Please respond to any two of the following questions:
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
2. For Rousseau, what is the relationship between feeling and thinking?
3. How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
4. What is going on with Rousseau’s description of his experience being spanked at boarding school? What is the significance of this “confession”?
5. Why do you think Rousseau chooses to include the anecdote about stealing from his employer?
6. Using your own language, how would you describe the narrator, given his self-presentation in The Confessions?
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know? The narrator’s purpose in writing these confessions was to show and explain how experiences shape a person’s personality and overall look at life. We know this because the excerpt explains how he believed society has a big influence on a humans development
4. What is going on with Rousseau’s description of his experience being spanked at boarding school? What is the significance of this “confession”? The confession of Rousseau getting spanked was used to introduce us into his love/sexual life. Rousseau had his first sexual desire after getting spanked and it followed from there on out. He would get erect from fantasizing woman and this would further lead to his talked about sexual frustrations This confession was used to bring us back to the main idea of the excerpt. The whole purpose of these confessions was to show us how experiences/events shape a person. Rousseaus spankings from childhood would further lead to heavy sexual desire in his adulthood.
3. Rousseau had a good childhood. Even though his mother had died when he was born, his father still loved him and he was well beloved by everyone around him. We can conclude that his passion for literature was nurtured by his environment which allowed him to gain the proficiency needed to be such a famous author. His mother figure would always read with him late at night as a kid.
6. I would describe the narrator as an honest individual. He was willing to admit his mistakes throughout his life, and share them with whoever decides to read the book. He would be someone I would want to know since he even shielded his brother from his abusive father. The narrator didn’t have to take the hits, but used his fathers favor to the advantage of his younger brother. This would be someone I would want to befriend.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
These confessions were written with he intention of portraying the reality of human nature. From he very beginning, it isade clear that these confessions are completely genuine, expressing things as they happened, without trying to make things sound better or worse than they really are. I believe that this situation that took place with Marion is a primary part of why Rousseau decided to write this piece. He seemed carried by guilt even after all those years and wanted to reveal the truth about what had happened. The weight of this guilt can be seen even in the last line: “May I be spared of ever having to speak of it again.” It seems that this was written as a way of lifting a burden from his shoulders.
3. How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
Rousseau describes his childhood as being a very pleasant one. He was favored by his father because of how much he resembled his mother who passed away. Because of this, he was very privileged and loved by many. He was given whatever he wanted and rarely had to experience any hardships. He speaks also of the prudence which was very observed in his family when it came to sensuality. He was not introduced to these things until way after his adolescence. I believe this point was expressed with the intention of communicating that his experience at boarding school had nothing to do with any sexuality he may have been exposed to as a kid. I believe Rousseau intended to express that it was purely human nature that drove him to be aroused when spanked in boarding school.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator’s purpose in writing these confessions was to show people that nobody is perfect and how it is in the nature of a man to have misdoings as they experience life. In addition I believe he wrote these confessions so that society could have a better understanding of what he went through as a child and an adult and how his past experiences led to his future misdoings.
For Rousseau, what is the relationship between feeling and thinking?
For Rousseau the relationship between feeling and thinking was that feeling always came first for him before his thinking. He goes on to say that he doesn’t remember how he learned to read and write, but remembers the effects that it had on him. This shows that it is in human nature to feel first and then think about the effect that it has on you.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
-Rousseau’s confessions demonstrate that humans are natulraly bad and corrupted. The autor hbelieves that mankind are pure from birth until they are corrupted by society and malpractices. Also, he is fully honest in acknowledging his wrongdoings throughout his confessions, from infancy to maturity. He included this in his essay to demonstrate that he did not have the finest upbringing, which influenced his character and events in his life.
5. Why do you think Rousseau chooses to include the anecdote about stealing from his employer?
-I think that Rousseau wanted to use this anecdote because it haunted his memory even after years passed because he himself confessed in a passage saying that he always felt guilty and by confessin this story is like a type of liberation and forgive himself about his actions.
Luna, Just to clarify – Rousseau believes that human beings are naturally good and innocent. He even broke with a branch of Christianity (Calvinists) who believed that people are born sinners.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The purpose of writing confession is to show that everyone is capable of having dark and embarrassing moments in life. The narrator wants to show that no matter how people portray themselves as “generous and good’, they always have another side of them that is “wicked” which they tend to hide.
4. What is going on with Rousseau’s description of his experience being spanked at boarding school? What is the significance of this “confession”?
Rousseau describes his childhood almost as if he is unbothered by the tragic death of his mother, and the exile of his father. He doesn’t really point out how he felt. He writes it in such a way, that I almost thought he was a bystander. When he talks about his mother’s death, he went straight to talking about how his father responded to the death. It was until later on in the story did he show how his mother’s absence influenced him. “Mlle Lambercier felt for us the affection of a mother”… “this punishment made me fonder of the women who have administered it”. The punishment that is carried out by what he sees as almost a mother figure, causes him to realize his sexual desires. I think what seems to be a desire for a mother, eventually, becomes something a bit darker. This just shows how much he was bothered by the absence of his mother, which maybe he didn’t even realize.
Interesting observations. I agree with you that Rousseau doesn’t really seem able to access how he was affected emotionally by the loss of his mother.
2. According to the excerpt Rousseau mentioned that feeling always came to him before thinking. He did not remember how he learn how to read or write but he just remembered the impact it had on him. Just as the impact he had when he would hear his aunt sing. He even mentioned that when he read he could feel and become the character of who he was reading. Also that when humans are babies one of the first things we can do is feel before we think.
3. Although Rousseau’s mother died the day he was born he describes his childhood to be a pleasant one. His father saw the resemblance of his mother within him and this seemed to be why he loved him so much. Although Rousseau had an older brother who wasn’t loved by his father as he was, Rousseau was considered to be an only child. He was loved by everyone around him throughout his childhood. As a child, he was always read to and later on would read with his father, because he was reading so much it can be said that this is the reason why he became an author.
1. I believe his purpose in writing this confessions was to exhibit the true reality of human nature. To give people a frame of reference per-se. He wanted to show his cards the good and the bad so he could have a clear conscience. I think there is no one reason in his writing of this. He wanted to show that he was not holier than anyone else in an effort to almost absolve himself of his sins. That if he put everything into the open he would be revered as an honest man if nothing else. That no other man could “reveal his heart with the same sincerity” and claim that they were a better man.
3. Rosseau’s childhood is described by him very fondly. He reflects on his upbringing as being an extremely beloved child, whose father although faced many tribulations such as the death of Rosseau’s mother during birth or his other son running away, nonetheless treasured his son deeply. He describes how his family heralded his love for literature and that he hadn’t really faced any aversion in his life until his father was accused of drawing his sword within city limits and was forced to exile himself, leaving his son behind in the care of his uncle.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions” is to share his private, emotional, and embarrassing moments with the readers. Rousseau wants to demonstrate his honest selfs when he describes moments in life that are not the most glamorous. I know this because of the context of the work that explains how Rousseau wanted to showcase his philosophical beliefs on the relationship between humans and society through this work. By allowing his personal moments into the eyes of society he is leading his own narrative.
What is going on with Rousseau’s description of his experience being spanked at boarding school? What is the significance of this “confession”?
Rousseau describes being spanked at boarding school as a sexual awakening of his. He felt feelings he never felt before and this was very unusual for him. The significance of this “confession” is to show an embarrassing event that was also meaningful to him in his childhood.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The purpose of writing these “confessions” was to tell about his life and how he has encountered the good and bad of every situation in his life. We know this since he explains that from the start of his life he has been a “problem” but has encountered other people with the same passion as him.
3. How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
Rousseau described his childhood as someone who everyone cared for especially his dad since his mother died while giving birth to him and Rousseau was a replicated image of his mother whom was loved deeply by the father. This significance of son and father bond leads us to know how Rousseau got his admiration for reading books and even after years of not reading going back to the activity he enjoyed the most.
What is going on with Rousseau’s description of his experience being spanked at boarding school? What is the significance of this “confession”?
Rousseau reveals to us that he used to get spanked by Mlle Lambercier when he misbehaved. But it was different for him because instead of fearing getting spanked again, he grew a desire to get spanked. It played into his sexual desires as he became an adult. This confession is significant because he’s revealing this very personal information to us to prove how he is “one of a kind.” He also didn’t want to lie in this autobiography, he wanted to show the good, the bad, and the unexpected.
How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
Rousseau tells us early on, that his mother died from childbirth, his father abandons him, and his brother runs away from home. Despite all these factors, he described his childhood as being loved by so many. He painted his childhood as a loving memory, which made me think maybe he’s just trying to be optimistic about his upbringing. He still takes pride in how good of a child he was and how everyone always showed him love and nothing less. Sometimes, when traumatic things happen during our childhood, our brain hides those tragedies away and pulls in more happier memories to the front. It’s sort of like a defense mechanism, the brain protecting itself from reliving the trauma whenever the thought of childhood comes up. I think that’s also part of why Rousseau puts an emphasis on being a loved child.
I wasn’t able to see and identify this part of Rousseau’s childhood. In my opinion, the loss of his maother’s affection led to some sexual attractions towards older women. I agree with the brain trying to pull away the bad memories and pulling in the good one’s.
3. How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
Rousseau idealized his childhood despite going through traumatic experiences like the death of his mother and his father abandoning him. I believe that Rousseau does this because he was in denial about the experiences he endured as a child. To the readers, Rousseau had a troubling childhood, but he doesn’t view his childhood the same way which illustrates why he kept repeating how loved he was as a child. He insisted on this fact and constantly brings this up because he longed to be loved, and by doing this he is attempting to persuade himself that he had an amazing childhood.
6. Using your own language, how would you describe the narrator, given his self-presentation in The Confessions?
I would describe the narrator as someone who is in denial of their childhood trauma and thinks that they can minimize their distressing experiences by filtering those moments with happier thoughts. Rousseau doesn’t acknowledge the fact that he went through a troublesome childhood, instead, he dismisses the idea of it being difficult and beautifies it as he wants it to be a happier childhood.
How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
Even though Rousseau lost his mother while he was a child, he had a joyful life with his father. When he describes his life without his mother, we can barely see that he had a childhood without his mother, and we can have that empathy. We can feel the emotion of how he was having the emptiness that he had.
Using your own language, how would you describe the narrator, given his self-presentation in The Confessions?
I would describe the narrator as a loyal person, a responsible person because he wasn’t unashamed to tell all mistakes that he did in the past. if it was another person they would likely, to hide instead of telling the true.
Even though we feel empathy, the lack of mother’s affection in his early life later led to some sexual attractions to older women.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
Rousseau, the people who knew him, thought that he was perfect. But the author wasn’t what everyone thinks. The biography ”Confessions” was published before his death. The biography is hidden while he was alive in order to protect him. However, the author wrote its own confession in order to show the whole world that he wasn‘t too good in the eyes of God. He tells us about his bad acts as sins, through the biography we can see how he falls in love with an older women, how he steals, later on, he feels guilty in himself. Rousseau didn’t have all of the guilt in himself so she wanted to share herself to the public, she was a coward, could have been responsible for her actions so she waited until she died in order to publish her “sins“.
6. Using your own language, how would you describe the narrator, given his self-presentation in The Confessions?
Jean-Jacques Rousseaue is depicted as a positive and thoughtful individual with sensitive and proud tendencies. Madame de Verellis, his boss rude, dismissive, and cold toward him during his years of service, is portrayed as an intelligent noblewoman. He describes his cold encounter with her but never condemns her and grows to care about her despite her dismissive attitude toward him in life and death, and he sheds genuine tears for a woman he disregarded and barked questions at her. His thoughts consume his writings throughout his confession. He mentions guilt and remorse for accusing Marion of something she did not do. However, as harsh as his action was to Marion, he mislaid her name in the wrong part of the conversation. It appears he liked Marion and found her attractive and filled with wonderful qualities. However, he became susceptible to his feelings of self-pride and bitterness that he took a ribbon, accused the girl that he liked of it, stuck to his erroneous claims, and kept to himself his true feelings for her.
Perhaps he wasn’t as brave as he seems – since he ended up not publishing The Confessions during his lifetime!
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator wrote the ‘confession’ to try to change the society’s viewpoint of all the good and the bad decisions that have been made by the narrator. We know this because the narrator says that he has had a bad childhood, he stole, had molested women and he had told many lies in the past. In my opinion, his book ‘confessions’ includes all the sins committed by him and is hoping to get forgiveness by the society as even though he might be a good man, bad social environment would change even the good one’s into bad.
How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
In the book ‘confessions’ we can see that the narrator talks about the loss of his mother. Due to the lack of mother’s affection, we can see that the narrator starts getting weird sexual desires towards elderly women. His father was the only source of affection and love. The narrator also had to lie and steal due to the lack of correct guidance in his life.
Yet Rousseau doesn’t acknowledge the causality that you are describing here. He doesn’t connect his childhood difficulties to his later behavior.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
I think the purpose of the narrator writing confessions is to give a glimpse into other people lives. To expose a side of himself that was kept hidden his whole life. It could also be for some satisfaction when you get something off your chest that you have been holding for so long it feels good.
What is going on with Rousseau’s description of his experience being spanked at boarding school? What is the significance of this “confession”?
Rousseau’s mentioned that when we was 11 he was spanked by Mlle de Lambercier as a punishment. I think this is important because it was complete opposite of what he usually is like. He tends to be timid and hates confrontation. He enjoyed being spanked he gained pleasure from the pain and this continued throughout his life and changed his idea of romance.
1. How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description
He recalls his father giving him all of his attention during that period, while his elder brother was practically ignored. He also mentions having a good upbringing without exposure to wrongdoing or anything similar. The importance is that he had no personal experiences before to being transferred to his aunt; yet, after he arrived at her house and continued to live there, he began to have experiences that he hadn’t previously experienced.
2. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The goal of Rousseau’s admissions is to demonstrate how corrupt and terrible man has become. From his boyhood until his maturity, Rousseau is entirely honest in acknowledging his wrongdoings. He adds this in his paper to demonstrate how the fact that he didn not have a happy upbringing had an impact on his personality and the events that took place in his life. According to Rousseau, men are morally pure from birth until they are tainted by bad behavior and society. Rousseau demonstrates that society is to blame for people turning from goodness to evil.
Yousra, Your response to question #2 clearly doesn’t derive from a reading of excerpt that we were assigned. This question is asking you to look closely at the reading you were assigned and see what Rousseau tells us his aim is at the very beginning of his Confessions.
For Rousseau, what is the relationship between feeling and thinking?
For Rousseau, feeling always came first before his thinking. He even says that he doesn’t really remember how he learned to read and write, but he did know the impact that it brought into his life, how by reading he could “escape” by becoming the person he was reading about.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The purpose of writing these “confessions” was to showcase human nature, with all the sins he committed during his lifetime, from infancy to adulthood, to show people the bad and good of all the things he did and how even though he had a good childhood, he still ended up not being a “good man” after all. I believe he wrote these “confessions” to feel liberated from all the guilt he felt, since people thought of him as a good man without knowing the full truth.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
I believe the narrator wrote these confessions for two reasons. First, he wanted to paint the full picture of the human experience. Almost all individuals have a dark aspect to them, one that is usually not public. We all do bad things and we all have regrets he wanted to show that in solidarity. Another reason he wrote this, is to get guilt off his own shoulder as well. The narrator spoke with a sense of remorse or guilt and they needed this weight off their shoulder.
For Rousseau, what is the relationship between feeling and thinking?
Rousseau said that for him feeling came first and then thinking happened. I believe this to be true for most people because humans are sentient beings and what we feel is very profound. Rousseau even said that learning reading and writing was very great for him because it gave him an escape.
Q1: What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
A1: The narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions” seem to give off the vibe that he wants to shine light on everything he had gone through during his life. Not just the good things, but everything. This can be suggested when looking on page 58 with him saying “I will present myself with this book in my hand before the Supreme Judge. I will say boldly: ‘Here is what I have done, what I have thought, what I was. I have told the good and the bad with equal frankness. I have concealed nothing that was ill, added nothing that was good…'”.
Q2: How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
A2: Although Rousseau does mention the tragedy of his mother’s death after she gave birth to him and his father’s grief, he also mentions the days he spends with his father reading and how despite having a decently big age gap with his estranged brother, he loved him. Rousseau seems to gloss over a bit the negative parts of his childhood and spends more time going into detail about the fond memories he collected from it, nostalgia if you will.
Q: For Rousseau, what is the relationship between feeling and thinking?
A: After reading Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Confessions, I feel like I can answer this question but saying that for jean, the connection between feeling and thinking were pretty clear. What I mean by this is that we know that rousseau was a very big thinker and always want to know more and more. It’s clearly said in the reading (intro) that he always read voraciously. We can connect this to “feeling” because he had this strong feelings towards reading. He would even sell his clothes to obtain money for more books.
1. Using your own language, how would you describe the narrator, given his self-presentation in The Confessions?
The narrator of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “The Confessions” is Jean-Jacques Rousseau himself. Rousseau portrays himself as a very introspective and self-reflective individual who is continually questioning and evaluating his own ideas, feelings, and actions throughout the work. He is open and honest about his shortcomings and failures, and he frequently displays himself in a mocking manner. He depicts himself as a very honest and decent someone who is fully devoted to living a good and meaningful life but as a whole “The Confessions” narrator is a very self-aware and self-critical guy who is continuously attempting to understand and improve himself.
2. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “The Confessions,” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, writes his “confessions” to examine and comprehend his own life and experiences. Rousseau thinks on his history, his thoughts, feelings, and actions throughout the work, attempting to make sense of the events and decisions that have defined his existence. He talks about his desire to comprehend his own life and share his discoveries with others, and he organizes the text as a sequence of self-reflective, introspective narratives that disclose his inner thoughts and feelings.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”, is I think for him personally to reflect on his past and understand why he became the person he is present time. He starts off in the beginning by describing his childhood, how his relationship is with his parents and since he didn’t have a mother figure growing up, he didn’t know how to appropriately act when it came to women – leading him to have unusual desires towards them.
How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
Despite all the tragedies, overall his description of his childhood can be interpreted as something positive. He was someone who was curious despite struggling in school and was interested in philosophy.