Gilead Blog 1

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson: Character Relationships and Contributions

          Gilead is told through direct narration by John Ames. It is intended to be a fictional autobiography in which John records details of his life for his son to read after he dies. Being a reverend, husband, and father, he has many acquaintances and even more stories to tell. He establishes relationships with various others, though the leading relationship here is the one between father and son.

          John, at age 76, knew that his heart was failing and that he wouldn't be around for much longer. He wanted to pass on his experiences, ideas, and faith to his son, but he couldn't due to the fact that his son was still an infant. He wrote down everything he wanted his son to know so that when he was much older, he could read it instead. This tells us that John Ames adored his only son and wanted him to carry on his legacy in the church. This contributes to the novel because it allows the readers to believe that the autobiography had some sort of impact on its fictional audience, giving it significance. 

          John didn't only wish to give his son religious guidance, however. He also aims to make his son, overall, a better person. Just because he can't be his son's guardian in the future doesn't mean he couldn't still try to be his dad in the time he had left. He gives him one valuable piece of advice early on, when he admits, "I got pretty good at pretending I understood more than I did, a skill which has served me through life" (Robinson 39). It's the old 'fake it till you make it' cliche, one that John felt that his son should know.

          The natural instinct to protect ones children exists in us all. Readers can assume that John Ames is no different, which he makes clear during one of his anecdotes. This is the one about the children who spread rumors about strangers hiding out in the henhouses and barns. The children actually believed the tales, and would refuse to do chores that involved going out to the barn. John, fearing that his son would grow up listening to, and believing, these same stories, assures him that "the villain is probably about one hundred by this time, and no longer a threat to anyone" (83). John's fear that his child might be fearful reveals how much he adores Robby and how much he wants him to feel safe and happy. 

          John's relationship with his son is created as a result of the evident undying love that a parent always has for his or her child. At one point, John lists several of his son's attributes, including his looks and manners. Then he comments, "All that is fine, but it's your existence I love you for, mainly" (53). In the end, it doesn't matter how John's son turns out, because he will love him unconditionally. He reconfirms these feelings by assuring him, "I know you will be and I hope you are an excellent man, and I will love you absolutely if you are not" (73). This tells us that the novel, though it seems to be primarily focused on religion, is truly about the impenetrable bond between father and son.

Charming Billy Blog 2

Charming Billy, by Alice McDermott: Character and Contribution 

          Though Charming Billy is based around the death of Billy Lynch, the author effectively develops several other characters to strengthen the novel. One character in particular really stood out to me, and not just because she shares my name. Maeve Lynch, Billy's wife at the time he died, is peculiar in that not much is directly stated about her. The composition of her character is one that must be pieced together throughout the novel, as it is revealed largely through personal actions, words, and outside opinions.

          Maeve's actions help to expose who she is as a person. Maeve is the first person to be mentioned in the novel, and the audience's first impression of her is a good one. It is told that she "made all the arrangements herself" (McDermott 3) for Billy's funeral, allowing the audience to assume she is compassionate and thoughtful. Planning an entire funeral is a great deal of work, let alone for one person to manage. It alludes to the idea that she probably sacrificed her own money, happiness, and sleep for the sole benefit of one person who wouldn't ever know the lengths she went to for him. However, towards the end of the novel, it appears that Maeve gave up on Billy when he didn't come home the night of his death. She seemed to know that he was gone, and instead of holding on to hope for his return, she "washed out his good white shirt" (164). She'd been planning his funeral before his death was even confirmed. This tells me that she takes precautions, that she risks nothing. Perhaps she didn't know for certain that he had passed; perhaps she just wanted to be prepared for it if it did happen.

          Maeve's appearances are mentioned plenty of times by others around her, though description of her appearance is always brief and repetitive. She is countlessly described as "plain" (3) and "bland" (3). The "simplicity"(2) of her wardrobe is also emphasized. Additionally, the number of times she is compared to Eva, Billy's first love, says something about how others perceive her. They're always going on about how "pretty" (17) Eva was, and how very simple Maeve is. Even the light that fell upon her was described as "feeble" and "dull" (23).
          Dialogue is plentiful in this story, yet Maeve doesn't seem to have much to say. What she does say, though, indicates that she brimmed with love for Billy. She tells guests at the funeral about what she did to be with him. She incinerated her father's shoes multiple times simply for a reason to go to Holtzman's, the shoe store where Billy worked. She was willing to literally burn her own family's belongings just for a quick chance to see Billy. This amount of determination matches up with her actions in preparing the funeral.

          Outside opinions of Maeve delve deeper than just the monotony of her looks. The characters also analyze her relationship with Billy. They seem to be convinced that Maeve was Eva's failed replacement. They agree early on that "Maeve was only a faint consolation, a futile attempt to mend an irreparably broken heart. A moment's grace, a flash of optimism, not enough for a lifetime" (12). This means that Eva was most likely Billy's true love and that Maeve was only a brief flicker of support that Billy used to overcome Eva's supposed death. Towards the end of the novel, however, they modify their views of her. The women at the funeral reportedly "all nodded" in agreement that Maeve "would be compensation enough for the beautiful Eva" (162). They stop thinking of just outside appearance and begin to consider internal characteristics. Eva may have been beautiful, but she purposefully broke Billy's heart when she left him, taking his money and pretending to be dead. Maeve had average looks, but overflowed with kindness and determination. 

          Maeve's character contributes to the higher meaning of the novel because she portrays a main theme. "Don't judge a book by its cover" is a common cliche, but this novel utilizes it in a creative and interesting way. External beauty is certainly visually appealing, but one cannot be truly beautiful if he or she lacks internal charm. Maeve is the representation of this internal charm. She is gray and boring on the outside but abundant in what is more important: pure generosity and compassion.

Charming Billy Blog 1

Charming Billy, by Alice McDermott: Techniques to Engage Readers

          Specific passages in the novel aim specifically to engage its audience. It is crucial that the author does this early on or the reader will become uninterested. One particular excerpt, as early as page 4 of the novel, illustrates that McDermott mastered the timing aspect. She writes,

                    Billy had died an alcoholic. Last night, in his casket, his face was bloated to twice its size and his skin was dark brown. (Dennis himself, my father, when he had identified the body two days ago at the VA, had said at first, momentarily relieved from the fact that Billy was dead, "But this is a colored man.") Billy had drunk himself to death. He had, at some point, ripped apart, plowed through, as alcoholics tend to do, the great, deep, tightly woven fabric of affection that was some part of the emotional life, the life of love, of everyone in the room. Everyone loved him.

          Several points within this excerpt capture the reader's interest and encourage the reader to continue the story. The first thing that pulls the audience into the pages is the immediate presentation of conflict. Billy's death is immediately identified as the focal point of the story, intriguing the audience and causing them to anticipate details of the happening. 

          The gruesome imagery describing the condition Billy was in upon discovery horrifies the audience to an extent that makes them eager to continue. That's the peculiar thing about humans that McDermott seemed to understand- the more awful something is, the more interesting it is to others. It sounds awful, but no one would read a happy story if it wasn't mixed with some grief and suffering. The detail put into Billy's dead body shocks readers while engaging them in the story.

          Repetition of an idea in the passage adds emphasis to it. It is first stated that "Billy died an alcoholic." Later, the sentence is paraphrased as, "Billy had drunk himself to death." It makes it more real, as if the narrator is repeating it because he or she still can't believe it happened. 

          The final piece that reveals the author's intentional techniques was the boost to Billy's credibility. It is mentioned that "everyone loved him" causing the reader to sympathize with him because he was evidently a wonderful man. The evocation of feeling for Billy makes the plot more attention-grabbing for the reader. Nothing is worse than not caring about a character. The readers are expertly engaged through introduction of conflict, figurative language, and character development. 

The Scarlet Letter Blog 2

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Motivations of Hester Prynne and Outcomes

          Hester Prynne, the accused adulteress in the novel, was shunned by citizens of Boston upon conviction of the felony. Initially, the suffering she endured from social isolation was unbearable and following her release from prison, she fled to a barren forest to agonize alone. However, she eventually finds motivation in her daughter and becomes strong enough to face criticisms and to further help her opposers. It was told in chapter 13 that townspeople often remarked, "'Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?' [...] 'It is our Hester,-- the town's own Hester,-- who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!'" (Hawthorne 111). The townspeople actually begin to recognize her as their own and talk about her with beaming pride. Hester is still the woman who experienced the "sad transformation" (112) that robbed her of the "light and graceful foliage of her character" (112), but she chooses to make something more of herself by helping others through charity.

          Of course, this sudden change of heart did not occur on a mere whim that she came to on her own. Her main inspiration, her motivation to persevere, is her daughter. Sweet young Pearl, conceived in an illegal circumstance, is nothing less than her name suggests: a precious gem that brings joy to all her beholders. She is described by the author as being "a lovely and immortal flower" (61), which seems to reference the rose outside the prison that was mentioned earlier on. Her mother is the prison, the wrongful sinner, and Pearl is the small and beautiful rose that is graceful even considering its proximity to the prison.

          Hester, in her time of ultimate shame and humiliation, has only her daughter to be proud of. Throughout the novel, Pearl's youth and ignorance allows her to be the only one who does not judge Hester for her actions. She is the only one who is loyal enough to Hester to stick by her through great struggle. Because of this, Hester learns to stay strong so that her daughter's love, innocence, and beauty never falter. Had Hester been truly alone, she would have no reason to pick herself up from the dust and no one to support her along the way. She recognizes that Pearl is her responsibility and that she is obligated to take care of her. In chapter 7, Hester goes to Governor Bellingham's mansion to ensure that her daughter is not taken from her. She begs that the governor allow her to keep Pearl, and cries, "'She is my happiness! [...] Pearl keep me here in life!'" (77). Pearl's existence also motivates Hester to raise her in such a way that would prevent her from making the same decisions she made. She reasons, "'I can teach my little Pearl what I have learned from this!'" (76)
          Without Pearl, Hester would rather die (77), making her the only thing that motivates her in her life. As a result, Hester lives through the shame and the guilt and raises a lovely girl who is bound to avoid the mistakes her mother made. At the end, Hester was even set on creating a life for her family by moving to Europe. Though the death of Dimmesdale stopped this dream, the events of Hester's life showed the audience that persistence and owning up to your own wrongdoings can be rewarding. Though it's rough at first, it gets better and you learn to make the most of it, with a possible benefit to others.

The Scarlet Letter Blog 1

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Summary Analysis

          The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1850, is considered one of the greatest American novels. It contains themes that reflect the lives of many Americans, such as sin, guilt, and redemption. The novel itself is about a woman, Hester Prynne, who commits the crime of adultery and gives birth to a baby girl while in prison. The story is set in New England; specifically, in Boston, Massachusetts. The prison, where baby Pearl was born, is described as "overgrown with burdock, pig-weed, apple-peru, and such unsightly vegetation, which evidently found something congenial in the soil that had so early borne the black flower of civilized society [...]" (Hawthorne 33). It is dreadful and  grotesque, which adds to the impact of the overall story because it evokes sympathy for Hester and her daughter. The jail is contrasted by the town outside it, which had "a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in [...]" (33). The image of this is refined and attractive, further enforcing the idea of a cruel life inside the prison.

          The time period is not directly mentioned, but can be deduced through clues in the text. The discussion about "Puritan character" (34) illustrates how the Boston colony was ruled by Puritans in the 1600s. And the various remarks about "witch[es]" (34) confirms that the novel takes place in the 17th century. 

          However, the setting of a story includes more than just time and place. It also incorporates social conditions and customs of a given location and time period. Much is revealed throughout the first half of the story about the ideas of the Bostonian locals. The belief of the death sentence is strong, as made evident by a random citizen who exclaims, "'This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book'" (36). The way people think is also portrayed excessively. Hester Prynne was probably a functional member of society with many people who cared about her. Yet as soon as the scarlet letter was placed onto her gown, she was an object of "ridicule" (39). People were so quick to judge her, even the schoolboys who knew nothing about what was happening to her. Such a simple object had the ability to turn an average woman's life around by "taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself" (37). She was literally abandoned by fellow citizens of Boston without being given a chance to explain. This shows the character of the people during this time, because they were so brainwashed into thinking that those accused of a wrongdoing were sinful and not worthy of their compassion or tolerance. They also believe in the Devil, and refer to him as "The Black Man."

          Further, when Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth, disguised as a man foreign to the area visits and questions "'wherefore is [this woman] here set up to public shame?'" a townsman replies, "'You must needs be a stranger to this region[...]" (42), informing the audience that the town's mockery is a common occurrence. 

          Everything points to the idea that laws were strictly enforced during this time period. There was also a fervent belief in a standard family, one with a husband and a wife and their kids. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it allows for severe punishment when something goes awry. Towards the middle of the novel, this is clear when the author states, "In giving her existence, a great law had been broken; and the result was a being, whose elements were perhaps beautiful and brilliant, but all in disorder [...] (62). People care more about the fact that the child was born under dishonorable circumstances rather than the fact that the child is beautiful and bright. 

          The setting contributes immensely to the understanding of the book because it provides a reason for why Hester Prynne was being treated in such a way. The values and ideas of society at that particular time prohibited any man or woman from violating any societal policy. Without the context that the setting indicates, the events occurring in The Scarlet Letter would make less sense to the audience. Today, we also have a strict system of law and the ideas presented in the story are not exactly foreign to us, but it clarifies the fact that similar ideas were present even in the 1600s.