"Don't make me use my teacher voice..."

Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia

amber2009ed — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:31:32 +0000

This entry will be rather short, mainly because I did not get to finish this book. But from what I did read, I didn’t it find it that bad of a story. As mentionned in class it is similar to Candide, the tale of one man’s travels in search of one thing, in the case of Rasselas, he is searching for happiness. I think what struck me most about what I read was the details about how things looked. While reading I was able to picture these places as being extravagant. Everything was described in specific detail, such as the passageway into the kingdom, and how the mountains were the pathway for water to enter into the valley.

Oddly enough, when reading all these details about the mountains, the palace, the entranceway to the kingdom, the valley, and the beginnings of the voyage the Prince was on made me think of the story that Sara Crewe tells to the other girls at the boarding school in the move The Little Princess (1995). The only reason I can think of that would make me think of that story in comparison to this one, is that the descriptions Sara provides of India in her story and the how it is shown and represented on the screen with its lush lands, seems to be how I pictured all the places described in this novel.

I believe that if I had had more time to finish this book, I mayhave in fact actually really enjoyed it, and maybe I will get a chance to read the rest of it at a later date.

Shamela in comparison to Pamela and Anti-Pamela…

amber2009ed — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:58:08 +0000

Shamela, or as it is also known, An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews, is another books similar to Anti-Pamela, only in this story, the author is depicting what is thought to be the actual life of Pamela Andrews. It is almost as if Fielding tries to uncover a truth or show the other side of Pamela that the readers would not get from reading Richardson’s Pamela. I did not really find this story interesting mainly because by this point I had already read Pamela AND Anti-Pamela, and was getting very tired of hearing basically the same story from different perspectives or in different forms. In Pamela, it was the form of an epistolary novel, letters written by Pamela to her parents. Anti-Pamela was written in almost the same manner, with letters that were directed towards her family. Shamela however, even though it is also in the form of an epistolary novel, consists of more letters that are sent to Pamela than in Pamela where the majority are letters sent by her to her mother and father. Really, even though it could be said that Shamela is a response to Richardson’s novel in the form of looking at things from ‘the other side of the glass’ so to speak, it was not in any way interesting to me and made it very hard to read. I enjoyed Pamela, because I thought it was interesting to write a story in the form of letters from the main character, but to have to have read this story two other times in slightly different forms made it tedious. I think Pamela is an interesting read on its own, I do not feel I really learned anything extra from the other two.

Lorenzo Series reading, Colin McAdam: “Fall”

amber2009ed — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:42:57 +0000

For the Lorenzo series reading review, I chose to read Fall, by Colin McAdam. The book itself was not at all a bad read, and I actually kind of enjoyed it, that is, once I got past the crude nature of some of the characters and the use of strong language throughout the text. At first it was a little difficult to understand and follow what was going on and which character was speaking or narrating which made the storyline itself slightly confusing to follow.

I found the reading was very interesting. It was helpful in clearing up some questions I had about certain characters and from the exerpts that Mr. McAdam chose to read, I was able to get a better sense of what characters were feeling and the tone in which certain characters should be read in.

I have read other Lorenzo series books and gone to their readings as well, and enjoyed the opportunity to write a paper about this that counted toward the final mark. Although the Lorenzo Series book was not bad, and the reading was interesting, I am still a little unsure how the book I read related to or had any connection to the material we were covering in class. I could not put the two together.

Women and Gothic Literature

amber2009ed — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:20:52 +0000

Today during my groups presentation on Gothic literature and women in Gothic literature, I discussed the life and career of Ann Radcliffe. Here are, as promised, some of the key points I touched on in my discussion:

Her heroines are women of imagination
The taste for scenery and aptitude for fancy they transform the plots of sentimental fiction into otherworldly romance; co-authors of their own stories
A multitude of Gothic novels by lesser writers were categorized by the critics as belonging to the ‘Radcliffe school’
Ann’s husband William Radcliffe became editor and later the owner of a newspaper called the English Chronicle, a liberal publication associated with the opposition Whig party.
This is how she kept on top of the political and cultural currents of the day.
Her publishing career lasted from 1789 to 1797
Although this was a short time for a publishing career, it was quite successful. She published 5 novels and a good number of poems as well, along with also publishing a travel journal since her and her husband travelled quite frequently.
From Reeve and Lee’s works, Radcliffe became determined to pursue and capitalize on the idea of the novelist as a visionary.
Literary Banditry, the Bandits, are a vital element of Gothic writing; they appear in two forms: anonymous rabble of low-life villains and leaders who have fallen from high rank
Radcliffe’s bandits are always of the first type.
The epigraphs and casual quotations from the established literature of the sublime is the mark of Radcliffe’s ‘inner worth’ as a writer.
It could be said that Radcliffe was guilty of literary kleptomania. Stealing ideas and names and other such things from other writers, but in such a sneaky manner that it would not be essentially noticed at first.
What would this do to her career and the success of it? Well, it helped her to bolster her credentials as a writer and helped her to be taken seriously.
Her most celebrated works were freighted with a massive accumulation of cultural capital.
For all its evident success, Radcliffe’s device brought with it some difficulties of reception. While critics were willing to treat her novels as work far above the common run of popular fiction, they were nonetheless novels, designed to attract a broad audience.
The author’s narrative method lay in combining disparate elements: lyrical poetry, detailed landscape description, and riveting plot dependent on apprehension and suspense.
The structure of past crime discovered and set to rights in the narrative present, which Radcliffe shares with Reeve, is the structure of tragicomedy.
Where present passion invariably ends in disaster, retrospective passion can be mediated and redeemed. Happy endings are the preserve of tragicomedy.
Unlike Siddons, Radcliffe’s Gothic heroines exemplify a variety of art for art’s sake: their creativity is not vocational
Their genius is bounded by the expectation of marriage and domestic bliss. Their immersion in poetry approximates the consolatory, recreational pleasures offered to the consumer of art, and most immediately, the Gothic reader.
One of the most conspicuous and significant features of Radcliffe’s writing is seldom commented upon: a fundamental drive of her art is the creation of imaginative space for her heroines.
Her heroines are happiest, not when they marry, but when they are left alone in a sylvan setting, free to indulge a pressing need for artistic outlet.
Poetry serves a series of functions in Radcliffe’s art.
Written in the style of fashionable ‘pre-romantic’ poets, such as Thomas Gray (1716–71), William Collins (1721–59) and James Beattie (1735–1803), Radcliffe’s poetry announced her modishness.
Textually, her poems created mood while varying the tempo of the narrative. At the same time, they established the romantic bona fides of her heroines. But their fundamental meaning was to establish her heroine as a figure of the artist as a young girl.
Radcliffe’s heroine is not romantic, in the sense of being fatally overcome by her love interest. Generally, her heroine’s attitude towards marriage is not an avidly sought consummation of romantic passion, but a prudential contract with a being she can entrust with her fortune and her freedom.
Her heroine, rather, is Romantic with a capital ‘R’. Her intensive immersion in the sublime and the picturesque, her readiness to give voice to the spontaneous ode that comes upon the wanderer in nature, are a kind of prolegomenon to the writing of the novel itself.
Radcliffe and her heroines are one, but not in any cryptic, biographical sense. Her heroines are the expression, the need itself in action, of Radcliffe’s requirement to create room for herself in the world.
The egotistically sublime desire to re-imagine the world in one’s own image, to stamp experience with the imprint of one’s own words, is passed over as unexceptionable when taken in the context of, say, a Wordsworth, or a Joyce, or a James; but it seems evident to me that Radcliffe is equally driven by a poetic will to power.

Any questions about the information in our presentation, feel free to ask and I will try my best to answer what I can. Hope you liked the presentation and that some of the information was new to you.

Anti-Pamela…

amber2009ed — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:09:02 +0000

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this read at all. The letters written by Syrena Tricksy are not like those written by Pamela. Syrena has a different tone in her letter, and maybe this is why it is called Anti-Pamela, I don’t know. But regardless, I found this much more difficult to read than Pamela. I was not as intrigued by what was happening as I was in reading Pamela. In fact, I did not even find that reading Anti-Pamela helped me understand what went on in Pamela any further or easier. What I got from this text was that Syrena Tricksy is a very pretty girl that uses her beauty to seduce men, unlike Pamela. However, even though her the style of writing of Syrena’s letters is quite different from Pamela’s, the one similarity that stood out to me what that she continuously writes to her mother of wanting to visit and wanting to see her.

Anyone who might have understood this text differently or who has a better understanding of what it meant, feel free to fill me in because I did not find it interesting at all, and in fact was a little confused by it on the most part.

A final look at Pamela

amber2009ed — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:57:38 +0000

Well, I guess its about time I get around to wrapping things up on Pamela.

My final thoughts on Pamela are brief. In my own opinion, I actually really kind of liked how the story played out. The way it started out with her not knowing what to do about te situation with Mr. B. and his endless gifts and efforts to persuade her to be with him created an interesting story line. It was mostly of interest to me because even through all the advances that Mr. B made towards her and the gifts he gave her, she never took the signals the wrong way or became too frightened by it all. Despite all the begging and pleading for her safety from her father and mother, in the end, Pamela ends up being with Mr. B and marrying him. Pamela was a very interesting character and I enjoyed the fact that in the end she did what she wanted, regardless of what others told her to do.

Dear Pamela…

amber2009ed — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:49:12 +0000

Dear Pamela,

I find your story to be quite interesting compared to the other things we have read in the class thus far. When I first started reading your letters to your mother and father back home, it seems from those letter that you are not entirely happy with where you are staying. I understand that the lady of the house in which you are a maid has passed away and I send my condolences. I am also aware that since your lady’s death, her son, the young squire, has been making advances towards you that you do not appreciate very much. From the letters that your mother and father have sent back to you, it is understood that they wish you to come home as it would be safer for you. Although he has made some very nice gestures by giving you clothing from his mother’s wardrobe, the way he behaved in the Summer House is unacceptable.

Pamela, I feel that it might be in your best interest to return to your parents’ home, regardless of how poor they are, as I know you have been trying to help them by sending money. However, you need to think of yourself as well. As I read further into your letters and learn more about your story, I only hope that you will make the right choice.

From,

A Concerned Reader

First thoughts on Fantomina…

amber2009ed — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:37:23 +0000

Last night I started to read “Fantomina” which to my surprise is not all that long (unless I am mistaken). So far this it is not a difficult read, and the story line is actually rather easy to follow. I am not that far into it yet, but unlike the difficulties I had with reading Robinson Crusoe, this story has caught my attention a little more and is much more interesting to me. I did notice in the first couple pages however that there are some similarities to Robinson Crusoe in the style, such as the long sentences broken up by the use of commas, and even the occasional use of capitalization. The difference being that in this text, for some reason or another, I do not feel as irritated by this as I did with Robinson Crusoe. Maybe it is because I have learned to ignore these features and read past them or maybe it is simply because I find this text more interesting. I am looking forward to reading more of this text and posting more thoughts on it later.

Presentations and the loose ends…

amber2009ed — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:50:11 +0000

In class today we had two presentations that offered new insight not only for the book itself, but also for the author and his style of writing. One of the presentations provided me with more information about Daniel Defoe and helped me to see and understand that even though I was annoyed with the style of writing in this novel, it was merely Defoe’s style of writing. During this presentation the class was given the titles of some of the other works by Defoe and it did not take long to notice similarities between some of the titles. The second presentation interested me a little more as it pointed out and brought some of the aspects of religion that are very apparent in the text. The demonstration of how Crusoe’s life is much like that of a Protestant was very interesting and opened up a new take on the events in the text. Further class discussion that stemmed from these two presentations led to quite an in depth look at the religious side of this novel, as well as offering some possible reasons as to why form is lacking in this novel.

In a previous post I had mentioned how irritated I was at the random capitalization of words, minimal use of punctuation and the repetition of parts of the novel. From the feedback I received on that post and in class today, I know understand that it is because this novel is not meant to be read as fiction, but rather, to be seen as a depiction of someone’s life, whether based on reality or not. The idea that as the reader you can read and follow the adventure of Robinson Crusoe and experience through his details of his everyday life on the island the struggles he would have faced is in fact how it was meant to be read, almost as though it is meant to pull readers into the story.

I cannot say that I was very interested in this book, as it is not my typical read, however I do have a new appreciation for the style that Defoe used in writing this novel now that class discussions have clarified why this novel is written the way it is.

The repetitive world of Robinson Crusoe…

amber2009ed — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:08:31 +0000

I cannot for the life of me determine why on earth it is necessary to fill a novel with multiple long tedious paragraphs filled with randomnly capitalized words. I am not nearly as far into this novel as I could be if it had been like other novels I have read, where punctuation is used on a regular basis, and chapters actually exist. I find it rather exhausting while I am reading simply because there is nothing there to divide up what you are reading. There are no chapters; the use of periods is rare; and then there is the issue of repetition. I do not think it is necessary to have so many pages devoted to “he went here… and he saw this… and he brought this…”. Yes, Robinson Crusoe is supposed to be on an adventure, I understand that, however, could you imagine if we all took the time to tell our peers everything we did and what we brought with us while doing it, and what little interruptions happened along the way…everyday!? I am sure it would not take long before they too would become as annoyed by the repetition as I am with this novel. I am only hoping that I may become more evident further into the novel as to why we are being told so many details which at the present moment seem to be irrelevant.