Tess of the d'Urbervilles Part 1

Recently, I have started to read Tess of the d'Urbervilles and I am beginning to become very interested in this book. In the first chapter, Tess's dad learns that his ancestor was one of the twelve knights that assisted the Lord of Estremavilla and that branches of his family held manors all over Normandy. To Tess's dad, it meant that if he found his wealthy relatives, then he too could be wealthy. Her dad becomes ecstatic from the news and decides to go to a nearby pub to celebrate. Her dad becomes too drunk to deliver the bee hives the next day and Tess decides to do it for him with her younger brother, Abraham. This eventually leads to Tess accidentally killing her dad's horse which convinces her to go to Alec Stokes-d'Urberville's house to claim her kin because she wants to get some help for her family.
After reading the first few chapters, I think Tess is a very sweet, innocent, and caring girl. For example, she takes care of her younger siblings as if they were her own children and she volunteers to do things that will help her family. She also feels uncomfortable when the subject of her getting married is brought up and when she meets Alec for the first time, she acts very politely and feels slightly embarrassed for telling him that they are related as soon as they meet.
I am interested in finding out how Tess will transform throughout the book and how she will be at the end of the book. Part 2 will come after spring break

-Jamie N.

Existentialism in Heart of Darkness

So you all know that we are talking about existentialism in class and have done a few activities based on it. What I personally have taken from it is that existentialism is basically living life by what you choose to make it. There is not necessarily a purpose to any one activity and the best way to live is to take each event at face value. Learn the lessons from it, but don't necessarily let it control any part of your life because the next random event could change your whole perception of the first.
I recently began reading "Heart of Darkness" for my 20th century novel and have notice several existential ideals throughout the book. Marlow, the main character, is sent into Africa to be the captain of a steam ship on the Congo River. In the book, he refers to this river as a serpent, sometimes affiliated with the Devil. He allows his fear to lead him into his new job with great caution (an existential idea that fear drives us) and possibly gains a false impression of what his experience will lead him to. This is one of the topics of existentialism that I disagree with; that fear controls our lives. I feel that every person has the choice of whether or not to allow fear to cripple them and stop them from pursuing what they truly want to do. Yes, fear does play a large role and even those who say they are "fearless" must be afraid of something in life, but they choose to get over those fears rather then be controlled by them.
Another ideal of existentialism is the role of God. In the book, Marlow gets his assignment from an all white shining city that to many is "pure", symbolizing heaven. The man that actually speaks to Marlow has a low booming voice and is seen very briefly over an elevated desk. This God-like figure directs Marlow into a major life decision and Marlow must accept that because of his struggles to maintain a steady life. Existentialism is the presence of nothingness. No other-worldly figure can allow humans to recognize their true potential, only the person who takes control of their life will see how far they can truly go. "Nothingness [is] the placeholder of possibility". Only an empty feeling can drive a person to realize their potential and it is human thought, not necessarily a higher power, that pushes them through their endeavors.

-Kevin W.

Social/Character Analysis of Native Son

Bigger Thomas feels like he is controlled by a stereotype that he cannot escape.  Have you ever felt the same?  Being African-American back in the 1960's brought that feeling upon everyone who did not feel they could pass the paper bag test.  He saw himself as inadequate and unimportant.  In the eyes of white people, he felt he was nothing. 

Down in Chicago where Bigger lived, I feel that there was racial tension, but not as much as he and his friends made it out to be.  Bigger commited an unnecessary crime.  The ultimate crime.  He killed a white woman.  How do you think the general reaction would to this?  Bigger felt empowered for doing this deed, but he also felt no protection from what was to come of this murder. 

Upon reaching the finish of this novel, I am realizing that this racial tension was a thing that could easily have been resisted.  What Bigger felt the world thought about him at the beginning of the novel, they finally truly thought about him at the end of it.  Bigger made the world see him how he saw himself.  Nothing but a no-good piece of black trash.  Excuse my french but that is how he was portrayed when he found himself on the run from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Ironic to what I said earlier, now he was somebody.  Hey, maybe that is why he felt his empowerment. 

-Jonathan Solomon

The Awakening- Part 1

Mrs. Elliott recommended that I read this book due to the fact that I needed a 19th century piece of literature to add to my list. I had no idea what to expect, and with a quick overview of the plot, I gladly accepted the challenge.

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, is a rather short read, but the grounds upon which the plot is developed are very deep. Mrs. Pontellier (a.k.a. Edna), a mother and a wife living a very restricted lifestyle in a world where women and freedom do not combine.  In fact, many quotes in the first chapter alone suggest that Mr. Pontellier views his wife as his "property" and that she should obey what he says no matter the circumstances. The plot introduces another character from the beginning as well- Robert Lebrun. The way the author characterizes Robert as very flirtatious, and the reader does get a vibe that Robert will have something more than a friendship with Mrs. Pontellier, or at least he will try to. Robert seems to go out of his way in every opportunity possible to spend time with Mrs. Pontellier or to please her.

Madame Ratignolle (a.k.a. Adele) is another woman who lives in the same community as Edna, but she is a Creole. The two seem to be good friends, but Adele seems to be much more proper and set in the ways that women should excel in homemaking. She is a very intelligent woman and knows what Robert is after. She has even warned him that Edna "is not like [them]" and told him to stay away. However, his pursuits have still continued and Adele seems to watch in vain.

Mrs. Pontellier herself is not a Creole, but she is surrounded by a community that is. The novella is filled with French words and references and is not for those who lack the motivation for a challenge. The setting is near the Gulf of Mexico, presumably in Louisiana. During the 19th century, as we all know, women were condemned to a life of mothering and wifehood. As far as I have gotten through this book, I am expecting Mrs. Pontellier to break the barriers and leave a demeaning husband for true romance and to become a unique individual as a woman.

On an interesting note, the back cover of the novella states that after Chopin published her novella, society criticized her work for being completely abstract of a women's duties and her career in literature ended thereafter. This novella seems to have pioneered feminism, and allowed women to see that society can be egalitarian after all.

More to come when I conclude the novella.



-A. Pruett