Discussion: The Awakening

In our class discussion, the character, Edna Pontellier, was discussed because she is the main character in the novel and she is also an outcast in the story. Edna is from Kentucky, and lives among these "Creoles" in the South. She is an unusual mother because in the beginning of the novel, it is discussed how Edna is not the traditional mother; her two sons don't receive the motherly love from her...she is not committed to throat 'cult of domesticity.'

During our discussion, Robert Lebrun's role in the novel was also brought up: what's up with him? Why is he there? When initially reading about Robert, we all thought that he would be someone to have an affair with Edna, but as the novel progresses, when the Spanish girl Mariequita asks him if Edna is his spouse, he responds that she is married. Robert is like an annoying boyish figure in the life of Edna who just seems to bother her. His role in the novel is still to be discussed as the novel progresses. As with the background characters, the general purpose of subordinate characters in novel is to enhance, or build up, the character of the protagonist--the background characters in this novel might serve the same purpose.

This novel is connected to the two poems read in class through their overall theme of feminism: Edna refuses to be a graceful, caring mother to her two sons, and also refuses to obey her husband, Mr. Pontellier, when he continually asks her if she will be going to bed. The omniscient narrator discusses how " she would, through habit, have yielded to his (Mr. Pontellier's) desire; not with any sense of submission or obedience to his compelling wishes, but unthinkingly..." (Ch. XI, pg. 33); but now Edna refused to do this. There is also Madame Ratignolle, who appears to have a "intimate relationship" with Edna. Whether this is just a friendly thing or they really have something going on, it appears to be an escape of her traditional role as a wife. The scene where Madame Ratignolle and Edna were together brings up some sensuality; moreover, Madame Raisz also appears to be a womanly love for Edna, since she claims that she only plays her instrument "for her." Edna's sexuality is now up for debate...perhaps this is what made the novel so controversial.

To the modern, twenty-first century audience, this novel may not seem very extreme or unusual, but it is the ideas and actions by characters that caused audiences to go bonkers in 1900s. The fact that Edna had the idea to be an individual and refuse to submit to her husband's will may have been to extreme an action for a fictional character. Edna doesn't appear to be the 30 year-old, married, mother-of-two type of woman, her character is much more free and individual.

"DOAS" impression & Author's argument!

     Wow. That was such an awesome play! I had an interesting plot and it's amazing how Arthur Miller managed to go back and forth between the past and present in the play. I just needed to really pay attention to those shifts because they were never indicated, but easy to tell through the diction and the subject. It was interesting how Miller brought suspense or left the audience wondering what happened in Boston that ruined Biff, and then be able to reveal it in one of the shifts to the past. Ben, Willy's brother, was a confusing character for me because they mentioned he was dead, but yet when he appears, there is a rapid shift to the past. At times, Ben is like a ghost, he represents a type of hope, goal, future, aspiration for Willy because he continues to use him as an example for his sons and himself of the things that can be achieved. I am still puzzled on why Willy killed himself when he had become hopeful after Biff cried for him... I think he truly believed that Biff would finally become something and so he decided to leave  knowing he had accomplished his duty. Willy Loman was a man who focused way too much on the past and reminisces on how "it used to be," and it reminds me of the times of the Great Depression where everyone just went miserable and missed the prospering 20s. Additionally, I was very disappointed when no one else showed up at Willy's funeral--it definitely reminded me of Jay Gatsby's funeral in The Great Gatsby. There are a few similarities between Gatsby and Loman on how they were both presumed to be great people and well-known by many, but once they both came to their downfall, no one else seemed to be around.Oh, and one more thing, I didn't understand why Willy hated it when Linda mended stockings but it makes sense as I look back: in the incident in Boston where Biff caught Willy with The Woman, he gave her Linda's stockings! But overall, great play, I would LOVE to go see this live in a theater.

      In Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman (1949), Miller writes about the life of 63 year-old salesman Willy Loman who struggles with his job as he is becoming older. The play opens with Willy returning from a long drive from selling and discussing his sons with his wife, Linda. As the play progresses, more is revealed about Willy's life and the failure of his oldest son, Biff, who was destined to go to the University of Virginia. The debate lies on whether it is Willy's own fault that his son didn't succeed or if it was Biff's denial to go to summer school. Willy is revealed to be a man with many dreams, who refuses to be beaten down, aspires only for the best, and looks to his brother Ben, for inspiration. After a failed attempt at business, Biff breaks down to Willy, who refuses to believe him. The play yends with Willy killing himself by crashing his car, after he believed that Biff really did love him because he wept to him. This play was written in the post-World War II era, when the economy began to become prosperous once again due to a boost in productivity; furthermore, the play well represents the pursuance of the 'American Dream' for Willy Loman and Biff, it demonstrates the "failure in society that held out the promise of 'success' to all." (The American Pageant, AP US History book) Possible audiences for this play are young adults and parents because it demonstrates two distinct point of views: those of Biff and Happy and their disappointment with their father and their own goals, and Willy and Linda as parents, disappointed with their sons for not being able to support them as adults.

Vocabulary

• audacity: (n.) boldness or courage; daring.
• imbue: (v.) to fill or inspire, as with emotions, ideals, or opinions.
• evasively: (adv.) to avoid, as by trickery or cunning; elude.
• surlily: (adv.) ill-tempered or rude; sullen and unfriendly.
• enthused: (v.) to show enthusiasm.

Tone: gloomy, reflective, and concerned.

Rhetorical Strategies

• Allusion: "That's why I thank Almighty God you're both built like Adonises." (Act I, pg. 33)
• Idiom: "Ah, you're counting your chickens again." (Act I, pg. 63)
• Rhetorical Questions: "Why shouldn't he talk to himself? Why?...How long can that go on? How long?..." (Act I, pg. 57)
• Simile: "He flunked the subject, and laid down and died like a hammer hit him!" (Act II, pg. 93)
• Metaphor: "Boy, there was a pig!" (Act I, pg. 21)

Discussion Questions:

1. Whenever Linda comes in or anything at all, the italicized always say something like "Linda  enters, as of old, a...." What does "as of old" mean??
2. Is it a characteristic of modern plays to not have scenes? And only two acts?
3. Could this play possibly represent the same situation now in the 21st century?

"The world is an oyster, but you don't crack it open on a mattress!" (Act I, pg. 41) ;)

"CHARLEY: Wait a minute, didn't you hear the news?
WILLY: What?
CHARLEY: Don't you listen to the radio? Ebbets Field just blew up.
WILLY: You go to hell! Charley laughs. " (Act II, pg. 89)

"Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller

       "Death of a Salesman" was written by Arthur Miller and published in 1949. The play tells the story of Willy Loman, a salesman in New England, and his life aspirations for himself and his family. In the opening in the play, Willy has just returned from work and was almost in a car crash. Willy is 60 years old and still works as a salesman, but is becoming more and more weaker and beginning to have hallucinations. The play alternates between the present and past, which are Willy's hallucinations of his past memories. So far, it has been interesting read about Loman's life, and I was surprised to know that he is 60 years old! I would understand why he's becoming so irritable: he travels a lot, has a son who's 35 years old and can't figure himself out yet, and Loman beginning to daydream a lot more than before. It's been an easy read so far, but I just need to pay attention to parts where Willy begins to 'live' in the past again. But overall, it's O.K., a bit gloomy, but O.K. Thanks to the research,  I know that Loman kills himself! Yay!
      Miller's "Death of a Salesman" is a tragedy, he looked to the Greeks for inspiration for tragedies, particularly Sophocles. Miller saw the underlying struggle in the tragedies as an individual trying to gain his rightful position in society. Miller was born in 1915, in New York City. His father lost his business in the Great Depression and moved their family to Brooklyn. As a young adult, Miller had a string-load of jobs and was married three times throughout his lifetime, his second marriage to Marilyn Monroe! His play "Death of a Salesman" brought him international fame and has been performed multiple times at multiple theaters.
      "The Crucible" was another famous book written by Miller that expressed the anti-communist  sentiment of the time period, but "Death of a Salesman" was written in the post-World War II era and reflects the pursuance of the 'American Dream' after a time of war. The post-World War II period was full of conformity, "Death of a Salesman" demonstrates the "failure in a society that held out the promise of 'success' to all." Additionally, Miller lived through the Great Depression, serving as another occasion for this play, as the depression destroyed the idea of the 'American Dream' for many.

In the Heart of the Sea Ch. 9-11

       In Nathaniel Philbrick's novel, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex (2000), Philbrick continues to narrate the voyage of the men on their whaleboats as they hope to reach Easter Island, and ultimately, South America. First, Philbrick describes the first death among the sailors: that of Matthew Joy's. Philbrick then describes how little by little, all the African-Americans on the whaleboats die first. Philbrick explains the factors involving their early deaths such as a poor diet, and the fact that American blacks tend to naturally have less fat on their bodies. Finally, Philbrick discusses the taboo subject of their journey: cannibalism. The men are forced to eat the bodies of their dead shipmates, but yet they are not satisfied and are slowly withering away due to the effects of starvation. Philbrick seems to have not one direct purpose, but many: through the tragedy of the Essex, he discusses different sociological and anthropological subjects such as cannibalism, race, social hierarchies, and the idea of familiarity. Philbrick has a general audience, but as we progress deeper into the novel, the audience shifts into people interested in sociology or anthropology and/or science because he ties in the subjects into the whaling tragedy. 

Vocabulary:

• ludicrous: (adj.) laughably absurd; ridiculous.
• incongruous: (adj.) not harmoniously related or joined; not suitable.
• incessantly: (adv.) continuing without interruption; continous; unceasing.
• prostration: (n.) extreme exhaustion.
• fortitude: (n.) courage or strength in the face of pain, danger, or misfortune.
• dessicated: (v.) to dry up completely.
• glutinous: (adj.) like glue, sticky.
• decrepit: (adj.) broken down  or feeble because of old age or overuse
• impetuousness: (n.) rushing headlong into things; impulsive and energetic
• nil: (n.) nothing, zero.
• indolent: (adj.) having or showing a dislike of work or effort; lazy; idle
• consigned: (v.) to hand over formally; transfer or deliver.
• conscientious: (adj.) guided by one's conscience.
• unabated: (adj.) at full strength.
• daintily: (adv.) delicately beautiful or graceful.
• placid:  (adj.) not easily excited or disturbed; calm or peaceful.
• atavistic: (adj.) relating to the reappearance, usually after several generations, of a physical trait of an ancestor.
• implacable: (adj.) that cannot be calmed or satisfied.
• amoral: (adj.) not having or interested in moral standards.
• compunction: (n.) an uneasiness  caused by feelings of guilt.

Tone: sorrowful, lamenting, and encouraging.

Rhetorical Strategies:

1. Irony: "Two months after deciding to spurn the Society Islands because, in Pollard's words, 'we feared we should be devoured by cannibals,' they were about to eat one of their own shipmates." (pg. 165)
2. Anecdotes: "One of the most thorougly documented cases of cannibalism occurred in the winter of 1710, when the Nottingham Galley, a British trading vessel under the command of Captain John Dean, wrecked on Boon Island..." (pg. 165)
3. Simile: "Soon all six men were plucking the crustaceans off the boat's bottom and popping them into their mouths 'like a set of gluttons.'" (pg. 129)
4. Analogy: "Like Pablo Valencia, [the sailors] had journeyed into their very own valley of death." (pg. 130)
5. Allusion/Rhetorical Question: "Like Job before him, Chase could not help but ask, '[What] narrow hopes [still] bound us to life?'" (pg. 170)

Discussion Questions:

1. Considering the context during the time of the shipwreck (1819), were the seven African-American sailors aboard the Essex freedmen?
2. What does Philbrick hope to accomplish by including sociological and anthropological evidence throughout chapters of the book?
3. Is it truly better for people to stick together as a group, or to thrive according to "survival of the fittest?"

"Joy was no longer a Quaker, but on January 10, a hot, windless day in the Pacific, he demonstrated a Friend's sense of duty and devotion. For the last two days his boat-crew had been left leaderless; he now asked to be returned to them. His loyalty to his crew was in the end greater than his need for comfort from his fellow Nantucketers..." (pg. 153).

In the Heart of the Sea Ch. 5-8

       In Nathaniel Philbrick's novel, In the Heart of the Sea (2000), Philbrick chronologically narrates the path of the men of the Essex after the ship was rammed by the sperm whale. First, the author tells how the Essex was destroyed, and the probable causes and interesting statistics about ship wrecks. Then, he describes Pollard's and Chase's plan to head toward South America, as opposed to sailing west to Tahiti, or the Society Islands; furthermore, he narrates their trip going south through the Pacific Ocean, and the agony that the men are forced to face. To conclude, the men reach an island, devour everything on it, and soon abandon it and three of the men choose to stay. Through the American tragedy of the sinking of the Essex, Philbrick conveys messages about the social lives of humans and our great ignorance toward the unknown, our strongly evident xenophobia. The author targets anyone who is interested in American history, ships, and survival stories and skills because he not only narrates the story of the Essex, but he provides statistical facts, and scientific facts about certain things they encountered. Philbrick also has separate paragraphs in which he lists conditional statements and the ironies of their strenuous journey.

Vocabulary

• elusive: (adj.) hard to explain, understand.
• proverbial: (adj.) commonly spoken of, well-known.
• tempestuous: (adj.) characteristic of a tempest; turbulent; violent; stormy.
• mutiny: (n.) an open rebellion against authority, especially by sailors or soldiers against their commanding officers.  
• stoic: (n.) a person who is apparently indifferent to or unaffected by pain or pleasure.
• bilge: (n.) the lowest inner part of the hull of a ship.
• meager: (adj.) barely adequate in amount or quantity.
• exacerbate: (v.) to make more intense, severe, or bitter, as pain or feelings.
• iridescent: (adj.) displaying shimmering and changing colors.
• coagulate: (v.) to change something from a liquid into a thickened mass.
• voracious: (adj.) eating or craving large amounts of food; unable to be satisfied in some activity.
• stimulus: (n.) something that moves or incites to action or effort; anything that produces a response or influences the activity of the mind or body.

Tone: lamenting, subjective, and reflective.

Rhetorical Strategies:

1. Allusion: "'...There is his home; there lies his business, which a Noah's flood would not interrupt, though it overwhelmed all the millions in China..." (pg. 99); "'...By Neptune I think you are afraid of a whale...'" (pg. 79); "'To an overruling Providence  alone must be attributed to our salvation from the horrors of that terrible night...'" (pg. 121).
2. Simile: "All around them, the unruffled ocean reached out to the curved horizon like the bottom of a shiny blue bown..." (pg. 131); "Like a whale dying in a slow-motion flurry, the Essex in dissolution made for a grim and disturbing sight..." (pg. 94).
3. Telegraphic Sentences: "The Pacific is also deep." (pg. 75); "Then he hesitated." (pg. 82); "Then it began to blow." (pg. 90); "Night came on." (pg. 105).
4. Foreshadowing: "When writing of this 'fatal error' later, the Essex's cabin boy asked, 'How many warm hearts have ceased to beat in consequence of it?'" (pg. 97).
5. Dramatic Irony: "The men of the Essex did not know that they were within just a few hundred miles of saving themselves. Pollard and Chase were mistaken as to their whereabouts..." (pg. 140).

Discussion Questions:

1. Why didn't the men just collect rainwater in their tin cups as opposed to using the salty sail?
2. How is it that Philbrick manages to keep a reader interested in the story (through suspense) even though the reader mostly knows how what happened to the men on the Essex?
3. Would we, modern-day people, be able to survive on an island? Would our more extensive knowledge truly help us in any way?

"The boats became unmanageable in the immense waves. 'The sea rose to a fearful height,' Chase remembered, 'and every wave that came looked as if it must be the last that would be necessary for our destruction.' There was nothing for the men to do but lie down in the bottoms of their fragile vessels and 'await the approaching issue with firmness and resignation...'" (pg. 121).

In the Heart of the Sea: Ch. 1-4

     In Nathaniel Philbrick's novel In the Heart of the Sea (2000), Philbrick tells of the historic Nantucket Island, its social, economic, and religious customs, and of the strenuous journey of the whaleship Essex. Philbrick begins the novel by introducing the youngest male on the whaler, Thomas Nickerson and his aspirations for the voyage on the Essex, but the author also discusses the history (and the very odd customs) of Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. Then, Philbrick explains details of the ships voyage in the second chapter, "Knockdown," and goes through the dangers of whaling and life out on the sea, as the Essex crew set out for the two-year voyage. To conclude, Philbrick summarizes the trip across the Falkland Islands, Cape Horn, and the Galapagos Islands. Philbrick's purpose is to tell the tragedy of the whaleship and bring back to life a vital part of American history, and teach all a little about the hardships of the 19th century, explain the different traditions, and expand on the environmental aspect of the world at that time. The author targets anyone who is interested in American history, sea life, animals, and/or survival techniques, because the novel expands on different parts of life and the lessons to be learned from events.

Vocabulary:

• consanguinity: (n.) relationship by blood or by a common ancestor
• rendezvous: (n.) meeting; meeting-place
• nadir: (n.) the lowest or deepest point.
• cajole: (v.) cheat by flattery
• scant: (a.) barely sufficient; not enough; put on short allowance; supply grudgingly
• staid: (adj.) characterized by sedate dignity and often a strait-lanced sense of propriety.
• ethereal: (adj.) highly refined, delicate.
• yore: (n.) time long past.

Tone: informative, suspenseful, and fascinated.

Rhetorical Strategies

• Simile: "Like children picking teams on a playground, the mate and second mate took turns choosing men who would serve in their watches..." (pp. 33)
• Allusion: "The honor of being a Roman citizen was not, in days of yore, so enviable a distinction, as it is on board one of these ships, to be a native of that sand bank, yclept Nantucket..." (pp. 33).
• Analogy: "Just as the skinned corpses of buffaloes would soon dot the prairies of the American West, so did the headless gray remains of sperm whales litter the Pacific Ocean in the early nineteenth century..." (pp. 65).
• Imagery: "When the lance finally found its mark, the whale would begin to choke on its own blood, its spout transformed into a fifteen-to twenty-foot geyser of gore that prompted the mate to shout, 'Chimney's afire!' As the blood rained down on them, the men took up the oars and backed furiously away, then paused to watch the whale went into what was known as its flurry. Beating the water with its tail, snapping at the air with its jaws--even as it regurgitated large chunk of fish and squid--the creature began to swim in an ever tightening circle...the whale fell motionless and silent, a giant black corpse floating fin-up in a slick of its own blood and vomit." (pp. 54).
• Jargon: "Going backward in a square-rigged ship was dangerous. The sails were plastered against the masts, making it almost impossible to furl them. The pressure placed an immense amount of strain on the stays and spars. Since the rigging had not been designed for loads coming from this direction, all three masts might come tumbling down, domino fashion, across the deck. Already the windows in the stern were threatening to burst open and flood the captain's cabin. There was also the danger of breaking the ship's tall, narrow rudder, which became useless as water pressed against it." (pp. 42).

Discussion Questions:

• Just out of curiosity, what was the average death age in Nantucket? Nickerson's parents both died in their late 20s, yet Nickerson was raised by his grandparents.
• Why would Philbrick include so many quotations from other people throughout the novel? Is it to make the story credible?
• Are there still many sperm whales around today? It seems that even in the earlier times of history we were ignorant savages, and did not care much for the environment and animal populations.

"There is little doubt that intimacy--physical as well as emotional--between a wife and a husband must have been difficult to establish under the tremendously compressed circumstances of the few months available between voyages. An island tradition claims that Nantucket women dealt with their husbands' long absences by relying on sexual aids known as "he's-at-homes." Although this claim, like that of drug use, seems to fly in the face of the island's staid Quaker reputation, in 1979 a six-inch plaster penis was discovered hidden in the chimney of a house in the island's historic district." (pp. 17) :)
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  The downfall of a great person is never a pleasurable one. Only great sadness is evoked as such a majestic person finally weakens and reaches an emotional, mental, or physical downfall, or perhaps even death. The Cuban fighter Paret was a great welterweight champion, but ultimately reached his downfall in the boxing ring. The author--and observer--of the passage detailing the boxing match expresses the effect of the tragedy. Through the use similes as imagery and an explanation to the seriousness of the match; telegraphic sentences that convey suspense; and the use of connotative diction to evoke a sense of sorrow and anger, the author creates a sense of sympathy for Paret because he died doing what he loved to do.

Chapters (8) & 9: THE LEECH

"...Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale...was haunted by either Satan himself, or Satan's emissary, in the guise of old Roger Chillingsworth. This diabolical agent had the Divine permission, for a season, to burrow into the clergyman's intimacy, and plot against his soul. No sensible man, it was confessed, could doubt on which side the victory would turn. The people looked, with an unshaken hope, to see the minister come forth out of the conflict transfigured with the glory..." (pp. 117).

Roger Chillingsworth has been further revealed in this chapter in terms of his origins, purpose, and personality. In Chapter 9, he has been called in to help the weak Dimmesdale, and the text mentions that Chillingsworth has to get to know Dimmesdale before treating him. Why would that be so? Whatever is Chillingsworth 'reason,' he still goes through with it and appears to perform some type of black magic or witchcraft on him to try to get to his secrets. It is strange that the townspeople notice that Chillingsworth is a dark man, but Dimmesdale doesn't seem to notice. It might be possible that Chillingsworth knows that Dimmesdale might be the father, because it wouldn't make any other sense for him to try to go against him. At first, it was unclear as to why this chapter was titled 'The Leech,' but reading on, the reader realizes that Dimmesdale is pale and weak, and so since Chillingsworth was called in, he was probably going to treat him with leeches. However, Chillingsworth metaphorically is the leech--he is sucking out secrets from Dimmesdale and using them to avenge him, for whatever may be his reason. In Chapter 9, there is imagery and description to describe the setting and characters; moreover, Chillingsworth is described as a very unpleasing man in personality and aesthetically, and one actually begins to feel sympathy for Dimmesdale as opposed to Chillingsworth--he's doing good in trying to find out who is the man who "wronged" Hester and himself, so that he could be put up on the pedestal of shame, but based on the description, he is seen as a very, very evil man with no good intentions whatsoever. There is not much dialogue in this chapter, so it is focused more on the description and views of the omniscient narrator. But Roger Chillingsworth is a LEECH, and he needs someone to pour salt on him.

Questions:

1. Do you think that Chillingsworth knows Dimmesdale's 'secret'? Or why would he want to plot against him, and look into his secrets?
2. Who do you feel sympathy for? Dimmesdale or Chillingsworth?
3. What effect does the author convey through Rev. Dimmesdale's defense-speech/argument on behalf of Hester?