In The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, Samwise Gamgee quotes the "Old Gaffer" when says, "It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish." As I sit here on the first day of 2013, I'm reminded of an ambition I've had for a while now that I've not pursued. Ever since I was in high school, I've been fascinated with literary and cultural criticism. I've even gone as far as to earn a Master of Arts in English, but I've always put off starting the journey. Now, I've made many excuses. I have hadn't had time: I have to grade papers, pick the kids up from somewhere, take the kids somewhere, plan lessons, make dinner, or any of the other multidinous petty tasks that accompany daily life.
However, in the end, all of these reasons are just excuses; and I've about run out of them. I think that all of these excuses come done to one underlying cause: fear. I'm afraid that I might be wrong. I'm afraid that people will not accept my viewpoint. I'm afraid that noone will even care.
Because of this fear, I've not even tried. Well, gone are the days of fear. I've come to realize that my opinion on something is just that: my opinion. I have a right to express my opinion. I also have the right to accept or reject the opions of others.
With this in mind, I now begin "the job that's never started". I intend this blog to be my opinion on literature, movies, and any other facet of society I find interesting. I realize some may never read this. I realize some may not appreciate my opinion. I realize some may not even care. I also realize that this may turn out to be an unended journey "as takes longest to finish."
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
"Something Tookish"
As you can see, I'm currently immersed within the world of Tolkien. While I was reading back over The Hobbit for the fifth time, something caught my eye that previously remained veiled. In the very beginning, when Bilbo first meets Thorin and Company, Tolkien relates that "something Tookish" awoke within Bilbo as he listens to the party discuss the upcoming adventure.
This longing for adventure resounds within Bilbo. It connects him to his ancestors on his mother's side (the Tooks), who were of an adventurous spirit. Upon hearing the dwarves' song, "he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees, and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick."
This longing seems to be unusual for a Baggins, who usually preferred the comforts of the hobbit-hole. Even though Bilbo outwardly conformed to a life of mundane routine, deep within him existed a longing for more. Joseph Campbell would suggest that this desire for adventure does not remain unique to Bilbo. According to Campbell, this desire exists in all of us.
Although this may be true, Campbell would not exactly call it a desire for adventure. No, he would call it (within The Power of Myth, for example) "an experience of being alive". For Bilbo, this adventure will provide him with that experience.
The same can be said, for me personally, with my experience with reading. When I read, it is not merely the exercise of my eyes scanning words on a page. Instead, it is an opportunity for me to leave this mundane existence as a high school teacher and experience another life. In my mind's eye, as I read, I become a pirate, a musketeer, or even a hobbit (I'd be a wizard, but my height lends itself more to hobbit or dwarf).
Reading opens my life up to worlds I'd never get to visit otherwise. I experience emotions on levels I never thought possible. Thus, I relish the catharsis so sought after by Aristotle. I then can gain better insight into my own being. As Campbell says, "when the story is in your mind, then you see it's relevance to something happening in your own life. It gives you perspective on what's happening to you."
Literature for me, is more than a hobby. It's more than a passion, even. It's a lifeline. To quote another member of The Inklings, "Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it." It awakens "something Tookish" within us.
This longing for adventure resounds within Bilbo. It connects him to his ancestors on his mother's side (the Tooks), who were of an adventurous spirit. Upon hearing the dwarves' song, "he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees, and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick."
This longing seems to be unusual for a Baggins, who usually preferred the comforts of the hobbit-hole. Even though Bilbo outwardly conformed to a life of mundane routine, deep within him existed a longing for more. Joseph Campbell would suggest that this desire for adventure does not remain unique to Bilbo. According to Campbell, this desire exists in all of us.
Although this may be true, Campbell would not exactly call it a desire for adventure. No, he would call it (within The Power of Myth, for example) "an experience of being alive". For Bilbo, this adventure will provide him with that experience.
The same can be said, for me personally, with my experience with reading. When I read, it is not merely the exercise of my eyes scanning words on a page. Instead, it is an opportunity for me to leave this mundane existence as a high school teacher and experience another life. In my mind's eye, as I read, I become a pirate, a musketeer, or even a hobbit (I'd be a wizard, but my height lends itself more to hobbit or dwarf).
Reading opens my life up to worlds I'd never get to visit otherwise. I experience emotions on levels I never thought possible. Thus, I relish the catharsis so sought after by Aristotle. I then can gain better insight into my own being. As Campbell says, "when the story is in your mind, then you see it's relevance to something happening in your own life. It gives you perspective on what's happening to you."
Literature for me, is more than a hobby. It's more than a passion, even. It's a lifeline. To quote another member of The Inklings, "Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it." It awakens "something Tookish" within us.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Between the Acts: An Appropriate Title
Between the Acts: An Appropriate Title
Shakespeare said that “All the world’s a stage, and all men and women merely players.” Virginia Woolf echoes this sentiment in Between the Acts because Woolf utitlizes the play put on by the locals as a symbol on two different levels. On the surface, the pageant represents the state of the people in the novel. Then, on a deeper level, the play represents the state of England at the time of the writing of the novel. The ending of the play leaves the audience bewildered as to its meaning and offended at its implications.
The audience’s reaction to the play centers around its ending set in the contemporary time of the audience. The use of the mirror shocks the audience out of the amusing mood that the earlier acts of the play induced. The audience refuses to see itself as the fragmented and accept the words of the voice from the bushes that states, “we’re all the same” meaning that modern society is filled with “liars most of us.” What then can be meant by this?
Obviously, Woolf channels her own sentiments concerning the modern world through the interpretation given by Rev. Streatfield. Streatfield asserts that “we act different parts.” For Woolf, then, the outer selves that we portray to others are the acts of a play. A person puts on a display for others, whether it is donning the costume of the mother or the teacher. A person performs a role that society dictates that must be fulfilled. It is as if there is some great script that has been scored for each person before birth and each moment of life is another scene in this cosmic play.
Interesting enough as it is, the play does not carry the true action of the novel. The true action of the novel occurs between the acts of the play. It is during these interludes that the characters of the novel become their true selves. Taken on the deeper level, Woolf seems to be saying that this act that a person must put on because of societal rules is not the true self. The true self is what a person does when not performing the role.
The performance distracts the characters in the novel from the longings that exist within them. The performance remains a mimesis- the imitation of an action. The true action of the novel centers around what happens when the characters are not watching the play. Thus, a person’s true identity resides not in what he or she does as a performance for others. The true self resides in “between the acts”.
Shakespeare said that “All the world’s a stage, and all men and women merely players.” Virginia Woolf echoes this sentiment in Between the Acts because Woolf utitlizes the play put on by the locals as a symbol on two different levels. On the surface, the pageant represents the state of the people in the novel. Then, on a deeper level, the play represents the state of England at the time of the writing of the novel. The ending of the play leaves the audience bewildered as to its meaning and offended at its implications.
The audience’s reaction to the play centers around its ending set in the contemporary time of the audience. The use of the mirror shocks the audience out of the amusing mood that the earlier acts of the play induced. The audience refuses to see itself as the fragmented and accept the words of the voice from the bushes that states, “we’re all the same” meaning that modern society is filled with “liars most of us.” What then can be meant by this?
Obviously, Woolf channels her own sentiments concerning the modern world through the interpretation given by Rev. Streatfield. Streatfield asserts that “we act different parts.” For Woolf, then, the outer selves that we portray to others are the acts of a play. A person puts on a display for others, whether it is donning the costume of the mother or the teacher. A person performs a role that society dictates that must be fulfilled. It is as if there is some great script that has been scored for each person before birth and each moment of life is another scene in this cosmic play.
Interesting enough as it is, the play does not carry the true action of the novel. The true action of the novel occurs between the acts of the play. It is during these interludes that the characters of the novel become their true selves. Taken on the deeper level, Woolf seems to be saying that this act that a person must put on because of societal rules is not the true self. The true self is what a person does when not performing the role.
The performance distracts the characters in the novel from the longings that exist within them. The performance remains a mimesis- the imitation of an action. The true action of the novel centers around what happens when the characters are not watching the play. Thus, a person’s true identity resides not in what he or she does as a performance for others. The true self resides in “between the acts”.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)