The characters' reflections on the past throughout the novel shape the story; they give us insight into the reason behind the Compson family's present situation. Some characters, however, reflect on the past more than others.
Memories of the past have left each of the Compson brothers in completely different states of longing. Benjy longs to have the past back, because Caddy was a part of his life then. Quentin wishes that Caddy had never become pregnant with an illegitimate child and thus ruined her and the family's name. Jason, bitter as he is, wants money, and nothing more.
Both Quentin and Benjy reflect quite often on the past – Quentin's reflections being snippets of his stream of consciousness, Benjy's being woven within his present day experiences. While Benjy eludes to many different pieces of the past throughout his section, Quentin's reflects the most coherently on the past, and his reflections impact him immensely.
As a child, Quentin was obsessed with Caddy, and now, he's obsessed with her loss of innocence. Every thought he has relates back to to Caddy. He remembers saying, "I said I have committed incest, Father I said," which illustrates his extreme obsession: Quentin was willing to take the blame for Caddy's illegitimate child, even though her actions were by no means his fault. The past ruins Quentin; because of Caddy's actions and his own inability to cope with the consequences, he kills himself. Quentin, who reflects the most on the past, is ruined by his many memories that he can't forget.
Of the brothers, Jason reflects the least on the past. While he does reflect on certain events, he seems to only remember them because he thinks they are causing his present-day misery. Jason only reflects on Caddy's divorce because it cost him his job at Herbert Head's bank, and so Jason now works at the general store. However, Jason's reflections on the past and his bitterness towards those events like Caddy's divorce have no merit; Jason could very well have been a successful man if he'd wanted to. Jason uses the past as an excuse for his laziness now; he does not reflect nearly as abundantly or extremely on it as Quentin does.
While Jason reflects the least on the past of the three brothers, Dilsey reflects the least of all four characters. She seems unaffected by the past events; she simply goes about her daily routine, day after day. Dilsey is must smarter and wiser than the Compson family. She understands that dwelling in the past is no good for anyone who lives in the present. The Compson's failure to recognize this makes the story tragic; the family, save for Benjy, is simply blinded by its own ignorance.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
As I read through The Sound and the Fury, I am constantly amazed. I find the art of writing just as much of a mystery as our human existence. How was Faulker able to do write this – to just sit down and write while actually weaving an intricate web of relationships, conflicts, interactions, literary devices, lessons, images, and so much more? Not to mention that while he was writing this masterpiece, he "learned to read" as well.
Benjy's chapter was the most interesting of them all to me. Once again, Faulkner's writing captivated me. He perfectly captured the personality of a mentally retarded boy. One of the most impressive parts of Benjy's narrative was his unbiased storytelling. Naturally, I would expect someone like Benjy to be like that, but for Faulker to write a story about a dysfunctional and somewhat despicable family from a totally unbiased point of view impressed me. I felt like I was actually being introduced to the family through the eyes of a retarded child. In his introduction, Faulkner said he wrote the rest of the chapters after Benjy's because he thought the book might sell and that it needed more explanation; I agree with Faulkner on this. While Benjy's chapter was definitely the most well-written of the book, Jason's was necessary, in my opinion, to cement everything together.
While Jason's chapter was utterly despicable – what a horrible person – I enjoyed having a break from Quentin and Benjy's stream-of-consciousness narratives. Having a person such as Jason in this book was actually necessary – Faulkner needed a character for which he could lay the lines down, come out and say everything about what was happening without having to disrupt the flow of the other characters. Jason's character nicely contrasts with the other characters in the book to provide the full, 360ยบ view of the Compson family's ruin.
Benjy's chapter was the most interesting of them all to me. Once again, Faulkner's writing captivated me. He perfectly captured the personality of a mentally retarded boy. One of the most impressive parts of Benjy's narrative was his unbiased storytelling. Naturally, I would expect someone like Benjy to be like that, but for Faulker to write a story about a dysfunctional and somewhat despicable family from a totally unbiased point of view impressed me. I felt like I was actually being introduced to the family through the eyes of a retarded child. In his introduction, Faulkner said he wrote the rest of the chapters after Benjy's because he thought the book might sell and that it needed more explanation; I agree with Faulkner on this. While Benjy's chapter was definitely the most well-written of the book, Jason's was necessary, in my opinion, to cement everything together.
While Jason's chapter was utterly despicable – what a horrible person – I enjoyed having a break from Quentin and Benjy's stream-of-consciousness narratives. Having a person such as Jason in this book was actually necessary – Faulkner needed a character for which he could lay the lines down, come out and say everything about what was happening without having to disrupt the flow of the other characters. Jason's character nicely contrasts with the other characters in the book to provide the full, 360ยบ view of the Compson family's ruin.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Blog #5: Hypocrisy of civilized men
"It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it—the suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity—like yours—the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly."
– Heart of Darkness
Both "Heart of Darkness" and "Apocalypse Now" reinforce the ridiculous hypocrisy involved when the so-called "civilized man" tries to conquer an "uncivilized man." In Africa, England colonized and attempted to subdue and control the "savages." In Vietnam, America tried to change the ways of the communist Viet Congs because we didn't agree with communism. In the two aforementioned works, both the conquering people are painted in a negative light, while the treatment of the uncivilized "savages" evokes pathos from the readers/viewers.
In the movie, we see how the Americans have trivialized the act of killing the Vietnamese. Once again, the army men refer to the Vietnamese as "savages." Flying into the Vietnamese town in the pack of helicopters, the colonel Kilgore plays Wagner because, he says, it gets the men all fired up. The image of the pack of helicopters flying into the Vietnamese town amidst strains of Wagner's epic, heroic-sounding opera was disgustingly stupid. I felt the same way when, standing in the middle of explosions and gunshots, the colonel talks to Lance about the amazing, surfable waves. These actions made the Americans seem almighty and all-powerful, yet at the same time, it made their invincibility somewhat of a joke. While they are supposed to be the powerful ones, they are acting more savage in their treatment of war.
Marlow's journey also illustrates the hypocrisy of the civilized men. At the first stop when he arrived in Africa, Marlow sees a pile of black men who have come into the shade of the palm trees to die. The imagery in this passage evokes incredible emotion and pity for the men; they are so pathetic, so helpless, driven to their painful death by the white men. The black men that are still alive are chained together with iron around their necks, and they are being forced to work for the white men. Even though the English claim they are building a civilization, they are actually acting quite the opposite; they are much more savage than the natives.
Kurtz is a major example of the savagery of the so-called "civilized" man. In the movie, Willard reads about Kurtz's accomplishments – he was at the top of his college class, and he had been revered by army officials at the onset of his military career. In the book, Marlow repeatedly hears of Kurtz's grandness, from the Russian guy, whom Kurtz captivates through his language and ideas, to his fiancee, who refers to Kurtz as gentle and smart. These are, undoubtedly, characterizations of a very civilized man. Quite contrastingly, however, Kurtz is nothing of the sort. Marlow repeatedly refers to Kurtz as "hollow," and we witness Kurtz's utter brutality when we see the heads of slaughtered natives stuck on sticks outside his fortress. Through his quest for ivory/reckless slaughtering, Kurtz, a member of the "civilized" men, becomes more of a savage than the men around him.
The unveiling of the savage within a deemed "civilized" man – such as Kurtz or even Colonel Kilgore – could be because a man understands the hypocrisy of his job. Kurtz, in both cases, becomes a crazy maniac when he recognizes "the horror," which, Marlow says, is a recognition "of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror -- of an intense and hopeless despair." The colonel in the movie probably acts as he does because he has no other way of adequately facing his task of murdering people every day. Throughout both works, Kurtz serves as an example of the utter destruction of war; he recognized the hypocrisy of the conquering people (inculding himself), and he was ultimately destroyed.
– Heart of Darkness
Both "Heart of Darkness" and "Apocalypse Now" reinforce the ridiculous hypocrisy involved when the so-called "civilized man" tries to conquer an "uncivilized man." In Africa, England colonized and attempted to subdue and control the "savages." In Vietnam, America tried to change the ways of the communist Viet Congs because we didn't agree with communism. In the two aforementioned works, both the conquering people are painted in a negative light, while the treatment of the uncivilized "savages" evokes pathos from the readers/viewers.
In the movie, we see how the Americans have trivialized the act of killing the Vietnamese. Once again, the army men refer to the Vietnamese as "savages." Flying into the Vietnamese town in the pack of helicopters, the colonel Kilgore plays Wagner because, he says, it gets the men all fired up. The image of the pack of helicopters flying into the Vietnamese town amidst strains of Wagner's epic, heroic-sounding opera was disgustingly stupid. I felt the same way when, standing in the middle of explosions and gunshots, the colonel talks to Lance about the amazing, surfable waves. These actions made the Americans seem almighty and all-powerful, yet at the same time, it made their invincibility somewhat of a joke. While they are supposed to be the powerful ones, they are acting more savage in their treatment of war.
Marlow's journey also illustrates the hypocrisy of the civilized men. At the first stop when he arrived in Africa, Marlow sees a pile of black men who have come into the shade of the palm trees to die. The imagery in this passage evokes incredible emotion and pity for the men; they are so pathetic, so helpless, driven to their painful death by the white men. The black men that are still alive are chained together with iron around their necks, and they are being forced to work for the white men. Even though the English claim they are building a civilization, they are actually acting quite the opposite; they are much more savage than the natives.
Kurtz is a major example of the savagery of the so-called "civilized" man. In the movie, Willard reads about Kurtz's accomplishments – he was at the top of his college class, and he had been revered by army officials at the onset of his military career. In the book, Marlow repeatedly hears of Kurtz's grandness, from the Russian guy, whom Kurtz captivates through his language and ideas, to his fiancee, who refers to Kurtz as gentle and smart. These are, undoubtedly, characterizations of a very civilized man. Quite contrastingly, however, Kurtz is nothing of the sort. Marlow repeatedly refers to Kurtz as "hollow," and we witness Kurtz's utter brutality when we see the heads of slaughtered natives stuck on sticks outside his fortress. Through his quest for ivory/reckless slaughtering, Kurtz, a member of the "civilized" men, becomes more of a savage than the men around him.
The unveiling of the savage within a deemed "civilized" man – such as Kurtz or even Colonel Kilgore – could be because a man understands the hypocrisy of his job. Kurtz, in both cases, becomes a crazy maniac when he recognizes "the horror," which, Marlow says, is a recognition "of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror -- of an intense and hopeless despair." The colonel in the movie probably acts as he does because he has no other way of adequately facing his task of murdering people every day. Throughout both works, Kurtz serves as an example of the utter destruction of war; he recognized the hypocrisy of the conquering people (inculding himself), and he was ultimately destroyed.
Blog #4: Complicated-ness of a short story
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" is one of the most complicated short stories we read. Through her "reasonable use of the unreasonable," Flannery O'Connor spins a web of deceptively simple phrases that turn out to be important. For example, when the family is driving, they pass a graveyard with "five or six" graves in it; graveyards like these are common throughout the south. However, this seemingly unimportant mention of the graveyard is actually meaningful because it foreshadows the family's death: six people will die right off the side of the road. Through small mentions of reasonable items, O'Connor makes the story incredibly complicated.
For me, the ending was difficult to interpret. I could understand it to a certain depth, but past that, I couldn't seem to draw any conclusions. One point, where the Misfit says, "She would have been a good woman if someone had been there to shoot her every minute of her life." This sentence seemed to resist interpretation, and I couldn't figure out what he meant.
The title proved to be almost as complicated as the story. By saying "a good man is hard to find," is O'Connor saying that a truly good man or a truly evil man is hard to find? After all, while the grandma might have been good at heart, she certainly presented some selfish and ignorant personalities. Also, the Misfit doesn't appear to be truly evil, either, even though he goes around killing people. At first, he seemed like he wasn't going to kill the family until the grandma recognized him. His little remarks throughout the piece paint him as somewhat of a good person, even though he is also evil. Both the Grandma and the Misfit appear one way on the outside, while in reality, on the inside, they are quite different. This leads to the meaning of the title, that "a good man is hard to find."
For me, the ending was difficult to interpret. I could understand it to a certain depth, but past that, I couldn't seem to draw any conclusions. One point, where the Misfit says, "She would have been a good woman if someone had been there to shoot her every minute of her life." This sentence seemed to resist interpretation, and I couldn't figure out what he meant.
The title proved to be almost as complicated as the story. By saying "a good man is hard to find," is O'Connor saying that a truly good man or a truly evil man is hard to find? After all, while the grandma might have been good at heart, she certainly presented some selfish and ignorant personalities. Also, the Misfit doesn't appear to be truly evil, either, even though he goes around killing people. At first, he seemed like he wasn't going to kill the family until the grandma recognized him. His little remarks throughout the piece paint him as somewhat of a good person, even though he is also evil. Both the Grandma and the Misfit appear one way on the outside, while in reality, on the inside, they are quite different. This leads to the meaning of the title, that "a good man is hard to find."
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Blog post #3: A pyromaniac's genius
Iago is brilliant. It's simply said, but it's true. He embodies the perfect evil character: he's emotional but not rash, honest but not faithful, and, most importantly, clever. He is, indeed, a moral pyromaniac – moral only because he knows the lines between good and bad. One might say he actually ignites the lines between good and bad, burning them to the point where no one knows who fits where.
Almost immediately after the play begins, we can see that Iago will cause Othello's downfall. He begins his subtle war with Othello, and by his actions throughout the play, it's obvious that he is enjoying it. Thus, war has become a game. He illustrates his satisfaction with his evil during this passage: "How poor are they that have not patience! / What wound did ever heal but by degrees? / Thou know'st we work by wit, and not by witchcraft; / And wit depends on dilatory time. / Does't not go well? Cassio hath beaten thee. / And thou, by that small hurt, hast cashier'd Cassio: / Though other things grow fair against the sun, / Yet fruits that blossom first will first be ripe: / Content thyself awhile. By the mass, 'tis morning; / Pleasure and action make the hours seem short..." (Act 2, scene 3). The key word in this passage is "pleasure" – Iago is clearly enjoying watching his plan unfold. He is dominating the situation, and, like he would in war, he is reveling in his victory so far. And similar to how fun games can make time go by faster, watching Othello's life unravel is providing the same kind of thrilling rush for Iago.
Although Iago is quite the devil now, he wasn't always like that. We never see the loyal Iago, although we do see the loving Iago. Iago professes his love for Othello so often that it's hard to believe he really hates him so much. He often says lines similar to, "My lord, you know I love you." Prior to the beginning of the play, Iago must have been devoted to Othello – and because he stood in such good graces with Othello, he was able to deceive him and ultimately destroy him. This is why the play is so tragically ironic.
So Iago does take on the role of the moral pyromaniac, and he succeeds in blurring the lines between good and bad. Is Roderigo good because he had good (yet ignorant) intentions, or is he bad because he failed to recognize Iago's glaring evilness? Is Othello good because he did everything he did with justice and honor in mind, or is he bad because he acted so rashly? Although these questions aren't difficult to answer, Iago succeeded in setting fire to things so quickly that by the time the fire was put out, it had already burned everything to a crisp.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Blog post #1: In a nutshell
I wish I could remember all the amazing quotes I've come across lately. But I can only remember a few, so here they are in a nutshell. They don't all describe me, but something about each one has been particularly memorable.
"Anyone can cook... food always comes to those who love to cook."
Ratatouille
"When you try your best, but your don't succeed/When you get what you want, but not what you need/When you feel so tired but you can't sleep/Stuck in reverse/And the tears come streaming down your face/When you lose something you can't replace/When you love someone, but it goes to waste/Could it be worse?/Lights will guide you home/And ignite your bones/And I will try to fix you."
"Fix You" by Coldplay
"Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth."
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"All the scientists are determined to tell us what the moon is made of and what the stars are... and why there are rainbows... but I just don't want to know. When I wish on a star, I don't need to know what it's made out of. As for me, when a thing is beautiful, what does it matter why."
Standing In the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg
"Anyone can cook... food always comes to those who love to cook."
Ratatouille
"When you try your best, but your don't succeed/When you get what you want, but not what you need/When you feel so tired but you can't sleep/Stuck in reverse/And the tears come streaming down your face/When you lose something you can't replace/When you love someone, but it goes to waste/Could it be worse?/Lights will guide you home/And ignite your bones/And I will try to fix you."
"Fix You" by Coldplay
"Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth."
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"All the scientists are determined to tell us what the moon is made of and what the stars are... and why there are rainbows... but I just don't want to know. When I wish on a star, I don't need to know what it's made out of. As for me, when a thing is beautiful, what does it matter why."
Standing In the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg
Friday, January 11, 2008
Blog post #2- As I walk away...
Oedipus Rex was different from other plays I've read; for one, it was actually easy to read and understand! But I walked away with more than just this satisfaction. Oedipus Rex really caused me to look at the concept of fate. It enforced the point that no matter what you do, you can never change your fate. I didn't ever think of myself as having a fate, but I started thinking about that -- does everything actually happen for a reason, because I am fated to follow a certain path? Do I fail at certain things because I'm fated to fail? Do I succeed because I'm fated to succeed? If I do have a fate, as Oedipus did, I certainly wouldn't want to know what it is. I'd rather just see it unfold as my life continues so I wouldn't have to worry about everything I did.
Since Oedipus Rex got me thinking about fate, I also thought about how this concept played a role in A Prayer for Owen Meany. Owen knew his fate because God told him, and he didn't try to change it. That, to me, would be one of the hardest things to do; if I knew I was going to die, I'd probably want to find a way to avoid it. I think that that, for the most part, is human nature, and it illustrates exactly why I wouldn't want to know my fate. Just let me experience life as it happens; that's enough for me.
Since Oedipus Rex got me thinking about fate, I also thought about how this concept played a role in A Prayer for Owen Meany. Owen knew his fate because God told him, and he didn't try to change it. That, to me, would be one of the hardest things to do; if I knew I was going to die, I'd probably want to find a way to avoid it. I think that that, for the most part, is human nature, and it illustrates exactly why I wouldn't want to know my fate. Just let me experience life as it happens; that's enough for me.
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