Journal Entry (Please grade)

Katherine Mansfield

Info

- one of the founders of the modern short story (Horton 708)

- atmosphere takes precedence over plot (708)

- "Feuille D'Album"

- "Miss Brill"

Analysis - "Feuille D'Album"

The structure of "Feuille D'Album" symbolizes the development of Ian French's character.  The first half of the story consists of mostly description, reflecting Ian's complacent, uninteresting manner.  The story begins to come alive when he sees the girl while eating prunes; to see him performing a normal human action is a change from his usual quiet behavior.  The story's flow increasingly picks up speed as he thinks about and follows the girl, climaxing when he addresses her with an egg.  For now, the chase stops as he waits for her reaction.  This ending is abrupt, yet effective, as it leaves the audience wondering what happens next.  Ian either is slightly mad with infatuation or is truly dim in the head.  Either way, he has finally succeeded in being interesting.

Application

Perhaps Ian wouldn't have had such a difficult time if he had been more sociable from the beginning.  He would've had the confidence to introduce himself to the girl earlier instead of timidly hanging back and wasting time.  His experience reminds me to never hesitate, to take hold of every opportunity.  If he ends up being embarrassed by his hurried "introduction," he would probably regret not developing his social skills before talking to her.  But he can learn from his mistakes, as can I.

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

Katherine Mansfield  Modern

Info

- one of the founders/masters of modern short story (Horton 708)

- atmosphere takes precedence over plot (708)

Works

- "Miss Brill"

- "Feuille D'Album"

- "His heart fell out of the side window of his studio..." (711)

Terms

- atmosphere - emotion pervading a work (723)

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

James Joyce  Modern

Info

- Irish

- one of the giants of modern literature (Horton 696)

- portrayed modern man's alienation from society and from his fellow-beings (697)

- flouted conventional morality and religion (697)

- social alienation inseparable from artistic freedom (697)

Works

- "Araby"

- Evelyn

Terms

- stream of consciousness - narrative method designed to reproduce mental process of a character

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

Journal Entry (Please grade)

William Butler Yeats

Info

- widely regarded as greatest modern poet in English language (Horton 694)

- "Adam's Curse" - work, labor

- Where Nothing Is, There is God

Analysis - "Adam's Curse"

In "Adam's Curse," Yeats and Maud Gonne engage in a conversation about the difficulty of writing poetry.  Yeats claims that although many people scorn it as an idle waste of time, crafting beautiful poetry is harder than enduring physical labor.  He compares it with stitching, scrubbing kitchens, and breaking stones to show the extent of its difficulty.  Maud Gonne then comments that women must work at being beautiful, implying that they, in a sense, know how difficult it is to create beauty.  Yeats replies that since sin came into the world, all worthy, beautiful endeavors require labor and commitment.  Both Yeats and Gonne seem preoccupied with their own opinions since each replies to the other about a slightly different subject, resulting in a somewhat disconnected flow of ideas.  Each topic is loosely connected by the "beautiful" theme, yet the transition between each is natural.

Application

"There have been lovers who thought love should be

So much compounded of high courtesy

That they would sigh and quote with learned looks

Precedents out of beautiful old books;"   (qtd. in Horton 696)

So many people today have twisted ideas about love.  To the world, "love" is another word for lust or sex, whereas, to God, it involves doing good to others.  The four lines of "Adam's Curse" above remind me not to become caught up in the world's expectations of me.  Today's society pushes me towards actions that God wouldn't approve of; the phrase "Everyone is doing it" is one of today's "precedents out of beautiful old books."  Instead of giving in, I need to remember to be myself and to care only about God's opinion, since it is the only opinion that really matters in this universe.

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

D. H. Lawrence  Modern

Info

- romantic radicalism at its fiercest since Blake and Shelley (Horton 703)

- sexual revolution; commitment to sexual freedom (703)

- against all artificial restraints on creative spirit (703)

Works

- "How Beastly the Bourgeois Is"

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

William Butler Yeats  Modern

Info

- widely regarded as greatest modern poet in English language (Horton 694)

Works

- "Adam's Curse" - work, labor

- Where Nothing Is, There is God

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

Modern Introduction  1914 - Present

Info

- "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" - Winston Churchill

- Sigmund Freud - founder of modern psychology

- T.S. Eliot - leading influence on modern literature but also one of severest critics

Terms

- pluralism - favors a multiplicity of viewpoints and assumes that no one of them may be considered universally valid

- existentialism - intellectual position most characteristic of modern period; romantic pessimism as expressed in philosophy, religion, and ethics; man can be certain only of his own existence and can be sure of that only by asserting his will in making choices

- nihilism - morose denial of all meaning and values, including those generated by the self

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.