The Great Gatsby - Chapter Two

In this chapter, the status hierarchy is established. This is introduced through the meeting with Tom and Mr Wilson. Tom greets Mr Wilson in a condescending manner by "slapping him jovially on the shoulder" while saying "Hello, Wilson, old man,". This type of behaviour normally occurs between friends, however Tom and Mr Wilson are none of the sort. Instead, Tom is invading Mr Wilson's personal space and not caring because to Tom, Mr Wilson is not important.

This is the chapter where Myrtle is also introduced. Though Myrtle married a handy man with little status and lives in a standard, run-of-the-mill house, she is a lover of beauty and a social climber and finds that her only escape from the Valley of Ashes is through an affair with a wealthy, high status man. Her attempts to climb in status is shown at the party she holds in her apartment. As the party begins Mrs Wilson changes her outfit and "with the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change. The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur." However, though she now appears to be a women of status, moments later when she is speaking to a guest, her heritage and true status shines through as she uses the term "fellas", language used by the lower class,also her voice is described as "mincing" which undermines the beauty of her appearance described earlier. This reinforces one of the ideas that Fitzgerald presents, that your heritage, family background and status matter and cannot be ignored.

Myrtle's apartment is also a projected symbol for the world Myrtle lives in as the apartment comes across distorted as "The living-room was crowded to the doors with a set of tapestried furniture entirely too large for it....The only picture was a over-enlarged photograph, apparently a hen sitting on a blurred rock. Looked at from a distance, however, the hen resolved itself into a bonnet, and the countenance of a stout old lady beamed down into the room." - the idea of the furniture being too large for the apartment suggests that like the furniture, Myrtle, too, is out of place. "hard dog-biscuits - one of which decomposed apathetically in the saucer of milk" suggests decay and corruption and points to the affair between Myrtle and Tom.

The Great Gatsby - pg16+

Daisy is shown to be a theatrical character and appears very naive and ignorant. This is shown through her treatment of her husband's affair. After Tom's mistress has called the house while Daisy and guests were at the table, though Daisy "glances searchingly at Miss Baker then at [Nick]" as though she seems to be panicking, she looks outside and describes the nightingale on the lawn as "romantic" and share this feeling of romance with Tom, though moments before he was on the phone to his mistress. The fact that Miss Baker thought "everybody knew" about the affair, and was surprised when Nick did not, suggests that the affair is not well hidden, either due to accident, or lack of sparing his wife's feeling, in any case, it portrays Daisy's habit of putting 'her head in the sand' and not addressing Tom, as fear of the outcome.

Also the fact that when Miss Baker tried explaining that "Tom's got some women in New York" to Nick and Nick replied "blankly" "Got some woman?", unable to grasp the meaning of what Miss Baker was saying shows that there is a world hidden for Nick. That though he is within, he is also without as some concepts of this world are hard for Nick to comprehend.

Chapter two (pg22) is the introduction of the Valley of Ashes where the Wilson's live. The area is described to be full of "hills and grotesque gardens". The contrasting images of "grotesque" and "gardens" is strong, as "gardens" are normally associated with beauty, but placed with the adjective "grotesque", the two ideas clash. The description of the town makes it become non-existent, similar to a ghosts town as it is referred to as a "solemn dumping ground"(pg22)

The Great Gatsby - Depiction of the Buchanan's in the opening chapter

Tom Buchanan is shown in the opening chapter a man of control and authority as when Nick is referring to having been invited for dinner he refers to both Tom and Daisy as the "Tom Buchanas"(pg8). This is reinforced as Nick approaches the Buchanan's house for dinner and "Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch"(pg9). This stance portrays pride and protectiveness to what is his. He controls Nick right from the moment Nick has stepped foot on their property. "I've got a nice place here,"(pg10) he says and then "[turns Nick] around by one arm"(pg10) and announces that they will "go inside"(pg10).

Daisy presents the opposite persona however. Nick and Daisy are distant cousins, and even barely at that as Nick refers Daisy to an "old friend whom [he] scarcely knew at all". Daisy however, treats Nick as though they are personally very close when she "held [Nick's] hand for a moment, looking up into [Nick's] face, promising that there was no one else in the world she wanted to see."

Commentary on The Tollund Man

In the poem "The Tollund Man", Heaney explores what the Tollund man means to the Irish common people and then what it means to him as a poet. The "country people" or "turfcutters" as Heaney refers to the Irish community as, see the Tollund man as a type of saint, a holy figure that defines their identity. In the third stanza, the tollund man is referred to having a "saint's kept body" as the waters of "fen" have not devoured its victim but transfered the sacrificed, unidentified man into a saint. Whereas, this leads Heaney great shame as the Irish community, people that define who he is, cannot see the brutality and wrongness of the Tollund man. Heaney does not see him as a "saint", as one to be admired but as a murder due to unconventional religious beliefs. Heaney employs the metaphor of the "country people, Not knowing their tongue." to explain the common man illiteracy as they do not understand the archetype of the Tollund Man and what he truely represents.

Seamus Heaney - P.V Glob

Peter Vilhelm Glob was a Danish archaeologist. His most famous of investigations was of Denmark's bog bodies such as Tollund Man and Grauballe Man (mummified remains of Iron and Bronze Age people found preserved bogs)

Seamus Heaney: Northern Ireland History

Home rule – (1919) Northern Ireland receives self-government within the United Kingdom. Under the Government of Ireland Act was in some respects left to its own devices.

The first years of the new independent region were marked by bitter violence, particularly in Belfast. Many died in political violence from 1920.

The continuing violence created a climate of fear in the new region, and there was migration across the new border. As well as movement of Protestants from the Free State into Northern Ireland, some Catholics fled south, leaving some of those who remained feeling isolated. Despite the mixed religious affiliation of the old Royal Irish Constabulary and the transfer of many Catholic RIC police officers to the newly formed Royal Ulster Constabulary (1922), northern Catholics did not join the new force in great numbers.

The troubles, starting in the late 1960s, consisted of about thirty years of recurring acts of intense violence between elements of Northern Ireland's nationalist community (principally Roman Catholic) and unionist community (principally Protestant) during which 3,254 people were killed. The conflict was caused by the disputed status of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom and the discrimination against the nationalist minority by the dominant unionist majority.

Seamus Heaney

The life and artistic career of Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney - born 13 April 1939 - is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 and the T.S. Eliot Prize in 2006.

In August 1965 he married Marie Devlin and, in 1994, published Over Nine Waves, a collection of traditional Irish myths and legends. Heaney's first book, Eleven Poems, was published in November 1965 for the Queen's University Festival.
In 1967, Faber and Faber published his first major volume, called Death of a Naturalist. This collection met with much critical acclaim and went on to win several awards, the Gregory Award for Young Writers and the Geoffrey Faber Prize. Also in 1966, he was appointed as a lecturer in Modern English Literature at Queen's University Belfast.

Identify one of Heaney's poem to share with the class.

Mid-Term Break by Seamus Heaney

I sat all morning in the college sick bay
Counting bells knelling classes to a close.
At two o'clock our neighbors drove me home.

In the porch I met my father crying--
He had always taken funerals in his stride--
And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.

The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram
When I came in, and I was embarrassed
By old men standing up to shake my hand

And tell me they were "sorry for my trouble,"
Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest,
Away at school, as my mother held my hand

In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.
At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived
With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.

Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops
And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him
For the first time in six weeks. Paler now,

Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple,
He lay in the four foot box as in his cot.
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.

A four foot box, a foot for every year.

The persona, I feel, sounds almost confused about the situation as at the beginning of the poem, the mood is set to be glum but the reasons are unsure as the emotions of the persona are not shown. It is only until the last line of the poem "A four foot box, a foot for every year." that the full impact of the poem really hits the reader. By the persona calling the body a "corpse" and feeling "embarrassed" when the "old men" shake his hand shows detachment from the situation - almost like the reader is blocking out the situation as best he can.

The Gunner's Lament

"...the Yanks and the Reds taking turns At murdering the poor," is highly satirical and this view point is shown throughout the text. The persona of the poem is mocking a number of aspects of society by the poem half-rhyming, for example in the last words in the second line - "Saigon", semi-rhymes with "man!" in the fourth line. This demonstrates innocence almost, like a child has wrote it, though the message behind it is anything but innocent. The soldier is angry at the treatment of New Zealand soldiers by the hands of their own government who tricked them into fighting in the Vietnam war.

The poem suggests that generally lower class, Maoris are fighting in the war as "a coat and a cap and a well-paid job Looked better than shovelling metal", the concept of "shovelling metal"suggests poor paying jobs and low income earners, while the extensive use of Maori language such as "whare"and "Te Rauparaha" shows that the persona is Maori himself and also, justifying the point that Maoris are a long way from home when fighting in Vietnam and it is not their place to fight.

Comparative Essay Assignment Planning: Use of memory in ULB and SOW

[Atomisation – Splitting up of an individual. Completely disintegrating]

Main Points of Essay...

1. Memory changes surround environment
   Kien
   ~ Jungle of Screaming Souls – renamed after war. Forever associated with war.
   
   Tereza
   ~ Pg160 - “The streets and buildings could no longer return to their original names”; “a Czech spa suddenly metamorphosed into a miniature imaginary Russia
   
   
2. Memory is being used as a miserable reminder to time past – “eternal return”
   Kien
   ~ “We’re prisoners to our shared memories of wonderful times together”- Phuong pg77
   ~ Kien struggles from nightmares constantly hurtling him back into wartime.
   
   Tereza
   ~ Memories of her family background keep reoccurring. In particular, the memory of her vulgar mother who enjoys humiliating Tereza. This memory forces Tereza to repulse characteristically from her mother and the thought of similarities especially physical dishearten Tereza.
   ~ Struggles from troubling dreams where she is forced to relive her worries and bad experiences from the past.
   
   
3. Memory is being used to divide the individual
   Kien
   ~ Kien cannot make sense of everything, of all his memories and pain until he has written them down.
   ~ War tints every happy memory that Kien has.
   ~ The act of remembering drives Kien into deep depression~
   ~ "It was a sadness...a pain which could send one soaring back into a pass”
   ~ “nostalgia drove him into the depths of his imagination” – writing becomes the evocation of memory
   
   Tereza
   ~ The act of remembering drives Tereza into paranoia. Example of this – Memory of infidelity with engineer haunts Tereza
   ~ The memory of abuse of her mother forces Tereza’s radical split between body and soul; as much as she rejects her body, it is her soul she gives to Tomas.

~~~~

More Ideas to Consider....

The Sorrow of War

· Kien -
~ Driven by memory and structured by vignettes.
~ Ways in which memory is described:- road [“looking back down the road of his past...”]; river
~ “The sorrow of the battlefield could not normally be pinpointed to one particular event, or even one person.”
~ The polarising effect of war: the paradox of war --- memory carries this in the book (prominent themes mindmap)

Bridging Between Two Novels: Ideas

I have found that there are two sides in the novels We and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. These sides are;

SIDE ONE...

Where sex is separate from everything. Essentially the soul does not exist and the body is used as the main instrument. With this view comes no regrets, no baggage - freedom, no eternal return and lightness. What I want to explore is the positive and negatives of this way of being. As for characters, this side is prominent in Tomas (though Tomas loves Tereza, he does not feel he has to be loyal to her sexually), Sabina and also in D-503 at the beginning of We.

Sabina portrays this (pg 265) where she is talking about her death. "She wants to die under the sign of lightness" by being cremated. It is a way of showing the superficiality that has taken a hold over her as being buried in the ground is a sign of heaviness and having a gravestone is a sign of eternal return but by being cremated the ashes remain on the surface and forever light.

Also the motion and reason behind her art has changed. Noted at the beginning of the book her art was a way of expressing her true emotions..."of course, I couldn't show them to anybody...On the surface, there was always an impeccably realistic world, but underneath...lurked something different, something mysterious or abstract....On the surface, an intelligible lie; underneath, the unitelligible truth." (pg 60) but by the end of the book, they become "kitsch" as it has become a commercial enterprise for her...."She had no trouble selling her paintings". This is an example of how lacking the belief of a soul effects your outlook as a person.

Effects of separating Soul and Body;

~ Atomization -> the splitting up of an individual by complete disintegration.

~ Superficiality

With D-503 at the beginning of We, he believes that individual freedom is "heavy" and a remains of the distant past, and that numbers, the inhabitants of the one State, live and work best in collective state of gratification rather than happiness (http://www.enotes.com/we-yevgeny-zamyatin-salem/we). The idea of "collectivism" is an example of lacking a soul that creates an identity for yourself. The bodies on Onestate are used as machines, calculators of the Benefactor and all his means. Also the concept that freedom is heaviness and therefore something to avoid relates back to Tomas and Sabina's way of life. The effects of this sort of heaviness however, is no individual thought or freedom whereas with Tomas and Sabina, it is the freedom that they impose of themselves that help to keep them lighter characters.

Quotes that help me show this concept:

"To ensure that erotic friendship never grew into the aggression of love, he would meet each of his long-term mistresses only at intervals" pg 11

"The unwritten contract of erotic friendship stipulated that Tomas should exclude all love from his life." pg 12

SIDE TWO...

Where love and sex are intertwined. The soul is definite part of the body and the two work together. However eternal return accompanies this. The characters that show this is Tereza and D-503 towards the end of the novel.

"We don't know ourselves until we are in a relationship with someone" and "To understand someone do you need to let your life intertwine with theirs?" --- These are two questions that I am also going to be exploring in the background. The relationship between Franz and Sabina and the symbol of the bowler hat, and the forbidden relationship with D-503 and I-330 also will help me to gain knowledge on this question.

Quotations;

~ "..it was the amazement of seeing her own 'I'. She forgot she was looking at the instrument panel of her body mechanisms; she thought she saw her soul shining through the features of her face."

It is passion for I-330 that leads D-503 to gain "weight" as he rebels more against what the Onestate is pushing for. Pronouns are crucial for this as "we" changes to "I". "We" for D-503 is symbolic of every body being used as one instrument and soul does not exsist whereas "I" is symbolic of self-actualisation, which the act of writing encourages. The reference "my cheeks are burning" (pg2) depicts him awakening to his emotions.

POSSIBLE ESSAY QUESTIONS

1) Comparative Essay to show the effects of separating the soul and body in contrast with the interweaving of both elements in the novels We and The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

2) Soul and Body: The analysis of two separate ways of being.

Bridging between two novels: The ULB and We

I believe looking at these two novels there are many similarities that bridge and connect them together. In both books the idea of love and sex and privacy are explored and both hold far-from-the-norm views on the subject.

In the Unbearable Lightness of Being, Love and Sex as argued and shown through the main character Tomas, are completely different things and to be emotionally faithful to the one you love does not require sexual fidelity. The idea of sex is taken very lightly through characters such as Tomas and Sabina which reflects their total lightness as a character. This is then in contrast with Tereza, the 'heavy' character of the novel and Tomas' wife, who believes the opposite and is forever emotionally punished by Tomas's many liaisons.

In We, love and sex are also two different entities, the idea of love is forbidden by the state and sex is merely looked upon as a duty, something that is to be done if handed a pink slip. D-503 breaks this rule when he falls in love with I-330, another cipher seeking rebellion from the system.

Privacy is also another major theme in the two books as in We, we learn that every building, house and infrastructure is made up of glass, completely see-through for the whole of the state to see to ensure every cipher leads a completely open life in the spotlight and in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, private conversations are broadcast over the radio to show control and dominance and the lack of privacy.

Reflection on Comment Paper 1 - Venice

The author takes a satiric view on the way of life of the Venetians. This is shown through use of hyperbole and irony. An example of hyperbole used is when she describes Venice as "inescapably urban" suggesting that the town resembles a prison that no one can escape from....

The Unbearable Lightness of Being: Tomas & Tereza

Tomas

Tomas is an excellent surgeon that is well known for his many sexual relations he has with many different woman though keeping them all at arms length to ensure the women do not become attached. By this way of living alone he is practising the philosophy of lightness, which is discussed deeply in the book. Being a divorced man with a child that he does not feel is his responsibility and parents that he does not wish to keep in contact with, he believes that love and sex are completely separate entities and even though he does fall in love which is related to heaviness in the book, he lives with his love, Tereza, however while still seeing his mistresses, especially his favourite, Sabina.

Even though his mysterious intense love for Tereza adds some heaviness to Tomas' character, he still remains in the philosophy of lightness.

Tereza

Tereza represents the other philosophy explored in the book; the philosophy of heaviness or eternal return. This explores the idea that every past action effects the present action and that every action/decision will be repeated, therefore never being able to escape the past. Tereza is forever haunted by her eccentric mother and by Tomas' infidelities, this is shown by the role of nightmares that she experiences almost every night. Her love for Tomas is strong and unmistakeable but brings her much misery and where Tomas and Sabina are 'light', she is 'heavy'.

Tereza is portrayed as to be pure and innocent as Tomas sees their original meeting as Tereza being a "child put in a basket and sent downstream".

We: Record Nine

In Record Nine a cipher becomes sacrificed by the Benefactor. This act foreshadows I-330's death later on.

When the cipher is being sacrificed it is described as his hands being tied back by a "purple ribbon" which then the narrator (D-503) refers to this being a spin-off tradition to that of the Ancients but instead of ribbon, they would use chain as the one being sacrificed would often fight back. D-503 is shocked with this idea of one fighting against the Rulers decision. This shows the people of OneState are conditioned to such a degree that they will not fight for their life.

The minor sentence "Cube Plaza." demonstrates that the name of the Benefactor's auditorium is enough to symbolise all it stands for. By creating this minor sentence, it gives the "Cube Plaza" immediate power, authority and dominance over everything and everyone. Thus signally the importance of what is about to occur in it.

We: Frederick W Taylor and Femme Fatale

Frederick Winslow Taylor was a mechanical engineer who sought to improve industrial efficiency. Taylor believed that in his day the industrial management was amateurish, and that it should be formulated as academic discipline. He believed that workers were supposed to be incapable of understanding what they were doing.

This relates back to the novel We as this is very much of the OneState operates. Everything runs with smooth efficiency and workers seem to not think beyond what they are told to do.

definition of femme fatale: enchantress - a woman who is considered dangerously seductive.

I-330 fits into the definition of femme fatale as she is related to fire and darkness which is a very compelling aspect as OneState is all about ice as everything is blue and made out of glass and also it is always light and barely dark. This makes the character I-330 interesting. I believe the action that makes her seductive is the fact that her eyes are said to close off like blinds, able to hide what she is feeling inside. To be able to hide something in OneState is very rare and dangerous. It is this rarity and dangerousness that seduces D-503 towards I-330.

Narrative Terms

Extended Metaphor defined: An extended metaphor, also called a conceit, is a metaphor that continues into the sentences that follow. It is often developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work, and are especially effective in poems and fiction.

Narrative Terms

~ Point of View

First Person: Only see one persons point of view so can come across as bias. However, may gain a deeper insight as you can more clearly understand the feelings and emotions of a particular character.

Third Person: See everything that is happening within the story. Objective point of view

~ Treatment of Time Schemes: is the consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer.

~ Dialogue: gives characters a voice. Adds another dimension to the story. Alternative point of view.

~ Narration: the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events.

Record Two

I found reading Record Two was very different to record one as two was now showing the reader the differences between inside the Green Wall and outside the Green Wall.

The land beyond the Green Wall is described in the book as "wild" with "yellow honey-dust from a flower of some kind" and when describing the city inside the Green Wall, the image of machinery is portrayed. However D-503 sees the machinery as beauty as he describes "the balance wheels were rocking proudly; and the cutting head of the perforating machine curtsied".

Reflection on We

The text uses a range of culturally defined language (idiom) which appear very structured and strict.

The story is being told in first person narration meaning that the view is more personal and the reader experiences the full emotions of the narrator, however this can become bias. This is shown in the first page where the narrator quotes an article that appeared in the State Gazette. He is opposed to this article, though does not seem to really inform us of the reason why - maybe he does not completely know himself, which opens up a stream of questions from the reader such as why the narrator cannot decide why he does not agree and why does he not agree.

Irony is a heavily used technique in the first passage. Lines such as "it will be our duty to force them to be happy...resorting to arms" (pg 1) and "mathematically infallible happiness" - mathematics becomes a symbol of 'reductionist' theory. No creativity, no free thought. One set way.

Mid Year Exam Essay Review

In what ways has a writer shown that things are not always as they seem? (If you answer on short stories or poetry, you must refer to 2 texts)

Summary of Introduction:- The Helmers relationship is not as shown in the exposition, Nora isn't as closely related to the typical nineteenth century housewife aas originally believed to be and Torvald is portrayed as the villain until his back story says otherwise.

Paragraph 1:-

~ The Helmer's marriage is portrayed as loving and playful...."is that my little skylark out there?"

~ However, the repetition of the words "skylark" and "squirrel" begins to appear as diminutive.

~ Torval is constantly showing his superiority to Nora...."[Torvald] playfully grabbing Nora's ear"

Paragraph 2:-

~ Protagonist Nora appears to enjoy Torvald's treatment....."humming happily"

~ Their social status is portrayed as upper-middle class "small bookcase with handsomely bounded books"

~ Seems content with her doll like exsistence

~ "Macaroons" contradict this observation

~ The loan she took out secretly also reinforces that Nora is a complex character.

~ Therefore Nora is independent, courageous and intelligent.

Paragraph 3:-

~ Nils Krogstad is displayed as "villain" as blackmailing Nora

~ However, Mrs Linde reveals his softer side and is seen in new light by audience.

Conclusion:-

~ Ibsen uses characters to show things are not always as they appear.

~ Helmers relationship ended in seperation

~ Nora became independent from a "doll" wife

~ Krogstad no longer villain but lonely man

Overall, I am pleased with my essay. Reading over it now, I understand now that in some instances I said too much plot and that brought down the register of my writing. I also need to relate back to question at the end of each paragraph but despite these things, I feel an improvement in my knowledge and understanding of the text and essay writing as a whole.

The Sorrow of War - The Depiction of The Theme of War

From reading the text, one idea that I gained from the novel was that war alters ones perception and the depiction of war is through Kien's flashbacks and previous experiences of war. Though he has lived through the war, his view is still tainted by the bloodiness that war brings. Every happy memory is tainted by war and every action he takes now is tainted by war.

This relates to the Green Coffee Girl passage because this girl went from a quiet, country girl to a famous prostitute. This change was due to the effects of war and even though, being a prostitute is a shameful, saddening profession, being a Green Coffee Girl is not, and like a soldier proudly talks of shooting the other side, she stands with dignity. The fact that we are not given her real name, that she is only referred to as the Green Coffee Girl suggests that she has been swiped of her identity and individuality much like war does to the victims.

The Sorrow of War - The Importance of Setting

Often the setting in a text will carry symbolic significance, supporting as well the writer's key themes. Discuss these concepts in the light of The Sorrow of War.

The setting plays a huge role in The Sorrow of War as it is the setting, the places that hold the most importance to Kien. Every time he sets foot on a battle field or somewhere touched by war, memories come flooding back to him, dragging him back to the time when he was fighting. Everything thing Kien sees he can relate back to war, it is as even though the war is over, the war inside his head is not. When watching "a pantomime...many years later...an artist bent over, writhing his body in agonised desperation, by magical association Kien recalled the moments when Thinh had similarly crouched in sobbing despair"(pg 31)

Though the war has ended years ago, his memories are still so vivid, so graphic that it feels like yesterday and he as started to loose concept of time; "how many long years have passed? Ten or eleven? Twelve? No. Thirteen?...Or was it longer?", Kien often thinks to himself, not completely sure what the answer is.

The Sorrow Of War - Setting from the Book

"Kien knows the area well. It was here, at the end of the dry season of 1969, that his Battalion 27 was surrounded and almost totally wiped out....That was the dry season when the sun burned harshly, the wind blew fiercely, and the enemy sent napalm spraying through the jungle and a sea of fire enveloped them, spreading like the fires of hell....The diamond-shaped grass clearing was piled high with bodies killed by helicopter gunships....No jungle grew again in this clearing. No grass. No plants." page 2.

The setting of an area in the Jungle of Screaming souls really lives up to the name of the jungle. This was the area where Kiens battalion almost got completely wiped out which must have been a horrendous experience and for Kien to go back later with the MIA team to collect remains of bodies and to know what occurred there must have been difficult.

Hearing that the grass clearing is diamond shaped, I thought that it might have given some hope as diamonds are associated with happiness and prettiness, however then describing that the clearing was "piled high with bodies killed by helicopter gunships", contradicts the shape of the clearing and suggests that even the few pretty places in the jungle are covered with death and sorrow. The fact that "No jungle grew again in this clearing. No grass. No plants." is almost like that section of jungle has been so tainted by death, so destroyed by the war that nothing new, nothing good can ever grow there again. This, I believe is a metaphor to how Kien feels. He was a survivor of the war, walked away from the war physically fine but was so scared mentally and so effected that surviving the war may have not been the best outcome as though he may still be alive and well on the outside, is he really on the inside?

Even the weather was fierce and unforgiving, suggesting that the war was affecting the weather as much as the land and the people.

The Sorrow of War - Extract from an article commented on.

""Even me, I'm nearly forty. I was seventeen at the start of the war in 1965, twenty-seven at the fall of Saigon in 1975. So, how many long years have passed? Ten or eleven? Twelve? No. Thirteen? Another year with the MIA team. Or was it longer? And more time wandering as a veteran. Closer to fourteen years lost because of the war." - page 48

The atrocity of the war also made it hard for him to readjust to peacetime. Almost everything reminded him about an event during the war. His life was now full of flashback, vivid blood, dead bodies, screaming souls, sounding explosions, and much more. Although the war was over, Kien was living it still in his mind and soul."

http://www.helium.com/items/784901-book-reviews-the-sorrow-of-war-by-baoh-nihn

This illustrates just how difficult it was for Kien and all the other surviving soldiers to come back after the war and try and live a normal life again, and not just the soldiers, the Vietnamese people too. After the war, there was great focus on the Americans and how the American soldiers were coping once the war had ended, that no attention or thought was paid to the Vietnamese despite them loosing more men.

The struggling to remember how many years it has has been since the war shows that while in war, time has no significance and days, months and years just merge into one. And, though the war was a major and dramatic part of his life and when the war finally stopped, it was a definite change, Kien struggles to remember how long along it was because war has taken away his sense of time.

The Sorrow of War - The non-lineal time scheme.

An aspect that interested me is the non-lineal time scheme present in the book.

It is as Kien is just writing as it comes to him without any clear order or reason. The story frequently has analepsis', dating back from his childhood to wartimes.

The style of the book is like a metaphor to the war, as nothing is planned and you can never guess what comes next, for me, this shows just how much the war has impacted and changed his life - consciously and unconsciously.

At first, it is hard to comprehend and I found that I was often second guessing my initial thoughts, not too sure about what tense he is talking in. But I found as the story progresses and the unreadable pattern continues, I became accustomed to the flashbacks and the non-lineal time scheme, I think this too is a symbol of war as after enough time passes you grow accustomed to the death and gory surprises and stop noticing the ever-changing circumstances.

Krogstad

(Pages; 169-176, 197-200, 207-211)

a) what role does Krogstad serve in the play?

b) In what ways does Ibsen develop the character, i.e. how does he change and what are the reasons?

c) What themes does Krogstad assist in conveying to the audience

Krogstad is created initially to play the "villain" in the play A Doll's House. In the first two scenes with him present, he comes across rude, aggressive and determined. He has caught wind that Torvald Helmer is firing him from his post at the Bank and comes to Nora to blackmail her into persuading Torvald to repress his decision. "...let me tell you that the thing that I once did that ruined my reputation was nothing more - and nothing worse - than that.", Krogstad believes that by intimidating Nora that Torvald will come to her rescue and inevitably his and agree to his terms and be able to stay posted at the Bank so he can continue to build up his reputation.

Nora came to Krogstad because she didn't know anyone else that had the means of getting a loan or who would be willing to help, however though Krogstad agreed to help and did find the money he did not make it easy on Nora "-the way you made difficulties although you knew how desperately ill my husband was" suggest that Krogstad had no sympathy towards Nora and partook in the deal solely for his own enjoyment.

The third scene he is in, is one between himself and Mrs Linde, who is revealed to be his old love, however Mrs Linde broke it off with him and married a richer man. This is the scene where the audience sees a completely different side to Krogstad than what has been portrayed previously. Nils Krogstad was devastated when Mrs Linde left him and he never completely understood the reasoning for it, "Was there anything to understand - except what was so obvious to the whole world: a heartless woman throwing a man over when someone richer turns up?". Mrs Linde wants Krogstad back in her life again and has learnt that money nor status can ever make you truly happy. This event forces Krogstad to change his perception on things and immediately regrets what he has done to the Helmer's wishing he could "undo it". Mrs Linde's love is what changes Krogstad from the "villain" of the play and forces the audience to rethink their initial opinions of the man.

Relationship Between Mrs Linde and Nora Helmer

Mrs. Linde is the most functional character in terms of plot development, as by having her in the play serves as a way for Nora to tell the audience of her 'other' life.

Immediately you see two main differences between Nora and Mrs Linde, not really in their characters but in their relationship/marriage roles. Nora and Torvalds relationship appears to be very typical of that era. There is no fairness in their relationship, with Torvald controlling everything Nora does. Nora's most important role is to please her husband and Torvald considers himself superior to her by calling her names like "skylark" and referring to her as "little" which is diminutive, whereas the relationship between Mrs Linde and Krogstad is much more open and equal.

They both, however, have the unselfish personality trait as they have both made major sacrifices to protect the ones they love. Nora - taking out a loan secretly to save her husband and Mrs Linde - refusing her love (Krogstad) marriage proposal in order to keep her family happy. This lead her to being so submissive and not being able to have her own mind, which she hated.
Nora also is in a marriage that is very domineering which she also wishes to escape.

The occurrence of a wife leaving her husband to become their own individual was very rare, almost unheard of, and certainly frowned upon in that day and age, therefore for two women to be going through exactly that, or been through that and to know each other is extremely rare which also shows their likeness.

Torvald Helmer

Re-reading the book A Doll's House, trying to get a better insight in the character of Torvald, I noticed a great deal more traits about Torvald that I failed to note the first time. One scene that really stood out and gave me a greater understanding of Torvald was in Act III, near the beginning. Torvald and Nora have just come back from the dance upstairs when Torvald tells Nora how much he cares for her and how "[he wishes] that [Nora] could be threatened by some imminent danger so that [he] could risk everything [he] had - even [his] life itselfs - to save [her]" (page 219), yet just moments later when Torvald has read the letter and that exact situation has presented himself, one where his wife is in need of his help and he is able to "save [her]", his mood changes completely and yells at her; "You've completely wreaked my happiness!", "I shall not allow you to bring up the children...I shouldn't dare trust you with them".

This symbolizes to me Torvald's ego and his hypocrisy which adds another layer to the character. Not only is he a work and status orientated man, believing that he is of the upper most class and standing with a controlling behaviour towards his wife, he is also a hypocrite and very fickle.

Reviewing EPIC Essays.

"In allowing Nora the right to satisfy her need for an identity separate from that of wife and mother, Ibsen is percieved as endorsing the growing "woman questioning". To his contemporaries, it was a frigthening prospect."

"the question of women's rights and feminist equality is an important aspect of understanding A Doll's House. Ibsen himself stated that for him the issue was more complex than just women's rights"

"Torvald views his public persona as more important than his private, he is unable to understand or appreciate the suffering of his wife. His reaction to the threat of public exposure is centered on himself....For Nora to emerge as an individual she must reject the life that society mandates. To do so, she must assume control over her life; yet in the ninteenth century, woman have no power. Power resides with the establishment, and as a banker and lawyer, Torvald clearly represents the establishment."

This essay theme is on how different Nora and Torvald is and how the nineteenth century rules restricted Nora. Torvald is very typical of the nineteenth century. Controlling, self rightious and very concerned with the public opinion of himself and his family. Nora, on the other hand, is not typical of the nineteenth century. Nora wants rights. She wants control of her life and to make the decisions and she resents her husband for restricting her so.

Torvald and Nora and Their Relationship

Torvald

Torvald is portrayed in the play as a business man, who believes is of a superior level. He is very vain and often talks about his wife's beauty. He is controlling and believes himself to be above his wife, Nora. This is shown when he has forbidden her to eat macaroons as he believes it will damage her teeth.

Nora

In the exposition, you are lead to believe that Nora is a perfectly happy housewife. She enters humming, carrying out the typical housewife duties. However, little hints start to occur in the play that tell you otherwise. Nora disobeys her husband orders by eating macaroons behind his back, this is an important aspect as it symbolizes Nora deceiving her husband.

She comes almost ditsy and with a unusual interest in money but later learn that she went behind Torvalds back and forged a signature to borrow money so they could go on a "life-saving" vacation to Italy. The trip to Italy portrays the perfect life that Nora wants but is not getting at home.

Their Relationship

Torvald is the dominant one in the marriage and ensures his dominance by calling Nora names like "little squirrel" and "little skylark". Using the word "little" belittles Nora which reinforces the superiority he has over Nora.

Torvald and Nora are placed in the upper-middle class but aspire and believe to be much more. Money and status is very important to them. "small bookcase with handsomely bound books" suggests that the books were purchased solely because of the rich image they portray.