Literary Theories and Text Analysis

          Every piece of literature, every line of text, is considered modern because it is current in that moment. Modernism essentially makes use of the works of the past. It reuses them and compares them to works that are current. Postmodernism means after modernism and is very similar to modernist works and theories. A lot of modernists like Virginia Woolf use the method of stream of consciousness in their modernist writing. This method has a huge effect on the reader’s interpretation of the text because not every type of writing uses stream of consciousness. Therefore, it is easier for the reader to understand that the writing they are reading is potentially a modern or postmodern work. Other Modernist writers include Friedrich Nietzsche, James Joyce, and T.S. Eliot. Modernism includes Imagism, Symbolism, Futurism, Surrealism, and Expressionism. Modernism is also the most common form of text analysis.

            Structuralism is also a type of writing that can shape the way readers read their works. Structuralists such as Roland Barthes and Roman Jakobson use Structuralism to “look for specific codes within the text that allow meaning to occur” (Bresslers). In this theory, the reader brings in their own ideas and each reader interprets the text differently. While reading a work with a structuralist approach, the reader can find themselves using their own thoughts and ideas and interpreting certain parts of the text with their own opinions. It also concentrates on what the reader needs to know. “Structuralists seem to push both the text and the reader to the background and concentrate their attention on a linguistic theory of communication and interpretation” (Bresslers).

             

Brave New World Revisited Reaction

          What really stuck out to me the most in the revisited version of Brave New World was the first chapter on over-population. Today, we have more than seven billion people on earth, and Huxley only predicted there to be about two billion people at the very most. While predictions are hard to get to be exact, once they are stated, one can look back on it years later and realize just how true it is.

            The larger that the population gets, the more control that will have to be used. As the population continues to increase, more and more people are expecting freedom and personal rights, however if these people don’t get what they want or are told they can’t have something, things can get out-of-hand and cause chaos. In Brave New World, total control is used, and it works. Even though it may seem completely mental at first, it keeps everyone in order. But the idea of having that in the real world is scary and worrying. The fact that in the next fifty years or so, we could have a completely controlled population is unimaginable, but true.

            How the government plans to control the population is another thing. In the revisited version of BNW, it was stated that “control through the punishment of undesirable behavior is less effective.” It does not “permanently reduce the victim's tendency to indulge” in undesirable behavior. In this chapter, BNW is compared to the novel 1984 in which people in that society are controlled by punishment and fear of punishment. The threat of punishment is more violent than the actual act of punishment. The government won’t actually go through with the punishment, they just threaten it and that is enough to control the population’s behavior.

            On a more common note, as the population grows and becomes more important to control, what also is taken into account in this chapter is the fact that as the population increases, more resources are demanded. The statement that the government “must impose ever greater restrictions upon the activities of its subjects” as the population increases is a scary thought, but if it is analyzed, it is true. People don’t need to be completely controlled, but if there are limited resources, the ones they can obtain have to be restricted to some degree. It is relieving to read “ The United States is not at present an overpopulated country. If, however, the population continues to increase at the present rate, the problem of numbers in relation to available resources might well become troublesome by the begin­ning of the twenty-first century.” It is the twenty first century and we have more resources than were predicted. It’s nice to know that we won’t be forced to choose a Communist government over a Capitalist government. I’m not saying one is better than the other, but a Capitalist government is safer and more efficient than a Communist one.

            Therefore, the first chapter really stuck with me and made me think of the world and how the population has increased and how that can have such a huge effect on the world.

How I DIDN'T kill Herman Mildew

Donuts are the silent killer. No really, they are. I’ve seen it happen. This one time, I was getting some Dunkin and this one guy started choking. We couldn’t get to him in time. It was very tragic. Another time, I heard this one story of this one dude who choked on the cap of an eye drops bottle. Herman Mildew always used eye drops; maybe that’s how he died. But I didn’t kill him. Or at least never got the chance to. Maybe he swallowed a toothpick or crashed his really expensive black convertible after a bird flew into his face. It happens. Maybe he was trying to be cool like his homies and snorted Epsom salts. Or Smell-goods as the people on the street call them. You know I heard this one story of this woman who committed suicide, but she ended up landing on top of this guy. Killed the guy. She survived. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe that’s how he was killed. You know my brother’s friend’s friend’s friend tried heating up a lava lamp on his stove and it exploded. Just like that. Lava juice EVERYWHERE. He died instantly.

            You know, Herman always had this really bizarre fear of sheep, so who knows? Maybe he was mauled by a group of angry sheep. Baa-ing at him, attacking him. These things happen. Maybe he was going for a nice walk through the park, whistling show tunes to himself, but was suddenly attacked by a flying squirrel. Those bastards come out of nowhere. Let me tell you. They’re hardcore. I didn’t even know flying squirrels existed until I got hooked on Animal Planet. Seriously the animals they find on that show. Wow. Maybe one day they’ll find a mix between a pig and a fish and call it Baconius. I don’t know. Maybe he was spontaneously in the mood to drink something with a bendy straw. Those freaking things are hazardous. So maybe he got so excited, stuck the straw too far in his mouth and choked. That happened to my best friend once. She didn’t die, but she was never quite the same. He used to go to the Hershey factory on weekends, and he used to talk about this tour where the workers would take the group up really high and they could look down at the massive bowls of chocolate. Maybe he went up there and got too caught up in the chocolate-y goodness, leaned over the railing too far and fell in. I bet he watched Twilight too many times and died because of its horrible acting and plot.  He used to say that it was a romantic story filled with romance. This statement was followed by #YOLO. Now you understand even more why I wanted to kill him.

Yeah, sure, maybe I wanted him to die. He was obnoxious; he never liked any of my work. Did I mention that one time he tried to sneak into my house to steal my wax figure of Doctor Who? Specifically, the tenth doctor. He literally climbed through the window, but because he was so fat, he got stuck. I had to help him out. Don’t worry; he never got my Doctor Who figure. The dude was evil and weird, but would I kill him? Of course I would. Did I ever get the chance? Of course. Did I ever plan to? YES. But did I? No. Because I have moral values. I’m a good person.

            

A light appeared and the place brightened the way the sky does when heaven’s candle is shining clearly

 Cue the Linkin Park music… Let’s begin.

First off, this poem, translated by the wonderful Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, is nothing short of epic. After reading the depressing “Wuthering Heights” (No offense, Ms. Howard), I was very relieved to have some real action in a story. I loved having a character that was completely and utterly a badass. He didn’t take no for an answer and even though he knew he could die by fighting a terrorizing, man-eating monster, he still pulled a #YOLO (Haha, get it? Because they’re Christian?) Anyway, what I have found from researching this poem is that back when it was written and when it took place, men were proud to fight to their death. They would have rather died a fighting death than a regular one by slipping on an ice cube or stabbing themselves with a spork.

Beowulf was a prime example of that type of man. He knew that fighting to the death would make him a nobler hero than one who didn’t fight in fear of defeat. “Beowulf cut the corpse’s head off” (Heaney, 109). It’s lines like those that made me say to myself, “God! I love this book.” There was no remorse. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those people who loves violence and gore, but unlike many other novels I’ve read, for once, the main character doesn’t have to atone for any sins they’ve made, and they certainly don’t have to apologize for killing a man-eating swamp monster or dragon.

The only thing I didn’t admire about this book was the continuous use of alliteration. It confused me at times only because when the sentences had alliteration, they became more complex. It seemed as if the sentence would have been just fine on its own without the alliteration. But besides that, I really have no other complaints. One thing that really stood out to me was the contradictory scenarios between the beliefs of Christianity and Paganism.  I interpreted “Beowulf” as being written by a Christian writer during Pagan times and in a very Pagan-like world. The continuous contradictions between the two intrigued me. For example, Characters continuously state that God Almighty is their savior and that they should do everything they can to pay him back for being their savior, but characters like Beowulf contradict these beliefs by taking matters into his own hands (Pagan belief).

The final element of the poem that I really admired was the fact that the writer brought the reader into a world that was and wasn’t historically accurate. I’m pretty sure that in 700 A.D. men didn’t go off fighting dragons, but the idea of their honor code and that fighting to the death was a noble thing to do was real back then. Or at least I like to think that’s true. Throughout the epic poem of “Beowulf” the writer takes us into a story of fighting swamp monsters and dragons and still makes it morally correct. Religion plays a huge part in the poem and can dictate the events that occur. But it doesn’t dictate what Beowulf believes to be morally correct. He pretty much just goes around doing whatever will make him king, but with the thought in mind that he’s saving his town. I salute you, Beowulf.  

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same

First of all, that quote is one of the most heart-wrenching quotes I've ever read. Holy cow, where to start with this novel... I guess I'll start with criticisms because I have less of those than I do praiseful comments. The beginning was very slow with introducing Lockwood and starting the story of Catherine and Heathcliff's love affair. I kept waiting for Bronte to finally say, "Introducing the turbulent love affair of the gorgeous Catherine and the mysterious and smoldering Heathcliff!" (In more professional terms obviously).
 The second thing I didn't admire was the fact that the story was within another story in the sense that the actual story of "Wuthering Heights" was told to Lockwood through his story (if that makes any sense). I mean don't get me wrong, I'm all for frame narratives, but this frame narrative was too confusing. It jumped around too much from Cathy and Heathcliff's story to Lockood hearing the story. It would have been an easier read, and I personally think, more interesting if it was just the story of Cathy and Heathcliff and those around them. I assumed that Bronte wrote "Wuthering Heights" as a sort of frame narrative because she wanted to relate it back to the audience more. (We could relate to Lockwood's reactions).
What I loved about the book was how it so easily portrayed love as such a strong force in people's lives. It showed that love can save people, it can change people, it can hurt the ones you love and more importantly, it can hurt you. It was the epitome of how one can become so tied to another that no matter what they do, or where they go in life, they will always come back to that same person they tied themselves to.
On another note, I was also waiting for Bronte to just kill off the rest of the characters in the novel. She had already killed off half of them by the time it ended. It was like J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter all over again. So depressing. (And yes I know J.K. Rowling came way after Bronte). Anyway, overall, this novel was fabulous. It broke my heart and at the same time showed me the truth that sometimes one person is worth all the trouble, if you really love each other.

Micro Story

           My eyes followed his dark figure as he sulked into class, his tall frame sliding effortlessly through the door. I watched as he crept slowly into his class, as if he wasn’t really there and then he vanished. Sometimes I wished I had said something. I opened my eyes and he was gone. Just like that. That small ray of light in my world had gone out. The summer heat was gone and it was turning cold. The football field that once had been covered in green was now covered in a white blanket of despair. He always played on the football field. Everything seemed perfect back then. I called out his name once. From across the track. Just to see if he would respond. And he did. But it was just a smile and a wave. Such a simple display of affection that could be known all over the world.
           Maybe if I was born earlier, or had more courage, I could have talked to him. Once. Just once. That was all I needed. People always talked about how true he was, how real. But I would never know that truth or that reality. I tied the blue, satin bow into my hair as I did every morning. I heard him say once that he liked the color blue, so I always made sure to wear something blue. Maybe one day I would stand out to him. But nothing ever really stood out to him. He was always alone in his own little world. A world covered in fog, long strips of highway and tall oak trees I saw him drawing once. I once drew him a picture of a mountain and slipped it into his locker. I watched him take it out of his locker and unfold it carefully. He looked at it, pulled his eyebrows together and smiled to himself.
           I closed my eyes and once I opened them again, not even a split-second later, he was gone. Everything was gone. The hallways were covered in snow, the roof was gone, the walls that remained were still burnt. I closed my eyes again trying to take myself away to that mountain I drew him, hoping he’d be waiting for me at the top of it. Is a dream a lie if it doesn’t come true? Or is it something worse?

Never Let Go

There I was in my mom’s bedroom making a costume for my third grade class, when I looked up at the television my mom had just turned on. I saw two figures eating breakfast together and asked my mom what movie it was. She replied with, “Titanic”. Of course my little eight-year-old self could not grasp the idea of death or love or dedication yet, but I thought that the clothes were so pretty and the characters were beautiful. I decided then that I would dedicate myself to loving Leonardo DiCaprio forever, in whatever way an eight-year-old can. Of course throughout the years as I grew up, experienced more and widened my range of contemplating what life means, I realized that Titanic had a huge effect on me.  I watched Titanic everyday one summer when I was eleven, and during that time, my entire view on love, dedication and people in general changed. Of course when I first ever watched Titanic, my little eight-year-old brain couldn’t understand why so many people had to die or how Jack and Rose could be so in love, but regardless, I loved it. Titanic may be known as the greatest love story of all time, making everyone who sees it want a “Jack” or a “Rose” to love endlessly, but it is also a story about society, and its effects on certain classes of people.

Titanic was written and directed in 1996 and 1997. Of course it has been out for fifteen years, but its story lasts forever. However, the way not only the actors, but their characters react to certain situations both in 1912 and 1997 are vastly different. There is a difference of eighty-four/eighty-five years between the movie and the actual event. I read online that while building the grand staircase for the movie, it had to be augmented because the people in 1997 were naturally taller than the people in 1912. Also the diction in the movie had to be changed. In 1912, people in high society were recognized for their amount of education and elegance. The more eloquent they were the more highly thought of they were.

People of high society during the 1910’s were mainly concentrated on how high of an education they could get plus how much money they had. The more money, the more rich people they could correlate with. Today, the same idea continues, appearances are a huger deal to most people and so are how good of a job they have, plus how much their income is. Capitalism at its finest. That one word is what is used to compare this century of time difference. Titanic came out in 1997, a time where DVR’s were over-used and cassette tapes were what the cool kids had. Pop-up blocking was just being introduced and people had massive computers that weren’t easily moved. There weren’t any blu-ray discs or many DVD’s. Cellular phones weren’t that cellular and compact, they were big and bulky. The technology used to shoot Titanic would be exponentially better and more high-tech today than it was fifteen years ago.

One of the many major things that changed between 1997 and 2012 was technology. However if one compared 1912 to 2012, they would find immense amounts of differences. For example, even the clothing people wore in 1912 is vastly different to that of the clothes worn today. Hair-styles and the ways cars were manufactured are completely different. People were more easily separated by class in 1912 than today. But one thing that will always stay constant between 1912, 1997 and 2012 is the fact that love and dedication never really changed. And Titanic is great proof of that.