Revised posts

(Revised post #1)

1997. Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or another novel or play of literary merit.

While scenes of important events are often used as the climax or turning point in novels, they can also be used to expose the values of characters and their society. In the case of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway attends a party with his rich friends and realizes how much their shallow values contrast with his own. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively uses the scene of a party to demonstrate the superficial morals of the upper class and to reinforce the negative picture of these affluent people.

                When Nick attends this lavish party in New York City, he finds himself more disgusted with these affluent people than ever before. Nick already disapproved of Tom’s affair with Myrtle, and was truly unhappy to find himself in the company of more people quite like them. Nick describes that he had been “drunk just twice in my life,” the second being at the party: reflecting that drinking and alcohol is one of the many shallow values of this upper class Nick is associating himself with. As the party goes on, Nick finds himself feeling utter disdain for these people and their talk of the meaninglessness of marriage, learning that many couples at the party cannot stand their significant others. The values of these people clash violently with the more traditional values Nick holds and makes a statement about this class in general and the shallow values they possess.

            F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively uses this party scene to convey the superficial life of the upper class. Fitzgerald points out adultery among the upper class when the party is held at the house of Tom’s lover. This detail shows the loss of value of marriage and the acceptability of disloyalty among this class. The details of the pointless conversation and excessive drinking further support the negative picture of the upper class that Fitzgerald is portraying in the novel. Collectively, the party scene sums up the message of the novel. Fitzgerald incorporates adultery, alcohol, violence, and superfluity into one scene and contrasts it with the unhappy party goer: Nick Carraway. This scene contributes to the work as a whole by making the reader feel the same disgust that Nick feels, and enabling the reader to see the upper class the way Fitzgerald is intending- as superficial and shallow people with little regards for anyone but themselves.

            A major theme in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is that the “new money” is shallow and inconsiderate, and Fitzgerald cements this theme with the party scene.. The scene demonstrates the most important values of these affluent people and how they contrast dramatically with someone from outside the social circle. Fitzgerald uses this scene to summarize the shallow values of the upper class and to make the reader feel the same disdain he does towards the people.

(Revised post #2)

1973. An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the view of some critics, a work that does not provide the pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In an essay, discuss the ending of a novel or play of acknowledged literary merit. Explain precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

            The end of a piece of literature is crucial in that it leaves the reader with thoughts to ponder, unanswered questions to obsess over, or something conclusive to tie up the work. In Albee’s “The American Dream”, he leaves readers wondering what the future holds for the strange family that cannot seem to reach their desired “satisfaction”. In “The American Dream” by Edward Albee, an inconclusive ending leaves questions unanswered and readers thinking about the materialistic values of their society.

            The end of Albee’s play concludes in a seemingly odd place that does not leave readers with a resolution but instead some ideas to think about. The play ends in an odd place because the Young Man has just been introduced as a very deep and troubled character. In the Young Man’s long monologue towards the end, he explains that he “can feel nothing” and he is only what you see and “will always be thus.”  Through this character, Albee is making a statement about the new “American Dream” and how it is shallow and superficial. Although the Young Man’s character answers some questions about the mutilated child of Mommy and Daddy, it also poses new questions that are not answered. Will Mommy and Daddy find imperfections in the Young Man and treat him as they did his twin? Have Mommy and Daddy finally achieved the satisfaction they were constantly pursuing? Grandma concludes the work by saying “Let’s leave things as they are right now...while everybody’s got what he wants…or everybody’s got what he thinks he wants.” This explains that the play will be ended at this point where it appears that everyone is happy and makes the reader wonder how long this happiness will last and what will become of the strange family.

            The inconclusive ending of Albee’s play is appropriate because it contributes to the meaning of the play. A motif throughout the work is Mommy and Daddy’s constant pursuit of satisfaction. The two often state that they just “can’t get satisfaction” these days, although are temporarily subdued by consumer purchases such as Mommy’s beige or wheat hat debacle. The syntax Albee uses in the repetition of “satisfaction” shows its importance to the meaning of the work; American society is constantly pursuing material satisfaction but can never be truly satisfied because it is so superficial. The ending of the play therefore contributes to the meaning. While Mommy and Daddy are satisfied at the moment because they’ve got something new and shiny to obsess over, Grandma’s lines make the readers think that this is only temporary and the Young Man will be replaced just like everything else. This also makes readers wonder about society and whether Americans will ever be able to find satisfaction or if they will constantly be in pursuit of such and never truly be satisfied.

            By ending the play in such a way that poses more questions to the readers than are actually answered, Albee effectively ends his play and enforces the meaning of the work. Readers are left to wonder about the family as well as their own values and the values of the American society they live in. This ending may trigger readers to think introspectively and reevaluate their lifestyles.

(Revised post #3)

1995. Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a novel or a play in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character's alienation reveals the surrounding society's assumptions or moral values.

Women have long been held to a certain standard by men- expected to stay in the subordinate domestic sphere, take care of the family, all the while maintaining their virture and perfection. In Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Tess struggles to overcome the subordinate position placed upon her by the traditions of society and often feels isolated because of her failure to meet men’s expectations. Hardy’s novel, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, isolates Tess in order to highlight society’s impossibly high expectations of women in 19th century England.

One aspect of society that Hardy demonstrates in the novel is the expectation of women to get married and fulfill the traditionally female roles in the home. He does so with Tess’s parents, Joan and John Durbeyfield. These characters are constantly pushing Tess to get married, not for love but to live up to society’s standards. Initially, the Durbeyfields send Tess off to a distant town in hopes of finding her a potential suitor. Joan and John do not worry about Tess’s safety or desires for her own future, just that she will soon be a traditional wife. Tess feels alienated when she fails to meet these expectations because her lover, Angel, leaves her. Tess’s mother is not upset over Tess’s heartbreak, but instead worries about how disappointed her father will be when he finds out. Tess is not physically alienated, but feels very isolated in her own mind. She feels that she has failed those close to her and that she does not deserve to be happy.

Hardy further demonstrates 19th century England’s moral values and assumptions through Tess’s loss of innocence and lack of virtue. Tess loses her virtue at a young age, when she is raped by Alec d’Urberville. Tess feels shame as she stays in to take care of her child, and feels even more isolated when her child dies. The child is only there for a very short part of the novel, and serves merely to alienate Tess from the normal life she once lived. The moral values of the society are demonstrated through Angel’s abandonment of Tess when she comes clean about her loss of virtue. This shows the double standard of men and women in this society because Tess is punished for something that is of no fault of her own, while Angel does not think twice about asking another farm girl, Izz, to accompany him on his travels. Angel knows it is wrong but never compares his wrong actions to Tess’s innocent mistake. Tess feels completely alone, having failed both Angel and her family. She demonstrates her feeling of worthlessness by stating that she’s rather die than to live her unworthy life. Tess constantly at the mercy of the desires of the male characters in the novel shows women’s subordinate position and reliance on men in this society.

In Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Hardy demonstrates 19th century England’s expectations and assumptions of women through Tess’s struggle to get married and to please her male counterparts. Hardy alienates Tess with her failure to achieve these expectations and her constant feeling of inadequateness.

(Revised post #4)

1975. Although literary critics have tended to praise the unique in literary characterizations, many authors have employed the stereotyped character successfully. Select one work of acknowledged literary merit and in a well-written essay, show how the conventional or stereotyped character or characters function to achieve the author's purpose.

This day in age, people like to pretend stereotypes don’t exist; that society has erased these evil judgements.  However, in literature stereotypes are not ignored, but can be used to portray a message. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he uses  typical stereotypes of both Jim and Huck in order to convey a message. By using stereotypical characters in his novel, Twain effectively sends an opinionated message that slavery may be over, but african americans are still treated no differently than they were while slavery was legal.

Although Twain wrote the novel several years after slavery was abolished, he set the story in an earlier time when slavery still existed. By doing this, Twain shows how minutely the situation has changed for slaves, and the inequality of the world they still lived in. Jim and Huck are extremely stereotypical. Jim, an escaped slave, is characterized as the typical slave: separated from his family and in desperate need of escape and salvation in the north. Huck is a young white boy who comes from a low level of society because he has been abandoned, and therefore is not as well-behaved as other boys of his age. Throughout the novel, other stereotypes are used, such as those of the affluent whites and racists. By using these stereotypes, Twain sets up the novel to make a statement that, although years have passed since slavery existed, the life of many blacks have not changed. Readers of the time would be able to assess their current situation in comparison to this novel, and probably not find many differences.

Despite the stereotypical characters, the friendship between Jim and Huck is not typical of the times. Through their adventures together, Jim and Huck form a bond that is not often seen between a black slave and a white boy. By the end of the novel, readers may believe that Huck has learned a valuable lesson and has rethought his judgment of blacks because of his newfound friendship. However, readers must keep in mind that Huck is young and probably does not see all blacks the way he sees his friend Jim. Huck may have befriended one black man, but that doesn’t mean he is stripped of the racism he has grown up with. This situation can be compared to the actual status of slavery when the book was published. Although some may have thought everything was different because the slaves were free, the reality was that hardly anything had changed.

Twain uses stereotypical characters of Jim and Huck, as well as others, in order to make a statement about  the unchanged status of slavery in the United States. Many situations of the novel can be compared with real life and make readers rethink the status of African Americans in society.