Explanations of my Blog “Theme”

So I have realized that the majority of my blog posts have been taking our literature and relating it in some way to modern day culture. I have decided to stick to this “theme” in this blog and just do a general overview, sometimes I feel as if i should explain myself. But only sometimes.

As an English major, I’ve been exposed to a lot of dated literature. Shakespeare, literary theorists dating back to Plato, and in this course all of the writers are obviously from before 1800. I may be an English major, but I do not enjoy any old writing. Shakespeare I feel is evil and deranged for the amount of school work he has caused people centuries after his death. However, I have to read these writers in order to get my degree, weather I enjoy the writing or not.

I have managed to find a solution, which is my accidental theme of my blog. I prefer to take old literature and compare it to modern day society. I compare it and mentally link it to pop culture, something I actually understand. An example is Fantomina, to me she that desperate girl from high school you still see at parties who will do almost anything for a guy to like her. I think we all have experienced that type of girl at some point. Not to sound sexist, trust me, I’ve seen guys the same way.

I use this tactic in almost every English course I’m in and it has turned out not too half bad. During my time at memorial University I took a course who taught us study tips and it helped me feel safer about this tactic. I am sure that many others have learnt in courses here that taking the material we have to learn and making it personal is the best idea. With my slight (okay major) obsession with pop culture, it make the linking a logical choice. Much how in history courses I look at the thing like a TV drama show; who slept with who, who back stabbed who, etc. If you think about it, most medieval politics are what we watch on prime time.

But I digress, I just thought a blog to explain the theme I have going here would be helpful in understanding the blogs themselves.

Ann Redcliffe Exposed

This blog I plan on centering on the presentation that Jenn and I gave to the class. For those who don’t remember, we covered the life of Ann Radcliffe. For our presentation we highlighted her life on a timeline to start. For our more in depth information we explored her take on the Gothic Novel and how she came to have her own type of Gothic, the Radcliffean Gothic Novel. What made hers special for a start was her woman were strong and independent, they persevered against the dark barons, even if in the end the stories ended with marriage. We continued on to the publications of her work and her short lived career. She only managed ot get a few books out before she became too shy for the spotlight and stepped back from the literary world and not long after died from lung complications. I feel that the presentation went fairly well. Apart from the expected awkward silence that ensued after the discussion topics were asked. But after the class began to join the discussion, things felt much more comfortable. Personally I’m just glad I didn’t get jumped on the way to my car after I began the attack on Twilight and Stephanie Meyer for writing it (Thanks guys). Hopefully people found the presentation helpful to further understand Radcliffe and her impact on the Gothic Novel!

Rasselas

Once again another story we can relate to the present day. The Prince and his companions venture off from their land (present day Ethiopia) and have a single task: to find the key to happiness. This sounds suspiciously like the “feel good” movies we have all watched at some point where the protagonist has to overcome obstacles to achieve their happiness. Much like Rasselas, the protagonists realize that happiness is not easily achieved. While the Prince returns home empty handed, other than his new found appreciation for the difficulties to find happiness, our movies with the end result of a “happily ever after”. Which only makes sense, in our culture we value instant gratification and if we pay ten dollars to sit in a dark, cramped theatre as we scarf down a thirty dollar teaspoon of popcorn… well we expect a happy ending. While some movies these days have morals (such as Disney movies) many are just a motion picture of a story, like Twilight, and are devoid of cultural meaning. Rasselas I felt was to teach its readers that while happiness isn’t entirely impossible, it is hard to achieve. I wouldn’t say it a positive view on it, but it is definitely realistic. Call me weird but I prefer realism rather than blind optimism.

Anti-Pamela

Anti-Pamela… Well it’s a good title for sure. The letters written by this Pamela doppelganger, Syrena, are not at all like the original Pamela. Since this piece was written more like a satire, the main woman would not have been anything but a slight insult to her original. You could probably even say that Syrena is like a bitter understudy to Pamela. Only instead of being intriguing like Pamela, Syrena is boring and unoriginal. Her idea to use her beauty to get her man is something only too common in our culture. I don’t know if this kind of tactic was intriguing in the days this was written, when the idea was new to the world. But now the media has made the idea to use beauty to get what you want so overplayed, it was hard to find Anti-Pamela interesting, resulting in just another TV drama series in book form.

Pamela – The Original Chick Flick

Samuel Richardson wrote the novel “Pamela” long before the media established the genre that we have come to call “chick flicks”. But as I read this book and thought about it after finishing it, I realized that this book is a lot like a chick flick, maybe even the original chick flick. It’s about a girl who is all innocent and even poor. Then an upper class man becomes interested and she refuses. He imprisons her and tries to force marriage to another man on her. Eventually he lets her go and writes a letter wishing her a good life. Once she reads the letter she realizes he does lover her and wasn’t lying when he told her before he granted her freedom. Then of course she realized she likes him also and rushes to him while he is sick. Then she predictably marries him. Of course with the social class difference, not everyone is exactly pleased but by the end of the novel everyone is happy and no one hates her.

To me, that is the book form of a chick flick. Sure today it revolves more around sex and best friends sleeping with fiancés, or fiancés dying and the girl falling for the best friend. But Let’s break it down. She isn’t a fan of the guy, and then the complicated issues of forced marriage arise. Then the “bad guy” tells her girl he loves her and she doesn’t believe her. He gives her freedom and she leaves only to receive the letter and realize he does lover her and she runs back to him.

I can’t help but think of the sappy love story music playing throughout the end of the book, it just screams chick flick to me. But in the 1700’s, they didn’t exactly have movies, so it only makes sense that their chick flicks are in print.

Fantomina – The Worst Feminist Ever

After reading Fantomina by Hatwood, it’s interesting think about how feminists would react to the story. While the plot is slightly humorous because of her desperation to get the man she wants so much so that she dresses in disguise for him. On top of the man’s inability to realize it’s the same girl. But then again when would a man ever turn it down if a girl is throwing herself at him, disguise or not? But really, feminists would go mad over this book. A woman willfully objectifying herself to a man who just tires of her to move on to new woman, so in response she becomes one of those “new” women?

In another class of mine we read works by Monique Wittig and Adrienne Rich, two outspoken feminists from back in the day. After reading their opinions on how male s influence social roles to objectifying women (they were arguing about lesbianism and how men force lesbians to be heterosexual), I know their faces would have contorted in disgust and probably even a little bit of pain mixed in there. Fantomina would be kind of like the anti-Christ to feminists, and today we would give her a few “off color words” to describe her (sadly these words are too offensive to listen a blog, but I’m sure everyone knows the words). Even for women who are not feminists I’m sure would be a little disgusted with the woman’s pitiful desperation to be with a man who clearly doesn’t care about her existence, name, or apparently enough to notice obvious signs that it’s the same woman.

Personally, I can’t see myself so obsessed and desperate to invest in chasing down someone, donning a costume and thinking up a fake name, all in an effort for them to like me. But at the same time, I guess we can’t exactly judge Fantomina, first of all she’s fictional (blame the author) and she’s not the only woman or man to do something so desperate. We have all seen it, whether it’s been on TV, in a book, or on a Saturday night at a bar. So after reading Fantomina, I would say that it is a good book to read if you’re falling into a desperate void and want to know where it ends up dropping you off. In this case it was pregnant in a monastery, not many people’s idea of a “happily ever after”. I would have to say that if this book was to have a moral to, it is have self respect when it comes to matters of the heart.

English 3205 Crusoe Overview

This week I finished reading the novel Robinson Crusoe. Once I managed to get used to the odd grammar rules and the old phrasing, I actually found to enjoy the story line. Even though Crusoe was mildly aggravating in his innate ability to repeat his mistakes and fail to learn as he goes, he proved to be an interesting character. He was easily relatable to many people in our own times. While many of us have never had to survive on deserted island with cannibals and learn to breed goats for food, we can find traits in common elsewhere.

The pressures his parents place on him to journey down the road of Law is a force many young people face during the university years. The desire to please our parents for many, Crusoe included, eventually fades and many get the chance to shine and become what they wish to be or do what they wish to do. For most though this means becoming an artist instead of a CEO, not a seafaring adventurer in place of a lawyer.

This motif Crusoe illustrates of “following your dreams” can be easily found in today’s society. Our culture today urges many of us to always realize our dreams, regardless of what they may be. Many media are based upon this very belief. Only now the challenge is to film an embarrassing tape to compete on a runway in front of overly critical judges, all just to have a small chance of being a “top model”.

Also, in a smaller way Crusoe demonstrates tolerance and acceptance of other cultures. When Friday is introduced to the story, Crusoe must teach him English and minor aspects of his religion. While Friday vows his submission to Crusoe, technically making him a slave, Crusoe looks to the man as a friend and not a possession.

Overall, I found the book very enjoyable. When you stop and think about the story in depth, you see that Crusoe is a very admirable man who some may even find enough to call a role model. The traits of perseverance, acceptance, intelligence, and adherence to his dreams are all aspects we as a culture value today.