Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
From the very beginning of the novel, the themes of alienation and solitude are evident. Robert Walton decided to leave his family behind and pursue his dreams of exploring the North Pole, and he also gave up all stability. On the journey, Walton did not make any new friends (except for Frankenstein) and felt alienated from the crew members. Similarly, Victor Frankenstein abandoned his family in order to further his education and experiments. However, both men left behind their sisters, for whom they obviously loved very dearly. Walton wrote various letters, one addressed to "my dear sister" (Shelley, page 7), to his sister back in England , while Frankenstein described his as "my more than sister" (Shelley, page 18). It was extremely difficult for both men to leave their families, but they could not carry out their goals any other way. Walton feels alienated from his crew members until he meets Frankenstein and begins a new friendship. The alienation/solitude is part of the reason they get along so well from the beginning because they share that common affliction. After a little while on the ship, Frankenstein starts to tell his story to Walton because he notices a common thirst for knowledge and exploration and wants to warn him of such dangerous passions.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Much Madness is divinest Sense
"Much Madness is divinest Sense"
Emily Dickinson
The first time I read that poem, I honestly had no idea what she was talking about, so I'll start out with what struck me. The structure was very interesting because nearly every line ended with a dash mark, which could either separate two different thoughts or unite two others. I think that in this poem, they break up thoughts instead of periods, possibly to mimic her erratic thoughts. She also uses a contradiction, "Much Sense--the starkest Madness" (Dickinson, page 830), which makes a good point. Too much sense could lead to madness because the person could drive himself crazy with too-intelligent thoughts. The "Assent" and "Demur" parts were also very interesting because they gave comments directly to the "majority" who heard her point of view. I'm also confused as to what exactly a "Chain" is, and how would she "handle" people with it? I guess that after reviewing it several times, I do understand the main point of the poem. Dickinson thinks that the divinest sense is madness, and too much sense is also madness. I also think she is implying that she has a "discerning eye" because she presents that point of view regarding Sense.
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain
"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"
Emily Dickinson
The first thing I noticed about this poem was the comma in the first line. It is not necessary in that context, and I think that Dickinson included it to add a description to the funeral, almost as if it were an afterthought. I also noticed that she capitalized some weird words that are not normally emphasized--"Mourners to and fro" (Dickinson, page 776). They immediately catch the reader and draw attention to those specific images. Imagery is the most dominant aspect of rhetoric in the poem, and it specifically includes imagery for most of the senses. I think I missed the purpose of the poem because I cannot get past the surface details of a funeral. I guess it could be describing her mental state, which is probably more accurate according to her other poems of the similar nature. Actually, I think it's more of the stages of her mental depreciation. A funeral is very mournful, which implies that she is obviously facing some sort of departure from her surroundings/acquaintances. I also think that the end represents either her mental death or the low-point in her mental health. And the last word and its structure are also very important because it is like an unfinished thought.
Emily Dickinson
The first thing I noticed about this poem was the comma in the first line. It is not necessary in that context, and I think that Dickinson included it to add a description to the funeral, almost as if it were an afterthought. I also noticed that she capitalized some weird words that are not normally emphasized--"Mourners to and fro" (Dickinson, page 776). They immediately catch the reader and draw attention to those specific images. Imagery is the most dominant aspect of rhetoric in the poem, and it specifically includes imagery for most of the senses. I think I missed the purpose of the poem because I cannot get past the surface details of a funeral. I guess it could be describing her mental state, which is probably more accurate according to her other poems of the similar nature. Actually, I think it's more of the stages of her mental depreciation. A funeral is very mournful, which implies that she is obviously facing some sort of departure from her surroundings/acquaintances. I also think that the end represents either her mental death or the low-point in her mental health. And the last word and its structure are also very important because it is like an unfinished thought.
APO 96225
"APO 96225"
Larry Rottmann
This poem was very interesting, especially with the evident irony. The son told his mother the light parts of war and the the weather he was experiencing. Like most parents, his wanted the truth about war and honesty about what he's actually been doing. The son came back with "Today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children" (Rottmann, page 846). The irony of the poem comes when his father asks him to stop being honest and just talk about the lighter subjects--after he had asked for the truth. The second question in the book was also interesting because it dealt with the war in Vietnam. [I obviously thought of Forrest Gump when I read this one.] Most Americans did not agree with going to war in Vietnam, so many people probably did not want to hear the negative, terrible aspects of the war situations. They only wanted the light parts of war, probably in order to distance themselves from the horrors of war. The theme of this unit of literature was alienation, which was pretty evident in this poem, although the speaker does have parents back home. I'm sure most soldiers feels alienated from their home countries when they are abroad, regardless of how many loved ones they left back home.
Larry Rottmann
This poem was very interesting, especially with the evident irony. The son told his mother the light parts of war and the the weather he was experiencing. Like most parents, his wanted the truth about war and honesty about what he's actually been doing. The son came back with "Today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children" (Rottmann, page 846). The irony of the poem comes when his father asks him to stop being honest and just talk about the lighter subjects--after he had asked for the truth. The second question in the book was also interesting because it dealt with the war in Vietnam. [I obviously thought of Forrest Gump when I read this one.] Most Americans did not agree with going to war in Vietnam, so many people probably did not want to hear the negative, terrible aspects of the war situations. They only wanted the light parts of war, probably in order to distance themselves from the horrors of war. The theme of this unit of literature was alienation, which was pretty evident in this poem, although the speaker does have parents back home. I'm sure most soldiers feels alienated from their home countries when they are abroad, regardless of how many loved ones they left back home.
Bartleby the Scrivener
"Bartleby the Scrivener"
Herman Melville
Well, we already discussed so many aspects of this piece today in class, so I want to focus on some of the questions from the paper. The third question asks about Bartleby's physical descriptions and their foreshadowing on his outcome. Throughout the piece, he is described as sort of sallow, small, pale, quiet, and eats only ginger nuts. These all contribute to his death in the end of the story because he is a weak person who has pretty much given up on life. Another questions asks about the tales of Turkey and Nippers. I thought some parts of their descriptions were hilarious, especially the thought that one was bad in the morning and fine in the afternoons while the other was hard working in the morning and terrible for the second half of the day. "When Nipper's was on, Turkey's was off, and vice versa. This was a good natural arrangement under the circumstances" (Melville, page 647). I think that the narrator introduced these two characters first in order to partially characterize himself. He was very passive towards them and allowed all sorts of mediocrity.
My favorite scene of the story was when Bartleby said he preferred not to do something, and then Turkey kept saying "prefer." It was hilarious and seemed right out of a sit-com. Other parts of the story were incredibly boring and very hard to finish, but I better understand the purpose now because of them.
Herman Melville
Well, we already discussed so many aspects of this piece today in class, so I want to focus on some of the questions from the paper. The third question asks about Bartleby's physical descriptions and their foreshadowing on his outcome. Throughout the piece, he is described as sort of sallow, small, pale, quiet, and eats only ginger nuts. These all contribute to his death in the end of the story because he is a weak person who has pretty much given up on life. Another questions asks about the tales of Turkey and Nippers. I thought some parts of their descriptions were hilarious, especially the thought that one was bad in the morning and fine in the afternoons while the other was hard working in the morning and terrible for the second half of the day. "When Nipper's was on, Turkey's was off, and vice versa. This was a good natural arrangement under the circumstances" (Melville, page 647). I think that the narrator introduced these two characters first in order to partially characterize himself. He was very passive towards them and allowed all sorts of mediocrity.
My favorite scene of the story was when Bartleby said he preferred not to do something, and then Turkey kept saying "prefer." It was hilarious and seemed right out of a sit-com. Other parts of the story were incredibly boring and very hard to finish, but I better understand the purpose now because of them.
Miss Brill
"Miss Brill"
Katherine Mansfield
When I first read "Miss Brill," I was pretty confused as to who the narrator was. I initially thought that she was the narrator, speaking in first person and telling her story. But when I finished it, I realized that she was not the one telling the story. The point of view is also very important in this story because it allows for the characterization of Miss Brill. It was very interesting because many parts seemed like they were coming from the thoughts of Miss Brill, not an outsider. "Miss Brill had often noticed--there was something funny about nearly all of them" (Mansfield, page 183). I don't know how the narrator could determine this without actually speaking with her. I was also confused with the ending--was Miss Brill actually a part of the performance or was she just sitting at the end of the row? The point of view also seemed omniscient, as when the narrator discussed the young couple who "had just arrived from his father's yacht" (Mansfield, page 185). And that part was so sad. Was the crying Miss Brill, or was she just imagining the fur or something making that noise?
Katherine Mansfield
When I first read "Miss Brill," I was pretty confused as to who the narrator was. I initially thought that she was the narrator, speaking in first person and telling her story. But when I finished it, I realized that she was not the one telling the story. The point of view is also very important in this story because it allows for the characterization of Miss Brill. It was very interesting because many parts seemed like they were coming from the thoughts of Miss Brill, not an outsider. "Miss Brill had often noticed--there was something funny about nearly all of them" (Mansfield, page 183). I don't know how the narrator could determine this without actually speaking with her. I was also confused with the ending--was Miss Brill actually a part of the performance or was she just sitting at the end of the row? The point of view also seemed omniscient, as when the narrator discussed the young couple who "had just arrived from his father's yacht" (Mansfield, page 185). And that part was so sad. Was the crying Miss Brill, or was she just imagining the fur or something making that noise?
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"
Dylan Thomas
Honestly, I did not really understand either of the last two poems in this unit, so I chose to answer a couple of the questions from Thomas' poem which was the less confusing piece. The poem is divided into six stanzas, the last four of which describe four different types of men. The speaker views the wise men as knowing "dark is right" (Thomas, page 968). I think it means that wise men really expect death and know that no one is eternal. He claims that the good men "rage against the dying of the light," which I believe indicates that they would rather live on in life and perform other works than die and stop living how they had been. The wild men are the ones who partied and sang their way through life, not stopping to thing on death. The grave men also rage against the night because they thought too much of dying that they never stopped to live.
Another question asked about paradoxical expressions which were included in several lines, such as "dark is right" and "the sad height." These contribute to the idea that different people see death in different lights. Some men expect death, some rage against death, some never thought about it until it was too late, and some rage against death because they waited for death their whole lives. The poem was very interesting because it ended with a stanza begging his father "not [to] go gentle into that good night."
Dylan Thomas
Honestly, I did not really understand either of the last two poems in this unit, so I chose to answer a couple of the questions from Thomas' poem which was the less confusing piece. The poem is divided into six stanzas, the last four of which describe four different types of men. The speaker views the wise men as knowing "dark is right" (Thomas, page 968). I think it means that wise men really expect death and know that no one is eternal. He claims that the good men "rage against the dying of the light," which I believe indicates that they would rather live on in life and perform other works than die and stop living how they had been. The wild men are the ones who partied and sang their way through life, not stopping to thing on death. The grave men also rage against the night because they thought too much of dying that they never stopped to live.
Another question asked about paradoxical expressions which were included in several lines, such as "dark is right" and "the sad height." These contribute to the idea that different people see death in different lights. Some men expect death, some rage against death, some never thought about it until it was too late, and some rage against death because they waited for death their whole lives. The poem was very interesting because it ended with a stanza begging his father "not [to] go gentle into that good night."
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