Just a final word to say good luck to everyone for the exam tomorrow.
Final (unless I see you beforehand) words of advice: Stay calm, take the time to PLAN EVERYTHING, then write like buggery; timings on this exam are the biggest issue.
If you're doing last minute revision, I suggest planning questions (even if you make them up) without looking at the texts. If you can plan your answer to something, know which texts to select for what question, and know some relevant quotes of the top of your head (even if you only remember the general gist, and the whereabouts in the text), without having to look, then that's proof enough that you know what you're doing.
Cheers to everyone who's helped me out. If anyone needs me, feel free to tweet me or email me (my school email is 13zadurianm), and I'll be in the memorial garden from 8:00am before the exam. But if I don't see people beforehand; best of luck, I'm sure we'll all be fine, and even if it all goes tits-up and we get piss-awful questions, it's only an exam and we can have a right laugh about it afterwards.
Good luck everyone
That which we are, we are
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Thursday 15 May 2014
English Notes: Section B - Morality
So I figured I'd do another one of these Section B questions from the list. This one was quite interesting, cheers to whoever came up with it. Would be quite a nice one to come up in the exam actually. As usual, don't assume anything I've said is correct, or that I've chosen the best texts for the question, I tend to just cling to a few texts that I like, hence why I very rarely talk about Adolf, for example. Anyway:
'How do the narratives of 3 writers you have studied challenge morality?'
The Kite Runner: Amir as a protagonist
The use of Amir as a protagonist seems to challenge our morality quite a bit, in that he seems to constantly flit between being presented as moral and immoral, a victim and a perpetrator - he seems to linger in a 'morally grey' area for most of the novel, and, while it could be said that he develops as a person and gets better as he matures, he still does some asshole shit towards the end (like breaking his promise to Sohrab). The use of other characters, namely Hassan and Assef, also seem to highlight how 'morally grey' Amir is - compared to the saint-like Hassan ('he was so goddamn pure, you always felt like a phony around him'), Amir is an asshole, he tricks him with words and then assumes giving him broken toys will make up for it, his inner thoughts often betray his prideful, selfish character (when Hassan critques his story, Amir thinks 'what does he know, that illiterate Hazara...how dare he criticise you?' and on more than one occasion says he doesn't see Hassan as a friend due to their statuses), and he lets his friend/brother get raped as a 'sacrifice' ('the look of the lamb') in order to win Baba's affection. We should hate Amir, but the use of Assef as an antagonist (and can I just say what a shitty antagonist Assef is - honestly, never have I seen such a two-dimensional, under-developed character, with the ridiculous references to Hitler and everything, honestly he's like a shitty pantomime villain) makes Amir seem comparatively good - especially towards the end, where Amir can't stop himself from challenging Assef's asshole behaviour ('What mission is that?..Stoning adulterers? Raping Children?'). Additionally, as we are presented the story from Amir's point of view, we are given the rationale behind all his selfish, morally 'wrong' actions, and this seems to almost justify them a bit - we are told of how much Baba's love means to him, how he feels that the Kite tournament will win his affections ('Was that what it would take?'), and from this we see his asshole behaviour in the alley as slightly more justified. That said, Amir is clearly an asshole in many ways, and I suppose this makes him slightly more interesting as a character - as, rather than a clear-cut 'good guy', our protagonist is someone who frequently acts 'wrongly', and it is this moral dubiousness that drives his quest for redemption.
Browning: Porphyria's Lover
One of my favourite things about this poem is that it challenges our preconceived ideas about morality - this is largely done through the portrayal of death/murder as desirable and an act of love, and the use of the speaker to challenge our idea that an action can be intrinsically 'wrong' or 'right' (Kantian deontology that I don't agree with personally). We've all written about Porphyria's Lover a shitload of times, so I won't go into much detail quotes-wise, but you know the drill; 'no pain felt she', 'darling one wish/utmost wish' - shows that the murder was not done with malice (which is key here, I think) but as an attempt to please/save her, to preserve her beauty forever. He did not do it to be an asshole, and genuinely doesn't think he's done anything wrong, which means, in my opinion, the killing was not immoral as it was done out of love. Additionally, the use of the speaker's delusional tone ('the smiling rosy little head') and his vulnerability ('I listened with heart fit to break', 'when no voice replied, she put my arm around her waist') adds an element of mental illness, likely psychosis to the story. If he is not in a fit mental state, can he really be held accountable for his actions? Even if you feel killing is ALWAYS morally wrong (I disagree, as I'm more utilitarian than deontological, and in fact have an almost nihilist view of morality, but whatever) I'm sure most people would say that, for this reason, the speaker is not 'evil' or 'immoral' - he is unhinged and arguably warped in his mind, but not evil. Additionally, the last line 'And yet God has not said a word!' adds an almost direct challenge to morality - perhaps he is deliberately 'sinning' to provoke a reaction from God? Perhaps he is using the lack of a reaction (though it could be argued that the storm is a sign of God's disapproval of the night's events) as a sign that his actions were morally okay? I think this line shows that he's quite pleased with himself, and thinks he has God on his side, but is also wild and desperate, perhaps betraying his inner fears of being alone - it seems as though he wants validation for his actions, but God isn't giving him anything, he's been forsaken. But regardless, he hasn't been struck down by some sort of divine retribution, so his actions can't be that immoral.
Tennyson: The Lotos Eaters and Choric Song
This is another poem where I really like the message of it (particularly the Choric Song part). I think the way that this one 'challenges morality' is that it glorifies escapism and the abandoning of social responsibility, while challenging the ideas that being ambitious and working hard are things to be valued. You could also say that it glorifies drug-taking, which I think is true, but I wouldn't limit it to that - I think there's a huge range of stuff that people use as an escape from reality, even things like watching TV, but I digress. Anyway, the choric song is presented like a defensive argument, a justification for the lotos-mariners' desire to stay on the island - showing us that their actions are not immoral and they shouldn't be judged harshly by us. We're told that fruit and nature and shit just sort of goes with the flow and doesn't worry or work; it 'Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil' - so why should humans, 'who are the first of things', spend all their life in toil? Why should life all labour be? It almost makes it sound unfair, the nature of our lives. Why should we bother to work? We are the 'highest' creatures, and yet we're the ones who suffer and work and worry? And for what? Death comes in the end anyway. Surely it isn't immoral to want to just relax and give it all up? The lotos-mariners, however, could be criticised for ditching their families and stuff, perhaps considered selfish for this, but they have a response to this accusation too - they would 'come like ghosts to trouble joy', 'let what is broken so remain'. This almost makes going back seem like the selfish thing to do; their families have got used to the loss and moved on, if they went back they would only disturb things - what's done is done, there is no need for them to go back and interfere. Even more evidence for the 'goodness' of their choice to escape from reality is presented in the final stanza, where they compare themselves to Gods. The Gods are 'careless of mankind' and 'lie beside their nectar' (in the same way that the lotos-mariners want to live surrounded by the lotos on the island) - all the lotos-mariners want to do is copy the behaviour of the Gods; they don't worry about all the awful shit happening to mankind, they just relax and enjoy themselves, ignoring the harshness of reality - surely if the Gods can behave in such a way, it cannot be immoral to abandon social responsibilities?
Lawrence: Odour of Chrysanthemums
I know some people might prefer to go for something like the Rocking Horse Winner here, but, given the word 'challenge' in the question, I'd be more inclined to go for Odour. What I think is interesting in this one, and what 'challenges morality' is that, despite the obviously flawed behaviour of Walter, it is actually Elizabeth who is just as morally wrong, if not worse. I think this is something you notice much more on the second time you read it - the first time, much like Elizabeth, I think we focus a lot on Walter's wrongdoings 'Oh isn't he an asshole, he's late home, his wife's made dinner for him and he's just letting it ruin, he's going to the pub, he's neglecting his family, what a wanker etc', and then we are hit with a similar epiphany to Elizabeth at the end; she was a wanker as well, and 'had fought in the dark' (one of my favourite quotes of the whole thing) with him - painting herself as the poor victim wife of a drunken, awful husband, but in fact doing nothing to try and fix the relationship and instead being bitter and focusing on all his flaws, so much so that she never knew the real him and 'denied him' who he was. After this realisation, however, when you read it a second time you pick up on more stuff, I think - how she seems to say everything 'bitterly', how she's overly bothered and made angry by everything, always assuming the worst, exaggerating the bad behaviour of her husband and her role as the 'victim', and (in the same way that she knew her husband in 'darkness') it seems she is distant also from her kids, like, their faces keep being physically hidden from her in darkness, which she is happy to let happen, despite John asking her to turn the sodding light on or light a fire or something. The bit at the end really emphasises her wrongdoing though - it wasn't just Walter that was the problem; 'he was no more responsible than she', 'She had been wrong. She had said he was something he was not'. Because of this, she looks at his body 'in fear and shame' realising, all too late, that she was part of the problem too. 'She had denied him what he was - she saw it now...her heart was bursting with grief and pity for him'. She realises that she has done wrong in demonising him so, and our previous judgement that 'oh he's an asshole his poor wife' is proved wrong; she wasn't without blame, and was an asshole too.
'How do the narratives of 3 writers you have studied challenge morality?'
The Kite Runner: Amir as a protagonist
The use of Amir as a protagonist seems to challenge our morality quite a bit, in that he seems to constantly flit between being presented as moral and immoral, a victim and a perpetrator - he seems to linger in a 'morally grey' area for most of the novel, and, while it could be said that he develops as a person and gets better as he matures, he still does some asshole shit towards the end (like breaking his promise to Sohrab). The use of other characters, namely Hassan and Assef, also seem to highlight how 'morally grey' Amir is - compared to the saint-like Hassan ('he was so goddamn pure, you always felt like a phony around him'), Amir is an asshole, he tricks him with words and then assumes giving him broken toys will make up for it, his inner thoughts often betray his prideful, selfish character (when Hassan critques his story, Amir thinks 'what does he know, that illiterate Hazara...how dare he criticise you?' and on more than one occasion says he doesn't see Hassan as a friend due to their statuses), and he lets his friend/brother get raped as a 'sacrifice' ('the look of the lamb') in order to win Baba's affection. We should hate Amir, but the use of Assef as an antagonist (and can I just say what a shitty antagonist Assef is - honestly, never have I seen such a two-dimensional, under-developed character, with the ridiculous references to Hitler and everything, honestly he's like a shitty pantomime villain) makes Amir seem comparatively good - especially towards the end, where Amir can't stop himself from challenging Assef's asshole behaviour ('What mission is that?..Stoning adulterers? Raping Children?'). Additionally, as we are presented the story from Amir's point of view, we are given the rationale behind all his selfish, morally 'wrong' actions, and this seems to almost justify them a bit - we are told of how much Baba's love means to him, how he feels that the Kite tournament will win his affections ('Was that what it would take?'), and from this we see his asshole behaviour in the alley as slightly more justified. That said, Amir is clearly an asshole in many ways, and I suppose this makes him slightly more interesting as a character - as, rather than a clear-cut 'good guy', our protagonist is someone who frequently acts 'wrongly', and it is this moral dubiousness that drives his quest for redemption.
Browning: Porphyria's Lover
One of my favourite things about this poem is that it challenges our preconceived ideas about morality - this is largely done through the portrayal of death/murder as desirable and an act of love, and the use of the speaker to challenge our idea that an action can be intrinsically 'wrong' or 'right' (Kantian deontology that I don't agree with personally). We've all written about Porphyria's Lover a shitload of times, so I won't go into much detail quotes-wise, but you know the drill; 'no pain felt she', 'darling one wish/utmost wish' - shows that the murder was not done with malice (which is key here, I think) but as an attempt to please/save her, to preserve her beauty forever. He did not do it to be an asshole, and genuinely doesn't think he's done anything wrong, which means, in my opinion, the killing was not immoral as it was done out of love. Additionally, the use of the speaker's delusional tone ('the smiling rosy little head') and his vulnerability ('I listened with heart fit to break', 'when no voice replied, she put my arm around her waist') adds an element of mental illness, likely psychosis to the story. If he is not in a fit mental state, can he really be held accountable for his actions? Even if you feel killing is ALWAYS morally wrong (I disagree, as I'm more utilitarian than deontological, and in fact have an almost nihilist view of morality, but whatever) I'm sure most people would say that, for this reason, the speaker is not 'evil' or 'immoral' - he is unhinged and arguably warped in his mind, but not evil. Additionally, the last line 'And yet God has not said a word!' adds an almost direct challenge to morality - perhaps he is deliberately 'sinning' to provoke a reaction from God? Perhaps he is using the lack of a reaction (though it could be argued that the storm is a sign of God's disapproval of the night's events) as a sign that his actions were morally okay? I think this line shows that he's quite pleased with himself, and thinks he has God on his side, but is also wild and desperate, perhaps betraying his inner fears of being alone - it seems as though he wants validation for his actions, but God isn't giving him anything, he's been forsaken. But regardless, he hasn't been struck down by some sort of divine retribution, so his actions can't be that immoral.
Tennyson: The Lotos Eaters and Choric Song
This is another poem where I really like the message of it (particularly the Choric Song part). I think the way that this one 'challenges morality' is that it glorifies escapism and the abandoning of social responsibility, while challenging the ideas that being ambitious and working hard are things to be valued. You could also say that it glorifies drug-taking, which I think is true, but I wouldn't limit it to that - I think there's a huge range of stuff that people use as an escape from reality, even things like watching TV, but I digress. Anyway, the choric song is presented like a defensive argument, a justification for the lotos-mariners' desire to stay on the island - showing us that their actions are not immoral and they shouldn't be judged harshly by us. We're told that fruit and nature and shit just sort of goes with the flow and doesn't worry or work; it 'Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil' - so why should humans, 'who are the first of things', spend all their life in toil? Why should life all labour be? It almost makes it sound unfair, the nature of our lives. Why should we bother to work? We are the 'highest' creatures, and yet we're the ones who suffer and work and worry? And for what? Death comes in the end anyway. Surely it isn't immoral to want to just relax and give it all up? The lotos-mariners, however, could be criticised for ditching their families and stuff, perhaps considered selfish for this, but they have a response to this accusation too - they would 'come like ghosts to trouble joy', 'let what is broken so remain'. This almost makes going back seem like the selfish thing to do; their families have got used to the loss and moved on, if they went back they would only disturb things - what's done is done, there is no need for them to go back and interfere. Even more evidence for the 'goodness' of their choice to escape from reality is presented in the final stanza, where they compare themselves to Gods. The Gods are 'careless of mankind' and 'lie beside their nectar' (in the same way that the lotos-mariners want to live surrounded by the lotos on the island) - all the lotos-mariners want to do is copy the behaviour of the Gods; they don't worry about all the awful shit happening to mankind, they just relax and enjoy themselves, ignoring the harshness of reality - surely if the Gods can behave in such a way, it cannot be immoral to abandon social responsibilities?
Lawrence: Odour of Chrysanthemums
I know some people might prefer to go for something like the Rocking Horse Winner here, but, given the word 'challenge' in the question, I'd be more inclined to go for Odour. What I think is interesting in this one, and what 'challenges morality' is that, despite the obviously flawed behaviour of Walter, it is actually Elizabeth who is just as morally wrong, if not worse. I think this is something you notice much more on the second time you read it - the first time, much like Elizabeth, I think we focus a lot on Walter's wrongdoings 'Oh isn't he an asshole, he's late home, his wife's made dinner for him and he's just letting it ruin, he's going to the pub, he's neglecting his family, what a wanker etc', and then we are hit with a similar epiphany to Elizabeth at the end; she was a wanker as well, and 'had fought in the dark' (one of my favourite quotes of the whole thing) with him - painting herself as the poor victim wife of a drunken, awful husband, but in fact doing nothing to try and fix the relationship and instead being bitter and focusing on all his flaws, so much so that she never knew the real him and 'denied him' who he was. After this realisation, however, when you read it a second time you pick up on more stuff, I think - how she seems to say everything 'bitterly', how she's overly bothered and made angry by everything, always assuming the worst, exaggerating the bad behaviour of her husband and her role as the 'victim', and (in the same way that she knew her husband in 'darkness') it seems she is distant also from her kids, like, their faces keep being physically hidden from her in darkness, which she is happy to let happen, despite John asking her to turn the sodding light on or light a fire or something. The bit at the end really emphasises her wrongdoing though - it wasn't just Walter that was the problem; 'he was no more responsible than she', 'She had been wrong. She had said he was something he was not'. Because of this, she looks at his body 'in fear and shame' realising, all too late, that she was part of the problem too. 'She had denied him what he was - she saw it now...her heart was bursting with grief and pity for him'. She realises that she has done wrong in demonising him so, and our previous judgement that 'oh he's an asshole his poor wife' is proved wrong; she wasn't without blame, and was an asshole too.
Sunday 4 May 2014
English Notes: Section B - Death
I figured I'd plan out a couple of Section B questions from the list
that we got sent, because a few people have asked for
Lawrence/TKR notes, and this seems the easiest way to kill two birds with one stone. I'm doing
these one-per-post, I don't know how many I'll do, and I'm picking them
at random - apart from this one, which I planned in history because death is what I'm interested in. But anyway, as usual, this is a very
brief/basic plan, likely to be riddled with mistakes (can't say I've quite got to grips with Section B yet, and bluddy hell I hate TKR), but here it is, as promised, anyway. Oh, and I'm going to do all 4 authors for
each question,
even though it's unlikely I'll have Tennyson left over for Section B.
Sidenote: I totally advise everyone to go and reread all the Lawrence stories - I had only properly read them about once, and you miss/forget some of the actual interesting shit when you're just skimming through for quotes/techniques. Or maybe that's just me being a twat, I don't know.
'What is the significance of death in the work of three writers you have studied?
Tennyson: Tithonus
I'd say that in this poem the repetition of death stuff is important in highlighting Tithonus' predicament and pain - it is all he can focus on; he speaks constantly of how he longs for it, and how he has lost his humanity/real sense of self by losing his power to die, and is consumed by jealousy for the natural death cycles occurring in the world around him. We can tell from the first stanza he is totally preoccupied with death; 'the woods decay, the woods decay and fall...and after many a summer dies the swan' - he sees death in everything, sees it as an integral part of the lives of all this natural shit, but he doesn't have that, 'me only cruel immortality' - his inability to die makes him feel distinctly unnatural. Similarly, later on he talks of 'happy men that have the power to die, and grassy barrows of the happier dead' - ironic, almost paradoxical - we don't normally think of death as a 'power', rather as something external that people passively submit to, often against their own will. In fact, it's not usually the 'happy men' that require this 'power' anyway. What's ironic is that he has been given the greatest 'gift', the greatest 'power', to escape death itself, and yet it has taken everything from him and made him feel so powerless. By referring to death so frequently and constantly bringing things back to Tithonus' wish for Aurora to 'let [him] go' and let him die, Tennyson gives us a real sense of Tithonus' longing, regret, and disillusionment with his current state - death is what separates him from the rest of nature; and 'why should a man desire in any way to vary from the kindly race of men?'.
Browning: Porphyria's Lover
What I find most significant about death in Porphyria's Lover (and one of the main reasons that I like this poem) is that it is presented as positive and desirable; her 'darling one wish' and 'utmost will', and this can shape our judgement of the lover's actions, and his own character - is he delusional? Compassionate? Immoral? I'm really into this personally, as I think we live in a society that has an irrational 'prejudice' and fear towards death/those who would rather die than live ('Viviocentrism' - a term coined by Mitchell Heisman in his 1900 page suicide note), BUT enough of my personal views on suicide/death. In this poem death is presented as a beautiful, almost erotic act - a key part of her beauty/sexual appeal (her hair) is what is used to strangle her 'in one long yellow string...three times her little throat around' - the act of killing sounds delicate, and then her dead body is described even more lovingly that her living form - 'blushed bright beneath my burning kiss', 'the smiling rosy little head' - from the lover's point of view, at least, death has preserved, even enhanced, her beauty (and, as this conflicts with our commonly-held view of reality, ie that he's holding a mangled corpse, gives us insight into his delusional, perhaps psychotic character). He is also 'quite sure she felt no pain', and this (coupled with the stuff about it being what she wanted) glorifies death as something painless and desirable - a way to transcend the corporeal world and reach a state of perfection. This presentation of death is significant in that it forces us to challenge our preconceptions about death, love, and morality - Is this murder immoral? Or the greatest act of love? Is he 'evil' and possessive? Or vulnerable and compassionate despite his warped mental state?
Lawrence: Odour of Chrysanthemums
In Odour of Chrysanthemums, death is used spark an 'epiphany' of sorts in Elizabeth; a realisation of her true situation, relationship, and self - and by extension illuminate the same things to us; highlighting to us the false, fabricated life she had convinced herself she was living. There are a million and one quotes that work for this - this whole bit is quite poetic really. Seeing Walter's dead body finally opens Elizabeth's eyes to the fact that she had never really known him at all; they had a false relationship of frustration and bitterness, but founded on what? She had never properly got to know him, she merely 'fought in the dark' with a distant figure that she had chosen to demonise as a bad husband in order to further martyr herself - and now she is left with an unborn child, that's meant to represent the bonding and love of two people, but void of this feels like a dead weight, a stranger inside of her - 'The wife felt the utter isolation of the human soul, the child within her was a weight apart from her'. The contrast of her feelings when faced with Walter's dead body, and his mother's feelings, only further serves to show how 'false' they were as a couple - his mother sees him as 'clear and lean and white' and '[murmures] with pride', clearly seeing her son as pure and good, in death the same as he was as a newborn. Elizabeth, however, 'kept her face hidden', 'in fear and shame she looked at his naked body, that she had known falsely' - she is forced, by this death, to realise that she never saw the man for what he was, 'she had denied him what he was', and her husband was more like a stranger to her. That said, perhaps their reactions to Walter's death show that, to both women, his adult self was distant and a stranger - even his mother talks only of him as a child, that's who she had the bond with, not this guy dead on the floor. (Note: All of this could be total bullshit, it's just sort of how it seemed to me when I read it, and I'm sort of shaky on the Lawrence stuff)
Kite Runner: Baba's death
I'd say the main significance of death in The Kite Runner is to facilitate Amir's development as a character - fitting in with the sodding 'Bildungsroman' genre (I bluddy hate that word) and further driving his quest for redemption. You can approach this from many angles; Hassan's death, Amir's mother's death, Sohrab trying to kill himself, or even something more abstract like the death of friendship - but I'm gonna be a bit of a pussy and go for 'Baba's death', as it's a little more clean-cut. Baba's death forces Amir to properly grow up and become his own person - he had always lived in the safety/security/shadow of Baba - '[his] whole life [he] had been "Baba's son."', and that was a comfort in a way (though also pressure) - Baba would sort his shit out for him, people would respect him for his father's reputation, etc But now he's on his own, and has to be his own man. He acknowledges that 'Baba couldn't show me the way anymore; I'd have to find it on my own', and (though he admits to being 'terrified') this does feel less weak than back when he was younger and thought Baba was gonna die from standing up to the Russian soldiers ('I'm done, then. I'm eighteen and alone...Where do I bury him? Where do I go after that?') - he seems more accepting of his role, although clearly scared that such a 'step-up' has been forced upon him. Also, he then goes to talk to Soraya for comfort, so clearly he's not 'alone' anymore even though Baba's gone - in fact, we are told that 'for the first time ever, Baba would be all alone', it's almost odd to hear Baba described as anything other than the strong, firm centre of everything, and to hear that a 'bear' had come along 'that he couldn't best'. Ultimately, Amir is now basically on his own and has to sort his own shit out and, while we can tell from his reaction to Baba's death that he's developed as a character since he was a child, it is still this death (of the figure that was essentially the whole driving force of the novel; it was for Baba's love that Amir let Hassan get raped) that forces him even further to mature and even further down the road on his quest for self acceptance.
Sidenote: I totally advise everyone to go and reread all the Lawrence stories - I had only properly read them about once, and you miss/forget some of the actual interesting shit when you're just skimming through for quotes/techniques. Or maybe that's just me being a twat, I don't know.
'What is the significance of death in the work of three writers you have studied?
Tennyson: Tithonus
I'd say that in this poem the repetition of death stuff is important in highlighting Tithonus' predicament and pain - it is all he can focus on; he speaks constantly of how he longs for it, and how he has lost his humanity/real sense of self by losing his power to die, and is consumed by jealousy for the natural death cycles occurring in the world around him. We can tell from the first stanza he is totally preoccupied with death; 'the woods decay, the woods decay and fall...and after many a summer dies the swan' - he sees death in everything, sees it as an integral part of the lives of all this natural shit, but he doesn't have that, 'me only cruel immortality' - his inability to die makes him feel distinctly unnatural. Similarly, later on he talks of 'happy men that have the power to die, and grassy barrows of the happier dead' - ironic, almost paradoxical - we don't normally think of death as a 'power', rather as something external that people passively submit to, often against their own will. In fact, it's not usually the 'happy men' that require this 'power' anyway. What's ironic is that he has been given the greatest 'gift', the greatest 'power', to escape death itself, and yet it has taken everything from him and made him feel so powerless. By referring to death so frequently and constantly bringing things back to Tithonus' wish for Aurora to 'let [him] go' and let him die, Tennyson gives us a real sense of Tithonus' longing, regret, and disillusionment with his current state - death is what separates him from the rest of nature; and 'why should a man desire in any way to vary from the kindly race of men?'.
Browning: Porphyria's Lover
What I find most significant about death in Porphyria's Lover (and one of the main reasons that I like this poem) is that it is presented as positive and desirable; her 'darling one wish' and 'utmost will', and this can shape our judgement of the lover's actions, and his own character - is he delusional? Compassionate? Immoral? I'm really into this personally, as I think we live in a society that has an irrational 'prejudice' and fear towards death/those who would rather die than live ('Viviocentrism' - a term coined by Mitchell Heisman in his 1900 page suicide note), BUT enough of my personal views on suicide/death. In this poem death is presented as a beautiful, almost erotic act - a key part of her beauty/sexual appeal (her hair) is what is used to strangle her 'in one long yellow string...three times her little throat around' - the act of killing sounds delicate, and then her dead body is described even more lovingly that her living form - 'blushed bright beneath my burning kiss', 'the smiling rosy little head' - from the lover's point of view, at least, death has preserved, even enhanced, her beauty (and, as this conflicts with our commonly-held view of reality, ie that he's holding a mangled corpse, gives us insight into his delusional, perhaps psychotic character). He is also 'quite sure she felt no pain', and this (coupled with the stuff about it being what she wanted) glorifies death as something painless and desirable - a way to transcend the corporeal world and reach a state of perfection. This presentation of death is significant in that it forces us to challenge our preconceptions about death, love, and morality - Is this murder immoral? Or the greatest act of love? Is he 'evil' and possessive? Or vulnerable and compassionate despite his warped mental state?
Lawrence: Odour of Chrysanthemums
In Odour of Chrysanthemums, death is used spark an 'epiphany' of sorts in Elizabeth; a realisation of her true situation, relationship, and self - and by extension illuminate the same things to us; highlighting to us the false, fabricated life she had convinced herself she was living. There are a million and one quotes that work for this - this whole bit is quite poetic really. Seeing Walter's dead body finally opens Elizabeth's eyes to the fact that she had never really known him at all; they had a false relationship of frustration and bitterness, but founded on what? She had never properly got to know him, she merely 'fought in the dark' with a distant figure that she had chosen to demonise as a bad husband in order to further martyr herself - and now she is left with an unborn child, that's meant to represent the bonding and love of two people, but void of this feels like a dead weight, a stranger inside of her - 'The wife felt the utter isolation of the human soul, the child within her was a weight apart from her'. The contrast of her feelings when faced with Walter's dead body, and his mother's feelings, only further serves to show how 'false' they were as a couple - his mother sees him as 'clear and lean and white' and '[murmures] with pride', clearly seeing her son as pure and good, in death the same as he was as a newborn. Elizabeth, however, 'kept her face hidden', 'in fear and shame she looked at his naked body, that she had known falsely' - she is forced, by this death, to realise that she never saw the man for what he was, 'she had denied him what he was', and her husband was more like a stranger to her. That said, perhaps their reactions to Walter's death show that, to both women, his adult self was distant and a stranger - even his mother talks only of him as a child, that's who she had the bond with, not this guy dead on the floor. (Note: All of this could be total bullshit, it's just sort of how it seemed to me when I read it, and I'm sort of shaky on the Lawrence stuff)
Kite Runner: Baba's death
I'd say the main significance of death in The Kite Runner is to facilitate Amir's development as a character - fitting in with the sodding 'Bildungsroman' genre (I bluddy hate that word) and further driving his quest for redemption. You can approach this from many angles; Hassan's death, Amir's mother's death, Sohrab trying to kill himself, or even something more abstract like the death of friendship - but I'm gonna be a bit of a pussy and go for 'Baba's death', as it's a little more clean-cut. Baba's death forces Amir to properly grow up and become his own person - he had always lived in the safety/security/shadow of Baba - '[his] whole life [he] had been "Baba's son."', and that was a comfort in a way (though also pressure) - Baba would sort his shit out for him, people would respect him for his father's reputation, etc But now he's on his own, and has to be his own man. He acknowledges that 'Baba couldn't show me the way anymore; I'd have to find it on my own', and (though he admits to being 'terrified') this does feel less weak than back when he was younger and thought Baba was gonna die from standing up to the Russian soldiers ('I'm done, then. I'm eighteen and alone...Where do I bury him? Where do I go after that?') - he seems more accepting of his role, although clearly scared that such a 'step-up' has been forced upon him. Also, he then goes to talk to Soraya for comfort, so clearly he's not 'alone' anymore even though Baba's gone - in fact, we are told that 'for the first time ever, Baba would be all alone', it's almost odd to hear Baba described as anything other than the strong, firm centre of everything, and to hear that a 'bear' had come along 'that he couldn't best'. Ultimately, Amir is now basically on his own and has to sort his own shit out and, while we can tell from his reaction to Baba's death that he's developed as a character since he was a child, it is still this death (of the figure that was essentially the whole driving force of the novel; it was for Baba's love that Amir let Hassan get raped) that forces him even further to mature and even further down the road on his quest for self acceptance.
Thursday 1 May 2014
English Notes: Browning Summaries
I did some of these 'summaries' earlier for Tennyson, and (while I personally think Browning is less interesting than Tennyson) I figured I ought to do some for Browning too. Personally, there's very little chance I'll do Browning for Section A, but just in case hell freezes over, I've gone and done these (and besides, it's good to bare this shit in mind for Section B). As usual, don't trust what I'm saying (I'm just a kid, and you probably have better ideas, etc) in fact, I'm fully aware that these are generally quite shite - but I promised I'd put them up so whatever.
Porphyria's Lover:
In 'Porphyria's Lover' Browning examines unorthodox love, through the story of Pophyria; a woman strangled with her own hair, by her obsessive, delusional, and potentially psychotic lover. Through this poem Browning challenges traditional ideas of love, death, and morality - perhaps criticising society's demonisation of those suffering from mental illness, whose actions, in fact, stem from vulnerability rather than malice?
The Patriot:
In 'The Patriot' Browning depicts the fall from grace of a man, once a hero, now turned upon by the same public who used to worship the ground he walked on, and put to death. Through this poem Browning explores the fickle nature and mob mentality of society, and the dangers of investing in fleeting public approval, as adoration can turn only too quickly to contempt.
My Last Duchess:
In 'My Last Duchess' Browning examines the story of the prideful Duke of Ferrara, who boasts of putting his 'last duchess' to death, whilst arranging his next marriage, and next potential victim. Through this poem Browning explores the power play of relationships and the objectification of women in society, perhaps also offering a criticism of the way those in high status can freely manipulate their power, and how wealth and perceived entitlement can blur the lines of morality.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin:
In 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin', Browning examines the story of the Pied Piper, who takes vengeance on the town of Hamelin, after ridding the town of its rat infestation and being denied payment by the selfish mayor. Behind the guise of an innocent child's tale, Browning explores how the dangers of corruption, greed, and lies, like a plague of rats, can tear apart a society, and delivers a moral message that we must always keep our word.
The Laboratory:
In 'The Laboratory' Browning examines the jealousy and bitterness of a vengeful woman, immersed in the arousal of a cathartic ritual as she plans to poison her lover's new mistress. Through this, Browning explores the wrath and rivalry of 'poisonous' women; deadliness concealed beneath a sweet exterior, perhaps highlighting the saying that 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'
Fra Lippo Lippi:
In 'Fra Lippo Lippi' Browning explores a philosophical debate about abstract ideas of morality, art and religion, criticising over-sensitivity and the censorship of perceived taboos, and ironically presenting a seemingly elevated, coherent argument from the mouth of a drunken, promiscuous monk/artist who has been caught out in the middle of the night, by guards.
Porphyria's Lover:
In 'Porphyria's Lover' Browning examines unorthodox love, through the story of Pophyria; a woman strangled with her own hair, by her obsessive, delusional, and potentially psychotic lover. Through this poem Browning challenges traditional ideas of love, death, and morality - perhaps criticising society's demonisation of those suffering from mental illness, whose actions, in fact, stem from vulnerability rather than malice?
The Patriot:
In 'The Patriot' Browning depicts the fall from grace of a man, once a hero, now turned upon by the same public who used to worship the ground he walked on, and put to death. Through this poem Browning explores the fickle nature and mob mentality of society, and the dangers of investing in fleeting public approval, as adoration can turn only too quickly to contempt.
My Last Duchess:
In 'My Last Duchess' Browning examines the story of the prideful Duke of Ferrara, who boasts of putting his 'last duchess' to death, whilst arranging his next marriage, and next potential victim. Through this poem Browning explores the power play of relationships and the objectification of women in society, perhaps also offering a criticism of the way those in high status can freely manipulate their power, and how wealth and perceived entitlement can blur the lines of morality.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin:
In 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin', Browning examines the story of the Pied Piper, who takes vengeance on the town of Hamelin, after ridding the town of its rat infestation and being denied payment by the selfish mayor. Behind the guise of an innocent child's tale, Browning explores how the dangers of corruption, greed, and lies, like a plague of rats, can tear apart a society, and delivers a moral message that we must always keep our word.
The Laboratory:
In 'The Laboratory' Browning examines the jealousy and bitterness of a vengeful woman, immersed in the arousal of a cathartic ritual as she plans to poison her lover's new mistress. Through this, Browning explores the wrath and rivalry of 'poisonous' women; deadliness concealed beneath a sweet exterior, perhaps highlighting the saying that 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'
Fra Lippo Lippi:
In 'Fra Lippo Lippi' Browning explores a philosophical debate about abstract ideas of morality, art and religion, criticising over-sensitivity and the censorship of perceived taboos, and ironically presenting a seemingly elevated, coherent argument from the mouth of a drunken, promiscuous monk/artist who has been caught out in the middle of the night, by guards.
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