Critical Essay

I read the essay about how The Grapes of Wrath relates of the poetry of William Blake.  I really enjoyed reading this essay and realizing how well these pieces of the puzzle fit together.  Not only do they come together in a very universal way, but also in a religious way as well.  This essay makes it seem like the theme of this book is somewhat of the following: "People go from innocence, to experience, and back to innocence again."  This holds true especially to Rose of Sharon.  She is very innocent in the beginning of the novel.  She is a new mother-to-be that has no idea of what's to come. but once the baby is born, she gains the experience of being a mother (well not really), but then it turns again to innocence in the fact that she only holds what she can give, which is her breast milk from her dead child.  Another example of this is when the Joad family is forced out of their homeland and into something very new, and obscure to them.  Their innocence resides on their little farm in which they used to own.  Their experience comes once they are forced out of their home and into a "Hooverville" and then they regain their innocence by moving to yet another Hooverville and not knowing what's to happen next.  This relates directly to Blake's idea of innocence, to experience, and back to innocence.  William Blake's idea of this concept is from childhood, to growing older and to Christ.  These are the equivalent to innocent, experience and back to innocence.  I found a quote in this essay to be very interesting.  "And mercy no more could be/  If all were as happy as we. /  And mutual fear brings peace, /  Till the selfish loves increase."  This reminds me of The talk we had in class in regards to the two distinct peoples of this time.  There were the very selfish people who insisted on doing everything themselves, and the people who were willing to give everything they owned to those in need.  These selfish people included the woman who was brave enough to yell at Ma, simply because she fed the other woman's children.  The other group of people involved the men and women such as Ma, who would give all they had until there was nothing left.  It was these type of people who kept everyone's head above water in times like these.  Without them, there would simply be no hope.

Heart of Darkness Essay Response

The essay I chose was the essay that commented on the racism in the novel.  This short story criticism was written by Robert Hampson in the spring of 1990.  The author's purpose for writing this very long essay was to make it known that there were many parts of the writing that could be perceived as racist.  He makes many points to prove this statement.  In the opening section, the writer elaborates on his view in the story of the English and French being the superior power as oppose to the Russians and Africans who become the inferior power.  He backs this theory up by using the example of when Marlow sees the writing in the book and calls it cipher, which means something of no value or importance.  As it turns out, the writing was in Russian, further supporting Hampson's view of racism in the novel.  I definitely think that there's a little bit of bias in everyone's writing but there doesn't seem to be that heavy of a bias in this essay. In my opinion, I think that this argument was presented very well.  This essay was very well organized and planned out very well.  It’s laid out in a very orderly fashion.  Each part to it has it’s own examples and shows valid points.  I think lots of time and effort went into this essay and it’s very well shown.  While reading it, you can tell that the speaker not only understands the book, but looks for other meanings within the text.  I agree with what the writer is promoting in this paper.  He’s trying to prove a point that this novel does in fact have highlights of racism in it and he does this very well.  Perhaps he just mastered the art of influence but I definitely agree with him.

The Catcher in the Rye #3

The setting of The Catcher in the Rye has a lot of effect on Holden's character.  Seeing as the story takes place in New York City, it's no wonder why Holden feels so overwhelmed with the world.  The city is so fast paced, and ever changing, it's almost impossible to keep up.  At first glance, the setting of the story really doesn't seem to have that much effect on Holden, but once you look into it in depth, you realize just how much of an impact his surroundings have on him.  Holden seems to be drowning in this sea of life, the waves of media and society are just too much for him to handle on his own.  He can barely get a grip of who he is, let alone in the big apple.  Part of New York City that he talks about a lot (aside from the the ducks in the lagoon in Central Park South) is the Museum of Natural History.  Life is just moving too quickly for old Holden, and I think he finds a particular liking in the museum because life is frozen, things stay as the are as long as they're in that big, awkward glass case.  "Certain things they should stay the way they are.  You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.  I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway" (pg. 122).  I think a part of him wanting to leave the city is so that he can just live life at his own pace.  While Holden is still living in New York City, he's forced to create his own glass case and live inside it just so he can keep his sanity aligned, also where no one can write "the F word" all over the place.  This is another component of the setting that adds to the characterization of Holden.  This is another reason why he just cannot handle the pace of life of where he lives.  I think when he sees that this is written all over the walls of various places, he sees just how cruel the "real world" is.  It seems like that is another reason why he puts up this refusal to grow up.

The Catcher in the Rye #2

Either this book is filled with symbols or I'm over analyzing.  To start off, I think that Holden's red hunting hat is very important to this story and it has much more than only one meaning.  He knows that it isn't the most attractive thing in the world but he wears it anyway.  However, who he is around when he wears it is a different story.  It seems like he only wears it when he's around people that he's really close with like Pheobe or Stradler, but he keeps it in his pocket when he's around people that he's just met or people that he's not really that good of friends with, like the ladies in the Lavender Room or the weird prostitute who he hires just to talk to.  "I took my old hunting hat out of my pocket while I walked, and put it on.  I knew I wouldn't meet anybody that knew me, and it was pretty damp out" (pg. 122).  I think that this might be his attempt to try to grow up a little bit.  Sure he's going to be the same old Holden around the people that he's comfortable with but when he's out and about, he never says anything about this hat.  I think this red hunting hat can be a symbol of his immaturity.  I also think that the hat is a protection to him of some sort.  The hunting hat shields his weird, immature, and awkward personality from the outside world.  Holden doesn't want to conform to, or be a part of society (especially in New York City) and this hat is a form of "sticking it to the man" per say.  It's unique and it shows that Holden wants to be different and separated from everyone else.  Now this last symbol of the hat may be quite the stretch but it works in my mind.  The hunting hat is red, which is the same color as Allie's and Pheobe's hair.  Maybe another reason why Holden wears this phony hat is so that he can feel closer to them, especially Allie.  The hat symbolizes the companionship that he has for his brother and sister, not so much D.B. though.  He never really shows love towards him which may also be a reason why he wears it. 

The Catcher in the Rye #1

Holden Caulfield is a very interesting and intriguing character.  He's so sarcastic, he reminds me of myself in a way.  Although he acts this way, I think that this behavior is a result of how he views life.  I think Holden is overwhelmed with how much the world has to offer and this immature and negative attitude just shows that he's simply afraid of the world; how dangerous it is, how successful you can be, how you can live with no set home for a couple days, etc.  I believe that this view on life has a lot to do with the death of his brother, Allie.  It seemed like after Allie died, he almost gave up what he could have and what he did have, much like Mersault in The Stranger. Holden seems to have disconnected himself from society as a result of the death of his brother.  He's just like the ducks in the lagoon that he keeps asking about.  I think him asking about the ducks is very symbolic to his character.  "Then I thought of something, all of a sudden. 'Hey, listen,' I said.  'You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?  Do you happen to know, by any chance?'" (pg. 60).  His persistence in asking about these ducks gives the reader an inkling on how lost Holden Caulfield is.  The ducks represent himself and it seems like he's asking other people what he should do next in his life.  It's like Holden wants some sort of routine like the ducks have, they leave in the winter and come back in the spring.  He has no sort of routine, no sense of direction unlike the ducks.  Holden is a very socially awkward young man and I think it is because he doesn't have that sense of direction or motivation much like other people do or other species as a matter of fact. 

Sonnet 147

I think This sonnet is a little like a combination of the goods and evils to love.  The speaker is saying that he is sick with love.  It seems to me that he's saying that he likes being sick, because that means that he's still able to love.  Although his love left him, his heart still yearns for love and no medicine, no doctor, no other thing can cure that.  I think that after he's lost the one he yearned for, he turned to his mistress for that kind of support and love he still wants.

Sonnet 146

This sonnet truly kind of creeps me out, which is hard to do.  It's creepy because it's true that the worms do get the last laugh, since they are the ones who eat you after you die.  This sonnet is incredibly depressing.  Mostly in the first quatrain, the speaker is asking the subject why embellish your body when you'll just die in the end?  Further saying, what is the point of living if the goal of living, is dying?  I think the other main key Shakespeare is trying to get across is that nothing else in the world really should matter to someone except for their body and soul.