Spring (Again)
Michael Ryan
The birds were louder this morning,
raucous, oblivious, tweeting their teensy bird-brains out.
It scared me, until I remembered it’s Spring.
How do they know it? A stupid question.
Thank you, birdies. I had forgotten how promise feels.
raucous, oblivious, tweeting their teensy bird-brains out.
It scared me, until I remembered it’s Spring.
How do they know it? A stupid question.
Thank you, birdies. I had forgotten how promise feels.
1.) I don't believe that Clarissa is an ordinary woman. I don't think she's happy with her life or does anything for herself but somehow that was ordinary back then for women because they always tried to satisfy their men and put their lives on hold. However she lives with a woman Sally, whom she's having an affair with, and that wasn't normal for the 1950's.
ReplyDelete2.) Flowers are brought up when Clarissa goes out to buy them for the party congratulating Richard and flowers are brought up with Laura when her husband brings her yellow roses even though it's his birthday. I think the flowers are associated with trying to hide what's going on in reality and trying to hide how the characters of the novel feel.
3.) I wouldn't categorize Richard as insane. I think he's going through dementia and AIDS is driving him to the point of not having anything to live for anymore but I do believe that Virginia is insane. She is constantly talking to herself and over analyzing what she wants to write about and her mannerisms just make her seem odd and insane.
4.) I think this shows that even when you try to run away from society norms or don't restrict yourselves to what's going on in society you still get caught up with what's going on. I think the author wanted to show that whether you conform yourself or not you'll still find yourself somewhat being a prisoner to society.
5. This feeling is a universal one for both men and women because sometimes we do not know who we truly are because we play a role for society in order to fit in. We are so concerned for social acceptance that we hide the side of ourselves that we fear may not be accepted
6.) The three significant kisses were between Clarissa and Richard, Laura and Kitty, and Virginia and her sister Vanessa. Richard and Clarissa's kiss was significant because it showed their past love connection and also Richard has AIDS making it even more special that she still continues to kiss him. Laura and Kitty's kiss, and Vanessa and Virginia's kiss were significant because they were against the typical society norms and showed women's desire to experiment.
7.) The novel tells us that the creative process varies differently for every character and they all feel accomplished in different ways. As the story continues the creative process is often referred back to, for example how Virginia often revises her story of Mrs. Dalloway and writes bits and pieces of it when she feels inspiration.
8.) Richard's childhood influenced him into the man he is today due to his mother Laura abandoning him and his father at such a young age. He's been wounded because as a child Richard admired his mother and was very observant towards her, so once she left he was devastated.
ReplyDelete9.) All three essential women keep their inner lives separate from their outer ones. Laura as well as Kitty try to keep their housewife image, while they both aren't happy at all. Laura feels extremely lost and caged into a lifestyle she doesn't attest too. I don't feel Virginia keeps her inner self separate from her outer life because it's very apparent that she's suicidal and unhappy.
10.) I don't think that the characters are unusual because it's normal to be ourselves hardest critic and we often set high expectations for ourselves and when we don't meet them we feel we've fell short. The feeling of failure is very essential to the human condition.
11.) I don't think we're meant to feel that if they'd stayed together they would've been happier or would've lived a better life because they clearly both are gay or bisexual, and staying together would've left them unexposed to those relationships. I definitely think Cunningham implies regretting youth and regretting the lost chances during our youth.
12.) Clarissa, Richard, Virginia and Louis all differ in their middle-aged lives in comparison to their youthful lives because they all are unhappy in a sense. Virginia feels trapped and has serious mental issues whereas Richard and Louis are in a relationship but its apparent that something is missing. And Clarissa feels she was only happy with Richard and nothing else in life has made her happier. I think she tries to resist the change from youth to middle-aged life the most because she continues to try and hold onto Richard and try to keep their relationship in tact.
13.) Richard, Virginia and Laura all feel as though theres nothing left to live for and that their unhappiness overshadows everything else to come in their lives. Laura doesn't commit suicide but she contemplates it, whereas Richard and Virginia end up following through with killing themselves. The survivors are different than the "suicides" because the survivors such as Clarissa and Laura's husband and Virginia's husband all have people to live for such as Clarissa having her daughter and Sally.
14.) I haven't read Mrs. Dalloway.
15.) The gender-bending and changing of sexual orientations makes the novel more current because at the time of Mrs. Dalloway being written women felt very trapped in marriages and confined to certain sexual norms, whereas now more people feel free to be themselves and date whomever they'd like.
16.) He chose the Hours because the entire book spans over a day, but more so 24 hours. For characters like Richard and Virginia it shows how much they contemplated life in a day and ultimately the hours were a countdown to their deaths.