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. Why do you think Rousseau chooses to include the anecdote about stealing from his employer?
5. Using your own language, how would you describe the narrator, given his self-presentation in The Confessions?
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator’s purpose in writing the Confessions is to present his whole life on page so that people will not think him better or worse than he truly is. He hopes that telling his life story will make it clear to people why he made the questionable decisions in his life that he did (such as giving away all of his children) and thus make him more trustworthy. Also, by writing his life down he is able to analyze what has gotten him to where he is right now and maybe provide him some clarity on who he is. This can be inferred from the text being titled “Confessions”, which are usually truths being told about events in order to grasp what happened, which is exactly what Rousseau is doing now.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
Rousseau wanted to make a it clear that he is a human being with faults. He isn’t neither good or bad but a combination of both due to certain life decisions he’s made in his past. In a way to come clear of his guilts, Rousseau Wrote his confessions to let people know his whole truth from the only person who would know the truth. He blamed Marion for a theft he committed. The reason why he committed this action was to be closer to Marion, but this backfired and costed Marion, a good girl with good morals to be humiliated and hurt at the cost of Rousseau Status. After many years he still anguishes the pain he placed on Marion, this was foretold in the book that the guilty will suffer internally. Rousseau Wrote these confessions to come clean to the world, to let people know his mistakes and errors to the world. The very thing he feared to do.
How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
Rousseau describes his childhood as being generally happy. His mother had died during childbirth, so he never got to know her, but had a piece of her in the romances she left behind. His love for reading as a child sprouted from the romances he would read with his father. He says his father loved him very much, seeing his dead wife in him. His father gave him a lot of attention, especially in comparison to Rousseau’s brother. Rousseau mentions that he was loved by those around him, and while he had a happy childhood he was not spoiled. These conditions are significant in understanding why Rousseau fell in love with Mlle Lambercier, a woman much older than him. He lacked a mother’s love even though he had love from other figures in his life. This led to him developing feelings for his guardian, who he says was a mother figure. He also talks about certain events in his childhood that would normally have a huge impact on a child, rather nonchalantly. For instance, he mentions that his father had to suddenly abandon him, but he doesn’t describe feeling overly upset about it.
Using your own language, how would you describe the narrator, given his self-presentation in The Confessions?
I would describe him as a regular person, with some glaring aspects about him that are alarming in my opinion. Many people grow up without a mother in their life, but the effects of not having a mother in his life is displayed through the things he likes. For example, he said he likes to get spanked, and although this can have a direct correlation with not having a parent, apart of me doesn’t want to believe that. I feel as though having a motherly figure or not, that has nothing to do with her and everything to do with you. This along with having feelings for his guardians is weird to me, but I don’t attribute these characteristics to not having a mother because the father could have corrected these issues when he was younger. I’m torn whether not having a mother effected his life negativelty or not, but one thing I can say is that he has some peculiar qualities.
I would describe Jean Jacque Rousseau as idyllic, childish, and self-absorbed. He shows aspects of his idyllicism when he portrays his childhood which could be described as neglectful as one filled with love and care. Childish aspects of his personality are displayed when he blames Marion (the maid) he claimed to like for stealing a ribbon when confronted. Lastly, he is self-absorbed when he describes himself as being above servants, willing to give his children away to an orphanage as well as never forgetting when he was told by Marion that she would never want to be like him. He seemed confused as to why she didn’t want to be like him because he sees himself as being unique and great.
How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
Rousseau described his childhood in a dark way when revealing that he lost his mother during childbirth. This occurrence had a profound impact on his relationships, particularly his affection towards older women. Knowing from experience, when you lose a mom, it truly affects the intimate, social, and professional relationships you enter. Thankfully, therapy has been instrumental in my journey, and I believe it could have been a valuable resource for Rousseau as well.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know”
Rousseau’s purpose in writing his confessions was to allow people to have a better understanding of himself. I would even say that he made these confessions more for him so that he would finally reflect on his actions and be released from the guilt he has been carrying over all these years. We know this because throughout his writing he mentions his fear of shame and how he would do various things just to avoid being put in a shameful position. Because of this he tells us how he has blamed a robbery on Marion, an innocent victim of him just because he was too ashamed of being discovered. He tells us he is a person who can’t live freely because of his desires like Being spanked, which are things that society would shamefully judge him if revealed, so he tells us he would rather suffer. By writing his confessions just like the title he has chosen he finally is able to let go of all the things that he has carried along with him and by using this autobiography he is finally providing the freedom from the thing he has feared the most, shame.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
Rousseau’s purpose for writing his book “Confessions” was to defend himself against negative views people may have on him. In the book, he talked about his adventures and why he did the things he did. He detailed many of his flaws in which he wanted to talk about so the reader can decide wheter or not the things he did was reasonable. He didn’t want everyone to think badly of him, he wanted to speak for himself to get his own view out there.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator Jean-Jacques Rosseau, wrote confessions which means disclosing all whether good or bad about his past, using the novel as a cleansing of his past. Throughout Part One we see the narrator talk about the passing of his mother and the fact that his brother walked out on his family, showcasing all the sorrow he went through at such a young age. Furthermore, Rosseau discusses the times when he had certain desires that he wanted to be fulfilled but never experienced. Lastly, he talks about a time when he stole from his employer and blamed it on the girl he liked. It is a clear theme through the books that he wants to tell all, but he is doing this so that people can better understand his actions and even have empathy for him. He is able to do this by writing in a way where he shows the decisions leading up to events and his thoughts after and sometimes even asks for forgiveness from the readers.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions” is to show everyone about his life. He wants to make everything clear so no one would have assumptions about him or what kind of person he is. He wants to do this before he dies. The narrator starts from childhood and explains all his experiences good and bad. He then relates all this to the many questionable things he did as an adult. In a way, he is blaming his childhood for his wrongdoings and the person he is now.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know? The narrator’s purpose in writing these confessions is that he wanted no one portray his story for less than or more than what it really was. Just from the tile of the the writing one can gradually infer what the author will be writing about You can tell the purpose of why he is writing this story because he deliberately states that he didnt have a perfect upbringing and one of his main point of views is that we are born perfect and it is society that influences us.