Bressler's Chapter Five Response

                Chapter Five in Bressler’s Literary Criticism was very long, and at the same time complex. Structuralism and Post-Structuralism both resemble New Criticism in a way, for they focus on the text and text alone in order to comprehend the messages conveyed by the author. However, unlike New Criticism, the first two approaches may lead to other critical approaches, which created this whole new perception. Aldous Huxley’s popular novel, Brave New World, may also be approached with this method as it involves Derrida’s idea of binary opposition and also the narrative functions that Propp proposes.

            The novel opens with Huxley introducing numerous binary opposites of the story. One of such is the caste system; how humans are separated into Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Though there are five groups instead of two, the basic idea is the same, for they portray the contrast between the privileged to underprivileged. Above all, the main comparison shown in the story is the civilized and uncivilized. According to the society in the book, there is a distinct line between those who are artificially decanted and others who still remain viviparous. The first group of people, living in more scientifically advanced community, stands as the superior population. The other, such as John the Savage, who was born and lived in the Reservations exist as minorities. By illustrating the binary opposites, Huxley conveys how the two groups cannot coexist; that they need to be separated by a strong force. The existence of binary opposites and its significance in the story shows how the novel revolves around deconstructionism.

            Additionally, phonocentrism may be spotted everywhere in the Brave New Worldian society. As infants, Delta populations are trained using hypnopaedia and are taught to hate books. As a result, in their society, written leisure and materials do not exist, they live mainly through conversing. Bressler defines phonocentrism as privileging speech over writing, and the idea can be seen in the conditioning center in London. Furthermore, this point is proved as none of the people living in civilized society are willing to read or write. Instead of reading, they choose to doze off using soma; when they get spare time, they would rather go to experience feelies. In the end, only minorities are ones who are willing to read and write. Helmholtz stands as one of the irregular individual in the Brave New World as he enjoys working with literature.

            The past two points proved how the novel orbited around the idea of Deconstructionism. The idea of narratology that is available in the story proves how Brave New World may also be considered a Structuralism novel. Although the novel does not follow Propp’s thirty-one points every one after another, it still vaguely pursues the points. John the Savage lacks multiple things when he first appears in the story. He desires Lenina’s love and wishes to see the society in which his mother had grown. In order to fulfill his goals, he abandons the Reservation life, and commits to leave and join the community. He successfully joins the community, however, it turns out that his idea of society and reality does not match, leading to another missing component in his life. If Propp’s method is directly followed, John is to overcome the quest, prove Mustapha Mond’s idea of totalitarian state wrong, convince the others, and continue living.  On the other hand, John is unable to enforce his beliefs, and commits suicide. When viewing only the first section of John’s life, Propp’s thirty-one points are directly followed. It is what happens after that leads to him death.

            Though leaning slightly towards the Deconstructionism ideas, Brave New World may also be viewed from Structuralist’s point of view. Binary oppositions exists, some of them are even the direct factors that the conflicts roots from. Chapter Five was very difficult to understand, however, viewing my favorite book from a new perspective was fun and inspiring.

Brave New World Revisited

        Huxley presented Brave New World to the society as he invented an organized society where everything was systematic, artificial, and fake. The novel is extremely thematic; the plot and scenario enhances the significance of individuality in society and how the central government may easily manipulate its citizens. In Brave New Word Revisited, Aldous Huxley reenters the futuristic world where people live under the totalitarian rule of the Fordship. However, this time, he approaches this fictional world in a realistic way. He reveals where the ideas in the novel rooted from and proposes how freedom is menaced over time.

            One force that is definitely driving the current world into communist society, as mentioned by Huxley himself, is the issue involving over-population. Over-population leads to economic instability and social unrest. This problem appears due to limited natural resources that are available. As the author mentions, although advances in technology may save more lives, because there are not enough resources to feed and supply everyone with their needs, he/ she will end up miserable as slow death by outright starvation threatens their lives. To cover up such defects in society, central government must perform more power amongst its society. The forceful power forms the crowd to become mass-like, resulting in the loss of self-identity. The strengthened power leads to a government ruling in a dictatorial fashion. Huxley clearly demonstrates the chain reaction that appears when the human population exceeds the certain limit.

            Additionally, Huxley presents numerous effective methods that dictators use when manipulating “isolated individuals”. Brainwashing is one of the techniques that the author introduces. Using sources and examples to prove his points, Huxley concludes that to control a person, the dictator needs to practice skillful psychological manipulation. Although it is extremely doubtful whether a person can actually control others by such method, through his examples, the technique is proven effective. The section where Huxley talks about propaganda and how it manipulates citizens is the most relative to the lives today. The media does have a significant role in people’s minds. Even though it may not wholly control their thoughts, society does get many ideas influenced by what is on the TV or newspaper.

Through Huxley’s non-fictional approach to the dystopian novel, Brave New World, it can be concluded that our society is heading towards, slowly, but steadily, towards the Brave New World. The author himself mentions in the end, that these forces are too strong to be resisted for long. However, it is always important to do whatever is necessary to prevent society without any freedom.

             

Flannery O'Connor

            Flannery O’Connor’s writing style is very unique and distinctive. She starts off the story in an ordinary setting. It is so normal that the narrative may seem rather mundane at first. She starts off the story in an ordinary setting. It is so normal, that the narrative may seem rather mundane at first. However, she proves the idea wrong as she continues on to her climax and ending, which both turn out to be suspenseful and also tragic.

            Through the stories in the Norton (A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Good Country People, and Everything That Rises Must Converge), the readers can see that the author’s main thought focuses on the two ideas; human wit and impudence. Although the ideas are very contrary, they are interconnected. In O’Connor’s works, she depicts how foolishness of mankind are twisted and turned into a disaster by the witty ones. To be more direct, O’Connor portrays how people with big egos are the ones who get tricked most easily.

            In A Good Man is Hard to Find, the grandmother is selfish and pretentious. At first, she strongly objects to visiting Florida, but when it is decided that they are not going to Tennessee and that there is a possibility for her to be left behind, she was “the first one on the car, ready to go.” The way she pretends to be an expert on the Misfit yet gets her family and herself killed, also shows how she had overestimated her intelligence while underestimating the others’. Moreover, when she remembered how the house of the Misfit was in Tennessee instead of Georgia, she decided not to announce the subject. This illustrates how her egotism is so strong that she does not even want to admit her own flaws.

            Second, in Good Country People, Joy (Hulga) looks down on other characters, as if they are not smart enough for her. She does not show any respect for her own mother, even though she is much more amiable and caring than herself. At first, Joy acts as if she is the one who has the control over the situation; she is proud of having many degrees and thus, believes that others are less civilized than she is. However, as soon as she begins to trust Pointer (and this is not even his real name), she becomes more lenient on what the boy says. In the end, Joy is outwitted by Pointer as he simply stole her artificial leg, and did not have any interest in loving her as who she was. This story shows how people who think they are smart are ones who are the actual fools.

            Overall, O’Connor’s stories revolve around deep moral teachings. It highly censures human egotism and depicts how it can easily be turned over. Also most of her works begins dull and rather ordinary, but they all have a turning point where the story becomes full of thrill and suspense.

The Sun Also Rises

Through the characters in The Sun Also Rises, Hemmingway illustrates the influential power of war which takes hope and will to live from the young generation. Many characters do not show any motives in life; Brett is the best example. She loves Jake dearly and it is clear that if he was not injured in the war, the two would have been together. However, because the war took a part of him away, she goes for any men who she finds attractive and even cheats on her fiancé multiple times. Additionally, Brett repetitively mentions how she does not know what to do. Brett’s life shows how the war made her lose purpose in life.  

In the novel, Hemmingway never directly states how they are lost in life. Instead he portrays his life going in circles, without any final destination. This idea is proved through Jake and Brett’s relationship. After every conflict that Brett causes, Jake stands by her side to support her. In the end, they are in the taxi together, and Brett mentions how they “could have had such a damned good time together” (Hemmingway 251). However, she also admits that she will return to Mike. This scene relates to a section of the book in the beginning, when the two are sitting together in the taxi, however, in that section, Brett is extremely confused, even stating how she is “miserable” (Hemmingway 32). Thus, the reader can see the connection between the two scenes, and although something seems to be progressing, nothing actually is getting resolved.

Overall, I really liked the book. Even though everything seemed aimless, I felt something very genuine between Jake and Brett’s relationship. It was really disappointing that they still did not get together in the end, but I enjoyed how their bond was extremely stable throughout the whole entire novel. Because everyone else was messed up throughout the story, having something that was consistent made everything balanced out and even. Lastly, it somewhat reminded me of The Great Gatsby, which is one of the reasons why I ended up liking the book so much.

He Slipped in the Bathroom

Did you just call me a suspect for murdering Herman Mildew? There is no way I could have ever killed Mildew; he was my dear editor and a friend. Yes, even after he ripped my book into pieces in public and declared how he lost faith in writers after reading my book. No, I did not hate him AT ALL.

His death is to be lamented. In fact, I believe that many of his writers are holding some festivals to mourn for his death. Yes, he was that much loved. You know you were a wonderful editor when millions of writers worldwide create a holiday just for you. In fact, I am guessing I will be attending to some of the events; I received about two hundred and ten invitation letters relating to Mildew’s death. Some even says how there will be disco dancing involved. I am quite appalled by how time has passed. These young writers nowadays employ “modern dancing” into funeral events. I believe it helps to extinguish the sorrow feelings. I must admit, they are very thoughtful.

What was I doing the night Mildew was murdered? Oh, I was very busy that night. I can prove to you that committing a murder was impossible for me. After I came back from work at five in the afternoon, I was changing the light bulb in my house. To be slightly more precise, light bulbs, for I replaced more than one. Are you asking me why I decided to change them all at once? You are a very inquisitive person.

Well, it all started when Mildew visited my house the day before his death to complain about my newly published work, He Slipped in the Bathroom. Have you read it yet? I must say, it is a masterpiece. No, it is not a comedy, it is a mystery novel. Well, Mildew said how it lacked coherence. He said how the victim could not die from electrocution, and how the crime would not have worked in real life. I strongly objected to the idea, and he told me that he would prove me wrong and left the room to go to the bathroom. The next minute, I heard multiple glasses breaking. No sir, I did not kill Mildew using the trick I used inside the novel. I would not be telling you this story if I was the culprit. Now, shall we go back to business? Good. So I slowly entered the room to find Mildew standing in middle of the dark room covered in shattered glasses! I do not know how he managed to break all ten light bulbs in the room, but he succeeded. Looking very furious, he told me that the situation I was looking at was the realistic outcome of my novel. Then he left my house.

Yes, he was a generous person. He chose to cover himself up in dangerous pieces of glass in order to teach me a life-long lesson. What I got out of it? I learned the importance of confirming each trick before writing it down. He was my true friend. I just wished that he paid for all the light bulbs, though.

In fact, if you are looking for the true criminal, I know a man who wanted to kill him. Do you know that man with the bold head and with an astounded look on his face? What was his name…. Oh yes, Mr. Jon Scieszka. You should definitely check him out. Oh, and don’t forget to buy He Slipped in the Bathroom. It is underpriced, it only costs one-twenty five, but it will soon become a modern classic.

 

Initiation Stories

The “Initiation Story” focuses on the turning point of a character’s life which, most of the time, takes place time in his/ her teen years. These narratives have common characteristic related to the idea of growing up. However, the two coming-of-age stories that appear in The Norton Introduction to Literature, Stepdaughters and Boys and Girls, convey completely opposing ideas. Thus, from the contrasting narratives, the readers can see how there are different ways to pursue one’s life, and how there are no one correct way to live.

            In Stepdaughters, the author portrays a fifteen year old girl, Stephanie, who lives under unstable environment and is involved in shot-put. Stephanie is a strong-minded girl who desires to live the way she wants to live. Although her mother, Helen, opposes to the idea of a girl playing shot-put, for the sport is rather manly and is un-ladylike. Despite the disagreements, Stephanie does not change her mind, and in the end, she chooses to continue loving shot-put. This shows how a teenage girl can choose her own life, even though it goes against the typical stereotype of a fifteen year old girl.

            On the other hand, Boys and Girls illustrates how a girl of similar age chooses not to break the archetype of an ordinary girl, and how it necessary is not a bad thing. Unlike the first story, the girl grows up in a normal environment; she has a father, a mother, a brother, and the assistance whose name is Henry. Even though she grows up helping her father with his work and is inspired by it, she figures out that the job is something she cannot fully accept. The horse, Flora, represented the freedom of the girl in the end, and it shows how she cannot escape from reality of being a girl.

            Overall, the two stories convey similar themes of growing up, however, one portrays how a girl can beat the common life of a female, whereas the other depicts how sticking to archetype is what happens ultimately. Both narratives were very detailed and understandable, and being a girl reader, I could relate a lot with what each character were saying.

Beowulf

Although reading Beowulf seemed extremely confusing at first, it turned out to be an exciting story where the courageous Beowulf fights with beasts and dragons to secure kingdoms’ peace.

To begin with, I just have to say that the writer of this had to be insane. More than three-quarter of the characters’ names begin with the letter “H”. Because I got confused after seeing every single name in the novel (apart from Beowulf, that was very different from others), I had to keep flipping back to the last page in order to figure out who the character was. These issues with names made me stop so often I couldn’t read the story as smoothly as I wanted to.

I really liked the plot. Even though the story was a bit repetitive as Beowulf fought with Grendel, his mother, and the dragon, I thought the battles nicely conveyed Beowulf’s strong pride as a warrior. In the beginning I thought Beowulf was over-conceited, but the way he died to defend his own kingdom was very impressing. The sacrifice he made in the last battle proved that he was a “hero” instead of being one of the “historical figures”.

Overall, the book was very thoroughly detailed as if I was actually there to witness Beowulf’s great deeds. Even though I personally do not like reading poems, I enjoyed reading how Beowulf rose from a common fighter to a savior of two nations.

Wuthering Heights

First thing to say about Wuthering Heights is that it is a good book. Romantic novels resemble a lot to each other; two characters meet, and no matter what happens, they somehow end up together.  Yet Emily Bronte succeeds to break away from the trends of this genre by applying complex and mysterious touch to it. Rather, the book is not about Heathcliff and Catherine’s unrequited love. She portrays how their love injures ones around them. Edgar Linton is probably the best example, for he loves his wife faithfully until the very end, however, his love is never returned.

Although there are many unforgettable scenes in the novel, the passionate argument that Heathcliff and Catherine has in chapter fifteen is by far the most memorable. It almost feels as if I could see them crying, hand in hand. The main reason to why this section is very shocking is because Heathcliff, who appears to be unemotional and atrocious character, shows his true feelings. How broken he is inside from losing Catherine to Edgar, and his insane love towards her is shown through that one chapter. It definitely moves its readers by showing how strong their devotion for each other is, and portrays how love is boundless.

In some way, Wuthering Heights is very similar to Sense and Sensibility. Characters in both characters are naïve; they are weak and as a reader, I said “no way” to myself more than twenty times as watched how the figures reacted to each conflicts. Heathcliff was definitely one of the characters inside the novel who forced me to think this way, for he cannot get over Catherine, no matter what. Even worse, he does not stay quiet about it; he tries to get revenge on them. However, I cannot lie that he is also the character whom I can relate to the most. As Ms. Howard says, “he is one of the best antihero of all times”.

Overall, Wuthering Heights was a great novel, and was definitely worth reading. Emily Bronte contributed to the society by introducing a masterpiece to the world of literature.

Micro- Story

The Guilt

          After we reflected on the game we had that day, we were dismissed from the meeting. Most of the kids walked off together to hang out. Instead I dragged my legs to the locker room alone. The door to the boys’ locker room seemed heavier than usual, and a complete darkness welcomed me as I entered the small room. There were soccer uniform thrown everywhere with our school names. It was a cool blue sport t-shirt with “Lake Mary Prep” on the back. I picked one up. I stared at it for a moment then put it back down. I walked over to my own grey colored locker. There were stickers everywhere; one of them was the school mascot, the Griffin. The blue eyes of the Griffin stared at me. I looked away, almost instantly.

            It was not my fault we lost the game. My coach knew that. My teammates knew that. I knew that. But if I had not gotten the red card in the second half, we held a very high chance of winning the match.  We could have held the golden Champions Cup in our hands. But it could not be helped. That was the only way we could have stopped that kid from scoring a goal. It was not my fault we lost the game.

            I sat down on the bench that was closest to me. Something hit my leg. I crouch down to find a beaten up soccer ball. I stared at it for a few minutes. The ball bore many scratches and lines on its surface. It almost looked pathetic. I threw the ball into the basket and turned back to my locker. I opened it and got my water bottle out.

            Slowly I walked out of the school entrance. It was raining and it seemed as if it was not going to be a light shower. I didn’t hesitate to walk into the rain. The droplets hit my face. Then it started soaking my clothes. I was really wet. But I did not run. Nothing could be fixed.

I walked steadily back to my house as the rain poured all over me. I met no one on the way back home, which was a delight. Suddenly, I saw a glimpse of light at far. It shone like a star on a dark, black night. I sped up my pace, but not too fast so that the puddles didn’t splash on my legs. As I closed up, I discovered that the source of the bright light was from my house. I felt more drops on my face the closer I got to the door. By the time I had put my hand on the door knob, I was soaked head to toe.