Eng. Lit. Since 1800

"Down by the Salley Gardens"

2008-04-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

'She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.'
This excerpt from "Down by the Salley Gardens" seems to express a fear of death. The narrator is told to 'take life easy' but he does not heed the warning. He is 'young and foolish' and may think he is invincible. When faced with the inevitable death of another or himself, the narrator is 'full of tears' and unable to accept his own, or others', mortality.

Great Synchronicities

2008-04-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

In Great Expectations, I noticed various instances of synchronicity. One example being that Abel Magwitch, Molly, and Estella (Pip coming to know each of them from separate sources) each being unaware of the others' presence, but being related: Abel and Molly being the parents of Estella. Another example: Drummle, being despised by Pip, would cause Pip more pains in the future by marrying Estella. One more example: Compeyson, the escaped convict apprehended by Abel Magwitch, was the same man who broke Miss Havisham's heart and took her money. Pip falsely believed Miss Havisham to be his benefactor, but in fact it was Abel Magwitch. And Estella, raised by Miss Havisham, was Abel's daughter. These are only a few examples of the synchronicities in Great Expectations.

Great Expectations

2008-04-13T16:16:00.001-07:00

Since visiting Miss Havisham, Pip felt bad about his 'common' life. Upon apprenticing to become a blacksmith, he wanted to be wealthy more and more. At one point when Pip was feeling down, Biddy discouraged Pip from despising his way of life. Pip's outlook on life seemed more optimistic. Soon after this, Pip was to have great expectations because an unknown person was to bestow wealth upon him. At this point in the story, I hoped that Pip would not accept the wealth because his 'common' life seemed enjoyable to him. But then I realized that if he declined the wealth, the book would not have been called Great Expectations.

Goblin Market

2008-04-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

In Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti, there seemed to be a tale of a hero. Two girls, Laura and Lizzie, are out one evening and they here the call of goblins. The goblins are calling out to the girls to buy their many alluring fruits. Laura, though discouraged by Lizzie, buys from the goblins with a piece of her, for she has no money, and she eats the many fruits with the goblins. After finishing the food she bought, Laura is saddened and looks forward to the next night to find the goblins again. That next night, the girls are out and the goblins call to them again, however, Laura's composure has diminished from desiring the goblins' fruits, and she has been left blind and deaf. Lizzie wanting to help Laura seeks to buy fruit from the goblins. However, Lizzie refuses to eat the fruit herself. The goblins become bitter and attempt to force her to eat the fruit. Lizzie is maimed and covered in the fruit, but she does not eat any of the fruit. Lizzie goes back to Laura covered in fruit, and Lizzie tells Laura to eat the fruit. Upon doing so, Laura's diminished composure is restored. Lizzie is the hero in this story. Lizzie is faced with the dilemma of Laura's declining health; Lizzie journeys through darkness by confronting the goblins, yet refusing to eat the fruit. She survives "hell" and brings Laura back from certain death.

"Frankenstein"

2008-03-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

One theme I noticed from Frankenstein is that of the influence of nature. It seemed to me that whenever Frankenstein was exposed to natural scenes of beauty or, for the most part, connected to the world around him, his life seemed to be more enjoyable and he seemed quite happy. Conversely, it seemed to me that if Frankenstein disconnected himself from the world around him (e.g. if he stopped paying attention to his friends and family), things only got worse. The entire tale of Frankenstein seemed to change back and forth between these two phases.