Yun Choi – ENG 2850 Fall 2018

In a novel, New Year’s Sacrifice written by Lu Xun, there is a typical poor peasant woman who suffers from the oppression of the feudal ethical code, called wife of Xiang Lin. After her husband’s death, she runs away from home on hearing that her merciless mother-in-law wants to sell her and is hired as a servant in the house of Master Lu the Fourth in Luzhen Town. Before long, she is kidnapped and sold into her second marriage with He Laoliu, an honest peasant. She falls in with her fate and gives birth to a son named A’mao. Unfortunately, her fate is unchangeable, and a local landlord persecutes her husband to death. Later, her son is killed and eaten by a wolf. In the face of the two misfortunes, the wife of Xiang Lin is driven out of her mind and acts like a mad woman. People say that she has committed a crime by marrying twice, and they urge her to contribute money at the temple’s threshold to atone for her crime. She obeys people’s saying and gives her hard-earned money, but she could not neither eliminate nor stop the discrimination against her. In the end, she becomes a beggar in the street and dies in an explosion of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve.

The women written by Lu Xun does not have a name, people do not know where she was even born. Her position and status back in the time period was just ‘someone’s wife’. This kind of woman could not learn and her life was totally under traditional ethnicity and Confucian myth. Many people criticized solely for the reason that she had married twice. She was not wicked and devilish rather she was a diligent person. However, she could not stand her fate and met death in fear and despair.

This novel gave a major impact on Chinese society, people felt sympathy for this woman and at the same time were furious for the pain that women were currently undergoing in tradition areas. The wife of Xiang Lin represents the typical women in the period. She could not learn anything and her status was low in the society. She did not have the power to resist people’s criticism and just felt sorry for her unfortunate destiny. She did not have her own identity. By the time Lu Xun was writing this novel, Chinese society was extremely inhuman in it’s treatment of the lower classes and especially of women. Obviously, the Confucian values such as respect, kindness and generosity were not applied to the lower class people. In this novel, I believe Lu Xun wanted to inspire the social change revolutionizing Chinese culture by implying these extreme examples in the literature. In a way, this can be a criticism against Chinese society challenging the traditional values and affecting the mind of individuals.

In historical perspective, Lu Xun wrote this novel in 1923, which is 11 years after Qing Dynasty’s collapse in 1912. In the background of Qing dynasty, women did not have a choice about their marriage and after the marriage, they became completely dedicated to their families as if they were slaves owned by husband’s family. Furthermore, when their husbands die, they were forced to commit suicide following their husbands. Women from high status were not as much as in the same condition like the ones from the lower status but women’s subordination to the male gender was inevitable. Even though I was already aware of the history of women before reading this novel, it shocked me in a way and made me appreciate the rights I have as a woman living in current society right now. Furthermore, perhaps I was more immersed in emotions of Xiang Lin’s wife; I could feel the strong power of writer implying all the social and cultural aspects in the literature, which can be a small but very influential one step for the revolution and change in our society.

 

I found this commentary interesting because the questions like who is the real monster and what makes monster are being asked. Though not born a monster, the creature became one after having been repeatedly rejected, first by Frankenstein, and then by the De Lacey family, which had accepted Safie, but scared at the creature’s appearance despite his admirable qualities. The De Laceys’ different responses to Safie and the creature suggest not only the limitation reflecting the time period that cannot accept “otherness,” but also the limitations of English society.

Throughout the story, the monster is learning the language himself. The creature has a self-conscious in the process of acquiring the human language. He was trying to be like a human being by learning language and communicate with people but people were afraid of him and did not respect his life at all. So he went gradually turning into a monster. Frankenstein makes us think about the significance of a language in human life and communication. I believe Mary Shelley comments on the prejudices and limitations of English society within the story of Franekenstein.

In terms of a question whether the monster is created based on the nature or nurture, I found another passage from Ch16 that’s related to this question.

“There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No; from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery.”

This passage shows why and how the creature turned into a monster. It is concluded that the creature is meant to turn into a monster because he lost love and was deprived of love forever. Based on his words and behaviors throughout the story, the monster remained in regret for his crimes, which implies that he is not ethically monstrous or vicious. Thus in conclusion, this novel shows that making a creature, as a monster is a prejudice, exclusion and a lack of engagement in our society.

 

 

The title of this video commentary on Oroonoko is A Fate Worse than Death, which caught my sympathy. The animated version of the summary well explains the harsh lives and fates of characters had to go throughout the story.

Oroonoko is a mixture of horrors of slavery, tragedy, romantic and moving story. According to Wilber L. Cross, it is even considered as the first humanitarian novel in English. Behn implied several significant themes throughout the story that are European or Native Superiority, Anti-colonialism, Slavery and Trust between people.

First of all, Behn depicts and compares the natives with colonists. I believe her usage of natives and colonists are somewhat mixed in the text. She definitely contains the innate superiority of European and rather describes natives as savages. On the other hand, Oroonoko is described as beautiful which might have been achieved from his non-native life and education when he was a prince prior to becoming a slave.

In terms of slavery, Oroonoko is known to be the earliest cause of abolitionism of slavery however; I suppose Behn’s writing seemed to be remaining passive against the slavery problem in a way. This story ultimately tells you the tragedy and horrors of the slavery but not directly criticizing the colonists using the slaves.

Last of all, the fact that trusts between people was so weak and not regarded as a significant value for living back in time seriously moved me much. It seemed like Oroonoko was the only one having trust and loyalty as the important values. He encountered the first betrayal from the King, and next the Commander’s. After several betrayals and lost of trust, Oroonoko once was a prince but eventually became a slave.

Oroonoko’s anger about the commander’s dishonesty is truly shown within his words.  “Come, my fellow-slaves, let us descend and see if we can meet with more honour and honesty in the next world we shall touch upon” (Behn 41).

 

 

In Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the word metamorphosis is used to describe Gregor’s awakening to the irrationalities around him, and his committing suicide after the awakening. After reading this novel I felt like this theme is relates to everyone’s daily life – wake up, go to work, work, go home and sleep. People do not have problems keeping this kind of repeating cycle, but one day one might wonder, ‘why?’. One can suddenly feel ridiculous about the repetitive daily life and starts to suffer, which leads to self-alienation, which ultimately causes metamorphosis at last. The main character, Gregor also experiences this state of ‘being’.

 

“At that time Gregor’s sole desire was to do his utmost to help the family to forget as soon as possible the catastrophe that had overwhelmed the business and thrown them all into a state of complete despair.”

As you can see from the passage, Gregors’s family had a financial problem and Gregor becomes the breadwinner. As the one who is in charge of his family’s income, Gregor works hard even though he is not really happy with his job. He has little dreams, paying off all debts, and sending his sister to music school. Gregor is an ordinary person character that we can easily find around us. He realizes how ridiculous his life is, repeating the same thing endlessly, and the story starts with him recognizing occurrence of his metamorphosis.

 

Before Gregor is transformed, he is like a machine earning money. After his father’s business fails, Gregor sacrifices himself to earn money for the family. The whole family was proud of Gregor when he got his first paycheck. However, as time goes by, it does not impress anyone anymore, their gratitude toward Gregor gradually diminished – it just became a necessary and inevitable thing for Gregor to do. As his family treats him like a machine, Gregor starts to wonder about his existence. Though, as an earnest person, the first thing Gregor worries after he sees his transformed body is ‘work’. He tries so hard to go to work and begs the chief clerk to explain what has happened, which reminds lots of breadwinners in these days. However, other members of the family easily replaced Gregor’s position. After Gregor became a bug and could not earn money anymore, his parents and sister each gets a job, as if they are replacing the broken part of the machine. Therefore, Gregor’s reason for being no longer exists, and his little dreams are gone. He is treated as a burden, and at last, the family goes on a picnic without him, as if Gregor never existed. Just Like Gregor, people will easily lose their reason for being, and will become part of a large machine as if he never existed.

 

Being a bug, Gregor is totally disconnected from the world. He cannot communicate with the others, and because of his appearance, he feels an infinite distance between him and the others. After he becomes a useless person in the family and in the society in a broader context, he gradually becomes nobody, as if he was not part of the family from the beginning.

How the family treats Gregor shows the self-centeredness and cowardice of human nature and the alienation by the society. Though, Gregor’s case can be little different, that it is even more dramatic since his appearance transformed. The family’s reaction after seeing Gregor is literally hatred. Gregor cannot even communicate with the family, and it totally separates them apart. Even when Gregor tries to unite with the family in any circumstances, his father exerts direct force to separate him; no morality exists. Since his appearance has changed, no one cares about morality and hypocrisy – especially Gregor’s father, who exerts direct force on Gregor. At the end, Gregor gradually dies in the irrationality of reality.

 

Even though Gregor failed to maintain his life after his awakening of the irrationalities around him, people must be able to find other things that are meaningful besides the irrationalities they encounter. Gregor could have found such things that are meaningful and stayed alive such as finding pleasure walking around the walls and ceiling. However, he could not maintain his life because he was so shocked after realizing the irrationalities within his family. Kafka’s Metamorphosis explains a lot about alienation, boredom, irrationality, and the distance between people. Even though irrationality is something one will find in life, he can find hope, happiness in the middle of it. One should not lose the meaning of life even after realizing the irrationality but fight against it, and prove the value of one’s existence.

http://www.bartlebythefilm.com/watch/

I found this cartoon film interesting because this is reimaging the classic literature Bartleby the Scrivener in 21^st century. Unlike Melville’s Bartleby in 1853, this cartoon’s background is set in the Wall street of 2011 when there was a Occupy Wall Street Protest. Bartleby, who continues to say “prefer not to,” stages his passive resistance against a background of Occupy protests delivering contrasting message how only passive resistance was performed in 1853, but on the other hand, in the contemporary context, active resistance is occurring outside the office Bartleby is in.

 

Relating it to the passage, Bartleby, has his own catchphrase– “I would prefer not to.” He uses this phrase in response to almost everything. Bartleby’s slogan communicates his philosophy and life in five short words. Of course, it has an impact on lawyer, however, there is no communication so called real talk which common human beings have. “I sat awhile in perfect silence, rallying my stunned faculties. Immediately it occurred to me that my ears had deceived me, or Bartleby had entirely misunderstood my meaning. I repeated my request in the clearest tone I could assume; but in quite as clear a one came the previous reply, “I would prefer not to.”” This passage shows miscommunication between lawyer and scrivener.

Bartleby refuses to go with society’s flow by saying “I would prefer not to”. By preferring not to cooperate with human beings, he dies lonely. We can think of some features that make us human beings. By looking at this quotation, one of characteristics that makes human is being together. Though, Bartleby also has somewhat human thing and this is another element which makes human being, the will of individual. The most human aspect of Bartleby is the assertion of his will. Every time he says, “I would prefer not to,” he is nearly shouting to us, “I am a human being. I can make choices for my own life!” When Bartleby’s preferences are ignored and he is sent to the prison, he gives up his life. He has lost the one element of humanity that he seemed to possess. To conclude, by reading this quote, I learned what makes us human.

 

 

When I first encountered the ‘Song of Myself’, I have not seen such a long poem before so I really wondered what Whitman was trying to say in these fifty-two sections of the epic poem. It took me somewhat a long time to interpret the whole sections but after all, I realized it was more like a journey reading the whole story of fifty-two poems. I believe that the main theme of ‘Song of Myself’ is a journey in finding myself. In the beginning stage of the journey, ‘I’ go through delighted and holy time of union with God but still yet isolated from the outside world. In the middle stage, ‘I’ precede a journey to the outside world, expanding the union to the humanity as a whole, but realizing that the conflicts and differences exist within the humanity and society. Following with the next stage, ‘I’ is able to be beyond the all creations and allows a self totally combining with the outside world. Finally, in the final stage, ‘I’, the poet himself departs a journey recommending the same journey to the audience.

The theme of journey in ‘Song of Myself’ is a very basic and main theme at the same time since journey concept is uniting all the scattered sections and forming a consistent structure to the poem. The fifty-two sections of the poem are gradually gathered in a harmony with the outside world, and myself dissolving the conflicts and opposites, ultimately become one.

The section that interested me the most is where he defines what “I am”

I know I am solid and sound….

I exist as I am, that is enough,

If no other in the world be aware I sit content,

And if each and all be aware I sit content.

One world is aware and by far the largest to me, and that is myself,

And whether I come to my own to-day or in ten thousand or ten million years.

I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness

I can wait. (Section 20 403, 413-18)

 

I believe the section 20 is the middle stage of the journey. This sections gives questions like “What am I? What is a man? What are you?” which all are very similar to each other and the poet himself answers it in the poem; “In all people I see myself” (Section 20, 401). In this middle stage of journey, he interprets the outside world by expanding the unity as a whole and absorbing every object in the universe reaching to the answer “In all people I see myself” meaning the reflection of myself can be found from looking at the surfaces of the universe. Thus, Me and Not Me from the beginning stage now has reached to the stage where conflicts, opposites and differences can be dissolved prior to the final stage of the journey.

 

I found this video clip very interesting because these two people became Hamlet and Don Quixote having a rap battle dissing about their madness.

Justification of ‘Madness’ has become a certain topic in literary work throughout the centuries. Shakespeare’s hamlet and Cervantes’ Don Quixote both contain characters that use madness to excuse their actions in their lives respectively. These two heroes, Hamlet and Don Quixote are quite identical in the system of their madness throughout the story. Don Quixote and Hamlet both show a heroic desire to actualize their ideal worlds into a reality through their madness.

 

Don Quixote is usually considered to be an idealistic, enthusiastic, and unselfish character; on the other hand Hamlet is a skeptical, melancholic, and self-conscious thinker. Hamlet, filled with revenge, seeks justice for the unexplained sudden death of his father. Hamlet does not sacrifice his own life but dreams and acts without losing his reason. On the other hand, Don Quixote is a knight who lost his mind in love of tales of chivalry and decides to live his life devoted towards gaining honor through his encounters. He can also be called ‘the waking dreamer’, acting like a maniac. He wanders in his dreaming reality saving the weak, the poor and the deprived. Throughout the story, while he tries to keep his role of a knight, he even happens to encounter psychic and physical breakdown.

 

Hamlet and Don Quixote share similar character roles of convincing those around them that they have gone mad. Specifically, Hamlet uses the death of his father to excuse his unpredictable behaviors towards others, while Don Quixote and his friend Sancho travel to find honor in the name of his knight title. Although there are some differences between Don Quixote and Hamlet, they do have basic similarities; exemplifying a heroic type of character who desperately seeks to achieve the insanity dream in order to confront the doubtful, dangerous and strange world. To conclude Don Quixote and Hamlet both show a heroic desire to actualize an ideal world into a reality through their dream and madness.

 

The video commentary on King Lear I chose is titled ‘King Lear – The Role of the Fool by Cameron Willison. Cameron Willison is focusing on the character Fool and tells us the role of the Fool in the commentary. Fools are the characters that usually make people laugh using their comical appearances and foolish gestures. The Fool in King Lear also gives audience pleasure through his humors and jests. However, according to Cameron, the Fool is not so foolish at all. He can be depicted as a very wise character in all contexts. The Fool is always visible next to King Lear, predicts the future of King Lear, criticizes, and helps the King to be healed.

Throughout the plot, the Fool penetrates people’s mind, especially King Lear and delivers the facts of human life to King Lear and to the audience. This is a very important role because the Fool deliberately gives main messages to King Lear and audience. Fool uses his humors, and riddles to help the old King move forward to realize that authority, wealth, and territory are not the fundamental natures of the human. Fool is seemed to be just a jester of the King who has a duty to maintain a theatrical face in front of his King, however this character ironically plays a truest figure with the very truest insights of human life in the play, which allows him to be a key character.

This commentary seemed very appealing to me compared to others because most of the commentaries emphasized and only focused on other main characters so I did not realize this single character could convey the significant theatrical meaning. Fool helps and guides King Lear to the full realization of his own foolishness causing tragedy of human life. After suffering and realizing, King Lear goes through healing time and cures the wound with the help of the Fool. In this context, the Fool is a wise fool, wise helper, and healer for King Lear.