because – because you didn’t want – to get – too fond of us?” this shows the reader that she has finally been able to understand what Tom really feels and she does not resent him for his attachment to her family and does not look down on his actions.
The main character the theme of roots is portrayed through is Tom. From the beginning the reader knows the reason behind his actions but they do not really sympathise with him until the end of the holiday. One of the first examples which evoke our understanding of Tom is when he is in a lesson and a teacher tells him to step away from his desk because Tom is very dirty. “‘Drop it on the desk and then keep your distance’… Many in the class laughed. He neither blushed nor sulked.” This shows that Tom is used to being treated like vermin and that as part of his act he can handle people treating him like this. Another quote which helps build up his persona is “he knew that if he ever were to be grateful to anybody, his confidence in himself would be destroyed”. This is another insight into the mind of Tom as it conveys how important it is to Tom to survive Donaldson's Court as being “grateful” is another way of letting someone get close to him. Another key point is when the headmaster of the school, Mr. Todd says that despite Tom’s circumstances “‘no child in this school, in this whole city, seeks pity less’”. This shows that Tom is able to accept the life he was born into and does not want others to feel sorry for him because he is perfectly contented with what he has and is. The reader can see Tom’s anguish as he is due to leave the holiday he knows he has come to far with the Forbes’ and cannot return to Donaldson's Court because he has experienced true love and loyalty which has broken his shield of protection and it is now unable to be fixed. Many things build up to the climatic ending where Tom ends his life and we can see that it was the thought of returning to his home after this experience that causes the eventual destruction of everything Tom is, his persona.
In conclusion, Jenkins manages to portray to the reader the idea of the importance of roots and deprivation through how use of symbolism and characterisation in a sophisticated manor. He is able to let the reader know what Tom and fellow characters really think and feel using these techniques.
Kirsty Simpson
'Nights at the Circus'- Angela Carter
Angela Carter’s novel ‘Nights at the Circus’ is one in which the character Fevers is portrayed as being larger then life and flamboyant, as well as extremely vulnerable. This essay will investigate how these two opposing sides of the character’s personality are built up through the techniques the author uses.
Fevvers is introduced as a flamboyant character from the opening of the novel onwards through the descriptions of her used. She is said to be ‘six feet two in her stockings’, wearing ‘six inches of false lash’. These descriptions of her size make her seem a ‘larger then life’ character. This is continued in the account of her circus performance. Wearing ‘dyed plumes that added a good eighteen inches to her already immense height’ on her head, unfurling her wings, ‘six feet across’, her face ‘thickly coated with rouge and powder so you can see how beautiful she is from the back row of the gallery’. The actual Fevvers is mixed with the Fevvers presented on the stage, creating a flamboyant, theatrical, over the top character.
The setting Fevvers is presented in at the beginning of the book also goes to further the flamboyant side of her character. She is in her dressing room, complete with a wall sized poster with ‘foot-high letters’ of her ‘Parisian triumphs’. The ice for the champagne comes from a fishmonger’s, ‘a shiny scale or two stayed trapped within the chunks’. The author says ‘you feel you breathed the air in Fevvers’ dressing-room in lumps’. This creates an incredibly intense sounding environment, reflecting the intense, heady personality of Fevvers. The description of the ‘exquisitely feminine squalor’ of the room, with it’s writhing snakes’ nest of silk stockings’, underwear draping objects, a corset in the coal-bucket, creates a certain atmosphere of dirty, effortless glamour.
Fevvers’ character is portrayed by her actions and manner of speaking. As the character is just being introduced, it is already said that ‘she’d popped the cork of a chilled magnum of champagne between her teeth.’ This straightaway portrays Fevvers as an exciting, over the top character. Her actions are described effectively by the statement- ‘It was impossible to imagine any gesture of hers that did not have that kind of grand, vulgar, careless generosity’, making her seem incredible and immensely likeable to the reader. Her speech also conveys this side of her character. It is printed in broad cockney- ‘Have a drop more, for Gawd’s sake, young feller’- giving the reader a clear idea of how she speaks and meaning her dialogue sticks out from that of other characters. She is said to posses a ‘voice that clanged like dustbin lids’, continuing the idea of her being completely larger then life, with a loud voice to match her huge stature.
The way other characters react to her goes to affect the reader’s judgement of Fevvers. Walser, whose eyes we first see her through, is captivated by her, thus so is the reader. Her appearance, her voice, her actions, her surroundings are all described in such detail as to create a hugely vivid picture of her in the readers mind: ‘the soiled quilting of her baby-blue satin dressing gown’; her dressing room’s ‘hot, solid composite of perfume, sweat, greasepaint and raw, leaking gas’; her ‘two yards of golden hair’. Not all the descriptions of her used are strictly flattering ones, but they go further and further to captivating the reader with Fevvers.
Her back-story, as told near the beginning of the book is a fantastic one, presented so that the reader shares Walser’s disbelief in whether or not it is true. Throughout the book we do not know if the Fevvers we are shown is the ‘real’ one, if her history is real, if her actions are genuine or even her famous wings are the real thing. This creates a fascination for the reader with the character, as we analyse all the information about her that we are given in an attempt to know more.
And through this analysing of her character, we learn that there is more to Fevvers then meets the eye, that there is an incredibly vulnerable side contrasting with her flamboyant exterior. This is suggested very early on in the book, when Walser ‘noted she was wary’ despite her eagerness to shock and interest him. The self that she builds up for others leads her into danger at times, when Mr Rosencreutz tries to kill her, believing it will give him eternal life, or when the Grand Duke attempts to trap her as a toy. These confrontations reveal a more vulnerable side to her. After escaping from the Grand Duke, she is described not as anything flamboyant or magnificent, but as a ‘weeping girl’.
Her vulnerability is reflected in her attachment to her gilt sword, a momento from the brothel she grew up in. Although it is a toy sword, she believes it will be enough to protect her, so runs headlong into potentially dangerous situations, such as that with the Grand Duke. However, he finds and snaps it, leaving her defenceless and in a situation she only just escapes. The description of it as a ‘lethal toy’ shows how flimsy her defences were in the first place. It is said that with her sword she ‘lost some of that sense of her own magnificence which had previously sustained her trajectory’. In her mind, it is because of losing the sword she breaks her wing.
Fevvers flamboyant character and confidence seems to be very closely attached to her appearance; when she finds herself in the Siberian tundra without corsets or hair-dye she begins to lose that side of herself, referring to herself as ‘yesterday’s sensation, a worn-out wonder’. It is said ‘the tropic bird looked more and more like the London sparrow as which it started out in life, as if a spell was unravelling’. At this point the flamboyant side of her has basically been lost, and she is more and more unhappy. Fevvers feels lost if she has no one to impress, and sees no reason to look after herself. Lost in the Tundra ‘She lacked the heart to wash her face… and she was breaking out in spots and rashes’. She is transformed from an incredible character to someone rather pathetic.
Fevvers attitude to Walser also shows her vulnerable side. She is hurt when she believes he is sleeping with Mignon, and attempts to hide this by renting them the bridal suite. She treats him with disdain and sarcasm, but refers to him as ‘my young American’ and struggles to find him in the train-wreck, even when the Russians have her at gunpoint. When she sees him again she says ‘My heart went pit-a-pat and turned right over’. She shows an uncharacteristic amount of love and attachment to him. When they are finally reunited the flamboyant side of Fevvers character begins to come back. Her laughter is described as a ‘spiralling tornado’ which fills the whole Tundra, and we see the old Fevvers coming back. In Walser she seems to have found someone who she now needs to be with to feel like herself.
The character of Fevvers is a complex and interesting one. Throughout the novel she evolves from the captivating, but slightly one-dimensional character she presents herself as, to someone deeper. She is one of the most engrossing aspects of the novel, one whom the reader is hungry to learn more and more about. We feel for her as she begins to lose the extravagant side of her personality, and so the conclusion, with her laughter ringing out through the empty Tundra to the ears of all the characters of the book is a highly satisfying one.
Angela Carter’s novel ‘Nights at the Circus’ is one in which the character Fevers is portrayed as being larger then life and flamboyant, as well as extremely vulnerable. This essay will investigate how these two opposing sides of the character’s personality are built up through the techniques the author uses.
Fevvers is introduced as a flamboyant character from the opening of the novel onwards through the descriptions of her used. She is said to be ‘six feet two in her stockings’, wearing ‘six inches of false lash’. These descriptions of her size make her seem a ‘larger then life’ character. This is continued in the account of her circus performance. Wearing ‘dyed plumes that added a good eighteen inches to her already immense height’ on her head, unfurling her wings, ‘six feet across’, her face ‘thickly coated with rouge and powder so you can see how beautiful she is from the back row of the gallery’. The actual Fevvers is mixed with the Fevvers presented on the stage, creating a flamboyant, theatrical, over the top character.
The setting Fevvers is presented in at the beginning of the book also goes to further the flamboyant side of her character. She is in her dressing room, complete with a wall sized poster with ‘foot-high letters’ of her ‘Parisian triumphs’. The ice for the champagne comes from a fishmonger’s, ‘a shiny scale or two stayed trapped within the chunks’. The author says ‘you feel you breathed the air in Fevvers’ dressing-room in lumps’. This creates an incredibly intense sounding environment, reflecting the intense, heady personality of Fevvers. The description of the ‘exquisitely feminine squalor’ of the room, with it’s writhing snakes’ nest of silk stockings’, underwear draping objects, a corset in the coal-bucket, creates a certain atmosphere of dirty, effortless glamour.
Fevvers’ character is portrayed by her actions and manner of speaking. As the character is just being introduced, it is already said that ‘she’d popped the cork of a chilled magnum of champagne between her teeth.’ This straightaway portrays Fevvers as an exciting, over the top character. Her actions are described effectively by the statement- ‘It was impossible to imagine any gesture of hers that did not have that kind of grand, vulgar, careless generosity’, making her seem incredible and immensely likeable to the reader. Her speech also conveys this side of her character. It is printed in broad cockney- ‘Have a drop more, for Gawd’s sake, young feller’- giving the reader a clear idea of how she speaks and meaning her dialogue sticks out from that of other characters. She is said to posses a ‘voice that clanged like dustbin lids’, continuing the idea of her being completely larger then life, with a loud voice to match her huge stature.
The way other characters react to her goes to affect the reader’s judgement of Fevvers. Walser, whose eyes we first see her through, is captivated by her, thus so is the reader. Her appearance, her voice, her actions, her surroundings are all described in such detail as to create a hugely vivid picture of her in the readers mind: ‘the soiled quilting of her baby-blue satin dressing gown’; her dressing room’s ‘hot, solid composite of perfume, sweat, greasepaint and raw, leaking gas’; her ‘two yards of golden hair’. Not all the descriptions of her used are strictly flattering ones, but they go further and further to captivating the reader with Fevvers.
Her back-story, as told near the beginning of the book is a fantastic one, presented so that the reader shares Walser’s disbelief in whether or not it is true. Throughout the book we do not know if the Fevvers we are shown is the ‘real’ one, if her history is real, if her actions are genuine or even her famous wings are the real thing. This creates a fascination for the reader with the character, as we analyse all the information about her that we are given in an attempt to know more.
And through this analysing of her character, we learn that there is more to Fevvers then meets the eye, that there is an incredibly vulnerable side contrasting with her flamboyant exterior. This is suggested very early on in the book, when Walser ‘noted she was wary’ despite her eagerness to shock and interest him. The self that she builds up for others leads her into danger at times, when Mr Rosencreutz tries to kill her, believing it will give him eternal life, or when the Grand Duke attempts to trap her as a toy. These confrontations reveal a more vulnerable side to her. After escaping from the Grand Duke, she is described not as anything flamboyant or magnificent, but as a ‘weeping girl’.
Her vulnerability is reflected in her attachment to her gilt sword, a momento from the brothel she grew up in. Although it is a toy sword, she believes it will be enough to protect her, so runs headlong into potentially dangerous situations, such as that with the Grand Duke. However, he finds and snaps it, leaving her defenceless and in a situation she only just escapes. The description of it as a ‘lethal toy’ shows how flimsy her defences were in the first place. It is said that with her sword she ‘lost some of that sense of her own magnificence which had previously sustained her trajectory’. In her mind, it is because of losing the sword she breaks her wing.
Fevvers flamboyant character and confidence seems to be very closely attached to her appearance; when she finds herself in the Siberian tundra without corsets or hair-dye she begins to lose that side of herself, referring to herself as ‘yesterday’s sensation, a worn-out wonder’. It is said ‘the tropic bird looked more and more like the London sparrow as which it started out in life, as if a spell was unravelling’. At this point the flamboyant side of her has basically been lost, and she is more and more unhappy. Fevvers feels lost if she has no one to impress, and sees no reason to look after herself. Lost in the Tundra ‘She lacked the heart to wash her face… and she was breaking out in spots and rashes’. She is transformed from an incredible character to someone rather pathetic.
Fevvers attitude to Walser also shows her vulnerable side. She is hurt when she believes he is sleeping with Mignon, and attempts to hide this by renting them the bridal suite. She treats him with disdain and sarcasm, but refers to him as ‘my young American’ and struggles to find him in the train-wreck, even when the Russians have her at gunpoint. When she sees him again she says ‘My heart went pit-a-pat and turned right over’. She shows an uncharacteristic amount of love and attachment to him. When they are finally reunited the flamboyant side of Fevvers character begins to come back. Her laughter is described as a ‘spiralling tornado’ which fills the whole Tundra, and we see the old Fevvers coming back. In Walser she seems to have found someone who she now needs to be with to feel like herself.
The character of Fevvers is a complex and interesting one. Throughout the novel she evolves from the captivating, but slightly one-dimensional character she presents herself as, to someone deeper. She is one of the most engrossing aspects of the novel, one whom the reader is hungry to learn more and more about. We feel for her as she begins to lose the extravagant side of her personality, and so the conclusion, with her laughter ringing out through the empty Tundra to the ears of all the characters of the book is a highly satisfying one.
sarah again :)
i well tried to email you btw :P but its not working so im sorry.
at least i did it
i put it on the blog :)
yeahhhhhhh
love sarah x
at least i did it
i put it on the blog :)
yeahhhhhhh
love sarah x
whaaaaaaaaay, Sarah has finished!
"The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
"The Bell Jar" is an autobiographical novel that relates closely to the events of the author's life. Esther Greenwood is the narrator of the novel. This story begins on a "queer, sultry summer". It is a novel that shows the downfall and recovery of one young woman, Esther Greenwood, the narrator. This study will examine Esther's downfall through symbolism and characterisation. It will look at the "beating heart", "the bell jar", "the fig tree" and "the headlines" for symbolism. This study will pick apart Esther's character and her mother's character.
To start, Esther is a scholarship student. Her dad died when she was nine years old, something that could be a cause of her fear of sexuality and men. She had just finished her first year at college. Growing up in the Boston suburbs it was just her, her mother and brother. She is a very attractive, lucky girl, with many talents. However she is very unsure about what she wants to do in her life and is overwhelmed with uncertainty. This decision leads to a terrible breakdown and a suicide attempt. Esther doesn't know if she should marry now or wait until she has a career. She believes that society thinks she should remain a virgin until she married but Esther sees no sense in this rule and wants to lose it to buddy, her so called high school sweetheart.
Esther behaves quite selfishly towards people, mainly because of her mental illness. When she tries to kill herself she doesn't think of what anyone will feel when she dies. She doesn't consider what this suicide attempt would have on her mother or friends. She comes across as being very inexperienced in life but it a loving, very observant but naive women. She has made her own world seem so terrifying to herself that it engulfs all her thoughts and processes.
Esther, we could say, doesn't really have a relationship with her parents. Her dad died when she was nine. This links with her feelings for her mother. She seems to blame her mum for the death of her dad. We could question Esther asking if she has a case of Matrophobia. The fear and resentment of her mother. However does Esther's mum show her any compassion when dealing with her illness? She almost ignores Esther's illness saying she knew there would be nothing wrong with "her daughter".
Mrs. Greenwood is very hard-working and does care for Esther. She has had a difficult life as her husband died and she was left mourning, trying to look after children that we at a very young age. Her husband didn't have good life insurance meaning she struggles trying to make ends meet. After all of Mrs. Greenwood’s trying Esther still remains angry at her. She doesn't understand what Esther is going through although she does try. Some comments made by her show the reader that she is more concerned with her social status with friends rather than the state of her daughter's health. "I know my daughter shouldn't be in with all those people." When really Esther is ill and needs some medical care.
The reader could make the prognosis that Mrs. Greenwood is too blame for the way Esther is at this stage in her life, but taking a second look we noticed she has issues with mean relating back to her dad and with what she wants to do in life which just shows she is very anxious about her decision and doesn't know what to do. Mrs. Greenwood can't be blamed for everything.
Symbolism is a big part of this book. "The Bell Jar" obviously the title of the book is a glass jar that holds a subject of scientific interest. It is airless. In the book Esther has moments of sheer madness where she feels as if she is trapped in a bell jar. She can't breathe. It suggests she feels isolated from the world. She doesn't have the chance to interact with anyone because of this "entrapment" that she feels. By then end of the novel Esther can breathe again, symbolising she has recovered and got over this horrible depression she fell into but she feels as if the jar is still there waiting to fall onto her again, suffocating her. She knows she could fall back into he told ways at any moment.
"The Fig Tree" symbolises Esther’s decisions in life and her relationships. She tells us of a novel she read quite early in the novel. It is about a Jewish man who meets a nun under a fig tree but their relationship is obviously not going to work. This relates back to her relationship with Buddy Willard. Esther later on sees the tree as one that holds her decisions in life. She wants all the choices that are in front of her but can only choose one. She sits staring at the tree, unable to choose, while the figs fall to the ground and each life choice is lost.
The headlines, especially reprinted in chapter 16 are almost a climax in Esther’s life. Joan, Esther’s friend, gives her headlines she has cut out the newspaper about the disappearance of Esther. These symbolize just how exposed Esther feels and how much of an effect she has on people. She only sees the pain in what she is going through. She only sees the darkness and the pills, all the attempts at suicide but the world looks at Esther as this person who has went missing and her hunt to find her. It is an amazing story in the eyes of all these people. Esther realizes that she isn’t alone but all these people, strangers, actually care enough for her to write about her going missing.
Finally the last object of symbolism is the “beating heart”. No matter how many times Esther tries to kill herself it seems that her body won’t let her. Esther reminds the reader that if it were up to her she would have killed herself in no time. Esther has to try to outdo the tricks of her body so she can kill herself. The beating heart represents this intense desire her body has to live. It suggests to the reader that her body isn’t ready to give up yet. Her body knows she will get better in time. This is shown when Esther tries to drown herself. She says her heart beats “I am, I am, I am.” It happens again at her friend Joan’s funeral. Her body isn’t going to give up and die anytime soon. She won’t be having a funeral soon.
Symbolism and characterisation show Esther’s downfall and eventual recovery. This study has shown this using evidence from the novel and explaining what Plath was trying to get across to people relating to her own life events. This is a warming novel that many people can relate to with a personal message, don’t give up to soon, you can succeed.
By Sarah Anderson.
"The Bell Jar" is an autobiographical novel that relates closely to the events of the author's life. Esther Greenwood is the narrator of the novel. This story begins on a "queer, sultry summer". It is a novel that shows the downfall and recovery of one young woman, Esther Greenwood, the narrator. This study will examine Esther's downfall through symbolism and characterisation. It will look at the "beating heart", "the bell jar", "the fig tree" and "the headlines" for symbolism. This study will pick apart Esther's character and her mother's character.
To start, Esther is a scholarship student. Her dad died when she was nine years old, something that could be a cause of her fear of sexuality and men. She had just finished her first year at college. Growing up in the Boston suburbs it was just her, her mother and brother. She is a very attractive, lucky girl, with many talents. However she is very unsure about what she wants to do in her life and is overwhelmed with uncertainty. This decision leads to a terrible breakdown and a suicide attempt. Esther doesn't know if she should marry now or wait until she has a career. She believes that society thinks she should remain a virgin until she married but Esther sees no sense in this rule and wants to lose it to buddy, her so called high school sweetheart.
Esther behaves quite selfishly towards people, mainly because of her mental illness. When she tries to kill herself she doesn't think of what anyone will feel when she dies. She doesn't consider what this suicide attempt would have on her mother or friends. She comes across as being very inexperienced in life but it a loving, very observant but naive women. She has made her own world seem so terrifying to herself that it engulfs all her thoughts and processes.
Esther, we could say, doesn't really have a relationship with her parents. Her dad died when she was nine. This links with her feelings for her mother. She seems to blame her mum for the death of her dad. We could question Esther asking if she has a case of Matrophobia. The fear and resentment of her mother. However does Esther's mum show her any compassion when dealing with her illness? She almost ignores Esther's illness saying she knew there would be nothing wrong with "her daughter".
Mrs. Greenwood is very hard-working and does care for Esther. She has had a difficult life as her husband died and she was left mourning, trying to look after children that we at a very young age. Her husband didn't have good life insurance meaning she struggles trying to make ends meet. After all of Mrs. Greenwood’s trying Esther still remains angry at her. She doesn't understand what Esther is going through although she does try. Some comments made by her show the reader that she is more concerned with her social status with friends rather than the state of her daughter's health. "I know my daughter shouldn't be in with all those people." When really Esther is ill and needs some medical care.
The reader could make the prognosis that Mrs. Greenwood is too blame for the way Esther is at this stage in her life, but taking a second look we noticed she has issues with mean relating back to her dad and with what she wants to do in life which just shows she is very anxious about her decision and doesn't know what to do. Mrs. Greenwood can't be blamed for everything.
Symbolism is a big part of this book. "The Bell Jar" obviously the title of the book is a glass jar that holds a subject of scientific interest. It is airless. In the book Esther has moments of sheer madness where she feels as if she is trapped in a bell jar. She can't breathe. It suggests she feels isolated from the world. She doesn't have the chance to interact with anyone because of this "entrapment" that she feels. By then end of the novel Esther can breathe again, symbolising she has recovered and got over this horrible depression she fell into but she feels as if the jar is still there waiting to fall onto her again, suffocating her. She knows she could fall back into he told ways at any moment.
"The Fig Tree" symbolises Esther’s decisions in life and her relationships. She tells us of a novel she read quite early in the novel. It is about a Jewish man who meets a nun under a fig tree but their relationship is obviously not going to work. This relates back to her relationship with Buddy Willard. Esther later on sees the tree as one that holds her decisions in life. She wants all the choices that are in front of her but can only choose one. She sits staring at the tree, unable to choose, while the figs fall to the ground and each life choice is lost.
The headlines, especially reprinted in chapter 16 are almost a climax in Esther’s life. Joan, Esther’s friend, gives her headlines she has cut out the newspaper about the disappearance of Esther. These symbolize just how exposed Esther feels and how much of an effect she has on people. She only sees the pain in what she is going through. She only sees the darkness and the pills, all the attempts at suicide but the world looks at Esther as this person who has went missing and her hunt to find her. It is an amazing story in the eyes of all these people. Esther realizes that she isn’t alone but all these people, strangers, actually care enough for her to write about her going missing.
Finally the last object of symbolism is the “beating heart”. No matter how many times Esther tries to kill herself it seems that her body won’t let her. Esther reminds the reader that if it were up to her she would have killed herself in no time. Esther has to try to outdo the tricks of her body so she can kill herself. The beating heart represents this intense desire her body has to live. It suggests to the reader that her body isn’t ready to give up yet. Her body knows she will get better in time. This is shown when Esther tries to drown herself. She says her heart beats “I am, I am, I am.” It happens again at her friend Joan’s funeral. Her body isn’t going to give up and die anytime soon. She won’t be having a funeral soon.
Symbolism and characterisation show Esther’s downfall and eventual recovery. This study has shown this using evidence from the novel and explaining what Plath was trying to get across to people relating to her own life events. This is a warming novel that many people can relate to with a personal message, don’t give up to soon, you can succeed.
By Sarah Anderson.
Sarah
Woooooooo, how sexy is this :).. i dunno what i am to write about for my spec study.. im just gonna watch Nickelodeon instead ;)
much love
sarah x
much love
sarah x
Lucy Smith, 5G2
‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ – Hanif Kureishi
Specialist Study – Lucy Smith, 5G2
‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ is the first novel by Indian writer Hanif Kureishi, which deals with a mixed-race protagonist named Karim Amir and his life and relationships. Karim defines himself as having “emerged from two old histories” (3) and he also refers to himself as “an Englishman born and bred…almost” (3). But how does Kureishi use setting and character to show that Karim has an almost un-defined personality when he is not in a relationship? I plan to show the difficulties that Karim has in coming to terms with his personality, sexuality and heritage, also how the use of plot, setting, and characterisation effects this.
The characters in ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ are all very complicated and each has a personal agenda. For example, Karim is what appears to be a normal teenager at the outset, but by the end of the novel, his character has changed completely. Karim only becomes a caricature of himself. While working as an actor, he is asked to play "ethnic" roles, to fake a broad Indian accent and be authentically Indian even if he has never been to India; and his director, Shadwell reminds him that he has "been cast for authenticity and not for experience" (147). Karim's early sexual experiences range from various encounters with Charlie to another relationship with Jamila, his childhood friend. But the sex he has with Jamila seems to be almost meaningless compared to that with Charlie. Later, when Karim becomes involved in a mobile social circle, and participating in theatre, he begins a complicated sexual relationship with Eleanor, a fellow actor. Karim transforms from a totally self-involved young teenager to a young man who is aware of his place in society and cares for others.Karim’s father Haroon expected to witness the glory and power of an old England, which is why he was “amazed and heartened by the sight of the British in England, though. He'd never seen the English in poverty, as road sweepers, dustmen, shopkeepers and barmen. He'd never seen an Englishman stuffing bread into his mouth with his fingers, and no one has told him that the English didn't wash regularly because the water was cold --if they had water at all. And when Dad tried to discuss Byron in local pubs no one warned him that not every Englishman could read...” (24-5) His name and given identity changes throughout the narrative and he is given many nicknames including: "God," "Harry," "Daddio," amongst others. People call Haroon different things because he portrays different roles throughout the course of the novel.Charlie is characterized by Karim as a heart breaker; Charlie neglects Karim, "neither [phoning] since [their] last love-making nor [bothering] to turn up" (32). Charlie's only real goal is to become famous to be a rock star and to employ any method through which to succeed. Charlie adheres to every trend, be it musical or in the fashion world. Charlie's character is about marketing, greed, fame and a quest for awareness.Eva lives a very exciting life, luring artists and intellectuals into her circle all the time. Her enthusiasm attracts Haroon and the two fall in love, prompting Haroon to leave his wife and break up his family. Eva's character represents changing social backgrounds and the falling away of boundaries between parent and child.These are really the most important characters in ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ and without them; you get the impression that Karim would be lost. His personality only seems to be apparent when he is in contact with people he finds interesting or people he thinks it would be beneficial to know. Charlie is the first one who teases out the sexual side of Karim, and after that it seems Karim cannot get enough sex. He looks for it everywhere and would do it with anyone, because he needs that definition for his character. The fact that Haroon sees Charlie and Karim in a rather compromising position is interesting as later that evening Karim sees his father having sex with Eva. This shows that Haroon has trouble coming to terms with his son being bisexual but at the same time he has embarked in a relationship with another married woman, thus forfeiting his family life. Although Charlie is almost pushed out of Karim’s life, when he does re-enter the narrative, it is only to bring a new sexual deviance to the plot. Eva has always told Karim that he should break out of the mould that society has him set in, but he finds this remarkably hard to do without her guidance. She gives him books he should read; Charlie gives him records he should be listening to and Haroon teaches him to be a Buddhist. Karim is quick to be swayed into the thinkings of other people and doesn’t ever really have any thoughts that could be seen as controversial.
The settings in which our protagonist finds himself in often effects the way he acts, speaks and often moves. For example, when he is surrounded by the thespians in London he acts like he is better than everyone else, but when he is alone with friends he is quieter and not opinionated. He is quick to change as people want him to. This novel is mainly set in the suburbs, and inner city of London in the 1970’s. Also Karim travels to New York to reunite himself with Charlie when there is nothing left for him to do in London anymore, he stays in New York for ten months. Returned to London, he takes on the offer of a part in a TV soap opera, the one thing he was always warned against by fellow actors. This shows he is starting to do what he thinks, not as people would like him to think. On the first page Karim introduces himself as follows: “Englishman I am (though not proud of it), from the South London suburbs and going somewhere.” (3) which shows he has always had the idea that he will leave his birth home, but has never been sure of where he is going.
The plot of the novel enables the reader to enjoy the text due to the fact you can often relate to the situations Karim, as protagonist, finds himself in. Karim lives with his English mother and Indian father in the routine comfort of suburban London, enduring his teenage years with good humour, (as much as he can muster,) and he is always on the lookout for adventure - and sexual possibilities, of course. When Karim moves to the inner city of London, and then to New York he is introduced to a world of renegade theatre directors, punk rock stars, fancy parties, and all the sex a young man could desire. This changes his outlook on life altogether.
Overall this novel deals with the harder aspects of everyone’s teenage years, while introducing the concept of how to come to terms with sexuality, heritage and personality. Kureishi suggests that it’s ok to make mistakes, so long as we can realise that we have made them.
Specialist Study – Lucy Smith, 5G2
‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ is the first novel by Indian writer Hanif Kureishi, which deals with a mixed-race protagonist named Karim Amir and his life and relationships. Karim defines himself as having “emerged from two old histories” (3) and he also refers to himself as “an Englishman born and bred…almost” (3). But how does Kureishi use setting and character to show that Karim has an almost un-defined personality when he is not in a relationship? I plan to show the difficulties that Karim has in coming to terms with his personality, sexuality and heritage, also how the use of plot, setting, and characterisation effects this.
The characters in ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ are all very complicated and each has a personal agenda. For example, Karim is what appears to be a normal teenager at the outset, but by the end of the novel, his character has changed completely. Karim only becomes a caricature of himself. While working as an actor, he is asked to play "ethnic" roles, to fake a broad Indian accent and be authentically Indian even if he has never been to India; and his director, Shadwell reminds him that he has "been cast for authenticity and not for experience" (147). Karim's early sexual experiences range from various encounters with Charlie to another relationship with Jamila, his childhood friend. But the sex he has with Jamila seems to be almost meaningless compared to that with Charlie. Later, when Karim becomes involved in a mobile social circle, and participating in theatre, he begins a complicated sexual relationship with Eleanor, a fellow actor. Karim transforms from a totally self-involved young teenager to a young man who is aware of his place in society and cares for others.Karim’s father Haroon expected to witness the glory and power of an old England, which is why he was “amazed and heartened by the sight of the British in England, though. He'd never seen the English in poverty, as road sweepers, dustmen, shopkeepers and barmen. He'd never seen an Englishman stuffing bread into his mouth with his fingers, and no one has told him that the English didn't wash regularly because the water was cold --if they had water at all. And when Dad tried to discuss Byron in local pubs no one warned him that not every Englishman could read...” (24-5) His name and given identity changes throughout the narrative and he is given many nicknames including: "God," "Harry," "Daddio," amongst others. People call Haroon different things because he portrays different roles throughout the course of the novel.Charlie is characterized by Karim as a heart breaker; Charlie neglects Karim, "neither [phoning] since [their] last love-making nor [bothering] to turn up" (32). Charlie's only real goal is to become famous to be a rock star and to employ any method through which to succeed. Charlie adheres to every trend, be it musical or in the fashion world. Charlie's character is about marketing, greed, fame and a quest for awareness.Eva lives a very exciting life, luring artists and intellectuals into her circle all the time. Her enthusiasm attracts Haroon and the two fall in love, prompting Haroon to leave his wife and break up his family. Eva's character represents changing social backgrounds and the falling away of boundaries between parent and child.These are really the most important characters in ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ and without them; you get the impression that Karim would be lost. His personality only seems to be apparent when he is in contact with people he finds interesting or people he thinks it would be beneficial to know. Charlie is the first one who teases out the sexual side of Karim, and after that it seems Karim cannot get enough sex. He looks for it everywhere and would do it with anyone, because he needs that definition for his character. The fact that Haroon sees Charlie and Karim in a rather compromising position is interesting as later that evening Karim sees his father having sex with Eva. This shows that Haroon has trouble coming to terms with his son being bisexual but at the same time he has embarked in a relationship with another married woman, thus forfeiting his family life. Although Charlie is almost pushed out of Karim’s life, when he does re-enter the narrative, it is only to bring a new sexual deviance to the plot. Eva has always told Karim that he should break out of the mould that society has him set in, but he finds this remarkably hard to do without her guidance. She gives him books he should read; Charlie gives him records he should be listening to and Haroon teaches him to be a Buddhist. Karim is quick to be swayed into the thinkings of other people and doesn’t ever really have any thoughts that could be seen as controversial.
The settings in which our protagonist finds himself in often effects the way he acts, speaks and often moves. For example, when he is surrounded by the thespians in London he acts like he is better than everyone else, but when he is alone with friends he is quieter and not opinionated. He is quick to change as people want him to. This novel is mainly set in the suburbs, and inner city of London in the 1970’s. Also Karim travels to New York to reunite himself with Charlie when there is nothing left for him to do in London anymore, he stays in New York for ten months. Returned to London, he takes on the offer of a part in a TV soap opera, the one thing he was always warned against by fellow actors. This shows he is starting to do what he thinks, not as people would like him to think. On the first page Karim introduces himself as follows: “Englishman I am (though not proud of it), from the South London suburbs and going somewhere.” (3) which shows he has always had the idea that he will leave his birth home, but has never been sure of where he is going.
The plot of the novel enables the reader to enjoy the text due to the fact you can often relate to the situations Karim, as protagonist, finds himself in. Karim lives with his English mother and Indian father in the routine comfort of suburban London, enduring his teenage years with good humour, (as much as he can muster,) and he is always on the lookout for adventure - and sexual possibilities, of course. When Karim moves to the inner city of London, and then to New York he is introduced to a world of renegade theatre directors, punk rock stars, fancy parties, and all the sex a young man could desire. This changes his outlook on life altogether.
Overall this novel deals with the harder aspects of everyone’s teenage years, while introducing the concept of how to come to terms with sexuality, heritage and personality. Kureishi suggests that it’s ok to make mistakes, so long as we can realise that we have made them.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Saturday, October 21, 2006
How Are Those Specialist Studies?
Well folks, you have less than a week before the specialist studies are due in. I hope that you have been working hard there. I am a little concerned that I have not heard from any of you over the holiday, but maybe you just think that you are all super talented. Just do not bombard me with questions next week!! I am looking forward to reading these, you are a talented bunch after all!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Sylvia Plath
I hope that after reading "Daddy" you have taken an interest in Sylvia PLath, if only because she is one of my favourite poets!!
You can find out more about her and her work from here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath
or here:
http://www.sylviaplathforum.com/
or here:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/11
You can find out more about her and her work from here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath
or here:
http://www.sylviaplathforum.com/
or here:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/11
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Daddy
Sylvia Plath said that “Daddy” was about a girl with an Electra complex, but it is clearly much more than a straightforward Freudian allegory. The poem leaps off the page, opening with an insistent and incantatory rhythm, which the poem sustains. The repetition and rhyme of the opening lines, which are made up of punchy monosyllables, give the poem a nursery-rhyme quality entirely at odds with the subject matter and tone, which is frequently angry. “Daddy” crackles with energy, startling the reader with its force. The speaker in the poem jeers, mocks, and hurls abuse as she lashes out at her father. Reckless and rebellious, she puts on a magnificent performance.
To begin with, the language suggests that the speaker is scolding her father. The poem is written in the form of a monologue, with the daughter addressing the father directly as “You”, a word that comes to have an unparalleled power. It suggests ritual, catharsis, as if the daughter is exorcising her past. The image of the black shoe suggests that the daughter has outgrown the parent and now wishes to cast him off. Initially the speaker seems powerful;’ she has decided that he will “not do” “Any more”. The stark simplicity of these words makes the speaker sound very determined. However, her power to reject is threatened by the images the poet invokes in the remaining lines of the first stanza, where the father figure becomes increasingly sinister and brutish (the word brute is repeated forcefully in the tenth stanza, as if one accusation is not enough). We become aware that there is a power struggle going on; father and daughter are locked in combat.
The black shoe is clearly restricting. All the way through the poem Sylvia Plath keeps coming back to this deadly colour, and its associations are always negative and masculine, as this first metaphor for the father is: there are also references to the SS, the husband with the “Meinkampf look”, the devil, the vampire, the telephone that the speaker has to rip out. This young woman is surrounded by terrible blackness. By way of contrast she sees herself as “poor and white”, suffocating, too scared to breathe or sneeze. There is a horrifying black comedy in these opening lines, especially if we recall the nursery rhyme about the old woman who lived in a shoe. Here, instead of reciting a harmless children’s tale, Sylvia Plath is recounting a story of acute suffering, made more appalling by the poet’s use of slangy vocabulary and precise images. A foot trapped inside a shoe for thirty years would be a crippled, painful, distorted stump. Is the poet encouraging us to sympathise with the speaker?
The opening of the second stanza is dramatic – some would say melodramatic – as the speaker confesses to, even proudly proclaims murder. She confronts and taunts her father for the first line. But no, again she is contradicted. She could not kill the oppressor herself because he eluded her by dying “before I had time”. These words indicate that the father’s death somehow cut the daughter off, preventing her from having her own life. Sylvia Plath introduces further metaphors that add to the reader’s understanding of just how oppressive the father has been; he is compared to God, to a huge “Ghastly” statue. These images inspire awe and terror. They suggest the enormous shadow that this father has cast over his daughter’s life.
But in the third stanza the mood changes. These as a sad, intimate tenderness in the “Ach, du” (the vowel sound suggests regret and woe), and we now see that the speaker has – or had – mixed feelings: she used to pray to “recover” her father, suggesting the loss she felt when he died. The verbs in this line suggest longing. We begin to understand that the speaker is attempting to lay the ghost of her father to rest so that she can get on with forging her own life. There is perhaps an ambiguity in the choice of “recover”; having been shattered by the hunt for her father, the daughter now needs to recover. There is also the idea of “re-covering” something, of covering something up again. It is as if the daughter has had to dig up her father metaphorically, in order to come to terms with his death and her memories. When Sylvia Plath refers to Nauset and its beautiful seascape she is making allusions to her childhood, to the place she lived before her father died and her family moved inland. We sense her love of this area, but it has ominous connotations. Because the sea is clearly linked to her father (he has “a head in the freakish Atlantic”), we might feel that this is a reference to death by drowning, an idea that Sylvia Plath returns to a number of times in her work. Did the speaker wish to die herself, so that she could be reunited with her terrible father? The masochism in this idea is added to later in the poem.
The German language propels us into the fourth stanza, and a weariness creeps in with the mention of “wars, wars, wars”. Now there is destruction of a different less personal kind; a Polish town has been “Scraped flat”. Poland suffered greatly in the Second World War and it seems that Sylvia Plath is now invoking images of mass oppression to add to the intensity of the daughter’s suffering. The poet is using history to explore her speaker’s state of mind and victim hood. The daughter is linked with the defeated Poles; she has a “Polack friend”. Later she will become a “bit of a Jew”, casting herself firmly in the role of the persecuted. We might also feel that the speaker is still engaged in the process of recovery – she explores her family’s origins and is looking back when she recalls the lack of communication that clouded her relationship with her father. But again she insists on rejection: the German language is “obscene”. Perhaps the last two lines of the fifth stanza are resentful. The speaker is clearly in pain again; now her tongue is stuck in her jaw, in a “barb wire snare”. The harsh onomatopoeia of “Ich, Ich, Ich, Ich” sounds like choking. Now the father is turning into a torturer, specifically a Nazi.
Sylvia Plath’s use of Holocaust imagery in the next four stanzas has made critics uncomfortable. The poet said that she has a “uniquely intense” concern with the concentration camps because of her German and Austrian ancestry. But this has not saved her from some harsh criticism. Sylvia Plath has been accused of hysteria, blasphemy and outrageous egotism for appropriating images of Dachau and Auschwitz to explore the daughter’s or her own – if we choose to read this poem as confessional autobiography – suffering. However we respond to the imagery, it certainly conveys the speaker’s fear and agony. In the tenth stanza she seems to be engulfed when the black of the swastika fills up the sky. She is again in danger of suffocating, as the Jews choked and died in the gas chambers. Here Sylvia Plath brilliantly evokes what could be called a psychological landscape, something she does successfully throughout “Daddy”.
But in spite of her disgust at her father’s Nazi features, the speaker feels attracted to her oppressor. There is a disturbing erotic charge in the shocking line, “Every woman adores a Fascist”, which is reinforced by the masochistic pleasure she seems to gain from receiving a “boot in the face”. Again, the babyish rhyming gives the lines a powerful energy. Their masochism is echoed later when the speaker tells us that she chose a husband who resembled her father, quite deliberately. It is becoming difficult not to feel that the speaker is colluding in her victim hood. This idea seems clearer if we consider the eagerness of the line, “And I said I do, I do”, a chilling inclusion of words from a marriage service. It could be argued that Sylvia Plath is creating deliberately repellent images in order to demonstrate just how hard the girl has to fight to sustain herself.
In some ways, the husband is every bit as terrifying as the father figure: Sylvia Plath links the two incontrovertibly by switching between them in the lines of stanzas 11-14, and by using the same imagery to describe them. The husband has bitten the speaker’s heart in two, making him every bit as vampiric and devilish as Daddy. The daughter views her marriage as a repetition of the oppression and torture she suffered at her father’s hands. The yearning that she feels for these men – father and husband – is conveyed by another destructive, but deeply masochistic, reference to a suicide attempt in the twelfth stanza, which was designed to “get back, back, back to you” (her father). The use of direct address reminds us that this is an intimate monologue. Altogether, “you” appears twenty-two times in this poem, and there is significant repetition of “your” too, suggesting, perhaps, that what the daughter really wants is a dialogue. It is as if she is trying to force her monstrous, dead daddy to react. Is this why she is so extreme, so venomous, and so dramatic? “You” can seem desperate or disgusted, depending on its context. To reinforce its power, Sylvia Plath rhymes it with another italicised word, “knew2, in the final stanza. Do these emphasised words force us to read “Daddy2 as a poem about a daughter trying to get to know – as well as destroy – her father? This seems plausible if we consider the many references to his ancestry, and to her inability to talk. She wants to have a conversation that death denied her. But what will the daughter do when she has achieved enlightenment, when she has finally “got to know” her father?
Having established herself as an angry victim, the speaker reasserts herself in the last three stanzas of the poem. She tells her father he can lie back now: she is done with him, she has finished haranguing him. “I’m through” she announces twice. The first time the speaker says these words they anticipate the young woman’s act of destruction, the cutting off of the telephone, which she wrenches out “at the root”. After this, we return to the drama of death, and the body count. Now the speaker insists that she did kill her father, and she also murdered his model, her husband. It is possible to feel that the speaker is finally triumphant when we read of the stamping and dancing that occur when the vampires are defeated, although, as critics have noted, Sylvia Plath does not describe the daughter plunging the stake into her father’s heart. Does the young woman not have the courage to destroy him with her own hands?
After the death, she remains angry: “you bastard” she cries. There is spite in the final lines too. The daughter still taunts her father, and she is dismissive; “the villagers never liked you”, “if you want to knew”. However, it is possible to feel that the daughter has come to the end of the line herself. “I’m through” sounds exhausted. It sounds suicidal. Perhaps the speaker has been so tormented, so worn down by her experiences with her male oppressors, and her attempts to make sense of her dark memories that she no longer has the energy to live. She has expended it all in this raging poem. There are enough self destructive moments in “Daddy” to endorse a reading of this kind. Or perhaps Sylvia Plath wishes us to understand that the speaker has simply finished with her past and the monologue – she’s got nothing more to say and wishes to get on with her own life. Unfortunately, the men in black who have dominated this poem are difficult to dismiss. Sylvia Plath’s use of metaphor has made them monumental figures, terrible legends of destruction that live on in the memory. After years of having the blood drained out of her, it would be surprising if the speaker had the strength to go on. It seems to me that the use of arresting, colloquial swearword in the last line of the poem suggests that the speaker has run out of language, as well as rage. She is literally and mentally “through”. It is significant that the last sound in the poem is the vowel sound of pain that has echoed so insistently throughout “Daddy”. Ultimately, it is to decide whether this is a fantasy of destruction or of self-immolation.
To begin with, the language suggests that the speaker is scolding her father. The poem is written in the form of a monologue, with the daughter addressing the father directly as “You”, a word that comes to have an unparalleled power. It suggests ritual, catharsis, as if the daughter is exorcising her past. The image of the black shoe suggests that the daughter has outgrown the parent and now wishes to cast him off. Initially the speaker seems powerful;’ she has decided that he will “not do” “Any more”. The stark simplicity of these words makes the speaker sound very determined. However, her power to reject is threatened by the images the poet invokes in the remaining lines of the first stanza, where the father figure becomes increasingly sinister and brutish (the word brute is repeated forcefully in the tenth stanza, as if one accusation is not enough). We become aware that there is a power struggle going on; father and daughter are locked in combat.
The black shoe is clearly restricting. All the way through the poem Sylvia Plath keeps coming back to this deadly colour, and its associations are always negative and masculine, as this first metaphor for the father is: there are also references to the SS, the husband with the “Meinkampf look”, the devil, the vampire, the telephone that the speaker has to rip out. This young woman is surrounded by terrible blackness. By way of contrast she sees herself as “poor and white”, suffocating, too scared to breathe or sneeze. There is a horrifying black comedy in these opening lines, especially if we recall the nursery rhyme about the old woman who lived in a shoe. Here, instead of reciting a harmless children’s tale, Sylvia Plath is recounting a story of acute suffering, made more appalling by the poet’s use of slangy vocabulary and precise images. A foot trapped inside a shoe for thirty years would be a crippled, painful, distorted stump. Is the poet encouraging us to sympathise with the speaker?
The opening of the second stanza is dramatic – some would say melodramatic – as the speaker confesses to, even proudly proclaims murder. She confronts and taunts her father for the first line. But no, again she is contradicted. She could not kill the oppressor herself because he eluded her by dying “before I had time”. These words indicate that the father’s death somehow cut the daughter off, preventing her from having her own life. Sylvia Plath introduces further metaphors that add to the reader’s understanding of just how oppressive the father has been; he is compared to God, to a huge “Ghastly” statue. These images inspire awe and terror. They suggest the enormous shadow that this father has cast over his daughter’s life.
But in the third stanza the mood changes. These as a sad, intimate tenderness in the “Ach, du” (the vowel sound suggests regret and woe), and we now see that the speaker has – or had – mixed feelings: she used to pray to “recover” her father, suggesting the loss she felt when he died. The verbs in this line suggest longing. We begin to understand that the speaker is attempting to lay the ghost of her father to rest so that she can get on with forging her own life. There is perhaps an ambiguity in the choice of “recover”; having been shattered by the hunt for her father, the daughter now needs to recover. There is also the idea of “re-covering” something, of covering something up again. It is as if the daughter has had to dig up her father metaphorically, in order to come to terms with his death and her memories. When Sylvia Plath refers to Nauset and its beautiful seascape she is making allusions to her childhood, to the place she lived before her father died and her family moved inland. We sense her love of this area, but it has ominous connotations. Because the sea is clearly linked to her father (he has “a head in the freakish Atlantic”), we might feel that this is a reference to death by drowning, an idea that Sylvia Plath returns to a number of times in her work. Did the speaker wish to die herself, so that she could be reunited with her terrible father? The masochism in this idea is added to later in the poem.
The German language propels us into the fourth stanza, and a weariness creeps in with the mention of “wars, wars, wars”. Now there is destruction of a different less personal kind; a Polish town has been “Scraped flat”. Poland suffered greatly in the Second World War and it seems that Sylvia Plath is now invoking images of mass oppression to add to the intensity of the daughter’s suffering. The poet is using history to explore her speaker’s state of mind and victim hood. The daughter is linked with the defeated Poles; she has a “Polack friend”. Later she will become a “bit of a Jew”, casting herself firmly in the role of the persecuted. We might also feel that the speaker is still engaged in the process of recovery – she explores her family’s origins and is looking back when she recalls the lack of communication that clouded her relationship with her father. But again she insists on rejection: the German language is “obscene”. Perhaps the last two lines of the fifth stanza are resentful. The speaker is clearly in pain again; now her tongue is stuck in her jaw, in a “barb wire snare”. The harsh onomatopoeia of “Ich, Ich, Ich, Ich” sounds like choking. Now the father is turning into a torturer, specifically a Nazi.
Sylvia Plath’s use of Holocaust imagery in the next four stanzas has made critics uncomfortable. The poet said that she has a “uniquely intense” concern with the concentration camps because of her German and Austrian ancestry. But this has not saved her from some harsh criticism. Sylvia Plath has been accused of hysteria, blasphemy and outrageous egotism for appropriating images of Dachau and Auschwitz to explore the daughter’s or her own – if we choose to read this poem as confessional autobiography – suffering. However we respond to the imagery, it certainly conveys the speaker’s fear and agony. In the tenth stanza she seems to be engulfed when the black of the swastika fills up the sky. She is again in danger of suffocating, as the Jews choked and died in the gas chambers. Here Sylvia Plath brilliantly evokes what could be called a psychological landscape, something she does successfully throughout “Daddy”.
But in spite of her disgust at her father’s Nazi features, the speaker feels attracted to her oppressor. There is a disturbing erotic charge in the shocking line, “Every woman adores a Fascist”, which is reinforced by the masochistic pleasure she seems to gain from receiving a “boot in the face”. Again, the babyish rhyming gives the lines a powerful energy. Their masochism is echoed later when the speaker tells us that she chose a husband who resembled her father, quite deliberately. It is becoming difficult not to feel that the speaker is colluding in her victim hood. This idea seems clearer if we consider the eagerness of the line, “And I said I do, I do”, a chilling inclusion of words from a marriage service. It could be argued that Sylvia Plath is creating deliberately repellent images in order to demonstrate just how hard the girl has to fight to sustain herself.
In some ways, the husband is every bit as terrifying as the father figure: Sylvia Plath links the two incontrovertibly by switching between them in the lines of stanzas 11-14, and by using the same imagery to describe them. The husband has bitten the speaker’s heart in two, making him every bit as vampiric and devilish as Daddy. The daughter views her marriage as a repetition of the oppression and torture she suffered at her father’s hands. The yearning that she feels for these men – father and husband – is conveyed by another destructive, but deeply masochistic, reference to a suicide attempt in the twelfth stanza, which was designed to “get back, back, back to you” (her father). The use of direct address reminds us that this is an intimate monologue. Altogether, “you” appears twenty-two times in this poem, and there is significant repetition of “your” too, suggesting, perhaps, that what the daughter really wants is a dialogue. It is as if she is trying to force her monstrous, dead daddy to react. Is this why she is so extreme, so venomous, and so dramatic? “You” can seem desperate or disgusted, depending on its context. To reinforce its power, Sylvia Plath rhymes it with another italicised word, “knew2, in the final stanza. Do these emphasised words force us to read “Daddy2 as a poem about a daughter trying to get to know – as well as destroy – her father? This seems plausible if we consider the many references to his ancestry, and to her inability to talk. She wants to have a conversation that death denied her. But what will the daughter do when she has achieved enlightenment, when she has finally “got to know” her father?
Having established herself as an angry victim, the speaker reasserts herself in the last three stanzas of the poem. She tells her father he can lie back now: she is done with him, she has finished haranguing him. “I’m through” she announces twice. The first time the speaker says these words they anticipate the young woman’s act of destruction, the cutting off of the telephone, which she wrenches out “at the root”. After this, we return to the drama of death, and the body count. Now the speaker insists that she did kill her father, and she also murdered his model, her husband. It is possible to feel that the speaker is finally triumphant when we read of the stamping and dancing that occur when the vampires are defeated, although, as critics have noted, Sylvia Plath does not describe the daughter plunging the stake into her father’s heart. Does the young woman not have the courage to destroy him with her own hands?
After the death, she remains angry: “you bastard” she cries. There is spite in the final lines too. The daughter still taunts her father, and she is dismissive; “the villagers never liked you”, “if you want to knew”. However, it is possible to feel that the daughter has come to the end of the line herself. “I’m through” sounds exhausted. It sounds suicidal. Perhaps the speaker has been so tormented, so worn down by her experiences with her male oppressors, and her attempts to make sense of her dark memories that she no longer has the energy to live. She has expended it all in this raging poem. There are enough self destructive moments in “Daddy” to endorse a reading of this kind. Or perhaps Sylvia Plath wishes us to understand that the speaker has simply finished with her past and the monologue – she’s got nothing more to say and wishes to get on with her own life. Unfortunately, the men in black who have dominated this poem are difficult to dismiss. Sylvia Plath’s use of metaphor has made them monumental figures, terrible legends of destruction that live on in the memory. After years of having the blood drained out of her, it would be surprising if the speaker had the strength to go on. It seems to me that the use of arresting, colloquial swearword in the last line of the poem suggests that the speaker has run out of language, as well as rage. She is literally and mentally “through”. It is significant that the last sound in the poem is the vowel sound of pain that has echoed so insistently throughout “Daddy”. Ultimately, it is to decide whether this is a fantasy of destruction or of self-immolation.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Class trip....
Ok, so you are a bunch of bullies and have made it quite clear that you would like to go away somewhere as a class. If we were to do something we would need to go in the first week of the Easter holiday. So baring that in mind I am open to suggestions. Let's see what ideas you have in those minds of yours!!!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Anna Politkovskaya
I was really shocked to hear about the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist, who was perhaps more famous for her campaigning for human rights in Russia, and in Chechnya to be more specific. To any of you interested in living in a fair world, where people should be given equality and the freedom of speech I suggest that you find out more about this incredibly inspirational woman. There will be a protest of some of Scotland's most influential writers and journalists at the Russian Consulate on the 24th October to demand an inquiry into her brutal death.
For more information on Anna, please use the following link. I would be interested to hear your views on this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Politkovskaya
For more information on Anna, please use the following link. I would be interested to hear your views on this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Politkovskaya
Monday, October 09, 2006
Specialist Studies
Just a wee reminder that the spec. study deadline is October 27th. You should be working on these over the holiday. If you need any help I'll be doing daily checks on here and you all have my school email address which I can access at home. Don't get stuck.
Friday, October 06, 2006
An Introduction to "The Crucible"
An Introduction to Salem
The town of Salem was a small settlement on the east coast of what is now Massachusetts in the United States of America. It was one of the earliest towns in New England, but at the time the play is set, it had been in existence for less than seventy years.The people of Salem were settlers in a hostile environment - a land in which they struggled to establish farms and live off the land; a land which was bordered by vast unexplored areas. As Abigail reminds us when talking of the death of her parents, there was also a threat from marauding Indian tribes. Life was hard. The religious rigour of Puritanism, under which they lived, made their lives even more harsh and demanding.
Puritanism
A group of Puritans, known as the Pilgrim Fathers, sailed on The Mayflower to New England in 1620. Their strict religious ways had become unpopular in England, and they sailed to North America to escape religious persecution. Other Puritans and colonists followed.
Puritans lived by a strict code. They kept to simple, plain dress. Men ruled the household, and took all the major decisions. Children knew their place and were expected to be dutiful. They did not have much in the way of entertainment, as they didn't allow dancing, theatre, reading for pleasure and they did not even celebrate Christmas. Attendance at church was essential and strict records were kept of who attended and who did not. Note how Hale persistently questions the Proctors on their attendance at church. Unnecessary work and household chores on Sundays were frowned upon.
They had a binding duty to the Church and were ruled by the words of the Bible. If the Bible, therefore, acknowledged the existence of witches then Puritans would believe in their reality. As Proctor states: 'The Bible speaks of witches and I will not deny them'.As you read/watch the play, consider the effects of Puritanism on such characters as Parris, Abigail, Proctor and Elizabeth.
Witchcraft
To the people of seventeenth century Salem, witchcraft was a very real and potent threat. Across Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries many people - perhaps those seen as odd or outsiders - were accused of being witches, and were tortured and executed.
The persecution of witches spread to England under the rule of James I and with the Puritans, it also spread to the new settlements on the east coast of America.The Church said that witches made a contract with the Devil and that the witches kept a book with signatures of those contracted to the Devil. The Devil would then work through them and their 'familiars' (evil spirits in the form of an animal - a cat or a toad, for example.) Witches were thought to commit crimes or 'maleficium', such as making cows sick, turning beer sour, flying broomsticks or causing injury to people.
There were said to be various 'proofs' of a witch including:
the testimony of a fellow witch
the common belief/accusation of those who live with the suspected witch
cursing or quarrelling being followed by some mischief or mishap
the person suspected has the Devil's mark (perhaps a birthmark or deformity)
the person contradicts her/himself when questioned.Matthew Hopkins set himself up as Witch-Finder General, and between 1644 and 1646 he had over 200 people hanged as he searched for witches in the east of England. For each execution he was paid one pound.
Miller and McCarthyism
As well as understanding some of the historical background to the play, it's important to be aware of the historical context of when the play was actually written in 1953. Miller was not only intrigued by the witch trials of seventeenth century Salem, but he was also concerned with more recent events in the United States.At the end of World War Two, two powerful nations emerged - the USA and the USSR. Despite having been allies in the war, both countries were distrustful of each other. A battle for nuclear weapon superiority arose between the two: the capitalist United States versus the communist Soviet Union. Mistrust and hostility between the two grew - giving rise to the 'Cold War' - and the United States worked at home and abroad to oppose the spread of communism In this climate of fear, a United States Senator, Joseph McCarthy, alleged that government departments were being infiltrated by communists and he waged a campaign against them. He accused and vilified many public servants including teachers and civil servants as well as more prominent personalities..Miller was caught up in the frenzy, being asked to apologise for an interest in Marxism when he was younger. Brought before the House Committee of Un-American Activities, he refused to apologise and was sent for trial. Initially he was fined and given a suspended prison sentence, but he appealed and was acquitted. Miller fought to maintain his dignity and his principles. This was shortly before The Crucible first opened.
The town of Salem was a small settlement on the east coast of what is now Massachusetts in the United States of America. It was one of the earliest towns in New England, but at the time the play is set, it had been in existence for less than seventy years.The people of Salem were settlers in a hostile environment - a land in which they struggled to establish farms and live off the land; a land which was bordered by vast unexplored areas. As Abigail reminds us when talking of the death of her parents, there was also a threat from marauding Indian tribes. Life was hard. The religious rigour of Puritanism, under which they lived, made their lives even more harsh and demanding.
Puritanism
A group of Puritans, known as the Pilgrim Fathers, sailed on The Mayflower to New England in 1620. Their strict religious ways had become unpopular in England, and they sailed to North America to escape religious persecution. Other Puritans and colonists followed.
Puritans lived by a strict code. They kept to simple, plain dress. Men ruled the household, and took all the major decisions. Children knew their place and were expected to be dutiful. They did not have much in the way of entertainment, as they didn't allow dancing, theatre, reading for pleasure and they did not even celebrate Christmas. Attendance at church was essential and strict records were kept of who attended and who did not. Note how Hale persistently questions the Proctors on their attendance at church. Unnecessary work and household chores on Sundays were frowned upon.
They had a binding duty to the Church and were ruled by the words of the Bible. If the Bible, therefore, acknowledged the existence of witches then Puritans would believe in their reality. As Proctor states: 'The Bible speaks of witches and I will not deny them'.As you read/watch the play, consider the effects of Puritanism on such characters as Parris, Abigail, Proctor and Elizabeth.
Witchcraft
To the people of seventeenth century Salem, witchcraft was a very real and potent threat. Across Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries many people - perhaps those seen as odd or outsiders - were accused of being witches, and were tortured and executed.
The persecution of witches spread to England under the rule of James I and with the Puritans, it also spread to the new settlements on the east coast of America.The Church said that witches made a contract with the Devil and that the witches kept a book with signatures of those contracted to the Devil. The Devil would then work through them and their 'familiars' (evil spirits in the form of an animal - a cat or a toad, for example.) Witches were thought to commit crimes or 'maleficium', such as making cows sick, turning beer sour, flying broomsticks or causing injury to people.
There were said to be various 'proofs' of a witch including:
the testimony of a fellow witch
the common belief/accusation of those who live with the suspected witch
cursing or quarrelling being followed by some mischief or mishap
the person suspected has the Devil's mark (perhaps a birthmark or deformity)
the person contradicts her/himself when questioned.Matthew Hopkins set himself up as Witch-Finder General, and between 1644 and 1646 he had over 200 people hanged as he searched for witches in the east of England. For each execution he was paid one pound.
Miller and McCarthyism
As well as understanding some of the historical background to the play, it's important to be aware of the historical context of when the play was actually written in 1953. Miller was not only intrigued by the witch trials of seventeenth century Salem, but he was also concerned with more recent events in the United States.At the end of World War Two, two powerful nations emerged - the USA and the USSR. Despite having been allies in the war, both countries were distrustful of each other. A battle for nuclear weapon superiority arose between the two: the capitalist United States versus the communist Soviet Union. Mistrust and hostility between the two grew - giving rise to the 'Cold War' - and the United States worked at home and abroad to oppose the spread of communism In this climate of fear, a United States Senator, Joseph McCarthy, alleged that government departments were being infiltrated by communists and he waged a campaign against them. He accused and vilified many public servants including teachers and civil servants as well as more prominent personalities..Miller was caught up in the frenzy, being asked to apologise for an interest in Marxism when he was younger. Brought before the House Committee of Un-American Activities, he refused to apologise and was sent for trial. Initially he was fined and given a suspended prison sentence, but he appealed and was acquitted. Miller fought to maintain his dignity and his principles. This was shortly before The Crucible first opened.
And The Winner Is....
Well, the voting is now closed. Next term we will be studying "The Crucible". Sorry, Polly!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
I Know That You Are Out There!
Hello.
I know that lots of you are using this blog, and I am pleased to see that you are, but I am sure some of you have points of interest that you would like to add. Please don't be afraid to post up your thoughts, questions, essays, rants or points of view. This is meant to be a sounding block for the whole class, not just me! Go on surprise me and make a contribution.
By the way I am also still open to suggestions to be added to the school Mag. You are a talented bunch so show it off to everyone else!!!!
I know that lots of you are using this blog, and I am pleased to see that you are, but I am sure some of you have points of interest that you would like to add. Please don't be afraid to post up your thoughts, questions, essays, rants or points of view. This is meant to be a sounding block for the whole class, not just me! Go on surprise me and make a contribution.
By the way I am also still open to suggestions to be added to the school Mag. You are a talented bunch so show it off to everyone else!!!!
One day left to vote...
"Hamlet" or "The Crucible"? "Hamlet" or "The Crucible"? "Hamlet" or "The Crucible"?
One day left to vote. At the moment "The Crucible" seems to be in the lead, but if you would rather read something with a supernatural twist than a tale of hype and hysteria then you had better vote soon.
Time is running out.....
You have been warned!!!!
One day left to vote. At the moment "The Crucible" seems to be in the lead, but if you would rather read something with a supernatural twist than a tale of hype and hysteria then you had better vote soon.
Time is running out.....
You have been warned!!!!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
A philosophical thought...
A runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track. In its path are five people who will definitely be killed unless you, a bystander, flip a switch which will divert it on to another track, where it will kill one person. Should you flip the switch?
Monday, October 02, 2006
The Trick is to Notice the World
Below is a story recounting my first contact with Ms. Janice Galloway in the spring of 2000. She made a huge impact on me, both in person, as a reader of her own material, as a workshop leader, and on the page. In my description of her work, I fell into the easy phrase 'urban and gritty' -- ouch! I recall when writing it that it felt like a huge cliche, but I blasted on in my excitement.
Subsequently, I read an interview with Janice in which she describes her displeasure at the use of the phrase 'urban, gritty' to describe her work. It simply drops the work in a neat slot from which it then must struggle to release itself. Boy, did I get the creeps. I wrote her immediately, and we discussed the foulness of cliche. I told her I would immediately move to correct my own usage.
Well it has taken me this long to get to it. But here I am. Instead of correcting the cliche in the text, I decided to add this in order to call attention to it. Janice's work is far beyond 'urban and gritty'. It sends the mind in a search for the right words, as her fiction is so precise and true to itself and the experiences it encompasses. 'Phenomenological', comes to mind, in the sense of rigorously bringing to attention the fine grain and textures of a psyche embodied in the everydayness of life, working, as we all do, at the business of answering the question: What am I to do with me?
Novelist and short fiction writer Janice Galloway is from Glasgow, by way of Ayrshire, Scotland. Ring any bells? How many of you have ever spoken face to face with a Scot? Really know anything about Scotland? See, I caught you. You started thinking right away of castles, moors, men in beards and kilts, thick brogues, Mel Gibson. All the clichés (all residents of Texas spend all day on horseback, tending them doggies, and eating beans by a campfire at night, don't they?) that seem so familiar, but what do you or I really know about Scotland?
The answer, I realized, is 'Not much'. And apparently, the Scots themselves are going through a period of self discovery, having realized that much of their national identity is in the past. I recently spent time with Janice Galloway, learning from her, listening to her, and doing a wee bit of hanging out with her. I was quickly forced to realize that I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT Scotland. You know, that country that goes across the north half of the British Island?
The one the Emperor Hadrian built a wall against? That's the one. Hanging out with Ms. Galloway, I realized that within a few sentences, everything I knew about Scotland would be exhausted. It struck me that for most readers of English, whether they know it or not, Scotland is really and truly obscure. Yet, many scholars feel that the most important, cutting edge fiction in English is coming from Scotland. Janice is right there on that edge, along with James Kelman (The Busconductor Hines, How Late it Was, How Late, The Burn; now teaching at the University of Texas), and Duncan McLean.My wife and I went to hear Janice read and discuss her fiction at a Wordspace event in March, 2000. I hadn't read anything of hers, and went because I was curious, and because I am president of the board of directors of Wordspace. I'd no idea what to expect and was therefore walloped by the sheer power and eloquent force of what I encountered. Dressed in simple, elegant black, she took command of the podium and the audience in a way I have never heard a professional writer do before.
So often, listening to writers read their own work is to be hit with a curare dart. Janice, how can I say this? Janice rocked. It was a performance, not a 'reading,' and anyone with even half an interest in literature and writing should regret not having been there. I thought while she read, "Godamn! I almost didn't come!" She was that good. She read from her breakthrough novel, The Trick is to Keep Breathing, her collection of short fiction, Blood, and her travel writing, Foreign Parts. I decided immediately that would attend the fiction writing workshop that Janice led the following Saturday.She began the reading by saying that she would not talk a lot before reading, that she would just get down to work, and then spoke for fifteen minutes about Scotland, Scottish writing, the English, who the Scots are, and touched on writers such as Muriel Spark (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) in her ad hoc history of Scottish literature. She said that up until recently, Scots had for the main part written about "....the heather, the heather, the heather."
She indicated that she and her contemporaries are interested in making a clean break from that. As I listened, I thought about the genre known as 'Texas fiction,' you fill in the blank, the blank filled with all the cliches of boots and saddles, manly men and big haired women, cattle and oil, conquest and retribution. This is not the way most Texans lead their lives, and yet this fiction hangs on as being about the 'real' Texas. We have our own storied past to reckon with.The reading from The Trick..... began, set in the wholly manufactured world of the late 20th century city. The prose is stripped and lean and direct. Sentence fragments abound. Insertions from magazine articles, cook books, horoscopes. Lists, asides, ramblings, and musings, and self deprecations. She is working with a trowel and a palette knife, applying globs and smears and spreads of language quickly, intuitively, so as to give the reader what is essential in her story. And in this book, what is essential is the torrent of experience as lived by the heroine in her descent into depression, anorexia, self loathing, and then back out again. There was a can of vegetable soup in the cupboard: individual size. I found the opener and dug it into the top, lifting it higher with each turn of the handle. Some of the stuff inside smeared on my knuckle. It felt slimy, unpleasant. Inside the cna the surface was kind of flattenen jelly, dark red with bits of green and yellow poking through. Watery stuff like plasma started seeping up the sides of the viscous block. It didn't look life food at all.... (pg. 38, The Trick is To Keep Keep Breathing)
Her heroine is young and poor and obsessed with stuff and how she looks, and defines herself in the things she buys. Her favourite album is The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars. She buys women's magazines. Lots of women's magazines, which she seems to read with an eye to the latest ways in which she is failing to keep up with the world's ideas of femininity. You immediately learn that Janice is acutely tuned to gender politics.
Hers is a fiction of people living in the constant flow of 'information.' There are no references to the beauty of the natural world. No sunsets or sunrises, clouds, flying birds, coloured skies, stars, or winds. No salvation in nature. Only the human world, the grit of urban Scotland. Janice Galloway and James Kelman and the rest are saying that we live in an entirely manufactured world, full of information, administration, layers of culture, immediacy, manufacture, advertising and human lives and relationships woven in that matrix. THE matrix. The writing of contemporary Scotland is about the entirely here and now. The 'primal stuff' of stories and experiences that most of us would rather ignore. Jung said that the 'primal stuff' is everywhere, and everywhere ignored, that most of us see it as something to be scraped off our shoes. Janice sees it as the gold of fiction. Which was Jung's point as well, that that which we would ignore is what has most value. Three thousand years ago, Lao Tze pointed out that Tao flows unnoticed, underfoot, following the lowest points in the land, like water. Follow its course, and you will find yourself. Janice's heroine finds herself by following the low points of life. She enters the psychiatric hospital and realizes she's fallen into Hell. The story line of Trick... follows the ancient outline of Psyche and Eros as told by Apuleius in The Tales of the Golden Ass. Psyche sees Eros, the beautiful winged boy, the offspring of mother earth and the night sky, hatched from a silver egg.
She is smitten and immediately vows that she will be his wife. In this she succeeds, but he makes her promise that she will never see him in the light. She must accept his visits in the dark, on his initiative. Of course, she agrees, but, naturally, cannot live up to her agreement. Curiosity drives her to visit him in his chamber while he sleeps. As she stands by his bed, hot oil (or melting candle wax) drips onto his wing, awakening him. He flies into a rage, and delivers the worst possible punishment: he flies home to Olympus, to Mother.
Psyche is horrified, doesn't know what to do. She appeals to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and is given a set of labours which eventually lead her into the Underworld, an encounter with Hades, and eventual recovery of her own powers. How deeply this myth is embedded in our lives, our culture.
Janice's hero loses her lover, who is married, while on a trip to Spain. Her soul is ripped open, and demons fly in through the aperture. She descends, falls apart, pulls herself together again. The story ends with a development that is more satisfying for the way it sticks to experience, not the requirements dramatic fiction.When Janice was here in Dallas, many of us wanted her to see this and that and the other thing. The places, sights, and constructions that we each thought would be most emblematic of our city, that would make the biggest and most favorable impression. During a trip to Ft.Worth for a reading, I found myself blathering on about Oak Cliff (I am an Oak Cliff native) and the Texas Theater, and Tenth Street, where Oswald shot Tippet....until I saw the green eyes glazed over, and realized she wasn't really listening.
I became quiet then, and we drove on in silence, the Mustang thrumming over I-30, a roadway she described as being 'wide as a Russian shipping lane'. I heard her say something to the effect that she was not really attuned to the Landmarks and Important Sites, the city's emblems. What she was interested in was the way WE were, the way we were with each other, and with her. The way we talked, acted, behaved. Again, there was that attention to the overlooked, the ordinary and the common, the details of experience. The Mustang rolled on.In Ft.Worth, Janice was scheduled to speak to a group of creative writing students at TCU, and then speak at an open forum, and attend a reception in her honour, all sponsored by the English Department. She did the 'Janice Galloway thing' for them, too. I am not sure the young MTV'ers quite grasped what was taking place there in front of them. Pity. There was a luncheon, too graciously hosted by Linda Hughes of the TCU English Department. After that, we visited the Japanese Gardens on the invitation of Kate Wyatt, another member of Wordspace. We drove back in the late afternoon of a blue and yellow spring day, tired. My consciousness had been altered. My ideas about fiction were changing.
In the space of four days, I had gone from being completely ignorant of Scottish literature to being an out and out enthusiast. A year earlier, I had read Kelman's How Late... and almost immediately noticed the Joycean qualities of the immediacy of experience. Joyce believed all humanity could be found contained in one common human soul. Janice shows us loss and redemption in the story of one depressed, young schoolteacher. She gives us her world and in the reading we look closer at our own.I want to say something about the fiction writing seminar that Janice led. She was gracious, patient, insightful. She did not fail to point out the writing that did not work, and praised that which did. There was much about the universal issue of showing and not telling. Of that which rang true and that which didn't. The piece I brought I had truly begun to lose confidence in, but won it back after Janice helped me see what was right about it. For that, I thank you, Ms. Janice Galloway.
Subsequently, I read an interview with Janice in which she describes her displeasure at the use of the phrase 'urban, gritty' to describe her work. It simply drops the work in a neat slot from which it then must struggle to release itself. Boy, did I get the creeps. I wrote her immediately, and we discussed the foulness of cliche. I told her I would immediately move to correct my own usage.
Well it has taken me this long to get to it. But here I am. Instead of correcting the cliche in the text, I decided to add this in order to call attention to it. Janice's work is far beyond 'urban and gritty'. It sends the mind in a search for the right words, as her fiction is so precise and true to itself and the experiences it encompasses. 'Phenomenological', comes to mind, in the sense of rigorously bringing to attention the fine grain and textures of a psyche embodied in the everydayness of life, working, as we all do, at the business of answering the question: What am I to do with me?
Novelist and short fiction writer Janice Galloway is from Glasgow, by way of Ayrshire, Scotland. Ring any bells? How many of you have ever spoken face to face with a Scot? Really know anything about Scotland? See, I caught you. You started thinking right away of castles, moors, men in beards and kilts, thick brogues, Mel Gibson. All the clichés (all residents of Texas spend all day on horseback, tending them doggies, and eating beans by a campfire at night, don't they?) that seem so familiar, but what do you or I really know about Scotland?
The answer, I realized, is 'Not much'. And apparently, the Scots themselves are going through a period of self discovery, having realized that much of their national identity is in the past. I recently spent time with Janice Galloway, learning from her, listening to her, and doing a wee bit of hanging out with her. I was quickly forced to realize that I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT Scotland. You know, that country that goes across the north half of the British Island?
The one the Emperor Hadrian built a wall against? That's the one. Hanging out with Ms. Galloway, I realized that within a few sentences, everything I knew about Scotland would be exhausted. It struck me that for most readers of English, whether they know it or not, Scotland is really and truly obscure. Yet, many scholars feel that the most important, cutting edge fiction in English is coming from Scotland. Janice is right there on that edge, along with James Kelman (The Busconductor Hines, How Late it Was, How Late, The Burn; now teaching at the University of Texas), and Duncan McLean.My wife and I went to hear Janice read and discuss her fiction at a Wordspace event in March, 2000. I hadn't read anything of hers, and went because I was curious, and because I am president of the board of directors of Wordspace. I'd no idea what to expect and was therefore walloped by the sheer power and eloquent force of what I encountered. Dressed in simple, elegant black, she took command of the podium and the audience in a way I have never heard a professional writer do before.
So often, listening to writers read their own work is to be hit with a curare dart. Janice, how can I say this? Janice rocked. It was a performance, not a 'reading,' and anyone with even half an interest in literature and writing should regret not having been there. I thought while she read, "Godamn! I almost didn't come!" She was that good. She read from her breakthrough novel, The Trick is to Keep Breathing, her collection of short fiction, Blood, and her travel writing, Foreign Parts. I decided immediately that would attend the fiction writing workshop that Janice led the following Saturday.She began the reading by saying that she would not talk a lot before reading, that she would just get down to work, and then spoke for fifteen minutes about Scotland, Scottish writing, the English, who the Scots are, and touched on writers such as Muriel Spark (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) in her ad hoc history of Scottish literature. She said that up until recently, Scots had for the main part written about "....the heather, the heather, the heather."
She indicated that she and her contemporaries are interested in making a clean break from that. As I listened, I thought about the genre known as 'Texas fiction,' you fill in the blank, the blank filled with all the cliches of boots and saddles, manly men and big haired women, cattle and oil, conquest and retribution. This is not the way most Texans lead their lives, and yet this fiction hangs on as being about the 'real' Texas. We have our own storied past to reckon with.The reading from The Trick..... began, set in the wholly manufactured world of the late 20th century city. The prose is stripped and lean and direct. Sentence fragments abound. Insertions from magazine articles, cook books, horoscopes. Lists, asides, ramblings, and musings, and self deprecations. She is working with a trowel and a palette knife, applying globs and smears and spreads of language quickly, intuitively, so as to give the reader what is essential in her story. And in this book, what is essential is the torrent of experience as lived by the heroine in her descent into depression, anorexia, self loathing, and then back out again. There was a can of vegetable soup in the cupboard: individual size. I found the opener and dug it into the top, lifting it higher with each turn of the handle. Some of the stuff inside smeared on my knuckle. It felt slimy, unpleasant. Inside the cna the surface was kind of flattenen jelly, dark red with bits of green and yellow poking through. Watery stuff like plasma started seeping up the sides of the viscous block. It didn't look life food at all.... (pg. 38, The Trick is To Keep Keep Breathing)
Her heroine is young and poor and obsessed with stuff and how she looks, and defines herself in the things she buys. Her favourite album is The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars. She buys women's magazines. Lots of women's magazines, which she seems to read with an eye to the latest ways in which she is failing to keep up with the world's ideas of femininity. You immediately learn that Janice is acutely tuned to gender politics.
Hers is a fiction of people living in the constant flow of 'information.' There are no references to the beauty of the natural world. No sunsets or sunrises, clouds, flying birds, coloured skies, stars, or winds. No salvation in nature. Only the human world, the grit of urban Scotland. Janice Galloway and James Kelman and the rest are saying that we live in an entirely manufactured world, full of information, administration, layers of culture, immediacy, manufacture, advertising and human lives and relationships woven in that matrix. THE matrix. The writing of contemporary Scotland is about the entirely here and now. The 'primal stuff' of stories and experiences that most of us would rather ignore. Jung said that the 'primal stuff' is everywhere, and everywhere ignored, that most of us see it as something to be scraped off our shoes. Janice sees it as the gold of fiction. Which was Jung's point as well, that that which we would ignore is what has most value. Three thousand years ago, Lao Tze pointed out that Tao flows unnoticed, underfoot, following the lowest points in the land, like water. Follow its course, and you will find yourself. Janice's heroine finds herself by following the low points of life. She enters the psychiatric hospital and realizes she's fallen into Hell. The story line of Trick... follows the ancient outline of Psyche and Eros as told by Apuleius in The Tales of the Golden Ass. Psyche sees Eros, the beautiful winged boy, the offspring of mother earth and the night sky, hatched from a silver egg.
She is smitten and immediately vows that she will be his wife. In this she succeeds, but he makes her promise that she will never see him in the light. She must accept his visits in the dark, on his initiative. Of course, she agrees, but, naturally, cannot live up to her agreement. Curiosity drives her to visit him in his chamber while he sleeps. As she stands by his bed, hot oil (or melting candle wax) drips onto his wing, awakening him. He flies into a rage, and delivers the worst possible punishment: he flies home to Olympus, to Mother.
Psyche is horrified, doesn't know what to do. She appeals to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and is given a set of labours which eventually lead her into the Underworld, an encounter with Hades, and eventual recovery of her own powers. How deeply this myth is embedded in our lives, our culture.
Janice's hero loses her lover, who is married, while on a trip to Spain. Her soul is ripped open, and demons fly in through the aperture. She descends, falls apart, pulls herself together again. The story ends with a development that is more satisfying for the way it sticks to experience, not the requirements dramatic fiction.When Janice was here in Dallas, many of us wanted her to see this and that and the other thing. The places, sights, and constructions that we each thought would be most emblematic of our city, that would make the biggest and most favorable impression. During a trip to Ft.Worth for a reading, I found myself blathering on about Oak Cliff (I am an Oak Cliff native) and the Texas Theater, and Tenth Street, where Oswald shot Tippet....until I saw the green eyes glazed over, and realized she wasn't really listening.
I became quiet then, and we drove on in silence, the Mustang thrumming over I-30, a roadway she described as being 'wide as a Russian shipping lane'. I heard her say something to the effect that she was not really attuned to the Landmarks and Important Sites, the city's emblems. What she was interested in was the way WE were, the way we were with each other, and with her. The way we talked, acted, behaved. Again, there was that attention to the overlooked, the ordinary and the common, the details of experience. The Mustang rolled on.In Ft.Worth, Janice was scheduled to speak to a group of creative writing students at TCU, and then speak at an open forum, and attend a reception in her honour, all sponsored by the English Department. She did the 'Janice Galloway thing' for them, too. I am not sure the young MTV'ers quite grasped what was taking place there in front of them. Pity. There was a luncheon, too graciously hosted by Linda Hughes of the TCU English Department. After that, we visited the Japanese Gardens on the invitation of Kate Wyatt, another member of Wordspace. We drove back in the late afternoon of a blue and yellow spring day, tired. My consciousness had been altered. My ideas about fiction were changing.
In the space of four days, I had gone from being completely ignorant of Scottish literature to being an out and out enthusiast. A year earlier, I had read Kelman's How Late... and almost immediately noticed the Joycean qualities of the immediacy of experience. Joyce believed all humanity could be found contained in one common human soul. Janice shows us loss and redemption in the story of one depressed, young schoolteacher. She gives us her world and in the reading we look closer at our own.I want to say something about the fiction writing seminar that Janice led. She was gracious, patient, insightful. She did not fail to point out the writing that did not work, and praised that which did. There was much about the universal issue of showing and not telling. Of that which rang true and that which didn't. The piece I brought I had truly begun to lose confidence in, but won it back after Janice helped me see what was right about it. For that, I thank you, Ms. Janice Galloway.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)