In this compact course of ours, we have had time to read a few chapters only from one of Mark Twain's books. Yet, his genius, magnificent use of language, the aural quality of his dialogues, the imaginative worlds he creates based on his personal knowledge of the "ante-bellum" South, his wit and the ironic views of his own dear America, as seen in his diaries, novels, and short stories deserve that eventually, you devote some more time to reading Twain's books. Usually considered as teenage novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will delight anyone interested in the varieties and dialects of American English. The latter of these two books, especially, is one of the "classics" (to use Calvino's notions) which can be read -or re read- by grown ups only to discover the beauty of language, friendship, generosity and freedom. (We have discussed the notion of incorporating books into a canon; yet, this implies leaving some outside the canon, or even banning them. This is what happened to Huck Finn after the attack on the Twin Towers ten years ago. Read it and discover why an "American classic" was banned by Americans themselves!)
One of Twain's pervading images, and symbols, is the Mississippi river. You may consult a dictionary of symbols to understand the full implications of waterways, but in this case, it is not "any" river: it is the Mississippi. A mighty river that runs from Minnesota into the Mexican Gulf for over 3700 km. Both in his fiction and non-fiction, Twain gives a central role to the Mississippi.
Power: According to J. E. CIRLOT “A DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS”, represents irradiating force and height above ground-level is a further illustration of it.
ResponderEliminarIn the three texts this idea of power symbolized by height above ground-level is present.
“The Scarlett Letter” describes how Hester Prynne is forced to stand above the “platform of the pillory” at “about the height of a man’s shoulders above the street.” (Chapter 2). Even if this is a sentence for her crime and is meant to embarrass her, it required enormous strength. Moreover, when Hester is asked to denounce the man that sinned with her she refuses. She is in a position to refuse. She is higher; she has the power to keep the secret.
In “The Raven” the bird which is reveling the future with its single though powerful phrase “Nevermore” is “Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door”.
Mark Twain writes about ships and their crews as the ones empowered. The ships that are “perched on top of the ‘texas’ deck” (Chapter 4) are the ones that bring life to towns, which give jobs to people and the ones kids dream to sail. Furthermore, in Chapter 57, Dean goes from being considered “an escaped lunatic” to “an escaped archangel” only after he was forced to speak over the stage.
María Eugenia Rosell
As J. E. CIRLOT in “A DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS" suggests darkness is not, in symbolic tradition identified with gloom. On the contrary it corresponds to primigenial chaos. It is also related to mystic nothingness, death and it is associated with the principle of evil and unsublimated forces.
ResponderEliminarThe symbol of darkness is present in "Life on the Mississippi River" by Mark Twain, in the contrast made between boys who were "notoriously wordly" after travelling and visiting big cities and the boys who stayed in the small village and were left "in obscurity and misery". In this case, darkness represents lack of knowledge, experience and adventure.
Darkness is also present in "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe because the setting in time is midnight when it is already dark. When the persona of the poem retells what he sees when he opens the door, he says "Darkness there and nothing more". Thanks to darkness, he has an unclear, blurred vision of reality. In this case, darkness symbolizes lack of visibility.
In "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are several instances in which the symbols of light and darkness are present. Whereas darkness represents unhappiness, Chillingworth´s negative transformation, the secret between Hester Prynne and Chillingworth, and the oscure secret between Hester Prynne and the Reverend Mr Dimmesdale; light represents the truth being revealed.
“Fire”, according to “A Dictionary of Symbols” by J.E. Cirlot, is a symbol associated in particular with the concepts of life and health as well as a symbol of transformation and regeneration. In
ResponderEliminarThe Scarlet Letter this symbol is present since the very beginning. In the Introductory, The Custome House, after discovering a munuscript which inspires him to write, the narrator finds himself unable to do so. It was only when he was in a quiet place and in front of “the glow of the fire-light” that he could begun writing. This shows that the presence of fire gives him the light, the life and the regeneration he needed to write. In The Raven, fire is present too. The poem takes place in “the bleak December” while the narrator is falling asleep. He notices “each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.” In this case, the fire represents, probably, the ghost of Lenore; that is to say, a transformation from her human-like-body to her ghost-like one. In Life in the Mississippi, Twain describes the boat that appoaches: “the furnace doors are open and the fires glaring bravely (...)” (Chapter 4). Here, the fire represents life, the new life to the town and progress that the boat brings in its furnace.
According to J. E. CIRLOT “A DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS”, the “stranger”, in myths, legends, folktales and in literature as a whole, stands for the possibility of unseen change, for the future made present, or for mutation in general. (I’m going to concentrate just on the idea of “change”)
ResponderEliminarThe poem “The Raven” begins with the narrator sitting in his room, reading and trying to forget the loss of his beloved woman, Lenore. Suddenly, he hears somebody rapping at his door. The visitor, a stranger, is a raven. And after the bird settles in on a statue, the narrator starts asking it questions. Throughout this process, the narrator changes. At the beginning, before the raven appears, the narrator is weak, weary and sad about his loss. But, after he questions the bird and sees that the only answer he gets is “nevermore”, he passes into a frenzy and finally, he loses his sanity.
The “stranger” is also present in the chapter 57 of “Life on the Mississippi River”. The anecdote of the Archangel refers Henry Clay Dean as “the stranger”. At the beginning, nobody listens to Dean’s talk and everybody laughs at him. But then, the attitude of the audience changes as it says in the last part of the story: “When Dean came,” said Claggett, “the people thought he was an escaped lunatic; but when he went, they thought he was an escaped archangel.” There is a change in the people’s attitude after noticing and listening to the stranger.
In “The Scarlet Letter”, “the stranger” appears in Chapter 3: The Recognition. In fact, the appearance of the stranger (Roger Chillingworth) can symbolizes the beginning of a change. For instance, throughout the novel, Hester refuses to reveal the name of Pearl’s father, but thanks to Roger, towards the end of the novel, people know that Dimmesdale, the minister, is Hester’s lover and Pearl's father.
One of the symbols that these literary works share is Silence. According to Diccionario de los Símbolos by Jean Chevalier, silence is “un preludio de apertura a la revelación, sea por rechazo a recibirla y a transmitirla o sea como castigo por haberla enredado con el alboroto de gestos y pasiones. El silencio abre un pasaje (…). El silencio envuelve los grandes acontecimientos (…) da a las cosas grandeza y majestad, (… ) marca el progreso.
ResponderEliminarIn the poem, The Raven, after the young man opens the door to see who is knocking, he discovers there is nobody outside: “But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore”!”(stanza 5). In this case, silence adds suspense to the poem and precedes a crucial event, the coming of the Raven that will reveal to the man that he will never see his lover again, not even in the afterlife.
In chapter 4, “The Boy’s Ambition” from Life on the Mississippi, when the steamboat leaves, the town returns to his plain state of quietness and boredom: “After ten more minutes the town is dead again, and the town drunkard asleep by the skids once more.” In this section, silence comes after an important happening has occurred. The arrival of the steamboat brings life to the small town on the shares of the Mississippi river while her departure brings the town back to his normal state of quietness. Silence emphasizes the importance of the steamboat as a means of communication with the outside world and as a source of entertainment that break with the quietness and the state of sleepiness of the town.
In the Scarlet Letter, from chapter The Recognition, silence is also present. When the young minister of the settlement, Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale, demands Hester to confess who is the man who tempted her to commit adultery, she remains silent, refusing to tell the truth. “I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer! Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him” (...) “Hester shook her head”. In this case, silence is used as a refusal of confession of the truth since Hester denies saying who the father of her child is. Silence highlights Hester’s strength in character due to her determination to keep quiet and not to reveal the truth.
Marisol Masso
According to J. E. CIRLOT “A DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS”, "light" is traditionally equated with the spirit. It is also the manifestation of morality and the intellect. According to this dictionary, becoming illuminated is becoming aware of a source of light, and in consequence, to spiritual strength.
ResponderEliminarIn The Raven, by E.A. Poe, light is present throughout the poem, as the narrator gets knowledge about his future. First, it is related to Lenore when she is referred to as "the rare and radiant maiden..." (Stanza 2) which shows that she was a source of spiritual strength for the main character. As the poem develops, and the narrator gets closer to knowing about his destiny through the words of the raven, light becomes present in the room "This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining on the cushion´s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o´ver" (stanza 13). As he sits to think and reflect upon his dreaded destiny, light is present as a manifestation of the intellect. Finally the raven is fully presented under the light of the lamp "And the lamp-light o´ver him streaming throws his shadow on the floor" (stanza 18). In this stanza light is also contrasted with the shadows which, as Mercedes said represents darkness and the evil.
In chapter 4, "The boys´ Ambition", from Mark Twain´s "Life on the Mississippi", light is also present as a symbol of the intellect and the strength of the spirit. The Mississippi River, which was the main source of energy, progress and life for the village, is described as "...shining in the sun...", "...brilliant". The descriptions of the River refer to light, which shows that it was a source of strength for the people in the village.
Light is also present in the novel "The Scarlet Letter" by N. Hawthorne. In chapter II, The Market Place, when Hester is brought out of the darkness of the prison and into the sunshine, she holds her baby, "who winked and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of the day..."(page 45). In this case, the light of the sun was too strong for the baby who had been kept in the dark, and now had to face his destiny. Also, Hester´s hair is described as "...so glossy that is threw off sunshine with a gleam..."(page 45), which may be a symbol of her inner spiritual strength, which was stronger than the light of the sun itself.This may also anticipate her strength throughout the novel as she faces several hardships imposed by society.
Light appears in these pieces of literature as a symbol for strenght and the intellect.
Josefina Marcó
Water is a common symbol in literature. Either in the form of rivers or the sea, rain or a liquid to drink, many meaanings are associated with it.
ResponderEliminarAccording to the "Dictionary os symbolism" (www.umich.edu), "water popularly represents life. It can be associated with birth, fertility, and refreshment.However, water can also be destructive. Water drowns and erodes, wearing away even the densest of stones given enough time."
In "The Raven", water is present in the form of a storm. The persona in the poem describes the night as bleak and ghostly, which creates an obscure atmosphere together with the wind and its strange noises.
In "Life On the Mississippi",water is present in the river. This river has been and still is very important in the American culture because it is associated with progress and freedom. "Life On the Mississippi" is based around the river, making it a symbol of life and giving a positive connotation to it.
In "The Scarlett Letter", water is present in the sea, since the story is related to the Custom House in the port. In the introduction, the sea is portrayed as something bad, because it brings evil people that make the port corrupt (even though the narrator says the Custom House officers themselves are corrupt).
Water, in all its forms, is present and takes different connotations according to the way the author describes it.
Rocío Bonadé
Color symbolism in literature refers to the use of color as a symbol. “Color Symbolism in Literature has been around for centuries. Colors are used to describe the nature of items or to help the reader develop a specific sentiment about the object or scene. Colors can be used to develop a person's personality when the author takes the time to describe the color of someone’s clothes. An author can even create certain feelings about the day or night in the scene by the colors they use to describe it. Symbolism is the heart of literature and color is one type of symbolism used in these three pieces of work dealt with in class.” (http://www.womensforum.com/color-symbolism-in-literature.html)
ResponderEliminarIn “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, there is a reference to the “purple curtain”. Purple represents mourning. Mourning means that somebody has died and that there is another person which is the one who mourns for the dead one. In this case, we can see how the narrator is mourning his loss: the life of her beloved. It is clearly stated that the purple color has a negative connotation in this literary work, that of death.
In “The Scarlett Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester’s letter that is embroidered into the chest of her dress is red, more specifically, it is a scarlet red. Here, the symbolism of red stands for passion and intensity. We can see this feature reflected in Hester’s life and personality. She is a strong and passionate woman who defies Puritan society and its strict morality. The result of the uncontrollable passion of Hester Prynne and Mr. Dimmesdale is Pearl, their illegitimate child.
In “Life on the Mississippi” by Mark Twain makes reference to the blue waters of the river which symbolizes calmness, security and harmony. This color represents the life of the young boy at the beginning reflected into the river. His ambition as a boy of becoming a steamboat to travel along the river was his “stability”, his only reason in life, it seems. The river represented for him his security, what he wanted to do in life.