“‘Out, Out –’”

Thesis: Robert Frost uses imagery, syntax, and euphemism in his poem “‘Out, Out –’” to add to the dramatic effect of the young boy’s death.

Imagery

            “The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard” (Frost 1)

Describing the buzz-saw as snarling and rattling in the yard creates an image of a hungry, chained guard dog waiting for food or intruders.  Raging guard dogs tend to cause fear in those that are near the dog and that is what Frost attempts to do with the saw; Frost tries to portray how terrifying the saw seems, especially to the young boy using it.  Portraying the fear of the saw adds to the dramatic effect of the boy’s death because it makes his death by scary saw much more bone-chilling.

            The saw “leaped out at the boy’s hand” (Frost 16)

With the image of the saw as a raging dog already established, the image of the saw leaping at a hand becomes quite frightening.  If one were to image themself as the boy they would be terrified by a thing as destructive as raging guard dog coming at their hand most certainly to destroy it.  The image of a leaping, snarling, rattling saw coming at one’s hand is meant to frighten the reader and make the reader feel as if their hand is the one being sawed off, heightening the dramatic effect of the boy’s death by saw.

Syntax

            “They listened at his heart, / Little–less–nothing!–and that ended it” (Frost 31-32)

The use of the dash when describing the sound of the heartbeat of the dying boy helps create the scene of his death.  When someone is dying and there is nothing the doctors can do, as is in this case, the scene is usually portrayed as having everything slow down until it stops.  The dashes help to create physical pauses that are both seen when reading the poem and heard when speaking the poem.  These pauses add to the dramatic effect of a heartbeat slowing down, which is associated with death.

Euphemism

            “And they, since they / Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs” (Frost 34)

“They” is referring to the other workers in the yard and “their affairs” is the work of the workers.  This statement shows how the workers reacted to the boy’s death; although the death was a tragedy, the other workers did not let the death get in the way of their work since their livelihood depends on how much work they complete.  This quotation is a euphemism for the fact that the workers cannot let the boy’s death interrupt their work, an idea that is unfathomable in current society, especially given the conditions of his death.  The lack of mourning for this tragedy adds to the dramatic effect because it makes the reader realize how awful and inhuman work was and how it seemed as if people didn’t care about what happened to child laborers.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #1: Conclusions from Comparing Wilde and Basil

            In the first two chapters of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the reader is led to believe that Basil has homosexual feelings towards Dorian Gray, his favorite subject to paint.  Knowing that Wilde was tried for homosexual activity in England it seems logical that he would create a character with homosexual tendencies in his lone novel.  However, Basil, the character we can use to draw parallels to Wilde, says that an artist “should put nothing of his own life into” his art (Wilde 13).  This statement by Basil, when thought of in conjunction with Basil’s homosexual feelings and Wilde’s life creates a paradox.  Basil, an artist, does not believe that an artist should put their own life into their work.  However, Wilde, an artist of a different medium as well as a homosexual, inputs his own tendencies into the main character that he creates. This paradox begins to make some sense when Basil attempts to explain why he will not put his portrait of Dorian Gray on display: “there is too much of myself in that thing” (13).  Basil believes that his painting reflects too much of himself and will not let others enjoy it because it would go against his belief that artists should not be part of their art.  However, when comparing Basil to Wilde the reader realizes that although Wilde creates a character in Basil that would not publish a work of art that relates to the artists, Wilde himself published a work of art with fairly apparent connections to his life.  This contradiction created by Wilde’s actions and his character Basil’s actions leads to the conclusion that although not letting artwork reflect the artist may be ideal it is something that is extremely challenging and almost impossible to achieve.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Preface: Aesthetic Philosophy and Tone Towards Audience

            In the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde talks about his views about art.  Wilde, an artist himself, begins the preface by saying that “the artist is the creator of beautiful things” (Wilde 1).  However, he ends the preface by stating “All art is quite useless”  (2).  These statements create a paradox where an artist says that art is useless, no matter how beautiful.  The second to last sentence of the preface serves to provide an explanation for the paradox by stating that “the only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely” (2). Wilde believes that the sole purpose of art is to be admired. 

            Understanding Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy helps to break down his tone towards the audience as well.  Wilde believes that all art is beautiful and that “those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming [and] … those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated” (1).  Wilde also says that “all art is at once surface and symbol” (2).  These quotes inform the reader that Wilde believes that his novel, like all pieces of art, has a deeper meaning that what is presented on the surface but he knows that not all readers will be able to grasp the inner meaning.  Wilde feels as if those able to interpret the inner meanings of art correctly are part of a higher more cultivated part of society whereas those not able to see the beauty in art are part of a lower more flawed part of society.  Wilde only has respect for those readers that see the beauty in his work as opposed to those who cannot.

November 5, 2012; “The Unknown Citizen”

Thesis:  The author, W.H. Auden, uses literary devices to characterize the government’s ideal citizen during the mid 1900’s.

Paradox

            Title: The Unknown Citizen

The title implies that the speaker knows nothing about the person spoken about since the person is unknown.  Unknown implies lack of knowledge about all facets of the citizen, which includes identity and identifying factors such as behavior, occupation, and family.

            “Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured” (Auden 15)

When the speaker references an insurance policy in the name of the person being described, it means that the speaker knows factual information about said person; a name can’t be made up.  If the speaker actually knows the name of the person being described in this poem, it sets up a paradox with the title since the title implies that the speaker knows nothing about this person, especially not his name.

            “Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard” (28)

The last line of the poem serves to explain the paradox.  As the reader reaches the end of the poem they are troubled with the idea that the title of the poem implies that nothing is known of the person while the actual content of the poem serves to describe every facet of the life of this “unknown” man.  What this last line does is present this idea that “we,” the government, would know if something was wrong with this man, so even if we don’t know who he is, we know what he was like because we know nothing was wrong with him.  To a government, nothing wrong with someone implies that this person was the ideal member of society; someone who fits every idea the government has of its citizens.  Therefore, if a government doesn’t know who someone is, it means that they actually know everything about that person.

Capitalization

“Except for the War till the day he retired/He worked in a factory and never got fired” (6-7)

“Our researchers into Public Opinion are content/That he held the proper opinions for the time of year” (21-22)

“our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation” (25)

            The capitalization in the middle of the lines in the three quotes above emphasizes what is important to the government and what can be known about people without actually knowing who they are.  The words “War,” “Public Opinion,” and “Eugenist” are the words capitalized mid sentence in the above three quotes.  During the mid 1900’s, which would be around the time this poem was being writing since Auden was born in 1907 and died in 1973, war was a major issue.  World War II had just ended and the Vietnam War was just starting up during the mid 1900s; these were both major issues and the government needed people to join the war effort.  To the government, the ideal citizen supported the war when the government did. The capitalization of “War” emphasizes the importance of war in the time period and how the government can tell that this unknown person supports the war effort.  The capitalization of “Public Opinion” emphasizes the close monitoring of the public opinion and how you can’t disagree with public opinion without showing up on the radar of the government.  Lastly, the capitalization of “Eugenist” hints at the fact that the baby boom was going on and there were people keeping track of breeding patterns.  At the time of the baby boom it was normal to have many children and this poem highlights just that.  The speaker takes that stance that it is safe to assume that this “unknown” person has many children simply based on the fact that they are unknown and thus do not deviate from the norm.  The capitalization of certain words mid-line highlights the important issues at the time this poem was written and the issues that the government feels they can generalize for people that are unknown.

1984 #9 War is Peace, Ignorance is Strength Notes

War is Peace

Three great superstates

Eurasia = Northern part of Europe and Asia (Portugal to Bering Strait)

Oceania = Americas, Atlantic Islands (including British Isles), Australasia, and Southern Africa

Eastasia = China and south, Japan, and large changing portions of Manchuria, Mongolia, & Tibet

Warfare

            Constant

            Similar to Total War in WWII

            No cause for fighting

            Can’t beat each other

            Small # of ppl à specialists

            Few casualties

            No one knows where the fighting actually takes place

            Shortage of goods and occasional bomb in cities

            Motives have changes

Always the same war

Each superstate too evenly matched for there to be a winner

No longer a real reason to fight

            Each superstate has its own thriving economy – no need for the others

            Can find every raw material needed in each superstate

War used for labor

One section constantly fought over; no one superstate controls it all at once

Disputed areas most used for their cheap labor

            Natives of these areas are reduced to slaves (Freedom is Slavery?)

Society veered off its evolutionary path to a tangential one when the Party took over; science and technology achievements slower b/c experimenting practically stopped since way of thinking changed

Increase in gen. wealth threatened hierarchy since hierarchies need poverty and ignorance

            Ignorance in lower levels of hierarchy = stronger upper levels and society?

Goods must be produced but not distributed, therefore constant warfare

            War b/w superstates keeps peace w/in superstates

Use war to destroy products that would make life comfortable

War effort eats up any surplus beyond the bare needs of the public

Needs of public under-estimated, but advantageous: keep people in need, makes small things more important

War establishes the mentality necessary for a hierarchy

            Party members should have mentality of a state of war

Doublethink – some inner party members must know that certain statements about the war are untrue, but they must act as if it is entirely true, and are on their way to victory being greatest power in the world

Goals of the Party: (193)

            Conquer the whole surface of the earth

            Eliminate all possibility of independent thought

Problems need solving:

            How to discover what another human is thinking

            How to kill several hundred million people instantly without warning

All scientific endeavors concerned with the above questions

Atomic bombs have ceased to be used when their power to destroy civilizations and power was demonstrated but all superstates still make and store them

Dream – attack superstate, sign pact, build up bombs to give devastating blow, give devastating blow, sign treaty with other superstate, do same thing

Essential for superstates not to have contact with foreigners except war prisoners and slaves because they would see how they are all similar and have been told lies

Philosophy in each superstate is essentially the same: ingsoc, neo-bolshevism, and death-worship

Lives dedicated to conquest but they know the war must continue forever without victory

Reality only exists in the minimum, past that it can be changed in any way; each superstate is like a separate universe

War is bad word choice – by becoming continuous, war has ceased to exist

An everlasting peace would have the same effect as a continuous war, thus: War is Peace

Ignorance is Strength

High à stay where they are

Middle à change places with the High

Low à create a society when all men are equal (when they have a goal)

The High are inevitably taken over by the Middle who enlist the Low to achieve their goal and then send them back to the bottom

Low are never successful; they see historical change simply as a change in name of their master

Ingsoc, Neo-Bolshevism, and Death-worship à promote ungood and inequality

            Stop progress, High maintain status indefinitely

Hierarchical society no longer necessary when machinery was made à men should live in a state of brotherhood

Authoritarian political structures became the general consensus around the world

High create oligarchical society in Oceania

            Party owns everything in Oceania

            Party members own nothing but their personal belongings

Four Ways to Fall From Power (207)

            Conquered from within

            Masses revolt b/v gov’t is so inefficient

            Strong and discontented Middle comes into being

            Loses self-confidence and willingness to govern

If you could guard against four above, remain in power forever; determined by attitude of High

High only conquerable through slow demographic changes (in current society)

Masses won’t revolt if deprived of all means of comparison b/c won’t realize they’re oppressed

In the eyes of the party, only real threats:

            Spliiting-off of new group of able

            Underemployed

            Power-hungry people

            Growth of liberalism and skepticism within Party ranks

Ignorance of society = strength in the Party’s leadership?

Big Brother = made up character used as the focal point of all emotions of Party members that are usually felt toward an individual

Admission to each level of societal hierarchy by exam at the age of 16

Low level of education because society doesn’t call for it

Party membres can’t have the slightest deviation from the Party’s platform

Party members never alone

No laws, and punishments not given out for committing a crime rather for the potential to commit a crime against the Party at a later date

Crimestop à protective stupidity

Big Brother = omnipotent

Party = infallible

Black-white à to opponent = contradicting plain facts; to party member = willingness to say black is white when Party says so (to know, to believe, to forget the contrary) – doublethink

Past must be manipulated

            So can’t compare current ways of life with anything, so must accept them

            Protect perfect picture of Party

Past is whatever the records and memories agree upon

Doublethink

            If you must change a memory, you must forget you did so

            Hold two contradictory beliefs at once and accept both of them

            Must be conscious but also unconscious

            Able to change history w/ doublethink

Those with the best knowledge of what is happening are the farthest from seeing the world as is

“The greater the understanding, the greater the delusion: the more intelligent the, less sane” (215)

World conquest believed most by those who know it to be impossible

Ministries = delibeate examples of doublethink

Mystery of Party depends on doublethink