If it weren't for the title, I wonder if Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited" (1931) would have received as much acclaim as it did. "Babylon" isn't even mentioned in the story. Without the title and what it implies, it's just a child custody drama, like something you'd see nowadays on any talk show.
With "Babylon" symbolizing living in excess, however, we realize the story is really looking back on the excess of the Roaring Twenties from the more sober days of the Great Depression. Charlie Wales lived recklessly, spent his money furiously, and thought money could buy everything. Then he suddenly lost everything: his money, his child, and his wife. He managed to regain his money, but his wife is dead and his child is in an in-law's custody. He'll never get his life back. Money can't buy everything after all.
We've all had our own little Babylon experiences: college days, a wild party, or a reckless joyride, for example. It's human nature to get caught up in exciting times, and when we do, it's easy to make mistakes and not know it. It's a wonder so many of us survive! We eventually get over most of our mistakes, but some are just too big. For those we have to live with the consequences, like Charlie Wales in "Babylon Revisited".
References:
"Babylon Revisited". Short Stories, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ed. Steve Thomas. eBooks@Adelaide. 2009. web 2011.Thomas A. Larson, M.A. "Babylon Revisited: A Long Expostulation and Explanation". 1995,1998-2000.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Babylon Revisited.” SparkNotes LLC. 2007.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Daisy Miller by Henry James (1878)
In Fitzgerald's "Hotel Child" (1931) the attempted exploitation was physical--Count Borowki was trying to take Fifi's money. In Henry James' Daisy Miller (1878), however, the exploitation is psychological. The rich girl, Daisy Miller, comes from a common background and desperately wants to be accepted by society, but the ladies of society have an emotional need to feel superior and will never accept her.
By society, James means the people who inherited their wealth and have never had to work. They spend their days traveling, visiting, and gossiping.
Daisy's father, on the other hand, is a self-made tycoon and, interestingly, far wealthier than everybody else.
The story is mainly told from Frederick Winterbourne's point of view, a member of society who's attracted to Daisy for mainly two reasons: she's really pretty and she's fun to be with.
Daisy is very noticeable. She has nice clothes and good looks. She's open, free-spirited, and has lots of gentlemen friends. All along we're not sure how innocent she is until the end. The ladies make it a point to observe her, spread rumors, and actively detest her. Winterbourne hears all the rumors and is torn between his desire for her and his need to stay in good standing with his class. He eventually chooses to stay with his class and gives up Daisy.
There are streaks of jealousy and hypocrisy here, too. The ladies are jealous that Daisy's family is actually richer than their own, and while they gossip viciously about her innocence, they have no problem with Winterbourne's affairs within their class.
Daisy Miller got a very negative reception when first introduced to the American public. Being told from Winterbourne's point of view, the reader gets the butt of all the vicious gossip. The American public took Daisy and her mother to be insults to American values and womanhood. Personally I got the same impression, too, but after further review, I see the gossip is malicious and unjust. Daisy really is a sweet, lively, and innocent girl.
Foster calls this an example of vampirism. The old ladies are psychologically exploiting the girl's liveliness, innocence, and desire to be accepted, but she is no match for their establishment and she comes to a tragic end. Winterbourne had a chance to save her but didn't. He thought about it but felt safer staying within their establishment.
The Penguin Classics edition, edited with an introduction by Geoffrey Moore and notes by Patricia Clark doesn't come out and call this vampirism, but their analysis largely corroborates with Foster's.
Something like this needs to be read more than once. Parts might get repetitive, but new elements overlooked before will be discovered in each successive reading. And it's only 70 pages.
References:
Henry James. Daisy Miller. 1878. Ed. Geoffrey Moore. Penguin Books. 1986.
Thomas C. Foster. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Harper. 2003.
By society, James means the people who inherited their wealth and have never had to work. They spend their days traveling, visiting, and gossiping.
Daisy's father, on the other hand, is a self-made tycoon and, interestingly, far wealthier than everybody else.
The story is mainly told from Frederick Winterbourne's point of view, a member of society who's attracted to Daisy for mainly two reasons: she's really pretty and she's fun to be with.
Daisy is very noticeable. She has nice clothes and good looks. She's open, free-spirited, and has lots of gentlemen friends. All along we're not sure how innocent she is until the end. The ladies make it a point to observe her, spread rumors, and actively detest her. Winterbourne hears all the rumors and is torn between his desire for her and his need to stay in good standing with his class. He eventually chooses to stay with his class and gives up Daisy.
There are streaks of jealousy and hypocrisy here, too. The ladies are jealous that Daisy's family is actually richer than their own, and while they gossip viciously about her innocence, they have no problem with Winterbourne's affairs within their class.
Daisy Miller got a very negative reception when first introduced to the American public. Being told from Winterbourne's point of view, the reader gets the butt of all the vicious gossip. The American public took Daisy and her mother to be insults to American values and womanhood. Personally I got the same impression, too, but after further review, I see the gossip is malicious and unjust. Daisy really is a sweet, lively, and innocent girl.
Foster calls this an example of vampirism. The old ladies are psychologically exploiting the girl's liveliness, innocence, and desire to be accepted, but she is no match for their establishment and she comes to a tragic end. Winterbourne had a chance to save her but didn't. He thought about it but felt safer staying within their establishment.
The Penguin Classics edition, edited with an introduction by Geoffrey Moore and notes by Patricia Clark doesn't come out and call this vampirism, but their analysis largely corroborates with Foster's.
Something like this needs to be read more than once. Parts might get repetitive, but new elements overlooked before will be discovered in each successive reading. And it's only 70 pages.
References:
Henry James. Daisy Miller. 1878. Ed. Geoffrey Moore. Penguin Books. 1986.
Thomas C. Foster. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Harper. 2003.
Friday, September 2, 2011
The Diaries of Adam & Eve by Mark Twain
The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain is a delightful and easy read. It starts out funny and slightly satirical but ends as a touching love story.
Imagine if you found yourself suddenly existing one day in a bountiful garden, as a full grown adult, capable of organized thought, but with no past and no education. If you were to keep a diary, you might record some of the same feelings Twain supposed Adam and Eve might have felt.
According to Foster, The Bible is a major intertextual source for literature. Obvious references here, among others, include Adam and Eve, the naming of the animals, Cain and Abel.
There is also a quest of sorts, though not one involving a geographical journey. It's Adam's journey through life. At first, he doesn't know what he's doing, where he's going, or why. He can't stand Eve because she's weak and bothersome. Over time, however, he falls in love with her, raises a family, and together they begin the world we know. At the end, he has learned that he's happy with life. He has loved, accomplished things, and suffered some hardships, but over all life--and love--are good.
Note: This short story has been published in multiple forms. Originally it was just Eve's Diary, then Adam's Diary was a separate story, and then they were combined chronologically into one book, which is the one I read. There's even a version where they went to Niagara Falls!
References:
Thomas C. Foster. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Harper. 2003.
Mark Twain. The Diaries of Adam & Eve. 1893-1905. Ed. Don Roberts. Fair Oaks Press. 1997.
Imagine if you found yourself suddenly existing one day in a bountiful garden, as a full grown adult, capable of organized thought, but with no past and no education. If you were to keep a diary, you might record some of the same feelings Twain supposed Adam and Eve might have felt.
According to Foster, The Bible is a major intertextual source for literature. Obvious references here, among others, include Adam and Eve, the naming of the animals, Cain and Abel.
There is also a quest of sorts, though not one involving a geographical journey. It's Adam's journey through life. At first, he doesn't know what he's doing, where he's going, or why. He can't stand Eve because she's weak and bothersome. Over time, however, he falls in love with her, raises a family, and together they begin the world we know. At the end, he has learned that he's happy with life. He has loved, accomplished things, and suffered some hardships, but over all life--and love--are good.
Note: This short story has been published in multiple forms. Originally it was just Eve's Diary, then Adam's Diary was a separate story, and then they were combined chronologically into one book, which is the one I read. There's even a version where they went to Niagara Falls!
References:
Thomas C. Foster. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Harper. 2003.
Mark Twain. The Diaries of Adam & Eve. 1893-1905. Ed. Don Roberts. Fair Oaks Press. 1997.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Border's Liquidation Sale
It's sad to see Borders going out of business. The good thing is I've gotten all these books...
- Hemingway's In Our Time
- James Joyce's Dubliners
- Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot
- Jack London's Tales of the North
- Allison Bartlett's The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
- Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby, Tales of the Jazz Age, and Flappers and Philosophers
- Sophocles' Theban Plays
- James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans
- Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and Other Stories and Haunting of Hill House
- Boccaccio's Decameron
- Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
- Steinbeck's Cannery Row
- Mark Twain's Diaries of Adam and Eve
- The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker
- The Middle Ages, and
- Professional Blogging for Dummies
Sunday, August 28, 2011
The Hotel Child by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1931)
"The Hotel Child" (1931) is one of my favorite Fitzgerald short stories.
In this story, a young, wealthy, but naive American girl, Fifi Schwartz, is living among sophisticated, yet moneyless Europeans. One European, Count Borowki, is dazzling her with his title and pressuring her to marry him, obviously just for her money. (Doesn't Borowki remind you of borrow, like he might need money?) This is a "vampiric" relationship as discussed by Thomas C. Foster. An older, sophisticated, yet outworn individual is selfishly exploiting a younger, energetic, yet naive individual, for personal gain with no regard to whatever harm he may cause.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) is one literal example of vampirism, but Henry James' Daisy Miller (1878) is another, more figurative, example, and "The Hotel Child" is somewhere in between. These are intertextual variations of the same story.
Vampirism actually exists everywhere today in many forms: abusive relationships, political and industrial exploitation, drug dealing, confidence scams, dictatorships--any case where someone is exploiting someone else, unfairly taking their money, resources, or labor; destroying their property, air, health, or quality of life...
"The Hotel Child" at least has an optimistic ending. Fifi figures out the scam before it's too late.
Some day this story may be retold with a young naive Asian and an old outworn American. Wouldn't that be ironic? The story of human experience continues...
Reference:
"The Hotel Child". Short Stories, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ed. Steve Thomas. eBooks@Adelaide. 2009. web 2011.
Thomas C. Foster. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Harper. 2003.
In this story, a young, wealthy, but naive American girl, Fifi Schwartz, is living among sophisticated, yet moneyless Europeans. One European, Count Borowki, is dazzling her with his title and pressuring her to marry him, obviously just for her money. (Doesn't Borowki remind you of borrow, like he might need money?) This is a "vampiric" relationship as discussed by Thomas C. Foster. An older, sophisticated, yet outworn individual is selfishly exploiting a younger, energetic, yet naive individual, for personal gain with no regard to whatever harm he may cause.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) is one literal example of vampirism, but Henry James' Daisy Miller (1878) is another, more figurative, example, and "The Hotel Child" is somewhere in between. These are intertextual variations of the same story.
Vampirism actually exists everywhere today in many forms: abusive relationships, political and industrial exploitation, drug dealing, confidence scams, dictatorships--any case where someone is exploiting someone else, unfairly taking their money, resources, or labor; destroying their property, air, health, or quality of life...
"The Hotel Child" at least has an optimistic ending. Fifi figures out the scam before it's too late.
Some day this story may be retold with a young naive Asian and an old outworn American. Wouldn't that be ironic? The story of human experience continues...
Reference:
"The Hotel Child". Short Stories, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ed. Steve Thomas. eBooks@Adelaide. 2009. web 2011.
Thomas C. Foster. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Harper. 2003.
The Knight's Tale by Chaucer (ca. 1390)
I just read Geoffrey Chaucer's "Knight's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales (ca. 1390). The obvious themes are 1) love will drive man to violate law and order and 2) man's destiny is controlled by fate.
The first, regarding love and, by extension, emotions in general, is still very true today. Not only will people act irrationally when head-over-heels in love, but passion, greed, jealousy, and hunger are the root causes of probably most crimes.
On a cultural note, I thought it was peculiar that it was only the men's emotions that mattered. The lady had no say and had to marry whoever won the competition.
The second theme, regarding fate and destiny, doesn't seem as relevant today, but maybe it's more relevant than we realize. We believe with planning we can control our destiny. Actually it's more like what I call driving on snow--you're not in complete control and there's always a chance that things will go wrong, but with care and attention you usually get to where you're going--or close enough. Life is like that.
For me though the most amazing feature of the "Knight's Tale" is the marvelous quality of the style and verse. I was more in awe of the verse than I was of the story itself, the action, emotions, or lifestyle it so vividly portrays. The verse is absolutely amazing. It doesn't follow a rigid structure nor does every line rhyme, but it's somehow beautiful--too beautiful for words. I read a modern English translation of course (by Burton Raffel, 2008), but the forward claims he tried to retain the original style and meaning, so I believe I read the real thing. Chaucer in Modern English.
It's a masterpiece. You have to read it for yourself.
References:
Geoffrey Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales. ca. 1390. Trans. Burton Raffel. Modern Library. 2008.
Shmoop Editorial Team. The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale. Shmoop University, Inc.. 2008.
GradeSaver. "The Canterbury Tales Study Guide & Literature Essays". GradeSaver. 1999-2011.
The first, regarding love and, by extension, emotions in general, is still very true today. Not only will people act irrationally when head-over-heels in love, but passion, greed, jealousy, and hunger are the root causes of probably most crimes.
On a cultural note, I thought it was peculiar that it was only the men's emotions that mattered. The lady had no say and had to marry whoever won the competition.
The second theme, regarding fate and destiny, doesn't seem as relevant today, but maybe it's more relevant than we realize. We believe with planning we can control our destiny. Actually it's more like what I call driving on snow--you're not in complete control and there's always a chance that things will go wrong, but with care and attention you usually get to where you're going--or close enough. Life is like that.
For me though the most amazing feature of the "Knight's Tale" is the marvelous quality of the style and verse. I was more in awe of the verse than I was of the story itself, the action, emotions, or lifestyle it so vividly portrays. The verse is absolutely amazing. It doesn't follow a rigid structure nor does every line rhyme, but it's somehow beautiful--too beautiful for words. I read a modern English translation of course (by Burton Raffel, 2008), but the forward claims he tried to retain the original style and meaning, so I believe I read the real thing. Chaucer in Modern English.
It's a masterpiece. You have to read it for yourself.
References:
Geoffrey Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales. ca. 1390. Trans. Burton Raffel. Modern Library. 2008.
Shmoop Editorial Team. The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale. Shmoop University, Inc.. 2008.
GradeSaver. "The Canterbury Tales Study Guide & Literature Essays". GradeSaver. 1999-2011.
Components of Literary Analysis
I especially like the way Thomas C. Foster breaks down literary analysis into components in How to Read Literature Like a Professor (2003). As an engineer, I think of it as divide and conquer: divide a problem into smaller problems and conquer each individually until a conclusion is reached. The main components Foster addresses are quests, intertextuality, patterns, symbols, and irony.
Intertextuality is perhaps the most interesting component. He explains every story is connected to every other story, past, present, and presumably future. New ideas build upon old ideas and new stories build upon old stories. Intertextuality is the connectedness among stories. New text adds, updates, and modernizes prior text. It's not copying or plagiarism, because ultimately there's only one story. This one story is the story of human experience. Everything in human experience is connected to everything else in human experience, and every story is a retelling of one part or another of this one story.
I can't help but think of an analogy to science. Man has forever been trying to understand the universe. New discoveries are made that build upon old discoveries and little by little we are figuring it out. Everything in the universe is related to everything else, but different scientists focus on different parts: physics, biology, math, etc., but ultimately there's only one universe.
Reference: Thomas C. Foster. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Harper. 2003.
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