Hi Everyone!
Per the post title, I hope that you are enjoying some rest and relaxation! I also hope that you are squeezing in a bit of study time.
As promised, I will be posting 3 questions for the week. Answer them when you can.. and remember to have some fun!
QUESTION 1 of 3
In questioning the value of literary realism, Flannery O’Connor has written, “I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe that it is the only way to make people see.” Write an essay in which you “make a good case for distortion”" as distinct from literary realism. Analyze how important elements of the work you choose are “distorted” and explain how these distortions contribute to the effectiveness of the work. Avoid plot summary.
To answer this question I would use One Hundred Years of Solitude and focus on Marquez's use of magical realism to help show that "distorted" aspects of this work help to emphasize the importance of storytelling and how life is a predestined cycle of the course of humanity. I would definitely focus on Marquez's use of foreshadowing within the book, even beginning with the opening line. WE see that the narrator, and the characters, already know what the outcome will be. Again, when Aureliano predicts his mother will drop a pan, we see that the future is already known. I would also mention the horrific storm that concludes the novel as Aureliano is able to final read Melquiades's prophecy. This storm that wipes Macondo from the earth is outside the realm of the "realistic", but it helps to show that the story of the Buendias was known for all time, and as we read it now, will be known for all time. That their life is cyclical and is able to go on, around and around like the storm that destroyed it, for eternity. Marquez's use of magical realism throughout his book helped make the book effective by allowing us to expand in our minds what we took as believable.
ReplyDeleteOne Hundred Years of Solitude was the first book that came to my mind while reading this question. Marquez uses the extremities of magical realism to effectively convey his messages. He combines distorted and mundane aspects to create a seemingly realistic story. Examples of distorted aspects are shown when certain characters die on their own will and when Úrsula and Pilar both live to be over 140 years old. These details help demonstrate the timelessness of the novel. It is impossible for someone to live that old, but here it help conveys the message that life in Macondo will go on forever. As Wallis stated, these distortions, like the storm that wipes out Macondo, are unrealistic but emphasize the cyclical nature of this story. By adding "magical" elements into his novel, Marquez effectively draws readers' attention as well. When taken out of context, they would seem highly irrational, but when balanced with realistic emotions and characters, they seem perfectly natural.
DeleteAnother distorted aspect is the fact that all of the characters have the same names. Each character with the same name as another displays similar similar qualities and actions. This is not entirely realistic, for it is extremely confusing, but it further demonstrates the timelessness of the novel. Perhaps Marquez is implying that it is not the names in life that matter, but the actions that one does. One hundred years from now, nobody will remember your name - it is irrelevant. People are born and people die; life continues to flow in an ever-evolving cycle of highs and lows. So the actions that one does in his time are more important than unnecessary details like names.
I would use One Hundred Years of Solitude as well. While I would be sure to reference much of the magical realism featured in the post above, I would mainly focus on the distortion of time. Throughout the entire book, it is unclear exactly when the events are taking place; Marquez simply drops you off in the middle without much context. Although it is clear that time is indeed progressing, it is not very clear. The names seem to repeat from generation to generation and even the events themselves aren't so foreign from one another; it is difficult to distinguish one civil war from the next for example. It is without question, however, that the Buendia family is deterioriating. The lack of concrete time makes it irrelevant when, however, rather the reader is then forced to analyze patterns from one era to the next to determine why everything is unfolding as such.
DeleteI think that OHYS is a good fit for this prompt. I too would focus on the distortion of the characters, places and events through magical realism. The opening line which predicts a future event, along with the constant repetition of the characters' names and personality traits through generations, contribute to the story's distorted, surreal feel. They serve to demonstrate how history repeats itself, a key theme of the text.
DeleteTo further convey the distortion of reality through magical realism, I would also provide the example of the banana massacre scene, in which the corpses are likened to bananas, and the entire town is overcome by a massive amnesia. Here, Marquez is almost hyperbolic in his description of the scene--however, it is fitting because it effectively captures the brutality of war and its emotional impact on the people.
I would use Wide Sargasso Sea to answer this question. I would talk about Antoinette and how her madness makes the work ambiguous and hard to tell what is true and what is false, who is right and who is wrong. I would reference the line "Quickly now, while I remember" as proof of her madness. This distortion of reality with madness not only makes the work ambiguous but also shows the disconnect between the two societies, and how the clash of cultures can often end badly on both sides. As an example to this, I would talk about the parrot with its wings clipped, which is a symbol of Antoinette and her mother, and also that Not-Rochester starts calling Antoinette "Bertha", as if he wants to control her.
ReplyDeleteI think that Wide Sargasso Sea is perfect for this. While Antoinette narrates much of the novel, her narration cannot be trusted at all. While she might discuss beautiful or artful imagery, readers don't know how real those images actually are. Furthermore, Jean Rhys also distorts the images by relying on other unreliable narrators. While Not-Rochester seems more credible at first glance, readers later find out that he is sick with a great fever. While Rhys does not play directly with imagery, she distorts any possible image from readers because they cannot trust the words that come out of her character's mouths.
DeleteI think I would choose The Sound and the Fury and focus on Benjy's section. I would talk about how Benjy sees things and how his simplicity and honesty actually makes him the most reliable narrator in the book because he is incapable of lying. His section feels a lot like it's being narrated by a dog, he can't talk or properly understand so we see everything exactly as it is and there's no proper punctuation or clarity on how things are said, he's just directly recording honestly. I would really focus on how time is distorted particularly in this section, since the manipulation of time is such a distinctive part of the Sound and the Fury. The section follows some of his memories and he sees them all as present events. He has no sense of future and all his happy memories which he can't separate or organize, are many years in the past. There's also a lot of amplified senses and limited vocabulary making the section feel more distorted. I would bring up the shapes and colors he sees, his obsession with smells and just how he interprets things like his dreams and Caddy. We really only see Caddy's real character through Benjy's section. How people behave around Benjy is how they really are so I think that would answer the part of the prompt about distortion is the only way to 'make people see.'
ReplyDeleteThe other sections of sound and the fury work for this as well. Quentin's distorted view of the world and the suicide that results from it shows on of the major ideas of the book, that the old southern way of looking at the world does not let you function outside of it. Now that I think about it the point of that particular section is to distort Cambridge with the way Quentin sees the world. Its effective in making us understand why he kills himself and it makes us understand just how screwed up his upbringing and values are.
DeleteI would definitely focus The Sound and the Fury as well. Like Irene said, Benjy's perception of the world is so distorted and so is Quentin's and Caddy's and Jason's for that matter. The way the whole book is structured and the way events are described are very distorted and confusing, but it really helps contribute to the theme of how each person's perception is truly distorted. And only in all of this craziness and disorder can readers really discover the truth. Furthermore, the person with arguably the most distorted view, or at least conventionally distorted view, ends up being the most reliable narrator. It really makes readers question whose interpretation is more distorted: a retarded boy, a promiscuous girl, a greedy man, or a suicidal man.
ReplyDeleteI would use Heart of Darkness to answer this question. As Marlow ventures deeper into the dark jungles of the Congo, he increasingly loses his sense of self, and even of reality. His surroundings become increasingly grim, culminating when he meets Kurtz, the severed heads on the man's fence posts presenting a macabre depiction of his attitude towards his surroundings. Marlow becomes feverish, unsure of the truth of the events that transpire around him. Ultimately, we see Marlow's uncertainty extend from the environment around him to his inner environment; he becomes unsure of his own character. Upon his return to London, he sees the everyday activities of those who surround him as mundane and pointless, but lo, he has been transformed from the man he once was into a mere shell of that man. This transformation ultimately highlights for us the mutable character of man, and the indelible influence of the darkness of one's surroundings on that character.
ReplyDeleteI would also use Heart of Darkness, and talk about many of the elements that Joe mentioned. Imagery is clearly distorted in the jungle, which causes transformations in Marlow. However, I would also talk about the distortion in the narration. The book is a frame narrative, and as a result, Marlow’s story is separated from the readers, and we are forced to question the validity and truth of what he is saying. This distortion contributes to the work because it emphasizes the central idea in the book – what is truth/reality? The distortion of narration is a way to “make people see” because it proves to the readers that it is impossible to know what is true.
DeleteI would also focus on Heart of Darkness, but I would focus on Marlowe's final lie to Kurtz's fiancee. When Marlowe tells the Intended that Kurtz's last words were her name, he invalidates his credibility as a narrator. Although this may seem like a small, and even compassionate one, its implications are far reaching. This lie, and the Intended's completely distorted view of Kurtz, prove the ultimate truth of Heart of Darkness: that there is no such thing as an "ultimate truth". This lie makes the reader question Marlowe's narration, especially his connection to Kurtz.
DeleteHi Guys...
ReplyDeleteWide Sargasso Sea is perfect for this prompt. I also think you could make the case for Oscar Wao. Think about it? The different narrations- the struggle to ever achieve a kind of truth? What do you think?
For this prompt, I think that I would use Oscar Wao. Diaz plays largely with the idea of predetermination and free will. Right away we are introduced to the entire plot of the novel just by looking at the title. And as a reader we learn that Oscar's life is predetermined. But with in the essay, I think I would explain that it is through Yunior that we learn about Oscar. We never hear Oscar's truths and his reality. The distortion of the text really comes through with the contrast of free-will and predetermination and I think that with in the essay I would mention examples, like fuku(predetermination) vs zafa(free will)
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