"But I waive the biographies of all other scriveners for a few passages in the life of Bartleby, who was a scrivener the strangest I ever saw or heard of."
The character of Bartleby is a frustrating and intriguing one at best. We first meet him as a quiet worker who does very well. However, I was done with him after his initial refusal. Not only does his catch phrase of, "I would prefer not to," get annoying, but his motives behind being like that go unnamed throughout the story. Who is this strange man? Why does he refuse to do anything? Perhaps the most frustrating aspect is his strangeness, the way he can sit and stare at a brick wall all day, and refusal to move out of an office that isn't even his. It makes one wonder what he represents in our society. What was Melville thinking? One frustration I felt was with the narrator. Enough is enough! Why did he continue to allow Bartleby to do whatever he pleased? The next landlord had no problem kicking him out. I am also curious as to what happened in his brain that made him quit copying. Or to give up on life in such a manner. Why did he refuse to eat in prison? He basically killed himself, in his own slow and strange way. However I commend Melville on provoking an emotional response in me to the story. It made it extremely entertaining.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
"Bartleby the Scrivener" by Herman Melville: Death
"I can see that figure now—pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn! It was Bartleby."
Throughout this complicated, strange, and somewhat sorrowful tale, death is a common theme. The narrator's account of Bartleby is corpse-like. Neat, pitiably respectable, and forlorn, all words that could be used to describe the atmosphere of a funeral home. He is pale and cold, much like a dead body. Furthermore, he is all around associated with death. The man eats little, lives nowhere, and towards the end of the story spends days and days staring at a brick wall. Creepy? Very. His emotions aren't human. He is calmly and civilly disobedient, which is unheard of. At the end of the story, Bartleby himself dies in prison. Yet even after death, the narrator finds more connections Bartleby had with death. He was rumored to have worked in the Dead Letter office, where the letters of the deceased and missing go. What a truly depressing existence indeed.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"He decided to begin with the most obvious question, to get to the heart of the matter, and so he asked, 'Is it really pain you feel, Mrs. Das, or is it guilt?'"
To be completely honest, this is the first limited third person story I can say I have noticed. However I also see how effective this point of view can be. We follow Mr. Kapasi throughout the story, as he observes and studies the Das family. This is very effective, because on the surface they seem to be just another tourist family. We know nothing of the dark secret Mrs. Das carries. Furthermore, we see that Kapasi "interprets" Mrs. Das' comments as flirtatious and complimentary. However, we later discover she is merely interested in easing her own conscience with his help. We see that although he too is unhappy in his marriage, he is horrified with what he hears. Finally, we see that he sees his paper flying away with the wind and not caring, because he now knows the secret.
"How I Met My Husband" by Alice Munro
"Cars were in short supply then, after the war."
Edie, throughout the story, hints time and time again at the era in which she lives. Though she never directly gives a year, through the text we see hints here and there that help us know when she lived. She mentions often the "war". It is after the invention of automobiles and washing machines, so one can assume it's after World War Two. Additionally, she talks of "flamingos in the yard", a sign that the flingin' fifties are on the way. Also, Chris Watters is a pilot of a plane. As his fiancee explains, he learned to fly in the "war" and since then has always craved adventure. A final hint at the era is that Mrs. Peebles, though rich, didn't own her own car. As in the quote above, supply of cars was short after World War Two. Munro subtly lets the reader understand when the story is and helps them know how to expect everyone to act during this time.
Edie, throughout the story, hints time and time again at the era in which she lives. Though she never directly gives a year, through the text we see hints here and there that help us know when she lived. She mentions often the "war". It is after the invention of automobiles and washing machines, so one can assume it's after World War Two. Additionally, she talks of "flamingos in the yard", a sign that the flingin' fifties are on the way. Also, Chris Watters is a pilot of a plane. As his fiancee explains, he learned to fly in the "war" and since then has always craved adventure. A final hint at the era is that Mrs. Peebles, though rich, didn't own her own car. As in the quote above, supply of cars was short after World War Two. Munro subtly lets the reader understand when the story is and helps them know how to expect everyone to act during this time.
"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner: Symbolism
"It was a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies."
Miss Emily's house is significant to us as readers. For one, from the very beginning, we see her house as a mysterious and foreboding fortress, into which no one enters or leaves save one man. Throughout the entire story, we are only given the image of the outside of the house. What lies inside, no one knows. Even back when Miss Emily was a young woman, the only image anyone remembers is of her father in the doorway, a menacing guardian of his daughter and house. The house itself is old, greying and decayed, just like Miss Emily herself. The house falls into ruin, with a few broken windows, rooms in disuse, and peeling and faded paint. This house, once an image if beauty in its prime days, is surrounded by ugly industrialization. Finally, we can see her house not only as a fortress, but somewhat as a prison to her. Her father confined her to it, giving her nowhere else to go. Once she kills Homer, she fills out her life sentence in that house: creepy, old, claustrophobic area. In fact, the house is so creepy, even Tobe her servant leaves as soon as he can after Miss Emily's death.
Miss Emily's house is significant to us as readers. For one, from the very beginning, we see her house as a mysterious and foreboding fortress, into which no one enters or leaves save one man. Throughout the entire story, we are only given the image of the outside of the house. What lies inside, no one knows. Even back when Miss Emily was a young woman, the only image anyone remembers is of her father in the doorway, a menacing guardian of his daughter and house. The house itself is old, greying and decayed, just like Miss Emily herself. The house falls into ruin, with a few broken windows, rooms in disuse, and peeling and faded paint. This house, once an image if beauty in its prime days, is surrounded by ugly industrialization. Finally, we can see her house not only as a fortress, but somewhat as a prison to her. Her father confined her to it, giving her nowhere else to go. Once she kills Homer, she fills out her life sentence in that house: creepy, old, claustrophobic area. In fact, the house is so creepy, even Tobe her servant leaves as soon as he can after Miss Emily's death.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)