Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism

I can't find my old questions and I kind of think they don't really make sense with this article anyway. I loved this article though. I thoroughly enjoy when pieces of a puzzle come together like Steinbeck's ideas stemming from those of Blakean poetry. There are some pretty distinct points that Steinbeck modifies from Blake and from a Christian sense as well. I think the biggest theme was that of "from innocence to experience" which the entire Joad family and many of the people they had met or traveled with learned. The Joad family went from the innocence of their farm in Oklahoma to experience the journey to California where they grow and learn more than they probably ever had in their entire lives in Oklahoma. Following the experience of California was a higher innocence at the end when Rose of Sharon saves the old man's life. This is relateable to Blake's poetry when he discusses the three stages of innocence which are 1. childhood = innocence, 2. growing older = experience, and 3. Christ = higher innocence. Another main idea that Steinbeck modified from Blake was the idea that "Everything that lives is holy." which is simply changed from Blake's words, "All that lives is holy." Steinbeck shows this with Rose of Sharon in the final scene with Rose of Sharon as well. She becomes a protector, just like her mother because she now has that motherly instinct even though she lost her child. Ma realizes that it's not just all about yourself, or your family, but sometimes you have to things for other people and as Casy said, it's everyone in it together, just one big spirit. So, Rose of Sharon saves that man even though he's not family, she does it for the good of humanity which reiterates the statement that "Everything that lives is holy." One thing we brought up in class also came to my attention as I read this article and that was the statement that some must suffer for others to prosper. This is true for Steinbeck when he discusses the man who manuevers the tractor versus the Joad family losing their house. For that man to put food on the table for him family, he had to knock down their house, so for him to prosper, the Joad's had to suffer. Blake writes something similar in his poetry in Songs of Experience, "Pity would be no more/ If we did not make somebody Poor;/ And Mercy no more could be/ If all were as happy as we./ And mutual fear brings peace,/ Till the selfish loves increase. (p. 217). I thought that tied in perfectly with what we discussed as class in our Socratic Seminar. Overall I found this article very intriguing though, definitely not as dry as the last ones we did on Heart of Darkness!

Race, Gender, & Colonialism

This essay brought up some interesting points pertaining to the novel that I most definitely would not have recognized prior to reading this. One of the more interesting points ties in both gender and race. Throughout the novella, white women are described as frail and obedient, especially Kurtz's wife. They don't have much power, and men clearly look down upon them. But in relation to the "savage" woman, she is viewed with "beauty, leadership, and ferocity" as well as "wild, gorgeous, and proud." These traits do not embody white women in the least. I found it interesting that a so-called "savage" would be fearless to white men and revered by men in her tribe. The point is also brought up that Marlow refers to people using stereotypes out of fear, especially of their power. I think Marlow fears power, and that is why he is so intrigued by Kurtz. I think he also fears him a little bit, and his fear sparks his curiosity. This holds true in life. I absolutely hate scary movies, but if one is playing and I'm in the room, I won't be able to hold myself back from sneaking peaks at the television occasionally and then I become paralyzed by the fear. I can't look away, even though I so desperately want to. Marlow is afraid of Kurtz, but at the same time is so intrigued and wants to know more about him and his life. In reference to colonialism, the essay states "cannibalism serves as the metaphor for the absolute violation of boundaries between one human being and another, the physical equivalent of the cultural absorption or ingestion by the Other that the colonizers fear." What I got from that, is that this novel is based a lot around fear as well as good vs. evil. We recognize evil as bad, and if the natives are partaking in that out of fear, we can assume that they are evil. But we also could believe Kurtz to be evil as well, so there is no distinguishable line stating whether Conrad believes the natives or white men to be evil or good. I think that's what make this novella so interesting and such a good novella because there is no bias towards anyone.

The Bell Jar #3

For this last blog, I used sparknotes because I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to discuss, so I decided to bounce off some of the ideas on there. There are a few noticeable reoccurring themes throughout the novel. The first the news and fashion media. Esther models at the beginning of the novel, and she doesn't agree with the false happiness and the glamour that is associated with the fashion magazines and New York City. Maybe it has to deal with her darker personality, but she can hardly recognize herself through the falsities when she sees a picture of herself in a magazine at the mental institution. "The magazine photograph showed a girl in a strapless evening dress of fuzzy white stuff, grinning fit to split, with a whole lot of boys bending around her."(page 169). Esther is also fascinated with death, especially at the beginning of the novel when in the first sentence it talks about the execution of the Rosenbergs. It's foreshadowing. As Mr. Currin always says, these authors aren't getting paid by the word, so it was obviously put in there for a reason. Esther also talks to a woman and says, " 'Isn't it awful about the Rosenbergs?'" and the woman, Hilda replies with, " 'It's awful such people should be alive.' " (page 82). It's strange for a young girl like Esther to be so consumed by death, even before she loses her mind. I think this attraction is foreshadowing to the difficulties she will soon face in the novel. Another reoccurring theme is Esther always looking at her reflection in mirrors and so often not recognizing the person staring back at herself. "The face in the mirror looked like a sick Indian." (page 92). This image reflected back at her was right after Marco attempted to rape her. She could hardly recognize herself. She looked like an Indian because he had smeared his blood across her face when she punched him in the nose in self defense. The blood is also a reoccurring theme. It can also symbolize the violence and brutality that she faced throughout her time period from when she was losing her mind all the way through the stays at the mental institutions. For example, she practiced cutting her ankles in preparation of suicide. She also bled a lot when she lost her virginity to a random man. I think this is symbolic of her losing herself along the way as she tries to make the transition to adulthood. She gets caught up in the world and in herself which causes her to lose her mind. Although this doesn't happen to most people, there were obviously some brutal experiences that affected her mental capacity immensely.

The Bell Jar #2

Esther Greenwood isn't your typical teenager. Throughout the The Bell Jar, she goes through a teenager's progression of life, but instead of graduating from college like a normal young adult, she is graduating from a mental institution. Esther doesn't agree with the norms of society, and the fact that she wants to rebel is one of the things that causes madness to descend upon her. This book was written in roughly the fifties, so society had a different expectation of girls back then. They expected them to always be bright and cheerful, and to remain virgins until they are married. Esther doesn't agree with either of these things. When she discovers that Buddy is no longer a virgin, it eats away at her and she becomes determined to lose her virginity before marriage whether she loves the man or not. "Ever since I learned about the corruption of Buddy Williard my virginity lay like a millstone around my neck." (page 186). A normal life had all been laid out for her to marry Buddy and he would be the man that she fell in love with and on their wedding night he would take her, just as society expected. But when she discovered that he could not be that man for her, that changed her outlook on life's expectancies greatly. She's also extremely preoccupied by death, especially the execution of the Rosenbergs. It's mentioned numerous times in the beginning of the novel. This is an example of her dark nature. It's darker than what's expected of teenage girls at that time period. "I kept hearing about the Rosenbergs over the radio and at the office till I couldn't get them out of my mind." (page 1). This where her infatuation with death is instigated, right from the beginning of the novel. Esther is portrayed as extremely selfish throughout the novel, yet people still take pity on her for her situation. She becomes mad based on a combination of things: her own nature, the nature of society, and the effect that society has on her. Because of her madness she doesn't realize how truly selfish the attempts to take her own life are. She doesn't once think for a second as to how it affects her mother or her friends. Most importantly, she doesn't think for a second as to why she truly wants to kill herself. Obviously she has gone mad, and she thinks she is a hopeless case, but it takes her so long to realize that she is going to be okay. And even when she is okay, she still fears that she will one day go mad again. " 'You tell me the truth, I said, or I'll never speak to you again.' " (page 111). Esther gets angry with her mother often and does not treat her well, even though her mother is emptying her pockets in any attempt to try and make her daughter better again. Esther selfishly is consumed by herself, the very thing that she was so opposed to at the beginning of the novel.

The Bell Jar #1

In the novel, The Bell Jar, the author Sylvia Plath uses symbols as a major part in revealing how Esther Greenwood is gripped by insanity. It really is quite scary how she completely loses control over her life and mind. The most obvious symbol is the bell jar itself. Esther feels closed in and trapped by this suffocating jar. I looked up what exactly a bell jar was online and it's found to be used in displaying an object that is typically studied for scientific reasons. This is ironic because throughout the novel Esther was constantly being monitored, inspected, observed, and analyzed as if she was an experiment of some sort. She fears the bell jar will come back at any time and steal away her sanity again. "How did I know that someday-- at college in Europe somewhere, anywhere-- the bell jar, with its stifling distortions, wouldn't descend again?" (page 197). I wonder if this is a sign that she isn't completely better, but at the same time can a person ever fully regain their sanity after they lost it? Another example of the symbolism is the fig tree. Esther is extremely indecisive, especially when it comes to difficult life decisions. The figs represent all the different paths in life Esther can take, but since she can't decide causing the figs to rot, or in reality, those opportunities to pass her by. "I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet." (page 63). I think this is symbolic of the decline in her sanity and the feeling that her life is slipping away is what causes her to try and commit suicide numerous times. Which leads to the next symbol being the beating heart. Each time something significant happens the words, "I am, I am, I am." are repeated. This is her heart speaking to her, saying that it wants to live. For example, when she tries to drown herself in the ocean, she keeps popping back up every time. Her body is fighting to live; it has no desire to die. "I dived, and dived again, and each time popped up like a cork. The gray rock mocked me, bobbing on the water as easy a lifebuoy. I knew I was beaten. I turned back." (page 131). In this section life triumphs over death. I think it's also symbolic that she fails to kill herself numerous times, meaning that she has the power to overcome the insanity and she will get better.

Sonnet #147

Last Sonnet! :) Okay, I actually liked doing these sonnets. But I am just a loser with no life so that's fine. I won't count those words in my 100. In this sonnet I think the speaker is expressing that the person they're writing about has been sickened and betrayed by love. In the couplet it's saying that they thought the person to be beautiful, but actually they are "black as hell, as dark as night." So they loved and were left because they were following instructions, and ended up seeing the reality in who they thought they were in love with. Love is also described as a fever that prolongs the disease known as love. Reasoning was the doctor, but it was discovered that the desire for love can kill. I think the speaker is also saying that this sickness has made the person restless, incapable of being cured, and uncaring. I found this last sonnet to be very depressing, and the complete opposite from the beginning sonnets where the goodness of love was a main theme.

Sonnet #146

This sonnet is extremely interesting as well. I think the speaker is questioning why we spend so much time concerned with our outer appearance, and not what makes up our insides, or soul. We spend our whole lives trying to look good, when we're only alive for a short time. But our souls still live on, so we must feed them. The speaker is saying to let the soul consume the riches, and leave the body poor because we will soon enough be leaving the body to rot. The couplet is saying that a person should feed on death with feeds on men, so if we beat death then there will be no more dying. I think the speaker is saying that this can be achieved by standing by inner morals and not allowing oneself to be consumed by outward appearances.