Dickens

Having read and hated Great Expectations as a freshman in high school, I still have had a difficult time getting into it for the second read. I find it humorous, especially the jokes about Uncle Pumblechook asking Pip to constantly add numbers (and sixteen!). I also like the way that Dickens creates Pip's childlike imagination. The narration and vocabulary reminds me very much of my childhood, when I was still in awe of the world. And of course, we see the modern idea of social inequality, especially at the dinner table. That's all I have for now, but will have more to say once I get more into it.

Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king, and a kind ain't satisfied til he rules everything

It is interesting to see the development of a passion in the miser. Money, to me, is a medium of exchange. It is not the object of the desire, but merely a way of obtaining what I desire. If I desire a grand piano, I have to work hard to earn money to pay for it. So in a sense, I don't work for the paycheck, but I work for the piano. In Grandet's case, he does not use his money and gold as a medium of exchange. He actually desires the money, which has no other commodity value. He sits for hours locked in his vault, just staring at and admiring his gold. When he is dying, he asks Eugenie to show him some gold. His passion for money seems misguided, because he uses his money very little. In fact, for all real world purposes, he has very few material desires. It could be said that his only desire is to diminish his desires.
Although people in the world today still have a passion for money, a lot of them really have a passion for desire. Yes they love money, but they love money because it lets them buy a fancy car, and a big house, and join the country club, etc... Money is a means to achieve certain desires. Money also becomes a way to achieve sexual desires. Women are attracted to a man with a big wallet. But Grandet again seems very disinterested in sex, and shows very little compassion towards his wife. "All engrossing passions increase in strength with time: and all who devote their lives to one overruling idea, so observers note, whether they be misers or simply ambitious men, cling with the whole force of their imagination to one symbol of their passion (208)." So the way I see it, Grander is obsessed with the symbol of his passion or money. But the ironic thing, is that the symbol is this case represents nothing else. With his money, Grandet still lives in a small house, and gives very small allowances to his wife and daughter. The symbol becomes the object of his passsions.

You may say that I'm a dreamer... But I might be the only one?

"Misers hold no belief in a life beyond the grave, the present is all in all to them. (126)" This line hit home for me about the power of tangibles in the world. People have a difficult time grasping what cannot be shown to them, especially the conservative business types. Abstract ideas, whether it be artistic or a concept of an afterlife, have little meaning to them. If an object is not immediately available to the senses, its essense can only exist in the mind, and some imaginations are stronger than others. In this era of modernity, importance in society is being put upon the senses, as visible in Frankenstein, where Victor wanted to create a tangible being. This theme is more prominent in a more "realistic" novel like Eugenie Grandet. This issue in modernity brings out the constant struggle of the "realist" vs. the "idealist," which is a dominant strugle in literature in characters like Don Quixote vs. Sancho, Emma vs. Mr. Knightley, Victor vs. Society and now Grandet vs. Eugenie.
Grandet lives in a realist world. He wants things now, namely money. He cannot grasp an 'idea' as powerful as money, or something tangible is to him. Eugenie is seeing the impact of an idea, in this case love. She starts to see the world differently, noting its distinct beauty. As someone with an artist's heart, I find more power in ideas. But our society at times is not ready for the fantasy, the ideas, the creations. Victor tried to create the ultimate idea: a living being, but immediately shunned it because he knew society would deem the being ugly and unfit. All you have to do is look out of your window in Manhattan to see the how important 'reality' is, how important it is to accumulate material things (I live in the Financial District). This is the ultimate warning of Rousseau: society and civilization teaches us to live in the now, to only envision a world that is present to us, which in this case is seen in the miser that is Grandet. Today, as we move forward in society and civilization, it comes as no surprise to me that the percentage of atheism in America is growing.

Frankenstein Musical Journey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1mV_5-bRPo

This is Edgar Winter Group's Frankenstein. There are no lyrics, and I've always loved the song, but I think I have a better appreciation for the song now that I've read the book.

Frankenstein and God

Although I am sure I am not the first person to come to this conclusion, I find too many themes in Frankenstein that parallel the concept of Christianity to not at least talk about it on this blog. First, the underlying conflict throughout this book is simple: man knows nothing and is constantly trying to know everything, but will never successfully do so. For Walton and Frankenstein, there is a void that humanity cannot fill. They both look to pursue knowledge and adventure in their own ways. For Walton, that involves leading a dangerous journey through the unexplored depths of the north, and for Frankenstein it involves battling science for what is and is not possible. Frankenstein wants to know it all; wants to have the powers of God. For in this reading, I understand that Frankenstein believes a God exists. And what, for him, is God's greatest power? That of creation. It was God's vision, imagination, and creativity which gave form to the world we live in. As humans, we have very little creative power. Although we can be creative in an artistic way, and can procreate our species, our imagination cannot simply make something in the mind appear in reality. Victor sets out to prove this wrong. He has an idea in his mind, and makes that thing tangible in reality, thus playing the role of God.
Frankenstein is the creator and master of his wretch. From the inner thoughts of the monster, we see that he is troubled to live in the world of humans. Is this not completely parallel with God's creation of mankind? We have moments of compassion and love, like the wretch feels for the hovel inhabitants, but we also feel neglected and at times angry, often leading to acts of violence. How prominent is war throughout our history? We still use technology today to find better ways of murdering one another. Frankenstein gives into his angry emotions and takes the lives of Justine, William, Clerval, and Elizabeth, but in the end repents to Walton and says he feels complete shame for what he has done.
In one final parallel to the bible, Frankenstein's (in this paragraph, Frankenstein refers to the wretch) life, at points, alludes towards the life of Jesus. First, Jesus was born of a miracle, and without a biological father. Frankenstein is truly "born" without a mother or father, to the miracle created by Victor, who is reluctant to tell his secret. Jesus was human, but also something else... something beyond humanity. Frankenstein shares the same characteristics: he is human in that he speaks the same language as us, and his mind operates and thinks cognitively like a human, but he is inhuman in his incredible and unnatural form, and his physical capabilities. Both Frankenstein and Jesus are neglected in society, and at times put to shame. Frankenstein has moments of passionate rage, similar to when Jesus is enraged and throws tables outside the temple. Frankenstein's rage is obviously much more uncontrollable, for Jesus never did anything to hurt anyone. In the end, both Frankenstein and Jesus' lives on earth end because the human society simply cannot accept their presence. In a sense, Victor created Frankenstein to live in a world where he was ultimately unwelcome, just as God created Jesus to live in a world that ultimately was not ready to accept Him either, making the two of them outcasts in the same world.
"(Adam) had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator... Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me (163)." Man is flawed, and is not perfect, and that is why we were not given the ability to create life from our imagination.

the true savage

When the monster finally tells his maker his story, I see the truest version of the savage man trying to live in society. Victor had already admitted that "If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free (121)." This is a thread that runs throughout Rousseau. But this theme is even stronger in the wretch. When he is abandoned by Victor, he is left alone as an ugly, savage being. He learns the keys to survival in nature while he is in the woods, where he tries to emulate the beautiful sounds of a bird chirping: "Sometimes I wished to express my sensations in my own mode, but the uncouth and inarticulate sounds which broke from me frightened me into silence again (129)." Throughout his monologue, I see the theory of Rousseau at play. He learns to take shelter, and calls the hovel his own property, eventually learns to use language, and finally uses his imagination to think about how he can approach the cottagers without scaring them. He also only learns of his true ugliness when he starts to watch the cottagers. "I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers - their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions; but how was I terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! (142) In this sense, he is truly looking at himself through the eyes of the other. He has internalized the norms of the human culture around him, and has deemed himself ugly.

Thoughts on Emma Part 1

Through much of Volume one, I find one repeating theme: people who are obsessed with what society expects of them. In Werther and Adolphe, I saw people who were trying to fit in with society. Emma is an exception. Many of the characters in this novel are identified solely by how society defines them.
Emma takes Harriet under her wings. Harriet is significantly lower on the social totem pole than is Emma. When Harriet is offered marriage by Mr. Martin, of middle class, society expects that she will accept the offer. Mr. Knightley as well supports this decision. But Emma has her choose against society. Emma wants her to have her marry into a higher class. Emma's sole purpose in life seems to be to prove society wrong. She wanted deeply to prove to Hartfield that Mr. Weston can and will marry again, even though everyone thought he never would. Emma wants to show her town that Harriet can marry into a higher class, even if society shuns it.
Mr. Knightley does not approve of Mr. Elton as a sufficeint suitor for Harriet because his manners are weak. He is constantly looking at people in light of how they are viewed in society. He says that the Churchills were never shown in a good light, but that Mr. Weston is "depending, I suspect, much more upon what is called society for his comforts (93)."