Writing and Revision

As far as a writing process goes, mine is not the most structured.  I have a very difficult time sitting down and forcing something down on paper, especially if it is anything but factual or research based.   I find that I rely heavily on inspiration or intuition.  If I overthink a topic or try to force it, it rarely comes to me.  So, the first and main thing I try to do is read and reread the assignment.  I make sure the idea of what I need to do is planted firmly in my mind, then I walk away.  Over the next few days, I try to think about the assignment and the material periodically, and usually, if I’m lucky, and when I’m not thinking about it, an idea comes to me.  After the idea comes I am able to sit down and start fleshing out something resembling a paper.

When it comes to revision I try to get at least two academic opinions and at least one opinion from a friend or confidant.  I keep those suggestions in mind as I reread my essay.  The things I look for most, myself, when revising an essay are coherence and flow.  Does it make sense?  Does it flow smoothly through all the points and ideas I wanted to make?  I look for things that may be unclear or superfluous then I try to tighten it up by getting rid of unnecessary things and rearranging where necessary to make everything as smooth as possible.  For me, the benefit of revising a paper is simply to make it more clearly the expression of ideas that it was meant to be and a paper that engages the reader.

For essay #2 I am still in process so I don’t have totally specific examples yet.  I want to reevaluate my thesis and try to make it clearer, and then make sure that I have tied my paragraphs neatly to it.  Since analysis is new for me, I will be looking hard at whether I have satisfied the P.I.E. format for each of my statements and eliminating any extra or unclear information. 

image source: http://girlfriendbooks.blogspot.com/2011/08/by-laura-spinella-topic-this-cycle-is.html

Frankenstein Blog #5

“Of what a strange nature is knowledge!  It clings to the mind, when it has once seized on it, like a lichen on the rock.  I wished sometimes to shake off all thought and feeling; but I learned that there was but one means to overcome the sensation of pain, and that was death…” (Shelley 81).

            This quote is of Frankenstein’s monster as he is telling his tale to his creator in volume 2.  It seemed particularly poignant to me because it seems to echo the mindset of many of the characters in the story so far.  The overriding message of this statement is that ignorance is bliss.  Everyone seeks out and even yearns for knowledge, but once it is had, it cannot be shaken, “It clings to the mind…” (81). If the knowledge that one gains is unexpected or undesirable it causes unimaginable misery.  This is especially true in the case of Victor Frankenstein and his monster. 

            For Victor, ignorance allows him to go on about his life for more than 2 years after creating this “wretch” without giving much of a thought to what happened to it.  It is only when he comes across the figure of his creation after the death of his brother that he realizes, and comes to know, that it is ultimately his fault that his brother has been murdered.  Furthermore, knowing that a dear friend has been executed because of what he has done is knowledge that is so unbearable that he cannot shake it or the misery that this knowledge brings him.

            For Frankenstein’s monster being alive is full of mystery and awe.  He begins his life and journey completely ignorant of who he is, what he is, or where he came from.  In spite of his lack of knowledge he believes that the world is an amazing place and that the people in it are essentially good and benevolent creatures like himself.  He yearns to acquire the knowledge to be among people and to know who he is.  After a year of observing the world, the monster presents himself, and in so doing, loses the last bit of happiness that ignorance affords him.  He learns that he is, no matter how hard he tries, nothing but a hideous monster that will never be able to be accepted among people.  This knowledge and final obliteration of blissful ignorance is what causes the untold misery that cannot be shaken and makes him long for death to relieve it.

           Image source: http://images.sodahead.com/profiles/0/0/0/4/5/2/3/0/5/Ignorance-is-bliss-38440156948.jpeg

Works Cited

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and J. Paul Hunter. Frankenstein,

The 1818 Text, Contexts, Nineteenth-century Responses, Modern Criticism. W W Norton & Co Inc, 1996. Print.

First Draft Essay 2

My questions are:  Is my interpretation believable?  Did I present it clearly and support it in a way that is easy and smooth to follow?  Did I lapse into summary anywhere? Any suggestions at all are welcome! 

April Chaplin

Cline

ENG 102

17 September 2011

Facing Down Your Demons

            “Goblin Market,” a poem by Christina Rosetti, is, on its surface, a tale of fanciful fairy tale qualities, dancing little goblin men and one sister’s love for another.  However, when examined more closely, the vivid imagery that the poet uses speaks to a theme of temptation and personal demons.  The story illustrates the consequences of giving into temptation and the ultimate salvation that can only come from facing down one’s fears and demons.  The sisters, Laura and Lizzie, demonstrate this dynamic through their choices and ways of handling the temptations they are faced with.

            As the poem begins the reader is immediately introduced to the goblin men and their cries urging anyone that can hear them to “Come buy our orchard fruits, / Come buy, come buy:” (Rosetti line 3-4).  The description of the unearthly wares that follows is so clear and vivid as to be almost palpable.  She describes “grapes fresh from the vine” (line 20) and “Bright-fire-like barberries” (line 27), all “Sweet to tongue and sound to eye” (line 30).  How tempting such wonderful things must be to young maidens like Laura and Lizzie.  Indeed these fruits are exactly that, indescribable temptation presented for the taking by these little goblin men. 

            Then we have the villains of the story, the goblin men.  Rosetti uses images of strange, animal-like and somewhat scary little monsters to describe them.

            One had a cat’s face,

            One whisk’d a tail,

            One tramp’d at a rat’s pace,

            One crawl’d like a snail,

            One like a wombat prowl’d obtuse and furry,

            One like a ratel tumbled hurry skurry. (line 71-76)

In our mind’s eye now are planted these images of little monsters slithering and crawling through the glen, yet in spite of the slight revulsion that the reader can’t help but feel, it is tempered by their sweet voices described as “…a voice like the voice of doves / Cooing all together: / They sounded kind and full of loves” (line 77-79). Beasts with voices of angels.  These are the scary dark imaginings of our inner workings, creatures that intrigue yet repulse us deep down, our inner demons. It is these inner demons whose mere presence or faces repulses, but whose voice tricks us, entices us and leads us directly into temptation. 

It is the sweet voice of our monsters that gets us into trouble. The voice that when you close your eyes, makes you forget exactly what it is that you’re dealing with, the way that Laura does when she fails to heed her sister’s dire warnings and gives into to the little goblin men and ultimately temptation.  Lizzie warns Laura, saying, “…’No, no, no; / Their offers should not charm us, / Their evil gifts would harm us’” (line 64-67).  Lizzie knows that no matter how fantastic the offers, one must be strong and not look into the face of demons because the temptation they offer can do nothing but harm.

Laura does not hear her sister and instead follows the path of least resistance and finds the consequences are heavy and hard to bear.  These consequences begin from the very moment she gives in and decides to partake of the ‘forbidden fruit’.  “She clipp’d a precious golden lock, / She dropped a tear more rare than a pearl,” (line 126-127).  The price of giving in and being weak of will is already enough here for Laura to shed a tear, yet it is still not enough for her to stop; she continues on and gorges herself on the fruit of the goblins. 

As the story goes on, the author continues to use vivid imagery and language to impart to the reader the pain and price that Laura pays for her transgression.  Phrases like, “Laura turn’d cold as stone” (line 253) and “In sullen silence of exceeding pain” (line 271) are precursors to the description of ultimate consequence. 

Her hair grew thin and grey;

She dwindled away, as the fair full moon doth turn

To swift decay and burn

Her fire away. (line 277-280)

The author can only be describing one thing here, the ultimate price of Laura’s failure to resist temptation, which is her soul and her life.  She failed to confront her demons and now she must pay the price for it.

            On the other side of temptation is resistance and salvation.  Lizzie’s journey into the belly of the beast to confront her demons illustrates this point.  In spite of her fear she seeks out the goblins with the strength of will to withstand everything they throw at her.        

“Though the goblins cuff’d and caught her, / Coax’d and fought her, / Bullied and besought her,” (line 424-426).  These lines show how in spite of all of their charms the goblins could not tempt her and were forced to resort to brutish behavior to force their wares upon Lizzie.  And still, her strength prevails.  “Life out of death” (line 524) is the reward for her resistance.  Salvation, for both herself and her sister. 

            In life, and in this poem, there are choices.  The story of two sisters, Lizzie and Laura, is a poignant story of the effects of our choices and a reminder to be mindful of the consequences they may have.  You can choose as Laura did, to give in to temptation and your personal demons and you will nearly always find that, “Their fruits [are] like honey to the throat / But poison in the blood” (line 554-555).  Or, you can take the chance and resist, stand up in the face of your fears and the monsters that haunt you and reap the rewards.

Works Cited

Rosetti, Christina.  “Goblin Market.” Goblin Market and other Poems. Cambridge: Macmillan, 1862. Print.

My Early Reaction to Goblin Market

The poem that I reacted to most was “Goblin Market” by Christina Rosetti.  At first read it was the vivid imagery and fairy tale quality that I liked.  The idea of little ‘goblin men’ dancing through the glen enticing young maidens to buy their fruits is a fanciful story, but one that the speaker tells skillfully.  The meter and language were fairly easy to follow and do a good job of lulling the reader into the rhythm of the story, a rhythm that changes throughout, becoming more subdued in some places and more intense in others, all of which mesh and flow with what’s going on at that point in the poem. By the end of the poem it is easy to see that the story can be interpreted as a story of how one sister’s love can ultimately save the other sister’s life. After all, Lizzie braves an encounter with the goblin men to bring back the juices and pulp of their fruit to save her sister Laura.  However, after reading the poem more closely I see a story of temptation and the devastation that blindly giving into it can create in one’s life, and, on the other side of the coin, how having the personal strength to resist can bring salvation and empowerment.

From the very beginning temptation is a theme.  The speaker describes how the goblin men cry, “Come buy our orchard fruits, / Come buy, come buy:” (line 3-4).  The images of all the perfect and varied fruit that one could not possibly find anywhere else follows in such a way that you can almost see in your mind’s eye these perfect, ripe and delicious specimens.  The goblins sing their song of “grapes fresh from the vine” (20) and “Bright-fire-like barberries” (27) in such a way that you can almost taste them and indeed want to.   

From here, it is easy to understand how difficult it would be for someone like Laura, utterly lacking willpower, to resist such charm and seduction in spite of her sister’s dire warnings. 

“We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:

Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots?”(42-45)

Here Lizzie tries to warn her sister of the dangers of giving in to the goblin men because what they offer can’t possibly be natural.  The idea being that anything unnatural cannot be good and most surely has undesirable consequences and effects no matter how good it seems at first.

The poem continues, on and on, vividly depicting how one person can blindly give in to such seduction at the price of one’s soul.  It is not until this temptation is met with such strength and the will to not give in, that the power is defeated, never to be anything but a memory again. 

This is a poem and a story that affected me strongly because I see in it parallels of personal power, of starting with a lack of it and only through the near destruction of one’s own soul coming to find that power and happiness is within oneself.

Image source: http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/09/garden-goblins.html

Works Cited

Rosetti, Christina.  “Goblin Market.” Goblin Market and other Poems. Cambridge: Macmillan, 1862.