Final Project Proposal

The authors of the books that we have read so far in the History of the Novel each have spent a great number of pages describing the setting. Not just at the beginning of the book, but whenever a new scene begins. In a play the audience can see the background and therefore figure out the time period and location of the scene. Additionally what the actors are wearing and how they talk are all physical clues to where the scene is taking place. Unfortunately in books, the setting must be described by the author. The author gets the first few pages to set the scene and yank the reader into the story. It's a first impression that's incredibly important and the reason why I want to do my final project on it.

Mrs. Dalloway

Before writing about the "solitary traveler" section, I'm going to vent about Mrs. Dalloway. At SPA we read a wide variety of books. Different authors with different styles and from different literary periods. These changes  between books helps us to see new ideas which leads to more meaningful discussions. While these changes help us to become well rounded English students, I was not expecting all the variables to be switched at once. The normal structure of  a book, which I have become quite familiar with is now gone. I guess I just didn't realize how much I enjoyed a normally structured book. I took them all for granted.We had just finished reading A Farewell to Arms which was a fairly simple read, but now we are reading Mrs. Dalloway which takes place in one day, it doesn't have chapters, the sentence structure in not normal, and it jumps around randomly into peoples heads. But those are no reasons to judge the text and interpret it differently. I'm going to push on and try my best to follow the story and get something out of it. I'm still a little in shock, but it will die down soon. On to the "solitary traveler" section. When Peter and Clarissa first meet each other and start to talk, it seems really awkward. Like we did in class when we read the scene out loud, there was both internal thoughts and what they are actually saying. There is tension between them and this makes the conversation sound fake. And between the few sentences they exchange, they are judging each other internally and remember things about the past. Then when Peter unfolds his knife, more tension is added. It's like in the movies when two people who are enemies are talking and one person is cleaning a knife or a gun, and there is always the thought about what they are going to do with the knife or gun and why they have it. Clarissa doesn't seem threatened by it's presence though. Peter continues to say stuff is delicious and Clarissa describes Peter as enchanting, but they still are holding scissors and a knife. Peter just seems unpredictable. He was so in love with Clarissa and now that they met again when Peter has forced himself to find other love, the situation got heated.

A Farewell to Arms

I have read through 32 chapters of Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, and so far I have really enjoyed it. It's a much easier read than The Scarlet Letter, but the messages of the text are buried deep down, which creates an interesting relationship in comparison to other books we've read. The chapters are shorter and the dialogue can be very simple and at times boring. When having a discussion about the book and someone says  "the text has no meaning" or "it's to simple to talk about or dissect", I think about how I am trying to study the words that Hemingway uses and why. This skill is a working progress for me, but it will help me in seminar discussions and papers. Even with a simple text and writing style there is meaning behind the word choices, the places and the characters. Now on to an aspect that I like about Hemingway's writing. Although during the seminar discussion some people disagreed with me, I thought the moment when the first mortar hits the trench is very significant to the rest of the story. We have been talking about how Hemingway's writing is like a movie, and how he uses his writing like a lens to zoom it and out of scenes. The mortar passage is one of those scenes. The war is now upon the city, with mortars striking near them. The ambulance drivers almost seem too relaxed. Henry and Gordini are running outside with mortars going off nearby and all they are worrying about is getting the food back to the guys. They sit around eating cold macaroni and drinking rotten wine while trying to guess what caliber mortars are attacking them. Little do they know that one of those mortars is going to change their lives. This is when  I picture Hemingway's writing as a movie. There is a flash followed by a deafening noise and then darkness. And that's when the slow motion starts and there is yelling and cries of help. Henry's heart is loud and pounding and all the other noises of the scene seem to be distant and muffled. There is blood and splintered wood everywhere, and he looks over the Passini who is screaming, but still no noise is heard by Henry. And then the scene switches to chaos and noise everywhere with Henry's heart racing. Henry watches as Passini says his last words and then becomes silent. When I look at the mortar scene in this way, the passage becomes very vivid and interesting. This scene is Henry's first experience with war, and I think Hemingway captures it perfectly. I look forward to reading and discussing the rest of the book.

Scarlet Letter Blog

While reading the Scarlet Letter, I have noticed the importance of the nature setting  and how it relates to the progression of the plot. There are multiple examples of natures' significance throughout the text, but a moment I found particularly important was when the meteor shoots across the sky and makes the letter A. It's cool how nature just comes alive at the perfect moments. The A is a dull red which symbolizes the scarlet letter, and the fact that it's in the sky makes it look like a message from God. I seems like a forgiveness from God, because after that point  peoples' opinion of Hester Prynne has changed and she becomes more of a role model, and less of a failure and disappointment in the society. Another moment where nature plays an important role, is when Hester, Dimmesdale and  Pearl are in the forest. The light happens to shine through the tree and give Hester a perfect glow. She is the center of attention, even in a normally dark place. To me this represents Hester ability to get through tough situations and "shine" even in dark times. At the beginning of the book Hester was in a terribly tough place, but at the end of the book she was able to power through the ridicule and still be happy. The last moment is also in the forest as Pearl is playing with the animals. At the beginning of the story Pearl seemed evil and to smart to be human. As she's playing with the animals she's act as innocent as possible. A fox, one of the most shy and timid animals comes up Pearl. A moment where Pearl doesn't seem as scary or evil. All these natures scenes are contradictory to what was thought before. That's how significant nature was in the Scarlet Letter.

Paper and Course Response

The paper went relatively well. I do need to work on my writing, and the only way to get better is practice. Every paper helps and hopefully my writing will evolve over the semester. I have really liked this course so far because its fun, and we have had some great discussions. The class is relaxed and that's great for class time, but sometimes I can get behind on homework with this relaxed style.