Review of 'The Beautiful and the Damned' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

We all love The Great Gatsby, right?! It's practically a rite of passage in the UK if you do an English A-Level. I studied it for a second time whilst I was at university, and out of my 15-person seminar, only 1 person hadn't studied it before, and that was because they were an international student with a very different curriculum. 

I loved TGG. It was the simplest book to analyse - I mean, the colour symbolism is good enough to keep you writing for days. I knew that I'd want to read more works from Fitzgerald in the future. 

The Beautiful and the Damned strangely reminded me more of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath than TGG. It had the same soul-crushing destruction of the ideal of the American Dream. As you moved through the book, you began to realise just how hollow the protagonists Gloria and Anthony were; not hollow as characters, but hollow as people. They were empty shells of people, filled with airy dreams. As we move throughout the book, piece by piece their dreams start to crumble, and by the end, the pair have nothing inside them anymore. 

Anthony Patch is the grandson of an infamous New York philanthropist. As such, he feels it's a bit pointless to work: he's going to inherit a fortune one day, so why bother? Gloria is a beautiful young woman who has the attention of any and every man she could want. Yet, she just toys with them: none really appeal to her until she meets Anthony. His flippant cynicism awakens something in her, and she finally finds herself actually wanting a man.

After their marriage, things get a little rocky. Anthony's once proficient allowance from his grandfather is a lot less useful when stretched between two people. The amount of parties, having two homes and buying new clothes all the time hardly helps either. As he gets more stressed about their financial situation, Anthony beings to drink heavily. 

They're having the time of their lives, and the hangovers from partying the night before are worth it for the party itself. That is, until Anthony's grandfather (who advocates prohibition) walks in unexpectedly during one of their drunken flings. He struts out, disgusted by the pair, and dies a few weeks later. They're no longer in his will. Now begins a great legal battle to have Anthony re-instated as legal heir to at least part of the millions the old man had amassed. As the battle goes on, Anthony and Gloria become more and more disillusioned with the lives they lead, and it's not until Anthony trains for the war that they realise how pointless their existence had become

Have you read it? What did you think?

Review of 'Ceremony' by Leslie Marmon Silko

This was the most eye-opening and thought-inspiring book that I've read in a long time. It's also the first adult book that I've ever read that discusses the life of a Native American. This is honestly a novel which I think we should all read. It discusses good and evil, life and death, war and peace and all the grey areas in between in a variety of different forms. As well as narrative we have poems, which are more like oral ceremonies of tradition. These intertwine with the main plot of the novel as it draws towards a close. 

Ceremony's main character is Tayo, a young man suffering from post traumatic stress disorder after returning fighting in World War II. He is consumed by guilt after the deaths of his cousin Rocky and uncle Josiah. After the war, Tayo spends a few years in a mental institution, trying to recover from the hallucinations and physical symptoms of his PTSD. He gets a little better, and returns to his home with his auntie, but is by no means anywhere near recovered.

Tayo has been an outsider his whole life. His mother abandoned him when he was young, and his father was one of a possible myriad of white men, making him mixed race. Although he lives with his auntie and Grandma, he knows he is not respected by the community they live in as being a 'true' member of the family. 

He turns to alcohol to deal with the trauma of being a war veteran, as do his closest friends. The story of Tayo's recovery from being on the battlefront is interspersed with memories from the war, and his childhood and stories from folklore. The novel in itself becomes a sort of 'ceremony' of recovery. Tayo uses old Pueblo methods of healing to help move forward, and the modern story of the war is bound up in these.

I would definitely recommend reading this! Have you read it? What did you think?

Review of 'The Human Stain' by Philip Roth

This book has been glaring at me from my book shelf (or random pile of books, depending on which student house I was living in) since, well, since 2013. My bad. Anyway, this is another one that I've struck off of the seemingly never ending list of 'books I should have read as an undergraduate but didn't'.

I'm a complete sucker for judging books by their cover, and the dull black one with the spine of a torn book on its front just had me turned off from the very start. I know, I know, it's basically a crime to ignore a book because the cover looks boring but I still do it. 

As I'm moving house in just under a month (I am nowhere near ready for this, but let's pretend I've got everything organised), I'm even more keen to whizz through as many of my unread course books as I can so that I can put them up on my depop - @steph_hartley if you're curious - and lighten the massive load that we've got to take to our new home.

So, all in all I basically forced myself to pick up The Human Stain, but by page 20 I was utterly hooked. I mean staying up until 2am and reading by torchlight so that I don't wake my partner up hooked. It has been months since I read a book that I was so prejudiced against and ended up loving it so much. 

The Human Stain is all about a man called Coleman Silk, a Jewish Classics professor who gets suspended because of alleged racism to a student. Although we at first believe the accusation to be ludicrous, eventually we learn that Coleman may actually have racist tendencies, even though he is not intentionally portraying them at this point.

From almost the very offset of the novel we learn one thing: within four months of the novel's timeline, Coleman Silk will be dead. We learn that after the sudden death of his wife, Coleman, a man in his seventies, has taken up with a 34 year old woman. Protecting themselves from any scandal (not only is she young, but an illiterate janitor too), the pair keep their love-making a secret from the world. But Coleman has a bigger secret, and it's one that takes us right back to his childhood to unfold.

You see, Coleman Silk isn't white. At least not fully. But his heritage is disguised by his skin. He looks white, and after realising how hard it was to be deemed anything other than white, he commenced a lifetime of pretense.

The most interesting aspect of this book however, is not this story of race, love, sex and tragedy, but the storytelling itself. For we are reading a book within a book. Of sorts. The writer of the book is not Philip Roth, but a man who plays a part in the story. Nathan Zuckerman becomes incredibly interested in Coleman's story, and decides to write about his life. Only when we reach the end of the novel do we realise that it is part 'fact' and part fabrication on Zuckerman's part. Some of the aspects of the novel are true, and he knows it, but many of the details, and the parts written from the perspective of other characters are from this character's imagination. This is possibly the most complex and well-written meta-narrative I have ever come across for this reason, and I would definitely recommend giving it a go!

Have you read it? What did you think?

Review of 'Once Gone' by Blake Pierce

Title: Once Gone
Author: Blake Pierce
Publisher: Unknown
Available here for free on your kindle

We all know that I'm a bit of a crime fiction-aholic, and I love a gory tale full of twists and turns that begs me to find out 'whodunnit'. Now, I'm always more of a fan of modern crime thrillers, where forensics and the law play a much bigger part in the plot than (sorry Agatha Christie fans), for example, the Poirot series. 

Once Gone had me hooked from the very first page. We start with a prologue written from the point of view of a captive woman, terrified about the return of her torturous captor. This was incredibly well written, and I was able to picture clearly the frightened state she was in as well as her gloomy surroundings. From here the book honestly went from strength to strength. I was expecting a pretty poor quality novel, as often the books you can get for free on your kindle are a bunch of mass produced drivel (sorry not sorry), but here is a shining light bursting through all of the garbage. The end was totally cliffhangered and I almost screamed in frustration I wanted to find out what was going on so badly. All I can say is I NEED to get my hands on the next book in the series!

Plot

When girls start turning up dead in the outskirts of Virginia, the FBI are called out to catch the creep that's leaving them this way. These murders are WAY over the heads of the 'normal' county cops due to the strange ritualistic style of the murders. Each girl is posed, covered in vaseline and has her eyes stitched open. If that's not terrifying enough, the only agent that is capable of solving such a case is still struggling with her PTSD after being captured by another creep wanting to torture women. Riley has been struck off the force temporarily, with a requirement of her improving her mental health before returning back to work, but when her ex-partner Bill gets to the first crime scene he knows there's only one person who can solve the case. Will Riley be able to conquer her trauma and help stop this guy before another girl winds up dead, or will it all be too much for her?

Have you read Once Gone? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of "A Spool of Blue Thread" by Anne Tyler

Even the very title of this novel screams that it is quintessentially American. Set deep in the heart of the country, the key protagonist Abby is a mother first, a wife second, and a money maker last. This book is almost what I would call a reverse bildungsroman (if such a thing exists): we start off with a retired Abby who still struggles to understand her problem child Denny, and then we move back to how she met her husband Red, and even further back in time to how his parents met. Eventually the reader learns that out of happiness, happiness does not always emerge, and out of unhappiness it is possible to find joy. 

Denny has always been a problem child, yet in spite of that. or perhaps because of it, he's always been Abby's favourite. But what happens when a problem child grows up and becomes a problem adult? Does it get any easier for a mother? And what about the rest of her children? Abby is mother to Jeannie, Amanda, Denny and Stem, as well as grandmother to numerous children, and loves being the centre of their little community, as well as the fact that they all live nearby. 

Unfortunately, Abby is starting to age, and as the family gather closer together, we find otu everyone's real intentions with being part of the family, and their true colours are displayed. But when we delve deeper into Abby's memory we learn that perhaps even seemingly the closest of families can be worlds apart.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

The last few books I've read have been a bit disappointing, so I was overjoyed when I started this. The quality of writing and content was absolutely astounding. Being a bit of a grammar nerd, usually I come across what I call "clumpy" sentences, or phrases that just sound wrong and make me cringe a little, but I found reading this utterly smooth and joyful. The message was also really important: it was all about a little girl learning how hard it was to grow up in a world so utterly biased, and how confusing it can be for a child to begin to learn the implications of race in a world where nothing is fair.

Lily needs to get away from her father T Ray. After the death of her mother (which Lily berates herself for causing), T Ray and one of the coloured fruit pickers from the farm, Rosaleen, who becomes Lily's replacement mother, are the only people Lily's got in the world. Or so she thinks. When Rosaleen goes to put her name down for a vote and is racially abused by some men she reacts aggressively, landing herself a place in the local prison. Due to the racial nature of her attack, she is beaten so badly she is sent to hospital, where Lily breaks her out of.

On the run, they go to the only other place in the world Lily can imagine: the town her mother inscribed on the back of a black Madonna - one of only three of her mother's items that Lily owns. There her and Rosaleen are kindly taken in by three coloured sisters: May, June and August. Although a little skeptical about housing a white girl at first, the sister's start to deal with the racial issues inside and outside of their home all under the guidance of their black Madonna statue. Will this idyll be a haven for Lily and Rosaleen, or will it end in tragedy?

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of I Am Pilgrim

I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit of a massive fan of cop dramas, and the odd conspiracy theory or two. So, I ended up loving every second of I Am Pilgrim. Set in the world of super spy-dom, and linked to 9/11, this book had masses of action and mind numbing plot twists to hand out. Have you ever wondered what the survivors of the horrific terror attack on the World Trade Centre saw in that day: was it a tragedy? Or an opportunity?

Whatever you wish to call pilgrim, he's one of America's finest intelligence agents. Despite retiring, when the White House realises that country may be under threat, he's the third person in the entire world to be informed of a potential attack which could destroy the planet as we know it. As you travel through the world of an intelligence agent with Pilgrim you come to realise that nothing is a coincidence, and everything you've been told about international security is probably a lie. 

When Pilgrim gets called in to examine a murder in New York which follows an example in his own book (written under an alias of course), he ends up on a whirlwind of a case which sees him travel all over Europe. 

Is keeping on top of this and trying to uncover who exactly is behind the potential outbreak of industrial grade smallpox (and find the perp!) too much for the world's best intelligence agent to handle?

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph x

Review of McTeague

I have a whole host of reviews lined up for you guys, and seen as I've actually done all my seminar reading for this week (for about the first time in, well, ever! Only took until final year ...) I'll be hopefully able to post a bit more often. Anyway, this book wasn't something I would necessarily have picked up off of the shelf myself. Written by Frank Norris and published in 1899, it holds an alarming number of ugly truths for our modern world. If you're looking for something that really investigates how human relationships are now interceded by money, gold and the trappings of wealth, this is your go-to. Plus, despite being written over a century ago, it's remarkably easy to read.

McTeague, a brute of a man, is a dentist who lives in his own dentist parlours. His large size and simple nature means that he rarely gets desirable clientele, that is, until his best friend Marcus brings his cousin Trina to the dentist's chair. Soon he comes to admire her, where before he could only admire his small collection of trinkets. However, is it even possible for this bear of a man to really "love" another being?

In the world of this book, everything relates to money and gold. you come to realise that all characters are in fact bound by the world of commodification and exchange - to the extent that other people almost become money in terms of their relationship to a person. Aside from this, which arguably questions our modern emphasis on owning things and valuing them in their commodified state, gender and sex are key issues in the text. Trina simultaneously fears McTeague, yet her desire for him increases as her fear of his power over her does. This engages with a sadist/masochist dialogue which permeates the entire text, albeit discreetly.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph

Review of "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

Currently it feels like I'm drowning in a sea of paper (and believe me, my room looks like it!) as essay season is peaking, but will be drawing to a close in the next couple of weeks, so I'll definitely be posting a lot more frequently then. This quote was one of a whole plethora that I could have chosen from for their piercing realism, but I feel as though this has a lot to say about how people act in our modern world. Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God really made me think about how people act towards one another, and how we all need to come a long way before equality on any level is achieved.

Janie, a young girl with a chequered family history, is brought up by her grandmother. Encouraged to marry a man soon, so that her future does not become the same as her mother's past, Janie marries a man she does not love. However, Jody is just around the corner, tempting her with the thought of freedom, and the ability to escape to a new town run by coloured folk. Can she bear the thought of staying trapped by her husband's expectations of a mundane life for the pair of them? You had better read it to find out ...

This text dealt with a lot of issues that are still relevant today, despite being published back in 1937. Stop reading here if you don't want any spoilers. I think perhaps the most interesting part of the novel, and point that Hurston appears to wish to convey is that capitalism and racism are bound up within one another. When Janie and Jody move to the new town there is no mayor, so Jody becomes appointed as one. After this, he begins to increasingly place distance between him & Janie and the rest of the people in the town, looking down upon them as inferior beings. It is when this has occurred that racial issues are reinscribed to the town whilst everyone is a member of the same, or a similar race, Janie suddenly resembles the Queen of England, and Jody gains the air of a white man. Here the reader really gets a feel of how race and capitalism are linked: Jody's need to gain more possessions and improve labour output for the town requires him to treat the other town members as though he is superior to them, which makes them see him as a racially 'othered' figure.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Stephanie

Review of "The Catcher in the Rye"

Everything's been crazy manic at the moment, but I've managed to scrape together enough time to read a bit of this almost every day. I pretty much chose to read this because I'd heard of it, assumed it was something that would educate me, and felt as though I probably ought to read it as a lit student. Let's be real, everyone has a whole stack of books that fit into that category - most of which we'll never quite get round to reading (who knows, A Tale of Two Cities might happen some day!). Anyway, I picked out this quote because it really highlights just how distressing/depressing I found the entire book. I realise that there is a purpose behind this tone, however, it didn't make it any cheerier!

Holden Caulfield is a schoolboy who comes from a rich family, yet can't seem to find his place at school. He fails all of his classes, doesn't have any friends and is generally disillusioned with the entire concept of what he ought to be doing as a schoolboy. When he is  forced to leave the school he learns that, although he now controls his own actions to a greater extent, he still doesn't want to cohere to societal expectations. The novel tracks his actions over the couple of days after he leaves school, and leaves readers questioning their own almost drone-like adherence to rules and expectations.

The novel is written in an almost conversational manner. The reader is constantly aware, through devices such as repetition, that it is a vaguely exhausted child narrating the text. Through his eyes, you really get a new understanding of the capitalist driven world in which we live. Money is everything here - he only achieves the freedom he is able to have because of his stack of cash he has with him. Adults are seemingly oblivious to his existence - he is the example of someone who has "fallen through the cracks". 

Have you read it? Did you enjoy it?

Steph

Review of Rip Van Winkle

First of all, I again apologise at my tardiness in reviews and generally writing anything for this blog at the moment. Uni's been so hectic this week, I've barely had a moment to read. Fortunately, I was asked to read Rip Van Winkle by one of my university professors. As it's so short and easy to read I was able to finish it in about half an hour (thankfully as it seems I've hardly had time to sit down, let alone read this week). Now as I've lived in England my entire life, I'm not entirely up to speed with the whole American Revolution. Bar the fact that you know, England = bad, United America = good. Who says primary school history doesn't get you anywhere eh? Anyways, I've been doing a bit of catch up in that department this week by reading the Declaration of Independence, among other theoretical excerpts from the period. 

Basically when I was reading this I got the feeling that I've heard this quote before. However, I've never read Rip Van Winkle, nor did I feel as though I've heard someone speak it to me. I've been given the impression that Rip Van Winkle is a really big thing out in America, but I've never seen a film based on it, nor read the story. Perhaps the cultural impact of the text in America has permeated to England somewhat, and I may have seen an adaptation as a young child - who knows.

Anyway, I quite enjoyed reading this. It was very interesting in light of my new knowledge about the American revolution (albeit very, very limited). If you dont know already, the story goes as thus: an idle man wanders up into the mountains one day. He meets some strange people who are bowling. He drinks a drink with them and falls asleep. When he awakes he is an old man and his town has changed completely. Though he think he only slept for one night he has actually slept through the entire revolution.

Although the whole story had a bit of a Disney-esque unreality to it, what the writer really wanted to express rings through clear. Having to explain in detail why and how the man slept for so long would have detracted from the point of the text a bit. I think it raises some incredibly important questions: was America really any different after the revolution? Is it just a question of a new coat of paint on an old regime or do the differences lie deeper?

Have you read it? What do you think?

Steph x

Review of "Benito Cereno"

To be honest, I've (ashamedly) always avoided reading any Melville because the idea of trawling through Moby Dick is enough to put me to sleep. A few weeks ago I reviewed Bartleby, the Scrivener (here) as part of my summer reading to get ahead for next year's course. This is pretty much why I read Benito Cereno. And I have to say, I enjoyed it about as much as I expected to; aka not at all. Thankfully it was only just over 100 pages long so I was able to get it over and done with in a day. 

However, having said this, it was very interesting to read a book written by a white, free man during the period in which it was permissible to own slaves in America. Recently I've read a number of very good and very interesting slave narratives, so this offered a new perspective on the issue. The story of Benito Cereno follows the story of the eponymous man whose slave ship is overrun by the slaves it holds. It comes into port and a captain of another ship enters. The "ringleader" of the slaves, Babo, forces Benito to make it appear as though the remainder of the white crew have hold of the ship. Eventually, Benito escapes from his clutches. A battle ensues and the truth comes out.

This narrative closely follows a true story narrated in the memoirs of Captain Delano, whom the illusion of peace was created for. The feeling of uncanny throughout the novella is potentially its strongest point. I have never read a piece of literature which, for me, screamed out the "unheimlich" as much as this did, not even Poe's poetry. Delano knows something is amiss, but cannot grasp what. Even though the atmosphere was never given a great deal of attention by the author, it was easy to envision a humid scene, wrapped in fog. Or at least, that's how it appeared to me. As I mentioned before, it was interesting to see how Melville tackled the subject of slavery in his writing. Some critics have suggested it is pro-slavery, whilst others believe it is abolitionist. I can see why both interpretations arise. For this reason, I think the perspective of the reader has a lot more to do with the conclusions drawn than the writing does.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Stephanie

Review of Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl

So this is potentially the last slave narrative I'm going to be reading for a while, and I've learnt a lot during my experience. The key thing I've realised is that grouping all of these texts under the category of "slave narrative" doesn't really highlight just how diverse they are. Each one is written in a different narrative style: some are first person, some third; some written poetically, and some (as in this case) written in a rather matter-of-fact manner. They also explore different aspects of slavery, from focusing on the brutality of tricking free men and women into slavery, to how Christianity impacts the slave trade. 

Although Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl contains some important messages, I have to say that it is not the narrative which I found most interesting to read on either a contextual and a literary level. It follows the story of Linda Brent, a woman born into slavery. Considering how long ago this book was published, I'm going to give quite a few spoilers, so skip to the next paragraph now if you don't want to hear them! Linda's grandmother bought her own freedom and lives near to Linda's master's house. She has taught her how to be a Christian. Unfortunately, as Linda reaches puberty her master gets other ideas and begins to whisper sexual things to her and repeatedly attempts to take her virginity. Linda suffers through the abuse she receives both from him and her mistress and steadfastly refuses his attempts at seduction on every occasion. However, after a number of years of this she wishes to take revenge upon him, and does so by having sex with another white man who is not her master. She has two children with him. Sadly, the children are technically the property of her master. She knows she must escape from this master so that he will not sell her children far away to punish her. With this in mind, Linda goes into hiding, and spends several years concealed in a small, dark, damp hole in her grandmother's house. Eventually she escapes to New York, but finds that this "free state" is not as free for a coloured person, especially not a fugitive slave, as she initially thought. Her and her children are eventually reunited and, after a number of years, her master dies and her freedom is bought for her so that she can live in peace.

I usually write a little piece about what has made each of these slave narratives different from the others. Due to the title of this one, I expected to be writing a piece about gender. However, although the focus was on the sufferings female slaves were made subject to, the most striking aspect of it for me was the fact that escaping to the north did not solve the problems of all slaves. Many of the other slave narratives I have read have ended in happiness for those who escape to the north, almost to an idyllic extent. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, however, indicated that there were some truths behind the negative stories masters often told about the north to discourage slaves from running away there. Linda found that, although everyone was technically permitted to be free there, coloured people were often at a great disadvantage. For example, in the south only white people were allowed to ride in the first class car cabins, and slaves had to ride in a separate one. In the north again white people could ride in the first class one, but coloured people had to ride in an inferior one and yet pay for the privilege of doing so! The north was supposed to be a place of equality, yet it was anything but this. Linda had to struggle for everything she got, and repeatedly suffered from prejudice. Nor was she free from her original captors: The Fugitive Slave Act meant that many of them came up from the South to reclaim their "property" with the help of white people living in northern states. This indicates that a slave's suffering did not end with their successful escape to the north, and in this way offered a new light on the subject.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Steph

Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin

There were a vast number of incredibly poetic and astute quotations which I could have chosen from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, but I decided on the above one because it sums up the hypocrisy many slaveholders employed everyday. The idea of America being a "free" country during this time was laughable, but many masters truly believed that they were born with a right to purchase slaves and treat them in whatever way they saw fit. Obviously, the slaves themselves weren't privileged enough to enjoy this "freedom", but in the eyes of certain masters this did not make America any less free - slaves did not "count" as men in the states in which slavery was permissible.

My recent posts make it clear that at the moment I've been reading a number of slave narratives in preparation for one of my modules I'll be studying as a finalist. This is the only slave narrative out of the four that I've read recently which has not been written from a first hand point of view. I can now see why Uncle Tom's Cabin resulted in such immense popularity when it was published, and believe that it's a fundamental tool in understanding that a number of different approaches to slavery existed.

Unlike many other slave narratives, Uncle Tom's Cabin tracks the progression of the lives of a number of individuals, although Tom's is obviously covered with greater emphasis. Tom initially lived under a kind master and mistress who allowed him to marry a cook named Chloe and live with her and their children in a cottage (or cabin) on their property. Though Tom was technically a slave, he worked as a kind of manager for his master. He was renowned for being one of the most honest and hard working slaves a man could meet. Here, Uncle Tom became acquainted with the bible, and was given his own copy to read from and annotate. Unfortunately, Tom's master got into a great deal of debt. Although Tom and a mother and son called Eliza and Harry were the master and mistresses favourite slaves they were also worth the most. Tom's master was forced to sell the three to cover his debts. Now, I don't want to give too many spoilers about the rest of the novel because the beauty and tragedy of this piece of literature are simply breathtaking. However, I will simply state that Tom suffers and rejoices at the hands of both pleasant Christian masters as well as those who are not so wholesome.

As I've said, this is the first slave narrative I've read that looks at the stories of multiple slaves (it also lets you see where Eliza and Harry end up, and how they get there). It's also the first slave narrative I've read which gives some insight into the different temperaments and thoughts of slave owners. There are several key individuals in this category which are particularly striking. Tom and Eliza's mistress treats Eliza almost as if she is a daughter. She has been educated, clothed well, encouraged in marriage, and instructed in appropriate chores. When Eliza runs away to ensure that her and her son will not be separated, her mistress is glad. She vehemently condemns the sale of Eliza, and would much rather see her own finances plummet than have to give her up to being sold down south. This character alone shows far more empathy for the state of slaves than I've read about in any other slave narrative. Another character which stands out in this light is the foolish but kind-hearted St Clare. He treats his slaves as though they are part of the family, to the extent that the house is a place of (slightly chaotic) sanctuary for the slaves. His daughter Eva is almost the embodiment of Christ in a child. Many of the slaves which they own, especially Tom, see true Christianity in her, which completely contrasts the wild and incorrect notions of Christianity many slave owners used to support their mistreatment of many men, women and children. This idyllic view of the support some slaves receive from their masters is shattered by the tyranny of Marie St Clare and Simon Legree. These two expose the corruption and degradation which many slaveholders insisted upon executing in their household. The contrasting set of characters here highlights a different aspect of slavery which I have never read about in detail. Uncle Tom's Cabin indicates that Christianity is more fundamental to an individual's treatment of slavery than anything else. Although I've previously read about the hypocritical ways in which many masters use Christianity to their advantage, it has never been so clear that one's view of what God is or whether He is real greatly affected one's approach to slave holding.

What did you think?

Steph x

A Comment Upon Gender in "White Noise" and "Close Range"

In both Don Delillo's White Noise and Annie Proulx's collection of short stories Close Range, gender is perceived as being an objective construct rather than a subjective one. No characters in these texts utterly transgress the gender boundaries between being masculine and feminine. The closest either text comes to exploring this is in Close Range, where several female ranch hands, including Mrs Freeze, embody masculine qualities through their profession. However, Proulx always aligns them on the side femininity by alluding to the inconvenience of their female bodies, or their desire for feminine accessories such as makeup and fashionable clothing. The portrayal of women and men in the texts appears to differ because White Noise is set in a modern, urban environment, whilst Close Range is set in rural, conservative Wyoming.

Firstly, in both texts masculinity is ensconced in violence. In White Noise this is explored most explicitly towards the end of the text, at which point Jack shoots "Mr Gray". This reaffirms the sexist interpretation which Babette makes when she suggests that all men are inherently violent. There is no pragmatic need for Jack to kill Mr Gray: Babette and him are no longer engaging in their "capitalist transactions" as Babette puts it. This indicates that perhaps Babette's claim is correct - men see red and cannot control their need to be violent because their blood courses with male hormones. However, this is an unsavoury view of men as well as an extreme generalisation. It appears more likely that Jack feels the need to reaffirm his masculinity as it has been deconstructed through his wife's adultery. According to stereotypes, a man's ability to fight well to protect himself and his family, and his ability to pleasure a woman are the two key components of his masculinity. By having sex with Jack's wife, Mr Gray has emasculated him to some extent; the shooting may be a result of a subconscious need to prove his masculinity. There are other clear links between men and violence in this text as Heinrich's friend in prison is a man. Delillo's choice of gender for this inmate reaffirms the gender boundaries concerning violence. Moreover, the idea that acting in a bold way can make one more masculine is alluded to with Mercator's desire to sit in the cage of snakes. There is no rational reason for doing this, but he appears to feel the need to conquer death and fear in order to identify himself as a man. Indeed, when he fails, Heinrich loses all respect for him because he has been emasculated.

Similarly, in Close Range, nearly all of the male ranchers are explicitly violent. This is potently explored in Brokeback Mountain where it becomes clear to Ennis that Jack's homosexuality had become known - this was why he was killed with a tire iron to the face. Jack alludes to a similar story at one point. His father had taken him to see a dead rancher named Eddie who has been killed with a tire iron because it had become known that he was a homosexual. The men of Wyoming killed him because of his sexuality in an attempt to reaffirm their own masculinity. According to Freudian theory, often homophobes are the way they are because they recognise an aspect of the homosexuality within themselves and repress it onto somebody else. The violence here appears to have occurred as a result of this. Indeed, Proulx highlights Wyoming's insistence on maintaining a facade of complete masculinity throughout the short stories. In Pair a Spurs, Car's wife cheats on him and, much like Jack in White Noise, he responds violently by shooting at Wrench's truck. Car's wife had had the affair with Wrench. It is interesting that both men responded to their wives' adultery by shooting something. Again, this serves to reconstruct their masculinity: if the gun is understood to be a phallic symbol. then the act of shooting mirrors the act of reproduction. This paradoxically repeats the action which destroyed their masculinity in the first place.

Moreover, in both texts men are defined by lust. In White Noise Jack has several conflicting identities: father, lover, academic. He cannot appear to align them. Lust is a pure, natural emotion: Jack's attempts to control his mind through his academic studies appears to have impacted his lust. Him and Babette read erotic stories to become aroused in bed. Jack appears to therefore find his masculine identity in his academia. It empowers him. However, he continues to be driven by lust. Most descriptions of Babette include an erotically charged physical description and he appears unable to prevent himself from fondling and caressing her. Jack and Babette's sex life is evidently crucial to the construction of his identity, as when he realises that she has been having sex with another man his whole world comes crashing down: he can no longer function as "Jack".

Likewise, in Close Range, lust makes men masculine. The men in this collection of short stories metaphorically become the steamy bulls who impregnate a cow every time they are near one. In The Mud Below, Diamond enacts a cruel rape upon Londa, his rodeo partner's wife, because she insults his size. He claims that this action is like "fucking sandpaper" because her vagina has not created any discharge as a result of the unwanted and unpleasant nature of the sex she is being forced to have. This brutal scene reinforces his masculinity because it shows that he has control. In Close Range it becomes apparent that men need to be in control all of the time for their own masculine security. Moreover, no men are faithful in this text. Proulx portrays them as lust-filled creatures with little or no sense of sexual morality.

Furthermore, in White Noise and Close Range, a gender divide is constructed between men and women as being abusers and the abused. Although this is much more potent in Close Range, it does feature in White Noise. Babette has to have sex in order to receive the medication she wants from Mr Gray. Mr Gray occupies the narrative position of a symbol as he is in a moral gray area - he technically has consensual sex with this women, although it is somewhat contractual. Babette uses the sexual act to obtain Dylar, and in this way is a figure of modern prostitution. Moreover, their sexual transactions are a synecdoche for modern America itself in which women must use their bodies to get what they want or even need. This is an abuse of the female body both by men and they women themselves.

Similarly, in Close Range women are abused both physically and emotionally. In Pair a Spurs Car repeatedly attempts to rape Inez. Fearing for her safety, she seeks protection from her husband who offers her nothing and appears to care more about a dead sheep on the farm. This indicates that men in Wyoming were negligent of women because their lives held less value than cattle. Women must protect themselves, yet still not do anything that will displease men.

Finally, there are some examples of a re-affirmation of femininity and the power associated with that in both texts. In White Noise Babette uses her sexuality to get what she wants. She is powerful enough to retain her husband and stable family life even after having an affair. Moreover, the freedom of marriage and having sex with who one desires in highlighted as Babette and Jack's ex-wives have married multiple times. In Close Range women can become empowered. In The Governors of Wyoming Roany and Renti ridicule Wade Wells, thus emasculating him, and there are no negative consequences. There is also some equality in ranching: if women have the right build they can become as proficient as men. 

Review of The Life of Josiah Henson

I decided to shorten the title of this book in the title above because it's a bit of a mouthful: The Life of Josiah Henson, formerly a Slave, now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself. However, the entire title is incredibly important - it highlights the progress Henson made through his bravery and belief in the right of his freedom. Although he did not physically write the book itself (having had that privilege snatched from him by his "masters"), Henson is remembered as a powerful orator and narrated this book to be written word for word from his speech.

The novel begins with Josiah Henson as a child. He was born into slavery and at first sees no other way forward in his life. However, as he grows to reach a pre-pubescent age, he begins to realise that he is physically superior to many of his fellow bondsmen. This offers Henson, or "Siah" as he's known, to gain opportunities which he recognises that others around him do not have. Even though he is able to accomplish tasks with a great level of alacrity he still suffers at the hands of dominant white men. By the time he reaches adulthood he is physically impaired. The beating which did this irreparable damage to him really stuck out to me. He was set upon by a white man and a couple of his slaves. Although strong, Siah could not fight against four men, and was almost beaten to death. He received this because he was perceived to have done something wrong: if this fit and able, incredibly intelligent man was liable to such beatings, then one can only imagine the sufferings of those who couldn't fulfill their tasks as readily. Siah uses his wit and incredible physical abilities to earn money during his time as a slave. I'm NOT going to spoiler this one, as I think it's an incredibly important book to read, but I will just say that his attempts to buy himself freedom do not go exactly to plan ...

So if you've been keeping up with my recent posts, you'll know I reviewed Twelve Years A Slave (http://the-darkness-will-never-win.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/review-of-twelve-years-slave.html) and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (http://the-darkness-will-never-win.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/review-of-narrative-of-life-of.html). Although I felt the style and narrative of The Life of Josiah Henson reminded me a little of Twelve Years a Slave, they obviously still offer an incredibly different viewpoint on the topic of slavery. The biggest lesson which I feel Henson tried to express through his writing is that slaves are no less intelligent than their masters. Henson himself was stripped of all means of education as a child and all contact with the commercial world, however, by adulthood he had enough wit and sense to free himself from captivity successfully and build a safe haven for former slaves. He is largely the reason why the next generation of his family were schooled - he chose the correct way forward at every turn point so that the community had enough money to build a school. Moreover, Henson expresses more potently than the other writers just how great an affinity there was amongst the slaves owned by each master. They were not just holed up together like animals as the masters thought, but had genuine bonds and feelings for one another. 

The utter barbarity of white slave traders was (I think) expressed and felt by Henson more through their words and legal actions than their physical abuse. The tragedy of the plot lies in Henson's attempt to purchase his own freedom. He is thoroughly respected by his master and purchases his freedom, only to find that he has been betrayed in the worst way. The document which declares his freedom has been destroyed, to be replaced with another one which indicates that he owes an insurmountable sum of money in order to become free. At this point it really struck home for me that, no matter how well you performed as a slave, or how much you had done for a master personally, they would rarely (if ever) see an individual as more than a piece of property.

Have any of you read it? What did you think?

Steph

Review of Bartleby the Scrivener

“Happiness courts the light, so we deem the world is gay; but misery hides aloof, so we deem that misery there is none”

Herman Melville is pretty much a household name in modern America due to his creation of the literary giant Moby Dick. It's time to fess up here: I've never read Moby Dick and probably never will do (I get the whole symbolism behind the concept part, but the idea of reading such a long book about a fisherman and a whale just seems so tedious to me).

Anyhow, back to the book in question. Written in 1853, Bartleby the Scrivener is heralded as one of the best short stories America has to offer. Having said that, when I found this out after reading the book my first question was "why?". As I read it, I was aware that there must be some underlying meaning behind this story as the plot line seemed meaningless (and not in a postmodernist manner either, more in a why-did-you-bother-writing manner). So, feeling ashamed of my lack of guile as an English Lit student, I researched it and found some interesting theories as to what Melville was getting at through the narrative.

However, before I discuss these I want to briefly describe the plot of the book itself. The narrator has two copyists, or scriveners, working for him to help with legal documents. He feels the need to hire a third - this is where Bartleby comes in. The narrator is at once enamoured with Bartleby's elusiveness. He wants to know who this man is and why his behaviour is so off. But, one of the greatest lessons to take from this book is that no one can really understand another person - and that's what the narrator learns from Bartleby.

So now for the theories. Some critics believe that Bartleby is a symbol for people suffering from clinical depression. His sleep and food deprivation are hyperbolic examples of the negative side effects which this disease can have on people. He is incredibly apathetic in all manner of things and cannot seem to find any enjoyment in life. Not only this, but he has closed himself off from all forms of human contact, preferring to live alone and avoiding engaging in any form of social contact. His choice to work behind a makeshift screen reflects the manner in which people suffering from depression often psychically screen themselves off from others in order to lessen anxiety and deal with their issues privately.

However, there are other theories. Perhaps Melville simply wanted us to know that everyone has a story, even if it isn't the most dramatic. Or perhaps Bartleby was simply a figure who offers readers a way to get to know the narrator. What did you think of the figure of Bartleby?

Review of "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

“At that time, the slightest manifestation of humanity toward a coloured person was denounced as abolitionism, and that name subjected its bearer to frightful liabilities”

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is his attempt to reveal the injustices of slavery in order to work towards abolitionism. The very existence of this narrative is a testament to his bravery and hard-working spirit.

This text tracks the story of Douglass’ escape from his hellish treatment as a slave. It includes details of all of the various slaveholders who wrongfully imprisoned him in order to shame them. Initially Douglass accepted that he was going to spend his life as a slave, however, the help of a kind mistress sparked his interest in words and education. He soon began to seek help from free white boys in order to develop his understanding of the alphabet and later reading itself. This is eventually what paved his way to freedom. Without this intellectual hope Douglass himself admits that he would have been forced to the despair which many of his fellow men and women in bondage were consumed by. Alongside his attempts to learn however came many great risks: slaveholders feared that if their slaves learnt to read they would become empowered and thus liable to rebel and riot.

If any of you read last week’s review of Twelve Years A Slave (http://the-darkness-will-never-win.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/review-of-twelve-years-slave.html) then you’ll see that I thought that had a different emphasis on the traumatic effects of slavery. Solomon Northup heavily focused on the physical and emotional implications on himself and the people he was held with. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave however, Douglass’ work is more directed towards exposing the hypocrisy and corruption of American slaveholders who believed in their Christian vocation to slaveholding. Many of the slave holders in the South whom Douglass was unfortunate enough to have to call “master” insisted that they were good Christians. As a result of this, they often quoted scripture whilst whipping their slaves.

This hypocrisy really hit home when I read this text as the recent crises in the Middle East show that people have not yet learnt that religion is not an excuse for persecution. Religion should discourage hatred, prejudice and torture, rather than encourage people to commit it. Frederick Douglass realised that Christianity was often (although not exclusively) a front for this. Him and his fellow bondmen were prohibited from attending Church and learning how to read scripture, to the extent that the Sunday school they created was punishable by death.

What did you think of the text when you read it? 

Review of Twelve Years A Slave

"They are deceived who flatter themselves that the ignorant and debased slave has no conception of the magnitude of his wrongs"

Prewarn: i'm not talking about the film (and yes, the film was made from a book). Twelve Years A Slave is the true story of Solomon Northup's descent and recovery from slavery which he narrates himself. This is the most powerful piece of writing, literature or not, that I have ever come across concerning the issue of slavery. As I was reading the text, I began to wonder why we don't read literature as part of history courses which teach students about horrendous periods of history like this one. The emotion contained in this text taught me about the mental and physical trauma which slavery inflicted upon real people, which i had never really come across despite studying it at school.

So, back to the review (SPOILER ALERT). Twelve Years A Slave begins with a contented Solomon Northup living in an American state in which it was permissible to be a free black man. He knew very little about the practicalities of slavery, viewing it as something different to him. Unfortunately for him there are some truly evil people out there. Two such men trick Solomon into travelling with them. After a couple of days they drug him, chain him and proceed to force him to accept that he is a slave. From there Northup recounts his experiences as a slave, being sold like a piece of unworthy chattel, or an animal.

This text was incredibly well written, and as such is a testament to the bravery and intellect of this man. For me, the text reached a state of emotional poignancy when a slave that Northup was kept with was torn from her children. The master had no reason to tear this mother from her little girl, bar his own cruelty. So he sold the girl and kept the mother who weakened more and more out of grief, and because of this suffered more and more from the weight of his lash. This unprovoked spite was, according to Northup, the worst sight he witnessed during the entirety of his confinement. I believe that his incredible writing skill allowed him to express this, ensuring that readers too felt this was the most horrific scene of the book. However, this does not go to say that the other acts of cruelty Northup witnesses were any less inhumane. Northup was stripped of his name, clothes and right to life. He often survived being killed because of his monetary value. When capitalism reaches a crisis like this can we really see it in a positive light?

This text not only raises issues about the idea of race, but also gender. Women were expected to keep up with men, but sadly often mistreated by their mistresses and masters. the latter would frequently seduce them (they could hardly say no to him) and the mistress would punish the woman effectively for being raped or sexually assaulted. This appears to lead to depression in female slaves in the text.

In my opinion, everyone should read this in order to go some way into understand the emotional impact of slavery from someone who experienced themselves. What are your opinions on including literature like this when teaching young adults about the historical impact and implications of slavery?

Review of House of Mirth

“Since she had been brought up to be ornamental, she could hardly blame herself for failing to serve any practical purpose”

Truth be told, this wasn’t a “random” pick like the majority of my books recently have been. I decided to be a bit keen and get cracking on some early reading for the modules I’m doing in my third (and final, eeek) year at uni. However, for a book that I kind of had to read, I did really enjoy it. Plus, it made me feel as though I’ve learnt something about my own life. Personally, if a book changes my opinions about things or makes me see things in a different light, then it’s a success in my eyes.

Edith Wharton, the author of this insightful novel, wrote it in the style deemed American naturalism. This bildungsroman follows the downwards spiral of Lily Bart’s character from a much-sought after woman to, well, you’ll see if you read the book. Lily Bart is the orphaned niece of rich former socialite Mrs Peniston. Her inestimable beauty allows her to weave her way into the hearts of many of the right people, but sadly also the wrong. On the face of it, this is a book about how tough it is for a girl to remain unmarried in high society for too long, but it appealed to me more as a tragic love story.

Don’t get me wrong, I struggled with the book at times. But that was purely because Lily Bart wasn’t exactly the most likeable character (to put it nicely). That’s kind of the point though isn’t it? She was realistic. Deep down we’re all far from perfect and make some irreconcilable mistakes in our lives. This is what Lily Bart did. She was the victim of circumstance and her upbringing, which drove her to act in the way she did.

I did however find the book a little out of place. Usually twentieth century American novels are distinctive in their content and style in order to define themselves as being not English. House of Mirth however felt to me as though it could have hopped off of the shelves of any English bookstore in the twentieth century.

Overall though, it was an invaluable read.

What did you think?