Ah, back again! I think I might have gone a bit overboard with that last post; I ramble too much. Hopefully this one will be shorter...(hopefully). So I've decided to do what I did in the last post, read the chapter, then type up some thoughts or what have you. Yeah, I didn't stay true to my word, no reading was done last night. BUT I'll read now :]
This chapter ties in with chapter five about allusions, references, and intertextuality. I think I'm going to have to stop saying that "this chapter is definitely going to help me next year," because I have the strangest feeling that they all are. Anyway, Shakespeare! I wish I could read more of his plays, they're all so interesting. I like this chapter because Shakespeare's works really are used a lot in other writers' works. Hopefully in AP Lit we'll be introduced to more patterns to help us spot allusions to Shakespeare since I highly doubt we'll spend the whole year going over all his plays. Besides, I don't think a year would be enough, if it were all his plays that we'd be going over.
I've only begun reading chapter seven, and I'm curious. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is a coming of age novel, or bildungsroman (thanks again Mrs. Panosian!) But I remember that the main character, Holden Caulfield, is determined to be the protector of the innocent. He said that the only job he wanted was to stand in a field and catch children to prevent them from falling over a ledge, but really, to prevent them from loosing their innocence (hence the title, Catcher in the Rye.) And because Caulfield had already experienced the loss of innocence in his own life, since this is a coming of age novel, was that a biblical reference?
Oy, I really don't know. Talk about rambling.
Anyway, I really paid attention to this chapter since I'm not too familiar with biblical allusions or references. But I remember in The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, before he dies, walks to the pool with the floaty mattress on his back, symbolizing the crucifixion of Jesus, (a biblical allusion.) However, Gatsby's death also symbolizes the time period itself; everything and everyone looked fine on the outside, but were breaking apart if looked at closely. Fitzgerald used this allusion "to illustrate a disparity or disruption."
It was really helpful. I might just go back and reread it after I'm done just to make sure I understand it.
Now, chapter eight. Fairy-tales! Once again, it relates back to chapters five, six, and seven, where newer works borrow from older ones. I'll keep in mind that it's not just allusions to Shakespeare or the Bible that are important, but also the fact that some newer works include references to our favorite childhood stories (mine being Snow White even though she was one of the more, for lack of a better word, slow, princesses. There probably is a better word, but I couldn't think of one.)
The Greeks, chapter nine. So I paid a great deal of attention to this chapter as well because I don't really know too much about Greek mythology; let's just say my english classes in freshman and sophmore year didn't really cover it. A quote sort of stuck out to me: "Homer gives us four great struggles of the human being: with nature, with the divine, with other humans, and with ourselves." I believe it was Mrs. Panosian that mentioned this to our class, though I don't remember what the lesson was about. Anyway, I think it's something I ought to remember; or at least, I hope it is.
Finally, chapter ten! Among the many things I remember from my English class last year is that the author puts things in his/her book for a reason; they're not there just because they thought they'd sound pretty, or smart, or...I don't know. But they're there for a reason. Including things like weather, which this chapter just so happens to be about. For instance, I remember starting off eleventh grade English with Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" with Mrs. Panosian saying that snow symbolized death in a way (it's cold, plants stop growing, trees are bare, etc.,) and it posed as an obstacle for Phoenix (the main character.) Welty obviously did this purposely.
Oh wait, there's an interlude. Eh, might as well read it.
And I'm glad I did! I mean, seriously, do most of these authors really intend to use allusions, symbols, references, etc., or not? I guess it's only the authors who will ever know; to everyone else, it's open to interpretation. The same thing can be said about music. It's the composer who knows what they wanted to bring out with their piece, but everyone learning it after them has a different interpretation; they have a different "story" playing out in their minds as they play. Well, who knows, it might even be similar. But the point is that it's open to interpretation.
Thomas Foster is right: writers put a great amount of time into writing their novels, stories, poems, etc., and the fact that they're able to finish and bring in related information at the same time is amazing.
(I don't think this post was any shorter. Once again, I'm sorry!)
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