Summer and Oliver Twist

It's summer! That means lots of reading, watching TV, and spending time at the community theatre in my case. As for this blog, it means catching up on all the old posts I didn't have the chance to write while I was at college. I'm going to try to post at least once a week and catch up. Expect quite a lot of Shakespeare and Dickens, as those were the two English classes I took last semester.

For the first post, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. This is the story of an orphan boy from his birth through his childhood and the many events during that time. While the plot was intriguing and suspenseful, I felt like the story focused more on everyone around Oliver rather than the title character himself. This is shown in the novel through the third-person point of view rather than first through Oliver's eyes. We rarely see inside Oliver's head. Therefore, Oliver seems more like a flat angelic archetype than a three-dimensional character. He is pure, even when everything around him is corrupted. This was my main complaint about the book. I had trouble connecting with a character that didn't seem human. In fact, the "bad" characters like Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Nancy the prostitute, and Bill Sikes were far more interesting and relatable.

This book was published in monthly installments from 1836-1837. The only novel proceeding it in Dickens's career was Pickwick Papers. At this time, Dickens was still trying to figure out what worked in his writing and publishing and what the readers desired. It is easy to see the progression of his writing and business skills when you read later works, like Great Expectations (post to come later). He relies more on characters than plot, usually, to develop his themes.

Oliver Twist is usually noted for its social themes. The novel shows the terrible conditions of the poor and orphans and demonstrates the skewed justice system in London. The settings in the novel are realistic because Dickens would walk those streets himself, searching for inspiration. But, many of the rich people that read his novels assumed that such places were fictional because they couldn't imagine that those poor conditions could be a reality to anyone. For example, Fagin and the rest of his group must steal to live, which Oliver finds abhorrent. Many of the rich upper class saw themselves in Oliver and his puritanical virtuous nature. This means that they would have also shared many of his views on the poor and the justice system in London.

Overall, Oliver Twist was a rather predictable novel. Dickens liked pleasing his audience and everything in the novel is wrapped up nicely with a neat bow. All the small details are interconnected in an unrealistic trait, but that's a typical Dickensian trait. If you're looking for a journey through Dickens or a plot-based read, I would recommend starting with Oliver Twist. But if you're looking for one novel to typify Dickens, it wouldn't be this one.

Happy reading and DFTBA!
Nadia

Tumblr

So, I gave into the the internet peer pressure and made a Tumblr. I'm going to post my blogs on there as well from now on. But, I will still be posting on here first. There will also be lots of Harry Potter, Nerdfighter, Doctor Who, and other general internet things, as well as posts from my personal blog (hopeandheart21.blogspot.com). If Tumblr is your thing, come join me on there at NadiaBlogs21.tumblr.com!

DFTBA and Best Wishes!

Henry V

In the past school year, I've read Henry V by William Shakespeare twice. On both of those occasions, I've written papers. So, in leiu of my regular posts, I present the papers for my Honors and Shakespeare courses. There will be spoilers for the content of the play, but I highly recommend that you read or see them if possible. Also, the Kenneth Branagh movie version is on Netflix and is fairly accurate. (Note: the formatting of the second essay is wonky, I know. But that's what the professor wanted.)

Honors:

William Shakespeare’s The Life of Henry V is a tale of war, bloodshed, and the rights of nobles. But, in the play, the focus also switches to moments to a view of common characters that Shakespeare’s audience would have been familiar with from the earlier historical plays. These opposing vantage points, paired with a view of the French as well, makes The Life of Henry V, not only a play about King Henry, but also about all of the other groups of people that participate in this war. Beginning with Act II and continuing through the rest of the play, the scenes alternate between these different groups of people. Through this, it can be noted that Shakespeare intended this work to be one that portrayed warfare in a manner that was less biased than other plays.

The opening scene of Act II is one that depicts the group of common English soldiers. These men were friends with King Henry when he was known as “Prince Hal” in his earlier days that were full of revel. One of their number, John Falstaff, is dying from the rejection that he suffered at the hands of the king. The audience would have taken note of this death because they met and formed a bond with the comedic character in an earlier play. Also, in this scene, we meet three common soldiers and a boy that will reappear when they fight in France.

Another group of characters that appears is the group of English nobles, composed of King Henry and his lords. This set of characters is, obviously, not out of the ordinary in a play entitled The Life of Henry V. Furthermore, the remarkable character of this group is King Henry himself. In Act IV of the play, in the night before the battle, Henry pretends to be a common soldier. During this time, he and a soldier named Williams converse about the king and the upcoming battle. Henry points out to the common soldiers is a man, like any other when he says, “Therefore, when he sees reason of fears as we do, his fears, out of doubt, be of the same relish as ours are” (IV.i.110-112). This serves to prove one of the themes of the play, that while all men might have different stations in life, they are still human men and can die the same as any other.

In Shakespeare’s The Life of Henry V, the audience sympathizes for more than just the king, as would be expected. Instead, they form connections with characters from different stations in life, ranging from common thief, to reveler, to the king himself. With this, Shakespeare humanizes the many participants in war and gives “the masses” of common soldiers faces to recognize. While there will be no work ever presented that gives an unbiased view of a topic as controversial as war, Shakespeare’s play is one that is more even than the others because it depicts the war from different vantage points.

Shakespeare:

Henry V by William Shakespeare is a play that tackles themes including war and nobility. But, it is mostly a play about the character of King Henry and how he copes with the trials of being the sole ruler of a nation, specifically one in war during the course of the play. But, it must be noted that the audience in Shakespeare’s time already knew the character of King Henry as “Hal” in Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2. They see his character develop from an irresponsible boy to a man who is held accountable for an entire kingdom. King Henry is shown in a variety of situations throughout the course of the play. He takes advice from clergymen and advisors, orders the execution of Bardolph, speaks with soldiers in disguise, soliloquizes to himself, and discusses love with Katherine. The entirety of the play demonstrates that King Henry V is a strong king, willing to do anything for his kingdom. But, he feels the stress of that responsibility and will go to great lengths to prove that he is not the reckless “Hal” from earlier in his life.

In IV.i, The infamous “campfire scene” shows King Henry conversing with three soldiers- Bates, Court, and Williams- while in disguise. Towards the beginning of this scene, Henry points out that the king is a man just like the soldiers. He says that, “I think the king is but a man, as I am… all his senses have but human conditions… in his nakedness he appears but a man…” (92-94). He continues with this short speech with pointing out that the king also has more responsibilities than a common soldier because, “no man should possess him with any appearance of fear, les he, by showing it, should dishearten his army” (98-99). The soldiers and Henry go on to argue if a soldier killed in battle is on the conscience of the king. Henry strongly emphasizes the point that “every subject’s duty is the king’s; but every subject’s soul is his own” (145-146). Once the men leave, the king continues to think upon this argument with a soliloquy. He considers the duty of a king and how much they are expected to bear by their people for so little a reward. He states, “upon the king! Let our lives, our souls, our debts, our careful wives, our children, and our sings lay on the king! We must bear all. O hard condition!” showing the pressure that he is placed under (185-188). He goes on to say that all a king gets in return is worthless ceremony. Also, he stresses that a poor slave that does physical labor all day sleeps sounder than the king because he does not have to worry about the welfare of so many people and that none of the ceremony or special items that the king is privileged to is worth the lack of sleep. In the final section of the soliloquy, Henry appeals to God to keep his soldiers alive through battle the next day and wishes to atone for the bloody sins of his father.

In the context of the entire play, the campfire scene gives the audience the chance to view Henry when does not have to bear the full responsibility of his title. This is the only time when he converses with people that are not aware of his identity and delivers a soliloquy. In this scene, the audience can hear his true thoughts without the judging from another party on the stage. This scene contrasts many of the other situations that we see Henry in throughout the play. He is adamant in trying to convince the soldiers that the king does not hold responsibility for their souls if they are killed in battle. This combined with the prayer in the end, show that Henry is not the strong and ruthless king that he is portrayed as when he orders the execution of the traitors, and later of his old friend Bardolph. He is allowed to curse the office that he holds and discuss the fears that he has for the upcoming battle. The campfire scene is a unique perspective into the true nature of the character of Shakespeare’s Henry V, and is one more piece of the puzzle that is the many facets of Henry’s character and what it means to be a true and just king, no matter the responsibilities or trials he must undergo.

DFTBA and Happy Reading!

Nadia

LotR: The Two Towers (Part 1)

Slight spoilers for Book III of LotR.

The post on The Two Towers will be split into two parts, one for Book III and one for Book IV.

I finished Book III! I decided to just re-read everything I had previously read and started at the beginning and the start of the break. While I respect and admire Tolkien and the world he created, I still have a hard time "getting into" the story. It is told more as an account than a story, and even though the differences are subtle, they are crucial in the suspense, character development, and plot.

But, I greatly enjoyed two sets of characters and the relationships between them that are being developed. First is the hobbits Merry and Pippin and the Ent Treebeard. Though Treebeard has never heard of hobbits before, he treats them with respect and listens to them. Maybe it is just my long-standing love for Harry Potter creeping in and the treatment of creatures as equals, but I get annoyed anytime a character puts hobbits down. Gandalf frequently does this. But, I digress. Treebeard and Merry and Pippin grow into a relationship of mutual fondness and respect. They both think of the other group as curious and different, but they trust one another.

The other relationship is between Gimli the dwarf and Legolas the elf. They occasionally made me laugh out loud and also warmed my heart with their unlikely friendship. One way this is demonstrated is by their competition during the battle at Helm's Deep. They both keep track of how many Orcs they slayed, and compare every time they meet. There is a deep bond of loyalty between the pair that is both unexpected and welcomed. It is almost ironic that the most human relationship in the books thus far is between two characters that are not humans.

On to Book IV! I hope to finish that before I go back to school on the 10th of January so I can watch the movie with my family.

DFTBA and best wishes!

Nadia

Dante's Inferno

One of the books I read for my Honors class this past semester was Dante's Inferno, which was finished in 1314. It is the first section of Dante's Divine Comedy, and is the most famous. It is an epic poem that is written in Italian, or the vernacular. Most works at that time were written in Latin, the universal language of the church. It helped popularize the idea of works written in the common speech.

The plot of the Divine Comedy lasts three days. It starts on Good Friday in 1300, during which the events of Inferno occur. The narrator is Dante (the character) who is exactly 35 years old, which was considered to be half-way through life. He is lost in a wood and being chased by three creatures: a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf. He is rescued by Virgil, the famous Latin poet who is symbolic of human reason, who was sent by Beatrice, who is symbolic of pure love.

They then travel through the nine circles of Hell. Here is a web page with a few maps: http://www.waggish.org/2011/dante-old-maps-of-hell/. Each layer of Hell has a different type of punishment, but they are all contrapasso, or fitting in the way of poetic justice. There are some pretty gory details, so I will spare you if you have a weak stomach. But the point is, that everyone in Hell chose their fitting punishment by acting a certain way during life.

I personally enjoyed Dante's Inferno. I thought the punishments were interesting to read, even if they do scare you a bit, if you put stock in them. I also enjoy the numerology and all of the patterns in the series. There are 100 Cantos (like chapters), and each book has 33, plus one introductory. This is the suspected age of Jesus at his death. Also, each verse is written in terza rima, which means they are in the pattern of aba, bcb, cdc, etc... This is also called the golden chain. These connections and the repetitive number three are external ways that this work is related to the Trinity, which gives another layer of depth to the work. I'm just a sucker for "Form Follows Function", as my high school English teachers taught us.

Finally, I get to mark one off the list! 1 down, 99 more to go!

December!

I can't believe how quickly this year has flown. It just seems like yesterday I had this romantic idea that I would read not only 100 books, but even more in a year. On top of anything that I would be reading for school or pleasure. Now we are entering the final month of that year. And I actually accomplished nothing, if we're measuring success by the amount of works that I completed and blogged about. I literally crossed nothing off the list. But that doesn't mean I didn't finish any of the items. I have several items on the list that I've recently read that I still need to write about. That will happen in the month of December, once I finish my finals. I hope to have at least 5 strike-throughs by midnight of December 31st. I want to finish Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and write about Brave New World, The Inferno, and Henry V. Talk to you then!

Best wishes and DFTBA!
Nadia

Order of the Phoenix (Magical Creatures)

For this instalment of Nadia talks about how much she loves the brilliance of Harry Potter, let's talk about magical creatures.


I decided to focus on this because of the new creatures introduced in OotP: Kreacher and the thestrals. Also, I want to discuss dementors and centaurs.


Kreacher, I think is desperately addled and distraught. While he redeems himself in the later books, his character is despicable in OotP. Dumbledore explains Kreachers behavior when he says, "Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards... Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friend Dobby's... Sirius was not a cruel man, he was kind to house-elves in general. He had no love for Kreacher, because Kreacher was a living reminder of the home Sirius had hated" (832, 834). Sirius mistreats Kreacher, not from any prejudice against house elves, but because Kreacher is a symbol for the past that Sirius has been running from for so long. I, for one, am glad that Kreacher showed up again in the later books, especially DH, and redeemed his character.


The other creature introduced in this book is the thestral. These are deeply misunderstood as well, because only people who have witnessed death can see a thestral. Therefore, they have an almost Grim-like reputation. But, they also are extremely clever and have an amazing sense of direction. These creatures are a symbol for acceptance of death, opposite the freedom the hippogriffs. There is an interesting essay comparing and contrasting threstrals and hippogriffs that can be found here: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/essays/issue10.


Next on the list is dementors. JKR herself said that these characters symbolize depression, and there are very few things more terrifying than the thought of a dementor. A creature that takes away your soul through a personal and intimate gesture? One that can force you to only live in the worst times of your life? One that takes away all your happiness and all your hope? That is positively petrifying. These creatures truly do symbolize clinical depression and I admire the way JKR put a personal bit of her life into Harry's world through this creature. Better keep some chocolate on hand, just in case.


Centaurs are found in mythology, including Greek and Roman. In some of them, they are teachers like Firenze the Divination teacher. I am fascinated with the idea of such a creature being an instructor. I can't even say how many times I've said, "Mars is bright tonight". I like that they know that their predictions can be misinterpreted easily, even by the centaurs themselves. I also love how all of their situations in the books are complex in some way- they usually involve arguing between two groups of centaurs. It opposes them to the image seen in Fountain of Magical Brethren seen in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, in which the centaurs, along with a goblin and house-elf, are all "looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard".


Many of the creatures in the world of Harry Potter are mistreated and underestimated. This is most prevalently seen in OotP with Umbridge and her discriminations against "half-breeds". These non-human intelligent beings are hated and feared by Umbridge. But, one of the main themes of Harry Potter is to not judge by appearance. Hagrid, a "half-breed", is one of the most lovable and loyal characters in the entire series. These magical creatures that are prejudiced against are symbols for any group of people that a majority discriminates because of some trivial difference.

Time read: 24 hours, 12 minutes, 45 seconds
Pages read: 2689/4195