Author: aw155977

As you can see, throughout our posts we were able to find even the slightest connections between the literary works we read and reality. Although some of the works we read includes supernatural elements, fantastical, and even unrealistic story-lines, we realized that these made our process of completing this project more fun and discovered interesting connections between fictional stories and our lives.

Besides the long, meaningful readings, even through short and vague works we were able to find the messages that the author is trying to convey to us by reading them again. Authors use novels, poems and writings to express their approaches and opinions on the world, and we could still feel their hidden thoughts and feelings in our own world today. We can never be certain about the definite meaning behind an author’s work because literary works can be interpreted in multiple ways, but rendering our own interpretations was what we wanted to accomplish. The beauty of literature is great in its way that, it can be interpreted in so many different ways and still give readers a sense of relation and familiarity. F. Scott Fitzgerald once said “That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”

– Amy Wang and Kary Huang

“Becoming Jane” is a film that is based on Jon Hunter Spence’s novel “Becoming Jane Austen.” The film portrays the life of the famous English author, Jane Austen. After watching the film, I notice the similar themes, and connections between Jane Austen’s life and her novel “Pride and Prejudice.” Many even believed that Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” was based on her own life, but in the novel Austen was able to give herself a happy ending. Throughout the film, I saw Jane Austen as Elizabeth Bennet and Thomas LeFroy as Mr. Darcy. Many of the characters in Austen’s life is very similar to the characters in her novel. For instance, Austen’s parents were similar to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Marriage and social status is a big theme in both Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and in the film “Becoming Jane.” Alike Austen’s novel, in the film, Jane and Thomas face obstacles in getting married because of their different social status. Jane alike Elizabeth Bennet, is pressured into getting married to any men that proposes to her, because society deems women only worthy of marriage.

Thankfully, today we don’t practice this belief of women’s only purpose as marriage. The social class gap that prevents marriage from occurring, no longer exist as our economy and society changes. I believe that without people such as Jane Austen, we will not have been able to see this change in society. Austen defied society’s expectation of her into getting married, and instead chooses to live a life unmarried. Austen chooses to become a successful author, and proves that a woman can become successful without marriage or a man. Although society has changed, and women are no longer expected to marry the moment they come of age, there are still beliefs that men are superior to women. In order to destroy this belief, I hope to see more successful women like Jane Austen, prove that women are as good as men.

For those of you who enjoyed reading Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” in class, I suggest that you watched “Becoming Jane.” It is interesting to see the comparison between Austen’s novel and her own life. The following is the trailer for the 2007 film.

– Amy Wang

After reading Ueda Akinari’s Bewitched, I was furious at the fate of the two main characters, Toyo-o and Manago. It was unfair to have only Manago punished in the end, while Toyo-o was excused and lives a peaceful life. Although Manago, did deceive Toyo-o by concealing her true identity, she does not intend to harm Toyo-o in any way. She disguises herself as a “voluptuous” and beautiful women to attract men’s attention and find love. She did not cast a spell or bewitches Toyo-o into falling in love with her, because Toyo-o voluntarily falls in love with Manago for her beautiful appearance. However, the moment Toyo-o discovers Manago’s true identity, he chooses to betray Manago, and puts all the blame on her. I believe the only reason Toyo-o does this is not because of his fear for Manago, but because he is afraid of what society might think of him for falling in love with a demon. He blames Manago for “bewitching” him and turns himself into a helpless and innocent victim. Toyo-o is even the one who harms Manago in the end, leading to her death. The only fault Manago had was unconditionally loving an ignoble man.

Manago’s situation can be incorporated into the real world, where women are blamed for men’s wrongdoings. There have been many situations where rape victims (mostly women) are blamed for being raped, while the rapist is set free. These victims are blamed for dressing in a provocative manner, thus implicating that these victims “were asking to get raped.” While rape victims live their life in depression or fear, the rapist move on with their life and not caring about the negative impact that they have created on the victim’s life. In Akinari’s story, Toyo-o is excused from his mistake for blindly loving someone for their outer beauty, and for harming a women who only had love for him. In the end, Manago is punished and suffers because of Toyo-o wrongdoings.

– Amy Wang

In William Blake’s The Chimney Sweeper, we see the lost of innocence and sufferings. All the young children in Blake’s poem are suffering and in pain because they have to sweep chimneys for a living. These children do not live life happily and carefree, like most children in our society do. They don’t have parents to support and love them, and have to learn to fend for themselves at a young age. The only joy and brightness that these children receive are during their sleep when they are able to dream of a happier place. One of the children, Tom’s dream can be perceived as: the only hope of a happy life for these children are their deaths. In Tom’s dream, all the children are locked in black coffins, and are saved after an angel comes with a key to unlock them. Tom’s dream foreshadows that these children will suffer in life but be free after death because they’ll be sent to heaven.

Although we don’t usually see the scenes in Blake’s poem in our country, it does not mean that it no longer exists. Nowadays, children are given more care and protected, but the sufferings of children in Blake’s poem still exist in many third world countries. Especially in Africa, young children are forced to work in very dangerous environments in order to survive and to keep their families alive. After reading Blake’s poem, I realize how sad it is that the adolescents in our society complain about going to school and dropping out because they believe that it is to difficult and stressful. The children in society take advantage of the free education and opportunities that we have. The children in Blake’s poem would have killed to be given the opportunity to receive a free education instead of spending their life sweeping chimneys and fearing death.

– Amy Wang

In Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet’s only ambition is to marry off her daughters. Her fixation with marrying off her daughters is based on the 19^th century belief of when a woman comes of proper age, it is only acceptable for her to get married. If a woman does not get married, she is considered hopeless and frowned upon. Unlike in today’s society, when a woman comes of age, she can become independent and strive to become successful without having to consider marriage as an option. However, in the 19^th century women had to rely on their father and then later on, their husband. Although Mrs. Bennet may seem senseless and irritating she is only trying to secure a future for her daughters. She believes that marriage is the best option for her daughters’ happiness, but does not consider the consequences of arranging a disastrous marriage such as Elizabeth and Mr. Collins, or Lydia and Wickham.

Mrs. Bennet reminds me of some of my close relatives, such as my aunts. Unlike my aunts who are more traditional, my mother is actually very modernize and does not believe of pressuring her daughters into marriage. She believes more in an independent woman rather than a woman who is dependent on men. However my aunts, are a different case. The moment my cousins graduate college or turns 21, my aunts pesters them on finding a boyfriend and getting married as soon as possible. They believe the longer their daughters remain single, the less of chance they have of marriage, therefore meaning no bright future. Alike Mrs. Bennet, my aunts are still living in the 19^th century belief that a woman’s only choice is marriage.

– Amy Wang

After reading Herman Melville’s Bartley the Scrivener, one part that caught my attention was the mention of dead letter office that Bartley used to work in. The narrator states that the dead letter office was a place where Bartley sorted letters that had no recipient and would eventually be destroyed. Before reading Melville’s story, I had no idea what a dead letter office was, and wondered if one actually exists in the real world. After some quick research, I discovered that we do indeed have a dead letter office. According to the USPS, the Mail Recovery Center as formerly known as the “Dead Letter Office.” This center acted as the “lost and found” center for the postal services. While in Herman Melville’s story, the dead letter office seemed like a place that was gloomy and hollow, the USPS Mail Recovery Center, is actually a place where lost mail can be found. In the real world, there is hope that the mail in the formerly known “Dead Letter Office” would have a recipient.

However, I doubt Melville’s mention of the Dead Letter office is in regards to the USPS Mail Recovery Center. Melville uses the dead letter office to symbolize the repetitive and dreary job that more people were doing. Bartley’s job in the dead letter office, was the reason for his depression and his loss of motivation. In the dead letter office, Bartley aimlessly spends his time sorting letters that were sent to be destroyed. This repetitive task was both lifeless and pointless. The dead letter office, is Melville’s portrayal of the lackluster occupations in society that required employees to do repetitive tasks. Alike the dead letter office, if employees continue to purposely do the same task every day, they will not strive to do better. Even today, many employees suffer from depression as they realize that they have to perform the same tasks daily. There is a lack of excitement for their jobs, and can even lead to an employee despising their jobs. If employers do not give employees new opportunities to strength their skills, employees will give up and put no effort into their work. As an employee myself, I can relate to feeling of repeatedly doing the same tasks. It makes me wonder if this was how I was to live the rest of my life as. I realize that I do not want to waste my entire life repeatedly doing the same tasks, and want to experience new things. It would be a shame if we spend our entire life experiencing the same actions over and over again.

– Amy Wang

In Molière’s play Tartuffe, the female role is represented in two ways. Mariane was the representation of the delicate, reserved, and powerless women. On the other hand, Dorine and Elmire are the opposite of Mariane, they are courageous, clever and powerful. While Mariane’s characteristics make her submissive to men, the personalities of Dorine and Elmire puts them on the same level as men. Although they do not have power over men, they have the ability to argue back and keep themselves from becoming inferior to men. Dorine can be seen as one of the reasons why Orgon was able to redeem himself from his foolishness. She also saves Mariane from marrying Tartuffe. Elmire is also the opposite of Mariane because she is cunning and able to deceive Tartuffe. Elmire is not the image of a pure and reserved women. She takes charges when she realizes that her husband was being tricked. She also plays a large role in saving Orgon, because she is able to trick Tartuffe into revealing his true self. In the end, the powerful and deceitful Tartuffe falls prey to a woman.

Mariane represented society’s image of an acceptable women, while Dorine and Elmire represented the rebellious nature of women as they move away from the typically powerless and weak image. In today’s society, both representation of the female role still exists. In a more modernized country, like the United States, women are more like Dorine and Elmire. As society changes, more women fight for their rights and justice. However, in some countries women are still submissive towards men. This inferiority towards men is evident in the Middle Eastern, as there have been many conflicts on the rights of women. Women are treated as men’s property and have no human rights. As a women myself, I hope to see more women fight back like Dorine and Elmire. Instead of the “knight in shining armor coming to save the damsel in distress,” I hope more women will become like Dorine and Elmire who are the ones saving the men, and not being saved by men.

– Amy Wang

Cao Xueqin’s The Story of the Stone, gives the reader a vivid and descriptive glimpse of life and culture back in ancient China. The readers are introduced to the elaborate and extravagant lifestyle of a wealthy Chinese family in ancient China. The activities that the Jia family enjoys, are eloquent and sophisticated. For instance, the emphasis on literature and art is evident, since the Jia family hold poetry contests to pass time. The author vividly depicts many aspects of ancient Chinese culture such as religion, cuisine, clothing and much more. Of the many aspects of ancient Chinese culture portrayed in Cao Xueqin’s The Story of the Stone, one aspect that caught my eye was the family hierarchy.

After reading the novel and watching the drama version in class, I was in astonishment by the differences between the modern Chinese-American family today, and the family in Cao Xueqin’s novel. Although some values and philosophies of Chinese family hierarchy are still engraved in today’s Chinese culture, it is evident that there has been a huge change to the family hierarchy structure in Chinese culture. In the novel, one of the biggest cultural shock that I discovered was the caution and restraint the younger generation must have in the presence of an elder. During class when we watched the scene of Jia family eating dinner, I felt as if the family had no sense of a true family. The Jia family’s dinner seemed very distant and dull, instead of the lively and warm dinner a family usually share. The children could only eat if they were invited to the table by the elder and even while eating dinner, they had to follow strict procedures. There were rules on how to eat, how to drink tea and even how to rinse your mouth! After watching this scene, I realized the amount of freedom and independence we get to enjoy today. In today’s society, we are always arguing that our parents have too much control over us, but the children in ancient Chinese culture had no free will and were firmly confined to their roles in society. Cao Xueqin’s novel made me realize that although Chinese culture now may still seem strict, I am grateful that many of ancient Chinese practices have since been discarded.

–Amy Wang

Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe once said, “This is one great thing that literature can do – it can make us identify with situations and people far away.” Literature is written to convey a message or to state a point. Through literature, we perceive the world in the author’s point of view and relate to ourselves in some way. The novels, short stories, and poems that we read in class are relevant to our everyday life. We can relate to these works in different ways, such as the society depicted in a literary work, a character, or the theme stated in work. By relating the literature that we read to everyday life, we can have a better understanding of the works and the world. In our blog posts, we will be comparing and contrasting the literary works that we read in class with our experiences or discoveries in life. Our goal is to understand more in depth the works we’ve read in class and create interesting insights from them. We hope to show our followers the strong links between world literature and ourselves despite the difference in era and nationality.

– Amy Wang and Kary Huang