I'm really excited to read The Bell Jar. From the few chapters I've read, I already like the novel. I'm intrigued and I really want to read ahead. Part of my excitement comes from the fact that we're finally reading a novel with a female main character. I think a book with a female narrator will be easier for me to relate to than one with a male narrator, like Portrait or Catcher.
Coming of age novels are something that people my age should be able to understand and relate to pretty easily, since we're going through the process of coming of age while we read the novel. I think it's easier to relate to the problems and thoughts of a narrator of the same gender, because they might have more experiences in common with your own. I identified with Stephen Dedalus and Holden Caulfield to some degree, but I'm hoping to have a deeper connection to Esther Greenwood.
I really did enjoy reading Catcher in the Rye, but I am very excited to see what The Bell Jar has to offer. Esther Greenwood's dissatisfaction with her life is very relatable for me. I'm happy with my life, but I often get the feeling that I could be doing something more. I feel like there are better, more meaningful things that I could be doing, but I just don't know what they are.
For all of our similarities, there are many places where I don't identify with Esther, and even find myself questioning her sanity. She presents a very different image to the world than what we, who are privy to her thoughts, see. I'm interested to see if these two selves, the one that she shows people and the one who she really is, will ever collide.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Perceptions
Catcher gives us a good idea of what Holden thinks about other people and the world, but we don't get a very good picture of how other people perceive him. Even when reading about his interactions with other people, I often feel as though my opinions on those people are being swayed by Holden's constant barrage of insults and snide remarks about the other person.
His conversation with Carl Luce is one of the only times when we see what other people really think of him. Luce is sick of the conversation before he even sits down, and does everything he can to escape Holden's company. Holden picks up on this, and it seems as if he is trying to defend himself as he describes their interaction.
"How's your sex life?" I asked him. He hated you to ask him stuff like that.
"What're you majoring in?" I asked him. "Perverts?" I was only horsing around.
In both of these examples, Holden blows off Luce's annoyance, making it seem to us like Luce was overreacting and Holden was just making a joke. He tries to make it seem as though he's really cool and Luce is boring and has no sense of humor, but all I see is a boy trying too hard to seem older than he really is. Luce repeatedly mutters something long the lines of "same old Caulfield" while Holden asks him increasingly ruder and more private questions.
With Luce, we see a bit of what he thinks about Holden, but it's still clouded by Holden's comments. In most of his other interactions, we don't get as clear an idea of the other person's perception of Holden. During his date with Sally Hayes, he makes her seem irrational even as he is acting increasingly erratic. He calls himself crazy, a description which I agreed with during that scene, but we don't know what "old Sally" thinks. Holden makes it very clear that Sally annoys him, and we don't get a clear view of her, or her perceptions of Holden.
Holden's narration is intriguing and compelling, but I often find myself wishing I had a clearer view of other characters present in the novel and their perceptions of Holden.
His conversation with Carl Luce is one of the only times when we see what other people really think of him. Luce is sick of the conversation before he even sits down, and does everything he can to escape Holden's company. Holden picks up on this, and it seems as if he is trying to defend himself as he describes their interaction.
"How's your sex life?" I asked him. He hated you to ask him stuff like that.
"What're you majoring in?" I asked him. "Perverts?" I was only horsing around.
In both of these examples, Holden blows off Luce's annoyance, making it seem to us like Luce was overreacting and Holden was just making a joke. He tries to make it seem as though he's really cool and Luce is boring and has no sense of humor, but all I see is a boy trying too hard to seem older than he really is. Luce repeatedly mutters something long the lines of "same old Caulfield" while Holden asks him increasingly ruder and more private questions.
With Luce, we see a bit of what he thinks about Holden, but it's still clouded by Holden's comments. In most of his other interactions, we don't get as clear an idea of the other person's perception of Holden. During his date with Sally Hayes, he makes her seem irrational even as he is acting increasingly erratic. He calls himself crazy, a description which I agreed with during that scene, but we don't know what "old Sally" thinks. Holden makes it very clear that Sally annoys him, and we don't get a clear view of her, or her perceptions of Holden.
Holden's narration is intriguing and compelling, but I often find myself wishing I had a clearer view of other characters present in the novel and their perceptions of Holden.
Friday, February 1, 2013
A stylistic genius
Joyce is an exceptionally talented writer. Every word of the novel is perfectly written to show the maturing of Stephen's mind and to exhibit the way that Joyce thinks of Stephen's actions. The symbolism, metaphors, and connections between different scenes in the novel are also incredible.
Upon reading the first scene, I was bewildered by the odd language Joyce used. Now that I've nearly finished the novel and seen the way Joyce matches the language in the book to Stephen's maturity, I'm much more impressed by Joyce than I was three weeks ago.
Joyce's writing has morphed from the choppy thoughts of a young boy to beautiful, powerful, and sometimes musical musings of an intelligent young man. Though sometimes I find it difficult to get through the pages, Joyce's style of writing is so unique that I still enjoy the reading.
When we discuss the novel in class, I'm always amazed at how much hidden meaning I miss. I usually only find about half of the metaphors connections between scenes on my own. I love that moment when something suddenly makes even more sense after someone points out another meaning of the words. This novel has completely changed my thoughts on the coming of age novel.
Upon reading the first scene, I was bewildered by the odd language Joyce used. Now that I've nearly finished the novel and seen the way Joyce matches the language in the book to Stephen's maturity, I'm much more impressed by Joyce than I was three weeks ago.
Joyce's writing has morphed from the choppy thoughts of a young boy to beautiful, powerful, and sometimes musical musings of an intelligent young man. Though sometimes I find it difficult to get through the pages, Joyce's style of writing is so unique that I still enjoy the reading.
When we discuss the novel in class, I'm always amazed at how much hidden meaning I miss. I usually only find about half of the metaphors connections between scenes on my own. I love that moment when something suddenly makes even more sense after someone points out another meaning of the words. This novel has completely changed my thoughts on the coming of age novel.
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