So the semester is almost over so I'd like to use this blog post to post some of my final thoughts about the books that we read. To my surprise, I actually liked all of the books that we read, although to different levels of like.
1. The Mezzanine
The Mezzanine was definitely not what I was expecting to read in the class first. It was right after summer break and school was just beginning. The Mezzanine was also rather boring to read at first and it became more of a chore, especially after I saw the extremely long footnotes. It was the discussions in class that saved me. With all the interesting points that people were making about the novel, it was difficult not to get into the story. Beneath the seemingly everyday life that is portrayed in the novel lies tons of interesting details and tidbits that all tie back to his thoughts.
2. Mrs. Dalloway
I found that Mrs. Dalloway was a good book to transition to right after the Mezzanine. One of the recurring features of all the novels that we have read is that they seem simple or straightforward in the beginning but often become much more complex beneath. I really liked the dynamic between Clarissa and Septimus, how they are completely different people and yet share many of the same struggles that Clarissa has. It's very ironic that Septimus is unable to control his emotions from coming out while Clarissa is unable to express herself. The fact that the whole novel took place in a single day is astonishing. What is even more exciting is how Woolf manages to seamlessly weave all of the characters into one narrative without having the story seem awkward or disconnected.
3. The Sun Also Rises
I think that this book was the one that exceeded all expectations. This was the first book by Hemingway that I have read and I wasn't disappointed. Hemingway is so masterful in his use of the subtext and manages to convey a novel that is filled with details and richness with a minimal amount of pages. It was especially great for conversation because of the open statements that Hemingway leaves for the readers to interpret leading to occasional heated debates between opposing sides.
4. The Stranger
The novels just keep getting better and better. The Stranger was probably the novel that I had the most fun reading. This was also the time that we had our first open discussion. It was difficult for me at first to pick up on whether or not Meursault was as he is portrayed, apathetic at best. To read this book right after The Sun Also Rises led to me trying to pick through the minimal amount of details to attempt to portray Meursault in a better light.
5. Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea ties with The Stranger and The Sun Also Rises as the top novels of the semester. I've never read Jane Eyre but reading Wide Sargasso Sea will definitely change my opinion of Bertha if I do read it. Reading the back story is always interesting and portraying to story from both Antoinette and Rochester leaves the readers at a standoff of whether to support Rochester or Antoinette.
6. Song of Solomon
Reading this book is....weird. I'm really not sure how else to describe it. Perhaps it is the names or the scenes that Toni Morrison describes but it is a big change from Wide Sargasso Sea, which I found to be more tame and emotional. Nevertheless, Toni Morrison does a wonderful job telling the stories of all the characters in a compelling and interesting way that just draws the readers in.
\Overall, this was a very interesting semester. I'm kind of sad that it is ending because all of the books and discussion have been really beneficial and interesting to me. I think the best part about reading these books is that you can continue to read them over and over and just pick up on new details that weren't there before. Anyways, this was a fun semester and good luck on finals!
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Milkman and the Similarities to Daedalus
One of the topics that was brought up in class on Tuesday was the fact that Milkman doesn't seem to be a very interesting main character because there doesn't seem to be a clear development as the novel progresses. There isn't really a sense of time going on the story. Although this is partially because Toni
Morrison likes to jump around to different moments in the characters' lives, I was really shocked at the gap in Milkman's life when we suddenly found out that he was in his thirties. His behavior when he was a teenager compared to when he is thirty seems very similar. Also, Toni Morrison seems to focus more on other characters, giving long and very detailed stories about them while Milkman listens. To me, this was confusing at first because Milkman should be the main character but Toni Morrison doesn't go into his perspective at all. Milkman just seems to reject the explanations and the stories behind his life and his family. For a while, it was difficult for me to be sympathetic towards Milkman. He prided himself on not being like his father and yet he shares similar characteristic; he loves money and his attitude towards the women around him is similar to his father's. For these reasons, I find it very difficult to understand why Milkman is the main protagonist in the novel.
However, as part 1 ends, I find myself believing that Milkman will change by the end of the book. Part of the reason is because it wouldn't make sense to make Milkman the main protagonist otherwise since he doesn't carry any of the qualities of a protagonist that we have seen in previous books in the semester. My main motivation for why he will change goes back to the very first chapter of the book. If you remember, the novel opens up with the death of Robert Smith, the insurance agent who believed he could fly. In the first chapter we also get a section where it is described that Milkman "lost all interest in himself. To have to live without that single gift saddened him and left his imagination so bereft that he appeared dull even to the women who did not hate his mother" (9). This was because he found out that only birds and planes could fly. The notion of flying appeared many more times in the book, from the winged woman that Milkman sees while he is in the car to the plane ticket that Milkman would buy if he was in a dangerous situation. These didn't really seem to connect to the story at first, especially the first seen when the insurance agent died. As the novel progresses however, slowly everything begins to fall in place. Milkman despises the situation that he is in. He mentions several times throughout the novel that he is surrounded by abnormal people and how he wishes that his family was normal. His main reason to steal the gold from Pilate is to escape from his family and live on his own. He wants to "fly" out of his situation. To make a connection to Robert Smith and Milkman, the first instance of the flying contraption that Robert Smith used was the myth of Daedalus. For those who aren't familiar with it, the story of Daedalus is a Greek myth where he fashioned pairs of wings for him and his son Icarus so that they could escape from the tower/prison that King Minos kept him in. This bears many similarities to Milkman's situation where King Minos is Macon Dead and Daedalus is Milkman, who is trying to escape from his prison. It seems by the end of Part 1 that he does leave as he shuts the door after the lecture by Lena. What will be interesting to read about is what happens after. In the myth of Daedalus, his son Icarus died because he became too cocky. Perhaps Milkman is more easily related to Icarus.
However, as part 1 ends, I find myself believing that Milkman will change by the end of the book. Part of the reason is because it wouldn't make sense to make Milkman the main protagonist otherwise since he doesn't carry any of the qualities of a protagonist that we have seen in previous books in the semester. My main motivation for why he will change goes back to the very first chapter of the book. If you remember, the novel opens up with the death of Robert Smith, the insurance agent who believed he could fly. In the first chapter we also get a section where it is described that Milkman "lost all interest in himself. To have to live without that single gift saddened him and left his imagination so bereft that he appeared dull even to the women who did not hate his mother" (9). This was because he found out that only birds and planes could fly. The notion of flying appeared many more times in the book, from the winged woman that Milkman sees while he is in the car to the plane ticket that Milkman would buy if he was in a dangerous situation. These didn't really seem to connect to the story at first, especially the first seen when the insurance agent died. As the novel progresses however, slowly everything begins to fall in place. Milkman despises the situation that he is in. He mentions several times throughout the novel that he is surrounded by abnormal people and how he wishes that his family was normal. His main reason to steal the gold from Pilate is to escape from his family and live on his own. He wants to "fly" out of his situation. To make a connection to Robert Smith and Milkman, the first instance of the flying contraption that Robert Smith used was the myth of Daedalus. For those who aren't familiar with it, the story of Daedalus is a Greek myth where he fashioned pairs of wings for him and his son Icarus so that they could escape from the tower/prison that King Minos kept him in. This bears many similarities to Milkman's situation where King Minos is Macon Dead and Daedalus is Milkman, who is trying to escape from his prison. It seems by the end of Part 1 that he does leave as he shuts the door after the lecture by Lena. What will be interesting to read about is what happens after. In the myth of Daedalus, his son Icarus died because he became too cocky. Perhaps Milkman is more easily related to Icarus.
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