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

Rebecca

“ My sleep was heavy and unsatisfying. In my dream, I had already felt the same vague melancholy, the weight on my diaphragm, the sadness that won’t stop oppressing my imagination. Although I was sleeping in Aura’s room, I was sleeping all alone, from from the body I believe I’ve possessed.

When I woke up, I looked for another presence in the room, and realize it’s not Aura who disturbs me, but trahter the double presence of something that was engendering during the night. I put my hands on my forehead, trying to calm my disordered senses: that dull melancholy is hinting to me in a low voice, the voice of memory and premonition, that I’m seeking my other half that the sterile conception last night engendered my own double.

And I stop thinking, because there are things even stronger than the imagination: the habits that force me to get up…”

I thought that this passage would be a good passage to try in first person. In the second person, it felt almost as if I was being hypnotized. It’s creepy and not only is trance like, but almost seems as if you are in a trance. “Your sleep is heavy and unsatisfying” is a command, trying to tell you that you are experiencing something you physically are not.

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Songyun:

“ He sleeps was heavy and unsatisfying. In his dream, he had already felt the same vague melancholy, the weight on his diaphragm, the sadness that won’t stop oppressing his imagination. Although he was sleeping in Aura’s room, he was sleeping all alone, from from the body he believe he has possessed.

When he woke up, he looked for another presence in the room, and realize it’s not Aura who disturbs him, but trahter the double presence of something that was engendering during the night. He puts his hands on his forehead, trying to calm his disordered senses: that dull melancholy is hinting to him in a low voice, the voice of memory and premonition, that he is seeking his other half that the sterile conception last night engendered his own double.

And he stops thinking, because there are things even stronger than the imagination: the habits that force him to get up…”

Between first person, second person and third person. We can see when you first start reading the novel the second person narration sounds like someone is giving you instructions. The second person experiences as you actually feel its happening to you. And also helps us understand the development of main characters. But the third person does not bring the reader to a present state of mystery, but the second person taking the reader on a journey through Felipes stream of consciousness.

Michelle:

I thought that how my groupmates translated this passage was very interesting. I am most comfortable reading it in third person, because that is what we usually read books in, but the first person sounds like a person saying a narrative. I think it was a good passage for Rebecca to choose because there is a major difference between the three versions. The one in the book sounds like someone is telling you to do something, the first person sounds like someone saying their own creepy experience, and you are more distanced from it, and the third person makes you even more distanced and much less creepy.

“Although I was sleeping in Aura’s room, I was sleeping all alone, from from the body I believe I’ve possessed.” I thought that this sentence was strongest in first person. It becomes an emotional one, instead of an analytical one, when it’s in first person.