Brainstorming and Pattern Finding (Maybe a Job for Detective Sam)?
My prompt and book list from last week:
In many works of literature, there are characters who either choose solitude or are forced into solitary confinement. Often, these periods of solitude offer these characters a clear vision of themselves, of others, and/or of the world around them. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and compose an essay in which you identify a character who undergoes a period of solitude; explore the nature of the solitude, its effects on the character's view of humanity, and the ways in which the character's experience with solitude contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Text List
East of Eden
All the Light We Cannot See
Beloved
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Giving Tree
The Great Gatsby
The Kite Runner
Where the Crawdads Sing
Parasite
Jojo Rabbit
"Acquainted with the Night" (Robert Frost)
"Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes" (Billy Collins)
"Maggie and Milly and Molly and May" (e.e. cummings)
On to brainstorming!
Not to be self centered, but I think I'll choose myself as the first "character":
Now that I think of it, I'm actually never technically alone these days. With Sam, Henry, and Jason being home 24-7, at least one of them always seems to be within arms-reach. As I type this, Henry is sitting next to me on the bathroom floor (I'm not sure why we're in the bathroom...we must have needed a change of scenery), trying to figure out if sentences should end with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. I think I should try this out with my topic:
Solitude.
Solitude?
Solitude!
Depending on the moment, solitude (or my lack thereof) feels like any of those. Inside the house, I crave solitude. I love these guys, but I'm finding it hard to hear my brain think. Outside the house, on my walks, the solitude feels like loneliness, and seeing everyone alone doesn't make it less lonely.
I just finished reading Where the Crawdads Sing, and the main character, Kya, raises herself alone in a marsh from the time she's a little girl; her entire family abandons her one by one, and her town rejects her, nicknaming her "Marsh Girl" and categorizing her as "other." When Kya stands trial, accused of murder and facing the death sentence, her lawyer's closing speech (along with the book's ending) suggest that the community's prejudice is what's really on trial here. Her lawyer begins his closing speech with "We called her the Marsh Girl. Many still call her that. Some people whispered that she was part wolf or the missing link between ape and man....Yet in reality, she was only an abandoned child, a little girl surviving on her own in a swamp, hungry and cold, but we didn't help her..." (Owens 340). It's almost as if her enforced solitude is the crime, and perhaps it should be. It left her nearly unable to love or trust anyone at some points, and so desperate for affection at other points that she gave herself to a violent, unfaithful man. However, because of her solitude, Kya became an expert on the birds, shells, and other marsh elements that kept her company; her knowledge earned her scholarly fame, and ultimately, a level of acceptance and freedom from her lonely life.
Thinking about this book and about what I wrote above, I'm wondering if the question mark is the best punctuation for "solitude," as in "solitude?" In other words, what we really need is for solitude to be a choice. Inside, solitude is not an option for me. Outside, it feels like the world has been forced into a state of solitude. Neither is satisfying because neither offers up solitude as a form of freedom.
When I think of solitude in Beloved, my heart goes to Denver. Like Kya, Denver's only comfort is a natural space (I think she calls it "The Emerald Closet," but I need to look this up). Denver's loneliness is an extension of her mother's loneliness; even before the murder, her community had ostracized her family out of envy and spite, I think. My copy of Beloved is sadly sitting on my desk at school, but I need to look up the scene right before "The four horsemen" chapter...what leads a community to force solitude upon an individual? Denver's most important shift comes in Part 3, when she breaks away from the loneliness of 124 and reaches out to Lady Jones; she finds strength in the community, but she also retains and nurtures a fiery independence.
In East of Eden, Adam and Charles endure the solitude of their separation in different ways. Interestingly, Adam's wandering solitude makes him less likable (in my opinion), while Charles' solitude makes him more empathetic. Adam becomes rather cold, while Charles becomes more empathetic. Adam doesn't seem to care if his solitude comes to an end, while Charles is desperate for company. Adam chooses his solitude; Charles seems cast into his. Random aside: the character who seems to favor solitude the most of Cathy. I'll think about that later.
Subpoint #1 / Pattern #1: Forced solitude and its negative effects
Subpoint #2 / Pattern #2: Chosen solitude and its positive effects
Loose thesis: When we are forced into solitude, the aloneness breeds darkness, but when we have the freedom to choose solitude, we strengthen our ability to forgive, to hope, and to connect.
In many works of literature, there are characters who either choose solitude or are forced into solitary confinement. Often, these periods of solitude offer these characters a clear vision of themselves, of others, and/or of the world around them. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and compose an essay in which you identify a character who undergoes a period of solitude; explore the nature of the solitude, its effects on the character's view of humanity, and the ways in which the character's experience with solitude contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Text List
East of Eden
All the Light We Cannot See
Beloved
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Giving Tree
The Great Gatsby
The Kite Runner
Where the Crawdads Sing
Parasite
Jojo Rabbit
"Acquainted with the Night" (Robert Frost)
"Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes" (Billy Collins)
"Maggie and Milly and Molly and May" (e.e. cummings)
On to brainstorming!
Not to be self centered, but I think I'll choose myself as the first "character":
Now that I think of it, I'm actually never technically alone these days. With Sam, Henry, and Jason being home 24-7, at least one of them always seems to be within arms-reach. As I type this, Henry is sitting next to me on the bathroom floor (I'm not sure why we're in the bathroom...we must have needed a change of scenery), trying to figure out if sentences should end with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. I think I should try this out with my topic:
Solitude.
Solitude?
Solitude!
Depending on the moment, solitude (or my lack thereof) feels like any of those. Inside the house, I crave solitude. I love these guys, but I'm finding it hard to hear my brain think. Outside the house, on my walks, the solitude feels like loneliness, and seeing everyone alone doesn't make it less lonely.
I just finished reading Where the Crawdads Sing, and the main character, Kya, raises herself alone in a marsh from the time she's a little girl; her entire family abandons her one by one, and her town rejects her, nicknaming her "Marsh Girl" and categorizing her as "other." When Kya stands trial, accused of murder and facing the death sentence, her lawyer's closing speech (along with the book's ending) suggest that the community's prejudice is what's really on trial here. Her lawyer begins his closing speech with "We called her the Marsh Girl. Many still call her that. Some people whispered that she was part wolf or the missing link between ape and man....Yet in reality, she was only an abandoned child, a little girl surviving on her own in a swamp, hungry and cold, but we didn't help her..." (Owens 340). It's almost as if her enforced solitude is the crime, and perhaps it should be. It left her nearly unable to love or trust anyone at some points, and so desperate for affection at other points that she gave herself to a violent, unfaithful man. However, because of her solitude, Kya became an expert on the birds, shells, and other marsh elements that kept her company; her knowledge earned her scholarly fame, and ultimately, a level of acceptance and freedom from her lonely life.
Thinking about this book and about what I wrote above, I'm wondering if the question mark is the best punctuation for "solitude," as in "solitude?" In other words, what we really need is for solitude to be a choice. Inside, solitude is not an option for me. Outside, it feels like the world has been forced into a state of solitude. Neither is satisfying because neither offers up solitude as a form of freedom.
When I think of solitude in Beloved, my heart goes to Denver. Like Kya, Denver's only comfort is a natural space (I think she calls it "The Emerald Closet," but I need to look this up). Denver's loneliness is an extension of her mother's loneliness; even before the murder, her community had ostracized her family out of envy and spite, I think. My copy of Beloved is sadly sitting on my desk at school, but I need to look up the scene right before "The four horsemen" chapter...what leads a community to force solitude upon an individual? Denver's most important shift comes in Part 3, when she breaks away from the loneliness of 124 and reaches out to Lady Jones; she finds strength in the community, but she also retains and nurtures a fiery independence.
In East of Eden, Adam and Charles endure the solitude of their separation in different ways. Interestingly, Adam's wandering solitude makes him less likable (in my opinion), while Charles' solitude makes him more empathetic. Adam becomes rather cold, while Charles becomes more empathetic. Adam doesn't seem to care if his solitude comes to an end, while Charles is desperate for company. Adam chooses his solitude; Charles seems cast into his. Random aside: the character who seems to favor solitude the most of Cathy. I'll think about that later.
Subpoint #1 / Pattern #1: Forced solitude and its negative effects
Subpoint #2 / Pattern #2: Chosen solitude and its positive effects
Loose thesis: When we are forced into solitude, the aloneness breeds darkness, but when we have the freedom to choose solitude, we strengthen our ability to forgive, to hope, and to connect.
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