The Anonymous Narrator and the King of Kings

The Plague's narrator is kept in anonymity until the finale of the novel. This raises questions for the reader (Well, the "modern" reader -- the one Camus wrote for, not the reader that Rieux wrote for). Why was the narrator kept anonymous? Does anything change now that we know the narrator was actually the main character? 

I personally see this as a message from Camus. It seems like he is trying to show that it doesn't actually matter who narrates this story. Of course, there is also the additional interpretation that Rieux wants to provide a reliable, unbiased account of the story, but this is too big of a reveal for that to be the only reason. I think what Camus is trying to get the reader to realize is that once a plague or any other disaster ends, those who tell the stories become nothing more than names on paper. Rieux and the other characters who lost loved ones in the story are "unreachable" in the sense that the reader has no true connection to them other than through Rieux. For us, the deaths are merely numbers and the narrator is nothing more than a voice that guides us through the event. The narrator could have been any other character, or even an omniscient 3rd-person narrator (Though that would change the whole structure of the novel), and we would have gotten the same "effect". By keeping Rieux's identity anonymous, Camus is mimicking the terrifying effect of time unto the reader. People are so willing to pretend like the plague had never happened and that the deaths of victims are just numbers. Even now, we are suffering because when the pandemic began, people were quick to deny it, and only when things got truly bad they acknowledged it -- But when it starts to go down just a little, people go right back to denying the potential of the virus. 

Imagine you had kept a diary of the effects of the pandemic on your life or a small community you were a part of. If you never revealed your identity to the reader, do you really think people 100 years in the future would care who wrote it? Do you think they could truly understand the pain of losing someone close to you or the foolish repetitive cycle of people denying the virus and ultimately spreading it further? I believe Camus brilliantly depicts the devastating, numbing effect that time has on one's identity, and it brings to mind a quote from Ozymandias:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

The Sun Also Rises -- Uncertainty

 The ending of The Sun Also Rises seems to raise more questions than it answers. But is this necessarily a bad thing? What more is there to life than a series of chapters and reflections on those memories? I find the final interaction between Jake and Brett to be very illuminating of both their past and their future, and the idea of uncertainty/certainty becomes interesting when discussed in terms of their relationship. At the beginning, Brett and Jake were unable to be together. They were certain that they could not provide each other with enough of what the other needed, and they spent a significant amount of time in a futile search for something they couldn't have. This led to Brett's idealization of her relationship with a "healthy" Jake and Jake's inability to be in a real relationship with other women. Though they may have shared some affection or passion for each other, the physical injuries, which represent his "loss of masculinity" at war, make it so that Brett cannot give herself to Jake. Due to this feeling of inadequacy, Jake is hostile and intolerant of anything that resembles a threat to his remaining masculinity. This circumstance is symbolic to the tragic irony of soldiers entering war as a means to prove their masculinity (War being the most powerful figure of "Man"), but leaving as a shell of their former selves to be mocked and ostracized in the future. I believe that the scene towards the end of the novel with the bullfighters also represents this idea of soldiers returning from war. The legendary bullfighter tries and fails to overcome the expectations set up for him, and he is ultimately turned into a mockery of his former self. 

At the end of the novel, Brett and Jake have a conversation about what they could have been.

    "Oh, Jake," Brett said, "We could have had such a damned good time together."

    Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed                   suddenly pressing Brett against me. 

    "Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?"

Finally, their relationship is not based on what could have been. From this passage, I gather that Brett will probably still romanticize the relationship they may have had, but she has come to terms with the fact that Jake will not be what she believes to be "whole". However, because of Jake's injuries, he is the only one to truly be able to know Brett without lust being his primary motivator. They are now able to fantasize about the uncertainties of the past while being rooted in the certainties of their future.

Masculinity

A topic I found interesting in The Sun Also Rises is the relationship between Jake and his masculinity -- specifically in the context of the gay men he comes across. With the "Iceberg Theory" in mind, I thought it was extremely illuminating how Hemingway shows both Jake's intolerance and the reason behind it. For Jake, masculinity seems to be a very sore subject, of course due to the injuries he has, and I noticed that it was heightened when he was mentioning the gay men. From what I gather from Jake as a character and the time period the novel is set it, I believe that Jake is essentially a homophobe because he finds homosexuality to be like a cruel mockery of his own situation. Jake's circumstances make him feel as though he is less masculine than a normal man and to him, homosexuality could look like men, who have all the "parts" required to be masculine, just throwing away that chance. 

It would be interesting to see how the story changes (or would there even be a story?) if Jake didn't receive the same injuries he has now. Would he be more tolerant and less aggressive? Would he have more confidence in himself and allow love into his life? I guess it isn't really a fair thing to contemplate because so much of Jake's character is based on the scars but does raise some questions about the real world. I feel that everyone does things for a reason, whether they are aware of it or not, and we shouldn't be to quick to judge people.

Mental Health in Mrs. Dalloway

 Mental health is a large aspect of Mrs. Dalloway and is represented by a character who would be much more relatable during the time period that Woolf wrote the novel in: A war veteran. He seems to be inflicted with PTSD and depression, and the reader sees how he is trapped in his own mind. I find Woolf's portrayal of Septimus and his doctor very representative of the initial introduction of mental health as an idea in society. Like Septimus, war veterans who were "shell-shocked" were not taken seriously and doctors had a similar reaction as Septimus's doctor did (Acting like there wasn't much wrong). 

One similarity that we briefly discussed in class was that between Mrs. Dalloway and "The Yellow Wallpaper". Both of these stories discuss the lack of awareness surrounding mental illness and give similar descriptions of the madness that takes over the victims. After reading this novel, I wonder if people were less ignorant about mental illness and more accepting of the fact that the mind must be treated with care, just like the body. 

Hyper-Detailed Narratives in the Quarantine World

Evan Kindley from The New Yorker discusses connections between Mrs. Dalloway's story and our lives under quarantine in this article: [link]

Although we haven't read much of this novel, it's interesting to see the points Kindley makes about the sudden growth in consequence of formerly normal acts like walking to the store or crossing a street. Even in the novel The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker, where the reader is thrust into a hyper-analyzed account of going up an escalator, readers in 2020 can relate deeply with the ironic significance of such a simple deed. However, this does bring up the question of "Are we supposed to relate to these personal accounts?". Did the authors of these novels truly mean for the reader to have a personal connection with their accounts or are the stories enclosed meant more to be a "time-capsule" or snapshot of a single individual's life? 

As we read more of Mrs. Dalloway, I expect that we will continue to make connections with our modern predicament and Mrs. Dalloway's adventure. 

Aurelius and Howie

Arguably the most violent reaction the reader witnesses from Howie in The Mezzanine is the one that occurs after he reads a passage from Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. As a bit of background, Meditations is a collection of 12 books that Aurelius wrote to himself about the "importance of analyzing one's judgment of self and others and the development of a cosmic perspective" (Wikipedia). The specific passage that Howie reads discusses the triviality and the transience of life and during our discussion in class, we spoke a lot about the the aspect of the trivial. Another general consensus our class came to is that Howie inherently disagrees with Aurelius and his beliefs. However, when I reread the passage in The Mezzanine I noticed that the narrative of Howie was very similar to Aurelius's Meditations in the sense that both are very private, "intimate" narrations of each own's life. The only difference is that Howie seems to separate trivial and transient as two separate things. 

For Howie, the "trivial" things in his life enable him to manipulate his flow of time and give a sense of permanence to passing events. The juxtaposition of his deep analysis of his milk and cookies into his analysis of Aurelius's passage further emphasizes this idea. In Howie's life, the most important things are the "trivial" and the things he longs for and remembers the most deeply are the "transient". Aurelius's "definition" of life completely contradicts this belief, which causes this reaction.

Flower by Kim Chun Soo

This is a poem called Flower by a famous Korean poet named Kim Chun Soo, who has won many notable awards.

In Korean:

꽃

내가 그의 이름을 불러 주기 전에는
그는 다만
하나의 몸짓에 지나지 않았다.

내가 그의 이름을 불러 주었을 때
그는 나에게로 와서
꽃이 되었다.

내가 그의 이름을 불러 준 것처럼
나의 이 빛깔과 향기에 알맞은
누가 나의 이름을 불러 다오.
그에게로 가서 나도
그의 꽃이 되고 싶다.

우리들은 모두
무엇이 되고싶다.
너는 나에게 나는 너에게
잊혀지지 않는 하나의 눈짓이 되고 싶다.

My rough English translation:

Flower

Before I had spoken her name,
She was nothing but a gesture.

When I spoke her name,
She came to me and became a flower.

Just like I spoke her name,
Who will speak mine,
Which fits with my color and scent.
I, too, want to go to her
And become her flower.

We all desire becoming something.
You to me, I to you,
Yearn to become an unforgettable glance.



I found this poem very interesting because it blended together aspects of one's identity and the meanings of one person to another. In the first two stanzas, the author is describing how when he called a person's name, she became something valuable and beautiful. I think in this context, what he means by "calling her name" is not referring to saying her name but showing her what her best qualities are. This interpretation is further reinforced by the next stanza in which the speaker asks for someone to call his name, which fits his scent and color. I think what he is asking for is for someone to recognize his appealing qualities so that he can understand what they are and bloom into a flower as well. The last stanza is one I find very beautiful because the phrase "We all desire becoming something" is so powerful and it is one that many people can relate to. Also the last line where the author says that they want to be unforgettable even in quick glances is simple but also relatable. One thing that I feel is up to interpretation is whether this is depicting a sort of one-sided love. If you have a different perspective on this poem, please let me know in the comments!

I think that we has students in the US sometimes forget that although there are many cultures both inside and outside the country that are different, the people in those communities come to the same conclusions about emotions, especially love. I picked this poem because I think it's a great representation of how people who might write or speak in a different language still feel the same way about yearning and companionship.