The streetcar named Desire bangs through the Quarter, up one old narrow street and down another. It connects to another car called Cemetery, and from there one proceeds to a part of New Orleans called Elysian Fields. This tells us something about life. When people live, they do everything because they desire. It keeps them moving. Then it kills them, or maybe they just die, and then its on to the Elysian Fields, the name the Greeks called their equivalent of Heaven. In Tenessee Williams play, the Elysian Fields in which Blanche DuBois finds herself is anything but Paradise, and the souls she finds there are far from blessed.
Blache DuBois is a relic of the Old South, an ageing, genteel woman who likes alcohol and soft light because they take the edge off things. She arrives at her sister Stellas home in New Orleans with a vague story about how she left her teaching job for the sake of her health, and it isnt long before she upsets the household and its lord and master, Stanley Kowalski. Stanley is everything that Blanche is not, everything that she fears and distrusts. He is the son of Polish parents, a factory worker, a straight talker who isnt above hammering on the door and yelling at a lady if she takes too long in the bath. If Blanche embodies the dead dreams of the feudal plantation era, Stanley represents the New South, fast-paced, industrialized, unsentimental. It would be too easy to dwell on the differences between these two characters and the reasons why the ways of one would get on the other ones nerves, or to say that one is sure to be destroyed while the other will do well in the modern age. Maybe it would be better instead to explore the idea that while Blanche and Stanley might appear to be worlds apart, they are actually only two faces of the same coin.
Blanche comes to New Orleans burdened with a trunk and the news that Belle Reve, the plantation where she and Stella were raised, has been lost forever. But where another woman would have come wailing or maybe fighting mad, Blanche waltzes in and proceeds to fill the Kowalski flat with illusions. Indeed, she admits later on that a womans charm is 50 illusion (Scene 2, p. 167). Her refusal to deal with the loss of the plantation in a more realistic manner might be because of the way she has been brought up to the ideals of the chivalric code. There was chivalry in the Old South as it was organized a little like the world was in the time of knights and damsels-in-distress. There were poor people who farmed the land, and they were protected by the land-owning lords. The landowners in turn were answerable before God for the welfare of their women, children and servants. Everything depended on people fitting into their proper places. If they did their duty there would be harmony. If slaves worked, they would be fed. If ladies were discreet and pretty and obedient to their husbands and fathers, they would be protected from vulgarity and the harsh necessities of life. If the plantation owners and their sons took care of their women, children and slaves, they would be rewarded with the love of these weaker ones, the respect of their peers, and the blessings of the Almighty. The ordered, chivalrous ways were supposed to result in a world where there was truth, beauty and goodness, one that Blanche tries to keep alive by clinging to its outward trappings fine clothes, refined talk, and being conscious of things that just arent done in polite society.
Stanley on the other hand is the son of immigrants but an American himself. If the Old South was about respecting the proper order of things where some are born to be lowly and some are born to rule, his ethics are geared towards upward struggle. Not that Stanley actually thinks that he is beneath people like Blanche. The struggle spoken of here is one where the limits from olden times - like social status - are removed, so that there is the idea that if a man only works hard enough and looks out after his best interests, then he will succeed. The measure of success is not the achievement of a pretty, genteel world, but a world where no man or woman or child has to go hungry and there are equal opportunities for all. This new way of thinking of course takes into account the price that people in the Old South paid for their orderly world the suffering of the majority so that the privileged few could enjoy beauty and good things.
These contrasting world views are apparent in Blanche and Stanleys attitudes toward material things like property, as well as to those that are intangible, like human relationships.
When Blanche talks about the fall of Belle Reve, she recites a litany of deaths, including a particularly harrowing story of how their hugely pregnant kinswoman could not be made to fit into a casket. The loss of the plantation to her is represented by the lives that the war took away. As relatives die one by one, so is Belle Reve sold bit by bit to pay for their funerals. When asked exactly how the plantation was lost in business terms however, she finds it hard to explain. This in turn, is what Stanley finds hard to believe. Being a man of the world who looks out for number one, his first instinct is to accuse Blanche of lying. The ugly side of an equal-opportunity world is the thought that no one is above suspicion. To justify his intrusion into the financial affairs of the DuBois sisters, he even invokes Louisianas Napoleonic code (Scene 2, p. 163), which says that whatever a woman owns is also the property of her husband. Ironically, the Napoleonic code itself is a holdover from more chivalrous times. If Blanche holds the painful pinch of poverty beneath the pain of losing her loved ones, Stanley sees this sentiment as a kind of act put on to distract interested parties from what to him is the pressing issue Where is the money
While at the Kowalskis Blanche gains a suitor Stanleys friend, Mitch. Mitch is a little nave, and Blanche plays the part of damsel-in-distress to gain his sympathies. True, the man isnt very manly, isnt too handsome and still lives with his mother. Still, in Blanches world, there must be a man. It doesnt matter if there must be paper shades over the lights, if she must lie about her age or her past or anything else. It fits into the dream to have a man worshipping her, putting her on a pedestal in the old-fashioned way. It is nothing like Stella and Stanleys relationship, where Stella admits that there are things that happen, between a man and a woman, in the dark, that makes everything else seem unimportant. For Stanley though, it is no romance when a relationship is built on lies, and so he promptly digs up the truth about Blanche how she prostituted herself to survive before becoming involved with a minor and losing her job. Mitch is enlightened but is devastated as Blanche hysterically tries to hold together the illusion that is falling apart (Scene 9, p. 221).
But when all is said and done, Blanche and Stanley, the Old South and the New South, are not so very different after all. Blanche struggled tooth-and-nail, as bravely and bitterly as any man, to protect her family and her heritage, just as Stanley and his fellow laborers struggle, though less dramatically, for a chance of three square meals a day for themselves and their families. If Blanche believes in beauty and goodness, so Stanley believes in equality and labors sure reward. It might be argued that both are utopian ideas that are far from reality.
Blanche fought passionately to preserve what she cared about, even if it meant the degradation of her body and the loss of her reputation. Stanley also, for all his toughness, must stand tearing his shirt on the street and shouting Stella...Stella on a drunken night when his wife has deserted him (Scene 3, p. 179). If Blanche gently succumbs to the hopeful delusion that a millionaire named Shep Huntleigh is about to carry her off on a grand cruise, then Stanley comes home after the birth of his first child brimming with good spirits because that weak little morsel of flesh is for him joy and hope.
When Stanley rapes Blanche it is not because he is an animal. It is only the modern world realizing that it doesnt have all the answers, just as the old world didnt. The thought is unbearable, so the New South must commit violence upon the Old South. For after all, it isnt just Blanche who takes the streetcar named Desire, then hops on the one called Cemetery, to get to Elysian Fields so does Stanley, and so must we all do.
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Indigenous Struggles A Polyphony of Perspectives
Two writers offer an insightful interpretation concerning the historical heritage and cultural identity of Native Americans as referenced from their personal experience. In Indian Cartography, Deborah Miranda describes indigenous struggles as referenced through the apperception of her father, whom throughout his life, purportedly witnessed a tumultuous reality, subject to American colonization. Poignant, personalized and reflective, she establishes an immediate rapport with the Native American challenges, elucidated by the organic experience of her father during his young, precocious childhood. Conversely, Itch Like Crazy written by Wendy Rose, captures a generalized overview of Native American culture as witnessed from her surrounding experiences with others. While both poems assess cultural identity in relation to indigenous struggles, each one, Indian Cartography, a story about family survival against personal difficulties, and Itch Like Crazy, ones personal narrative depicting the tribulations of Native Americans, offers their own insightful perspective, independent and innovative from the other.
Mirandis Indian Cartography journeys Native American experience through the eyes of her father, whom at a premature age, witnessed unprecedented adversity, which became immediately familiar, like family blood lines, when, tragedy greeted him like an old unpleasant relative, (Miranda, Deborah, 133). From the beginning, he learned to swim the hard way, across silver scales, and persevere (Miranda, Deborah, 133). His history became personified as a family connection through his psychological experience. Indeed, rather than, descending into declivity, or drowning by a displaced river fraught with dark water, he transcended his perennial predicament, floating on his face, hopeful of the shadows that embody people he once knew, closing on the stories of our home, (Miranda, Deborah, 133). Mirandis poem, like Rose in Itch like Crazy, underscores the perseverance of Native American culture. However, Mirandi features indigenous struggle within the historical context of her fathers natural, individual experience, who overcame interminable personal turmoil. Hence, she connects to readers directly with transparent clarity through the metaphors of his unconventional journey, overcoming persistent prejudice, discrimination, and personal oppression. Furthermore, Mirandis allusion to family and familiar circumstances offers a direct contrast from Rose, who describes with devastation of strangers for whom she connects (Rose, Wendy, 135).
From a less organic interpretation, Wendy Welsh acknowledges the robust resilience of her people, who rebound, and rise from their death (Rose, Wendy, 135). Rather than reflecting on her own individual experience, or anyone immediately related to her, she presents a more generalized, universal analysis that assesses the historical narrative of cultural identity, witnessed through others. For example, she juxtaposes a comparison between the eyes of nearly everyone and Columbus, referring to Christopher Columbus. An incisive metaphor, she apparently perceives the Native American culture, as this group of explorers, embarking on their own expedition to achieve success in history (Rose, Wendy, 135). She notices these problems existing among, the fingers of every hand, as voicesamong strangers, summon her attention (Rose, Wendy, 135).
Two writers present a polyphony of perspectives regarding the personal struggles that embodied Native American culture. Whereas Deborah Mirandi explains the challenges witnessed by Native American culture through her fathers lens, Wendy Rose pursues a more estranged position, whereby she establishes connection through others who share her cultural experience.
Mirandis Indian Cartography journeys Native American experience through the eyes of her father, whom at a premature age, witnessed unprecedented adversity, which became immediately familiar, like family blood lines, when, tragedy greeted him like an old unpleasant relative, (Miranda, Deborah, 133). From the beginning, he learned to swim the hard way, across silver scales, and persevere (Miranda, Deborah, 133). His history became personified as a family connection through his psychological experience. Indeed, rather than, descending into declivity, or drowning by a displaced river fraught with dark water, he transcended his perennial predicament, floating on his face, hopeful of the shadows that embody people he once knew, closing on the stories of our home, (Miranda, Deborah, 133). Mirandis poem, like Rose in Itch like Crazy, underscores the perseverance of Native American culture. However, Mirandi features indigenous struggle within the historical context of her fathers natural, individual experience, who overcame interminable personal turmoil. Hence, she connects to readers directly with transparent clarity through the metaphors of his unconventional journey, overcoming persistent prejudice, discrimination, and personal oppression. Furthermore, Mirandis allusion to family and familiar circumstances offers a direct contrast from Rose, who describes with devastation of strangers for whom she connects (Rose, Wendy, 135).
From a less organic interpretation, Wendy Welsh acknowledges the robust resilience of her people, who rebound, and rise from their death (Rose, Wendy, 135). Rather than reflecting on her own individual experience, or anyone immediately related to her, she presents a more generalized, universal analysis that assesses the historical narrative of cultural identity, witnessed through others. For example, she juxtaposes a comparison between the eyes of nearly everyone and Columbus, referring to Christopher Columbus. An incisive metaphor, she apparently perceives the Native American culture, as this group of explorers, embarking on their own expedition to achieve success in history (Rose, Wendy, 135). She notices these problems existing among, the fingers of every hand, as voicesamong strangers, summon her attention (Rose, Wendy, 135).
Two writers present a polyphony of perspectives regarding the personal struggles that embodied Native American culture. Whereas Deborah Mirandi explains the challenges witnessed by Native American culture through her fathers lens, Wendy Rose pursues a more estranged position, whereby she establishes connection through others who share her cultural experience.
Breaker Morant Vs Odysseus America
One of the ruinous effects of human conflicts, war has a detrimental impact on the human society. War not only has an effect on the lives of the victims but also on the lives of soldiers fighting those wars. In the precarious and life threatening circumstances of war, human beings tend to behave in a contradictory manner. This contradictory behavior continues even when these soldiers return to civilian life. The negative effects of war on the soldiers prevent them from leading a normal civilian life. In some cases, even though the soldiers survive the war, they became victims of the manipulative politics played by their countries. The movie Breaker Morant by Bruce Beresford and the book Odysseus in America by Jonathan Shay focuses on this negative aspect of soldiers lives. The movie Breaker Morant depicts the trial of Australian Army officers, Harry Morant, Peter Handcock, and George Witton, who served Bushveldt Carbineers at the time of Second Boer War. In the book Odysseus in America, Shay, a psychiatrist, writes about the negative impact post-traumatic stress is having on the soldiers returned from Vietnam War. Both these works bring forth the damaging effect war has on the lives of soldiers through the portrayal of soldiers facing the problems of betrayal or post-traumatic stress.
Detrimental Effects of War
The movie Breaker Morant and the book Odysseus in America presents the various problems faced by the soldiers in course of the war, and even after the end of war. The movie Breaker Morant shows how the soldiers have to deal not only with their enemies but also with their superiors who exploit the soldiers to serve their own purposes. The movie revolves around the trial of Australian Army officers, Harry Morant, Peter Handcock, and George Witton who are facing the charges of murdering seven Boer prisoners. Morant is accused of leading these attacks on the Boer prisoners in retaliation, as Morant believed that his friend, Captain Hunt was murdered by the Boers. Harry Morant, who is also known as Breaker Morant and George Witton are also accused of killing Rev. Hesse, a German missionary. As the trial progress, it becomes evident that Morant, Handcock and Witton are victims of manipulative politics played by Britain, a country for which these soldiers risked their lives in the war. Morant, Handcock and Witton had killed the Boer prisoners because they were ordered to do so by their superiors. But as these orders were conveyed to them orally, they were unable to prove their innocence. Although Major Thomas, their defense lawyer tries hard to save Morant, Handcock and Witton from being executed, these soldiers are held guilty of the murder and awarded the death sentence.
The manner in which the trial is conducted proves that Morant, Handcock and Witton were utilized as scapegoats by Britain to achieve its political aims. The biased attitude of the prosecuting attorney and their witnesses shows that the trial was a charade, as Britain has already decided to execute these soldiers even before the commencement of the trial. In the end, Morant and Handcock are executed whereas Wittons death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment. The British army, which is supposed to protect the soldiers fighting from his side, plans to execute Morant and Handcock in spite of the fact that they were just fulfilling their duties as soldiers fighting for them. The negative effects of war on the lives of the soldiers are portrayed in the movie through the betrayal experienced by Morant, Handcock and Witton. The British army betrays these soldiers and executes them for murdering Boer prisoners even though these soldiers were ordered by their superiors to kill the Boer prisoners. Owing to the injustice meted out to them by the British army, Morant and Hancock lose faith in the existence of a divine power. They are distrustful of everyone, for they come to regard all people around them to be their enemies. The politics involved in wars leads Morant and Hancock to their execution for the murders they had committed on the orders of the superiors. The political strategies of war bring an end to the lives of these soldiers and that also at the hands of the country for which they have fought in the war.
Even after the end of the war, the negative influence of war on the lives of the soldiers continues, as numerous soldiers suffer from post traumatic stress and find it difficult to lead a peaceful civilian life. The book Odysseus in America focuses on this detrimental effect of war on the lives of the soldiers. The author writes about the difficulties experienced by Vietnam War veterans in adjusting to the civilian life. The soldiers fighting in the war are so overwhelmed by their horrific experiences at the war that they engage in violent behavior even after they return to civilian lives. The book presents examples of numerous Vietnam veterans to bring forth the damaging effects the development of post traumatic stress has on the civilian lives of the soldiers. One such soldier, who finds it difficult to fit himself in the peaceful civilian life, is Bear Mercer. The horrifying war experiences haunt Bear and hinder him from assimilating in a life which is far different from one he led during the war. Now in nightmares and flashbacks the color of his blood, changing from bright red to almost black in his squad who crushed the dead mans chest with a boulder, drenching Bear with blood that squirted out of the severed neck arteries. (Shay 23). His mind is burdened with the guilt for carrying out the brutal killings during the war. His thinking is so influenced by his experiences at the war that his reaction to any incident in his civilian life, which is similar to the one in war, is identical. Any incompetence Bear encounters in civilian life arouses the same feelings of fear, rage, and grief. When he yanked his general supervisor at the post office across his own desk and screamed at him, he screamed exactly the same words he screamed at his incompetent CO. (Shay 25). Post traumatic stress also leads to the development of distrust in the war veterans. The war veterans look at the people around them with distrust.
The family lives of these war veterans are also affected owing to the various problems caused by post traumatic stress. Even in the matter of their careers, these war veterans find their work uninteresting compared to the combat duties they carried out during the war. Many, like Bear, who joined uniformed services quit or were fired after relatively short careers. Unlike Bear, some found civilian policing too boring authority relationships and apparently meaningless administrative tasks. (Shay 26). This book throws light on the fact that the detrimental effects of war on the soldiers is evident in every aspect of their lives even after they return to the civilian lives owing to the development of post traumatic stress in the soldiers.
Conclusion
The movie Breaker Morant and the book Odysseus in America bring forth the detrimental effects war has on the lives of soldiers fighting those wars. The movie Breaker Morant shows how international politics involved in the war leads to the execution of three soldiers for a murder they have committed on the orders of their superiors. These soldiers became victims of betrayal by a country for whom they risked their lives in the war. The book Odysseus in America depicts the negative impact war experiences has on the soldiers even after returning to civilian lives through the portrayal of soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress. Both these works present the various kinds of difficulties and hardships encountered by soldiers during the war and even after end of the war.
Detrimental Effects of War
The movie Breaker Morant and the book Odysseus in America presents the various problems faced by the soldiers in course of the war, and even after the end of war. The movie Breaker Morant shows how the soldiers have to deal not only with their enemies but also with their superiors who exploit the soldiers to serve their own purposes. The movie revolves around the trial of Australian Army officers, Harry Morant, Peter Handcock, and George Witton who are facing the charges of murdering seven Boer prisoners. Morant is accused of leading these attacks on the Boer prisoners in retaliation, as Morant believed that his friend, Captain Hunt was murdered by the Boers. Harry Morant, who is also known as Breaker Morant and George Witton are also accused of killing Rev. Hesse, a German missionary. As the trial progress, it becomes evident that Morant, Handcock and Witton are victims of manipulative politics played by Britain, a country for which these soldiers risked their lives in the war. Morant, Handcock and Witton had killed the Boer prisoners because they were ordered to do so by their superiors. But as these orders were conveyed to them orally, they were unable to prove their innocence. Although Major Thomas, their defense lawyer tries hard to save Morant, Handcock and Witton from being executed, these soldiers are held guilty of the murder and awarded the death sentence.
The manner in which the trial is conducted proves that Morant, Handcock and Witton were utilized as scapegoats by Britain to achieve its political aims. The biased attitude of the prosecuting attorney and their witnesses shows that the trial was a charade, as Britain has already decided to execute these soldiers even before the commencement of the trial. In the end, Morant and Handcock are executed whereas Wittons death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment. The British army, which is supposed to protect the soldiers fighting from his side, plans to execute Morant and Handcock in spite of the fact that they were just fulfilling their duties as soldiers fighting for them. The negative effects of war on the lives of the soldiers are portrayed in the movie through the betrayal experienced by Morant, Handcock and Witton. The British army betrays these soldiers and executes them for murdering Boer prisoners even though these soldiers were ordered by their superiors to kill the Boer prisoners. Owing to the injustice meted out to them by the British army, Morant and Hancock lose faith in the existence of a divine power. They are distrustful of everyone, for they come to regard all people around them to be their enemies. The politics involved in wars leads Morant and Hancock to their execution for the murders they had committed on the orders of the superiors. The political strategies of war bring an end to the lives of these soldiers and that also at the hands of the country for which they have fought in the war.
Even after the end of the war, the negative influence of war on the lives of the soldiers continues, as numerous soldiers suffer from post traumatic stress and find it difficult to lead a peaceful civilian life. The book Odysseus in America focuses on this detrimental effect of war on the lives of the soldiers. The author writes about the difficulties experienced by Vietnam War veterans in adjusting to the civilian life. The soldiers fighting in the war are so overwhelmed by their horrific experiences at the war that they engage in violent behavior even after they return to civilian lives. The book presents examples of numerous Vietnam veterans to bring forth the damaging effects the development of post traumatic stress has on the civilian lives of the soldiers. One such soldier, who finds it difficult to fit himself in the peaceful civilian life, is Bear Mercer. The horrifying war experiences haunt Bear and hinder him from assimilating in a life which is far different from one he led during the war. Now in nightmares and flashbacks the color of his blood, changing from bright red to almost black in his squad who crushed the dead mans chest with a boulder, drenching Bear with blood that squirted out of the severed neck arteries. (Shay 23). His mind is burdened with the guilt for carrying out the brutal killings during the war. His thinking is so influenced by his experiences at the war that his reaction to any incident in his civilian life, which is similar to the one in war, is identical. Any incompetence Bear encounters in civilian life arouses the same feelings of fear, rage, and grief. When he yanked his general supervisor at the post office across his own desk and screamed at him, he screamed exactly the same words he screamed at his incompetent CO. (Shay 25). Post traumatic stress also leads to the development of distrust in the war veterans. The war veterans look at the people around them with distrust.
The family lives of these war veterans are also affected owing to the various problems caused by post traumatic stress. Even in the matter of their careers, these war veterans find their work uninteresting compared to the combat duties they carried out during the war. Many, like Bear, who joined uniformed services quit or were fired after relatively short careers. Unlike Bear, some found civilian policing too boring authority relationships and apparently meaningless administrative tasks. (Shay 26). This book throws light on the fact that the detrimental effects of war on the soldiers is evident in every aspect of their lives even after they return to the civilian lives owing to the development of post traumatic stress in the soldiers.
Conclusion
The movie Breaker Morant and the book Odysseus in America bring forth the detrimental effects war has on the lives of soldiers fighting those wars. The movie Breaker Morant shows how international politics involved in the war leads to the execution of three soldiers for a murder they have committed on the orders of their superiors. These soldiers became victims of betrayal by a country for whom they risked their lives in the war. The book Odysseus in America depicts the negative impact war experiences has on the soldiers even after returning to civilian lives through the portrayal of soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress. Both these works present the various kinds of difficulties and hardships encountered by soldiers during the war and even after end of the war.
Appeal in Lincolns Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is President Lincolns summary of Americas feelings towards their
government. It is not Lincoln speaking of his own personal thoughts. He represented the people
to the world and its passion for freedom. In his address in Pennsylvania, in November 1863, he
summoned America to the great courage four scores and seven years ago of the men and
women that blueprinted democracy into their government. He did not come to tribute the great
leaders and politicians of his time, to extol laudable leadership. Instead, he defined the present
as a gift of those who died to insure that a government of the people, by the people and for the
people, flows in every American in the world, for them to be proud of.
It is a great speech because Lincoln did not seek to present his feat to awe his listeners. He
invited his fellow citizens to hallow the ground where their heroes rested, to implant into their
hearts their history that made them forebears of nobility. His voice reverberated not in intensity
but by the meaning that each of his word carries. His listeners were not bounded by the number
of people that heard him spoke. Gettysburg Address continued to be heard long after it had been
spoken. Its inspiration has stirred Americas vein even after Lincoln had joined the soldiers that
he had dedicated his piece. He was not forgotten because he was able to let the world remember
the lives of every American that died so freedom rules his people. Lincoln has inspired
Americas presidents a new definition of leadership. He had taught them that a leader can bow
down not in surrender but in celebration of triumph brought by those who bravely died.
government. It is not Lincoln speaking of his own personal thoughts. He represented the people
to the world and its passion for freedom. In his address in Pennsylvania, in November 1863, he
summoned America to the great courage four scores and seven years ago of the men and
women that blueprinted democracy into their government. He did not come to tribute the great
leaders and politicians of his time, to extol laudable leadership. Instead, he defined the present
as a gift of those who died to insure that a government of the people, by the people and for the
people, flows in every American in the world, for them to be proud of.
It is a great speech because Lincoln did not seek to present his feat to awe his listeners. He
invited his fellow citizens to hallow the ground where their heroes rested, to implant into their
hearts their history that made them forebears of nobility. His voice reverberated not in intensity
but by the meaning that each of his word carries. His listeners were not bounded by the number
of people that heard him spoke. Gettysburg Address continued to be heard long after it had been
spoken. Its inspiration has stirred Americas vein even after Lincoln had joined the soldiers that
he had dedicated his piece. He was not forgotten because he was able to let the world remember
the lives of every American that died so freedom rules his people. Lincoln has inspired
Americas presidents a new definition of leadership. He had taught them that a leader can bow
down not in surrender but in celebration of triumph brought by those who bravely died.
Neither Edna Pontellier nor Charity Royall Achieve Autonomy
It is an undeniable fact that the society where each person lives has its own rules and taboos that each individual must abide by. This fact is true in all civilized societies where the transactions and dealings of each and every individual is governed not by their own individual precepts and emotions but by the laws provided by society. The Awakening by Kate Chopin and Summer by Edith Wharton are two different novels that expose in a provocative approach the powerful ways in which women of society struggles to live a life that is absolutely in divergence with what society considers as acceptable and in accord with its tenets. The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier and the changes that occur in her thinking and lifestyle as a result of a summer romance (www.sparknotes.com). Summer on the other hand, speaks of an account of a young woman named Charity Royall who is completely inexperienced when it comes to men and her discernment of her sexual desire ( HYPERLINK httpwww.bookrags.com www.bookrags.com). The central characters of these novels have come up with a resolution to challenge society, with its rules and taboos. Society, however, have proven to be austere which contributed to the unfortunate failure of these protagonists on their quest to attain autonomy.
Body
The Awakening begins in a setting where Edna Pontellier lives in a kind of semi-conscious state. Although she is contented with her marriage to her husband Lonce, she is oblivious of her own feelings and ambitions. Edna has always been passionate who fell in love with a cavalry officer during her youthful years, captivated with a visitor in nearby plantation in her teens, and crazed with a tragedian as an adolescent woman. But she saw her marriage to Lonce as the end of her life of passion and the beginning of a life of responsibility. Although she expected her dreams of romance to disappear along with her youth, her fantasies and yearnings only remain latent, re-emerging on Grand Isle in the form of her passion for Robert Lebrun. The people Edna meets and the experiences she has on Grand Isle awaken desires and urges for music, sexual satisfaction, art, and freedom that she can no longer bear to keep hidden. Just like a kid, the protagonist had started to have a new standpoint of the surroundings around her. Edna fails to comply with the conduct required by society of her as a wife and as a mother and does not take into account the harmful consequences of her unconventional manners. She begins to entertain the notion of having a traitorous relationship with Robert Lebrun and thinks of nothing but herself which was displayed when she escapes her responsibilities as a mother and abandoned her children in the custody of their grandmother without thinking twice about the matter. Robert, nevertheless, abandons Edna for, unlike Edna, he does not possess enough boldness to challenge the standards of society. Edna aspires for liberty but such aspiration more often than not reveals her self-centeredness(www.sparknotes.com).
Summer, on the other hand, concentrates on the sexual awakening of a young lady named Charity Royall. The central character of this novel is born in a mountain environment in Berkshire and spends her growing-up years in the neighboring rural community of North Dormer where there exists further civilization. Charity aspires to break loose from the oppressive pressures of her life consisting of a puzzling mountain clan she is not familiar with but who cast an omnimous shadow over her and the custodian who accompanied her down from the mount who desires to have her as his wife. She works as a part-time employee in a grimy local library where guests scarcely appears and she regards such a job as something like a dead-end, a prisonuntil an attractive young architect, Lucious Harney walks through its doors(www,curtainup.com). Harney is the first man Charity feels an interest in, and as she spends time with him, her feelings change and develop. But disparate from the other women of the social order, the central character of this novel does not dream of a cozy cottage or domestic life of a wife and mother. Her desire is for sexual fulfillment( HYPERLINK httpwww.bookrags.com www.bookrags.com). Charity and Harney engages in a sexual romance. A promise of marriage is given by Harney to Charity, but he deserts the place and goes with another woman named Annabel Balch, a young woman who stands as the ideal type of womanhood to which Charity aspires ( HYPERLINK httpwww.bookrags.com www.bookrags.com). Charity then decides to disregard her feelings for Harney for she is aware that two persons from different classes of society can never achieve togetherness in love. Harney is a gentleman of the upper class whereas Charity is a lady belonging to the lower class. In connection with this painful realization, Charity bewails and is appropriately manifested in these words by the author which states, If ever she looked ahead, she felt instinctively that the gulf between them was too deep, and that the bridge their passion had flung across it was as insubstantial as a rainbow.(Wharton 71). Charity then marries Mr. Royall for she bears the child of Harney and she yearns to grant a bright future for her child.
Conclusion
Autonomy or self-government is characterized by the capacity of a person to attain bliss or happiness and contentment within the confines of the world within her and society at large.This bliss and contentment cannot be said to be achieved if the members of the world within a person such as herself and her family, suffers the consequences of her unconventional acts. Edna Pontellier on no account accomplish this self-government for she made herself and her kinfolk bear a detrimental pain. Correspondingly, Charity Royall never achieved autonomy for by reason of her clamorous and ecstatic affirmation of the joy of sexual love no matter what it costs, she ended up being depressed and desolate(books.simonandschuster.com).
Body
The Awakening begins in a setting where Edna Pontellier lives in a kind of semi-conscious state. Although she is contented with her marriage to her husband Lonce, she is oblivious of her own feelings and ambitions. Edna has always been passionate who fell in love with a cavalry officer during her youthful years, captivated with a visitor in nearby plantation in her teens, and crazed with a tragedian as an adolescent woman. But she saw her marriage to Lonce as the end of her life of passion and the beginning of a life of responsibility. Although she expected her dreams of romance to disappear along with her youth, her fantasies and yearnings only remain latent, re-emerging on Grand Isle in the form of her passion for Robert Lebrun. The people Edna meets and the experiences she has on Grand Isle awaken desires and urges for music, sexual satisfaction, art, and freedom that she can no longer bear to keep hidden. Just like a kid, the protagonist had started to have a new standpoint of the surroundings around her. Edna fails to comply with the conduct required by society of her as a wife and as a mother and does not take into account the harmful consequences of her unconventional manners. She begins to entertain the notion of having a traitorous relationship with Robert Lebrun and thinks of nothing but herself which was displayed when she escapes her responsibilities as a mother and abandoned her children in the custody of their grandmother without thinking twice about the matter. Robert, nevertheless, abandons Edna for, unlike Edna, he does not possess enough boldness to challenge the standards of society. Edna aspires for liberty but such aspiration more often than not reveals her self-centeredness(www.sparknotes.com).
Summer, on the other hand, concentrates on the sexual awakening of a young lady named Charity Royall. The central character of this novel is born in a mountain environment in Berkshire and spends her growing-up years in the neighboring rural community of North Dormer where there exists further civilization. Charity aspires to break loose from the oppressive pressures of her life consisting of a puzzling mountain clan she is not familiar with but who cast an omnimous shadow over her and the custodian who accompanied her down from the mount who desires to have her as his wife. She works as a part-time employee in a grimy local library where guests scarcely appears and she regards such a job as something like a dead-end, a prisonuntil an attractive young architect, Lucious Harney walks through its doors(www,curtainup.com). Harney is the first man Charity feels an interest in, and as she spends time with him, her feelings change and develop. But disparate from the other women of the social order, the central character of this novel does not dream of a cozy cottage or domestic life of a wife and mother. Her desire is for sexual fulfillment( HYPERLINK httpwww.bookrags.com www.bookrags.com). Charity and Harney engages in a sexual romance. A promise of marriage is given by Harney to Charity, but he deserts the place and goes with another woman named Annabel Balch, a young woman who stands as the ideal type of womanhood to which Charity aspires ( HYPERLINK httpwww.bookrags.com www.bookrags.com). Charity then decides to disregard her feelings for Harney for she is aware that two persons from different classes of society can never achieve togetherness in love. Harney is a gentleman of the upper class whereas Charity is a lady belonging to the lower class. In connection with this painful realization, Charity bewails and is appropriately manifested in these words by the author which states, If ever she looked ahead, she felt instinctively that the gulf between them was too deep, and that the bridge their passion had flung across it was as insubstantial as a rainbow.(Wharton 71). Charity then marries Mr. Royall for she bears the child of Harney and she yearns to grant a bright future for her child.
Conclusion
Autonomy or self-government is characterized by the capacity of a person to attain bliss or happiness and contentment within the confines of the world within her and society at large.This bliss and contentment cannot be said to be achieved if the members of the world within a person such as herself and her family, suffers the consequences of her unconventional acts. Edna Pontellier on no account accomplish this self-government for she made herself and her kinfolk bear a detrimental pain. Correspondingly, Charity Royall never achieved autonomy for by reason of her clamorous and ecstatic affirmation of the joy of sexual love no matter what it costs, she ended up being depressed and desolate(books.simonandschuster.com).
Characters
Bonaparte is the narrator of the story and as such, not much is mentioned of his physical appearance except that he is five foot ten. He is an Irishman but isnt portrayed as having much of an accent. In fact, he even makes fun of Donovans accent saying that he himself was from the town. He also has a habit of being rather overly formal in speech, rustic and proper at the same time. As the narrator, he doesnt mention any of his own mannerisms, although he does take careful note of those of the people around him.
Noble is often referred to as young Noble throughout the text, and once as the poor boy, suggesting that he is younger than the narrator Bonaparte. Other than this though, and that he wears gaiters, nothing else is said of his appearance. He says rather little except for when he is hotly arguing with Awkins. He seems quite morose for most of that story, but considering the events thats not too surprising. He does defend his beliefs with rigor though, although not too eloquently nor persuasively.
Awkins can be seen as a rather small man as the little Englishman is how Bonaparte first refers to him Though this might just be relative to Bonaparte and the big Belcher, or he might just be scrawny as he is described as having lean legs. He and Belcher are British soldiers and are described as wearing khaki tunics and overcoats with civilian pants and bright farmers boots. He is quite a passionately talkative character, with a rather thick cockney accent. He can be rather unpleasant in the way he talks, and he swears a lot, but there doesnt seem to be much real malice behind his words.
Belcher, the big Englishman, is definitely much larger than Bonapartes 5 foot ten. He has a mustache, wears the same clothes as Awkins, and is said to have a queer smile and a very rare and queerer laugh. He only says a few words and uses words like chum, but his accent doesnt seem as thick as his comrades. He sits by the fire most of the time as he is said to have his toes in the ashes, and he loves to play cards, which he is rather good at. Hes also very much the image of a gentle giant when he helps the old lady around the house and when he acts so calmly and good-naturedly in the end.
The narrator doesnt give a name to the old woman the four men live with. She is described as old and crabby, with a little crabs mouth. She is said to scold much and is crotchety, although no real examples are shown in the text. In the one time she answered Awkins though, her answers were not so much cranky as downright strange, almost nonsensical. Shes just an old, hardworking, Catholic Irishwoman and Belcher and even Awkins had endeared themselves to her.
Jeremiah Donovan is a small, shy, Irishman with a broad accent. He is described as wearing a small cloth hat, with big gaiters over his long pants, with hands always in his pants pockets. In most of the conversations in the text he is always rather unsure of himself, almost insecure. He does, however, have a determined and somewhat blind sense of duty as an Irishman and he disliked the two Englishmen.
Comparison with Mother Savage
Guests of the Nation at first glance has quite a lot in common with Mother Savage, for starters, they are both set in a remote village during wartime. The former though, is set in Ireland during a war between the English and the Irish, while the latter is set in Virelogne during the French-Prussian War. The basic organizations of the main characters are even extremely similar, four men living with an old lady due to the war. The four men in Mother Savage though, were forced upon her by the invading troops while in Guests, two of the men were prisoners and the other two served as their guards. Belcher even helps the old lady around the house just the way the four Prussian men did for Mother Savage. In Mother Savage though, the story was mainly focused on her, and her four charges were given neither names nor individual personalities, they were mainly a single entity for the duration of the story. Also, Guests is narrated by a major character so his thoughts and feelings are open to the reader as the story progresses. In Mother Savage, while it is still told in the first-person, the narrator is far-removed from the main story what Mother Savage is thinking and feeling, the reader can only guess at. Lastly, both stories end the same way, with the guest soldiers deaths, but the reaction of the main characters of one story is the total opposite of that of the other. In Mother Savage, she is triumphant, proud of killing the four soldiers though she did this rather sneakily and the men suffered before their ends. In Guests of the Nation, it is not the old lady that kills them, but another character and the other two guests of the house had a reluctant hand in it. The deaths of the soldiers were not treated as a triumph, but a tragedy.
Noble is often referred to as young Noble throughout the text, and once as the poor boy, suggesting that he is younger than the narrator Bonaparte. Other than this though, and that he wears gaiters, nothing else is said of his appearance. He says rather little except for when he is hotly arguing with Awkins. He seems quite morose for most of that story, but considering the events thats not too surprising. He does defend his beliefs with rigor though, although not too eloquently nor persuasively.
Awkins can be seen as a rather small man as the little Englishman is how Bonaparte first refers to him Though this might just be relative to Bonaparte and the big Belcher, or he might just be scrawny as he is described as having lean legs. He and Belcher are British soldiers and are described as wearing khaki tunics and overcoats with civilian pants and bright farmers boots. He is quite a passionately talkative character, with a rather thick cockney accent. He can be rather unpleasant in the way he talks, and he swears a lot, but there doesnt seem to be much real malice behind his words.
Belcher, the big Englishman, is definitely much larger than Bonapartes 5 foot ten. He has a mustache, wears the same clothes as Awkins, and is said to have a queer smile and a very rare and queerer laugh. He only says a few words and uses words like chum, but his accent doesnt seem as thick as his comrades. He sits by the fire most of the time as he is said to have his toes in the ashes, and he loves to play cards, which he is rather good at. Hes also very much the image of a gentle giant when he helps the old lady around the house and when he acts so calmly and good-naturedly in the end.
The narrator doesnt give a name to the old woman the four men live with. She is described as old and crabby, with a little crabs mouth. She is said to scold much and is crotchety, although no real examples are shown in the text. In the one time she answered Awkins though, her answers were not so much cranky as downright strange, almost nonsensical. Shes just an old, hardworking, Catholic Irishwoman and Belcher and even Awkins had endeared themselves to her.
Jeremiah Donovan is a small, shy, Irishman with a broad accent. He is described as wearing a small cloth hat, with big gaiters over his long pants, with hands always in his pants pockets. In most of the conversations in the text he is always rather unsure of himself, almost insecure. He does, however, have a determined and somewhat blind sense of duty as an Irishman and he disliked the two Englishmen.
Comparison with Mother Savage
Guests of the Nation at first glance has quite a lot in common with Mother Savage, for starters, they are both set in a remote village during wartime. The former though, is set in Ireland during a war between the English and the Irish, while the latter is set in Virelogne during the French-Prussian War. The basic organizations of the main characters are even extremely similar, four men living with an old lady due to the war. The four men in Mother Savage though, were forced upon her by the invading troops while in Guests, two of the men were prisoners and the other two served as their guards. Belcher even helps the old lady around the house just the way the four Prussian men did for Mother Savage. In Mother Savage though, the story was mainly focused on her, and her four charges were given neither names nor individual personalities, they were mainly a single entity for the duration of the story. Also, Guests is narrated by a major character so his thoughts and feelings are open to the reader as the story progresses. In Mother Savage, while it is still told in the first-person, the narrator is far-removed from the main story what Mother Savage is thinking and feeling, the reader can only guess at. Lastly, both stories end the same way, with the guest soldiers deaths, but the reaction of the main characters of one story is the total opposite of that of the other. In Mother Savage, she is triumphant, proud of killing the four soldiers though she did this rather sneakily and the men suffered before their ends. In Guests of the Nation, it is not the old lady that kills them, but another character and the other two guests of the house had a reluctant hand in it. The deaths of the soldiers were not treated as a triumph, but a tragedy.
Charles. W. Chesnutts view on Black-White Relationship in The Wife of His Youth and The Passing of Grandison
The turn of the nineteenth century brought about remarkable changes in the lives of African-Americans and a pioneer who reflected those revolutionary changes in his work of art is Charles W. Chesnutt. The two stories The Wife of His Youth and The Passing of Grandison delve into the legacies of slavery and reconstruction and explore the racial identity through the African-American speech and folklore. This paper throws light on Chesnutts dramatization of the complex relationship between the African-Americans and the Whites apart from the way the Blacks positioned themselves in the society which witnessed a revolution at the turn of the century. Referring to the emancipation of the Blacks, Bay states that During the nineteenth century and beyond, a defense of black humanity reverberates throughout African-American culture, crossing class and regional lines and shaping the racial thought of the educated, the ignorant and the in-between (117)
The Wife of His Youth depicts life along the color line where a light skinned man, trying to forget his black past confronts with the reality of his past at his door step until when he keeps focusing on his whiteness. In this short story Mr. Ryder, the mulatto is searching for an identity and lives between the tensions of interracial and intraracial living. He is in a moral dilemma whether to marry the young and attractive woman belonging to his class or to accept the aging but devoted wife bonded through his legally invalid marriage.
Mr. Ryder, the dean of the Blue Veins is pushed to test his personal integrity who tries to identify himself with the Whites and this tumultuous period of transition is vividly depicted by Chesnutt. Ryder justifies his policy of social climbing through social Darwinism-Self-preservation is the first law of nature Ryder is intensely involved with the goal of Blue Vein, in order to be absorbed by the White race. Hence he strongly believed that marrying a girl from his class will further move him towards absorption for which he has been longing all along his life.
Chesnutt without any melodrama or an internal argument with Ryder concludes the short story through the action of the protagonist. Ryder introduces his wife to the gathering as such and thereby reaffirms his bond with his past life. By accepting his Black wife Ryder is not trying to renounce the ideology of Blue Vein related to upward mobility and absorption into the White race. Also he has not moved backward by such a bold step, but instead has come forward and has proved his worth through his behavior and not with his skin color. Andrews while discussing the conclusion of story, states that Ryder rises when he sacrifices a narrow notion of public success for a more private moral responsibility (115) Though the conflict within the mind of Ryder is not depicted by Chesnutt, the thoughts and actions of Ryder speak more than words and the final speech mirrors the psychology of the rising middle-class Black intellectuals.
Chesnutt uses humor and satire in The Passing of Grandison in order to interpret the thoughts and attitude of the Southern Whites towards their Black Slaves. Grandison is wearing the perfect mask of an innocent uneducated obedient slave who is loyal to his White master. The final twist comes as a surprise to both the readers and the White master as Grandison outwits his Master and flees the plantation with his entire family. With such an anti-climax, Chesnutt urges the White readers to re-examine the way they viewed the Black Slaves. Whites, controlling the Blacks physically considered themselves to be superior and Grandison outsmarts his white maser and has proven the words of Tom Windham talking about the subhuman treatment of the Blacks stated that I think we should have our liberty cause us aint hogs or horses-us is human flesh
Chesnutt states that there is no such thing as Negro dialect. It is just to express with a certain degree of phonetic correctness in order to suggest the sound of English words as pronounced by an uneducated old Southern Black slave. Even in The Passing of Grandison, Chesnutt sparingly uses the Negro dialect in order to present reality without exaggeration or melodrama.
For the Whites, the Blacks are hardly human and hence turn blind to their motives. It never strikes Dick that Grandison would never wish to secure freedom leaving his family back at the plantation, as he believes that family is his only asset. Even when Dick informs Grandison that he is now in Canada, a free man, not bound by the clutches of slavery, he wears the mask so perfectly that he does not show sign of interest. He, in fact says Lets go back ober de ribber, Mars Dick, Grandison replies. Is feared Ill lose you ovuh heah, an den I won hab no marster, an wont nebber be able to git back home no mo.
To conclude, Chesnutt has captured the tumultuous inner struggle and the perfect masking of the Blacks in the two short stories. He has not only closely studied the attitude of the Whites towards their Black Slaves, but also the way Blacks viewed themselves and their relationship with the Whites.
The Wife of His Youth depicts life along the color line where a light skinned man, trying to forget his black past confronts with the reality of his past at his door step until when he keeps focusing on his whiteness. In this short story Mr. Ryder, the mulatto is searching for an identity and lives between the tensions of interracial and intraracial living. He is in a moral dilemma whether to marry the young and attractive woman belonging to his class or to accept the aging but devoted wife bonded through his legally invalid marriage.
Mr. Ryder, the dean of the Blue Veins is pushed to test his personal integrity who tries to identify himself with the Whites and this tumultuous period of transition is vividly depicted by Chesnutt. Ryder justifies his policy of social climbing through social Darwinism-Self-preservation is the first law of nature Ryder is intensely involved with the goal of Blue Vein, in order to be absorbed by the White race. Hence he strongly believed that marrying a girl from his class will further move him towards absorption for which he has been longing all along his life.
Chesnutt without any melodrama or an internal argument with Ryder concludes the short story through the action of the protagonist. Ryder introduces his wife to the gathering as such and thereby reaffirms his bond with his past life. By accepting his Black wife Ryder is not trying to renounce the ideology of Blue Vein related to upward mobility and absorption into the White race. Also he has not moved backward by such a bold step, but instead has come forward and has proved his worth through his behavior and not with his skin color. Andrews while discussing the conclusion of story, states that Ryder rises when he sacrifices a narrow notion of public success for a more private moral responsibility (115) Though the conflict within the mind of Ryder is not depicted by Chesnutt, the thoughts and actions of Ryder speak more than words and the final speech mirrors the psychology of the rising middle-class Black intellectuals.
Chesnutt uses humor and satire in The Passing of Grandison in order to interpret the thoughts and attitude of the Southern Whites towards their Black Slaves. Grandison is wearing the perfect mask of an innocent uneducated obedient slave who is loyal to his White master. The final twist comes as a surprise to both the readers and the White master as Grandison outwits his Master and flees the plantation with his entire family. With such an anti-climax, Chesnutt urges the White readers to re-examine the way they viewed the Black Slaves. Whites, controlling the Blacks physically considered themselves to be superior and Grandison outsmarts his white maser and has proven the words of Tom Windham talking about the subhuman treatment of the Blacks stated that I think we should have our liberty cause us aint hogs or horses-us is human flesh
Chesnutt states that there is no such thing as Negro dialect. It is just to express with a certain degree of phonetic correctness in order to suggest the sound of English words as pronounced by an uneducated old Southern Black slave. Even in The Passing of Grandison, Chesnutt sparingly uses the Negro dialect in order to present reality without exaggeration or melodrama.
For the Whites, the Blacks are hardly human and hence turn blind to their motives. It never strikes Dick that Grandison would never wish to secure freedom leaving his family back at the plantation, as he believes that family is his only asset. Even when Dick informs Grandison that he is now in Canada, a free man, not bound by the clutches of slavery, he wears the mask so perfectly that he does not show sign of interest. He, in fact says Lets go back ober de ribber, Mars Dick, Grandison replies. Is feared Ill lose you ovuh heah, an den I won hab no marster, an wont nebber be able to git back home no mo.
To conclude, Chesnutt has captured the tumultuous inner struggle and the perfect masking of the Blacks in the two short stories. He has not only closely studied the attitude of the Whites towards their Black Slaves, but also the way Blacks viewed themselves and their relationship with the Whites.
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