Chazen essay example 7: Erika Dickerson

This final and wonderful example of an approach to the Chazen essay question models an analytical comparison of two pieces. Like many of the other examples posted below, Erika Dickerson used her comparison of these two works to deduce the aesthetic rules they shared and to offer a substantive analysis of their adherence to these rules.

An Analysis of the Success of Art and Novelty

A successful work of art encompasses various characteristics including composition, technique, and the four elements (tension, medium, perspective, and intent). Above all, the success of a piece depends on the way in which these characteristics come together to create a work that is indicative of the artist’s intent and exhibits a fresh perspective on a theme instead of being merely a variation of it.

Ed Paschke’s Spoken Word, 1992, exemplifies successful art. Paschke uses oil on a 60 x 78 canvas to illustrate a doorman kneeling down, presumably to whisper something into the ear of the distorted head. What is fascinating is the ambiguity of the head. Is it a statue? A person? Is it representative of an automaton? It is all of these. Through the distortion of the head and the symbols covering the painting, Paschke argues that the technological advancements of the 20th century obstruct the oral tradition of storytelling: spoken word. The term “spoken word” refers to two things: the oral expression of words and the Postmodern Art Movement. Paschke’s painting alludes to the conjunction of both references. The symbols across the painting are a compilation of tech language, symbols found on the keyboards of laptops, such as the forward slash, semicolon, and inequality signs. There is only one comprehensive phrase among the symbols in the painting, “look ahead: token,” charging the viewer to take the piece as an indication, or “token” of the future. The head represents the effect of human fixation; our lives are consumed by technology. Thus, Paschke imposes more squareness on the head to resemble a monitor. The linear deformity of the eyes and ears signify the inability of the human race to see or hear its own destruction. The doorman represents the possibility of redemption; his modest job calls for spoken word and manual labor, not technological advancements. This is also why Paschke does not paint symbols on the left side of the painting. There are litanies of paintings that speak to the disadvantages of technological advancements. However, Paschke does not simply curse them, but proposes that technology should not replace spoken word, but advance it. Paschke gives each figure about half of the canvas, providing a novel conclusion: there is room for both spoken word and technology to exist.

Unlike Paschke’s Spoken Word, the marble Madonna and Child sculpture, accredited to Benedetto da Maiano’s 1490s workshop, is unsuccessful because it simply offers a variation rather than a novel perspective of its theme. Countless paintings and sculptures imitate the portrait of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus; it is one of the central icons of Christianity and Roman Catholicism. The sculpture fails to exhibit a communicative function, serving solely as a devotional image. This disallows the possibility of potential innovation in the work’s argument as opposed to its medium and composition. The Madonna and Child has a circular composition, tondo, a widespread 15th century Florence technique with glazed terracotta, or mud. The piece has a diameter of 26-5/8 inches. Here, even the composition is not innovative, but remains as popular as the work’s subject matter. However, what is interesting is the sense of womb and circle of life emphasized by the circular composition. Infant Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes, his right hand extended in a blessing gesture, a biblical allusion, referencing Jesus sitting on the right hand of the Father (God), as well as Galatians 2:9, where Paul and Barnabas are given the right hand of fellowship.2 The ornamental border of cherubim and angels carved in the low relief (not to mention Mary’s matching necklace) come as no surprise, as Isaiah 6:2 describes Jesus as being surround by angels. Unfortunately, the Madonna and Child offers the same hackneyed interpretation.

Ultimately, Paschke’s Spoken Word and Maiano’s Madonna and Child are both products of their time; Pascke, the 20th century, and Maiano, the Renaissance. Ironically, Paschke’s Spoken Word insists on more of resurgence than the Madonna and Child. Paschke not only presents an existing argument, but uses it to establish his own argument, refusing to simply confirm the idea that technology is harmful. Maiano’s workshop piece, however, only supports the sanctity of the religious icon. Also, Paschke’s work shows an interracial interaction, in which the minority (presumably of Latin descent) is the redeemer whereas Maiano’s marble work does not break the boundaries of race. It is Paschke’s pushing of boundaries and novelty that makes his work successful.

Chazen essay example 6: Gethsemane Herron

Our sixth example of a successful Chazen essay, by Gethsemane Herron, concentrates on two painters’ responses to a cultural cliché.

The Effects of Society on Female Behavior: Part 1

The artwork I found that completely succeeded according to its own rules was Sleeping Country Girl by Giuseppe Angeli. A painting made sometime between 1745 and 1755, it was made with the standard materials of oil paint on canvas; its dimensions are the relatively small 4X2 feet. In this particular artwork, the subject is a young woman sleeping under a tree; a relatively uncommon subject matter in art. However, there is a twist in its portrayal of the young woman. Instead of being portrayed a delicately beautiful, the artist goes for realism in its portrayal of a mid afternoon nap; her clothes and hat are askew, her mouth hangs open and she leans on the tree that serves as her pillow It’s the best nap for this woman, because it’s so free from dignity; she looks happily uncouth. In an age when women were subject to a far harsher cultural code of society than women live by today, the artwork argues the joy of “letting it all hang it out” and forgetting one’s responsibilities by giving up concern for appearances.

The artwork’s organic logic that supports Angeli’s argument is the juxtaposition between the realism of the young woman and her belongings paired with the ambiguity of the background. The background, the life that she’s escaping through her nap is blurry; the foliage is merely green blots made with hurried brush strokes. He contrasts the blurry background with numerous details about her appearance; he captures the crease of her dress, the lines of her lips, etc.

The artwork succeeds according to its own rules by breaking them. By portraying the woman in a non-stereotyping light, the artist can accurately paint his critique on the place of women. His rules define the message of the work.

The Effects of Society on Female Behavior: Part 2

The second artwork that I feel does not succeed according to its own rules is Lucrezia Romana by Giapietrino, created using oil paint on wood and measuring 14 X 9 feet. Its date of creation is ambiguous; it is believed to be made ca. 1510-1525. Its argument, like Angeli’s, is based on societal expectations of women.

Giapietrino uses Lucrezia Romana as a testament to the glories of the Renaissance. The piece is based off of a historical female figure, Lucrezia Romana. According to the information panel next to the painting, the story of Romana was that she was a Patrician matron who was the unfortunate victim of rape; the piece portrays her subsequent suicide. During Giapietrino’s time (the Renaissance), women were symbols of glorified subservience; they married, had sons, were loyal to their husbands, and were symbols of purity and moral goodness. The Renaissance was different in each European country it took place in, and each place gave hints of the idiosyncrasies of that culture. Italy, for example, was well known for the influence of Catholicism on its culture. Lucrezia was the ideal woman of her time.

The artwork’s organic logic reveals the Renaissance’s influence on the work. True to that time period, Romana is depicted with many symbols of the female morality of the Renaissance; she is young, voluptuous, full and full of vitality- her curves depict her physical healthiness. The most dominant part of the artwork’s organic logic is the large crucifix adorning the woman’s neck; a huge symbol of Christianity. Though mostly nude, the artist emphasizes her chastity by covering her genitalia.

The artwork does not succeed according to its own rules because of its subject matter; suicide. In the heavily Christian-influenced Renaissance, a suicide would have been a mortal sin. Since this artwork seeks to glorify woman as they were in the Renaissance ideal, Romana falls from a lady of grace to a weak sinner. To spend so much time glorifying her virtues and then have her one vice be the center of the work makes no sense.

The two women portrayed in the artwork each are examples of society influencing one’s personal behavior. The first artwork goes against propriety, and shows the woman exactly how she is- imperfect, and content. The other is glorified by society only to be damned by bad luck. These works show the power of rebellion against society; by doing so, one can find peace or great sorrow.

Chazen essay example 5: Clark Chism

Our fifth exemplary essay comes from Clark Chism, who thoughtfully concentrated his analysis on the lighting of each artwork. Notice also the detail of the concluding points of contrast, through which Clark demonstrates that differences in execution lead to different interpretive experiences in the viewer’s engagement with the artwork.

The Strike of the Blacksmiths was painted by German artist Theodor Esser in 1892. It is a large oil on canvas painting measuring some seven and a half feet wide and nearly six feet tall. As its title implies, the painting depicts striking blacksmiths; the argument that the artist is making, however, can only be discerned from the visual detail. Through the painting, Esser is supporting the smith’s cause and making clear the forces that they are facing (namely, the State). Esser’s sharply contrasting portrayals of each side serve to make his point.

The painting casts the smiths in a humanizing light, or, rather, a lack of light; their placement in the dark part of the painting clearly implies their oppressed state. The smiths’ faces and body language clearly show emotion as they are cornered in some sort of walled-in space. On the other hand, the soldiers are painted as identical figures marching in a line, with each indistinguishable from one another. Esser gives the soldiers no emotion, no tribulations about fighting their fellow countrymen; indeed, their faces are not even seen; they are simply depicted as faceless agents of the State bearing down on the brave but hopeless strikers. The ominous, towering soldiers march in the “light” of the State’s power and organization, while the smiths are in the darkness of oppression. Notably, this use of light, by placing the antagonists in the light and the protagonists in the shadow, manages to subvert the common paradigm.

Overall, The Strike of the Blacksmiths is a very well-executed painting. The sharp contrast between the strikers and soldiers makes clear the conflict between the two sides. More importantly, the sympathetic (lack of) light that the strikers are placed in clearly and elegantly shows where Esser’s sympathies lie.

In contrast to the deftly executed The Strike of the Blacksmiths, Fransesco Simonini’s undated 17th century piece Harbor Scene comes off as muddled.

The piece is a landscape, with the main focus being a large, moldering castle slightly to the left of center. The castle is offset by a ship facing end-on to the viewer, which does not fit in with the rest of the image and almost appears to be added as an afterthought. In the extreme foreground, Simonini has placed some obligatory human figures for scale; they don’t add anything to the painting by fitting into the picture in any special or creative way. Indistinct mountains compose the background; it would have been just as well had they been left out, because they contribute nothing to their overall picture.

The worst feature of Harbor Scene is its awkward use of light. Simonini does indeed use light realistically, accurately depicting shadows from a light source low on the horizon and to the left of the frame. Unfortunately, this places much of the canvas in shadow; unlike The Strike of the Blacksmiths, however, this shadow serves no symbolic purpose and only serves to make much of the painting dark and hard to see.

Harbor Scene and The Strike of the Blacksmiths show sharp contrasts. In The Strike of the Blacksmiths, the human figures are purposefully arranged and depicted to bring out the painting’s meaning; Harbor Scene simply features slapped-on people at the bottom of the frame with no real significance. The Strike of the Blacksmiths features creative use of light and dark to make the painting’s point, while Harbor Scene attempts to be flashy through realistic use of light and shadow, but only ends up making the whole frame too dark. All in all, the deliberately arranged scene and impressionistic style of The Strike of the Blacksmiths looks more “real” than the slapped-together Harbor Scene, despite the more finely detailed realism of the latter.

Chazen essay example 4: Anoushka Syed

Here is a fourth model approach to the Chazen assignment, by Anoushka Syed. Notice especially the free way Anoushka moves between details of the images and their political arguments.

There is no one correct way to justly critique a piece of art, but one approach to analyzing art is to see if the brushstrokes, lighting, composition, and other aspects effectively contribute to the theme or message without falling to clichés. Hubert Robert’s Capriccio of Classical Ruins with Boats is such an example. Although this “oil on canvas” was painted in 1760 (when most artists abided by traditional rules), it successfully diverges from the clichés of artwork. The subject integrates ideas that are completely realistic yet never found together, creating an enigma that combines ancient architecture and modern boats and people sailing right up to them. Even the title plays on the irregularities of the painting. Capriccio, by definition, is a free and fluctuating music composition, which could be associated with the freeness of the subject choice of things that wouldn’t ordinarily be found together. However, capriccio also means prank, which is what the artist aims to play with this painting. At first, the artwork seems traditional; one has to look closely to see the atypical scene portrayed that combines two ordinary subjects, but grouping them so it’s unusual. In this way, Robert is able to create beauty and chaos while playing a trick on the viewers. Moreover, Robert is successful because he uses all the elements of art to compliment his painting that fools us into thinking that he is a traditional painter. Robert utilizes traditionally fine and blended brush strokes to create realism. The natural lighting that comes from the background and triangular groupings add dimensionality, and the calm hues create a relaxed mood for the viewer. Perhaps, Robert is saying that society doesn’t pay enough attention to what is placed before them, giving credibility before it’s due. One can infer this because one would think that Robert’s painting is of a serious and realistic subject until one looks closely and analyzes the unlikelihood of the scene.

Antonio Saura’s Giulietta takes on a completely different theme and message than Capriccio of Classical Ruins with Boats. This 1960s painting attempts to entirely separate itself from the norms of art by using an abstract method, but the argument of the painting is lost in the medium. The painting could be contending that the media (portrayed by the TV-like box around the figure’s face) objectifies women through idealizing them (because Juliet of Romeo and Juliet is a conventional symbol of beauty in our culture). However, the theme isn’t evident in the painting as a whole because the artistic elements do not add to this hypothesis. The viewer wonders if this artwork is really about a woman because there are no feminine attributes given to the figure. One wouldn’t even know that it was a woman if it weren’t for the title. Perhaps Saura is implying that the media strips women of their femininity, but that contradicts the first theme mentioned. Furthermore, the composition of the woman’s face is distracting and the unclear emotion on her visage creates ambiguity in the viewer’s analysis. The overall composition is also distracting because there is no real focal point. The smudges on the bottom of the painting draws one’s attention away from the face, which one would think should be the focus since nothing else is present. Lastly, the color and brushstroke style also fail to add to the theme of the piece. The dull gray, black, and white say nothing about the message, and the brushstrokes only emphasize the abstractness. Overall, the theme is missing in the abstraction of Giulietta, which diminishes the strength of the message Saura is relaying to his audience.

Hubert Robert and Antonio Saura display obvious differences in painting styles, possibly due to the influences of their time periods. One cannot justly compare which painting is “better” because the two artworks wouldn’t be classified in the same category. However, both artists share one imperative similarity: they attempt to diverge from the norms of their societies and do so on their own terms. For that reason, both should be considered noteworthy and respected.

Chazen essay example 3: Dorian McClendon

This third example of a response to the Chazen prompt is by Dorian McClendon, who took an experimental approach to the assignment, forcing himself to find weakness in a painting he enjoyed and success in an artwork he did not.

There are many different ways in which artists try to buck the trend and add their own style to a piece by breaking the conventional rules of what ‘art’ is and creating their own. However, these self-made rules do not always result in a successful work of art, but instead, end up as a failed attempt to do something different.

An example of a work of art that succeeds according to its own rules that I encountered in the Chazen Art Museum is entitled Whorl by Gillian Jagger. This piece was made in 1974 out of fiber, molding paste, paint, and stain. Even though I did not necessarily like this piece when I first saw it, it made me stop and stare at it and provoked me to take some time to view it and to think about it. It appears that the argument of this artwork is to show that there is more than one medium that can be used to create a successful work of art. The visual detail that reveals this argument is Jagger’s usage of things other than paint to create this work of art. The fibrous and sinewy look to it is what sets it apart from other pieces and what gives it a different feel than what would be had of this same piece if it had been created with paint. The rules of this artwork were to create something simple, like a whorl, and to portray it in a different, interesting, and not so simple way. It appears that Jagger believes that things found in nature are useful for creating successful art. Whorl looks as if it were made from animal fur, suggesting that Jagger and her works are rooted in the natural world. The artwork succeeds, according to these rules, because of what I stated earlier. When an artist creates a work of art, the main goal is to provoke thought from the viewers and to have their work be appreciated and carefully studied, which is what I did with Whorl.

I was also able to find a work of art that does not succeed according to its own rules at the Chazen Art Museum. This piece is by Hans Hofmann and is entitled August Light. It was made in 1957 and is oil on canvas with the dimensions of 52-3/8 x 60-1/8 in. The argument of the artwork is that abstract images can be utilized to portray non-abstract situations, such as the different lights that would be seen in a day in August. The visual details that reveal this argument are the random shapes Hofmann uses in the painting as well as the fact that the work does not appear to be oriented in any particular way. The rule of August Light is to condense all of the various hues of lights seen throughout the month of August into one painting. The medium for satisfying this rule involves the use of primary colors and basic shapes. It can be speculated that Hofmann was trying to oppose the other artists of his time and genre that might have been showier and more flamboyant, which is why Hofmann stuck with basic colors and shapes to show those artists and viewers of their art that there is more than one way to create a successful work of art. However, Hofmann failed at creating a successful work of art because the random shapes and colors strewn about the canvas do not give the appearance of light in August. Instead, it just looks as if Hofmann was trying to do something different to get attention from his peers, but this feeble attempt comes up short in my opinion.

Both of these artists were clearly trying to do something different and trying to set themselves apart from the artists of their respective genres and time periods. Although I did not particularly enjoy Whorl, it succeeds because it is thought provoking and because it actually looks like what it is intended to be. And, even though I thoroughly enjoyed looking at August Light, I would have never guessed that it was supposed to portray the lights seen in August had I not read the information card next to it; making it unsuccessful.

Chazen essay example 2: Dominic Dharam

Dominic Dharam approached the Chazen essay in a different manner than Veronica Thao. Where Veronica offered a politically contextualized reading of two artworks, Dominic developed an analysis anchored almost exclusively in the works themselves, with the exception of a quick reference to an episode from Matthew. This includes a bravura interpretation of a Dutch still life, an infamously esoteric style of painting the interpretation of which requires almost a glossary.

In this essay, I analyze both Bernardo Strozzi’s Christ’s Charge to St. Peter, and Still Life w/ Game, Fowl, and Vegetable by Adriaen van Utrecht. Both were painted with oil on a canvas surface.

When I first stepped up to the Strozzi (1635-1637), I found nothing special about it; it seemed like yet another religiously themed painting. Suddenly, the mood changed as my gaze met the man in the center. He was staring intently back at me! This added a lot of significance considering the title. It is not merely a scene where Christ is handing a golden key, symbolic of his kingdom, but also a scene in which the viewer participates. The viewer is in a way, a voyeur into this event. While this momentous occasion takes place, the man in the center gazes intently at the audience as if asking “Now what are you going to do with the key?” Another man to the left of the frame is turned around, but has that same expectant look, asking the same question out of the corner of his eye. The scene is frozen in that very moment in time, and pulls the the audience headlong into it.

The painting works, because the symbolism is very complete. The key symbolizes the kingdom which Jesus gives to Peter in Mathew 16:18-19, the Church in its infancy; the two men staring at the audience symbolically extends the charge of the key outside of the frame to the audience itself; the columns in the top-left symbolize the looming Roman oppression against the early Church, and the blue sky and empty space in the top-right-third of the painting symbolizes the room and breadth of possible growth. The logic is organic, because Strozzi works from the true meaning of the passage in the Bible: Christ did not entrust his kingdom to Peter alone, but rather to every human being. Most of all the medium of communication is undeniably, unshakable, potent. It is often said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. If anything, the men in the painting peer into one’s soul as if it were a deep pit, searching for what one has done or accomplished with the key.

The second painting does not succeed. It is a still life with a plethora of vegetables and small game set on a table. For me, it is hard to derive much meaning from still life paintings, but this painting is an exception. I have seldom seen still life paintings extended outside of just the subject. It is always contained within the frame. In the [Utrecht] piece, the action seems to want to push out of the frame. The painter may have done this to vividly show bounty or lavishness. A theme of humanity’s dominance over beast and land can also be derived from the fact that some of the vegetables are bundled up in bunches, and some of the animals are bound by the feet.

[Utrecht] may have convincingly delivered a theme of abundance, and even a theme of man’s dominance over nature, but fails when we consider the consequences of that delivery. If there is over abundance because of man’s mastery over nature, then why is the subject seemingly escaping from the frame? A few of the chickens are shown hanging off the table, feet unbound, and one is even hung from a rope, its head outside of the frame. [Utrecht] may have wanted to show abundance, but inadvertently gave power to nature instead. All of the abundance in the still life seems to escape, or be too much for the frame. This in turn argues that for all of man’s “mastery” over nature, it is by no means absolute, or complete.

In conclusion, we can see that even though great skill can be applied to artwork, the measure that separates the wheat from the chaff includes careful thought about space, and the logical consequences of the action. Flemish’s work, although very technically merited, shows how even in constructing one’s own rules in a painting, one has to be careful not to break them in the grand scheme. Strozzi’s work is an example of organic logic, following both the contextual rules in the Bible, and extending them to the audience in a gripping gaze.

Chazen essay example 1: Veronica Thao

The Chazen essays that came in for the final exam were on the whole quite wonderful, and I have asked a few students if they would be willing to share their work for the pleasure of all. These example essays have little in common with one another, and demonstrate the range of analytical work that answered the difficult questions of the assignment I thought quite successfully.

Here, then, is the first exemplary answer to the essay question, by Veronica Thao. Veronica builds on a thoughtful interpretation of the escalation of militant Japanese imperialism in the early decades of the previous century in her reading of one of the woodblock prints in the Chazen’s special exhibition this summer. Of course, this reading relies on deeper political knowledge than we asked of you for this essay, but as Veronica already knew the history she did well to exploit it.

Kawase Hasui’s 14.4x 9.5 color woodcut, Snow at Tsukijima, painted in 1930 utilizes weather to add character, creativity and distinctiveness to his painting; in doing so he not only adds a unique quality to his piece of art, but also successfully conveys a message by using a snow storm to represent Japan’s cultural code and it’s influence over the people as well as the prominence of Japan.

The blistering snow winds exemplify how Japan’s cultural code overpowers people and society. As the winds are pushing over the Japanese figure, he appears completely powerless; while the architectural structure behind him stands unaffected by the winds. Like the people of Japan; the powerless figure represents the unheard voices of society during a time when military involvement was the basis of Japanese cultural code. The implementation of bushido war codes essentially shaped Japanese society, enforcing one’s life dedication to its nation. The equivalence of power between the military and government, particularly the emperor’s rule, shaped Japanese society around the ideals of Japanese military dedication. The individual in the painting is not only enduring the storm; he is a model figure for those who weathered the hardships under the rule of military-biased nation.

Particularly during the 1930’s, as Japan played a more vital role in World War II, a man’s dedication to the defense of his nation became a priority of life. Therefore, Hasui’s inclusion of snowy weather plays a critical role in the communicating the deep historical content of a 1930’s Japan, and it’s authority over the people of Japan. Ultimately, this painting explores the complexities of Japanese culture, tradition and ideals, especially during times of war. The strong traditional Japanese architecture symbolizes the utter supremacy of Japan’s deeply rooted culture and its control over the common people.

While Hasui’s Snow at Tsukihijima successful captures the essence of Japanese culture during a critical juncture in Japan’s history, Ed Paschke fails to convey meaning and make a statement with his digitally rendered transparency and lenticular screened self-portrait clown, titled Red- Self Portrait. One’s self-portrait should give the viewer a chance to understand the individual; it provides the artist with an opportunity to show himself in depth. Additionally, clowns as an artistic subject should provide the artist with a variety of emotions to play with. The digital alterations and vibrant in use of color sets high expectations for the piece of artwork. However, there is no emotion beyond the color, and rather than adding to the artwork, the manner in which he uses the digital alterations takes away from the underlying message. Instead of giving viewers a chance to explore the craftsmanship of this self-portrait, only one side of the face is accessible for view. Even as one moves around to examine and understand the complexity of this artwork, there is no way to do so. Rather than featuring all sides and emotions of the clown, the subject seems to distance itself; unwilling to let others understand the emotion expressed through color and dimension.

Hasui’s elusive depiction of a raging snow storm in Snow at Tsukijima skillfully articulates on the Japan’s cultural code and its emphasis on military dedication as a means of honor to one’s nation. The historical significance and portrayal of Japan’s undying culture within this painting contributes to its regarded success. In contrast, Ed Paschke inability to truly portray himself within his Red-Self Portrait, beyond the vibrant colors and digital alterations affirms his failure to make a statement, as the art appears one-sided regardless of the physical dimensions and depth visible to the naked eye.

Model Essay: René’s Essay 2

René has been generous enough to share publicly her final draft for Essay 2. This is a remarkably thoughtful and persuasive essay that demonstrates the perfect balance of argumentation textual analysis.

I should add that I know it took René substantial hard work and rewriting to develop her essay to this point. Believe me when I tell you that even members of the instructional staff couldn’t write an essay like this without several hours of hard revision work.

Categorizing Stories as “Characters Challenging Institutional Power” or “Stories That Challenge Society’s Definition of Knowledge”

By creating a library scheme based on how each of the eight stories resist social codes, readers gain a better sense of understanding of the characters’ development and purpose in the story. It would be best to divide the stories into genres based on the type of social codes they resist. “The Yellow Wallpaper,” “The Bridegroom,” “Mumu,” “Araby,” “A Soldier’s Home,” and “A Passion in the Desert” would all fall under the genre of stories whose characters intentionally or inadvertently challenge societal codes concerning institutional powers, while “The Library of Babel” and “Emma Zunz” would fall under the genre of stories that challenge society’s definition of knowledge.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” exemplifies a female protagonist trapped inside the institution of women’s oppression, both literally and figuratively. John gradually begins treating her more like at child by calling her “little girl,” (88) carrying her like a baby, and laughing at her suffering, yet she dismisses his behavior because “one expects that in marriage” (80). By writing in her journal and peeling off the yellow wallpaper, she resists her husband’s orders to rest; this symbolizes women’s attempt to free themselves of the oppression that comes from the institution of marriage. The woman in the wallpaper trying to escape is a metaphor for the narrator’s struggle to escape the oppression of society’s expectations. In “The Bridegroom” by Ha Jin, Huang Baowen desperately tries to conform to the gender and sexuality roles defined by his communist society. Huang embodies a balance between femininity and masculinity that confuses the narrator, who describes his son-in-law as respected by other men for his martial arts skills, yet as “delicate” as a woman. Chief Miao’s definition of homosexuality as a “social disease, like gambling, or prostitution, or syphilis” (211) represents the perspective of the “institution” that sees it as a crime. The institution in “The Bridegroom” can also reflect the actions of governments in general, including the U.S., that limit a person’s rights based on their definition of masculinity or sexuality.

Ivan Turgenev’s “Mumu” revolves around the institution of authority and social class. The abuse of power is a central theme in this story, as shown through the old lady’s irrational behavior, which questions why people in authority use cruelty to demonstrate power. As a person with disabilities, Gerasim is consistently referred to as an animal or sub-human by other characters throughout the story, such as when the old lady says she has absolutely no use for the “ungrateful creature” (65). Characters with power never notice the pain they inflict on their subordinates, such as when the old lady’s orders Gerasim to kill his dog, his only true friend in life. James Joyce takes from his own experiences as a young boy living in Dublin to illustrate the political tensions between Ireland and Britain in “Araby.” When Araby arrives at the bazaar, the British woman who speak down to him with a “sense of duty” lead him to his epiphany that his fancy for the girl is not worth the trouble (104). Araby’s “humble” reply demonstrates obedience to the British woman and represents the Irishmen’s inferiority to the British (104).

In “A Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway, Krebs returns from war and realizes that the American social code that puts pride in war and in soldiers does not connect with the hardships he witnessed in Europe. It is ironic that the institution that once put pride into him now overwhelms him with feelings of isolation and alienation that he distances himself from what he once considered his home. He ultimately decides to conform to society’s standards by settling down and getting a job so that “his life will go smoothly” (113). Balzac’s “A Passion in the Desert” criticizes two major social codes: human’s habit of “taming” nature as though it is our duty, as well as the imperialism of France in Egypt. The latter can be viewed as a more economically developed country trying to “tame” developing countries as though it were its duty. When the soldier shatters the loving bond he once had with the panther, it exemplifies the negative consequences of imperialism.

In Borges’ “The Library of Babel,’ the power struggle is not between two opposing people or types of being, but has more to do with the human struggle to understand the meaning in the universe. While there is a finite number of books, knowledge is considered “infinite” because the library is “unlimited and cyclical” (125). People begin to vandalize the library because they feel overwhelmed by the idea that the answers to life’s important questions are in the library but it can take lifetimes to search for a single book. “Emma Zunz” challenges the definition of knowledge by arguing that what we know is merely what we think we know. Throughout this story, it is ambiguous whether what Emma Zunz claims to know is actually true. When Emma clearly twists the facts about murdering Mr. Loewenthal so that “substantially it was true,” she challenges the definition of knowledge by proving that it is all subjective.

A model midterm essay, Part IV: Dickens

Nat Iosbaker has generously agreed to let me post his answer to the Dickens question on the midterm. Nat’s answer is fascinating on several counts. Most noticeably, his first paragraphs eschew the question posed by the prompt: though he later engages with the logic of Great Expectations, he begins his argument by building from Larry’s notes during lecture about the context of the novel’s production. Nat’s analysis is closer to the work you would find in a history class than in a literature class, though it clearly borrows from both disciplines.

This is a daring move, particularly as a by-the-books-ier grader could have slammed him for not directly answering the question. But this intellectual bravura also means that his essay is likelier to succeed big if it succeeds at all: he is writing in a way drastically different than the other 60-odd essays I graded last week, and that distinction from the crowd looks really good.

Note also that when Nat gets into the close reading of the two endings, he refers closely to psycho-social and thematic patterns that emerge over the course of the novel. He doesn’t quote from the text or engage with the details of its language—my only significant problem with his answer—but he engages closely with what the text is about.

Here is the question he was answering:

Referring to the organic logic of Great Expectations, argue for the effectiveness of the second ending (pp. 481-484). Then, in the same essay, argue for the effectiveness of the first ending (pp. 508-509).

And here is Nat’s answer:

The alternate endings of Great Expectations change the marketability of the book and allow Dickens to continue pleasing audiences and publishers.

Dickens wrote serial novels. Novels created over the span of a year or so that published chapters or sections of the story at intervals. Great Expectations was written in between 1860 and 1861. Common characteristics of serial novels included: having small climaxes in every chapter, so that the audience would read the next published chapter; having plot twists towards the very end of the chapter, once again for the readers benefit; and the chapters could not be extremely long, because of space and printing constraints for the publisher, too much writing for the reader, and not enough time for the writer, Dickens, to produce an extensive amount of material in the time needed to write, edit, and send in the chapter to the publisher. Every aspect of the serial novels, like Great Expectations, was for the entertainment of the reader. The deep analysis that so many scholars work on is worthwhile and obviously needed. But such critical readings were likely overlooked by most readers, unable to analyze the traits of one chapter and contain it until the next section published and then add that to previous readings. Whatever Dickens did was most likely influenced by his editors, publishers, and readers.

Dickens’ first ending to Great Expectations is not made for fairy tales. It is slow and fairly uneventful. The first ending benefits reality. Joe and Biddy are married and have children. Satis house is destroyed and most likely to be sold. Estella’s relationships, created under the pretense to destroy the men in them, were abusive and are over. Everything is as expected. The first ending does not make the assumption that things always work out. This is seen earlier in the book as well, with Magwitch’s capture and death, the loss of Pip’s inheritance, the life of Miss Havisham, and the death of Mrs. Joe. The book follows a pattern of reality; a pattern of hopes and disappointments, much like life.

The second ending is brief, condensed, full of assumptions (hopes), and has a happier ending. The length of the alternate ending would indicate that initial ending is what Dickens put more time and analytical thinking into, because he is not one for brevity or light language.* The stages from Pip’s stay at his original home, to his journey to Satis house, to his meeting Estella, to his leaving with Estella is the condensed version where the reader does not have to arrive at many conclusions, but just has to read and let the mysteries come to them. This can be seen even in Estella coming to Pip and not making the reader go through a journey to reach a conclusion. This ending is also full of assumptions by both characters and readers. Estella assumes Pip has a child and the reader is lead to assume that the two eventually get married and live a fairly peaceful life. The quickness of the writing and the pace at which conclusions are arrived at only add onto the fact that the alternate ending was rushed to get to press.

Though both endings are in the style of realism, Dickens completed and sent in an alternate ending to be published to cheer the audience up. The endings only difference is which makes the audience read Dickens’ next book and which would make the publisher print the next book. There is a reason Dickens [ac]cumulated a wealth of what would now be six and a half million dollars, he knew exactly what twist needed to happen where, when a character would die, when a character would live, and when a happy ending is necessary.

* Editor’s note: in fact, it is the published ending—Dickens’s second—that is the longer of the two.

On posses and possession: minding your own esses

There are a few spelling errors too minor to be worth their own Reminder among the 44 but yet sufficiently common to merit a short post. They have in common the difference in how American pronounce the letter “s” and how the words we have inherited from England use that same letter.

The most frequent problem is that associated with the possessive.

Let us say that Borges had a cat. He seems like the kind of writer likely to have had a cat, after all.

That cat is Borges’s cat—not, in conventional usage, “Borges’ cat.”

Likewise, the pen with which Dickens wrote Great Expectations is not Dickens’ pen nor, heaven forfend, Dicken’s pen; instead, the quill in question is Dickens’s pen.

There is one major exception to this rule that tends to flummox readers. For historical reasons I have never fully understood, classical figures—most famously Jesus—tend to form their possessive without the additional “s.” Ergo: Jesus’ hairdo; Socrates’ mustache.

(I hope Socrates didn’t have a mustache, though it must have been a nuisance to shave every morning with a straight razor.)

This problem tends to compound itself with Frederick Douglass.

Poor Frederick Douglass! He struggled for decades to teach himself to read and write and thereby to undermine the slave-holding system that was his life’s work to destroy, only to have the men and women who read his autobiography write about Douglass’ life or Douglas’s life (ick).

It is—it really is—Douglass’s life, and what a life it is!

One last note, and the one that set me off here. More than one of the essays I have had the opportunity to read this weekend use “posses” for “possess.” As in “This shoe is the finest that I possess.”

A posse is a gaggle of vigilantes set out to avenge some wrong, real or imagined. Remember the torch-and-pitchfork mob in Beauty and the Beast? Totally a posse.

If you have more than one posse you have 1) bad, bad news, and 2) posses.

If, on the other hand, you own something—a prized Pez dispenser, let’s say—that Pez dispenser is something you possess. If someone else owns it, that is an heirloom dispenser that she or he possesses.

Written in the style of a 44 Reminders quiz question, the appropriate sentence would go something like this:

“Douglass’s posse possesses Pez dispensers aplenty.”