A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Theme/symbol analysis:

One of the major themes that is conveyed throughout James Joyce’s novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, is Stephen’s deep longing for freedom.  Stephen feels as though he is oppressed both religiously and with his nationality and it becomes obvious that he is anxious to free himself through symbolism in the book.  The theme of desire for freedom is best displayed in its connection to the symbol, which is birds and flight, and Stephen alludes to this many times in Joyce’s work.  The fact that Stephen has an acute awareness of birds in the sky and shares his thoughts on the topic of flight, only confirms that they represent his desperate want for freedom.

            Stephen’s last name Dedalus’s “seemed to him a prophecy” (p 183), and validates the theme of flight carried continuously in the novel because his last name is a symbol which comes from the Greek myth character Daedalus, who built a pair of wings made of feathers and wax in order to escape from prison. As the Greek mythology goes, Daedalus was sent to work for King Minos after committing a crime and there he was oppressed, forced to do work he had no desire to do, and he was eventually imprisoned by the King for revealing information.  Daedalus’s story is symbolic to Stephen’s because both men constantly feel they are forced and compelled to do what others tell and want them to do.  As one quote states, “prophecies and symbols, a hawk-like man flying sunward above the sea, a prophecy of the end he had been born to serve and had been following through the mists of childhood and boyhood” (183).  Just as Daedalus was forced to work for King Minos and do as he said, Stephen’s family constantly put pressure on him to meet religious, social, and political standards.  In a sense, Daedalus’s story runs parallel to Stephen’s because Daedalus is literally imprisoned while Stephen feels imprisoned by lacking of inner strength, self-worth, and has child like emotions concerning his obligations to his faith and family.  In the end of these two men’s stories, they both find the means to escape.  Coincidently, Daedalus turns to escape by literally flying away and Stephen’s inspiration is found through the freedom of birds and flight, which are both the light at the end of the tunnel that finally sets Stephen free.

            Another example that illustrates how birds and flight are symbolic to Stephen’s life and yearning for freedom is when he notices a bird in the sky and the author writes, “His heart trembled in an ecstasy of fear and his soul was in flight. His throat ached with a desire to cry aloud, the cry of a hawk or eagle on high…An instant of wild flight had delivered him” (183-184).  This specific passage is symbolic to Stephen because it illustrates him finding his soul and finally coming to complete realization of his life, which in connection allows Stephen to be “free” at last.  The sight of the bird in the sky reminded Stephen that he has control over his own life, that it is acceptable to be the man he wants be, and that he can finally be at peace with himself and seek the freedom he had desperately been in search of.

           

Quote analysis:

            One of my personal favorite quotes is “You made me confess the fears that I have.  But I will tell you also what I do not fear.  I do not fear to be alone or to be spurned for another or to leave whatever I have to leave. And I am not afraid to make a mistake, even a great mistake, a lifelong mistake and perhaps as long as eternity too” (269).  This quotes represents Stephen at the most balanced part of his life, and him finally coming to acceptance.  During the course of the novel, Stephen had struggled with himself on many different levels concerning his religion, women, social life, and his actions.  He was incredibly hard on himself in the majority of the book and he felt everything he did was a sin, but this quote is the pinnacle in his life where he finally realized that it is acceptable to make mistakes and that instead of beating himself over those mistakes, take them for what they are and learn from them.  As part of the quotes states, “you made me confess the fears that I have”, and this demonstrates how in the greater part of the book he would only concern himself with what he feared. These fears consisted of being alone and not being accepted by others, but this quotes also illustrates him not being afraid anymore “to be alone or to be spurned for another.”  Overall, this quotation is a perfect explanation and illustration of Stephen’s personal discovery and the balance he finally finds in his life; that it is suitable to make mistakes, follow his own heart, and allowing himself to find comfort in being alone in a positive fashion.   

Thoughts/reflection:

            My reaction to James Joyce’s novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was that it was more complex and a difficult style of reading that I have ever experienced before in my life.  James Joyce forced me, as the reader, to bush beyond the boundaries of the book and look deeper into the words written on the pages.  Joyce’s character Stephen seemed so out of the ordinary at a first glance but as the book progressed, I realized that what appeared to be strange about Stephen was in fact normal. He was simply a common boy who went through the same struggles with himself that the majority of people go through as well.  My overall reflection on this book was that I surprisingly enjoyed it despite the struggles that I had trying to interpret the meaning behind the text.  After a closer analysis of Stephen’s character, I was able to understand him, and then in response I was able to better comprehend and appreciate the work as a whole.

The Death of a Soldier (page 410)

The poem The Death of a Soldier is deceiving in form with its short stanzas and lines, but a profound meaning lies behind what is seen.  “Life contracts and death is expected, as in a season of autumn. The soldier falls.”  This opening stanza is using metaphor to compare the death of a soldier nonchalantly to the changing of the seasons, without any emotion, as if it is normal.  The line “as in a season of autumn” is repeated in the poem completely taking away any emotion or feeling behind the death of the soldier.  The second time this line is mentioned is in stanza three when stated “death is absolute and without memorial, as in a season of autumn.”  The use of repetition is expressing the fact that autumn is being compared to death and this makes the loss of this soldier impersonal, and the narrator is saying this will happen as naturally as summer turning to autumn, and autumn turning to winter. Metaphor is also used at the end of the poem when the narrator says “when the wind stops and, over the heavens, the clouds go, nevertheless, in their direction.” In this last stanza, the author of the poem is using metaphor to close the poem saying that just as the clouds move along in the sky so does the death of a person on earth.  The winds may have stopped, and the soldier may be dead, but all will continue to move on without hesitation.

            My personal reflection of this poem is that it was written to show how a human life could be lost without any remorse or regard. This Unknown Soldier has left earth as simply as the seasons change and a cloud passing by in the sky.  The soldier is not mourned or celebrated and the fact that his life seems to be forgotten is disturbing.  Line four claims, “He does not become a three-day personage,” meaning his death will not be even mentioned, and he will go unnoticed, unseen, unidentified.  Despite how short the poem is, the meaning behind the words of the author is deeply saddening and make me question just how often situations as this soldier’s occur.    

I wandered lonely as a cloud (page 422-423)

The title of the poem, I wandered lonely as a cloud, is a perfect example of a major literary device that is sporadically illustrated throughout the verses. “Lonely as a cloud” is not only a simile, but can also be considered to be personification.  The title itself suggests that a cloud is being given human characteristics by being described as wandering “lonely.”  Personification and metaphor also appear in lines three to six such as “when all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils; beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”  Here these lines are personifying daffodils to people by describing them as “a crowd” and “dancing in the breeze.” The use of personification and metaphor in the first verse is to give the idea that the poem is not just about a cloud and nature but that there is truly a deeper meaning behind the given context.  The poem is clearly not about a wandering cloud but about a person who is enjoying life’s beauty, pleasures, and on a journey to explore. 

            In addition to personification, simile, and metaphor being common literary devices in the poem, imagery is also a main component.  Descriptive images of nature run throughout the entire poem giving it an easy free-spiritive theme.  The second stanza lines seven to ten paints a perfect example of imagery with descriptions such as “continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way, they stretch in never-ending line along the margin of a bay.” Although imagery is respected in its own use, in this specific poem imagery is created through the metaphors and personification written throughout.  When reading the line at the end of the second stanza “ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance” a clear picture is set in one’s mind of a midnight sky plentiful of twinkling stars, but this is formed through the use of personifying the stars by saying they tossed “their heads in sprightly dance.”  Stars cannot actually toss their heads back being that they do not have one, but this creates a playful tone and formulates imagery to help the reader envision what the narrator is seeing. He wants us to see that there is a mass amount of daffodils all along the shore and because of the vast amount; it reminds the man of stars in the Milky Way. The poem is very much shaped on the premises of metaphor, personification, and imagery, all working hand-in-hand as one.

            In my personal interpretation of I wandered lonely as a cloud, I feel it is simply about one man showing appreciation of nature and its company.  The man in the poem is a poet and he may steam inspiration through the use of nature, being that he has such an acute awareness of everything around him and in line fifteen it states, “A poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company.”  The poem is also conveying that sometimes the best company is nature, “which is the bliss of solitude.”  The poet confirms that being alone in only the presence of the environment makes him content and his “heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.”  While most overlook the simplicity of what is outside your door, this one man, this one poet has come to enjoy and love the pure beauty that Mother Nature has graced the world with.

The Handmaid's Tale

So far this year we have read all dystopian books such as The Handmaid’s Tale and WE. Although these two novels share a similarity between their styles of having dystopian societies, The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, goes into greater depth to illustrate the contrast between men and women.  With the use of severe contrast and irony, the revealing of men and women’s role in The Handmaid’s Tale becomes quite clear.

Margaret Atwood’s novel is compiled of stereotypes of both men and women, meaning the ideal image of a woman is be care taker, cook, cleaner, and barer of children, while the men are to work outside the home and support the family.  Atwood dissects these roles and put an extreme twist to them by having different groups of women in the book assigned to different jobs in the home, each distinguished by colors and names.  For example, the barer of children wear red and are called Handmaid’s, while the domestic servants of the home are called Marthas, who are infertile, and wear green.  The high ranking commanders, who are all older men wear the color black and have superiority over almost anyone, and then in contrast there are econowives who are low class women that wear multi-colored clothes, their roles are multifaceted.   When a job and place is assigned to an individual, this person is automatically labeled for life and “now places are known by their signs alone” (Atwood 25).  People are to be referred by the colors that they wear and they are to dedicate their lives to their duties until they are either to old, become infertile or die.  In The Handmaid’s Tale, the author goes to new levels to accentuate the degrees of what the idea of being a man and woman is.  Are women supposed to be just servants to men, clean the house all day, cook an extravagant meal, and bare children, or is there really a deeper meaning to their existence?

This book obviously discusses the roles of men and women but what may be even more important than this analysis is the irony that takes place.  The society in The Handmaid’s Tale is based on the Bible and there are many biblical references encompassed in the novel, such as the servants who are named Marthas, which according to Webster’s Dictionary are referred to in the Bible as the sister of Mary and Lazarus and friends of Jesus.  It is clear that this society is supposed to live as close as possible to the Bible but the irony is that they do not.  How is forcing the Handmaid’s to having sex with the commanders for procreation considered holy, or killing people who are homosexual?  One can assume the Bible does not state for people to be killed based on their sexual orientation nor does it say that is it acceptable for people to be forced to engage in sex, in reality that may be considered rape.  Before a “ceremony” starts, the commander will read a passage from the Bible, right before he is about to technically rape her, now if that is not irony I do not know what is. The commander during one ceremony reads from the Bible “And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband” (90), which goes to show how these people try to justify their actions as being biblical.  Commanders already have wives and by having sex with the Handmaid’s they are also committing the act of adultery, another sin according to the Bible.  The society appears to be living their lives according to the Bible, but they are really performing acts of sin in everything they do.

Quote:

 

“There is more than one kind of freedom...Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it.” (24)

This quote exemplifies the change from when people had the choice to have freedom to when they were ripped of their freedom. The society can be described by this quote in its entirety because almost everyone has no freedom to do what they want, and the transition to having freedom to not having freedom was very dramatic and quick.  Although the men still had some of their own freedom left, most of the women had lost everything they had worked for years to gain, liberation and independence.   Choice is no longer an option in the society of Gilead, and by losing their free-will, they experienced internal misery.  The society comes full circle in many ways for the reason that women begin with no equality, gain autonomy, then are oppressed in the end. They cannot even choose what they want to eat or how much, they are only given one choice, to eat all of it.  Part of dehumanizing someone is ripping away their self-determination, self-worth, self- respect, and freedom. This society strived to do just that, and one can even conclude that they succeed in doing so. This quote is blunt and straight to the point; there are two kinds of freedom in life, freedom of choice and not having freedom at all, something very similar to our history.  Women were controlled by their husbands, and the church supported the thumb rule. Women were not allowed to have schooling; they were raised to know how to run a household and to keep their husbands comfortable. Sex was a marital act for the sole reason of producing a male heir, and the husband sought sexual pleasure outside of the home. The list goes on and on; progression was and has been made concerning differences between the sexes but we still have a long way to go.

My Synopsis:

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. The more I analyzed it the more I understood the greater meaning, and I was then able to appreciate the book and its contents as a whole.  Although the helpless roles and oppression the women faced agitated me slightly, I loved how extreme the two roles of men and women were. I also took pleasure in the irony and hypocritical views of almost everyone in the society.  I found it especially humorous that the people believed they were truly following the Bible, meanwhile they were killing people without even thinking about it.  The whole basis of the society seemed to be a joke and was sickly obscene, but all the while I enjoyed reading this novel greatly.

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Analysis of symbolism:

The book We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is a dystopian novel that is encompassed as a work of a whole with an ideal amount of symbolism.  The word dystopian according to the Webster Dictionary means to be “a society or an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives.” This definition clearly fits as a perfect explanation for the dictating society in We, and helps to demonstrate the overbearing control and irony that the people of One State are forced to live with.  The are many symbols that lay within the surface of the novel We such as the glass, which prevents the people of One State to live in privacy, be free, and remain unique.  A window, which is generally associated with glass, is symbolic for freedom, but the way glass is employed in the novel is that it acts as a cage rather than complete liberty. D-503 demonstrates through his feelings when he says, “Everyone’s sitting all closed up in his own glass cage waiting for something” (142 Zamyatin); meaning the glass is a negative existence in people’s lives.  The glass is transparent, hard, and can easily shatter, similar to the people who are oppressed in the novel.  Everyone is the same, not any one person has a sense of self, and they bleed into each other, merging as one.  Each victimized person who lives a fearful and dehumanized life, such as those in One State, without questioning is ready to collapse and shatter at any moment.  Human nature genetically programs people to have their own individualism and identity; a specific soul, which makes one person different from another.  These characteristics are for people to have their own individualism and an identity, a characteristic completely opposite from glass. 

The glass in the book does not separate one from another, nor does it offer privacy due to the fact everyone’s life is on display for all to see.  In the modern home that many people in our society are accustomed, glass provides protection and is usually found in windows. As D-503 states “What we have now- our splendid, transparent, internal glass-could be seen nowhere expect in their pathetic little rickety rectangular windows” (28).  This illustrates how glass dwells within the shelter and protects people from outside eliminates. We can cover and shield ourselves from what is on the other side of the glass with shades or curtains, choosing to let the light in or the darkness out, choosing a dividing line between public and privacy. Its part of the info structure, flowing energy from the foundation to the ceiling, creating interdependency within the unit. The glass is strong within this unit, complete in its fragility for it does not stand-alone. The symbolism of glass in We is classically ironic due to its representation is opposite then its ideal use, which supports the lack of depth to the people in the society as a whole.  Zamyatin emphasizes the symbol of glass in his novel to demonstrate just how severe and extreme the dystopian society of One State is.

Favorite Quote:

One passage in the novel that stood out from the rest is in Record 13 when 1-330 says to D-503 “That means you love it.  You’re afraid of it because it’s stronger than you, you hate it because you’re afraid of it, you love it because you can’t master it.  You can only love something that refuses to be mastered” (71).  In this passage, 1-330 tries to explain the concept of love to D-503.  D-503 knows he must be with 1-330 but cannot find a logical reason why he feels the way he does.  1-330 tells him his inability to identify the emotions that characterize the way he feels about her is foreign. This inability creates confusion and uncertainty, which leads into fear, resulting in hatred towards her. D-503 like the majority of the society in One State is programmed not to think but just do as they are told. This society lives by the Table of Hours. This format decides when the people will walk, work, sleep, and have sex.  Every minute of their day is scheduled and monitored. They are programmed to believe that this way of life is pure happiness.  This society is robotic, the Bureau of Guardians watches them, and any deviating from pure logic is noted and punished; the people live in fear.  D-03 is a master mathematician, and he assesses everything in life as if it were a calculus equation. He is having a conversation with his friend R-13 about knowledge saying that he serves knowledge and always will. R-13 responds “Knowledge! What does that mean? Your knowledge is nothing but cowardice. No, really, that is all it is. You just want to put a little wall around infinity. And you’re afraid to look on the other side of the wall.” (40)  R-13 is telling him that he has a false sense of happiness, he is complacent, and that there is more to the world than what is being shown to them living behind the wall.

 D-503 is new to the feelings of love but due to him being controlled and dominated by One State, and 1-330s strong and dominant nature lures D-503 to become totally enamored, almost obsessed with I-330. As he is speaking with I-330 regarding the alcohol that she is drinking, he asked her where she had gotten it. She responds from a doctor, one of her, and D-503 cuts her off.  He tells her “I won’t stand for it! I don’t want anyone but me to…I’ll kill anyone who…Because I lo…I…” (57). Not only does D-503 profess strong emotions of love, but also he now is displaying emotions of jealousy and possessiveness.  All of this is going on as he sits at I-330’s feet begging her for physical affection. Throughout the novel D-503 often finds himself in a submissive position when he is with I-330. He states “I drop onto the floor besides her chair, put my arms around her legs, throw my head back and look into her eyes, first into one and then  into the other, to see myself in each, myself in wonderful captivity” (177). There is no one like I-330 in D-530's life. He does what she tells him to do; he or One State will not master her.

My favorite quote not only relates to the relationship between D-503 and 1-330 but also his relationship with society and the society as a whole in One State.  The people fear the One State society because it is stronger than they are, and the people hate the society because they are afraid of it.  Due to the reason the people fear and hate the society most of them live day to day without doing anything about it.  When fear consumes a person, they become immobile and are unable to speak, just as the community.  Although the majority of the people are fearful of the society, there are also the few who love the fact they cannot master One State and strive to change that, such as 1-330.  Fear is replaced by determination for these people, their hatred drives them to overthrow the society, and their love and passion to have control is what gives them the push to try to succeed.   Overall, this quote is my favorite because it appears to be contradictory being that it examines love, hatred, and fear all at once. Reality of the words within the novel shows how each of these emotions are closely linked and intertwined, supporting one another. I think this line is great for describing society in general and a clear explanation for the behavior and actions of most people.

My opinion of We:

My overall thoughts on the novel We is that I absolutely loved it!  I particularly enjoyed the development of the character D-503 throughout the book.  His character started one dimensional, plain, boring, and so literal with everything he did.  D-503’s at first appeared to be content despite the fact society dictated his life and this frustrated me greatly.  When the author introduced the character 1-330, I initially did not like her either.  She seemed to be spiteful and something about her seemed to be devious.  I disliked 1-330 and D-503 as characters by themselves, but when the two came together, their flaws and strengths complimented one another.  1-330 was a strong and confident woman who taught D-503 to get a voice, feel emotion, and showed him through love that not everything had to be logic and reasoned.  On the contrary, D-503 showed 1-330 loyalty and taught her some rationale.  I liked how daring 1-330 was and how she attempted to improve the dehumanizing and oppressed lives of the community.  The souls of the people in the society where obsolete and 1-330 and D-503 gave hope back to many.  Finally, I loved the ending despite the fact that the two had failed as far as them freeing the nation of One state as a whole. In the beginning of the book D-503 showed no emotion, his soul was cold, and by the middle of the novel, he had been awakened.  He adapted a soul and was living life for the first time, but this all came to a tragic end when he was “fixed” with an operation.  The novel moved full circle in the way that D-503 started unsentimental, became reborn and alive, and then ended up becoming emotionally destroyed.  It was a bittersweet story that really teased my mind, and just when I thought everyone would preserver and gain back control in their lives, I was proven wrong.  The novel written by Yevgeny Zamyatin seemed so impractical but when thinking about it in full perspective such a tragedy has happened in our world in the past and could continue to happen in many societies to come.