Important Dates:
1830: 7 years before Victoria cam to the throne. Why? The Industrial Revolution and the expansion that it caused
1832: First Reform Bill
1837: Victoria becomes queen (18 years old)
1846: Corn Laws repealed
1850: Tennyson succeeds Wordsworth as Poet Laureate
1851: Great Exhibition, London
1859: Darwin’s Origin of the Species
1870-71: Franco-Prussian War
1901: Victoria dies (longest lived monarch)
Expansion and Industrialization:
• Industrialization of England – England got the industrial revolution first in Europe because of the French Revolution and shipping to get the products back and forth across oceans. They were growing so fast, it caused all kinds of problems. The infrastructure, child labor, and crime were just three of the problems.
• Status of London – London became the center of European power more than ¼ of the world was controlled by the British Empire (the Victorian Empire).
• Economic advance – Victorian Empire acquired enormous wealth
• Territorial Expansionism
In Victoria’s lifetime:
• London grows from 2 million to 6.5 million
• Fast trains and ships; mechanized looms, mechanized printing presses; combines; telegraph; intercontinental cable; photography; anesthetics; universal education; vacuum cleaner – great time of invention and change
Effects on the Victorian mindset: sense of excitement, sense of loss (the “Victorian Paradox” – we are on top of the world coupled with the sense of loss)
• Ethnocentrism – we’re on top of the world and nobody can mess with us – writer’s acted against this
• Exciting, but felt loss of traditional rhythms and patterns of loss – (along with grief) strain of sadness and melancholy that things will never the same again romantic longing for the past this caused disorientation
• Emphasis on practicality and industry creates a sense of dullness and boredom – particularly regarding faith, Darwin, and the discovery of dinosaur bones – gave a sense of nothing to believe in - all about money – empty and soulless
Early Victorian Period (1830-48): “Time of Troubles”
Period of loud cries for reform – Carlyle, Disraeli, Tennyson, all decried violence, anger, and social injustice
1830: 1st railway open to the public – (beginning of the Victorian Period) expansion – easy transportation, people could move to cities, made the workforce grown – pretty ugly, nasty times – Dickens had an ugly view of London because of this – crime rates, sewage, smog, slums, misery, child labor, before universal education, only few prospered, no safety regulations – you had to own land to vote
1832: Reform Bill – you owned material property or land you could vote – you only needed 10 pounds of property to vote
• “Growing Pains”: problems associated with growth near revolution
• “The Hungry 40’s”: famine and potato blight – Potato famine – Irish poor – most moved to the U.S.
Disaster / revolution averted: 1846: Corn Laws abolished – Corn Laws: putting tariff on imported grains, poor people in London started starving because they lived off of potato flour
Mid-Victorian Period (1848-70): “Age of Improvement”
1. Economic Prosperity
• Solid comfortableness, contentment, pride in England, strong moral values
• Confidence in ability to fix problems: optimism, complacency
o Effects of free trade
o Effects of Factory Acts – regulating factories’ safety – hours worked – child labor
• Great pride in technical progress: Great Exhibition of 1851 – Queen Victoria and husband throws invention exhibition in their symbol of pride, The Crystal Palace
2. Growing Religious controversy: Utilitarianism vs. Philosophical Conservation
• Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham – boring writing – practical is the way to go: wants to ban religion – everything should be put to the test of reason: does something enhance the happiness of the highest number of people, if not, then ban it
• Philosophical conservationism: Coleridge
Two types of philosophical conservatives:
• Wants to get rid of traditional religion but retain belief (Carlyle) – Coleridge
• Wants to strengthen traditional religion (Tractarianism) – Victorians are going to hell in a hand basket – responsible for strict, moral, prudish behavior (especially sexuality)
3. Science Intensifies the Religious Debates:
• 1859: Darwin’s (devout Catholic) Origin of the Species (sense of isolation from God and other people)
• “Higher criticism” – intellectual movement began in Germany – they said let’s study the Bible as if it were any text and not be biased by the fact that it was a religious document
• Geology / astronomy – estimates of the age of the earth / discovery of dinosaur bones
Summary: mid-Victorian period is a time of great prosperity, but everything people have always known (social systems, government systems, economic systems, religious systems) are being challenged. Serious religious and philosophical problems result. Extreme religious reactionary prudishness
The Late Victorian Period (1870-1901): Decay of Victorian Values
Glow of contentment continues, but cracks begin to show: England’s still #1
• “The Irish Question: – problems with Ireland (Oscar Wilde)
• Bismarck’s Germany – dominance in the ocean is threatened
• America’s recovery from Civil War
• 1873-4: major economic depression: mass immigrations from Britain
• Growth of labor as political / economic force – trade unions established, brings salaries up and profits down
Result: increasing cynicism, criticism of traditional mid-Victorian values – mid-Victorians were a bunch of idiots – Oscar Wilde
1890’s: Bridge between Victorian and Modern periods
1. “The Gay 90’s”: Prince Edward’s influence
2. Fin du siecle melancholy, despair, endless seeking for new pleasures: “The Aesthetic Movement”
Characteristics of Victorianism
1. Earnestness or “eagerness;” “seriousness of purpose;” respectability – have a lot taken away from them
Lady of Shalott – Tennyson
The Harlot’s House – Oscar Wilde
• role of writer to reform to make society better both physically and morally
Cry of the Children – Elizabeth Browning – child labor
Porphyria’s Lover – Robert Browning – the treatment of women
Lady of Shalott – Tennyson – the treatment of women
• want to actually achieve, not just strive (a practical age) – because there is a lot of stuff to clean up because of the early industrial revolution
• Great concern with moral issues (role of women, religion, etc.)
• evangelical movement: strict morality / purity issues
TIES TO:
2. reactive against the romantics – romantics were mopers and dreamers, they admired the beauty because it lead to nowhere
Sonnets from the Portuguese #43 – Elizabeth Browning – I love you level headedly
Lady of Shalott – Tennyson
Ulysses – Tennyson – how noble is the romantic quest
Dover Beach – Matthew Arnold – nature cannot save us
Harlot’s House – Oscar Wilde
• strongly influenced by Romantics, but see the romantics as a doomed quest
• move gradually away from excesses of Romantics; stricter, more disciplined poetry (forms)
• saw Romantics as mopers and dreamers; wanted to be productive
3. ethnocentric / patriotic / and reactions against it
Mother and Poet – Elizabeth Browning – against Britain’s politics
• result of political / military / industrial advances
4. Poetic experimentation in forms (use of the word I to third person in creating a persona) / themes / settings (foreign settings), etc. (glorification of myth, legends, etc.) TIES TO #7 (critique of how dull things are)
• boredom with “practical age”
• reaction against strictness of moral codes
• attempt to “wake people up” from complacency
Sonnets from the Portuguese #43 – Elizabeth Browning – reviving sonnets
Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood – Christina Rossetti
The Lady of Shalott – Tennyson
Robert Browning – Porphyria’s Lover, Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister – (the idea of the unreliable narrator and dramatic monologue: all new techniques, settings)
5. religious / moral questioning / doubts – strain on religious belief
• desire for stability in a fast-changing world
• new scientific discoveries challenge old beliefs
Sonnets from the Portuguese #43 – Elizabeth Browning – questioning faith
Dover Beach – Matthew Arnold -
Goblin Market – Christina Rossetti
God’s Grandeur – Gerard Manley – don’t question faith
Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister – Robert Browning – even the most faithful are sinful
6. focus on practical / social issues (see #1 & #2)
Cry of the Children – Elizabeth Browning – child labor
Mother and Poet – Elizabeth Browning – the treatment of women
Robert Browning – Porphyria’s Lover (the treatment of women) & Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister (even those with power are not perfect; greed)
Goblin Market – Christina Rossetti – we live in a society that has everything, but we want more; greed –– Dead before Death – everybody was dead before they have a chance to live
Harlot’s House – Oscar Wilde – everybody was dead souls
7. Sense of loss, decay, collapse, dullness, etc.
• loss of “magic” of Romantic period
• result of extremely practical, task-oriented society
Pre-Raphaelites – Christina Rossetti – Goblin Market – the more people have, the more they want
The Lady of Shalott – Tennyson – treatment of women
Porphyria’s Lover – Robert Browning – way women are treated
Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister – Robert Browning – religious instability
Goblin Market – Christina Rossetti – contrasted the sense of loss, decay, collapse, dullness – this poem was all about richness and greed
Dead before Death and Cobwebs – Christina Rossetti – reflected this by talking about how everyone was dead inside
8. “Victorian Paradox”: desire for new coupled with fear of change
Pre-Raphaelites – Dead before Death – Christina Rossetti – we are all dead inside
Harlot’s House – Oscar Wilde – we are all like puppets all controlled with the same mind; we are all dead souls
Cry of the Children – Elizabeth Browning – reform for child labor
The Lady of Shalott – Tennyson – the treatment of women
9. theme of humanity’s dominance over / destruction of nature
• loss of Romantic vision of nature – God – nature is no longer God – disconnect from nature
• result of intensive industrialization
Dover Beach – Matthew Arnold – nature has nothing to offer
God’s Grandeur – Gerard Manley – man cannot destroy nature because of God. He keeps it full of life
Harlot’s House – Oscar Wilde – last stanza (nature creeps in like a little girl; nature is afraid of the acts of men
10. theme of human isolation / desire for intimacy – turn to relationships to fix the dilemma (a lot of love and relationship poetry)
• result of massive societal / cultural changes and physical relocations people are really disoriented intimidating and frightening (Victorian Paradox)
• result of religious / social / philosophical loss of certainty
Sonnets from the Portuguese #43 – Elizabeth Browning – need to be with a man; need for love an intimacy
The Buried Life – Matthew Arnold – “Alas! Is even love to weak / To unlock the heart, and let it speak? / Are even lovers powerless to reveal / To one another what indeed they feel?” (Society rules how even lovers can speak to one another. I don’t want to play by society’s rules.)
Dover Beach – Matthew Arnold – “The Sea of Faith / Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore / Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. / But now I only hear / Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, / Retreating, to the breath / Of the night wind, down the vast edges drear / And naked shingles of the world.” (Many have lost their faith)
October 13, 2006
One of the themes of Victorian authors is taking shots at the Romantic authors
The three chunks of the Victorian Period are
1830-48 – early
1848-70 – mid
1870-1901 – late
England was the top empire
This is the time of the industrial revolution
Sense of massive change that people cannot keep up with
In Victoria’s Empire
London grows 4.5 million more people
Quality of life is pretty grim
Health problems – sewage
Education problems – make them work
Housing – slums
The Victorian Paradox
Coal dust was so thick that it fell like snow and piled up
Part of the reason that all of this was happening
People had to own land to vote – when they moved out of the rural areas to the cities, they gave up their land to move
100 people = 4 seats in Parliament so there were still 4 seats for 25 people
Mid-Victorian period – wealth & excess
Ironically – bizarre paradox – very sexually oppressed, but pornography and prostitution was very popular – prudish and uptight even at home
Extreme polarization between the liberal and conservative
Bentham – Utilitarianism – if something enhances the happiness of the highest number of people then do it
Willed his body to science
Publicly dissected
Was stuffed and still attends meetings at college he worked at
Coleridge – tell into 1st camp – wanted to get rid of traditional religion, but retain belief
October 18, 2006
Elizabeth Browning
“Cry of the Children” – she is saying listen to me about what is going on – let’s get some reforms in the factory – line 51 – “It is good…” it is better for the children to die because they haven’t been given the chance to live
90% of women writers had to use a pseudonym (could not publish under their own name)
Bronte sisters – under men’s names – Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights…etc. – women had few rights than 1000 years earlier – it was legal fro a man to beat his wife as long as the stick he beat her with was only as big around as his thumb (the rule of thumb) – Rossetti was able to publish under her own name because her brothers owned the literary magazine called the germ and they published her
Reason browning was able to publish under her own name is because she was 13 when she had her first poem published – she was a child prodigy – people were comfortable with her
“Sonnets from the Portuguese” are love letters to Robert browning / she lied to her father and told him that she was translating the Portuguese sonnets – hence the name
“Mother & Poet” – the woman has 2 jobs – she is a mother and a poet – she does as a woman is supposed to but she still lost both of her sons, because of that, she lost her ability to be a poetess. She will not write a song for patriotism
October 23, 2006
Tennyson – Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood wanted to bring back the exuberance and mysticism back to literature and art:
“The Lady of Shalott” fits into the Victorian women theme. She sees the world out her window (through the mirror) Sir Lancelaot comes by and she is sick of her life in the tower. She looked upon the “forbidden fruit.” She goes down and gets in the boat and she dies. (Dante Gabriel Rossetti made engraving of Lady of Shalott)
What does it mean? The women in the Victorian period are “trapped in a gilded cage.” She is trapped in her cage only to weave. Her enslavement in Victorian society. Mother and Poet keeps the rules and gets slammed; the lady of Shalott breaks the rules and gets slammed. She is memorialized by Lancelot and says she’s pretty, so God take pity on her soul.
OR
A parable against the Romantics – the deadliness of the infinite striving – 1st stanza the focus is on the real – once she made a quest for the ideal, it killed her. If you strive for the ideal it will kill you
“Ulysses” – man with mid-life crisis, he has been gone for 20 years. He gets back and after three years wants to leave once again – line 53 – we can still strive with Gods. His old goal was to get back to Ithaca. His new goal is to sail as far as he can until he dies. He wants to sail beyond the stars. Reaching the ideal would make you bored and miserable. He is happy until he gets to the goal and when he gets there he is bored. He wants to dump all on his child. How noble is the romantic quest? It is great for the romantic, but destroys the family of the romantic.
October 25, 2006
Robert Browning is buried in poet’s corner in Westminster’s Abbey next to Tennyson – These poems come from a collection called life in the asylum – the unreliable narrator. He creates a narrator in his poems that is not himself and in fact the opposite of himself. – Dramatic monologue is usually in plays. He started out as a play write so he took the dramatic monologue out of the theater and put it in his poems – Critiquing the most powerful society by shocking them and doing so from a distance. Trying to shock to create social change
“Porphyria’s Lover” starts out like romantic poetry with nature. He is misleading the reader – female expectations – submissive, sexual, eager to please, not irritated, trusting, beautiful – the first muscle he moves in this poem is to strangle her. Just from the list, she looks pretty good for Victorian times. He knows she loves him so he kills her to make the moment last forever. He nervously opens her eyes because he is afraid that loving gaze is gone. Neither character is active while the other is because in Victorian era women and men cannot be equal in society and Victorian society strangles the life out of women and props them up as trophies
Grotesque Diction
“Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister” 2 monks – religious icon is cursing hating – brother Lawrence is boring and only talks about crops – one track mind – stanza 4 – brother Lawrence is lusting, but he does not let it show – stanza 5 – accusing him of gluttony and does not make a cross with silverware when he is done – Lawrence is not a good Christian – stanza 8 – he is going to slip porn into brother Lawrence’s basket
October 27, 2006
Matthew Arnold lived in his father’s shadow
“The Buried Life” – massive limestone cliffs; has always been a tourist spot; even British people tend to go for the natural beauty of it – he is talking to a person and not to nature – buried life is our true selves that we cannot show to anybody – 1st stanza – they are having a light conversation; talking on a surfacey level; joking around rather than being intimate. He is sad because of this, just hush and let me look into your soul – stanza 2 – he tries to have a deep conversation, but it did not work. We are afraid if we show our true selves we will be rejected – stanza 3 – do we have to be that way? We are lucky if we can do that for just one moment – stanza 4 – fate because it knew we would crew it up if we showed our true selves bade us to hide our true selves – stanza 5 – it is there and we want to know. People want to really explore themselves and find out who we really are, but we cannot dig deep enough to find our true selves because we do not know how. How do you let down our masks? We get frustrated because we get tire of this inward striving. So we go through the daily tasks so we don’t think about the deeper level, but every now and again the deeper levels seep out and depress us – stanza 7 – is there a cure for human isolation? Yes! How do we fix this? There is one way, desire for intimacy, one on one intimate companionship. That is the only way we can find the cure for this connecting on a deep level is the only way we can get there.
“Dover Beach” – stanza 1 – writing this on his honeymoon. He is standing at the window and looking out at the beautiful cliffs of Dover (closest point to France). He calls his wife over. He can see France. It is gorgeous, but he is sad – stanza 2 – he heard the same sadness brought on by the ocean. Sophocles (the ebb and flow of human misery). – Stanza 3 – sea of faith (religion). The religious controversy because we don’t know what to believe at all – stanza 4 – the solution is to be true to one another.
October 30, 2006
Christina Rossetti
“Goblin Market” fruit. If you see fruit it is probably Goblin Market. What does it mean? Fruit is addictive. The more you eat, the more you want. Sin and sensual desires, and temptation are like fruit, forbidden fruit. Possible sexual temptation, impure thoughts, fixated on sex. Rossetti is saying there are more things in life than sex, possibly greed, bounty, excess that comes along with wealth. We have all this money and all this power, but we want more and more. Anything that we covet instead of God. Not a time of moderation ( Victorian Period), but a time of excess and we are letting our priorities get out of whack. Rich, lush imagery, but sonnets are cold flat and bare. We have all this stuff but we are not yet satisfied.
“Dead before Death,” and “Cobwebs” – much knowing, little wise. We know a lot, but we don’t know the most important things. We are all dead inside. We are corpses, Zombies
Oscar Wilde was eccentric, good looking. He even has an art deco type of tomb. He too thought we were corpses. The only great Victoria that we will read. Thins are changing. Witty and clever. Spent his career making fun of the mid-Victorian period.
“Harlot’s House” – harlot sales something valuable for worldly goods. Skeleton’s dancing – dead souls – marionettes – puppets with the same mind. Temptation. Nature is afraid – no power in nature that we can control. Nature is not our salvation.
November 1, 2006
Gerard M. Hopkins – A lot of his poetry was written about places and things around Oxford. He is fascinated with nature. Hopkins’ poetry was not published until 1918 (28 years after his death). His poetry was willed to Robert Bridges. His philosophy was from an admired medieval writer named Duns Scotus (where we get the word dunce). Hopkins liked his idea of inscape (which is like landscape) every created thing has selfness. The most inscaped of all creation is humans because we can imagine ourselves with the inscape of something else. This process is called instress. It is to feel the selfness of another created thing. This is the highest form of worship to God. There is no iambic rhythm to his poetry. He gets away from rhythm. Worshipping by instressing to nature. The hurl and gliding – Why? Short circuiting the brain, he messes with the synoptic. He makes you feel it. Groans of emotion.
In the “Windhover” diving is more spectacular because it is more dangerous. Christ died on the cross. Hovering bird makes a cross shape. Coming down off of the cross and he’s being raised. Becomes dangerous to no believers – stanza 3 – just walking makes the earth shine. Dirt and fire if injured if cut become more beautiful worship to experience of Christ.
1 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
Rural to urban societal shift
Social upheaval, loss of traditional life patterns
Reformist writings: E. Browning – “Cry of the Children;” R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover,” “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister;” Tennyson – “The Lady of Shalott;” Arnold – “The Buried Life”
2 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
Rural to urban societal shift
Social upheaval, loss of traditional life patterns
Desire to find security (in human relations, honor, duty): Hopkins – (turning to God in a new way) “Windhover;” E. Browning – “Sonnets from the Portuguese,” “Mother and Poet;” R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover;” Tennyson – “Ulysses,” “The Lady of Shalott”
Rigid social / moral rules
Tractarians: strictness – didn’t read anything by them, but read plenty against them
Reaction against rigid morality: R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover”
3 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
Rural to urban societal shift
Social upheaval, loss of traditional life patterns
Desire to find security by clinging to old beliefs
Rigid social / moral rules
Tractarians: strictness – didn’t read anything by them, but read plenty against them
Reaction against rigid morality: R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover”
4 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
New scientific discoveries (Darwin, geology, astronomy, etc.)
Intellectual upheaval, challenge to traditional beliefs
REACTIVE
Desire to find security by clinging to old beliefs
Rigid social / moral rules
Tractarians: strictness – didn’t read anything by them, but read plenty against them
Reaction against rigid morality: R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover”
5 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
New scientific discoveries (Darwin, geology, astronomy, etc.)
Intellectual upheaval, challenge to traditional beliefs
Desire to throw out old beliefs and re-examine them: Arnold – “Dover Beach”; Hopkins – “God’s Grandeur,” “The Windhover” (look at god in a new way – inscape, instress)
6 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
New scientific discoveries (Darwin, geology, astronomy, etc.)
Intellectual upheaval, challenge to traditional beliefs
Grief loss of faith: Arnold – “Dover Beach;” E. Browning – “Sonnets from the Portuguese” (lost saints); Rossetti – Cobwebs (loveless sea – sea of faith)
7 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
New scientific discoveries (Darwin, geology, astronomy, etc.)
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Moral complacency
“pro-England” writings: Kippling; Tennyson – “Lady of Shalott;” “Charge of the Light Brigade”; AGAINST: Browning – “Mother and Poet”
8 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
New scientific discoveries (Darwin, geology, astronomy, etc.)
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Moral complacency
Reformist writings: E. Browning – “Cry of the Children” (can-do practical spirit); R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover,” “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister;” Tennyson – “The Lady of Shalott;” Arnold – “The Buried Life”
9 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
New scientific discoveries (Darwin, geology, astronomy, etc.)
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
“pro-England” writings: Kippling; Tennyson – “Lady of Shalott;” “Charge of the Light Brigade”; AGAINST: Browning – “Mother and Poet”
10 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
New scientific discoveries (Darwin, geology, astronomy, etc.)
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Faith in ability to create positive change
Reformist writings: E. Browning – “Cry of the Children” (can-do practical spirit); R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover,” “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister;” Tennyson – “The Lady of Shalott;” Arnold – “The Buried Life”
11 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
New scientific discoveries (Darwin, geology, astronomy, etc.)
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Faith in ability to create positive change
Emphasis on reason vs. imagination
Utilitarianism (Bentham)
Sense of dullness, loss of magic
Writings to reflect dullness: Rossetti – “Dead Before Death;” Wilde – “Harlot’s House;” Arnold – “The Buried Life”
12 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
New scientific discoveries (Darwin, geology, astronomy, etc.)
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Faith in ability to create positive change
Emphasis on reason vs. imagination
Utilitarianism (Bentham)
Sense of dullness, loss of magic
Writings to contrast dullness (grotesque diction, sprung rhythm, exotic settings, etc.): Rossetti – “Goblin Market;” Hopkins – “God’s Grandeur,” “The Windhover;” R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover;” “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister”
13 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
Expansionism / Colonialism
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Moral complacency
“pro-England” writings: Kippling; Tennyson – “Lady of Shalott;” “Charge of the Light Brigade”; AGAINST: Browning – “Mother and Poet”
14 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
Expansionism / Colonialism
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Moral complacency
Reformist writings: E. Browning – “Cry of the Children” (can-do practical spirit); R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover,” “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister;” Tennyson – “The Lady of Shalott;” Arnold – “The Buried Life”
15 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
Expansionism / Colonialism
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
“pro-England” writings: Kippling; Tennyson – “Lady of Shalott;” “Charge of the Light Brigade”; AGAINST: Browning – “Mother and Poet”
16 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
Expansionism / Colonialism
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Faith in ability to create positive change
Reformist writings: E. Browning – “Cry of the Children” (can-do practical spirit); R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover,” “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister;” Tennyson – “The Lady of Shalott;” Arnold – “The Buried Life”
17 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
Expansionism / Colonialism
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Faith in ability to create positive change
Emphasis on reason vs. imagination
Utilitarianism (Bentham)
Sense of dullness, loss of magic
Writings to reflect dullness: Rossetti – “Dead Before Death;” Wilde – “Harlot’s House;” Arnold – “The Buried Life”
18 Industrial Revolution Hits England First
GIVES
New inventions/technologies give England an economic advantage of going first
Expansionism / Colonialism
Wealth, excitement, “can-do” attitude, ethnocentrism, practicality: we can get things done
Faith in ability to create positive change
Emphasis on reason vs. imagination
Utilitarianism (Bentham)
Sense of dullness, loss of magic
Writings to contrast dullness (grotesque diction, sprung rhythm, exotic settings, etc.): Rossetti – “Goblin Market;” Hopkins – “God’s Grandeur,” “The Windhover;” R. Browning – “Porphyria’s Lover;” “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister”
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Lowry's Giver and Orwell's 1984: Significant Parallels
A great deal of controversy surrounds Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver. The controversy varies depending on the topic. Ironically many people believe the novel should be censored. “The irony of censorship attacks on the novel is that The Giver dramatizes the plight of an individual living in a society that censors its peoples’ language, emotions, and behaviors” (Lord). First, parents throughout the country believe the book should be banned from schools due to adult themes. Next, many feel the book has too many similarities to other books about dystopian societies. Finally, because Lowry chose to leave the ending up to the reader, people tend to overlook the positive message that can be taken from such a book. Whether it be due adult themes, similarities to dystopian societies, and the ambiguous ending, we must decide for ourselves whether The Giver should be removed from school shelves.
Though it is true there are adult themes throughout the book such as infanticide, euthanasia, the broken down family unit, and censorship; the book can be used as a tool to teach young adults about the world around them. Lowry wrote the novel specifically for young adults. However, it is argued the language and visualizations Lowry chose to use is horrifying and disturbing to young adults. However, as a society, we must not forget that many of our fairy tales were originally just as horrifying and disturbing in order to teach valuable lessons to young adults. For instance in Hansel and Gretel, the youngsters did not conquer the witch and return to their grief stricken father. In fact the story was written to warn children not to wander off in the woods, for they did not know what could be awaiting them. It could have been a hungry witch as in Hansel and Gretel, a starving wolf dressed up as your grandmother as in Little Red Riding Hood, or even a rapist waiting for a fair maiden to fall asleep for him to ravish as in Sleeping Beauty. Just as these stories provided valuable lessons to the youth of centuries past, The Giver provides a valuable lesson to the young adults of today.
In today’s society people scream for more and more governmental control of what our young adults are exposed to. Lowry’s novel has gone under much scrutiny because parents are afraid of the adult themes. Depending on a person’s viewpoint, infanticide is not present in the United States (some may argue abortion is infanticide); neither is euthanasia. However, because infanticide and euthanasia is still practiced in other cultures throughout the world, it is important that young adults construct their own viewpoints of the brutal practice. To Jonas and the others in his community, infants were released into “Elsewhere.” Unless the person’s job was to release an individual, they were left oblivious to the true meaning of “release.” When Jonas’ father releases the smaller twin, he lacks the apprehension most readers would expect if told to kill a newborn child. This scene is one of the most scrutinized scenes in the novel. “Would-be censors object to the scene because it is so graphic, and because it transforms Jonas’s once beloved father into a cold-blooded murderer” (Lord). However, without scenes like these, young adults would be left to wonder why emotions are so important to an individual. If the emotions are stripped away from society in such a manner, there could be another excepted massive holocaust as seen in Nazi Germany.
Furthermore, the breakdown of the family unit is one other criticized theme in the novel. The government chooses the family units, relationships are never consummated, and the children are assigned to certain parents. Jonas’ world is void of grandparents as well. Because the parents are removed from their children, as they become adults, they are not allowed contact with their grandchildren. Family values and memories are not passed down through the generations as they are done today. This leads to the lack of individuality that Jonas’ society is all about, or as they call it “sameness.” Jonas the Receiver and the Giver are the only people in the community that hold on to the memories that give wisdom. Because everything is nearly perfected in organization, people are left with no control of their own destinies. They have no choices to make because committees have made all of those choices for them. Too much governmental power is what the constitution has been written to prevent. People must learn at a young age they have choices to make throughout their own lives. Every choice that the child makes affects his or her future. The best way to teach a child how important it is to have the right to make choices on their own is to give them examples of societies where one’s destiny is not in their own hands. A society where individuals have lost control, which may be painted as utopian societies; however, they are, in fact, dystopian societies in which control is left to a Totalitarian regime.
The similarities between Jonas’ community and the dystopian communities in other novels is also reason for controversy surrounding The Giver. Lowry’s novel can be viewed as George Orwell’s 1984 for young adults, because of the many similarities between the two books. Patty Campbell states, “At first it seems to be an autocratic state – an impression that is given credence by Orwellian images such as the rasping voices that chastise from ubiquitous speakers.” This is very similar to the chastisement Winston Smith receives during the lack of his full attention to his physical jerks. However, the main differences between the two societies is the loudspeakers in The Giver do not single individuals out; whereas the voice from the telescreen screamed, “Smith!...6079 Smith W! Yes, you! Bend lower, please! You can do better than that. You’re not trying. Lower, please!” (36). Another similarity is the Receiver possesses memories that society wanted to forget, and Winston possesses memories the Party wants rewritten and forgotten. Furthermore, rule breakers are released in The Giver. However, rule breakers in 1984 are not allowed death, but they are forced to release their identities, thoughts, and ideas. Then they are forced into conformity or “sameness.”
Additionally, the two novels have the biblical allusion of life, death, and resurrection. Jonas is the different from everyone else during his life, but does not call attention to his gift to see beyond. Like everyone else, he takes a pill to suppress his stirrings; Jonas lives in his community of people just as everyone else does. When Jonas first becomes the receiver, he looses the identity, which was forced upon him. Jonas loses his innocence and becomes aware of the society around him. This is the death of his sameness; and Jonas is resurrected as an individual who makes his own memories, and is the salvation of his community. Likewise, Winston’s life death and resurrection story is similar as Jonas’s, but at the same time, it is completely opposite. Winston begins as a freethinker with ideas that could save his community. Like Jesus, his ideas and lifestyle is dangerous to the totalitarian regime that controls the populous. Therefore, he is spiritually executed and forced to conform to the masses. In the end Winston is resurrected as the shell of the man he once was. He is left with no emotion and a sense of helplessness. The reader does learn, however, the citizens in The Giver did chose their way of life; but because the memories and histories are kept from them, the reader is left to wander if they made the choice willingly or if the choice was forced upon them as in Winston’s case. After all, Jonas himself wonders how much he has been told is the truth, or how much of it may be the lies individuals are allowed to tell. It is confusing why people fear novels, which warn against the horrors and atrocities one may face in a dystopian society. Perhaps it is due to the violent themes these societies suggest. However, there are only two ways people can learn about the horrors and atrocities of dystopian societies. They either learn from first hand experience, or they learn from reading. In order to prevent such atrocities from happening in the future, it is crucial that young adults learn about them when they are young.
Another source of controversy is the ambiguous ending Lowry has given to her story. “Lowry refuses to provide a tidy ending” (Campbell). This leaves the readers to draw their own conclusions about the ending. Either readers feel Jonas and Gabriel died, or readers are more optimistic and believe that Jonas and Gabriel found their happy ending. They were accepted into a family like the memory of the Christmas gathering. The vague ending has caused people to believe young adults will be distraught if they feel the young adults have passed away. Because there are many Biblical allusions throughout the novel, it can be assumed if Jonas and Gabriel died, they entered the Kingdom of Heaven.
As mentioned before, Jonas is the savior of his community. He is given a gift to see beyond, which no one else has. Also, Gabriel’s name leads readers with a Christian background to believe the infant is a messenger sent to deliver revelations to Jonas. Without Gabriel’s attachment to Jonas, the meaning of release may not have been fully revealed to Jonas. Gabriel’s impending release announced the resurrection of Jonas as the savior of his community. Finally, the name Jonas is a variation of Jonah, who was called by God to “Go to the great city Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). Like Jonah, Jonas is scornful of the wickedness in his community. Because preaching against their ways would mean release for Jonas, the only way he can help them is to leave them with their memories so they can become whole again, so they can feel again. The Biblical undertones to The Giver supports the idea this novel is appropriate for young adults. One way people can strengthen faith in other people is to challenge that faith. This book can be used as a tool to strengthen Christian faith in young adults.
So, is The Giver an appropriate novel for schools? It seems many values and morals can be taught from reading the book. The book is written in a manner that leaves questions open in the reader’s mind; thus, it teaches them to think for themselves. Furthermore, Lowry’s novel is appropriate to teach young adults how important the choices they make for themselves are toward their own future. Unlike George Orwell’s 1984, the novel is appropriate for the younger adults, because they, too, need to learn the world is not as picture perfect as they may believe. This notion can light a spark in young adults’ minds, which can lead the way for the freedom of people who are oppressed or wrongfully executed. Furthermore, the book does not harm Christian faith in young minds. In fact it can strengthen that faith. This novel can challenge the minds of the readers. Therefore, it should not be removed from schools. The purpose of sending young adults to school is for them to learn about the world around them. It is just as crucial for young adults to learn the world around them is filled with injustices, as it is for them to learn the world can be a just place. The way young adults learn is by challenging their minds, not sheltering them.
Holy Bible, The. New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: The Zondervan Corporation, 2005.
Lord, Elyse. “The Giver.” Novels for Students. Gale Research: 1998.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Delacorte, 1993.
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classics, 1977.
Though it is true there are adult themes throughout the book such as infanticide, euthanasia, the broken down family unit, and censorship; the book can be used as a tool to teach young adults about the world around them. Lowry wrote the novel specifically for young adults. However, it is argued the language and visualizations Lowry chose to use is horrifying and disturbing to young adults. However, as a society, we must not forget that many of our fairy tales were originally just as horrifying and disturbing in order to teach valuable lessons to young adults. For instance in Hansel and Gretel, the youngsters did not conquer the witch and return to their grief stricken father. In fact the story was written to warn children not to wander off in the woods, for they did not know what could be awaiting them. It could have been a hungry witch as in Hansel and Gretel, a starving wolf dressed up as your grandmother as in Little Red Riding Hood, or even a rapist waiting for a fair maiden to fall asleep for him to ravish as in Sleeping Beauty. Just as these stories provided valuable lessons to the youth of centuries past, The Giver provides a valuable lesson to the young adults of today.
In today’s society people scream for more and more governmental control of what our young adults are exposed to. Lowry’s novel has gone under much scrutiny because parents are afraid of the adult themes. Depending on a person’s viewpoint, infanticide is not present in the United States (some may argue abortion is infanticide); neither is euthanasia. However, because infanticide and euthanasia is still practiced in other cultures throughout the world, it is important that young adults construct their own viewpoints of the brutal practice. To Jonas and the others in his community, infants were released into “Elsewhere.” Unless the person’s job was to release an individual, they were left oblivious to the true meaning of “release.” When Jonas’ father releases the smaller twin, he lacks the apprehension most readers would expect if told to kill a newborn child. This scene is one of the most scrutinized scenes in the novel. “Would-be censors object to the scene because it is so graphic, and because it transforms Jonas’s once beloved father into a cold-blooded murderer” (Lord). However, without scenes like these, young adults would be left to wonder why emotions are so important to an individual. If the emotions are stripped away from society in such a manner, there could be another excepted massive holocaust as seen in Nazi Germany.
Furthermore, the breakdown of the family unit is one other criticized theme in the novel. The government chooses the family units, relationships are never consummated, and the children are assigned to certain parents. Jonas’ world is void of grandparents as well. Because the parents are removed from their children, as they become adults, they are not allowed contact with their grandchildren. Family values and memories are not passed down through the generations as they are done today. This leads to the lack of individuality that Jonas’ society is all about, or as they call it “sameness.” Jonas the Receiver and the Giver are the only people in the community that hold on to the memories that give wisdom. Because everything is nearly perfected in organization, people are left with no control of their own destinies. They have no choices to make because committees have made all of those choices for them. Too much governmental power is what the constitution has been written to prevent. People must learn at a young age they have choices to make throughout their own lives. Every choice that the child makes affects his or her future. The best way to teach a child how important it is to have the right to make choices on their own is to give them examples of societies where one’s destiny is not in their own hands. A society where individuals have lost control, which may be painted as utopian societies; however, they are, in fact, dystopian societies in which control is left to a Totalitarian regime.
The similarities between Jonas’ community and the dystopian communities in other novels is also reason for controversy surrounding The Giver. Lowry’s novel can be viewed as George Orwell’s 1984 for young adults, because of the many similarities between the two books. Patty Campbell states, “At first it seems to be an autocratic state – an impression that is given credence by Orwellian images such as the rasping voices that chastise from ubiquitous speakers.” This is very similar to the chastisement Winston Smith receives during the lack of his full attention to his physical jerks. However, the main differences between the two societies is the loudspeakers in The Giver do not single individuals out; whereas the voice from the telescreen screamed, “Smith!...6079 Smith W! Yes, you! Bend lower, please! You can do better than that. You’re not trying. Lower, please!” (36). Another similarity is the Receiver possesses memories that society wanted to forget, and Winston possesses memories the Party wants rewritten and forgotten. Furthermore, rule breakers are released in The Giver. However, rule breakers in 1984 are not allowed death, but they are forced to release their identities, thoughts, and ideas. Then they are forced into conformity or “sameness.”
Additionally, the two novels have the biblical allusion of life, death, and resurrection. Jonas is the different from everyone else during his life, but does not call attention to his gift to see beyond. Like everyone else, he takes a pill to suppress his stirrings; Jonas lives in his community of people just as everyone else does. When Jonas first becomes the receiver, he looses the identity, which was forced upon him. Jonas loses his innocence and becomes aware of the society around him. This is the death of his sameness; and Jonas is resurrected as an individual who makes his own memories, and is the salvation of his community. Likewise, Winston’s life death and resurrection story is similar as Jonas’s, but at the same time, it is completely opposite. Winston begins as a freethinker with ideas that could save his community. Like Jesus, his ideas and lifestyle is dangerous to the totalitarian regime that controls the populous. Therefore, he is spiritually executed and forced to conform to the masses. In the end Winston is resurrected as the shell of the man he once was. He is left with no emotion and a sense of helplessness. The reader does learn, however, the citizens in The Giver did chose their way of life; but because the memories and histories are kept from them, the reader is left to wander if they made the choice willingly or if the choice was forced upon them as in Winston’s case. After all, Jonas himself wonders how much he has been told is the truth, or how much of it may be the lies individuals are allowed to tell. It is confusing why people fear novels, which warn against the horrors and atrocities one may face in a dystopian society. Perhaps it is due to the violent themes these societies suggest. However, there are only two ways people can learn about the horrors and atrocities of dystopian societies. They either learn from first hand experience, or they learn from reading. In order to prevent such atrocities from happening in the future, it is crucial that young adults learn about them when they are young.
Another source of controversy is the ambiguous ending Lowry has given to her story. “Lowry refuses to provide a tidy ending” (Campbell). This leaves the readers to draw their own conclusions about the ending. Either readers feel Jonas and Gabriel died, or readers are more optimistic and believe that Jonas and Gabriel found their happy ending. They were accepted into a family like the memory of the Christmas gathering. The vague ending has caused people to believe young adults will be distraught if they feel the young adults have passed away. Because there are many Biblical allusions throughout the novel, it can be assumed if Jonas and Gabriel died, they entered the Kingdom of Heaven.
As mentioned before, Jonas is the savior of his community. He is given a gift to see beyond, which no one else has. Also, Gabriel’s name leads readers with a Christian background to believe the infant is a messenger sent to deliver revelations to Jonas. Without Gabriel’s attachment to Jonas, the meaning of release may not have been fully revealed to Jonas. Gabriel’s impending release announced the resurrection of Jonas as the savior of his community. Finally, the name Jonas is a variation of Jonah, who was called by God to “Go to the great city Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). Like Jonah, Jonas is scornful of the wickedness in his community. Because preaching against their ways would mean release for Jonas, the only way he can help them is to leave them with their memories so they can become whole again, so they can feel again. The Biblical undertones to The Giver supports the idea this novel is appropriate for young adults. One way people can strengthen faith in other people is to challenge that faith. This book can be used as a tool to strengthen Christian faith in young adults.
So, is The Giver an appropriate novel for schools? It seems many values and morals can be taught from reading the book. The book is written in a manner that leaves questions open in the reader’s mind; thus, it teaches them to think for themselves. Furthermore, Lowry’s novel is appropriate to teach young adults how important the choices they make for themselves are toward their own future. Unlike George Orwell’s 1984, the novel is appropriate for the younger adults, because they, too, need to learn the world is not as picture perfect as they may believe. This notion can light a spark in young adults’ minds, which can lead the way for the freedom of people who are oppressed or wrongfully executed. Furthermore, the book does not harm Christian faith in young minds. In fact it can strengthen that faith. This novel can challenge the minds of the readers. Therefore, it should not be removed from schools. The purpose of sending young adults to school is for them to learn about the world around them. It is just as crucial for young adults to learn the world around them is filled with injustices, as it is for them to learn the world can be a just place. The way young adults learn is by challenging their minds, not sheltering them.
Works Cited
Campbell, Patty. “The Sand in the Oyster.” The Horn Book Magazine. Vol. LXIX.6: Nov.-Dec. 1993: 717-721.
Holy Bible, The. New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: The Zondervan Corporation, 2005.
Lord, Elyse. “The Giver.” Novels for Students. Gale Research: 1998.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Delacorte, 1993.
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classics, 1977.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
William Butler Yeats
Literary Work / Author: “Adam’s Curse;” “The Second Coming;” “Sailing to Byzantium;” “Leda and the Swan” / William Butler Yeats
First Response: I like Yeats. I enjoyed reading his poetry, because of how he combined ancient mythology and Christianity. Though I do not agree with Yeat’s special religion, I do enjoy his creativity.
Theme / Topic: Look for evidence of the theme of isolation. What seems to be causing isolation in this poem?
Claim / Thesis: In Yeats poetry, there is a sense of isolation that stems from change in the speaker’s life. Depending upon the poem, the change is either personal or social.
Textual Support for the Thesis:
1. Text: “That it had all seemed happy, and yet we’d grown / As weary-hearted as that hollow moon.” (“Adam’s Curse;” p. 2028; lines 37-38)
Analysis: the effects of time and labor on the speaker made his heart hollow and empty. This made him feel as if he were all alone in the world. Although the speaker had loved the woman, he is unsure of how they currently feel for one another.
2. Text: “The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;” (“The Second Coming;” p. 2036; lines 2-3)
Analysis: the speaker sees the world is falling apart. Things are not going as society expected. He says everyone is alone in this world, even the falconer. because the falcon cannot hear, the falconer cannot call to the one creature that keeps him from being alone. This gives the reader the deep sense of isolation the speaker feels.
3. Text: “Leda and the Swan” (the entire poem; p. 2039)
Analysis: Throughout the entire poem, Yeats describes Leda as a powerless woman. She is the only one that Zeus has come to in such a way. This isolates Leda from the rest of society. Unlike the other poems, Leda’s union with the swan and her isolation brings about the changes in the known world.
4. Text: “Sailing to Byzantium” (the entire poem; p. 2040)
Analysis: Yeats portrays this old man as nothing. He is of no use to the younger generations, thus leaving him isolated from the rest of the world. His isolation comes from natural turning of time. He has aged, therefore, he has outlived his usefulness.
Comparison: Yeats is far different than the Romantic poets. Wordsworth believed that anything artificial could only exist in the real. his birds were natural and a connection to God. They were a way to immortality. For Yeats, he does not want to be a natural bird. Real birds die. They are not a connection to immortality. Yeats wants to be a golden mechanical bird. This will make Yeats immortal.
First Response: I like Yeats. I enjoyed reading his poetry, because of how he combined ancient mythology and Christianity. Though I do not agree with Yeat’s special religion, I do enjoy his creativity.
Theme / Topic: Look for evidence of the theme of isolation. What seems to be causing isolation in this poem?
Claim / Thesis: In Yeats poetry, there is a sense of isolation that stems from change in the speaker’s life. Depending upon the poem, the change is either personal or social.
Textual Support for the Thesis:
1. Text: “That it had all seemed happy, and yet we’d grown / As weary-hearted as that hollow moon.” (“Adam’s Curse;” p. 2028; lines 37-38)
Analysis: the effects of time and labor on the speaker made his heart hollow and empty. This made him feel as if he were all alone in the world. Although the speaker had loved the woman, he is unsure of how they currently feel for one another.
2. Text: “The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;” (“The Second Coming;” p. 2036; lines 2-3)
Analysis: the speaker sees the world is falling apart. Things are not going as society expected. He says everyone is alone in this world, even the falconer. because the falcon cannot hear, the falconer cannot call to the one creature that keeps him from being alone. This gives the reader the deep sense of isolation the speaker feels.
3. Text: “Leda and the Swan” (the entire poem; p. 2039)
Analysis: Throughout the entire poem, Yeats describes Leda as a powerless woman. She is the only one that Zeus has come to in such a way. This isolates Leda from the rest of society. Unlike the other poems, Leda’s union with the swan and her isolation brings about the changes in the known world.
4. Text: “Sailing to Byzantium” (the entire poem; p. 2040)
Analysis: Yeats portrays this old man as nothing. He is of no use to the younger generations, thus leaving him isolated from the rest of the world. His isolation comes from natural turning of time. He has aged, therefore, he has outlived his usefulness.
Comparison: Yeats is far different than the Romantic poets. Wordsworth believed that anything artificial could only exist in the real. his birds were natural and a connection to God. They were a way to immortality. For Yeats, he does not want to be a natural bird. Real birds die. They are not a connection to immortality. Yeats wants to be a golden mechanical bird. This will make Yeats immortal.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Culture, Crisis, and Death in American Bildungsroman
The American bildungsroman is the search for ones identity, and when a person comes of age. In the American bildungsroman there are three common characteristics. These are the pressures the culture of the protagonist has to endure, the crisis that comes from these pressures, and the death of someone the protagonist does or does not know. Through looking at The House on Mango Street, The Bell Jar, and The Bluest Eye, I will attempt to prove that the above-mentioned characteristics are some of the most prominent characteristics of the American bildungsroman.
In the American bildungsroman, the culture exerts extreme pressure on the protagonist. The culture of the protagonist normally acts as a character itself, an antagonist. It is the culture that places the obstacles in the path of the protagonist. These obstacles are the driving force of the protagonist. They are what compels the story to move forward, and they motivate the protagonist to work for something different. Through the pressures of the culture the protagonist is able to decide they want something more than what the culture offers them.
As seen in The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood wants something more out of life than offered to her by her patriarchal dominated society. Her culture expects her to either be a wife or be a career woman. Esther does not understand why she cannot have both. Dr. Gordon is representative of the patriarchal forces that work against Esther. He and the people she cares about question her sanity because she wants something more out of life than what she is offered. She does not want to be a wife, who dies slowly and is a slave. Furthermore, Esther does not want to be “the place the arrow shoots off from” as Buddy Willard’s mother is.
Similarly, Esperanza Cordero of The House on Mango Street does not want to be a wife either. In her Mexican-American culture, Esperanza is only given one choice, to be a wife. Esperanza lives in a patriarchal dominated society just as is the culture that Esther lives in. The men are the ones that make the rules, such as “the man,” Mamacita’s husband. He demands that his wife speak English and tells her that he will never take her home. Therefore, she sits in the window just as other women, such as Rafaela, on Mango Street do, longing for something more than what their culture has offered them. Esperanza, however longs for much more than that.
Pecola in The Bluest Eye also longs for much more than what she is offered. However, Pecola wants something she can never have, the bluest eyes in the world. In the culture that Pecola, Frieda, and Claudia live in, the idea that black is equated with ugliness and white is right is more than evident. Claudia, however, does not understand this. For instance, she does not want the white baby doll that she is given. For a matter of fact, she refuses to love the baby doll that was given to her for Christmas. Furthermore, Claudia despises the white girls in her neighborhood, Rosemary and Maureen. However, she still fears not being white, but she also does not want to be like Geraldine, who tries to act white. Also, Claudia also cannot understand why her mother offers so much love to her employer’s white child, but cannot seem to show that kind of love to her own children, her black children. It is also the whiteness on Pecola’s underside of her foot that drives Cholly to rape his daughter; and it is the whiteness that Pecola covets so much that she makes the wish to Soaphead Church to have the bluest eyes. The pressure to be white, which is put on the girls, is what causes the crisis in their lives.
In all of the novels, the culture drives the crisis. Therefore the crisis is the effect of the culture, which is the cause. As stated before, The Bluest Eye’s crisis is the rape of Pecola, which results in her pregnancy. Another crisis that occurs is Frieda being fondled by Mr. Washington. Not only does crisis drive The Bluest Eye, but crisis also drives The Bell Jar. For instance, crisis is an obstacle in Esther’s life that she must overcome. She is put under so much pressure by her culture, that Esther falls into a deep depression that she has difficulty conquering. Esther cannot do what she is expected of her, but she has difficulty doing what she should not do. For instance, she tries to be like Doreen and tries to get back at Buddy by sleeping with Constantine, but she is unsuccessful in her endeavors. Therefore, Esther seems to be at a standstill in her life and cannot seem to move forward throughout The Bell Jar. Some examples are when she is almost raped by Marco, and she becomes obsessed with suicide, which she attempts later. Furthermore, Esther is also put through electroshock therapy, which has an adverse effect and causes immense pain in the young woman. Another time the girl is in pain is when Esther has sex for the first time. Because she is a one-in-a-million case, Esther almost hemorrhages to death.
Likewise, Esperanza having sex for the first time is also a crisis point in The House on Mango Street. She is raped at the carnival in the novel, and becomes angry with Sally because of how traumatic the experience was and how Sally had said sex was wonderful. Sally, however, is also a person that experiences a great deal of crisis in the book. Her father beats her constantly, and Sally’s mother does not do anything to help her daughter, other than rub lard on her bruises to make the pain go away. Therefore to escape from her father’s angry hand, Sally marries at a very young age. Unfortunately, Sally is still being beaten. However, she seems to think it is okay because she has some freedom that she would not have if she were left in her father’s home. Sadly, this freedom is not a freedom to do what she pleases, for she, too, is locked away in her home as if she were a prisoner or a possession sealed away in a vault. To sum up, all of the American bildungsromans discussed in this paper have some sort of crisis, which is significant to the story. It often serves as a life-changing event.
Another life-changing event that can be seen in the American bildungsroman is death. All three of the stories mentioned have a death in them. For instance, Pecola’s baby dies and so do the marigolds in The Bluest Eye. This incident drives Pecola mad, and changes the life of Claudia forever. It is when she realizes that people like Pecola are often shut out of society, and she freely admits that she is also guilty of shutting the girl out of her life. The marigolds not growing represent the loss of innocence. Naively, Claudia believed that making a promise to God to be good and by planting the marigolds, she would be able to save Pecola’s unborn child since everyone had said the baby would not survive. When the marigolds die, Claudia must come to the understanding that not all wishes are granted; and there are some things in life that you just cannot do anything about.
Similarly, Esperanza realizes that there are things in life that she cannot do anything about as well. However, after the death of Rachel and Lucy’s baby sister, she knows that she can do something to help the women who “cannot out.” She learns from the three old women that she has a purpose, and it is not what society is offering her. This funeral is representative of the loss of Esperanza’s innocence and the end of her childhood.
In The Bell Jar, Esther also undergoes transformations when death is evident. For instance, in the first chapter of the book, Esther talks of the death of the Rosenbergs, who are executed around the time that she meets Doreen. Before Esther meets Doreen, she is just like all of the other girls that received the internship for the magazine. After she meets Doreen, Esther begins to want more freedom in her life than she is offered. Her old self, her false self dies. This, however, is not the only instance that death is mentioned in the novel. The Rosenbergs’ death is representative of the first change in her life, and it serves as the beginning of her depression, or metamorphosis. The second death in the novel serves as the emergence from Esther’s cocoon, and is when she is reborn. This death is the death of Joan Gilling, who hangs herself. When Esther goes to the funeral, she severs ties with her past; and with the body, Esther’s past is buried. She emerges from the world as a new person with new hopes and possibilities.
As proven, not only does Esther change from the deaths that occur in her life, but also all of the protagonists in the three novels change form the deaths in their lives. This is the point in their lives that signals a turning point and represents the finding of themselves and their identities. Esperanza learns that language will give her power and is her way out. She finally embraces part of her culture, but rejects the parts that oppress her. Claudia also accepts the part of her culture that keeps her oppressed, her blackness, but she is hopeful in the end that she will be able to rise above that oppression. From the pressures of their oppressive cultures, the crises that the girls in The House on Mango Street, The Bell Jar, and The Bluest Eye must endure, and the death that is evident in the three novels, Esther, Esperanza, and Claudia all have been able to redefine themselves and form a new identity separate from the identities expected of them.
In the American bildungsroman, the culture exerts extreme pressure on the protagonist. The culture of the protagonist normally acts as a character itself, an antagonist. It is the culture that places the obstacles in the path of the protagonist. These obstacles are the driving force of the protagonist. They are what compels the story to move forward, and they motivate the protagonist to work for something different. Through the pressures of the culture the protagonist is able to decide they want something more than what the culture offers them.
As seen in The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood wants something more out of life than offered to her by her patriarchal dominated society. Her culture expects her to either be a wife or be a career woman. Esther does not understand why she cannot have both. Dr. Gordon is representative of the patriarchal forces that work against Esther. He and the people she cares about question her sanity because she wants something more out of life than what she is offered. She does not want to be a wife, who dies slowly and is a slave. Furthermore, Esther does not want to be “the place the arrow shoots off from” as Buddy Willard’s mother is.
Similarly, Esperanza Cordero of The House on Mango Street does not want to be a wife either. In her Mexican-American culture, Esperanza is only given one choice, to be a wife. Esperanza lives in a patriarchal dominated society just as is the culture that Esther lives in. The men are the ones that make the rules, such as “the man,” Mamacita’s husband. He demands that his wife speak English and tells her that he will never take her home. Therefore, she sits in the window just as other women, such as Rafaela, on Mango Street do, longing for something more than what their culture has offered them. Esperanza, however longs for much more than that.
Pecola in The Bluest Eye also longs for much more than what she is offered. However, Pecola wants something she can never have, the bluest eyes in the world. In the culture that Pecola, Frieda, and Claudia live in, the idea that black is equated with ugliness and white is right is more than evident. Claudia, however, does not understand this. For instance, she does not want the white baby doll that she is given. For a matter of fact, she refuses to love the baby doll that was given to her for Christmas. Furthermore, Claudia despises the white girls in her neighborhood, Rosemary and Maureen. However, she still fears not being white, but she also does not want to be like Geraldine, who tries to act white. Also, Claudia also cannot understand why her mother offers so much love to her employer’s white child, but cannot seem to show that kind of love to her own children, her black children. It is also the whiteness on Pecola’s underside of her foot that drives Cholly to rape his daughter; and it is the whiteness that Pecola covets so much that she makes the wish to Soaphead Church to have the bluest eyes. The pressure to be white, which is put on the girls, is what causes the crisis in their lives.
In all of the novels, the culture drives the crisis. Therefore the crisis is the effect of the culture, which is the cause. As stated before, The Bluest Eye’s crisis is the rape of Pecola, which results in her pregnancy. Another crisis that occurs is Frieda being fondled by Mr. Washington. Not only does crisis drive The Bluest Eye, but crisis also drives The Bell Jar. For instance, crisis is an obstacle in Esther’s life that she must overcome. She is put under so much pressure by her culture, that Esther falls into a deep depression that she has difficulty conquering. Esther cannot do what she is expected of her, but she has difficulty doing what she should not do. For instance, she tries to be like Doreen and tries to get back at Buddy by sleeping with Constantine, but she is unsuccessful in her endeavors. Therefore, Esther seems to be at a standstill in her life and cannot seem to move forward throughout The Bell Jar. Some examples are when she is almost raped by Marco, and she becomes obsessed with suicide, which she attempts later. Furthermore, Esther is also put through electroshock therapy, which has an adverse effect and causes immense pain in the young woman. Another time the girl is in pain is when Esther has sex for the first time. Because she is a one-in-a-million case, Esther almost hemorrhages to death.
Likewise, Esperanza having sex for the first time is also a crisis point in The House on Mango Street. She is raped at the carnival in the novel, and becomes angry with Sally because of how traumatic the experience was and how Sally had said sex was wonderful. Sally, however, is also a person that experiences a great deal of crisis in the book. Her father beats her constantly, and Sally’s mother does not do anything to help her daughter, other than rub lard on her bruises to make the pain go away. Therefore to escape from her father’s angry hand, Sally marries at a very young age. Unfortunately, Sally is still being beaten. However, she seems to think it is okay because she has some freedom that she would not have if she were left in her father’s home. Sadly, this freedom is not a freedom to do what she pleases, for she, too, is locked away in her home as if she were a prisoner or a possession sealed away in a vault. To sum up, all of the American bildungsromans discussed in this paper have some sort of crisis, which is significant to the story. It often serves as a life-changing event.
Another life-changing event that can be seen in the American bildungsroman is death. All three of the stories mentioned have a death in them. For instance, Pecola’s baby dies and so do the marigolds in The Bluest Eye. This incident drives Pecola mad, and changes the life of Claudia forever. It is when she realizes that people like Pecola are often shut out of society, and she freely admits that she is also guilty of shutting the girl out of her life. The marigolds not growing represent the loss of innocence. Naively, Claudia believed that making a promise to God to be good and by planting the marigolds, she would be able to save Pecola’s unborn child since everyone had said the baby would not survive. When the marigolds die, Claudia must come to the understanding that not all wishes are granted; and there are some things in life that you just cannot do anything about.
Similarly, Esperanza realizes that there are things in life that she cannot do anything about as well. However, after the death of Rachel and Lucy’s baby sister, she knows that she can do something to help the women who “cannot out.” She learns from the three old women that she has a purpose, and it is not what society is offering her. This funeral is representative of the loss of Esperanza’s innocence and the end of her childhood.
In The Bell Jar, Esther also undergoes transformations when death is evident. For instance, in the first chapter of the book, Esther talks of the death of the Rosenbergs, who are executed around the time that she meets Doreen. Before Esther meets Doreen, she is just like all of the other girls that received the internship for the magazine. After she meets Doreen, Esther begins to want more freedom in her life than she is offered. Her old self, her false self dies. This, however, is not the only instance that death is mentioned in the novel. The Rosenbergs’ death is representative of the first change in her life, and it serves as the beginning of her depression, or metamorphosis. The second death in the novel serves as the emergence from Esther’s cocoon, and is when she is reborn. This death is the death of Joan Gilling, who hangs herself. When Esther goes to the funeral, she severs ties with her past; and with the body, Esther’s past is buried. She emerges from the world as a new person with new hopes and possibilities.
As proven, not only does Esther change from the deaths that occur in her life, but also all of the protagonists in the three novels change form the deaths in their lives. This is the point in their lives that signals a turning point and represents the finding of themselves and their identities. Esperanza learns that language will give her power and is her way out. She finally embraces part of her culture, but rejects the parts that oppress her. Claudia also accepts the part of her culture that keeps her oppressed, her blackness, but she is hopeful in the end that she will be able to rise above that oppression. From the pressures of their oppressive cultures, the crises that the girls in The House on Mango Street, The Bell Jar, and The Bluest Eye must endure, and the death that is evident in the three novels, Esther, Esperanza, and Claudia all have been able to redefine themselves and form a new identity separate from the identities expected of them.
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