Throughout my English career (lol) I have discovered that form represents the barebone unit of a whole generation for rich literary narratives which allows an experience to translate itself into a dichotemy of comparing and contrasting techniques--not only limited to scribed and verbal experiences but visual ones such as in the Revolutionary paintings we discussed in class. For example, in Paradise Lost, I found a somewhat romantic character in Satan, his vastly whimsical motives compares him to Lady Liberty or any other "going against the grain" character within the paintings; A struggle nonetheless between characters and the alleged righteousness of their environment, which endows them with stubborness and tactical vices for overthrowing the structure and confinement of the powers that be.
Unlike much of what I have read before, Satan is always depicted as a tainted and unapologetic character, one that the reader can never sympathize with.
However, Satan in Paradise Lost is introduced as a revolutionary, railing against the powers that be, and whether the powers are godly or omniscient is not called to question, rather are those that defy the socialist and pedestined order truly evil or simply truly. On that optimistic note, one begs the question, what does it mean to be an American or better yet a person within a holistic spectrum of man vs. nature. Nature in this case being the imposing rule and tradition, and the counterparts who are led to believe that the determined values and beliefs allow no elbowroom for change and individualism. This is all food for thought because of the form of the text, which amplifys Milton's poetic scheme, a lyrical villanelle, as a progressive narration for the climactic scene between Satan and God. The variations in sentiment and diction of each character is what presumes my notion for revolution as a soulful entity within the whimsical character. Thus, revolution is what creates a dimensional character, a conflicted individual, because of the socialist and historical background within each experience.
This paves way to Red Calvary and the degneration of persons into animalistic and grotesque entities. Hence, compared to Satan, Gabriel is a whimsical character in search of the perfect utopia while Satan is in search of his own utopia. This is a great distinction between both experiences of the text, because Garbiel's utopia implys a shared one, while Satan's suggests a singular one. One asks, why? I ask how? How can Gabriel's learned behavior reflect a flaw in society, or a flaw in himself? Both. Well, first things first, Gabriel is made vulnerable by his prior exposure and knowledge,
that created a cause and affect for imposing rule and the
3 comments:
I think you allusion to dimensional and conflicted characters is an important one . . . Donnelly's characters are not conflicted . . and not ambivalent about anything . . .so, they appear to be ciphers for ideas or ideologies . . .almost allegorical figures (Gabriel = Reason; Prince C = Greed, etc.) . . . and what's incredible about Milton is that he takes an "allegorical" figure - - i.e. Satan - -and manages to transform him into a dimensional character because he shows us Satan's conflicts and ambivalences . . .and these "humanize" Satan . . .
Keep your eye on this in Man's Fate - - where we get characters who are defined by ambivalence and conflict . .
"Revolution is what creates a dimensional character"
In each book we have read so far, we see each character's perosnality change. I think it is important to remember that a revolution can change ones views about life and society. For example, in Man's Fate Ch'en is afraid to murder a man in the beginning of the tale, but as time goes on he admits it is better to kill than to die. Violence is a substitute for values- both personal and traditional.
I agree, in Paradise Lost we saw Satan, a complicated character with all sides of his personality. One would think that just the fact that Satan is the "bad guy" he would automatically be hated. However, because he is presented in such a human form with feelings that we all can identify with, suddenly Satan doesn't look so bad. This is a perfect example of how literary form can make one side or empathize with symbols, like Satan, usually deemed as evil.
Contrary to the form used in Paradise Lost, Caesar's Column failed to capture the reader in the same manner. Donnelly presented his characters, but there was no deep dive into the soul and/or thinking process of them. Therefore, we watch/read everything from a distance, no where near as affected as we were in Paradise Lost or Red Cavalry.
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