Hamlet as a Protagonist

Although young Hamlet is the main character and protagonist of Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," it becomes harder and harder to be on Hamlet's side as the plot thickens.  Although Hamlet seeks to avenge his father's murder, his plan involves another murder and, therefore, lacks morals.  It can also be very difficult to identify with and understand Hamlet as he is driven mad, no matter that his insanity is not always sincere.  Hamlet becomes even less likable when he harasses Ophelia with sexual puns and exclaims that she should go to a "nunnery" or in this case, a brothel.  Finally, as Hamlet kills Polonius, an innocent man, it is clear that he might cause more harm than good.  

The Dead King Hamlet

Although Hamlet places his father on a pedestal, the dead King Hamlet is no saint.  Hamlet considers his father to have been an excellent king who treated his wife, Gertrude, with live and respect, however, it seems the king's morals may have steeply declined after his death. King Hamlet's ghost asks Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing Claudius, which would cause Hamlet to sin and jeopardize his shot at going to Heaven.  This request puts both Hamlet's life and sanity at risk.  Instead of stopping Hamlet after he killed innocent Polonius, King Hamlet rather reminds him that he still needs to kill Claudius.  The dead King Hamlet is quite selfish and puts his own greed above the well-being of his son.

Themes in Hamlet

In Act I and Act II, Hamlet by William Shakespeare presents themes of revenge and appearance vs reality.  The ghost of the dead King Hamlet is first thought to be only a figment of the guards' imaginations.  However, after further appearances, the ghost is believed to be the true King Hamlet.  During young Hamlet's talk with the ghost of his father, the ghost tells young Hamlet of his murder and tells young Hamlet to seek revenge on Claudius.  Hamlet, however, is very conflicted about what he should do.    

Hamlet and Other Shakespeare plays

Hamlet has many similarities and differences to the other Shakespeare plays I have read, The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth.  The ghost of King Hamlet in Hamlet serves as a supernatural element similar to the witches in Macbeth which capture the viewers attention.  Both Hamlet and Macbeth take place among the royal family and nobility.  The concept of murder is also present as Hamlet contemplates killing his uncle just as Macbeth killed King Duncan, however, Hamlet's motives appear to be of revenge while Macbeth's were of greed.  The Merchant of Venice presents more legal and religious concepts such as money-lending and anti-semitism.  It also relies on riddles and problem-solving like the Portia's boxes and the contact with Shylock.

Tristan and Isolde in "The Wasteland"

The second part of "The Burial of The Dead" uses nature imagery to represent death, specifically of a loved one.  The allusion to the opera Tristan and Isolde by the German composer, Richard Wagner, is especially effective as it is a passage about a sailor separated from his love.  In the last line of the section "Od' und leer das Meer"  meaning that the sea is empty and desolate, describes the death of sailors as they go out to sea (Elliot line 42).  This death causes the "hyacinth girl" to feel after she hears that her beloved sailor as if her soul is dying too, which mirrors the death of the main characters in Tristan and Isolde who die for their love.  

Metaphor and Symbol in "The Dead"

In the short story, "The Dead" from James Joyce's The Dubliners, falling snow is a metaphor for the approach of death.  The tenor of the metaphor is death and the vehicle is winter and the snow.  As more snow falls on the characters and winter draws closer, the characters, specifically Gabriel, Aunt Kate, and Aunt Julia, approach their demise.  Similarly, Michael Furey, whom Gretta once loved, passed away soon after shivering in the cold of winter outside of Gretta's house.
Gabriel symbolizes outdated ideals.  During the party, Gabriel upholds several duties as the man of the family such as carving the meat, tending to Mrs. Marlins, and making a speech, which demonstrates his traditionalist role in the family. His concept of marriage as true love between men and women is quickly put down by Lily's bitter remark when he first arrives and is again thwarted by the story of his wife's childhood love after the party.  Miss Ivors' cross examination of Gabriel's political views and Irish loyalty also demonstrates his agitation by change.  

Septimus Smith's Suicide

In Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, Septimus Warren Smith, who suffers from shell-shock or post traumatic stress disorder, kills himself to escape society and human nature.  He did not want to die, yet he knew he was "condemned to death by human nature" for it was the only way to escape the doctors and conformation (Woolf 96).  To Septimus, the doctors represented human nature, which he felt was the enemy.  If Septimus had attended doctors Holmes and Bradshaw's therapy, he would have surrendered his soul and lost himself, so he, instead, kills his body to preserve his soul.  He sacrifices himself for free thought and free will.

Aristocracy in Mrs. Dalloway

In Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf portrays the British upper class as stereotypically superficial through the thoughts of Clarissa, Richard, Hugh, and Lady Bruton.  The aristocracy feel important and act aloof yet they never do anything of worth.  Clarissa acts as the materialistic wife who obsesses over trivialities.  Clarissa, the perfect hostess, spends the entire day preparing for a party and thinks of flowers and hats more than the war or education.  Also, since she has never worked and has servants to do all the housework, she most likely throws parties to add excitement to her dull life.  Clarissa's husband, Richard, holds an important government position yet barely works.  He has time to go out for lunch during the day and spends the day leisurely.  Richard enjoys his extravagant lunch at Lady Bruton's where he "cherished these romantic views about well-set-up old woman of pedigree" rather than admiring hard work (Woolf 105).  Hugh is the quintessential British gentleman who lacks depth and character.  Hugh has very good manners and social skills yet lacks intelligence for he "thought only of his chicken" at lunch (107).  Lady Bruton cares only of her ancestors and family's accomplishments.  Since her great-grandfather was a general, she finds satisfaction in her ancestors' actions and therefore does nothing of importance herself.  Lady Bruton is not even competent enough to write her own letter but she is still greatly respected among the aristocracy.  Woolf depicts the aristocracy of the time as essentially worthless yet they still rank higher than the hardworking middle class.

Mrs. Dalloway Word

Conflicted

Mrs. Dalloway Question

Would Clarissa ever leave Richard for Peter Walsh or Sally Seton?

Religion in Mrs. Dalloway

Clarissa in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, is a very spiritual, yet not religious woman.  Although, "not for a moment did she believe in God," Clarissa loves life and feels she is blessed (Woolf 29).  However, ever since she and her husband, Richard, began sleeping in separate beds, Clarissa finds herself feeling like a nun.  She feels as if she still has "a virginity preserved through childbirth," even though she has children and is therefore not a virgin (31).  Since Clarissa feels her marriage has always lacked passion and sex may not have lived up to her expectations, she feels as if she has retained her spiritual, not physical, virginity, and is as abstinent as a nun.  Shortly, after, she discusses her relationship with Sally Seton, for to Clarissa, only someone as passionate as Sally Seton could take away her purity.  Clarissa does not condone organized religion, especially in her own family, for she does not approve of her daughter, Elizabeth, attending church and reading prayer books with her tutor, Miss Kilman.  Clarissa even suspects that Elizabeth is only interested in religion because she is in love with Miss Kilman.  Although Clarissa herself is attracted to women, she has no pity for Elizabeth's relationship with her tutor.  As a result of both her daughter's and her own experiences, Clarissa  connects religious devotion with lesbian tendencies.

Autobiographical Aspects of Mrs. Dalloway

Many aspects of Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway parallel Woolf's life.  Woolf was born in London and lived through World War I, which serves as the setting.  Woolf's family spent summers in St Ives, Cornwall, a seaside town similar to Clarissa's Bourton.  Like Septimus Smith, who appears to have mental problems from the war and suicidal thoughts, Woolf was institutionalized a few times for nervous breakdowns and killed herself at age 59.  Woolf did not believe in Christianity, just as Clarissa does not believe in God and is concerned that her daughter, Elizabeth, is reading prayer books and attending Communion.  Woolf had an affair with a woman named Vita Sackville-West during the 1920s.  The novel touches on many aspects of sexuality such as lesbian experimentation between Clarissa and Sally and maybe even between Elizabeth and Miss Kilman.  Mrs. Dalloway appears to be largely biographical even though it is based on a character whose lifestyle is far different from Woolf's.

Mrs. Dalloway— Has Clarissa's life become exactly what Peter predicted?

In the beginning of Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Clarissa Dalloway recalls an argument she had with Peter Walsh when they were both young in which he said "She would marry a Prime Minister and stand at the top of a staircase; the perfect hostess he called her (she had cried over it in her bedroom), she had the makings of a perfect hostess" and she would never amount to more than a high society housewife (Woolf 7).  This memory is ironic for Clarissa remembers  this prediction on her way into town to retrieve flowers for a party she plans to host later that evening, so Peter's forecast appears to be more accurate than Clarissa expected. She also is married to some sort of politician or government official, though he is not the Prime Minister.   Clarissa acknowledges that, sometimes, she feels as if she has lost her own identity, her self-worth, and her only purpose is to be her husband's wife, Mrs. Richard Dalloway.  Some of Clarissa's thoughts come off as superficial and materialistic, such as her worries about her hat or that she is passionate about gloves, which emphasize that she is suited for her role as a high society housewife.  Although Clarissa's life has become almost exactly what Peter Walsh had predicted, and she cried at first when he told her, she still has a great love for life.

The Things They Carried— What weighs more, the physical or emotional things they carried?

The things they carried weighed at least one hundred pounds.  But that is only part of what they carried, it is only physical, actual weight. They also carried emotional weight which they buried deep inside them, afraid to make their feelings known.  They carried the desire to return home, the responsibility for their lives and the lives of others, the fear of death, and the guilt after someone died or after they killed someone.  They carried honor, from "the things men did or felt they had to do," out of the fear of dishonor (O'Brien 24).  Unlike physical weight, they could not set down the emotional weight, they carried it with them at all times.  They found ways to cope with their fear or sadness, like through laughter or violence, but the relief was only temporary and superficial.  When the physical weight became more than a soldier could bear, someone else could take a few things to lighten his load. Although many of the men carried similar feelings and fears, they did not share the burden of these emotions since they hid them inside.  If the physical weight became too much, they could leave some things on their way go another place, but their emotions always stayed with them.  Although physical weight is measurable and calculable, it is only easier to define, and not necessarily heavier than emotional weight.

The Things They Carried— The Baby Buffalo

The characters in the book The Things They Carried deal with grief in many different ways—sometimes they joke, sometimes they smoke dope, but they always try to avoid crying, blushing, or showing any type of emotion.  After the death of his best friend Curt Lemon, young Rat Kiley attempts to ease the pain and grief he feels by continuously shooting a baby buffalo.  Unable to process his own emotions, Kiley turns to violence.  Kiley's purpose wan not to kill the baby buffalo, "it was to hurt" it, for he wanted it to feel the same pain he felt after losing Lemon (O'Brien 75).   O'Brien repeats the word "shot" to represent how Kiley pulled the trigger over and over again.  Kiley "went to automatic" to hide his feelings, for even shooting a baby buffalo was better than drying or blushing (75).  After being shot at many times, the baby buffalo is still alive,  which represents that Kiley's act of random violence did little to expel his feelings of pain and loss for they still were, and would forever be, alive inside him.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog— Muriel Barbery's Writing Style

The novel "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery is narrated by both Renée, a concierge of a Parisian luxury apartment building, and Paloma, the twelve-year-old daughter of a rich parliamentarian who lives in the building.  The novel is structured in short chapters from Renée's point of view with Paloma's journal entries mixed in throughout.
Renée's chapters are written in a conversational, yet learned style.  She asks rhetorical questions and refers to the reader as "you".  Renée often asks the reader "does this never happen to you?" while chronicling an event in her life or a thought she has had (Barbery 173). The style of Renée's chapters cause the reader to feel as if he or she is listening to Renée share her life story while interjecting background information such as "I am a widow, I am short, ugly, and plump, ... I correspond so very well to what social prejudice had collectively construed to be a typical French concierge," to add context (19).  Although concierges are stereotypically  uneducated and uncultured, Renée is a proletarian autodidact and is secretly very intelligent. She is "a complete slave to vocabulary," as reflected by the erudite diction in her chapters (82).  For example, she says that "the preeminence of human consciousness seems to many to be the manifestation of something divine" when speaking of phenomenology (59).  The conversational aspect of the style of Renée's chapters represent her humble and light personality while her insightful use of vocabulary and flawless syntax represent her worldly knowledge.
Paloma's perspective is shared through journal entries titled either profound thoughts or journals of the movement of the world.  Paloma has decided to "have the greatest number possible of profound thoughts, and to write them down in this notebook" before she commits suicide on her thirteenth birthday (26).  Her profound thoughts begin with haikus or tankas such as "What do you drink/ What do you read/ At breakfast/ And I know who/ You are" which demonstrates her love of Japanese culture, while her journals of the movement of the world begin with one-line sayings that summarize the main messages of her writing (92).  As "an intellectual (who makes fun of other intellectuals)," Paloma's entries are full of social satire and mockery (37).  For example, she describes her father as "a kid who's playing the dead serious grown-up" to describe that he lacks maturity and only pretends to be an important man (93). It is understandable why Paloma is so annoyed and disgusted by those around her, for she is surrounded by shallow elite who care only of material and social power, but her writing style so lacks humility that she often appears to have a holier-than-thou attitude when it comes to her own morality and intellect. Barbery's style in writing both Renée and Paloma's sections gives the reader insight into the intellect that both characters hide from the outside world.

"Without literature, life is hell" - Charles Bukowski, relating to The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The quote "without literature, life is hell" by Charles Bukowski applies to Renée's life in The Elegance of the Hedgehog. She has "read history, philosophy, economics, sociology, psychology, pedagogy, psychoanalysis, and, of course— above all— literature" to escape from her boring life (Barbery 71).  Renée is a concierge in a Parisian luxury apartment building where she feels that she must hide worldly intelligence and love of literature to fit the mold as a stereotypical culturally oblivious, stumpy concierge.  When Renée feels lonely, which she often does, she takes "a trip to the realm of literary memory" and is instantly transported pre-1910 Russia (122).  As a widow with only one friend, Renée relies on literature for company and comfort.  Renée is a true autodidact who has become far more intelligent than the highly-educated elite that live in her building.  Nevertheless, she serves them dutifully from her loge, for literature makes "the fulfillment of [her] essential duties more bearable" (248). Renée feels that "literature has been [her] whole life," and without it, I do not think anything would have stopped Renée from becoming the dull, frumpy concierge that she pretends to be (71).

Lahiri's Inspiration for Unaccustomed Earth

I think Jhumpa Lahiri found inspiration for Unaccustomed Earth from both a quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne and her own life.  The beginning of the novel features a saying from Hawthorne's "The Custom-House" that reads "Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil.   My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth." Hawthorne is saying that people are supposed to move, to leave their homes and families, and start over in a new place.  I think this saying was especially meaningful to Lahiri, for she was born in London, the daughter of Bengali immigrants, and moved to the United States at a very young age.
In the eight stories that make up Unaccustomed Earth, Lahiri focuses on Bengali-Americans who, like herself, have dealt with the transition of moving to new places.  For example, Sudha from "Only Goodness" was born in London and, "transporting no evidence of their years in London," moved to Massachusetts when she was four (Lahiri 135).  Just like Sang from "Nobody's Business," Lahiri went to college in New York City and graduate school in Boston.
Lahiri draws from her own life in more ways than just geographically in Unaccustomed Earth.  Many of the stories focus on mixed Bengali-American families like Amit and Megan in "A Choice of Accommodations," Ruma and Adam in "Unaccustomed Earth," and Sudha and Roger in "Only Goodness," which may have been inspired by Lahiri's own marriage to a non-Bengali man.  Lahiri also chooses to writer under the nickname, Jhumpa, just like Sang goes by a nickname.  Lahiri found inspiration from the saying by Nathaniel Hawthorne in writing the eight stories that mimic her own life and culture in Unaccustomed Earth.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog Six-Word-Story

Renée and Paloma hide behind stereotypes.

Unaccustomed Earth Cover Art

The cover of Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri depicts an Indian bangle floating in rough waters.  The water represents the oceans separating the characters' native Calcutta from their new homes in the United States.  The bangle is stuck between the two worlds just like the Bengali characters feel neither Bengali nor American and begin to lose themselves in the blending of the two very different cultures when they move to the U.S..  The bangle itself represents the bonds that hold the Bengali-American families together.  Bangles are a very important part of Indian culture and tradition; they signify marital status and are passed down from one generation to another.  The intricate designs of the bangle represent the complicated lives of the Bengalis and their families.  The bangle on the cover is red and gold, and in Indian culture, the color red is a symbol of purity and prosperity.  Red is worn at weddings when families merge and grow.  The red color of the bangle also represents blood, as in family blood, and since blood is thicker and stronger than water, the bangle will not sink.  Although the families in Unaccustomed Earth are far from perfect, the Bengali-Americans value each other and show love in many different ways. Just like the bangle, these families will stay afloat.