Letting Go of the Past

Eveline by James Joyce was a relaxing contrast from the short stories we normally read in AP Lit.  It was relatively short, and not extremely descriptive or complex.  Thanks to its simplicity, I think I was able to realize the theme of the story.  Throughout the story, Eveline's life is explained to the reader.  Her mother and  one of her brothers had died.  She has a father who abused her mother and now takes his anger out on her.  She is not a happy person.  Due to all of the problems in Eveline's life, I expected her to try to find some escape.  Eveline somewhat confirms that she is looking for a solution in paragraph 9.  "But in her new home, in a distant unknown country, it would not be like that.  Then she would be married - she, Eveline (par. 9)."  The story goes on to talk about her boyfriend Frank, a sailor, who promises to take her to Buenos Aires with him.  I expected this to be hear means of escape.  However, at the end of the novel, she cannot leave.  She is reminded of her home by music she hears playing, and she is afraid of the unknown and a new start with Frank. I think this shows that the theme is about holding onto the past.   Through Frank, Eveline is given a chance to start a new life, but she is reluctant to leave what is familiar to her.  I think the author frowns on this behavior, as he describes Eveline at the end of the story as being unemotional and like a helpless animal. I think the author is trying to say that holding on to one's past does no good, when the future holds a better life.

Turning Point

In How I Met My Husband by Alice Munro, I noticed a definite turning point near the end of the story.  The story, for the most part, is about Edie (the main character) and her interaction with Chris Watters, the pilot who stops near the home she is working at.  As Edie has several complicated meetings and interactions with him, the reader (in this case, me) expects to see the two get married.  Based on the title of the short story, this is a logical conclusion.  Especially after Chris promises to send her a letter and maybe see her again, this sort of "happily ever after" ending doesn't seem too far-fetched.  However, I realized that this was not to be on page 145 in paragraph 196.  A young mailman with the last name of Carmichael says "You've got that smile I've been waiting on all day (paragraph 196)!"  This compliment somewhat contrasts with the compliment that Chris gives Edie earlier in the chapter when he sees her in Mrs. Peeble's dress. At that point, I started to think that Carmichael may actually become her husband, as he seems to be interested in her.  Later on that page, Edie comes to the same conclusion, and on the next page, they get married.  What a quick change!

Destiny (and horcruxes)

Throughout Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor repeatedly mentions his destiny and how it is unavoidable and soon to be fulfilled.  He tormented me by continuously hinting at it, but never truly making clear what this "destiny" is.  Finally, on page 158, I found my answer.  "But such is not my destiny; I must pursue and destroy the being to whom I gave existence; then my lot on earth will be fulfilled, and I may die."  Then I wanted to shoot myself for not having realized his destiny sooner.  I always blog about foreshadowing, but I couldn't seem to analyze this most important aspect of the novel.  Oh well! As they say in Spain, "no pasa nada."  Now I know what Victor meant, and I can finally blog about the implications of this idea.  First, I think this destiny is a central theme of the novel.  The fact that Victor can't stop mentioning it somewhat hints at this.

Also, the unavoidable destiny reflects and is a fulfillment of the unavoidable misery forced upon Victor because of the monster's creation.  As long as the creature, exists, he is haunted by the creature itself and by his dead friends and family in his daydreams.  He can't be a functioning part of society any longer.  Even if he could, the creature had killed off any real friends he had.   His life truly was hopeless, and the only thing that keep him alive was his anger.  "I dared not die, and leave my adversary in being (p 149)."  Ultimately, either he or the creature had to die before the other could be appeased...only for him to die as wiell.  (this reminds me of Harry Potter and Voldemort's horcruxes), because their mutual existence caused unending misery for both of them.  Ultimately, Victor comes to terms with this destiny, and he dies in peace, having fulfilled his destiny to die in pursuit of his creation.  In doing so, the novel's theme of unavoidable destiny is made clear.

Mount Blanc

For a while, I was puzzled when Mount Blanc kept appearing over and over again in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  Earlier I blogged about a possible theme I had discovered (read it here if you're bored), "playing God."  I noticed that this theme seemed to be supported by scenes of nature in which it's beauty was juxtaposed with the horror of Frankenstein's creature.  I think I'v found a connection between this theme and the reoccurring Mount Blanc.  While reading the latter chapter of the novel, I was overjoyed (that's a lie) when Victor again mentioned the mountain.  He said "...and at a distance, surmounting all, the beautiful Mount Blanc, and the assemblage of snowy mountains that in vain endeavour to emulate her (p142)."  I could be imaging things, but it seems to me that this mountain which Victor again and again mentions as beautiful, is a juxtaposition of the creature.  Especially in this passage, the mountain appears to be a symbol of natural perfection and beauty.  As a part of nature itself, the mountain is another example of the perfection of God's creation.  The other mountains seem to resemble the beast.  They hopelessly try to be like Mount Blanc, but physically cannot.  Likewise, things made by "playing God" cannot end well.  Ultimately, the plan of the real God is the best.  Although they are not proportional to the creature (they are small and there are many of them), I think they help to establish Mount Blanc as symbol of natural perfection.   Sure enough, it is soon juxtaposed by the creature when it appears early in the following chapter to murder Elizabeth.

Dramatic Irony in Frankenstein

Hooray for me! I found two examples of dramatic irony in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  The first occurs when the creature says the dreaded words "I will be with you on your wedding-night(p 123)."  Victor believes that it means to kill him on that night in order to seek its ultimate revenge on its creator.  However, the reader should realize that the monster wants to murder Elizabeth.  In doing so, he would make Victor's life hopeless and give him despair equal to what the creature experienced when Victor tore apart the body of the female creature.  Similarly, in page 126, Victor washes up on Mr. Kirwin's island during the storm and does not realize the hostility being shown to him due to his relief at being alive.   He says the people "whispered together with gestures that at any time might have produced in me a slight sensation of alarm (p 126)." Although he didn't realize it at the time, in retrospect, he tell Walton (and the reader) that the people were suspicious of him.  Later it is revealed that Clerval's body was found, and Victor is believed to be the murderer.  Poor Victor, every time he narrowly escapes ultimate peril, he is again washed (in this case, literally) into tragedy.

Chains

While reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I was especially fascinated with a certain passage in Chapter XIX.  "For an instant I dared to shake off my chains, and look around me with a free and lofty spirit;  but the iron had eaten into my flesh, and I sank again, trembling and hopeless, into my miserable self (p117)."  I really liked this sentence, because it contains insightful symbolism which portrays a theme of the novel.  The sentence is both literal and symbolic, as Victor physically and emotionally fell with hopelessness.  However, what is important is the symbolic meaning.  The symbol of the chains is just one of the references in the novel to slavery.  These references point to the idea that Victor is a prisoner of his past mistake, the creation of the creature.  In this particular portion of the novel, Victor's spirits begin to be raised by the sights he sees in England.  This happens in his travels throughout the story.  Every time, however, Victor quickly returns to sadness and depression when he remembers the threat of the creature.  His life has indeed become enslaved by the creature.  The "iron eating into his flesh" symbolizes the inability to move on caused by prolonged fear of his creation.  He cannot be happy, entertain his friends and family, or conduct experiments in his current state.  All he can do is worry about the monster.  The only way he can escape is to kill his master, the creature.  Then, he could relax and finally be free of anxiety.

More Foreshadowing! (of course)

As always seems the case, Mary Shelley once again uses foreshadowing in Frankenstein.  By noticing diction in certain sections, I was able to reasonably predict the death Henry Clerval.  In one passage in particular, Shelley's use of past-tense verbs hints that Clerval has since passed.  Due to the creature's anger at his companion's destruction, Clerval's was a logical conclusion.   "He was a being formed in the 'very poetry of nature'.  His wild and enthusiastic imagination was chastened by the sensibility of his heart.  His soul overflowed with ardent affections, and his friendship was of that devoted and wondrous nature...(p 113)."  Victor then says 'And where does he now exist?  Is this gentle and lovely being lost forever (p 114)?"  At that point, it was obvious to me that Clerval would be killed by the creature.  Later in the book, I found that Elizabeth's death was foreshadowed in a similar way, with the use of past-tense verbs.  The frame story provides Victor's retrospective insights' resulting in valuable instances of foreshadowing.