When reading "Thirst" and "In The Penal Colony," the first thing I noticed was the lack of names given to the main characters. In "Thirst," the commander and his wife remain nameless, while in "Penal Colony," the officer, the explorer, the convict, and the soldier are unnamed. At first glance, this seems trivial, a pointless point, yet when you look deeper, it is what makes the story a universal study on human character, instead of just a story.
Think of it this way. If the commander's was named Hank, and his wife Linda, then it would be a story about Hank and Linda, and how they would react in such circumstances. But because they are simply 'the commander' and 'the commander's wife,' this becomes a story about anyone. They could be anyone, you, a friend, anyone. How would a human react? Not Hank, not Linda, but any human being.
The same situation occurs in "Penal Colony," with the explorer, officer, and company. We have multiple character archetypes here, each sharing a completely different point of view. Again, because of the lack of names, this becomes not a "what would Jack do?" situation, but instead, a "What would you do? What would humanity do?" situation. When the explorer struggles with his conscience, it is not 'Rick' struggling, it's any human being. It could be you.
That's the beauty of this stories. They make you stop and think about what you would do in a similar situation. Not Rick, not Jack, not Linda--what would YOU do. And that is a difficult question to ponder. What would you do.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Formalist Theory
The formalist theory looks at works of literature based on craft, that is, how the story is put together. They look at things like character, plot, setting, and point of view to analyze the work. The main thought behind it is that everything, every word, comma, and apostrophe was used by choice, specifically put there by the author for a reason.
The first set of stories we had to analyze in this fashion were from France (as this is also our international stories unit). The first I quite enjoyed, "The Other Wife," by Colette, and "The Necklace," by Guy de Maupassant. Unfortunately for me, this blog is supposed to be on "The Necklace," as we discussed "The Other Wife" at length in class.
Let me say that I am not a fan of this story. I had to read it in my ninth grade English class as an explanation of irony, and while it is an incredible example of this, it's not a style of story I am fond of. I do not care for dramatic irony, as I feel that the problems it causes could easily be solved by simple common sense.
Anyway, "The Necklace" we are to discuss so "The Necklace" I shall talk about. I'm just going to focus on one part of it, to make this as painless as possible--the words, more importantly, the imagery. Maupassant uses a blend of juxtaposed words to cast a sharp distinction between Madame Loisel's real life, and her imagined. This shows the audience exactly how much she longs for riches, how much she craves it. Phrases like "She suffered endlessly...from the poorness of her house, from its mean walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains. All these things...tormented and insulted her (The Necklace, page 1)," phrases like these show poor Madame's life.
Her imaginings, however, are filled with richness. Take this phrase, for example. "She imagined vast saloons hung with antique silks, exquisite pieces of furniture supporting priceless ornaments..." Even with this one small sentence, we are given access to Madame's mind, to her dreams, and they are truly wondrous.
If not for the words Maupassant chose, this distinction would not be so glaring, and the entire point of the story would be lost.
The first set of stories we had to analyze in this fashion were from France (as this is also our international stories unit). The first I quite enjoyed, "The Other Wife," by Colette, and "The Necklace," by Guy de Maupassant. Unfortunately for me, this blog is supposed to be on "The Necklace," as we discussed "The Other Wife" at length in class.
Let me say that I am not a fan of this story. I had to read it in my ninth grade English class as an explanation of irony, and while it is an incredible example of this, it's not a style of story I am fond of. I do not care for dramatic irony, as I feel that the problems it causes could easily be solved by simple common sense.
Anyway, "The Necklace" we are to discuss so "The Necklace" I shall talk about. I'm just going to focus on one part of it, to make this as painless as possible--the words, more importantly, the imagery. Maupassant uses a blend of juxtaposed words to cast a sharp distinction between Madame Loisel's real life, and her imagined. This shows the audience exactly how much she longs for riches, how much she craves it. Phrases like "She suffered endlessly...from the poorness of her house, from its mean walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains. All these things...tormented and insulted her (The Necklace, page 1)," phrases like these show poor Madame's life.
Her imaginings, however, are filled with richness. Take this phrase, for example. "She imagined vast saloons hung with antique silks, exquisite pieces of furniture supporting priceless ornaments..." Even with this one small sentence, we are given access to Madame's mind, to her dreams, and they are truly wondrous.
If not for the words Maupassant chose, this distinction would not be so glaring, and the entire point of the story would be lost.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
1990
1990s
Now we move into my decade. I was a 90s baby, although you wouldn't know it to look at my childhood (me being homeschooled and all), but I digress. We had three stories this time around, by Pam Houston, Lorrie Moore, and Carolyn Ferrell. We discussed the Lorrie Moore and Carolyn Ferrell stories at length in class, so I am going to focus this blog on the Pam Houston one, "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had."
Like the other stories of this decade, "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" focuses mainly on relationships. Not just romantic relationships, but all types--parent and child, husband and wife, woman and lover--many different kinds. It also deals with the topic of unrequited love, as all of the characters in the story are dealing with some form of it. The main character, Lucy, talks at length about the relationship with her parents, her father especially. There's a scene in particular where Lucy is talking about a car ride with her parents that illustrates this perfectly (pgs 783-784). She is driving, and gets pulled over. Her father proceeds to totally humiliate her in front of the officer.
Another scene, on page 781, explains her childhood. She describes 16 car accidents she was in with her parents, and how they would fight so much that a young neighbor girl took Lucy and refused to give her back, even when the police came with a warrant. There is something very strong about how it's written, something realistic, and when we look at Pam Houston's biography, we realize that it is realistic. Houston's life directly reflected what she wrote. Houston was in upwards of 15 car accidents with her drunken parents, and would be thrown from the car only to have her parents stand and fight while she cowered beside the wreckage. This is all illustrated in her story, all of it.
In my opinion, out of all the stories we read, this one demonstrates the import of biographical criticism the best.
Now we move into my decade. I was a 90s baby, although you wouldn't know it to look at my childhood (me being homeschooled and all), but I digress. We had three stories this time around, by Pam Houston, Lorrie Moore, and Carolyn Ferrell. We discussed the Lorrie Moore and Carolyn Ferrell stories at length in class, so I am going to focus this blog on the Pam Houston one, "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had."
Like the other stories of this decade, "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" focuses mainly on relationships. Not just romantic relationships, but all types--parent and child, husband and wife, woman and lover--many different kinds. It also deals with the topic of unrequited love, as all of the characters in the story are dealing with some form of it. The main character, Lucy, talks at length about the relationship with her parents, her father especially. There's a scene in particular where Lucy is talking about a car ride with her parents that illustrates this perfectly (pgs 783-784). She is driving, and gets pulled over. Her father proceeds to totally humiliate her in front of the officer.
Another scene, on page 781, explains her childhood. She describes 16 car accidents she was in with her parents, and how they would fight so much that a young neighbor girl took Lucy and refused to give her back, even when the police came with a warrant. There is something very strong about how it's written, something realistic, and when we look at Pam Houston's biography, we realize that it is realistic. Houston's life directly reflected what she wrote. Houston was in upwards of 15 car accidents with her drunken parents, and would be thrown from the car only to have her parents stand and fight while she cowered beside the wreckage. This is all illustrated in her story, all of it.
In my opinion, out of all the stories we read, this one demonstrates the import of biographical criticism the best.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
1980s Part Two
1980s Part Two:
We had two stories to read for the latter half of the 1980s, "Janus," by Ann Beattie, and "The Way We Live Now," by Susan Sontag. They were both interesting, but very different.
"Janus" is the story of a woman and her bowl. Well, that's the the short version. The main character, Andrea, is a rather singular woman, a real estate agent, who has an obsessive relationship with this ceramic bowl that her lover had purchased for her at a flea market. And yet, if one looks closer, the bowl isn't just an object, nor is it the meaning of the story.
Ann Beattie wrote this story shortly after a divorce and remarriage. When she remarried, her stories changed, moving from the darker stories that anticipated her divorce to slightly more optimistic tales. "Janus" was written after her divorce, and is a story about a woman who lives an abnormal lifestyle, one that is not common to her time, yet she is satisfied.
This is compared to "The Way We Live Now," which also is about lifestyles, only this story is about lives that are affected by AIDS and HIV. Before I go any further, I must mention that Susan Sontag loved getting people riled up. Her stories focused on pressing social issues, and this story is no different. It doesn't just write about someone with HIV, it connects all the people involved. It writes, not from the point of view of the victim, but from a 3rd person omniscient point, showing the minds of everyone through dialogue, showing the backstabbing, the cattiness that goes on behind the scenes. It is a political statement, one designed to cause a commotion, and that is exactly what Sontag intended. A commotion.
We had two stories to read for the latter half of the 1980s, "Janus," by Ann Beattie, and "The Way We Live Now," by Susan Sontag. They were both interesting, but very different.
"Janus" is the story of a woman and her bowl. Well, that's the the short version. The main character, Andrea, is a rather singular woman, a real estate agent, who has an obsessive relationship with this ceramic bowl that her lover had purchased for her at a flea market. And yet, if one looks closer, the bowl isn't just an object, nor is it the meaning of the story.
Ann Beattie wrote this story shortly after a divorce and remarriage. When she remarried, her stories changed, moving from the darker stories that anticipated her divorce to slightly more optimistic tales. "Janus" was written after her divorce, and is a story about a woman who lives an abnormal lifestyle, one that is not common to her time, yet she is satisfied.
This is compared to "The Way We Live Now," which also is about lifestyles, only this story is about lives that are affected by AIDS and HIV. Before I go any further, I must mention that Susan Sontag loved getting people riled up. Her stories focused on pressing social issues, and this story is no different. It doesn't just write about someone with HIV, it connects all the people involved. It writes, not from the point of view of the victim, but from a 3rd person omniscient point, showing the minds of everyone through dialogue, showing the backstabbing, the cattiness that goes on behind the scenes. It is a political statement, one designed to cause a commotion, and that is exactly what Sontag intended. A commotion.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
1980s
1980's Part One:
At first glance, these stories seem unconnected, and from a textual point of view, perhaps they are. But when you look at the author's lives, you realize that the connection is there, with the writers. John Updike, author of "Gesturing," wrote in an autobiography that art, sex, and religion are the "secret things" of life. Is it a wonder then that he chose to write a story about them?
Sex is the more prevalent theme, yet art as well makes a play, but not in the way one would think. Take another look at the title--Gesturing. Amid the sexual tensions between Joan, Richard, and Ruth, is the prevalent mention of Gesturing. That is the art form he refers to. There is something so poetic about how he describes the gestures, especially in the last paragraph, when he says "...with a gesture akin to the gentle clap in the car a world ago...the motion was eager, shy, exquisite, diffident, trusting..."
That is art in its most basic form, the art of human gesture.
In the second story, "The Shawl," by Cynthia Orzick, we are faced with an entirely different situation. Orzick was Jewish, and her focus was on the post holocaust world. Her stories reflect this, and "The Shawl" is no different.
Finally, we have Raymond Carver and his story "Where I'm Calling From." Carver suffered through alcoholism, and this particular story was written shortly after he received treatment for it. Again, the theme directly reflects the author's life. That is the connection betwixt the three stories--the effect of the author's lives.
At first glance, these stories seem unconnected, and from a textual point of view, perhaps they are. But when you look at the author's lives, you realize that the connection is there, with the writers. John Updike, author of "Gesturing," wrote in an autobiography that art, sex, and religion are the "secret things" of life. Is it a wonder then that he chose to write a story about them?
Sex is the more prevalent theme, yet art as well makes a play, but not in the way one would think. Take another look at the title--Gesturing. Amid the sexual tensions between Joan, Richard, and Ruth, is the prevalent mention of Gesturing. That is the art form he refers to. There is something so poetic about how he describes the gestures, especially in the last paragraph, when he says "...with a gesture akin to the gentle clap in the car a world ago...the motion was eager, shy, exquisite, diffident, trusting..."
That is art in its most basic form, the art of human gesture.
In the second story, "The Shawl," by Cynthia Orzick, we are faced with an entirely different situation. Orzick was Jewish, and her focus was on the post holocaust world. Her stories reflect this, and "The Shawl" is no different.
Finally, we have Raymond Carver and his story "Where I'm Calling From." Carver suffered through alcoholism, and this particular story was written shortly after he received treatment for it. Again, the theme directly reflects the author's life. That is the connection betwixt the three stories--the effect of the author's lives.
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