great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

1. In Carlos Fuentes’s work, “Aura”, the use of a second person narrative not only facilitates the reader’s ability to escape reality with the characters, but, this choice also strengthens the theme of beauty in Fuentes’s fantasy world.
2. Although in “Because I could not stop for Death” and “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” Emily Dickinson uses both similar and different strategies to devleop a theme of mortality, the final intepretation of mortality in each piece is drastically different.
3. In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, Gregor’s transformation to that of an insect is a symbolic depiction of his transformation internally, but more importantly, it is significant of a true metamorphosis.

Section Viii. Line 12,

 “frightened forests”

The diction in this short piece of text strongly influences the reader’s emotions and interpretation of the literary piece. Within the forests we see this notion of fright, or fear, to an inanimate idea, a forest. Through this use of personification, Osundare is not only able to more strongly connect with his reader but also convey the message that even forests can develop “fright” so to speak, as a result of the environmental injustices existing in society. It is certainly salient to mention that the adjective of being frightened is generally attributed to humans, but in this poem Osundare chooses to attribute this emotion to forests, which are non-moving concepts that are evidently incapable of displaying any kind of emotions. The use of the adjective “frightened” also elicits an innumerable number of hazardous and precarious situations, thus allowing the reader to decipher the cause of the “fright” on the basis of his or her imagination. The ambiguity in this piece of text allows for the reader to ultimately thread the story in his or her own way. This is not to say that one will misinterpret the meaning of the poem, but rather that there is no “correct” interpretation and that ultimately, the feelings of “fright” exhibited by the forests may be evaluated based upon the emotional standpoint of the reader.

Works Cited

Cavallari, Dan, and Bronwyn Harris. WiseGeek. Conjecture. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.

Joshua Kohan

Josh K, Tyler, Rose and Joseph

In general, the second person perspective allows for the reader to establish him or herself in the position of the protagonist, which can often help enhance the reader’s engagement in the narrative. For this reason, we collectively believed that the use of the second person was extremely effective as it certainly made the story that much more interesting to read. More importantly however, the use of the second person helped contribute to the strengthening of both major themes and character development seen throughout the story.

One major theme that can be identified is Consuelo’s desire to relive her years of youth. She does so, by living vicariously through Aura. We see that throughout the story Consuelo and Aura act in sync with one another, “…Senora Consuelo smiles at you, nodding her head, smiling at you along with Aura, who moves her head in rhythm with the old lady’s…”(p.847-848). We see that the use of the second person perspective strengthens this theme of Consuelo’s nostalgia for youth, because now the actions of Aura and Consuelo are being directed at you, the reader, which makes it easier for the reader the identify this concept that the author is trying to illustrate. Surely enough, had the narrative been written from another point of view, the major themes would not have been as powerful, and consequently, not as identifiable.

The use of the second person strengthens surely strengthens the development of character throughout the story, but more so the idea of discovering oneself. When you, referring to Felipe Montero, read the advertisement, you are very confident that the job position is perfect for you because you are that “wanted, young historian, conscientious, neat…” and realize that “the advertisement should have two more words, in bigger, blacker type: Felipe Montero. Wanted. Felipe Montero” (832). Frank ignores the job posting by thinking that someone else has already taken the job but he constantly sees the advertisement appear in the newspaper. This scene of Felipe’s dilemna of applying for the job portrays his struggle of finding himself. Carlos Fuentes uses the word “you” to represent Felipe because he wants the audience to put themselves in Felipe’s perspective as he goes from a jobless man to the writer of the General’s memoirs.

Carlos Fuentes’s use of second person helps us relate to Felipe Montero and understand his character develop as the story goes on. Even though using second person limits the reader to the perspective of Montero it is easier to relate and get a clear sense of his development throughout the story. Since we are using second person, we only know of Aura and Senora Consuelo through Montero and what he knows of them. It is a real time update and its as Felipe is learning about these characters as we, the reader are. We are lead to believe that Aura is there against her will and her aunt is making her stating” Aura was spiritless, hypnotized by her terror, incapable of speaking in front of the tyrant… begging you to set her free(842).” As a reader we think only as Felipe thinks, so to us Aura is a prisoner in her own home and her aunt Consuelo is the one keeping her there. This also shows how audacious Montero has become while staying there and his thought of reasoning developing.

The use of a second-person point of view makes the reader feel as if they are the one who is experiencing the story as it transpires. In “Aura,” Carlos Fuentes, the author, asserts that things that happen in the past have a lingering affect on the individuals involved at the time. This idea is a recurring theme in the novel. While Felipe tries to fight back old memories and feelings, the narrator says, “You bury your face in the pillow, trying to keep the wind of the past from tearing away your features, because you don’t want to lose them” (851). When Fuentes writes, “… keep the wind of the past from tearing away your features,” it is evident that people always try to fight the effects of old age and remain as youthful as possible. Specifically, aging has a negative impact on physical beauty because it “tears away your features.” Past experiences, past issues, and the passing of time itself all cause people to change whether it is physically or mentally. In “Aura,” past events lead to Felipe losing sense of who he really is. People always try to remember and live in the past, but it is simply impossible.

A striking difference is evident when comparing the reactions of Gregor’s father and the chief clerk to Gregor’s metamorphosis. In analyzing the two responses we can see that Gregor’s father is aggressive, while the chief clerk is apathetic.  As Part I of Kafka’s narrative concludes, we are given a description of Gregor’s father’s reaction: “His father clenched his fist with a pugnacious expression, as if ready to push Gregor back into his room…” (217). One can quickly see that Gregor’s father is in no way accepting, or even sympathetic of Gregor’s unfortunate predicament. His immediate “clenching of his fist” is clearly evident of an overly aggressive response. When considering the chief clerk’s reaction on the other hand, we see a striking difference, that being disinterest, which certainly would not describe Gregor’s father’s response. Upon seeing Gregor, “…the chief clerk had turned his back on Gregor the moment he had begun speaking,” (218). The chief clerk’s apathy and neglect towards Gregor is clearly seen as he “turns his back” before Gregor can even express himself. Although both responses are clearly distant and cold, the chief clerk’s response is significantly different than Gregor’s father’s response because the chief clerk is neglecting of Gregor, while Gregor’s father, is actually attentive so to speak, but more so aggressive.

Tagore’s “Punishment” seeks to explore the ethical concerns in the Bengal countryside during the late nineteenth century. Chidam asks Chandara to take the blame for the murdering of Radha and rationalizes this act by stating, “Don’t worry- if you do what I tell you, you’ll be quite safe,” (895). The ethical problem that Tagore is illustrating here is the excessive amount of power a husband had over his wife during the time. Furthermore, this matter impacts the conclusion of the story as Chandara chooses to liberate herself from the cruelty and injustice that surrounds her, however at the expense of her life. Had Chandara actually “did what Chidam told her”, and claimed that “the murder” was an accident, she may have been able to live. The fact that she was more determined to lie against herself, then to potentially speak up and tell the truth, truly shows the degree of anger which had developed inside of Chandara as a result of the acts of her husband. How would the story have ended if Chandara decided to say what actually had happened? Maybe her perspective may not have even been considered by the judge because of the power men had over women. In the end, the power Chidam exerted over Chandara came to haunt him, as it led to the unwarranted loss of his wife.

Thesis Statement 1:

The tensions that exist between the value systems of Li and Du Tenth not only end their relationship together, but more importantly, ultimately lead up to Du Tenth’s demise.

Thesis Statement 2:

Explicit differences in values of money, social class and pride can be seen between Li and Du Tenth, which significantly assist in developing the plot of the narrative.

In Henrik Ibsen’s play, Hedda Gabler, Hedda’s conniving character is certainly worth discussion. In Act 3 of the play, Hedda devises a plan to destroy the relationship between Eilert Løvborg and Mrs. Elvsted but it is even more important to be cognizant of how she does so. Hedda’s conniving character is strongly portrayed when she says, “No wait! Take a souvenir to remember me by,”(827). Out of apprehension, Lovborg lies and tells Mrs. Elvsted that he ripped up the manuscript that the two had worked on together. He later on, confides in Hedda and explains that he actually lost it while he was drunk, and this is essentially when Hedda’s conniving character trait is revealed. At this point, Hedda already has the manuscript, since her husband George found it and gave it to her. She chooses not say anything about it and rather continues to watch Løvborg in his state of anguish. As Løvborg is leaving, she wishes to show her “compassion” by giving him a “souvenir”, a pistol. It is Hedda’s diction in the above quote that makes her more conniving than possibly another adjective. She appears to sound very comforting, when she tells Lovborg she wants him to have a souvenir to remember her by. Løvborg goes on to attempt suicide and Hedda supports him in doing so, but it is important to keep in mind not what Hedda does, but how she does it, which is ultimately what constructs her conniving character trait.

Du Tenth in Feng Menglong’s, “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger,” and the narrator in Saikaku’s, Life of a Sensuous Woman may both be classified as prostitutes, however these two characters differ drastically in nature. The narrator in Saikaku’s narrative appears to lack any ability to love. She says, “With this single body of mine I’d slept with more than ten thousand men,” (610). Throughout all her encounters with men, could it be that she had not developed love with even one? Du Tenth on the other hand, is the victim of heartbrokenness by what appeared to be her one true love. Du Tenth, contrary to the narrator, truly undertook all measures in her power to attain love. She gave up her savings for her and Li to be together, “The padded quilt I sleep on contains a hundred fifty taels in odd change. This is my private savings,”(505). Not only so, but she even reached out to her sisters, who provided so much for the two to go on and live together. Li, oblivious to these efforts, sold her away; Li says, “He [Sun Fu] has it in mind to take you in for one thousand taels,”(514). To say that Li is a moron would be an understatement. Nonetheless, these concepts speak strongly about Du Tenth’s loving character, and what she was willing to do for another individual. In reading Saikaku, such character traits would not seem plausible for the narrator. For me personally, I did not feel much sympathy for Saikaku’s narrator at the end of the story. However, I sympathize strongly for Du Tenth, especially considering that she gave away her life.