In this paper 1, I think that I was able to draw conclusions and analyse the text well, however I was somewhat let down by my organisation of writing. I ended up forcing / focusing on points which may have been weaker than others. Eg. I forced myself to mention the use of sound in the poem when and in turn left out a larger microanalysis on some of the more important symbolism. Additionally, I began with macroanalysis in my introduction but did not follow through with a consistent amount of conclusions on the poem as a whole.

For next time, I would like to be able to prioritise my points better, whilst also being able to connect together points in my microanalysis to develop a stronger conclusion of the poet’s choices.

I used some elaborative vocabulary which was someone unnecessary and I could have faired better without. Eg. “almost” “tries to” “attempts to”. I think at the time I was a little unsure of my conclusions and so lowered my modality.

Conclusion was slightly sort, could have elaborated on it more. I think once I am able to establish a stronger macroanalysis, I will be able to say more able the nuances and style of the text rather than just reiterating my introduction / what I’ve already said.

In the poem “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”, by John Keats, the imagination of a perfect woman for a knight is described alongside her longing for her and her story with her.

Keats describes how the knight somewhat lost in his life find himself “streamlined” by the idea of the fairy-like woman who seems fulfil his imagination. From there, the knight is described to lose himself in the “fairy-like” treatment he is being given by the girl to the point that he ignores advice from “pale kings and princes”. This is interesting as it writer is able to emphasise the extent to which the knight has fallen for this girl. Finally, the poem describes the knight being “lulled” to sleep by the girl before waking up not knowing where he is and without the girl.

In class, we were able to discuss the idea of “negative capability” and the ability of an individual to ignore the natural instinct to reach out for truth and reality. In the poem, Keats’s knight is blind to the mystery surrounding the girl and remains actively awed by her despite supposedly just meeting and knowing little of her. Throughout the poem, Keats uses this to demonstrate the will to break out of the “banal” life that the knight is living, “loitering through the meadows” and finding himself in a relatively sublime alternative reality. Through this, Keats may be trying to describe how temporary fascinating and transfixed mindsets can manifest and become an important piece of one’s life. It is interesting how Keats repetitively draws the readers attention to sinful connotations, describing woe-begone and repeating the line “O what can ail thee”. It is almost as if Keats is likening the banal to sickness which may be indicative of Keats’s life he was living, trapped in his life knowing that he is going to die, and perhaps the only way he could escape this certainty was to fill his life with a magical mysteries of imagination / sublime.

Additionally,  the strict plot-line ballad structure used by Keats is able to emphasise the linearity and chronology of the emotions / actions experienced by the knight. The simple rhyming scheme and regular phrasing is rather contrasting to the dynamic plot, which may be indicative of the knight having the same aspirations and dreams throughout. The only difference is whether he is with the girl or not. Keats may have also made a subtle ode to this in the rhyming he used throughout. During periods of banal nature, Keats uses more “ing” rhyming which has a rather conclusive / strong affect to it, perhaps alluding to the knights finalised mind-set, being unable to dream beyond his everyday life.  This is contrasted in the more loving and intimate stanzas in which Keats uses “our” or “ore” rhyming which seems more open and even leads to the mouth being opened up, perhaps representing the new / endless opportunities that meeting the girl has opened up fro him.

• When Gatsby and Daisy first meet, Gatsby is endlessly awkward. Fitzgerald describes a scene where Gatsby knocks over a clock to the point where it almost shatters, but he is able to stop it. It may be a representation Gatsby’s motivation that he can stop time and that it does not matter that it has been so long since he was with Daisy. Its almost as if the clock falling was a representation of him in the moment as he had worked himself up to the point of their meeting like an “overwound clock” and now he was spiralling out of control and falling. Yet he manages to catch himself and pause time to gain composure and come back to his normal self before it shatters.
• Nick’s views of Daisy and Gatsby may be indicative of the thing that they value. For Daisy Nick’s narration is used by Fitzgerald to emphasise the way he views Daisy’s voice as thrilling or melodic. The voice may be a representation of his wits and smarts which are so important to the way she conducts herself as a women throughout the book. Conversely, Nick is stunned by Gatsby’s smile, which is almost the movement which causes speech as if he tries to obtain Daisy’s same stunning nature but is caught at the point of motion. I think this is indicative of the importance of the way Nick and others love Gatsby’s image which he has created for himself whilst maybe not actually loving Gatsby so much himself. This is particularly interesting in the scene where Daisy cries on Gatsby’s expensive shirts. It would be typical for a woman to cry on a shirt which is on their significant other, as per the clique “crying on shoulder” however in this cause Daisy is crying in his shirts which he has just thrown at her. This may be representative that Daisy is emotional and loves the image Gatsby has created for himself and all he has done for her, but maybe isn’t able to love him yet.

So far in the Great Gatsby, I’d describe the book as hopeful on the verge of romantic. Although there have been shades of cynical nature, such as Tom’s treatment of Daisy (or even their whole marriage for that matter), Gatsby’s innocent hopefulness almost overcast these ideas.

Gatsby’s careless nature to all of the things surrounding him and how devoted his life is towards Daisy portrays a romanticised / idealised goal to life which I think is relatable and almost aspired to by all people in some capacity or other. The fact that he lives his life and does what he does for Daisy without thinking of many other things in life is a symbol of hope and possible related to the American Dream which is so often talked about.

One interesting section that we discussed in class is the green light which Gatsby watches over from the sound and the valley of ashes separating Gatsby from Daisy by land. The green light is particularly interesting symbol used by Fitzgerald potentially representing the illusive dream he has of Daisy. The valley of ashes on the other hand, represents the banal reality of the world which he will have to be crossed for the two of them to be with each other. It is interesting that Fitzgerald also mentions the billboard sign of an optometrist along the valley of ashes, suggesting that only through that direction can Gatsby see clearly his relationship with Daisy.

I feel like everything that has to be taken in this book has to be taken with a pinch of salt as Nick is the narrator. We can see from the language and mannerisms of the narrator, that Fitzgerald portrays Nick to be a rather opinionated character. Therefore, his views on Gatsby and Daisy made have been a reflection of a small interesting portion of his life which was predominantly filled with him settling for mediocrity.

Hills like white elephant addresses a couple, an American and his girlfriend “Jig”. They converse over drinks at a bar and appear to be talking about nothing important meaningful. Hemmingway addresses the futility of their discussion but using short lived dialogues with little description. It is understood that they are debating about whether or not to have an abortion, and it seems as though the girlfriend is against it whilst the man is not.

Hemmingway emphasises the lack of communication despite their discussion as the man persistently beats around the bush whilst looking for the woman’s approval to do the operation. It can be seen that the man probably knows that his girlfriend does not want to have it done and that he is still emphasising his view, which the girl responds to in a frustrated manner.

The writing is very to the point, yet at the same time the meaning is vague. I would say that this is indicative of the situation in the story. It is clear that the man wants to have the abortion but the woman does not, and yet they are still trying to see whether the other side would be happy with their opinion. A debate which clearly will not be resolved over a few drinks.

It is interesting as Hemmingway does not mention that it is an abortion that is of conversation in the story, and by doing this, priority is placed on the fruitless conversation. This may make it more relatable to the reader rather than a specific story about abortion.

In the end, I would say that it is clear that the man’s abstract communication has frustrated the woman, and in this specific collection of short stories “men without women” emphasises the necessity for clear communication in relationships as a gentlemanly courtesy in the society being addressed.

In this passage, there are multiple contrasts and foils between the characters drawn. The short story lacks a “plot” like structure and almost feels like a continuously developing tension.

One character in particular which stands our to me is Mel. Mel is a character who seems to be the most dynamic and outgoing in his opinions. As a surgeon, it would be typical for the reader to associate him with someone who is very particular and precise in his actions. However, in this passage, he appears as a character who is frantic, unable to control his words, and even rude at points. This is just one example of how the author draws reference to the affect that love has on the behaviour of people.

Throughout the passage, multiple stories are referenced by Mel and Terri, all which seem to depict a different version of love. First and perhaps the most memorable, is Terri’s description of her ex, Ed, who became so deranged by his love for Terri that he ended up killing himself when he lost the love. There is a tension between Mel and Terri as they have contrasting beliefs about whether there was love between Ed and Terri, and this is used by the writer to immediately demonstrate the imperfections of their relationship. This made me wonder whether it is possible for a love between two people if their idea of love is different.

A second story that was referenced by Mel was of an elderly couple who are in a car accident with a teenager. Resulting from the crash, the elderly couple are placed in ICU and are lucky to survive, the husband however, is left blind. Mel uses this story to describe his ideal version of love, emphasising on the fact that the husband “cried because he couldn’t see his wife”. Its ironic, because his story almost depicts how the husband was almost unable to live with the fact he would not be able to appreciate his life with his wife to the fullest anymore. Yet, it could be argued that Terri’s relationship with Ed was of similar nature.

The sublime vs banal comparison of idealistic love and the relationships which are presented through the 2 couples in the story forms the backbone of Mel’s conflict. The idea that love should be “perfect” is tossed around so heavily, yet the author has chosen to create the scene as a conversation over a coffee table and drinks. Furthermore, the use of the dialogue descriptors, “he said” and “she said”, without any embellishment enforces the banal nature of the conversation.

Additionally, the stories told by Mel seem to be chosen to demonstrate the young and the old in particular. The author may have used this to demonstrate the short periods in relationships which may be perfect. The author shows this as Mel comments on the new-nature of Nick and Laura’s relationship which is why they are without conflict. Contrastingly, Mel’s description of the old couple is one which demonstrates them as equally content.

Together, this is potentially used by the author in order to emphasise the idea of memento mori and tempus fugit. These “sublime” concepts are shown at the beginning and end of a relationship whilst the majority of it is banal. As such, in love, at the beginning of a relationship when the time flies by and the end of sharing a life together when a couple most remember death, it is most important to enjoy these moments. As the time may enjoy love of equal calibre in moments few and far between.

Right now, the coffin is representative of an end of a chapter. As I approach the next chapter of my life, adulthood, I look to close away the immaturity and lack of confidence which has “plagued” my childhood. At the same time, whilst closing a door, it cannot be helped but to associate the coffin with a sense of loss. It is inevitable that as life progresses into adulthood, some of the joys and carefree nature of youth will have to be forgone as they are overtaken by responsibilities. Additionally, leaving behind family and friends to move on to a chapter of my life which is more largely defined by my individual actions is possibly the greatest thing I will ever leave behind in my life so far.

However, with these relationships and memories forgone, there comes the new excitement of independence. All of the new people that will join my life and all the new opportunities that present themselves before me are alike the rise of the sun on a new day. I feel as though reaching adulthood is like summiting the first peak on an expedition and the sun represents a new route / path to the next tallest mountain just waiting to be conquered. This leads me onto my perception of the clouds. For me, the clouds present a barrier of understanding, certainty and knowledge. They are just another path to cross on the journey to the summit, but at the same time distract and even block the view of the top. In some ways, they can represent doubts as a dark cloudy day most commonly does. Moreover, I think they are representative of another micro summit, and are just another challenge to rise through in order to gain a full view of the summit which lies ahead.

 

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So far, Cyrano has appeared to be a reasonably respected character, who can do as he wants, and enforce as he wants onto the public. He was able to pretty much murder someone, as well as boot a fat man off of the stage whilst a full academy audience was watching. Despite his seemingly negligence to his nose and a mask that suggests he does not worry about it too much. I think the fact that he is so in touch with the ways in which people can perceive his nose and how he killed someone for merely sneering at it, represents he self consciousness about it.

Ithaka:

In the poem Ithaka, by CP Cavafy and translated by Edmund Keeley, Odysseus’s adventure back to Ithaca is described.  Each and every traitorous turn is mentioned yet the poet seems to use the poem to describe the age old idiom of it being “about the journey rather than the destination”. Ithaca seems to represent the goal and home that is “always in your mind” and throughout the journey its the thing that keeps you going. Yet the extension to the classic phrase is formed in the last two stanzas where Keeley emphasises that even if once you reach home, “you find [Ithaca] poor” or not as you would have expected, “you won’t have been fooled”. Suggesting that even if you reach home and its not what you expected, the journey will have compensated, and your dream home is still your home. In relation to the Odyssey, I imagine this represents Odysseus when he has just arrived back in Ithaca and is chilling in the Swineherd’s home, seemingly relaxing and just spending time back home with Telemachus. He would feel somewhat glad and excited to soon be able to resume his normal life with Penelope and his dog and his dad. This would represent the somewhat normal homecoming to most people, but what it doesn’t account for, is the rest of the Odyssey where Odysseus’s life is more or less flipped upside down as he loses everything he wanted to come back to. I guess what that poem may be trying to say is just that, if you spend too long on your journey, for a short time after returning home, adjusting and coming back home will become a journey. And you will have to conquer that journey before being able to call it your home again.