Grapes of Wrath Critical Essay

In the essay I read, Walter Fuller Taylor’s purpose is to show the difference in the experience that the readers come away with between those who read the book during the time it took place and those who read it twenty years later. From the essay though, instead of comparing the two perceptions, I find it more criticizing of the content that Steinbeck creates in the Grapes of Wrath. The way Taylor judges the novel must represent the thoughts of those who read the novel when the social issues were fresh in their minds. He very briefly touches on the deep meaning that the book serves to show and saying how it was overlooked back then in the first portion of his essay. Some ideas Taylor used to back up his thesis were sexual promiscuity, secular religion although referring to many religious aspects, animalism in a free and natural sex behavior, Tobacco-Road way of life, vulgarity, ridicule of the middle-class and many more. Taylor definitely seems to be biased in the fact that he seems to view it through the eyes of the readers back in the day. He finds the negativity and social injustices in the book rather than pulling away a meaningful message. I didn’t like the essay very much because I enjoyed the novel and Taylor finds a way to pull out unfavorable ideas that make Steinbeck look bad. The essay stated a lot about casual sex indulgence and other things that definitely didn’t phase me when I was reading. For example, the idea of denigration of the middle-class surprised me because I really don’t see how the novel connects to that in any way. I guess that goes to show the different viewpoints that people these days have compared to those in the time that this book was published.

Heart of Darkness - Racism

The essay I chose further explained how Heart of Darkness could be perceived as a racist work. It was written in the spring of 1990 by Robert Hampson and makes many good points that all support the racism concept. Hampson’s first point was the difference in languages throughout the novella. Marlow recounts the story in English but we’re obliged to think that French is the medium for their conversations. Russian and African languages appear in ways that make them seem less significant than the French and English. For example, the author states that African languages are only present as sounds and Russian annotations are not decipherable. Africans constantly are being placed with a negative connotation in ways that aren’t exactly blatant. Another point is the whole darkness idea. The heart of darkness is definitely supposed to make us feel that there is an evil, grim feeling attached to it. This idea suggests that dark is bad, black is bad, further reinforcing the racist theory. Finally, Hampson points out the difference between Kurtz’s African mistress and his “intended” European fiance. The African woman is described as savage and the European woman is mature and faithful to her husband. I think the author set this essay up very well. His ideas were clearly stated and in a well-organized manner. There is definitely some bias in this essay but I believe it’s necessary for the idea that is being presented. I really didn’t consider Heart of Darkness to be a racist novella after reading it but now that I’ve read this essay, I can see how it could be placed in the category. I don’t necessarily agree because just like anything else, this text could have easily been over-analyzed. I agree that parts of it are definitely demonizing different nationalities but in the scheme of things, I think Joseph Conrad was trying to reveal bigger concepts than being racist.

Blog #3 - Character Analysis

The protagonist in Beloved is a strong African American women named Sethe. Sethe played many roles throughout her life including, slave, mother, wife, companion, and daughter-in-law. Her most classifying characteristic is her devotion to her children. She would do anything for them in order to make sure that their lives would not turn out like hers was. Unfortunately, her strong sense of motherly love and protection over her children led to almost murdering them to save them. Although others looked down upon her for this and disapproved, Sethe is still a very respectable woman. Her children were her life and this was extremely evident when Beloved came back as a real person. Sethe devoted all her time and cares to Beloved doing everything in her power to please her. Also, Sethe got her children off the slave plantation and then even made it up north herself, pregnant and alone. After being abused, violated, and whipped profusely, Sethe had the strength to make it to freedom on her own. There was so many aspects of her past life that could’ve made a normal person break down, but not Sethe. She put them behind her and didn’t let it get in the way of her living until the very end. That one woman endured so many obstacles and hardships in her life and found a way to overcome them. Even when times seemed like the couldn’t get any worse, Sethe was still chugging along. Although not necessarily by choice, Sethe was also a very independent woman. She escaped the plantation without knowing her husband’s whereabouts. On top of that, she lived without him the rest of her life, and still stayed strong when her support, Baby Suggs, died. She wasn’t afraid of much because she had been through what she thought was the worst. In the end, Sethe’s past gets the best of her and succumbs her life as she waits on Beloved hand and foot. She becomes stuck in an oppressive state and is unable to shake it unless she confronts the past and accepts it for what it was. All in all, Sethe had to deal with some horrific things yet she made the best of it and fought to get by.

Blog #2 - Repetition

Throughout the novel, Beloved, the author uses a lot of repetition. Morrison throws in repetition in lines, phrases, or just single words. When she uses this technique, the same words often appear within a few pages. It first became most apparent when referring to the dead baby in the past. The baby was designated the name “crawling already? girl”. The name of the crawling already? girl was never mentioned so instead, this titled was given to her. It served as something more than just a name to call her though. The use of repetition for this particular aspect of the story really emphasized the fact that this girl was a significant character and had a major impact on the other characters. All three of Sethe’s other children had normal names and were referred to by them. This child was an exception though, which made her stand out amongst the others hinting that something was unusual with her. Another section of the book where repetition is heavily used is the chapter coming from Beloved’s point of view (pg. 248-253). In this chapter, Beloved repeats many different lines over and over again to display her obsession with Sethe. One major line restated by Beloved was, “I am Beloved and she is mine.” The final use of repetition that really stood out amongst others was in the last few pages. The novel was wrapping up and at least three times sprinkled throughout, the line, “It was not a story to pass on” appeared. I think the author’s use of this line multiple times really drives the story home. It stated that the story was not very pleasant and it would be better off forgotten. The characters were trying to erase the memories of anything that happened and Morrison stressed the fact that the story should not be shared. The use of repetition made it clear as day that if they wanted to forget, they needed the story to be out of their lives. I also think it was a creative way to show that this was not a “happily ever after” story. Repetition was a technique used all throughout the novel to emphasize key points and make sure the reader couldn’t miss them. It was crucial in order to fully understand the story being told.

Blog #1 - Structure

Toni Morrison used a unique structural style when composing the novel, Beloved. This book was different because unlike most stories that are told from beginning to end, this one incorporated many different levels of the past as well as the present day. The novel takes place in Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1870s but frequently flashes back to the Sweet Home plantation in the 1850s where the characters worked as slaves and managed to escape from. The past is told through flashbacks, in stories, or just speaking from one character to another. Beloved is structured in fragments, feeding the reader bits and pieces of essential information to place together. The stories of the past were significant to understanding what was going on in the present and to realize what motivated the characters’ actions, words, and thoughts. It is almost as though two stories are being told in one book and at the end it all comes together. The tied in snippets of the past to the present are a reminder that the past is alive in the present. Morrison’s style made it critical for the readers to put the segments together to fully grasp the story she was trying to tell. The transition from present to past is purposely smooth so that it is difficult to apprehend at times. The reminiscing to the past immediately begins on the first day when Paul D shows up on Sethe’s doorstep (pg 7). The reader is introduced to their earlier lives at the Sweet Home plantation and get a little taste of their history yet so much is left unsaid. It’s not until almost the end of the book when the full story is clinched. In order to get to that point though, the story is made up of a continually changing point of view. All the characters tell parts of the story whether it be past or present to allow the reader grasp all aspects of the novel. The switching narrators was the most visible towards the end of the book where every couple pages the reader was introduced to a different point of view. At this point, the speaker would come right out and say who they were. It started with “Beloved, she my daughter”, “Beloved is my sister”, and finally “I am Beloved” (pg. 237-239). Morrison turned away from strict narrative and used a particular structure and style to get the story across.

Sonnet 147

The speaker compares his love to a sickness in this sonnet. He talks about his struggle to live with his mistress’s unfaithfulness. He is aware of her actions and doesn’t know what to do about it. The love for her is a “fever longing still”. I like how he compares it because it describes his situation very well. In the last couplet, the speaker is sort of in denial saying that his mistress is fair and bright but then says he knows that he’s wrong. This is another one that I’m not too fond of. I’d like to read some more of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Sonnet 146

This sonnet is basically questioning the point of living if you’re just going to die anyways. This sonnet is probably one of the most difficult for me to understand. It is really jumpy and I don’t really know what’s going on. The last line in the sonnet is really interesting to me though. It says, “And death once dead, there’s no more dying then”. I like this line because it just states death is done once you’re already dead. The way that Shakespeare worded it was very neat. The rest of the poem is pretty confusing though and not one of my favorites.