Love has been a recurrent topic in literature throughout history. Poets from all over the world have dedicated countless verses to the theme of love, exploring its many facets and nuances. The study will be based on poem 264 from The Canzionere by Francesco Petrarca and a love poem by the Japanese poet Ono No Komachi. Both poets are known for their exploration of themes such as love, longing, and the passage of time. This essay will discuss the differences and similarities between these two authors in their work.
Petrarca and Ono no Komachi both explore the emotions of love and longing in their works. For example, in Petrarcas Canzoniere No. 264, he writes (43):
&and am spurred on, and it could be too late. A thought speaks to the mind and it declares: Youre longing still? What help do you expect? You poor thing, dont you see, with what dishonor time is passing by?
In Ono no Komachis tanka she conveys a similar sentiment (113):
Ive gone to him by dream paths, my feet never resting but it can never match one glimpse of him in real life
These writers examine their own feelings and thoughts through self-reflection and introspection, frequently musing on the nature of love, desire, and emotional attachment. They are mindful of the passage of time and its impact on their emotions, relationships, and lives. For instance, in Petrarcas poem, he reflects on the passage of time and the consequences of his actions, while Ono no Komachis tanka illustrates the transient nature of beauty and life, Petrarca employs vivid and expressive imagery in their poems to convey their emotions and experiences. Petrarca uses extended metaphors and philosophical contemplations, while Ono no Komachi employs the simplicity and brevity of the tanka form to convey her feelings directly.
In contrast to Ono no Komachi, who used tanka, a traditional Japanese form of poetry with five lines and a syllable pattern of 5-7-5-7-7, Petrarca is well known for his sonnets, a form of poetry with 14 lines and a precise rhyme scheme. These distinct poetic forms contribute to differences in the structure, rhythm, and overall presentation of their works. Although both poets explore themes of love and longing, Petrarcas poetry often delves into broader themes such as mortality, the desire for divine grace, and the pursuit of virtue and honor (Petrarca 44):
Now raise yourself to a more blessed hope, by gazing on the heavens whirling round you, beautiful and immortal
Whereas Ono no Komachis tanka tend to focus more narrowly on the emotions and experiences of love, longing, and the passage of time ( Nineteen Tanka 114):
When longings press too fiercely, in the night, black as leopard-flower seeds, I wear my robe turned inside out
In terms of style and tone, Petrarcas poems are characterized by a more complex and elaborate style, featuring extended metaphors and philosophical contemplations, while Ono no Komachis tanka are more concise and often characterized by simplicity, brevity, and a direct expression of emotions.
In conclusion, this essay has explored the similarities and differences between two renowned poets, Francesco Petrarca and Ono no Komachi, in their treatment of love, longing, and the passage of time. These authors engage in introspection and self-reflection, using vivid and expressive imagery to convey their emotions and experiences. However, the differences in their poetic forms, styles, and scope of themes highlight the diverse ways in which love can be expressed and understood. Petrarcas sonnets encompass broader themes and exhibit a more complex and elaborate style, while Ono no Komachis tanka focuses on the more intimate aspects of love and longing with a simple and direct expression of emotions.
Works Cited
Ono no Komachi. (n.d.). In S. Hamill (Trans.), The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa (p. 106). Shambhala Publications. (Original work published 9th century CE).
Petrarca, F. (2018). Sonnet 264. In J. K. Newman (Ed.), The Canzoniere: Poems and Rhetics (p. 240). Harvard University Press.
It is important to note that Susan Glaspells play Trifles is a multifaceted story. Symbolism plays a significant role in literature by providing deeper meaning and enhancing the overall impact of a story. Symbols are often used to convey complex themes, emotions, and ideas through concrete objects, actions, or images. They can add depth and layers to a story, allowing readers to interpret and connect with the text on a personal level. Through the characterization of Mrs. Minnie Wright and the actions of the female characters in the play, Glaspell demonstrates the complex significance of this symbol. Thesis: A bird in a cage symbolizes systematic oppression, a value outside of economics, and a trigger for revolution.
Firstly, the image of a bird in a cage is a powerful symbol of the systematic oppression of women, which is evident in many different cultures and time periods. Women have been constrained by patriarchal institutions for most of history, and this has led to a range of negative consequences for both men and women (Sultana et al. 8). For example, the author writes: shecome to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herselfreal sweet and pretty, but kind of timid andfluttery. Howshedidchange (Glaspell). By comparing Mrs. Minnie Wright to a bird in a cage, Glaspell highlights the constraints that women faced in the early 20th century and the difficulties that they still face today.
Moreover, the image of the bird in a cage serves to illustrate the ways in which patriarchal institutions limit womens freedom and potential. Just as a bird cannot fly or prosper while in a cage, women are often prevented from achieving their full potential by the limitations placed upon them by society. In this way, the symbol of the bird in a cage serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggle for womens rights and the need to challenge patriarchal institutions in order to achieve true equality.
Secondly, the image of the bird in a cage represents an item or entity of great value that is not determined by its economic worth. In a capitalist society, everything is commodified and valued based on its profitability, but there are many things in life that hold significant value despite their lack of monetary value. Family members, pets, children, friends, and sentimental items are all examples of things that hold great personal value and cannot be reduced to a price tag (Bandelj and Spiegel 13). In the case of Mrs. Minnie Wright, the bird in her cage was likely one of the few things in her life that brought her joy and gave her a sense of purpose (Glaspell). For a person living in an oppressive system with little economic mobility, such as Mrs. Wright, the bird in her cage became a source of value and meaning that could not be measured by its economic worth. This further emphasizes the ways in which patriarchal institutions limit womens opportunities and the importance of valuing entities beyond their economic worth.
Thirdly, the symbolism of the bird in the cage in the play has a subtler meaning that relates to the idea of revolution. The play was written at the beginning of the 20th century, a time marked by feminist revolutions and movements for womens rights (Shorrocks 131). During and after the wars, women rose up to demand equality and justice, and the symbol of the bird in the cage can be interpreted as a call for revolution against the patriarchal institutions that oppress women. Mrs. Minnie Wrights action in killing her husband can be seen as an act of rebellion against the constraints placed upon her by society (Glaspell). This act of rebellion may reflect the sentiment of many women at the time who were beginning to question their role in society and demand greater freedom and equality. The symbol of the bird in the cage, therefore, becomes a powerful metaphor for the potential for women to break free from the constraints of patriarchy and rise up to demand change.
In conclusion, systematic oppression, a value outside of economics, and a trigger for revolution are all meanings hidden behind a bird in a cage image. Through the characterization of Mrs. Minnie Wright and the actions of the female characters in the play, Glaspell highlights the complex significance of this symbol. The bird in the cage is not just a representation of Mrs. Wrights entrapment but a symbol of the systematic oppression of women, an item or entity of great value that is not determined by its economic worth and a call for revolution against patriarchal institutions. These different interpretations of the symbol are interconnected and contribute to a deeper understanding of the themes and messages of the play. Thus, the use of the bird in the cage as a symbol in the story illustrates the power and importance of symbolism in literature in conveying complex ideas and enhancing the overall impact of a story.
Works Cited
Bandelj, Nina, and Michelle Spiegel. Pricing The Priceless Child 2.0: Children as Human Capital Investment Theory and Society, vol. 1, 2022, pp. 1-26.
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. American Literature, 1916, Web.
Shorrocks, Rosalind. A Feminist Generation? Cohort Change in Gender-Role Attitudes and the Second-Wave Feminist Movement. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, vol. 30, no. 1, 2018, pp. 125-145.
Sultana, Sharifa, et al. Design Within a Patriarchal Society: Opportunities and Challenges in Designing for Rural Women in Bangladesh. Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, vol. 18, 2018, pp. 1-13.
Lauren Nicole Nixon, an Austin based arts teacher and a poet, can be considered a modern poet whose themes surround contemporary issues in the American society. Nixon obtained her masters degree in Arts and Politics from the Tisch School of Arts, University of New York. In this poem, the narrator (probably Nixon herself) explains how she experienced a humiliating moment in which she was mistaken for Dominique Dawes, a renowned American artistic gymnast, Olympian and retired world championship silver medalist.
Nixon has shown the ability to apply various poetic techniques to communicate her message and themes to the audience with success. The purpose of this paper is to develop an in-depth analysis of Nixons poem in order to show how different poetic techniques are applied to effectively communicate the poets message.
Analysis of the Poem
Imagery
By definition, imagery is the comparison between an object that is not necessarily there with an object or subject that is actually there (Kirszner and Mandell 37). The purpose is normally to create a mind of comparison to the intended audience so that they obtain a more meaningful experience (Myers and Wukasch 43).
Nixon has based her poem primarily on imagery. The main theme in the poem regards the experience the narrator had, twice, when mistaken for a sports celebrity and the humiliation she experienced. She has used similes and metaphors to develop a comparison between her and the celebrity Dominique Dawes. For instance, in the first stanza, the poet says, at the time my cheekbones curved and peaked like an apple (Nixon 1).
The word like is actually a simile that provides a comparison between what is there (curved cheekbones) and what is not there (the swoop of an apple). In the third stanza, Nixon says I will step outside my body like a spirit& and continues &while I watch it like a firecracker (Nixon 1). Again, the word like has twice been used to develop a comparison between an object that is there (stepping outside her body and watching the body respectively) with what is actually not there (the spirit and the firecracker respectively).
Tactic imagery has been used in the first stanza, where Nixon describes the experience of the athlete celebrity Dominique Dawes in action as &even when her tendons became swollen& (Nixon 1).
By this, the poet seeks to make the audience develop an image of he feelings of touch (swelling) that she would be having if she were Dominique, for whom she was being mistaken. For Nixon, this would actually be a bad experience because unlike Dominique, she does not possess the athletic characteristics and features.
In addition, Nixon has attempted to make use of kinesthetic imagery, in which she describes a comparison between a movement that is there and a movement that is actually not there (Kirszner and Mandell 37). For instance, in the second stanza she describes the characteristic movement of an athlete that Dominique made in videos and TVs as & she slithered onto the balance beam& proposed herself up& (Nixon 1).
These movements are used to develop an image within the minds of her audience so that they have an understanding of the comparison between Nixon and Dominique Dawes. The third stanza has made used a kinesthetic imagery, in which Nixon attempts to explain how she will behave next time the public makes an error by confusing her with the athlete Dominique Dawes. For instance, she says &Ill shuffle my feet&
Hyperbole
In poetic techniques, hyperbole is actually a technique of making some exaggerations of the situation in order to attract the attention of the audience (Myers and Wukasch 43).
In this poem, Nixon has used hyperbole in the third paragraph in which she says that &I will step outside of my body & while I watch it whip (Nixon 1). In real sense, it is not possible to make such moves as stepping outside the body. However, this exaggeration statement tends to explain the rigor and vigor she would use in case she is mistaken for Dawes again.
Thematic analysis
In this poem, Nixons main theme is to develop a critical description of her body in comparison to the physical characteristics possessed by the athlete Dominique Dawes. From her poem, it is evident that people tend to confuse her with Dominique because their physical characteristics are quite alike in some ways.
She stresses this by explaining, in the first stanza, that she has been mistaken for Dawes, not once, but twice. This is used to emphasize the theme of public perceptions on celebrities and the accord given to people with extraordinary lifestyles or talents. It seems that the public gave some special attention to her in both cases, once outside a hardware store and secondly on the stoop of a diner, just because she looked lie Dawes.
In addition, Nixon attempts to bring into the minds of her audience the theme of body characteristics and public perception on people with certain physical features. For instance, to explain why the public may have confused her with the athlete Dominique Dawes, the poet provides a description of how she looked at the time of her humiliation- that she had cheekbones that curved like the swoop of an apple&.
A hard and projecting collarbone and calves that were flexing with every footstep& (Nixon 1). These characteristics are normally present in the bodies of career athletes and within the minds of the public, a person with such features may be associated with an extraordinary career such as being an athlete, a gymnastic or some sort of a career.
However, Nixon, despite having these features in her body, was not actually an athlete, neither did she involve herself in using her features for a talent. To Nixon, the comparison between the two different (but apparently similar) persons is wrong according to her reaction in the poem. For instance, she says &if there is ever another day in life&, I will maintain that Minotaur strength& meaning that she will act to show the people the difference between her and Dominique Dawes.
Irony
In this poem, it is ironic that despite having the athletic features in her body as well as the potential to use her body in make extraordinary moves as she explains in the third stanza, she does not involve herself in athletic works; neither does she attempt to show the public that indeed she was not Dawes.
Secondly, it is ironic that even though Nixon has been confused twice with the athlete Dawes, she did nothing to release herself from the tension and humiliation, yet she plans to make some moves to show the people that yes, it is me (Nixon 1). In addition, it is ironic that she expects to experience another moment of mistaken identity; yet she attempts to show that she no longer have the characteristics similar to those possessed by Dominique Dawes.
She says at that time I had& (Nixon 1) to make the audience understand that she may have changed significantly, and probably no longer resembles Dawes. Despite this, she expects to experience another moment of being mistaken for Dawes, an irony.
Works Cited
Kirszner, Laurie G and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. Print
Myers, Jack and Don Wukasch. The Dictionary of Poetic Terms. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 2009. Print
Nixon, Lauren N. That time I was mistaken for Dominique Dawes . The pedestal magazine poems. New York: The pedestal magazine, 2012. Web.
A Rose for Emily is a very good short story written by William Faulkner, this short story uses flashback techniques to draw the immediate attention of the readers. It starts with the funeral of Emily, the antagonist of the story. There is no protagonist in the story as the story is largely based upon the theme of emotional suffering. This paper will throw light on revenge in four stories and plays.
Faulkners most famous, most popular, and most anthologized short story, A Rose for Emily evokes the terms Southern gothic and grotesque, two types of literature in which the general tone is one of gloom, terror, and understated violence. (A Rose for Emily).
Revenge of Emily- Killing of Homer
The story is very intriguing and covers many aspects of human personality, Emily is the most important character in the story and she takes her revenge in the story by killing Homer. She supposedly poisoned Homer to death. She bought rat poison to kill Homer; Homer was last seen by the people residing in the same locality as Emily entering the kitchen of Emilys house. Emily becomes so desperate in the story that she forgets everything and seeks emotional support from the corpse of Homer. She cannot be blamed for revenge in the story. She was emotionally broken and had no friends or family members with who she could connect. Homer was the only person in the story who shows promising signs of bringing Emily to sanity but she soon discovers that he was interested in men and she could not digest this fact. Out of utter desperation, she chose to poison Homer. This is quite evident from the fact that the corpse of Homer was found in the locked room of her house when she died. The locality members were shocked when they opened the room after several long years. She used to embrace the corpse of Homer and derive emotional support. This cannot be called revenge; this is utter desperation to seek emotional support. To conclude it is very fair to say that Emily had no other option but to kill Homer, he was her last hope and when he betrayed her, she could not control herself and killed him. The people in her locality should have helped her but they did nothing to help her out her insanity. It is a very sad story very effectively written by William Faulkner.
Revenge in Hamlet
Hamlets father was the king of Denmark and he was killed by Claudius, who has now become the king by marrying Hamlets mother. A ghost tells Hamlet that his father was murdered by King Claudius and this allegation was later proved. Based on this assumption that Claudius killed his father, Hamlet decides to take revenge for the death of his father. Hamlets rash actions go on to decide his fate. In the sense that he succeeds in killing King Claudius but before this Hamlet ends up killing an innocent old man by the name Polonius. Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius while he was praying; this causes an unnecessary delay and only goes on to make the readers believe that the actions of Hamlet were very Impulsive. To conclude with the character of Hamlet it can be said that since revenge was his sole aim, no one could have predicted the future and there are risks involved when a person seeks revenge, so it is fair to say that the death of Hamlet was not surprising as a reader and he pretty much deserved it. This is purely based on the fact that anything can happen when one seeks revenge.
Revenge in the Cask of Amontillado
In Cast of Amontillado, Montresor plans to take revenge on Fortunato and the readers get to learn that revenge is a very powerful motive but a dangerous one so we must take revenge on anyone no matter what that person has done to us. Montresor has shown extraordinary planning to seek revenge on Fortunato, Poe has chosen this plot to tell the readers that revenge is something that must never be pursued and this is what the readers can learn from this short story. Even though the story is completely fictitious, it can be applied in the real world and there must be a lesson that should be learned from it. The lesson of not to seek revenge against anyone comes what may. Poe is a master at developing curiosity among the readers and the story begins very abruptly and the same develops a lot of curiosity among the readers. Poe mastered the art of arresting the readers with the first few lines of his stories and this short story is no different. It begins with a very striking quote that immediately arrests the attention of the readers. Montresors pride shapes up the whole story and it is found that to satisfy his wounded pride he ends up plotting against Fortunato and ultimately this leads to the death of Fortunato. The lesson is in front of all the readers to learn, we must forget everything that creates a drive to seek revenge in our minds. We get a very good message from the story that must be implemented in real life properly.
Revenge in Tell-Tale Heart
The Tell-Tale Heart is another great creation by Poe and he was one of the finest short story writers. A Tell-Tale heart is also a story of revenge and a tale of murder. The significance of night is outlined in Tell-Tale heart. All the action that takes place is at night and the darkness has been used by Poe to great effect. The narrator in Tell-Tale heart is trying to convince the readers that he is not mad and the brutal murder was full proof and planned murder. This story is quite similar to The Cask of Amontillado, in both these stories murder is the prime objective of the narrator and both these stories are revenge-based stories. Lastly both the stories have been written by Poe.
In her poem After a great pain a formal feeling comes Emily Dickenson focuses on the experiences of a person who has suffered emotional suffering. The author uses various images to show the dehumanizing effect of this distress on the inner world of a human being who can become very callous.
This is one of the possible responses to this suffering. This paper will examine the form and structure of the poem, the tone of the writer, and the themes that Emily Dickenson explores or emphasizes in her work.
By discussing these issues, one can better understand the beauty of Emily Dickensons poetry. I have chosen this poem because Emily Dickenson succeeds in examining the most complex psychological problems within three stanzas.
The brevity and complexity of this poem greatly appealed to me. This is why I think that this literary work is worth attention.
First of all, one should note that the author uses third-person narrative when describing the experiences of an individual. She places more stress on the feeling of a person who can be either male or female.
In this way, Emily Dickenson strives to show that emotional suffering can produce devastating effects on every individual. No one is safeguarded against such a trauma. So, one can say that Emily Dickenson gives voice to universal experience.
It is difficult to determine when or where the poem is set. One can only conjecture that the author describes the aftermath of suffering and the inner world of an individual who could have been hurt in some way.
The readers of this poem have to remember that Emily Dickenson could speak on behalf of many people who sustained emotional trauma.
It is also necessary to discuss the structure of the poem. It contains three stanzas and each of the stanzas has a different number of lines. One cannot say that the author wanted to adhere to a particular type of verse.
For instance, Emily Dickenson prefers iambic parameter which means that the stress is usually placed on the every second syllable, but she does always follow this metrical foot in every case.
For example, one can look at the following line, First chill, then stupor, then the letting go (Dickenson unpaged). Secondly, one should notice that the number of words varies from three to eight.
Overall, these examples indicate that Emily Dickenson was more concerned with expressive means that could best describe the feelings of the narrator and she did not want to be limited by one literary form. These are the structural peculiarities of the poem.
The theme of the literary work is probably the most important issue that should be closely analyzed because the author highlights very complex psychological problems that an individual can encounter.
Emily Dickenson places emphasis on the experiences of a person on whom emotional pain has been inflicted. She strives to demonstrate that this form of suffering can be much more severe that a physical trauma, because an individual can become insensitive, callous, or indifferent.
This is one of the responses to emotional trauma. Overall, this person can lose some of the attributes that distinguish a human being from a mere mechanism.
This lack of sensitivity can be regarded as a shield against the suffering. Emily Dickenson uses different metaphors in order to illustrate this point. For instance, one can look at the following lines,
The feet, mechanical, go round
A wooden way (Dickenson unpaged).
In this case, the words mechanical and wooden indicate that emotional suffering deprive a person of his/her humanity (Dickenson unpaged).
Moreover, she creates an excellent oxymoron quartz contentment that shows how this person may feel (Dickenson unpaged).
The author compares this individual to inanimate objects like a stone or wood and in this way she strives to show that callousness can be a response to emotional suffering.
This is how the writer gives the readers insights into the inner world of the narrator.
The authors tone implies that she is compassionate for a person who has endured great suffering. This poem shows that the effects of such an event are very difficult to overcome.
This is why she says, this is the hour of lead remembered if outlived (Dickenson unpaged). However, the use of oxymoron like quartz contentment indicates that she is also slightly ironic.
Yet, her irony is directed against people who believe that emotional distress does not harm a person in any way. One cannot say for sure that Emily Dickenson describes her own experiences.
However, her poem is very insightful; it seems to be based on first-hand experiences. This realism is probably the main strength of this literary work.
Certainly, Emily Dickensons could have tried to express more than one idea. Probably, she wants to say that the feelings of an individual can be very vulnerable, and one should be very careful when speaking about the emotional life of a person.
People should know that their words can have an extremely adverse influence on the feelings of others even if one cannot detect the effects at first glance.
Tahar Ben Jellouns The Sand Child is a novel that explores themes of gender and economic status and the consequences of patriarchy in Moroccan society. The book tells the story of a wealthy Moroccan man who desires a male heir but instead has seven daughters. He raises his youngest daughter as a boy to fulfill his patriarchal expectations. In The Sand Child, Tahar Ben Jelloun presents a powerful critique of patriarchy in Moroccan society and its impact on individuals and families. This essay aims to delve deeper into this issue, highlighting the intersectionality of gender and economic status and the consequences of patriarchy in Moroccan society.
Discussion
The passage I selected from Tahar Ben Jellouns The Sand Child sheds light on the complex gender dynamics in Moroccan society during the early 20th century. The father had no luck. He was convinced that some distant, heavy curse weighed on his life: out of seven births, he had had seven daughters. The house was occupied by ten womenthe seven daughters, the mother, Aunt Aysha, and Malika, the old servant woman. The curse was spread over time. The father thought that one daughter would have been enough. Seven was too many; tragic, even (Jelloun, 1987). The fathers desperation to produce a male offspring reflects the deeply rooted societal expectation that men must produce a son to carry on the familys lineage. The passage demonstrates that the desire for male offspring is so strong that it can lead to shame and despair for women who cannot fulfill this expectation.
This societal pressure affects women and men, who feel emasculated and humiliated when they cannot produce a son. The narrators words, the curse was spread over time, highlight this issues generational nature (Jelloun, 1987). The belief that men must produce a son is so deeply entrenched in Moroccan culture that it has been passed down from generation to generation. This expectation affects the emotional well-being of women who cannot produce male offspring, leading to a sense of hopelessness and a loss of purpose.
The passage also highlights the intersectionality of this issue. The family in the story is burdened by the pressure to produce male offspring and their economic status. The fathers inability to produce a male heir is exacerbated by the fact that he cannot afford an enormous household or additional wives who may be able to produce a son. Moreover, the fathers lamentations also express his economic struggles and his difficulty in providing for his family.
The passage demonstrates the consequences of patriarchy in Moroccan society. The societal expectation that men must produce a son to carry on the family name is deeply entrenched and affects women and men. The emphasis on male offspring creates a sense of desperation and hopelessness for women who cannot fulfill this expectation, leading to emotional suffering and despair. The passage underscores the need for societal change to address these gender dynamics and the need to move beyond patriarchal beliefs perpetuating gender inequality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the passage from The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun highlights the complex gender dynamics in early 20th-century Moroccan society. The societal pressure on men to produce male offspring to carry on the familys lineage affects women and men, leading to despair and emasculation. The intersectionality of gender and economic status exacerbates the issue, leading to hopelessness and loss of purpose. The passage highlights the consequences of patriarchy in Moroccan society and the need for societal change to address these gender dynamics and move beyond patriarchal beliefs perpetuating gender inequality.
Reference
Jelloun, T. B. (1987). The Sand Child. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Two of the most significant American authors of the 20th century were Faulkner and Steinbeck. Both authors use ambiguity in their short fiction to give readers a sense of intricacy and uncertainty in their stories. It fosters a sense of mystery that stimulates active involvement with the text by allowing readers to derive their conclusions. In particular, ambiguity is used in Faulkners A Rose for Emily and Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums to reveal details about the characters and complicate the plots.
Main body
In A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner, a lady is imprisoned by the customs of the South and the demands of her community. The story is portrayed from the locals viewpoint, who attempt to comprehend why Emily has led such a solitary life. The conclusion of A Rose for Emily is one instance of ambiguity: the reader is left wondering if Emily was motivated to kill her lover or if he passed away naturally. Faulkner writes: Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair (Faulkner). This line leaves questions about Emilys true personality, creating a sense of doubt about what occurred.
John Steinbecks story, The Chrysanthemums, follows a woman named Elisa who is dissatisfied with her existence and longs for more. The conversation between Elisa and the tinker in The Chrysanthemums illustrates ambiguity well. Since the tinker is a mystery figure, the reader is free to infer what his genuine motivations might be from the uncertainty that surrounds him. Steinbeck writes: She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly like an old woman. (Steinbeck) This passage makes it clear that Elisa is torn about how she feels about the tinker, and it causes the audience to ponder if the tinker might be preying on her weakness.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the ambiguity in A Rose for Emily by Faulkner and The Chrysanthemums by Steinbeck reveals the characters and mystifies the plots of both works. Due to such ambiguity, the reader might infer what the characters aims and motivations are, as well as their emotional states. Both Faulkner and Steinbeck can bring complexity and uncertainty to their narrative through ambiguity, thus adding depth and nuance.
References
Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. American Studies at the University of Virginia, 1930. American Studies at the University of Virginia, Web.
Steinbeck, John. The Chrysanthemums. Literary Fictions, 1937. Literary Fictions, Web.
One of the foremost aspects of todays living is the fact that, as time goes on; people in Western countries grow increasingly aware of the sheer out-datedness of the classical concept of nationhood. This could not be otherwise, because an ongoing process of Globalization effectively exposes peoples tendency to assess the surrounding reality through the lenses of their national affiliation, as such that substantially impedes their chances of a social advancement.
This is exactly the reason why, even though that as recently as during the course of the fifties, the idea that one should be willing to sacrifice its life for the sake of a nation used to be considered fully legitimate, this is no longer being the case. After all, it nowadays becomes increasingly clear for more and more people in the West that, since they live only once and since there is no afterlife to look forward to, it is specifically ensuring their personal well-being, which represents their foremost priority in life.
Therefore, there is nothing too surprising about the fact that even today; Graham Greenes 1958 novel Our Man in Havana continues to be referred to as such that represents an undermined discursive value.
The reason for this is quite apparent the themes and motifs, explored in this particular novel, appear discursively consistent with the post-industrial realities of the 21st centurys living, associated with the process of more and more people getting rid of socially upheld illusions, as to what accounts for the essence of their responsibilities in life. In my paper, I will aim to substantiate the validity of this suggestion at length.
Main part
Given the apparent straightforwardness of Green novels plot, the task of outlining its main twists does not represent much of a challenge. The novels protagonist James Wormold (who happened to be a British citizen), owns a vacuum cleaner shop in pre-revolutionary Havana, Cuba. Being a loving father of his teenage daughter Milly, Wormold finds it increasingly difficult to be able to support Millys extravagant lifestyle.
In its turn, this prompts him to accept Henry Hawthornes (M16s resident in the Caribbean region) proposition to become a British intelligence agent in Havana in exchange for his willingness to work on behalf of M16, Wormold was placed on a payroll. Nevertheless, after having realized that would prove impossible to create the ring of informers in Cuba, as it was required of him, Wormold decides to simply invent them, while specifying the cost of maintaining each of these imaginary informers.
As the plot unravels, Wormold becomes ever more preoccupied with supplying M16 with fictitious intelligence reports, which in London are being regarded as such that represent a particularly high intelligence-value.
The novels comical sounding reaches its peak when Wormold sends the drawings of vacuum cleaners (intentionally made to look like some menacing military installations) to London, which causes a great deal of anxiety among M16s top-officials, who never doubted the realness of the depicted installations even for a second. In its turn, this causes Wormolds superiors to decide to provide him with the secretary Beatrice Severn and with the radio-operator Rudi both working on behalf of British intelligence, as well.
Nevertheless, as time goes on, Worlmold realizes that his imaginary intelligence-activities had effectively ceased being merely a game, as Havanas newspapers report the actual deaths of many of his imaginary informers. This, of course, causes Wormold to feel increasingly uneasy about the whole situation.
After having been confronted with the death of his close friend Dr. Hasselbacher, who was pressured by captain Segura (Cuban police) to spy on Wormold, the novels main character decides to reveal his fraud to Beatrice. Consequently, he gets to be recalled back to London presumably, to face the charge of betrayal. Yet, to Wormolds amazement, it was not only that did not get to be punished, but he in fact ended up being offered a teaching job with M16 and awarded the Order of British Empire.
Apparently, Wormolds superiors refused to even consider the possibility of admitting to the government that their man in Havana was nothing but a con artist, as it would expose British intelligence in a rather unsightly light.
It is needless to mention, of course, that even a brief glance at the earlier provided outline of Green novels plot does not allow us to refer to Our Man in Havana as such that emanates the spirit of British patriotism, in the classical sense of this word.
After all, with the probable exemption of the character of Beatrice, the individuals associated with the British government, featured in the novel, appear to have been deprived of even basic analytical abilities quite contrary to the assumption that, in order for one to qualify for the job of a British spy, he or she must possess a supreme intelligence.
Partially, the unpatriotic sounding of Greens novel can be explained by the particulars of the authors religious affiliation. This is because, throughout the course of his adult life, Green never ceased to proclaim itself a devout Catholic. However, it does not represent much of a secret that, ever since the beginning of the 17th century, British Catholics have been finding themselves in an increasingly disadvantaged social position.
Even today, being a British Catholic implies being socially underprivileged to an extent. As Burgess noted, The British State tolerates the Catholic Church, but the Catholic Church, being a supra-national body, has no representation in the establishment& To honor the monarch is to acknowledge the hegemony of the Church of England (94).
Therefore, when assessed from a purely religious perspective, the lack of Greens patriotic enthusiasm, clearly exhibited in Our Man in Havana, can be well thought of as having been reflective of the authors deep-seated unconscious anxieties, related to his religious sense of self-identity.
However, it was not only the societal implications of Greens affiliation with Catholicism, which caused his novels satire to attain a clearly defined political sounding, but also the theological and ideological ones. This is because Catholics always suspected Protestants to be deeply hypocritical in how they go about proclaiming their adherence to God.
After all, as opposed to what it is being the case with Catholics; Protestants do not perceive God as their ultimate benefactor. Rather they think of him as some distant authority that simply lays down the rules of a religious morality but does not intervene in their lives actively. Apparently, Protestants have grown to realize a simple fact that material riches do not fall out of the sky and that one needs to work hard, in order to achieve a financial prosperity.
In fact, it now became a commonplace practice among many Protestants to think that the amount of money they have in banks positively relates to the measure of Gods pleasure with them (Weber 60). Green, however, never ceased considering Protestants obsession with making money morally wrong, which explains the sarcastic sounding of the novels scenes in which American businesspersons elaborate on their vision of religion/spirituality.
For example, there is a memorable scene in the novel, where the character of Dr. Braun comes up with a public speech, while praising the trade as the actual source of spirituality, Trade was important because without trade there would be no spiritual links, or was it perhaps the other way round. He (Dr. Braun) spoke of American aid to distressed countries which would enable them to buy more goods and by buying more goods strengthen the spiritual links (Green 91).
This explains the subtle criticism of American (Western) concept of democracy, which can be found throughout the course of Green novels entirety.
Apparently, the author was intellectually honest enough to admit to himself and to his readers that, by promoting the values of democracy in the Third World, Western countries pursue their own geopolitical/economic agenda, which in turn is being concerned with assuming a unilateral control of the worlds natural/human resources hence, the actual secret of Western countries economic prosperity.
This suggestion and the clearly defined autobiographical undertones of the Greens novel, help us to explain the innate motivation behind Wormolds decision to accept money from the British secret service, without providing any real intelligence information in return.
It appears that, while deceiving British intelligence, Worlmold (a literary embodiment of Green) was not merely concerned with ensuring an additional source of income but also with acting on behalf of justice whatever ironic it may sound.
Even though that the novels main character initially doubted the moral appropriateness of his decision, in this respect, Dr. Hasselbacher was able to convince him in the opposite, They (governmental officials) have no money except what they take from men like you and me (29). Eventually, it had dawned upon Wormold that, by making the rich and powerful to share some of their riches with ordinary individuals like himself, even by the mean of deceiving the government, he in fact was serving a higher good.
This again reveals an unmistakably Catholic mindset, in the part of the novels author, as the reading about how Wormold went about addressing lifes challenges does substantiate the validity of the idea that there is nothing wrong about combating evil with evil. And, as Greens biographers are being well aware of, this idea never ceased to fascinate the author of Our Man in Havana, Throughout his life& Greene had a fascination with evil and a contempt for ordinary virtues.
After his conversion to Catholicism, he defended this attitude on the ground that a close acquaintance with evil was no obstacle to the salvation of the soul. It might even be essential (Gray 51). Hence, the thoroughly humanistic sounding of the Greens novel, as such that promotes the idea that, despite their weaknesses, people are nevertheless are being capable of adopting a proper stance in life.
Nevertheless, it would not be fully appropriate to assess the significance of the novels themes and motifs solely in regards to what used to be the particulars of Greens religious affiliation. Had this been the case, these themes and motifs would not be considered discursively relevant today.
Yet, as it was mentioned in the Introduction, there are indeed a number of good reasons to believe that the manner in which Wormold behaves in the novel is being fully consistent with the discourse of post-modernity, which nowadays causes more and more people to reassess the validity of many traditional assumptions, regarding what accounts for the purpose of ones life, and regarding to the implications ones national affiliation.
For example, there is another memorable scene in the novel, where Hawthorne tries to recruit Wormold, while implying that being assumed a British patriot, his newly found would-be-spy simply had no option but to agree to the proposition, You are English, arent you?.. And you refuse to serve your country? (21).
Apparently, it never occurred to Hawthorne that, as time goes on, the discursive significance of socio-political concepts, such as nation, continues to be qualitatively transformed, which often leads to these concepts becoming deprived of any meaning, whatsoever. Nowadays, the validity of this statement appears especially self-evident, because due to an ongoing process of Globalization, the national borders between formally independent countries have long ago assumed a purely symbolic value.
In its turn, this causes many political observers to conclude that it is being only the matter of time, before the concept of national sovereignty will be effectively disposed with, as thoroughly outdated. As Ohmae noted, The global economy ignores barriers, but if they are not removed, they cause distortion. The traditional centralized nation-state is another cause of friction. It is ill equipped to play a meaningful role on the global stage (Ohmae 25).
Yet, even throughout the course of the late fifties, the discursive irrelevance of the concept of nation was becoming apparent. The reason for this is simple after the end of WW2, Western European countries (including Britain, which had lost all of its most important colonies) have been effectively deprived of their de facto independence all due to these countries willingness to participate in the Marshall Plan and to join NATO.
In essence, they became the Americas puppet-states. And yet, as it appears from the novel, the character of Hawthorne remained thoroughly ignorant of this fact, which explains why, while trying to convince Wormold to become M16s agent, he continued to refer to Britains geopolitical challenges in essentially pre-WW2 terms. The legitimacy of this suggestion can be well illustrated in regards to Hawthornes strongly defined anti-German stance, Not that it matters East or West, they (Germans) play the German game.
Remember the Ribbentrop Pact. We (British) wont be caught that way again (13). This explains why Wormold could not help but to accept Hawthornes offer after having realized that Hawthorne was a perceptually inadequate individual, allowing him to walk away with money would constitute a sin.
The discursive implication of this suggestion can be formulated as follows: unlike what it was the case with many of the novels intellectually inflexible characters, such as Hawthorne, Wormold proved himself being quick enough to take advantage of moneymaking opportunities, presented by the realities of the Cold War era.
Apparently, despite having been born well before the discourse of Globalization had attained a politically legitimate status, Wormold was psychologically attuned with what would constitute the secularized and deideologized realities of a post-industrial living. After all, nowadays it is specifically only not overly bright individuals who may be comfortable with the idea that the abstract cause of patriotism is worthy of risking their lives.
This is because, due to the revolutionary breakthroughs in the field of informational technologies (the rise of the Internet), this world is becoming ever more informationally intense.
In its turn, this creates objective preconditions for people in Western countries to realize the simple fact that there is only one reason for the representatives of social elites to continue striving to endow ordinary citizens with the sense of patriotism it is so much easier to turn patriots into a cannon meat, willing to sacrifice for the rich and powerful on the battlefield, if circumstances require.
Therefore, it will not be much of an exaggeration, on our part, to suggest that the appeal of Our Man in Havana is being partially concerned with the novels visionary subtleties todays readers cannot help but to perceive the character of Wormold, as such was born well ahead of its time. This, of course, causes them to relate to this character emotionally hence, the continual popularity of Our Man in Havana.
Conclusion
I believe that the line of argumentation, deployed throughout this paper, is being fully consistent with the initial thesis. It appears that, even as far back as during the course of the late fifties, Green had a very good idea, as to what would be the nature of things to come in the future.
This explains why; whereas, the names of the authors contemporaries, who used to criticize him on the account of his lack of patriotism, are now long forgotten, Greens literary legacy continues being highly appreciated. Given the fact that, as time goes on, the process of intellectually liberating Globalization keeps on gaining a momentum; this will likely to remain the case in the future, as well.
Works Cited
Burgess, Anthony. Politics in the Novels of Graham Greene. Journal of Contemporary History 2.2 (1967): 93-99. Print.
Gray, John. A Touch of Evil. New Statesman 13.633 (2000): 51-52. Print.
Greene, Graham. Our Man in Havana. Penguin Classics. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007. Print.
Ohmae, Kenichi. Next Global Stage: Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless World. Upper Saddle River: Wharton School Publishing, 2005. Print.
Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Courier Dover Publications, 2003. Print.
To say that All conflict in literature is, in its simplest form, a struggle between good and evil is to describe a specific type of literature such as fairy tales, but in the short story genre the real conflict is actually a struggle between the writer and ambiguity. This is shown clearly in Anton Chekhovs The Lady with the Pet Dog, and Raymond Carvers What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
Pet Dog is a story in which there are no particularly good or evil characters and, although it centers on adultery, there is no sense of the author judging his characters. Rather, he depicts them as fairly normal people who stumble into a situation that is far more complicated than they realize. The male character, Dmitry Dmitrich Gurov starts an affair out of boredom with Anna Sergeyevna, a young, recently married woman also holidaying at Yalta and not only bored but dissatisfied. Annas expectations are not clear but Gurov, a man of the world with a low opinion of women, whom he calls the inferior race (Chekhov 289), believes the affair will start and finish at Yalta. To his surprise he finds, a month after returning to Moscow, that he has fallen in love with Anna. Gurov, once a cynical man, now finds that almost against his will and against his belief, his sexual worldliness turns into the honesty and difficulty of belated love (Welty 1312).
Both he and Anna are in a terrible moral dilemma. He cannot leave his wife and children and she cannot divorce her flunkey husband, nor can they stop seeing each other. These two people, so different, yet complement each other perfectly, loving each other like man and wife, like tender friends, and they are bewildered at having to live in separate cages. The image Chekhov uses here vividly shows the anguish of the two newly freed spirits who yet find themselves trapped in marriage at a time before divorce became an option. Anna has religious scruples about her actions, or at least she did in Yalta. Once Gurov has come to her hometown to declare his love, she accepts that this is more important to her than morality or religion, even more important than her happiness.
While at Yalta Gurov and Anna went through an experience while sitting on a bench early in the morning at Oreanda, overlooking the Black Sea. It is here that Gurov (Annas thoughts remain unknown) understands a fundamental truth about life: that individuals do not matter to nature but that we may well be part of unceasing movement towards perfection (Chekhov 293). This epiphany can be interpreted in many ways and yet its essence is clear to Gurov and to Anna: their love makes everything more beautiful because it manifests the higher aims of life and our own human dignity. Once he has been reminded of that, he can no longer settle for his old life which now seems futile, dull and senseless (Nabokov 1474). It is a story, as Nabokov observes, that has no definite full-stop but continues with the natural motion of life (1476). In such stories the reader should not look for a moral at the end because to add one would end that motion.
Raymond Carvers story communicates an important truth to the reader yet it remains ambiguous regardless how closely it is analyzed. Four people sit in a kitchen, drinking and talking about love while the light of day fades and gives way to night, a running metaphor which suggests that the more they talk and drink, the less they understand. Love is taken for granted by most people who use the term and yet, the story asks, what are we really talking about? Each character has a different and incompatible view of love from the others, and it is the clash of these four truths that makes this story so tension-filled.
Terri tells them her previous boyfriend loved her so passionately that he dragged her around the living room saying I love you, I love you, you bitch (Carver 243). Mel, a cardiologist and therefore a doctor of the heart, says that isnt love, that real love existed only in the days of knights in shining armor. Nick reminds him that the weight of that armor caused knights to fall off their horse, which may be an allegory of what happened to Mels first marriage because as he drinks more, Mel reveals that he wants to kill his first wife. Together Mel and Terri personify ambivalence, or at least the proximity of love and hate, a fact of life that transcends categories of good and evil. Laura, on the other hand, says that she and Nick know what love is, for us, I mean and Nick, after she prompts him, makes a big production out of kissing her hand and says that they are lucky (Carver 246).
Some readers may believe that it is Terri who makes the strongest case because her boyfriends commitment to her was total. Her current husband, however, hates his ex-wife more than he loves Terri, but his hatred does not go beyond drunken revenge fantasies. Other readers may choose Nick and Laura as embodying a simple yet profound enjoyment of one anothers company (Saltzman 1540), which could serve as a definition of love. That interpretation overlooks Lauras anxious prompts and Nicks noncommittal responses. It may be that their marriage is already failing; at least, as darkness falls Nick tells them he could head right on out into the sunset, an image taken from Western movies where the cowboy rides off alone, leaving behind a heartbroken woman.
To quote Chekhov: To a chemist there is nothing impure on earth. The writer should be just as objective as the chemist; he should liberate himself from everyday subjectivity and acknowledge that manure piles play a highly respectable role in the landscape and that evil passions are every bit as much a part of life as good ones (Chekhov on Writing).
Works Cited
Carver, Raymond. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. Ed. Ann Charters. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1995. 243-52.
Chekhov, Anton. Chekhov on Writing. Nebraska Center for Writers. Creighton University. Web.
Chekhov, Anton. The Lady with the Pet Dog. Ed. Ann Charters. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1995. 289-301.
Nabokov, Vladimir. A Reading of Chekhovs The Lady with the Little Dog. Ed. Ann Charters. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1995. 1471-77.
Saltzman, Arthur M. A Reading of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. Ed. Ann Charters. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1995. 1539-40.
Welty, Eudora. Reality in Chekhovs Stories. Ed. Ann Charters. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1995. 1512-13.
Outline
Introduction: Literature is not the struggle between good and evil, only with the struggle between the writer and ambiguity.
2nd paragraph: Chekhov does not judge his characters but records the events that take place when two people fall in love when they least expect to.
3rd paragraph: Anna and Gurov are in a moral dilemma but they must keep seeing each other. It is more important to them than morality, religion or even happiness.
4th paragraph: At Yalta they have an epiphany while sitting on a bench overlooking the Black Sea, which reminds them of their higher aims. After that they cannot bear their ordinary lives because life without love seems pointless. That is why they must continue to see each other.
5th paragraph: Carvers truth remains an ambiguous one. Four people talk about love but their ideas are incompatible. The shift from light to darkness suggests a deepening ignorance. In the end the reader must choose between passionate love and calm love, but indifference may win out.
6th paragraph: Readers may choose sides but the writer has to record what he sees.
The concept of the wilderness has only been an issue of contention or debate for a little over two centuries according to some of our more modern writers. Before this period, it was considered a place of evil to be feared. This concept began to change as the processes of industrialization began taming the wilderness and making it safe for short-term visitors. These visitors, proponents of the Romantic ideology, saw in nature a reflection of the God they thought had abandoned them in the face of mechanization. However, not everyone saw it in the same way, particularly from one side of the ocean in the relatively more tamed environment of Europe to the other side of the ocean in the as yet to be explored empty stretches of the American continent. One writer who explored the meaning of the wilderness going into the 20th century and the modern period was Frederick Jackson Turner. This writer was fascinated by the implications for nation-building he saw as arising from the question of wilderness and what it meant for the people who entered it. It was the Great West, he argues, more than the growing East that shaped the American nation we know today. As revealed in the first chapter of his book The Frontier in American History, Turner sees the frontier as the defining principle of the American spirit in the way that it offered true freedom, encouraged individualism and survivalism to a much greater extent than in the old world and forced rapid social development ideas that William Cronan calls into question.
Freedom and Possibility
One of the first concepts that Turner equates with the wilderness is the concept that it represented an irresistible promise for freedom and possibility. Cronon points to Turner for the association of the wilderness with the foundational elements of true American identity. Built into the frontier myth from its very beginning was the notion that this crucible of American identity was temporary and would pass away. Those who have celebrated the frontier have almost always looked backward as they did so, mourning an older, simpler, truer world that is about to disappear, forever. That world and all of its attractions, Turner said, depended on free landon wilderness (Cronon, 23). This in itself represented a shift from the constrained and containable populations Europe and enabled a new discovery of self unequaled elsewhere. This perennial rebirth, this fluidity of American life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating American character (Turner, 2). The wilderness was directly next door to civilization and continued to be pressed further and further away from the eastern coasts, increasingly losing the identification with European, particularly English, sensibilities in favor of the true necessities of life and survival. In this advance, the frontier is the outer edge of the wave the meeting point between savagery and civilization (Turner, 3). As individuals who had spent the first several years of their lives in the colonies as indentured servants, slaves for all intents and purposes for the duration of their indenture, the wilderness provided free land and opportunity in exchange for hard work and intelligent effort regardless of the size of the pocketbook. They were happy to leave the rules of the old world behind and began forming a new identity.
Individualism
Looking at it from Turners perspective, then, the wilderness becomes the birthplace of the individualism that is at the heart of the quintessential American spirit. The frontier is the line of most rapid and effective Americanization. The wilderness masters the colonist. It finds him a European in dress, industries, tools, modes of travel, and thought & It strips off the garments of civilization and arrays him in the hunting shirt and the moccasin & In short, at the frontier the environment is at first too strong for the man. He must accept the conditions which it furnishes, or perish (Turner, 5). This idea is echoed in Cronons work when he says Seen in this way, wild country became a place not just of religious redemption but of national renewal, the quintessential location for experiencing what it meant to be an American (Cronan, 22). People came to the frontier for various reasons as hunters, trappers, ranchers and farmers but they quickly changed the face of this frontier as a means of both reaching it and then bringing in those supplies that they needed from outside the frontier and to take their frontier-produced goods in for trade even as they clung to the belief that they were completely self-sufficient and independently beyond the rule of law. Among the core elements of the frontier myth was the powerful sense among certain groups of Americans that wilderness was the last bastion of rugged individualism. Turner tended to stress communitarian themes when writing frontier history, asserting that Americans in primitive conditions had been forced to band together with their neighbors to form communities and democratic institutions & By fleeing to the outer margins of settled land and societyso the story ranan individual could escape the confining strictures of civilized life (Cronan, 24). This dedication to the idea of individualism led people to necessarily depend on each other as communities began to grow and rule of law became necessary.
National Identity
The independence that was thus fostered in the wilderness in the hearts and minds of individuals thus extended to decrease the settlers dependence on England and encouraged the spread of civilization into these untamed areas of the continent. Mobility of population is death to localism, and the western frontier worked irresistibly in unsettling population. The effect reached back from the frontier and affected profoundly the Atlantic coast and even the Old World. But the most important effect of the frontier has been in the promotion of democracy here and in Europe. As has been indicated, the frontier is productive of individualism (Turner, 44-45). The strange relationship between the extreme individualism of those pioneers who entered the wilderness and the necessity for civilization to enter these areas in order to meet their needs is also reflected in Cronons criticism. The irony, of course, was that in the process wilderness came to reflect the very civilization its devotees sought to escape. Ever since the nineteenth century, celebrating wilderness has been an activity mainly for well-to-do city folks. Country people generally know far too much about working the land to regard unworked land as their ideal. In contrast, elite urban tourists and wealthy sportsmen projected their leisure-time frontier fantasies onto the American landscape and so created wilderness in their own image (Cronan, 28). In addition to the non-wilderness of wilderness discovered through the processes of expansion noted by Turner and examined by Cronon, Turner points out the potential dangers of these individualistic ideals in attempting to forge a moral, socially-responsible nation. So long as free land exists, the opportunity for a competency exists, and economic power secures political power. But the democracy born of free land, strong in selfishness and individualism, intolerant of administrative experience and education, and pressing individual liberty beyond its proper bounds, has its dangers as well as its benefits. Individualism in America has allowed a laxity in regard to governmental affairs which has rendered possible the spoils system and all the manifest evils that follow from the lack of a highly developed civic spirit (Turner, 47). While the independence born of wilderness living may have contributed strongly to the birth of a new nation, Turner suggests that this was also at the expense of a unified nation while Cronon suggests that the perceived divisions are non-existent.
Conclusion
With the more modern approach of Cronon to the subject of the meaning of wilderness to the development of society, it seemed to me that the information presented by Turner was not so much intended to demonstrate a separation between wilderness and civilization as it was an exploration into the reactions and behaviors of people as they moved away from social expectation into a world in which personal action and self-preservation led to a greater confidence and ability to organize thus creating a national identity different from that of the various nations from which these settlers originated. This stance that human reaction to wilderness illustrates the interconnectedness of wilderness and civilization is the point that Cronon is attempting to make in his own argument in this century. Although Turner treats wilderness and civilization as two things that are diametrically opposed at several points in his argument, he brings these thoughts around full circle by illustrating the way in which these individuals sought to make connections with themselves and others by connecting with the natural world that was necessarily a part of both wilderness and civilization. Like Cronon, Turner seems to end his argument with the idea that while the physical frontier no longer exists, the elements of nature on which the unique American spirit was founded can still be found where they always were within the spirit of Americans.
Works Cited
Cronon, William. The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature. Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1995: 69-90.
Turner, Frederick Jackson. The Frontier in American History. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1935.