All posts by ryleem24

Ishiguro

When Stevens Met Dalloway

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My life is now drastically different without my serving of Lord Darlington. Miss Kenton in her last letter believes it would be a nice change for me. She thinks I have spent too much of my life in the same place and need to see more of this world.  I must say my dismissal from Darlington Hall is not one that I expected. After all, I just did as Lord Darlington asked of me. It appears the lengths I went to to achieve the explanation of life as a married man were unwanted.  However, it seems that I could not have given Lord Darlington what he asked. I do not know the married life myself.  To this day I still think of my dismissal. I am now on my way to my new place of business. My life as a butler continues on.  Lord Darlington in my dismissal spared me some. He is sending me to a well-off man. Political I believe and of high stature in his town.  I have now been employed by a man and lady by the name of Dalloway.  They live in London, Westminster particularly.  I know very little of these people; and what they would have me do; I am not even sure of the estate I will be serving.  To forget my life at Darlington Hall is to lose myself and the life I have made for myself.  And dear Miss Kenton. What an astounding housekeeper she was. At her request, I will continue to write her about my new life. What a wonderful woman. Gone now I suppose. My journey to my new life should not be long however, I am seeing the landscape, nature, and the world in a light I have not quite seen before. Everything looks simply different. I am not quite sure if this is a good thing or not.  Westminister, what a bustling town. Not quite the pace I am accustomed to.  I arrived at the Dalloway estate to find no one was there, which was quite awkward if I do say so myself.  “Why hello there”.  A sudden voice. I turned to find a bird-like woman carrying flowers. “May I help you?” “Yes perhaps. I am looking for a Mr. Dalloway”.  As this woman opened the door to the estate, I saw a flash of my new life right before me. This woman, made her way gracefully about the house as if it were hers. “Excuse me miss, are you the housekeeper here? I really must speak to Mr. Dalloway.”  “Why sir I am no housekeeper. Do I look as though I might be one? I assure you you are speaking to Mrs. Dalloway.” “My deepest apologizes ma’am. In no way did I mean to be offensive. I am Mr. Stevens,  your new butler.”. What an astonishing woman. She asserts so much power as if she were Mr. Dalloway himself. How interesting it is to see this way of life so different from what I know at Darlington Hall. Miss Kenton would enjoy the company of this woman. “Yes, of course, Mr. Stevens.  Well then Mr. Stevens, I am hosting a party this evening and there is much to do. Mr. Dalloway will most likely not be around so I will instruct you on what needs to be done for my party. Oh and if you come by a man by the name Peter Walsh, inform him that his presence at this party is of utmost importance.  Now, Lucy will point you in the direction of where everything is. I am sure with your experience of butlering you’ll be just fine. Move quickly there’s much to be done.” Now feeling more myself, I indulged in my new butler duties. Going every which way I began to become blurry in my vision of what was going on this evening. Who was to attend this party? Are these people of importance? What discussion will take place? Yes, it was all very confusing, unlike the affairs of Lord Darlington.  Butlering is never something I have not been good at. Now having learned the layout of the estate through party preparations, the house is most magnificently prepared for this evening. Just in the nick of time too, as people were starting to arrive. I take it as though most of these men and women have not experienced a butler. The confusion on some of the faces was quite a change for me.  Suddenly, I hear the name Peter Walsh and as I turn I see an ordinary-looking man. His gaze, however, one I have never worn myself, one of a man in love. How Miss Kenton would like him. It’s as if he has seen a vision of utmost beauty just behind me. Now just like Mr. Walsh, my gaze is also transfixed on Mrs. Dalloway as she galavants around her party, however, I could never look at a woman with such love. Perhaps butlering this estate will teach me a thing or two about myself. Ah, Lord Darlington never fails.

 

A letter for Mr. Stevens, unsent by Miss Kenton

Dear Mr. Stevens,

I hope you are doing well at your new estate. All is well here at Darlington, although not the same without you. I do hope you like the Dalloways. I must confess,  I told Lord Darlington about them for you. My hope, Mr. Stevens, is that your heart would be softened by the shallowness of Clarissa Dalloway. That you might see the love that you both lack and unbeknownst to her you would learn to love. That is my great hope for you, Mr. Stevens.  I do miss you terribly. Stay well.

Miss Kenton

Joyce

A Painful Paralysis

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Paralysis can be defined as “complete or partial loss of function, especially when involving the motion or sensation in a part of the body”. However, in Joyce’s writing, it can be defined as “a state of powerlessness or incapacity to act.” This definition of paralysis is very prevalent in “A Painful Case.”  Mr. James Duffy is quite an average man who has a routine and sticks to it. He lives on the outskirts of Dublin purposely to be away from the people and dreadfulness of the city.  He keeps the same job as a cashier for a private bank for years. Each day he wakes up and takes the tram out of the place he lives called Chapelizoid to work.  In the afternoon, he takes up his same routine: “he went to Dan Burke’s and took his lunch- a bottle of lager beer and a small trayful of arrowroot biscuits,” (Joyce 104). Then he goes home at the end of the day.  This occurs every day until he meets Mrs, Sinico. She changed him; he started living his life and escaped the paralysis of his routine. It’s not something he  ever thought he would do. His life is described  as “an adventureless tale” (Joyce 105), but this is turned upside down with the entrance of Mrs. Sinico. Not only did this change the life of Mr. Duffy but also the paralysis that Mrs. Sinico was living in. Her husband was always gone and “he had dismissed his wife so sincerely from his gallery of pleasures” (Joyce 106) and she has been stuck at home with only her child. They both moved and shaped each other’s lives. Joyce writes, “Neither he nor she had had any such adventure before, and neither was conscious of any incongruity” (106). One is only living life when there is constant change. One can’t be stuck in something that is always adapting. For years the two shared their intelligence with each other; gathering books and sharing music; becoming intimate even. However, Mrs. Sincio  wanted this more than Mr. Duffy: “Mrs. Sinico caught up his hand passionately and pressed it to her cheek. Mr. Duffy was very much surprised. Her interpretation of his words disillusioned him. He did not visit her  for a week” (Joyce 107).  Mr. Duffy was content that he had found someone to share his thoughts and his knowledge with. Mrs. Sinico has a depravity about her. She has been dismissed  by her husband and Mr. Duffy is giving her the attention she longs for. She feels free from her paralysis but it’s misinterpreted. They had one last meeting where Mr. Duffy broke things off between them. He goes back into his paralysis. Joyce writes, “Four years passed. Mr. Duffy returned to his even way of life” (108).  Mr. Duffy becomes suconsciously stuck in his life again. While the lives of Mr.  Duffy and Mrs. Sinico are examples of paralysis in this story, there is another example. The death of Mrs. Sinico: “One evening as he [Mr. Duffy] was about to put a morsel of corned beef and cabbage into his mouth his hand stopped. His eyes fixed themselves on a paragraph in the evening paper,” (Joyce 108).  At this moment, Mr.  Duffy becomes stuck in the death of Mrs. Sinico; paralysis. He reads the paragraph  over and over again as if there is going to be something different on the page each time. The repetition of it  all shows how he is stuck in the thought of her death. Someone who gave him purpose and someone who he confided in, who he shared his knowledge and heart with was gone. He gets stuck in the  memory of her: “As the light failed an,d his memory began to wander he thought her hand touched his,” (Joyce 112).  He starts to think it is his fault she is dead and gets caught up in these self-accusations. He starts to realize  what a paralyzed life looks like: “Now that she was gone he understood how lonely her life must have been, sitting night after night alone in that room. His life would be lonely too until he, too died, ceased to exist, became a memory- if anyone remembered him,” (Joyce 113). He couldn’t escape his  thoughts and questions about her. He was stuck; paralysis.  All of the characters throughout this novel experience some type of paralysis. The city of Dublin has this cloud of stillness that rains down on the lives of the people who live in the city, especially at this time. Joyce captures  this state of powerlessness in Mr. Duffy and Mrs. Sinico. Her paralysis comes alive in the depiction of death. Mr. Duffy’s paralysis comes alive in the perspective of the city’s quietness, the river’s stillness, and the loneliness he’s now aware of. Paralysis infects the lives of these characters, but they can’t escape it until they are already stuck.

Satrapi

we love a powerful woman

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before I go into my whole little spiel I just have to say the past couple of books and the feminism theme has been oh so exciting.  from the ripe age of six this little girl knew her worth.  she walked up to those people she said I be a prophet like yes queen that’s not very realistic but dream child.  anyways I really did enjoy this novel I like the graphic novel aspect that was really cool and for me it just kind of made the story easier to follow I know that makes me sound like an elementary schooler like oh Rylee needs pictures in her books for her to understand but it literally does help me understand. throughout the novel as she got older  she did kind of discover her self in her own beliefs which I think as a child is hard to do because most children just believe and repeat whatever their parents believe and it’s admirable how she managed to find herself especially in the time and in the world that she was living in where having your own personal beliefs and morals could literally have gotten her or her family arrested.  I think her boldness and just vigor to fight for what she believes in like standing up to the teachers and going out like her parents and demonstrating is super intriguing  for me.  now that I really think about it it kind of just shows the impact of a child, like if you think about civil rights movements it didn’t really attract any kind of attention until people saw children being beaten on the streets by the police if you really think about the impact that a child has on a society it’s it’s so different from any kind of adult or anything so I think children really have more power than they think.  the ability to see things through almost a clear lens of a child. adults have this perception of the world based on how they grew up and I think as a kid before you really seen the world and you get thrown in the situation like Marji did  you see it for what it really is and not for what it is based on your political beliefs because most children don’t  have those. I like how Marji writes this whole story and she’s writing as an adult through the eyes of a child and it kind of reminded me of atonement how briony writes this whole novel as we later find out as an adult but through the eyes of when she was a child. side note: i really just love the capturing of the girls in the veil and how they treated the veil.  a lot of the times you see stereotypically men fighting for some sort of power for me just my perspective on history,  when women want something to happen or something to change they banded together to make it happen. think of women’s suffrage rights in the US and in 1956 in South Africa the protest of women’s passes they banded together and fought for something they wanted and I think the power of a woman is seen a lot through Marji and her mother and how they just never gave in and were always very headstrong in their beliefs and what they wanted to change in their society.  they didn’t care who held the power it was a change they were looking for. there is nothing like a woman that’s all I got to say. they are complex and  smart and know exactly what they’re doing. I love that we’re reading novels with powerful women.  sorry this blog is kind of the place I had a lot of ideas about this book and they’re all scattered and I just had to get them all out. thank you for reading yet another ted talk 🙂

Garcia-Marquez

anglea vicario slayed

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Here’s the deal I’m not a crazy super feminist because in my opinion men are equally as important but I have to acknowledge the amazing abilities of a woman who knows her worth and her power and Angela Vacario is a fantastic representation of that. I was a little worried about her at the beginning of the book because I was like girl you are heartbreakingly sad the way she was talking about the only thing that she could do is kill herself and all that stuff I was like all right you’re quite the joyful little character there however with the help of none other than Bayardo and of course  Santiago Nassar who allegedly did some stuff she became this mastermind manipulator. We can’t pretend like miss girl didn’t know that there was gonna be an issue with her getting married because she wasn’t a virgin there’s no way that she was unaware of that. she went through with it anyway and married some random dude I guess who she thought had to be attractive because why in the world would you even consider marrying a man who’s not a little bit attractive?? he had money, her family was ready for it and then uh oh we find out that Angela has done the dirty… oopsie. now this sends Bayardo into a little frenzy as we all know.  boy is like absolutely not I cannot have her as a wife and is like take her back which I know I said this in class but let me say it again the way that they kept saying that they were returning her she was being returned the word return I didn’t like that that made Angela sound very objectified and like she was some kind of transaction.  he really said insert cash or select payments type with that one. anyways to get to the fun part the way that she writes him a letter every week for years is 1) dedication like yes queen gets your mans and 2) it’s the way that he did not even have to open a single letter to come back to her… like how did you mastermind that? that was amazing… not only that she saw him and was like oh you’re not necessarily the same way you were long ago but then she was like oh shoot you’re old and fat and have no hair let me call the shots, therefore she did. the amount of powerful feminine energy throughout the novel is not really super evident until you take a little deep dive it’s such an underlying little motif throughout some of the women and I love it especially in the class full of females who have very strong opinions you just have to eat it up it’s too good. I mean beautiful beautiful acknowledgment of her power and low-key none of this would’ve happened had Santiago Nassar  not butt his way between that so minor slay for him I guess.  ha ha slay is  funny because he was literally slain I still can’t get over the fact that he was walking through these peoples house  holding his intestines and then just smiled at them.  that got a good little giggle out of me anyways this was a good nice little read.  I liked it have a joyous day

McEwan

Plot Twist… i’m not going to complain about briony

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As much as we have all vocalize how much we dislike Briony, especially me, and while I could just sit here and rant about how terrible that little brat of a child is, I don’t want to do that.  Plot twist I’m going talk about Cecelia because she got the short end of the stick throughout the entire novel. She’s just different although she went to Cambridge she didn’t do very well and that’s talked about a lot in the first section of the novel and there’s even times when Leon’s there and she just wants to talk to him and have a drink with him and she finds that to be difficult because of Paul Marshall and then of course everything with Robbie and I’m gonna unpack that a little bit.  I think that a lot of her differences and her little quirks and things that are just different about her than anybody else in the novel is that she is the one person who is actually in love. Now she would never dare to say it out loud but it’s obvious in the way that she always notices him wherever he is and she is always thinking of little things she could do to get his attention even when she’s talking to him she tries to sound more intelligent in what she’s talking about to relate to him on some level because he also went to Cambridge  but he’s a little brighter than she is. Her biggest issue with all of it, underlying even if she’s not fully aware of it, is the issue of class that is persistent through this whole novel.  She knows that she can’t really be with him because it would look bad because he’s in a lower class than she is but that also doesn’t stop her from interacting with him and then after she gets that note, when she knows how he feels, she wants him just as much as he very clearly stated he wanted her. But unfortunately for us Briony exists in this novel for some reason or another lol I know she wrote this freaking story anyways she ruined it for Cecelia and although she was a child and she thought Robbie was hurting her does not mean that she can take it to the extent that she did and go run and get the note and show everyone what happened in the library like girl that is so extra please calm down and she ruined that and that’s what hurts. It was the one thing her sister really wanted.. Robbie. I also feel the need to talk about Robbie because he’s low-key the best character in the whole book. Obviously he has some flaws and he can’t see because he picks up the wrong note which had he been more careful all of this could’ve been avoided but anyway, when he’s accused of this he doesn’t fight back or anything because he knows his place. Even though he’s clearly very smart and very intelligent he knows his place and although we’re not sure if the whole section about Robbie being in France is factual at all because it all came from freaking Briony that just shows his leadership capabilities and I don’t know I just really liked him.  Also in the illusion of the apartment scene with Cecelia and Robbie and Briony he had every right to be upset but like he still didn’t hurt her they still let her do what she felt like she needed to do to reconcile with them even though I didn’t really work because nobody likes her. All in all Robbie and Cecelia deserved better and as hard as Briony tried to make this a cute little romance novel at the end where they are together unfortunately for us we find out that they actually died and we don’t get a nice little romantic ending but #RobbieAndCeceliaDeservedBetter