Comparative Essay Idea no. 3...

I have been thinking about my initial essay idea and I have thought up this question, "How do the authors use one character to paint a portrait of his/her lover, in two texts you have studied?" This is obviously a rough idea and can use some narrowing down and possibly some flourishing in terms of the language used in posing the question, but it is a good starting point for me. The only issue is that I have written a similar essay specifically on The Sorrow of War and therefore I don't know whether or not I could write this as an assessment. I do not think that The Sorrow of War essay was assessed however I don't want to be writing the same essay again, running the risk of repeating myself. 

Comparative Essay Idea no. 2...

I had an idea that I could write about the significance/symbolic nature of dreams within the novels The Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Sorrow of War. In the first text I would like to focus on Tereza's dreams as hers are extremely telling; often untold as dreams and presented as a reality.There are also many to write about. In the second novel, I would focus on Kien's dreams, often nightmares and hellish memories from war that tormented him every night. Here I could also mention the fact that Kien loathed his dreams so much that he used Canina Flowers in order to bring on a hallucinogenic sleep. This can also be compared to Tereza's hate of her nightmares which lead her to grip Tomas tighter and keep him close throughout the night. 

Janet Frame

Janet Paterson Frame was born to a working class family in Dunedin, 1924From a young age Frame knew she wanted to be a writer and felt passionately about the stories that were scribbled down in her notebook. Sadly writing was most definitely not a job for a lady and so Frame was resorted to school teaching instead. The feeling that this was not her place in life, her awkward physical appearance, as well as a string of family tragedies (her brother suffered from epilepsy and two of her sisters died by drowning when they were both very young) isolated Frame and because of this, her reclusion left society to deem her abnormal. As a result of a breakdown whilst acting as a trainee teacher, Frame spent four and a half years inside mental asylums, incarcerated because she was deemed to be Schizophrenic. Despite the trauma and tumultuous years of imprisonment, Frame continued to write (often about incidences inside the mental hospital) and it was lucky enough that it was her writing that saved her from an operation that could have left her a vegetable; The Lagoon and Other Stories was awarded a literary prize so grand that it forced her doctors to let her leave.    When she was finely free, Frame decided that her passion would no longer be only a hobby and she set out on her journey to becoming an author. New Zealand society had deemed her too strange to live alongside them, so after writing Owls Do Cry with help from her mentor (and the man who’s garden shed she lived in) Frank Sargeson, Frame packed up what she still had of her life and moved to Spain.

She then moved to England where she was officially freed from her condemning diagnosis and continued to publish tales with clear emotional attachments to the time she spent in the asylums. Frame settled into her new life as a writer, accepting that living alone, unmarried and without children was to be her future, so that she could focus on her stories. When it finally came time, to avoid any troubles Frame chose to return home under the alias of Janet Clutha (named after the Clutha River.) Once back in New Zealand, criticism of Frame’s unique literary style began to bring her international acclaim with her way of writing being described as “(Pushing the) boundaries of the traditions she drew from and grew out of.” This earned her a great deal of publicity however Frame, still worried about being condemned as socially awkward and being put away again, chose not to appear in all of the papers, on the radio and in the eye of the public. Despite initial attempts to stay out of the media, Frame was horrified to learn of her reclusive status and even worse; myths about her appearance and personal nature. Nearing sixty, she released an autobiographical trilogy with hopes to stop the rumours; however she did not count on the literary success of her autobiography being so grand.

Frame was now a New Zealand icon, whether she wanted to be, or not!  In total, Frame published eleven novels, five short story collections, a volume of poetry and one children’s book.  She won a multitude of awards including New Zealand’s highest civil honour, when she became a Member of the order of New Zealand in 1990. Frame passed away in Dunedin in 2004. It is believed that it was Frame's concern with language, its relation to truth and her immense dislike of conventional "realities” or “kitsch ideas” that led to her fame and status in New Zealand and abroad.  Many of Frame’s stories are strongly biographical with references to growing up in New Zealand and of her times in the mental asylum; common themes of her novels being insanity and fear of persecution, concerns Frame felt most definitely. Frame’s autobiographical trilogy was also turned into a film by the award winning director Jane Campion titled An Angel At My Table. She looks to be inspired by awakenings both in nature and in humans, whilst constantly searching for her true identity. Frame draws upon our multicultural land in many of her novels and it is clear that as soon as she was released from the bounds of our society, she was free to look upon it in her works. She recalls, “"Writing a novel is not merely going on a shopping expedition across the border to an unreal land: it is hours and years spent in the factories, the streets, the cathedrals of the imagination."

James K. Baxter

James Keir Baxter was born in Dunedin in 1926, to a well-known Otago family with his father being the renowned conscientious objector; Archibald Baxter. Growing up, Baxter’s life was difficult and seemingly lonesome. He faced bullies at school and had a rather delinquent brother named Terrence. And so, it seemed, Baxter looked to poetry as a way to escape; his first poem was written at the age of seven, his first collection published when he reached eighteen. His troubled youth was solely expressed as being a time that “Created a gap in which the poems were able to grow”. Around six hundred poems were drafted by Baxter between the years 1942 and 1946.

After school, Baxter attended Otago University however after failing to complete his degree he settled for part time work. One of his most well known jobs was at the Chelsea Sugar Refinery, the muse for his poem “Ballad of the Stonegut Sugar Works." In 1951, Baxter then attended teachers training college while completing his studies at Victoria University in 1953. In later years he was to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Meanwhile, in his days at Otago University, Baxter began to succumb to the pull of alcohol and not long after beginning his studies at Victoria, he checked into Alcoholics Anonymous. His own battles with drinking were often visible in his work, as were his attempts at establishing a Narcotics Anonymous for drug users he met while living in Grafton later in life.

Baxter had, from a young age, shown a deep interest in religion. 1957 saw his conversion to Roman Catholicism however his plight to work at the monastery was frowned upon, his wife (an Anglican) divorcing him soon after. This sadly did not deter Baxter, who had never had a close relationship with his children or his wife, who he struggled to live within the bounds of domesticity and the concept of ‘marriage.’ Once his family was out of the picture, he took a trip to India in 1959, and returned with a new found appreciation for the way that we live after seeing such poverty and strife. He brought back home with him, a writing style, far more overtly critical of our society (clearly visible in his poems) as well as his wife, after an apparent reconciliation.

In April 1968, what Baxter noted as a ‘minor revelation’ coupled with his experiences in India, saw him set off to follow his dreams. He settled, living in the rather distressed Auckland suburb of Grafton, amongst drug addicts and frequent police visits, before moving on to Jerusalem, a mission station beside the Wanganui River, named because in Maori ‘Hiruharama’ means Jerusalem. Baxter decided that this tiny Maori settlement, its neighbouring Catholic Church and convent, would become his home. He hoped that he would be able to “Form the nucleus of a community where the people, both Maori and pakeha, would try to live without money or books, worship God and work on the land.” In October 1972, after many years living with his Commune in Jerusalem, Baxter died of a heart attack in Auckland aged 46. 

Reflecting on the life of James K. Baxter one can easily see his struggle to comprehend the ideals of society. He found it difficult that New Zealanders were unable to face his perception of their small world, expressed in the quotation, “(It is) reasonable and necessary that poetry should contain moral truth, and that every poet should be a prophet according to his lights.” Baxter believed strongly in the power of the truth, much of his inspiration heading itself from his questionable faith, his experience in protesting against the Vietnam War and his pacifist parents. Baxter once described his poetry is “Part of a large subconscious corpus of personal myth, like an island above the sea, but joined underwater to other islands’, and elsewhere commented that what ‘happens is either meaningless to me, or else it is mythology.” This above all else depicts Baxter’s tendency figment his life in his writing.

At times Baxter appears to evaluate New Zealand society too harshly, with his social conscience often appearing too large for his stature. It seems that his criticism of a mainstream life and his ultimate choice to live outside of it is merely the result of his unique and analytical nature. How can a boy who has written poetry from age seven, grow up without his own anomalous view on the world? Ultimately, Baxter chooses to place his poetry under a larger umbrella than most, preferring to direct our thoughts towards universal facets of our human life. 

Comparative Essay Idea no. 1...

I would like to be able to write on both The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and the Sorrow of War. This is because I have made a connection with both texts and I think that there will be a lot of paths which one can venture down, because of the relationships expressed in both novels. My first thoughts are that I would like to write my comparative essay about the concept of love/ contrasting relationships. I would obviously look at Kien and Phuong in the Sorrow of War, but within The Unbearable Lightness there are many different relationships that I could explore (Tomas and Tereza/ Tomas and Sabina/ Franz and his wife/ Franz and Sabina etc) . I assume that if I do chose this as my essay topic, I will write on Tomas and Tereza because those characters in the novel, have been looked at in greatest depth by our class. These are just ideas at this stage however I am pretty certain that I will study the two novels stated above.

In what way is the historical/political setting of the novel relevant to its themes of lightness, heaviness, the soul and the body?

After the defeat of the Germans in World War two, Czechoslovakia was re-established. Due to the largely dominant Russian communism movement, in 1948 the Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia. This political party demanded total control of the government, art, education, and Czechoslovakian culture. During the 1960s a series of political reforms, intending to ease the tight band of communism on the arts and culture of Czechoslovakia, were introduced. These reforms were immediately disliked by the Russian government who sent in their troops to arrest political reform leader, Alexander Dubcek immediately.

The idea that lightness and heaviness, soul and body, relate to The Unbearable Lightness of Being, is visible through the expression of art and culture in the novel. Because of the immense pressure to conform and be inexpressive, the idea of heaviness and weight surrounds the Soviet invasion.  The idea of weight and heaviness also links to the concept of a body. For example, Sabina, a character associated with the theme of lightness, is forced to paint conventionally, but chooses to create works of art that are ‘double exposures’ alluding to a secret world. Sabina is desperate to escape the hold that communism has on her work, understanding that all political practises are the same totalitarian forces .This she reflects this in her artwork. 

Similarly, it is suggested that those who accept lightness, (often related to the concept of a soul) are not likely to chose a life under rule of a political party, no matter what party it may be.  Another character by the name of Tereza, fall into the category of heaviness. Tereza strongly fears the anti individualism promoted by governments and is a deeply private and conservative woman. The theme of heaviness relates to emotional and physical; depth and attachment, something that those who followed the communist takeover after the war, strongly believed in.  

How does Mansfield create credibility in her portrayal of the Boss?

The Boss; a man driven to control after he lost a son uncontrollably.

The Boss’s character is shown through the furniture situated in his office. The furniture is large and colourful, demanding attention. For example, “'New carpet,’ and he pointed to the bright red carpet with a pattern of large white rings. ‘New furniture,’ and he nodded towards the massive bookcase and the table with legs like twisted treacle.” This shows the Boss’s office is filled with ‘statement’ pieces of furniture which he is extremely proud of. The office décor symbolises power and dominance, two traits that the Boss desperately desires. The furniture is often rearranged with the boss finding it so easy to control the pieces of furniture in his office, but not life in general. The office is the Boss’s way of boasting to others about his high status as the leader but really it is just an area of his life that he is able to manoeuvre, unlike the death of his son. The furniture is also a way that that Boss shows off his high power, much like he showed off his son. For example when discussing the room, “'I've had it done up lately,’ he explained, as he had explained for the past – how many? – weeks.” And when discussing his son, “And what congratulations he had received as the boys father.”This explores the pride in having an expensive and important looking office beholden to the Boss, who cannot stop boasting about it. No doubt if his son were still alive, he would not need a new office for show, he would have a person.

The Boss’s emotional state would suggest that he is very troubled but he thinks more along the lines of self pity rather than grief for his son. The Boss still mourns his son who passed away in the war six years prior however he does not appear to miss the boy very much, he seems to miss the idea of having a son more. For example, “How on earth could he have slaved, denied himself, kept going all those years without the promise for ever before him of the boy’s stepping into his shoes and carrying on where he left off?” The Boss asks himself this which suggests to the reader that like the office furniture, the Boss enjoyed control over his son’s future, despite a lack knowledge of what the son wanted for his own life. The Boss also showed his willingness and ability to push a creature to its very limits, appearing menacing and sadistic to the reader. For example, “He plunged his pen back into the ink, leaned his thick wrist on the blotting-paper, and as the fly dried its wings down came a great heavy blot. What would it make of that? What indeed?” Here the Boss comes across as sick and disturbed, whilst almost making fun of the struggling animal. It shows his utter selfishness, desire for control over everything and his lack of compassion for other living creatures. It is as though because a great force took his son from him a ‘greater force’ – i.e. himself – can kill a measly little fly. The Boss shows no emotion to old Mr Woodifield when he speaks of his son and but alone he speaks of the importance of weeping to show his emotions. “He wanted, he intended, he had arranged to weep...” explores how the Boss has wants to grieve for his son and but finds himself grieving more for himself.

The Boss’s interaction with other characters such as Macey and old Mr Woodifield show him to be an overbearing and at times, belittling character. Mr Woodifield has suffered a stroke and although he is actually five years younger than the Boss, because of this, the Boss feels superior to him. Mr Woodifield is referred to as ‘old’ and the Boss looks down on him as though he were of a lesser importance. For example, when the Boss offers Mr Woodifield whiskey he tells him that, “It wouldn’t hurt a child.” This is eluding to the idea that because of Mr Woodifield’s stroke, the Boss feels he has to treat him as a youth. The Boss is also extremely short tempered, bossy and rude to his assistant Macey who is in turn, scared of the Boss. For example the Boss cries, “Bring me some blotting paper... and look sharp about it,” which comes after his realisation of the fly’s death. The Boss feels as though he cannot control the death of the animal and so he decides upon ordering around somebody he can control.