Literary Analysis #2

1.The novel starts through the eyes of Mariam, an illegitimate child who is ostracized by her father and his family.  She reveres her father when it is her mother who provides for her and is proud of her.  One day she runs off from her mother to visit her father.  At her father’s house, she finds that he is ashamed to see her in public.  Disillusioned, she comes back to her mother’s house, only to see her hanging from a noose in her despair for her lost daughter.  Mariam is brusquely married off by her father to a man named Rasheed.  Rasheed proves to be a controlling husband.  He makes her wear a burka in public and his very critical of her housework and cooking.

The novel changes paradigms into the eyes of Laila, a young girl growing up in the midst of war-ridden Afghanistan.  She identifies strongly with her erudite father and struggles with her overbearing mother.  She also bonds with her one-legged neighbor boy, Tariq.  Her brothers, who she never even met, were killed in battle.  The news of this devastated her mother and caused her to be obsessed with the rebel movement.  This forces her family to stay in Afghanistan when it is evident that they must leave for their own safety.  Laila sees many of her friends either flee or perish from bombs dropped.  In the meantime, Tariq and her become romantically entwined.  When Tariq tells Laila that he is going to leave Afghanistan, emotions run high.   The two physically embrace each other for their first and presumably last time.  Soon after Tariq leaves, Laila is nearly hi by a stray bullet.  This snaps her mother into action.  To Laila’s delight, they plan to leave the country too and she will probably get to see Tariq again.  Just as they are packing their stuff to leave, a bomb explodes and kills her parents.  She is rescued by Rasheed.

Rasheed nurses Laila back to health and becomes interested in having her as a wife.  She is informed that Tariq and his family were killed by a bomb.  Laila, realizing that she is pregnant from Tariq, has no choice but to accept Rasheed’s hand in marriage.  At first Rasheed is nice to Laila and mistreats Mariam, causing the two to dislike each other.  But when his cruelty extends to both of them, the two bond in their struggle.  Laila gives birth to a daughter named Aziza.  Later, she gives birth to Rasheed’s child, Zalmai.  The family struggles with Rasheed’s strictness.  In the meantime, the Taliban takes control of the country with a noxious effect to the liberties of the civilians.  The two wives attempt to escape Rasheed.  They are caught and viciously punished.  Later in the story,Tariq visits Laila.  Rasheed had paid someone to tell Laila of his death; he was actually alive and well.  When Rasheed finds out about Tariq and that Laila had been talking to him, his beating goes to the point that Mariam fears for Laila’s life.  Desperately trying to save her best friend, Mariam swings a shovel down upon Rasheed and kills him.  Mariam decides that she will accept the punishment from the Taliban and allow Laila, Tariq, and the children to survive and live a happy life.  Though faced with the death penalty, she feels empowered and proud that she did help someone in her life.

The family escapes Afghanistan and Rasheed.  They live peacefully in Pakistan for a couple years.  One day, they see the twin towers burning on television.  They hear that President Bush has just declared war on their country.

When Laila sees that her country has become relatively safe again, she feels obligated to live there and help it.  She pushed Tariq to move back to their hometown.  On their way back, Laila pays a visit to the place of Mariam’s childhood.  Keeping Mariam in her heart, she goes home and performs acts of kindness helping her country.

2.  The theme of the story is love overcoming adversity. Throughout the story, maternal love protects and encumbers the characters.  Romantic love persists through lies and abuse.  The love of friendship overcomes a mighty oppressor.  Love is evident in many forms throughout the story and is the source of hope that allows the characters to survive their hardships.

3. The author’s tone is hopeful.  Despite all the tragedies that occur, hope is always present in the tone of the text.  For example, after the announcement of the Taliban’s new laws, Laila is confident that they cannot be enforced and states “this is Kabul.  Women here used to practice law and medicine; they held office in the government.”  Another example is how Mariam eagerly waited for Jalil, utterly convinced that he would come.  Even after a day of waiting, she was persistent and claimed “I’m going to wait for him.”  Another example is when Laila wants to go back to Herat.  She is safe and happy, but she is not content.  She sees hope for her hometown and wants to be part of it, she “wants to contribute.”

4.  Hosseini uses dialogue throughout the story to develop his characters.  Another technique he uses is colloquial language throughout to remind the reader of the setting.  (Pg 128, 231) Another technique he uses is italicized text to add emphasis. (Pg 97, 171)  Throughout the novel, he inserts historical events such as 9/11.  He also makes references to a poem (Pg 172) and extends the reference into a metaphor of “a thousand splendid suns.” (Pg 366)  The novel also refers to the Koran (pg 61) and other texts significant to the Afghani culture.  There is also foreshadowing of Laila’s pregnancy. (pg 195)  Also included are anecdotes such as the one on page 288.  Another technique Hosseini uses is a comparison to Aziza’s stammer and earthquakes, stating that “powerful collisions deep down” sometimes only produce “a slight tremor” on the visible surface.

Characterization

1.The novel starts out with direct characterization.  The author describes Jalil through Mariam/s eyes as a kind warm-hearted man.  Later he is characterized indirectly through his actions and his words.  The characterizations contrast because Jalil’s actions and cowardly and selfish and do not warrant Mariam’s affection.  Another example of indirect characterization is the Taliban.  They are characterized by their cruel laws that they set forth, demanding that women will “stay inside their homes at all times,” and if they do not, they will “be beaten and sent home.”  Rasheed, on the other hand, is unpleasantly characterized directly when the author says that he has a “sag… to his eyelids” and a “swollen belly that entered the room before any other part of him did.”

2.The author’s diction becomes more descriptive when he uses direct characterization.  He tends to use more metaphors and imagery to illustrate the character.  For example, Mariam’s mother is described with a face “flushed red” and eyes “settled on Mariam in a flat, unblinking way.”

3.The protagonist is dynamic because she changes greatly after her whole life gets turned upside down.  She goes from living a relatively comfortable life of learning and love to a life of survival and protection for the few things left in her life that she loves.  She is a round character because she is developed fully and in multiple ways.

4.After reading this book a felt like I had met an actual person because the Laila experienced feelings that I could relate to.  For example, when she feels that she need to contribute and to make her life worth Mariam’s sacrifice.  I think this desire to make a difference is very common to human beings and made Laila feel like a real person.

Literary Fiction and Empathy

It is not surprising that studies have shown that reading fiction increases empathy.  When you read fiction you are stepping inside someone else's shoes and viewing things from their perspective.  This is one of the few times as human beings we are not concerned with ourselves and genuinely are preoccupied with the experiences of someone else.  So when we perform this type of thinking when we are reading, there is a lasting effect on our social lives.We are suddenly capable of sympathizing with others and more tolerant of mistakes.  This is a direct result of our mindset shift while reading literary fiction. While reading Hamlet,  we are presented with his thoughts through soliloquy.  Since we are not characters in the play, there is no reason for use to be preoccupied with ourselves and thus are very receptive to the feelings expressed by Hamlet.  After this initial receptiveness we are enlightened with the perspective of others and are now more capable of understanding the motives and emotions of others, just from reading!  Our paradigm is shifted away from ourselves and towards others.  The more time spent in other's paradigms, the more empathetic we will be.

What I Meant to Say Was

Here's an improved edition of my Canterbury Tales thesis.

Through subject matter, characterization, and tone, Chaucer uses his style to satirize society's preconceptions and prejudices about the characters in the tales..

Vocabulary #7

After our shenanigans with the drug cartel, we began to ricochet from truck to truck in order to eschew our enemies. Our ephemeral happiness was curtailed by a plethora of bullets that pierced the truck right before we entered the port. Luckily, we were able to outsmart the wonky grunts they sent after us, but we still found ourselves running through the marketplace with capricious music which juxtaposed the terror of our position. There was a schism between the massive crowd, so we were able to lose the additional ebullient drug cartel assassins. After the sesquipedalian chase, the four of us decided that we needed to get on a boat in order lose all trace of the drug cartel. Shane and Colter went to ask a local fisherman to help us, but instead it turned into a garrulous, inchoate debate that provided no help what so ever. The fisherman was perspicacious, who wore clothes made of mungo and used various diphthongs, which made his speech sound like complete codswallop at times. Now, his loquacious speech was absolutely terrible, but it was worth it in the end since he agreed to allow us to come on his boat. Each of us felt a great sense of relief and interdependence once we finally boarded the boat and set sail.

Green Eggs and Hamlet

a) What do you know about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane"?  b) What do you know about Shakespeare?  c) Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?  and d) What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?

A)  I am the first to admit I am not particularly enlightened about Hamlet, or Shakespearean literature in general.  Honestly, all I know about Hamlet is that he was a prince that made a soliloquy contemplating suicide.  Everything else I know would be going off the assumption that the rumor I heard about the Lion King paralleling the story of Hamlet being true.  If that is so, then the basic plot synopsis of the Lion King outlines my knowledge of Hamlet.
B)I know Shakespeare was a prolific writer who skillfully used rhyme and iambic pentameter in his plays.  I know that he wrote both comedies and tragedies.
C)Students groan when they hear Shakespeare because they are reminded of long texts where they understand a third of the words  and are constantly thumbing for footnotes.
D) To make studying this play unforgettable, it starts with us having a good attitude and being willing to actually enjoy this play.  With open minds and persistence, I think that we have a wonderful experience with this play.

A Comparison's Tale

The tale of the Wife of Bath was similar to the tale I read in that the main character tells a tale of someone else.  As it seems, this type of vicarious narration is common to many of the tales.  Because of this style, the narrators are free to embellish their story without being criticized as boastful.  This produces a similar tone in both stories, even though the topic isgreatly different.  Chaucer clearly liked this technique of having a character's tale involve the tale of another character.  The tale that the character chooses reflects something about the character and adds depth to the passage.  In both tales, the narrator tells a story that pertains to their situation.  For the Wife of Bath, her story shows what she thinks is important in love and marriage.  For the yeoman, the tale shows irony in that he criticizes a canon guilty of the same type of misdeeds as his canon.

A Tale of Canterbury Tales

I read the tale of the Canon's Yeoman.  The yeoman starts by describing, to his Canon's chagrin, the trials and tribulations in their pursuit of creating gold from other materials.  Though clearly vexed, the canon does nothing to stop his yeoman's speech and simply dismisses himself from the conversation.  The yeoman continues with his tale, admitting that they owe debts for borrowed materials that they promised would be turned into gold.  He also describes a deceitful canon who took advantage of a priest through trickery.

Indirect Characterization-
1.  The yeoman's foolishness is revealed through his discussion of his and his Canon's shady business dealings.
2. His disobedience is revealed when he ignores his Canon's advice to quit talking and avoid tainting his reputation.
3. The yeoman demonstrates his humility by admitting that he still can provide no insight to the trade of alchemy despite all his work with his canon.
4. The yeoman is honest and open with their struggles and the fact that alchemy is not a fruitful science and should not be pursued.
5. Before his tale about the deceitful canon, the yeoman concedes that not all canons are bad and they are poorly represented in this story just as Judas poorly represents the apostles.

Purpose-
Chaucer gives the voiceless a voice in this tale by telling it through the voice of a yeoman, or a servant.  His canon's inability to shut him up pokes fun at the notion of having a servant.  Chaucer also uses irony in the yeoman's tale.  The yeoman critically tells of a deceitful canon when he and his canon are involved in very deceitful actions. Another irony is that the yeoman claims that his canon can pave the roads with gold, but he also says the alchemy is not a fruitful science.