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Thursday, May 15, 2014
Blog 2 - A Tale of Two Turbans - Book II, Chapters 6-11
1) page 114 in my book, chapter 8, in the beginning of it. “The village had its one poor street, with its poor brewery...that there was any village left unswallowed.” This paragraph really shows the quality of life in France during this time period. The repetition of the word poor gives me this impression. There is also repetition of the word tax, showing the reason for the situation of the people and how much they have to give away. Everything is just going pretty bad for them and they’re not in the best situation. They are sharing stuff and sitting outside with the others. This is made, I feel, to show the stark contrast between the majority of the people and the few rich people, such as the Monseigneur.
2) page 105-106 in my book, chapter 7, also in the beginning. “Yes. It took four men, all four a-blaze with gorgeous...waited on by only three men; he must have died of two.” I read this and I was just like: holy sh**. Is that really possible? Four men for this one job? That’s really crazy and stupid. This is like my first paragraph in that it exemplifies and almost exaggerates the enormous power of the rich people during this period.
3) page 127-128 in my book, chapter 9, towards the end. “For three heavy hours, the stone faces of the château, lion and human, stared blindly at the night...slept soundly, and were fed and freed.” I feel as if this passage has a lot of foreshadowing, for we soon find out that the Monseigneur is dead. In this passage, stone faces are described. These faces do not move. Connecting it to the Gorgon’s Head, when someone looks at it, they turn to stone and are dead. It mentions the stone faces of humans, so we can connect it his murder. The darkness of that night is described as dead. We can also connect it to his murder, for it most likely happened at night. All of these descriptions give a real ominous feeling, but yet there is some positive connotation at the end. It describes the people, fast asleep, but with dreams of a better future. They are dreaming of better days, of days where they are free and where they are no longer hungry. What do we call this? HOPE. The people still have hope even through their hardship and their suffering. Hope is still prevalent, even when it seems as if nothing is left.
So while reading, I found some words that I felt contributed overall to the meaning of the text. The first one that I found was “Ladybird,” which can be found in chapter 7 of book 2 on pages 90-95. After discussion with my group, we found it to be kind of like a “pet name” for Lucie used by Miss Pross. According to her, “Ladybird” would only be worthy for one man, her brother, had he not stolen everything she had and left. I believe Dickens repeats it multiple times to show that Lucie is fragile and needs to be taken care of as she is taking care of her father.
Another word I found was “Marquis,” and can be found on most pages from 105 to 123 in chapters 7-9 of book 2. After looking it up, I found it to mean: (noun) a nobleman ranking directly below a duke and above an earl or count. I believe it is used so many times as a constant reminder for what his rank is and that he is not too powerful. Sure, he has power; just not what I believe is the extent that he wants to have. All nobles, even the king, want more power than they already have.
Critical Connector I noticed as I read through the chapters assigned for the past week that there seemed to be a large connection back to ancient Greece and Rome. The first one I noticed was on my page 107, in Chapter 7. There was a reference, after Monsieur Defarge left, to a woman who had been standing there knitting watching the whole event as the carriage ran over the little boy. First thing I thought was “This is probably Madame Defarge,” since she had just been knitting, and that is what Madame Defarge usually does silently off in the corner. The Greek part of the connection came from the fact that the Fates, three old women who share one eye between them, knit the strands of life and death for everything on Earth. I feel like this related to whoever the person knitting is because the person stands by knitting as a little boy gets killed, much like the Fates would, and possibly had just knit that strand into the tapestry. The second Greek connection happened in Chapter 9, beginning with the title. Right off the bat, we see “The Gorgon’s Head” as the title. The Gorgon, as the footnote (as well as any basic Greek mythology class) will tell you, was a creature with snakes for hair whose gaze would turn anyone to stone; the cut off head would have the same effect. It seems that the chapter isn't directly referencing the gorgon, but rather the heads of its victims who have turned to stone, mounted upon Monseigneur the Marquis’ castle. The fact that the end of the chapter refers to the Monsieur as another stone face on the castle walls after he gets stabbed could reference the gorgon again, claiming another victim; by that logic, the murderer could be the gorgon. I know the connection isn't incredibly strong, but I felt it was worthwhile to mention.
Hey, Joe! I was the Language Lover for my group too this week. Marquis was one of the words I selected, although I didn't mention it in my blog post. Dickens definitely needed to use a lot of different terms for the nobility throughout this section of the text, but that need reflects the time period being written about.
I love that you chose to pick out the use of "Ladybird" as a pet name for Lucie Manette. I hadn't noticed it much in my own reading of the text, but now I'd like to relate it back to A Doll's House. The use of this pet name for Lucie is similar to the way in which Torvald would refer to his wife Nora with a long list of pet names. It shows Lucie's assumed role as a fragile, ideal doll-like female, but makes me wonder that if like Nora, she will abandon her role as delicate homemaker later in the text.
Vinny, I like how you related the stones to death and the Gorgon's head and overall how the whole scene just relates to the death itself. I agree about the point about the positive future and how it's a good example of foreshadowing. It kind of reminded me of Macbeth too...
I loved the first quote that you picked because I keep noticing the constant signs of poverty in this setting and time period. In a way, you can almost connect this to the scene with the wine to show the desperation and struggle that the people are going through at the time. The mention of taxes on the poor people can also show the corruption of the French government because they aren't really doing anything to help the lower classes.
Gabe, I really like your connections between A Tale of Two Cities and Greek mythology. I find it very interesting that maybe these are subtle hints by Dickens that the little things might mean much more, such as the movements by Mrs. Defarge while she is knitting. This could possibly mean that Mrs. Defarge might be the person behind the whole operation, like the Fates in Greek mythology and this could foreshadow that she might actually affect the fate of others in the book.
Joe, I think your comment on the word "Ladybird" really emphasizes the meaning of family in this novel. Through this word we learn that Miss Pross loves her brother despite his complete betrayal of her because most of the characters in the novel seem to give the benefit of the doubt to their families. Also, this family connection is strengthened with your mention of Mr. Manette and Lucie's relationship which is a bond that seems unbreakable.
@ Joe With how you broke down the use of the word "Ladybird", and said that Dickens most probably repeated it to remind us of how fragile Lucie is - did you consider to think why that might be the case? Since you compared it to how she takes care of her father, I thought that it might be used to remind us that although we can obviously see how great and "strong" Lucie is when taking care of her father, she isn't quite a strong and independent woman herself.
Gabe, I thought your connections were very interesting. I think it is significant that Dickens alludes to Greek mythology throughout these chapters, and we are meant to pick up on it. Madame Defarge clearly has a more important role than we first assumed, and I think this is shown by how she is compared to the Fates-good job picking up on that.
The Gorgon is the most interesting part, because it's a bit of a conundrum: is the Marquis the gorgon, or is he the one getting turned to stone? He certainly has (or had, I suppose) a heart of stone, caring for no one but himself, and does "turn people to stone" when refusing to acknowledge their hardships and simply allowing them to die. (Think about the request for a headstone, maybe?) But in the end it was he that was "turned to stone" when he was murdered, so who truly is the Gorgon meant to be here? It's probably another one of Dickens' mysteries in this novel, and so you did a really good job picking it out.
Vinny, I like how you related your first passage back to the theme of duality. There's a real contrast in the ways of life of the rich, versus the ways of life of the poor. The rich seem to have everything going for them, while the poor are barely managing to get by. The rich, such as Monseigneur, aren't sympathetic in the least towards those who are poor. This is shown on two occasions - on the first, Monseigneur literally runs over a little child with his carriage. He didn't even apologize to the parents, he just tossed money at them and kept riding. On the second, a widow came up to him, begging for food and money. Her husband had just died and she has no food or money to support her family. Monseigneur wasn't even phased by this - he just ignored her. For someone with so much prestige and power, you would think he would feel inclined to give back to someone of her level. That's not the case. Therefore I think he is representative of the entire upper class of nobles during the time of the French Revolution.
11 comments:
LITERARY LUMINARY
Hi how are ya
Check out these passages I found!
1) page 114 in my book, chapter 8, in the beginning of it.
“The village had its one poor street, with its poor brewery...that there was any village left unswallowed.”
This paragraph really shows the quality of life in France during this time period. The repetition of the word poor gives me this impression. There is also repetition of the word tax, showing the reason for the situation of the people and how much they have to give away. Everything is just going pretty bad for them and they’re not in the best situation. They are sharing stuff and sitting outside with the others. This is made, I feel, to show the stark contrast between the majority of the people and the few rich people, such as the Monseigneur.
2) page 105-106 in my book, chapter 7, also in the beginning.
“Yes. It took four men, all four a-blaze with gorgeous...waited on by only three men; he must have died of two.”
I read this and I was just like: holy sh**. Is that really possible? Four men for this one job? That’s really crazy and stupid. This is like my first paragraph in that it exemplifies and almost exaggerates the enormous power of the rich people during this period.
3) page 127-128 in my book, chapter 9, towards the end.
“For three heavy hours, the stone faces of the château, lion and human, stared blindly at the night...slept soundly, and were fed and freed.”
I feel as if this passage has a lot of foreshadowing, for we soon find out that the Monseigneur is dead. In this passage, stone faces are described. These faces do not move. Connecting it to the Gorgon’s Head, when someone looks at it, they turn to stone and are dead. It mentions the stone faces of humans, so we can connect it his murder. The darkness of that night is described as dead. We can also connect it to his murder, for it most likely happened at night. All of these descriptions give a real ominous feeling, but yet there is some positive connotation at the end. It describes the people, fast asleep, but with dreams of a better future. They are dreaming of better days, of days where they are free and where they are no longer hungry. What do we call this? HOPE. The people still have hope even through their hardship and their suffering. Hope is still prevalent, even when it seems as if nothing is left.
YAY
LAST BLOG POST
Language Lover:
So while reading, I found some words that I felt contributed overall to the meaning of the text. The first one that I found was “Ladybird,” which can be found in chapter 7 of book 2 on pages 90-95. After discussion with my group, we found it to be kind of like a “pet name” for Lucie used by Miss Pross. According to her, “Ladybird” would only be worthy for one man, her brother, had he not stolen everything she had and left. I believe Dickens repeats it multiple times to show that Lucie is fragile and needs to be taken care of as she is taking care of her father.
Another word I found was “Marquis,” and can be found on most pages from 105 to 123 in chapters 7-9 of book 2. After looking it up, I found it to mean: (noun) a nobleman ranking directly below a duke and above an earl or count. I believe it is used so many times as a constant reminder for what his rank is and that he is not too powerful. Sure, he has power; just not what I believe is the extent that he wants to have. All nobles, even the king, want more power than they already have.
Critical Connector
I noticed as I read through the chapters assigned for the past week that there seemed to be a large connection back to ancient Greece and Rome. The first one I noticed was on my page 107, in Chapter 7. There was a reference, after Monsieur Defarge left, to a woman who had been standing there knitting watching the whole event as the carriage ran over the little boy. First thing I thought was “This is probably Madame Defarge,” since she had just been knitting, and that is what Madame Defarge usually does silently off in the corner. The Greek part of the connection came from the fact that the Fates, three old women who share one eye between them, knit the strands of life and death for everything on Earth. I feel like this related to whoever the person knitting is because the person stands by knitting as a little boy gets killed, much like the Fates would, and possibly had just knit that strand into the tapestry.
The second Greek connection happened in Chapter 9, beginning with the title. Right off the bat, we see “The Gorgon’s Head” as the title. The Gorgon, as the footnote (as well as any basic Greek mythology class) will tell you, was a creature with snakes for hair whose gaze would turn anyone to stone; the cut off head would have the same effect. It seems that the chapter isn't directly referencing the gorgon, but rather the heads of its victims who have turned to stone, mounted upon Monseigneur the Marquis’ castle. The fact that the end of the chapter refers to the Monsieur as another stone face on the castle walls after he gets stabbed could reference the gorgon again, claiming another victim; by that logic, the murderer could be the gorgon. I know the connection isn't incredibly strong, but I felt it was worthwhile to mention.
Hey, Joe! I was the Language Lover for my group too this week. Marquis was one of the words I selected, although I didn't mention it in my blog post. Dickens definitely needed to use a lot of different terms for the nobility throughout this section of the text, but that need reflects the time period being written about.
I love that you chose to pick out the use of "Ladybird" as a pet name for Lucie Manette. I hadn't noticed it much in my own reading of the text, but now I'd like to relate it back to A Doll's House. The use of this pet name for Lucie is similar to the way in which Torvald would refer to his wife Nora with a long list of pet names. It shows Lucie's assumed role as a fragile, ideal doll-like female, but makes me wonder that if like Nora, she will abandon her role as delicate homemaker later in the text.
Vinny, I like how you related the stones to death and the Gorgon's head and overall how the whole scene just relates to the death itself. I agree about the point about the positive future and how it's a good example of foreshadowing. It kind of reminded me of Macbeth too...
@ Vinny
I loved the first quote that you picked because I keep noticing the constant signs of poverty in this setting and time period. In a way, you can almost connect this to the scene with the wine to show the desperation and struggle that the people are going through at the time. The mention of taxes on the poor people can also show the corruption of the French government because they aren't really doing anything to help the lower classes.
Gabe, I really like your connections between A Tale of Two Cities and Greek mythology. I find it very interesting that maybe these are subtle hints by Dickens that the little things might mean much more, such as the movements by Mrs. Defarge while she is knitting. This could possibly mean that Mrs. Defarge might be the person behind the whole operation, like the Fates in Greek mythology and this could foreshadow that she might actually affect the fate of others in the book.
Joe, I think your comment on the word "Ladybird" really emphasizes the meaning of family in this novel. Through this word we learn that Miss Pross loves her brother despite his complete betrayal of her because most of the characters in the novel seem to give the benefit of the doubt to their families. Also, this family connection is strengthened with your mention of Mr. Manette and Lucie's relationship which is a bond that seems unbreakable.
@ Joe
With how you broke down the use of the word "Ladybird", and said that Dickens most probably repeated it to remind us of how fragile Lucie is - did you consider to think why that might be the case? Since you compared it to how she takes care of her father, I thought that it might be used to remind us that although we can obviously see how great and "strong" Lucie is when taking care of her father, she isn't quite a strong and independent woman herself.
Gabe, I thought your connections were very interesting. I think it is significant that Dickens alludes to Greek mythology throughout these chapters, and we are meant to pick up on it.
Madame Defarge clearly has a more important role than we first assumed, and I think this is shown by how she is compared to the Fates-good job picking up on that.
The Gorgon is the most interesting part, because it's a bit of a conundrum: is the Marquis the gorgon, or is he the one getting turned to stone? He certainly has (or had, I suppose) a heart of stone, caring for no one but himself, and does "turn people to stone" when refusing to acknowledge their hardships and simply allowing them to die. (Think about the request for a headstone, maybe?) But in the end it was he that was "turned to stone" when he was murdered, so who truly is the Gorgon meant to be here? It's probably another one of Dickens' mysteries in this novel, and so you did a really good job picking it out.
Vinny, I like how you related your first passage back to the theme of duality. There's a real contrast in the ways of life of the rich, versus the ways of life of the poor. The rich seem to have everything going for them, while the poor are barely managing to get by. The rich, such as Monseigneur, aren't sympathetic in the least towards those who are poor. This is shown on two occasions - on the first, Monseigneur literally runs over a little child with his carriage. He didn't even apologize to the parents, he just tossed money at them and kept riding. On the second, a widow came up to him, begging for food and money. Her husband had just died and she has no food or money to support her family. Monseigneur wasn't even phased by this - he just ignored her. For someone with so much prestige and power, you would think he would feel inclined to give back to someone of her level. That's not the case. Therefore I think he is representative of the entire upper class of nobles during the time of the French Revolution.
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