What's going on?: noviembre 2009

jueves, 19 de noviembre de 2009

My Antonia

If you consider My Antonia a realistic novel, mention the characteristics that enable you to categorize it as such. Give examples from the novel.

Having studied Realism as a literary movement and its most fundamental characteristics, I can now attempt to analyze a piece of art and be able to decide whether or not a novel such as My Antonia is realistic. Being a fan of Henry James (Wikipedia), Willa Cather wrote My Antonia with many realistic features all influenced by this Realism’s prominent figure. Thus, My Antonia has been considered a realistic novel and, in this essay, I will provide reasons and examples from the novel to demonstrate it.

Realism can be defined as the faithful representation of reality having as the central piece the singular and common individual (Campbell). Therefore, any realistic piece will present the day to day situations of life, social relationships and the protagonists will be characters with strong real roots and marked development: people with whom you can feel more or less identified.

One of realism’s most fundamental characteristics is the representation of middle-class family (Campbell). I can perceive this characteristic in My Antonia because Jim’s family belonged to this social class. Jim went to college and then to Harvard which denotes that he was not poor nor rich, but middle-class. It was very difficult for sons of farmers in Nebraska to stay at the university. In book 3: Lena Lingard, the narrator describes “Some of those boys came straight from the cornfields with only a summer’s wages in their pockets, hung on through the four years, shabby and underfed, and completed the course by really heroic self-sacrifice” (Cather). This description does not apply to Jim’s stay at Lincoln because his grandparents helped him economically to go and experience a pleasant stay.

Another major trait of realism is the importance of the characters’ development over the importance of the plot (Campbell). Willa Cather did her part in the novel by developing Antonia, Jim and Lena fully. For example, Lena grew in the course of the story as I can perceive it with the following statements: “Whenever we rode over in that direction we saw her out among her cattle, bareheaded and barefooted, scantily dressed in tattered clothing, always knitting as she watched her herd. Before I knew Lena, I thought of her as something wild that always lived on the prairie, because I had never seen her under a roof.” (Cather) And, “'I don't want to marry Nick, or any other man,' Lena murmured.’I've seen a good deal of married life, and I don't care for it. I want to be so I can help my mother and the children at home, and not have to ask life of anybody.'” (Cather). These two statements show how her life was and who she wanted to become. From her early youth, she was determined to be an independent woman and help her mother. However, she did experience rough life at the beginning of her arrival to the United States because she was a foreigner and there is always homesickness and obstacles to face when being abroad.

The last element being used for this analysis is that realistic novels render reality closely and in comprehensive detail. Apart from that Cather uses beautiful language in all her very detailed description which, at the same time, accounts for My Antonia as a work of art. This comprehensive detail is very clear specially when used to describe the landscape. It was interesting to see how simple grass became the most energetic and overwhelming grass I have ever read. In the following quotation we can see how nature is transmitted to the readers: “But the little buzzing things that lived in the grass were all dead—all but one. While we were lying there against the warm bank, a little insect of the palest, frailest green hopped painfully out of the buffalo grass and tried to leap into a bunch of bluestem.” (Cather). Her way of describing is particularly close to what has been defined as “imagery”, using words to produce an image in an instant of time. “We were so deep in the grass that we could see nothing but the blue sky over us and the gold tree in front of us.” (Cather) represents the image she produced and this took me there instantly almost feeling the touch of the grass in my body.

After analyzing My Antonia, I have realized the magnificence of realistic works, especially this novel. Its descriptions provide the readers with a sense of understanding, specifically because I felt as if I was there in Nebraska when reading it.

By using these three main features in realistic works: representation of middle-class family, importance of character development over the importance of the plot and rendering of reality and in comprehensive detail, I have given reasons and examples which determine that My Antonia by Willa Cather is a realistic novel. With other features mentioned, I have also expressed that My Antonia is a work of art in Literature.

2. Which of the characters is most attractive to you? Say why.

After reading My Antonia, which I liked very much, I can see how important characters are in any piece of art. My Antonia is not the exception since it is a realistic novel which is characterized by the development of characters. In order to answer this question I have three great characters to choose from: Antonia, Jim and Lena. Well, I feel very attracted to Lena Lingard for many different reasons: the most important one being her independence. She was also a very goal-oriented person which can be seen after she had accomplished her goals such as becoming a dress-maker and helping her mother.

Throughout the story, Lena Lingard grew up and matured extraordinarily. From being just one of the hired girls she walked a long path to becoming a respectable woman who accomplished her goals. I always feel really identified with this type of women because they simply inspire me.

Lena’s sense of independence was extremely important to her and in some of her first interactions with the other characters in Book II: The Hired Girls, she makes it even more prominent. In the following quotation she expresses her desire of being someone on her own, “'I don't want to marry Nick, or any other man,' Lena murmured.’I've seen a good deal of married life, and I don't care for it. I want to be so I can help my mother and the children at home, and not have to ask life of anybody.'” (Cather). The independent woman was portrayed in her character because she decided to move to Lincoln and start her own business as a dressmaker: “I live in Lincoln now, too, Jim. I'm in business for myself. I have a dressmaking shop in the Raleigh Block, out on O Street. I've made a real good start.'” This independency is what has called my attention the most. It is also this independence which makes her the most attractive character of all to me.

Lena Lingard’s autonomy has also led me to think about the concept of the “self-made man”. This concept describes the capacity of human beings of becoming who they decide without much help of others or the society. Lena is a good example of that concept as illustrated in the following quotation: “Certainly she (Lena) had no one but herself to thank for it”.

Her being a goal-oriented person is also very attractive to me. I could read that since she was young she had her mind focused on achieving her goals. She stopped working in the farm and started working for Mrs. Thomas. From this moment on, she knew she wanted to become a dressmaker as stated in this quotation: “She (Mrs. Thomas) is going to teach me to sew. She says I have quite a knack. I'm through with the farm. There ain't any end to the work on a farm, and always so much trouble happens. I'm going to be a dressmaker.'” (Cather). Despite all the obstacles a fine young foreign woman can encounter in her life, she achieved everything she dreamt about. That is inspiration to a young woman like me and she has taught me that I can achieve everything I want to. She also wanted to help her mother and build a house for her: “This summer I’m going to build the house for mother I’ve talked about so long” (Cather) and even until the end she usually went home every summer and help her mother so much (Cather).

Lena Lingard was a woman full of sacrifice and she accomplished her goals in life. She was also very independent and did not like having people helping her out. She has been a real inspiration to me, and she is to me the most attractive character in the novel. As Lena has inspired me, I would love that she inspires my students, especially the female students, so I would love to invite Lena to my classroom and share her testimony of how despite all the difficulties you can still achieve your objectives and make their dream come true.

Bibliography

American Literature. Cather, Willa: My Antonia. September, 2009. <http://www.americanliterature.com/Cather/MyAntonia/MyAntonia.html>.
Campbell, Donna. Realism in American Literature. Washington State University. <http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm>.
Wikipedia. “Willa Cather”. 4 November, 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cather>.

Realism

1. So far we have studied several works of US Literature. Apply your concepts of “What is literature” to one of those works and discuss why you think it is a work of art.

I must begin by saying that, without disrespecting the scholars, I disagree with the definition shown in the class of considering only canonical literature as good literature. I believe literature is something very personal and subjective. In my opinion, good or bad literature does not exist. In short, what is good for me might be bad for you and that is perfectly right. One cannot give a concrete definition of literature, and probably of nothing at all as Virginia Woolf pointed out: “One cannot hope to tell the truth. One can only show how one came to hold whatever opinion one does hold” (Project Gutenberg). My opinion has its roots in the article “What is literature”. In this article, the author states that “’Literature’ and the ‘literary’ then are highly subjective categories” (Laga) and its definition is left to the personal background. However, in the article, there are some characteristics which define what a work of art is. Using those characteristics, I will analyze one of the pieces of literary work we have discussed in class.

“The masque of the Red Death” written by Edgar Allan Poe can absolutely be considered as a piece of canonical literature, I think. The first characteristic is the imaginative or fictive character of literature as opposed to factual information. Poe’s story is a work of art in the sense that he invented the pest, the context, the settings and the characters. “The masque of the Red Death” is art because it is an imaginative story and does not contain any factual nor historical information. Secondly, literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language. For example, in the story Poe writes: “There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution” (Literature Network). This is an intensification of the language since he uses exaggeration by using the word profuse. The use of language in the story is definitely not ordinary, but denotes mastery. Thirdly, literature is non-useful writing. Reading “The masque of the Red Death” is of no use for us. It does not contribute to do anything pragmatic. Literature in that sense is not practical; nevertheless, I do consider thinking as something pragmatic, and Poe invites us through his story to reflect upon our fears. Lastly, literature is what I like to read. I do enjoy reading Poe, and whenever I write something it has macabre features like his writings. I believe Poe is one of the best American authors because it moves me completely. I could say that, according to me, Poe is a canonical author and “The masque of the Red Death” is a work of art. The article also supports my opinion because of all the above mentioned characteristics of what makes a piece of writing in a literary piece of writing.

In conclusion, “The masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe is literature because it is imaginative, intensifies the language, is non-useful and I like reading it.

2. Romanticism is a very complex literary movement. Choose one work you consider romantic and explain what it is that makes it a romantic piece of literature.

Throughout history, artists have created and been part of different artistic movement. Literature is considered an art; therefore, writers are artists. They have also been part of various movements. In our American Literature class we have studied Romanticism which I think is one of the most complex artistic movement to understand. Anyhow, we have dealt with it in our classes and I can say I have some basic knowledge regarding its basic characteristics. When I say basic knowledge, I am implying that to deeply understand a literary movement we need to devote more time to comprehend its rationale and read quite a number of pieces.

Romanticism’s basic features are the representation of supernatural and occult dimensions, human psychology and sensibility of human beings. Apart from these characteristics, it has also been called as the Counter-Enlightenment movement since it disagreed with the rational dimension of the epoch. It highlighted the intuition, imagination and feeling which were not considered by the Enlightenment movement. Another feature present in the romantic works is symbolism. Based on the previous romantic features mentioned, I will analyze “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” is a completely imaginative work since it does not have any factual information. Poe’s imagination created this great story and he did not have any rational reason for creating it. It does not have any reference to place, time, or characters. In fact, it does not even mention names, which makes it a romantic piece. Human psychology is also present in this literary work. We can observe that when the killer talks to himself after he had committed the deed: “If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs.” (Literature Network) and also when at the very end he confesses the crime because he felt the officers were listening to the dead man heart beats: "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! - tear up the planks! here, here! - It is the beating of his hideous heart!” (Literature Network). In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe also showed the feelings of the main character by writing: “TRUE! - nervous - very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” (Literature Network). Finally, Poe uses several symbols in this work such as the disease, the heart beat and the planks. All of these do not have any explicit meaning and are merely left to the reader’s mercy of definition. We can see how this is very romantic because it is connected to the more psychological and sensible aspect of human beings rather than the rational.

In conclusion, “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a romantic piece of literature since it has all the features of basic Romanticism. As exemplified, romantic authors like Edgar Allan Poe must include imagination, feeling, symbols and human psychology in their works of art.

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