Lear Versus Edmund

In class today, discussing the different ideas of King Lear, we covered the topic of Edmund and Lear being contrasting characters.  They appear to be polar opposites in attitudes.  Although if you look closely their contrasts actually make them related to one another.  These two main characters mirror each other in their rise and fall from power and glory.  It is almost like an inversely related pair of variables in an equation: as Lear comes down, Edmund goes up, and as Lear goes back up, Edmund has to come back down.  An interesting side note to this relation between the characters is that Edmund and Lear never talk or meet throughout the play.  

What makes these two characters at such odds with each other?  Lear is a volatile, emotional man, willing to explode at any minute, at anyone, for any reason he deems worthy.  He proves that twice at the very beginning of the play by banishing both Cordelia and Kent (who happen to be the people who love him the most) and does so without any regard for the later repercussions.  Ready, fire, aim! appears to be Lear's fall back philosophy on how handle situations.  At the other end of the spectrum there is Edmund.  A man who is cold and calculating, controlling his emotions to the point where he doesn't even seem to have them.  Edmund never makes a rash choice, or a hasty decision.  He always methodically decides his next move so that he can make the most of the situation.  How do these characters who act and think completely opposite of each other have so much in common?  First, they are both very egotistical.   Second, both men are on a journey of discovery.  Lear and Edmund think that everything the world does should be for their benefit.  If it hurts other people to get what they want, so what? Also, they both are finding out who they really are.  Lear thinks he is this great king that everyone loves and respects, when really he is just an inadequate father and shaky ruler.  Edmund believes he should be the favorite son with all the materials of the Duke.  He finds out that backstabbing everyone and fighting only for himself to get what he wants ends up with him having no one to support him and nothing to show for it in the end.  And it seems both Edmund and the king pay for their faults, dying in the end.  

The big question this leaves for the reader is, "Where do I fall in this situation?  Am I more like Lear or more like Edmund?  Am I in the grey area in between, or am more extreme like them?"  It is interesting to think about it and be honest with yourself about where you would fall.

#LVE

Death of a Salesman, Relating to Biff

We have discussed how different characters in Death of a Salesman relate differently to each person who reads the play.  Some connect to Willy, some to Charley, maybe some to Linda, but it all depends on what you personally bring to the story.  I bring my experiences to connect with Biff the most.

Biff is the son who the most is expected out of.  He is going to be the star child of the family.  He will be the successful salesman or the greatest football player his father never was but always wanted.  Biff, when he was a child, did everything that his dad told him would make him "well liked" in the world.  Only after he discovers Willy's affair does Biff begin diverging from his father.  Once this initiation has occurred, Biff realizes what he really wants out of life.  The ambition to work with his hands and move out West takes the complete opposite direction of Willy.

My relation comes from the same view Biff has.   I have always wanted to do things that my dad has said will make me successful.  But now, as college approaches, I am unsure if that is really what I want.  The career I desire could be more along the lines of computers and video games rather than engineering.  I don't know how I will go about pursuing this ambition, because I don't have the experience to figure it out yet.  Although I relate more to Biff, I hope I can avoid the failure and disappointment that Biff causes his father and he feel.

The Question

What makes this book a classic?
To start The Tale of Two Cities makes being a classic by its enduring age and connection to history.  Initially published in a series of installments starting in April 20, 1859 to November 26, 1859, this novel is over a 150 years old and still considered a great read.  Charles Dickens is an expressive writer, capturing the feel, the energy, and the experience of actually being present when this book was written.  You are thrust directly into the blood lust that consumes the French Revolution, but you also feel the tender love Lucie Manette expresses towards her waylaid father.  The story teaches us lessons on faith and hope things can always get better, on compassion for others, and in fortitude of enduring hardship.  This tale is nothing short of a classic because it has it all: a moving story, underlying principles, and the timelessness of its message.

This classic may be hard to start and get into, but once deep in the adventure that is The Tale of Two Cities, you will be glad you read it.  I recommend everyone to read this book at least once in their life.

The Tale of Two Cities エンド (The End)

I just hit the end of The Tale of Two Cities, and boy does it end with a bang (for some characters literally)!  In this final section of the book, the seeming low life Sydney Carton, plays his biggest role yet.  You come to discover how deeply Carton loves Mrs. Darnay and the Darnay family, how he respects Mr. Lorry and Doctor Manette above all other men, and how he wishes the best for the group he can call his friends.  When Charles Darnay is recaptured and sent to prison to be executed for sure (particularly by Defarge and Doctor Manette's incriminating evidence), Carton shows up with a last ditch plan to try and save this man that he believes life his worth more than his own.  Without discussing any details with anyone, Carton positions himself to take Darnay's spot at the guillotine and have him sped out of France with his family and Mr. Lorry.  Along the way Madame Defarge's hatred for the whole Darnay family is uncovered, along with her plan to have them killed as well.  I won't give all the details, but Ms. Pross and Madame Defarge fighting it out is a pretty good chapter in the book especially after finding out how truly evil Madame Defarge is.  Carton, in his skill and planning, manages to take Darnay's place and saves the life of Darnay, sparing his family from the torture losing the man of the household would have done.

Text to text:  Here I connect The Tale of Two Cities to the Holy Bible.  In John 15:13 it states: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

Text to reader:  I do not think it is possible to accurately connect to this chapter unless you physically understand the feelings and emotions Carton goes through before he carries out his plan.  The only way to know would be to experience something similar.  The only connection to this section I can make is the struggle we all face combating the evil influences of the world that attempt to harm those we love.  I know from experience that trying to protect my sister from these forces, is nothing but a hard fought, uphill battle.  Yet absolutely worth it.

A Tale of Two Cities Section 4

Nearing the end of the story, A Tale of Two Cities really starts to heat up.  In this section the French Revolution explodes across all of France and engulfs the country in what is now known as the Terror.  La Guillotine because such an instrument of death and national pride that the citizens of France begin calling it a saint and worshiping it as a symbol more holy than the cross.  The Defarges are naturally caught right in the midst of all this, but surprisingly so are Mr. Lorry and Charles Darnay. Mr. Lorry goes to France on Tellson's Bank's business, but Charles goes to help a servant out who was wrongly imprisoned because he worked for the Marquis.  Upon travelling to Paris, Charles is recognized for his connection to the late Marquis and is thrown in prison.  His wife, kid, and father in law go to France to rescue him.  Darnay is eventually rescued by Doctor Manette but once again at the end of the section is just throw back in jail based on false accusations.

Text to text:  I connect this section of the book to Speaker of the Dead through Doctor Manette and Ender Wiggin.  In Speaker of the Dead Ender uses his gained respect as being the Speaker of the Dead to gain remarkable access to the Piggies and everything humans know about them. In his quest to save them, Ender gains a part of his character he previously didn't know he had, just as Doctor Manette finds a new strength and resolve in saving his son in law.

Text to reader: I feel the same way Darnay does, being wrongly accused and finding no way to change it leaves me feeling shocked in a way, and often disgusted with the system.  I can see why Darnay bails out of France to go to England so early in the book.

A Tale of Two Cities La Tercera Parte

In this section of The Tale of Two Cities a few dramatic events occur.  First we learn of Mr. Cruncher's profession of grave robbing.  He calls it "fishing" as he and a couple other men go to the graveyard to remove corpses entombed there to be sold to doctors and scientists.  Then the Defarge family is discovered as being the planners of a revolution in France.  Mrs. Defarge with her secret knitting and Mr. Defarge with his Jacques'.  Darnay and Madame Manette plan their wedding and do get married with Doctor Manette's blessing.  Doctor Manette has a frightening relapse into his dark, prisoner-minded state.  And finally the section culminates with the beginning of the bloody French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille.

Text to text:  The connection I made to this section was with Ender's Game and the start of the Revolution.  In Ender's Game, after the Bugger Wars are over and Ender has begun his exodus into the stars, back on Earth Ender's brother, Peter, begins his own revolution (League War).  After years of bloody struggle, Peter succeeds in uniting the three major military powers of the world.  As Hegemon of Earth, the Free People of Earth government is established. The similarities between this fictional and actual revolts are surprising, and show how history seems to be a good indicator of what will happen in the future.

Text to reader:   I connect with Mr. Cruncher's son.  The young boy finds out the hard way what his dad's real life job is and is disgusted and terrified by this revelation.  I find myself feeling the same way when I discover more of what the world considers "realities of the real world," and how repulsive I find this "necessities" that society has to drag along with it.

The Tale of Two Cities Part II

In the next part of this tale we discover multiple facts, some of which I found surprising.  We learn that Charles Darnay is connected to France by his uncle the Marquis, and then the quick follow up murder of the very same uncle the next day.  Mr. Darnay becomes a professor in England teaching French.  Mr. Stryver and Mr. Darnay both have the plan of marrying the beautiful Madame Manette.  The author, Dickens, also sets up the scene for the French Revolution to come by his portrayal of the evil upper class in the French society.  There is quite a bit of foreshadowing in this section of the book as to what will happen next.

Text to text:  I connected this book to Ranger's Apprentice. In Ranger's Apprentice there is the same conflict of two men attempting to attract the attention of one woman that could lead to conflict between the main characters.  Since this time period is a time ferocity for getting what you wanted, Darnay and Stryver could battle it out and I wouldn't be surprised.

Text to reader:  This part of the Tale of Two Cities connects to me through Darnay in many aspects.  The part especially when we learn his relation to his uncle in France, I feel the same uneasiness he feels of being just handed something.  Darnay does not feel it his right to just earn the right of being a lord of the people and believes he needs to work for it.  I feel the same way (obviously not concerning becoming a feudal lord) with being given rewards.  I need to work for it to earn it.