It all began with Crusoe: the Rise of the Novel

Just a Suggestion…

raeflo — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:09:32 +0000

Just as a suggestion for anyone looking for a good book to read: read Galore by Michael Crummey. When I first looked at it (to read for this class) I thought it would be ridiculous and perhaps boring and stupid. Boy was I wrong. I really enjoyed Galore. I read it really quickly, not wanting to miss a beat. It was really compelling and interesting. All the lives intermingled with the lore of Newfoundland. Michael Crummey was just as interesting at the reading. He was also very funny and read what I thought were the more important parts of the novel at his reading last week. I look forward to reading his other two novels: River Thieves, and Wreckage.

Final thoughts on Orientalism

raeflo — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:03:19 +0000

I thought that in addition to my post about Rasselas, I would make a short post about the presentation on Orientalism. When I began to read Rasselas I was hoping to find an oriental atmosphere, but seeing as how the characters weren’t very active, I didn’t get that feel at all. They just talked about various theories and disciplines, and really the whole novel could have taken place in one room for what it had. In the non-western tradition class that I took in my first year of university, I was introduced to different novels from authors of various ethnicities. Some were boring, some were intriguing and others were shocking. It was a completely different world from our own and I felt as if I was in the middle of it, yet alien. I couldn’t identify with the characters or the situations, but I still felt like I was part of it. I really enjoyed those novels. The photographs in the background of the presentation reminded me of those novels, and nothing to do with Rasselas. I really enjoyed the presentation and the work that must have been put into it. Even with the minor audio difficulties, it was very funny and insightful. When asked if we (or america) could really portray another culture in literature, film, etc. I thought of the novel, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. When it first came out anonymously, the world was in uproar because everyone believed that this novel was the true memoirs of a geisha. It was our real first look into the life of a geisha. What fools we all were when it turned out that it was nothing but a really enjoyable piece of fiction by a Jewish man from New York. Very compelling, but not what we thought it was. At first glance we believed it to be true because we don’t have that insight into another culture. We only get it through the writings and tellings of people who are actually living or have lived in that culture. We may get close, but it will never be the same thing. Like someone in our class said, to the rest of the world we all live in igloos with pet polar bears, or are lumberjacks who say “eh?” after every sentence. Stereotypes have too big a role in how we view other cultures.

The History of Rasselas….

raeflo — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:46:57 +0000

I keep thinking that I will eventually like a book in this class other than Fantomina and Pamela…but so far I haven’t. I just don’t think that I will like many books from this period. Although, the books that I have read, while not to my taste, have provided me with a necessary background of literary knowledge from the period. From my opening sentences you can guess how I feel about Rasselas. The beginning of Rasselas (which actually had any plot) was interesting and I hoped it would continue; however, once it became a dialogue of different views of philosophy and politics, I became discouraged. It reminds me of Plato’s The Republic. In that he carried on a dialogue in which he described various theories about the ‘Real’ and art. It has interesting parts, but after a while it becomes sort of drab. I have yet to finish Rasselas, but haven’t heard any good things about the end that make me want to read it. On the reading schedule, Rasselas is put under “anti-novel” and I agree completely. It is definitely the “anti” of the novels we have read so far. It is different from novels that I have ever read, excluding Plato’s The Republic. I will try to finish Rasselas before the end of term…but I have much higher hopes for the other novels we are to read in class–especially the Gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho.

Shamela…

raeflo — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:32:34 +0000

When first coming across the name Shamela in the course syllabus, I didn’t expect much from the book itself. One glance at the ridiculous pun in the title and I knew it was going to be just as ridiculous a satire to Pamela. In my opinion, I was right. After reading Shamela I don’t feel like I have learnt anything useful in respects to the time period, or Pamela as a character. I didn’t enjoy Anti-Pamela that much either, but at least it gave a different way of looking at the original text. I suppose that Shamela is a different way of looking at Pamela as well, but in its ridiculousness any credibility seems to have gone out the window. Anti-Pamela could stand alone as a novel, whereas Shamela is obviously just a satire about Pamela, that accentuates the flaws in the plot and characters. In its defense I will say that it was funny to read, and at times hilarious, but it was just not my cup of tea.

Anti-Pamela

raeflo — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:11:34 +0000

Anti-Pamela was not an easy read for me. It was funny, and I enjoyed parts, but I didn’t like re-reading familar scenarios. I found it a tad boring. I did like how there were more letters from other people in the text. It almost eliminated Pamela’s bias for me. We had a completely different view of Pamela, and were able to see more than a handful of letters from outside sources. Haywood probably felt similar feelings towards the lack of information outside of Pamela’s own thoughts, and added more variety.

Pamela

raeflo — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:51:09 +0000

I am almost half way done Pamela, and am surprised to find that it is not a hard book to read. That is, that I can read a sentence without wanting to cause the book some harm. (ahem…robinson cruesoe… haha) The only downfall with this novel for me so far, is its length, and when the narrator (Pamela) begins to ramble. I heard that she will be quite annoying by the end of it, but so far she is not dreadful. I enjoy epistolary novels, but wish that in Pamela we had more letters from other people as well. We have a few from her parents in reply to her letters, but not many and there are no letters from anyone else. At times Pamela seems she is quite a bit older than 15, but at others she is true to her age. The other characters describe her (from Pamela’s own letters and recollections) as beyond her years, and this is probably why she seems so much older; however, as these are Pamela’s letters and recollections, we never know what is definitely true, what she has exaggerated, and so on. She claims to be honest and true, but she could still be exaggerating. I hope to be halfway by tomorrow, and have a better judgement of Pamela.

The Various Loves of Fantomina…

raeflo — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:15:37 +0000

In conclusion to Robinson Crusoe… I did not like it. I found the character to be annoying and arrogant. I do not have anything really insightful to say about it. It just really bothered me. So I took the liberty of reading the next book earlier than planned so that I could blog about it…

After reading Robinson Crusoe, I did not expect to like Fantomina; however, it turned out to be a really enjoyable book. I read it in one sitting, as it is very short and an easy read. Her various plots against this man she claimed to love, Beauplaisir, were both hilarious and ingenious. I cannot believe that someone during this time period would devise such a plot. I assume that this book would have caused a lot of scrutiny and criticism from both the author’s peers and readers. A female protagonist is not all that common during the 19th century, so I can only imagine that it was not all together common during the 1800s as well. A female author[ess] who did not disguise her name seems to also be rare from what I have learned about Victorian novels. I do not know much about this period, but I expect that this will be an interesting topic. To create such a devious character as Fantomina (whose real name we never learn) is probably quite unique for this era. I am really looking forward to discussing this novel in class, and learning about the author[ess]: Eliza Haywood. I expect everyone will enjoy this book. I end my blog here, not wanting to ruin it any further for the other students.

Robinson Crusoe

raeflo — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:58:07 +0000

When I first began reading Robinson Crusoe I expected the novel to be alittle erratic in terms of grammar, form, and style since it is an early novel. I did not expect the degree of difficulty that I have encountered while reading the novel. Paragraphs are sometimes made up of one drastically long sentence, and capitalization is sprinkled throughout each sentence. I had to mentally make note of all the things the narrator rambled on about in one sentence to keep on track. It was rather annoying at first, and still is at times, but I now attribute the rambling sentence/paragraphs to be part of Crusoe’s character. He is exact, and repetitive and thus the sentences are not perfect. It allows me to really get to know Crusoe personality, and to “see” through his eyes. The details are overwhelming, but they do paint an exact picture of what Crusoe is seeing. As a prediction, I do not think this will be my favorite book, but I also don’t think it competes with my least favorite books either. I hope that class will continue to bring out anything that the structure of the novel leaves me a bit confused with, and I will continue to read Robinson Crusoe. Who knows, maybe it will prove my prediction wrong in the end, and I will like it.

My First Blog…

raeflo — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:40:43 +0000

Blogging is something altogether new to me and I hope it is quite painless. I will be blogging about the novels that I (and the other students) will be reading in Prose Narrative before the 1800′s. I hope to provide insightful and entertaining critiques of the novels. I suppose it is time to start blogging!