Physical Journeys in a Literary Work

Often times, a physical movement from one destination to another plays a critical role in a piece of literature. This is the case in Oscar Wilde's famed play The Importance of Being Earnest, in which the lead characters, Jack and Algernon, frequently take from their county homes to the cities, as a means to carry out double lives as men by the names of Ernest and Bunbury, respectively. Oscar Wilde's piece mocks Victorian society and its flawed ideals of proper appearance versus that of character, and the journey from country to city aids to exemplify that concept.

Jack, a well-respected gentleman in the country, creates the character of Ernest in order to flee his drab life, and meet with his lover, named Gwendolyn, who has a particular fondness for the name Ernest. The foundation of his relationship is based upon lies and deceit. This carries a certain weight due to the morals of the time period, when it was fine to be fake or immoral as long as you appeared presentable.

In an ironic addition to Jack's act, Algernon pretends to be a man named Ernest as well, in order to woo a young lady by the name of Cecily. He succeeds, although Jack uses Ernest as well, so both women become enraged to learn that they are both engaged to a man named Ernest. At this point, the men are forced to confess their true identities, and the ladies are furious for a short period of time. Then, they quickly reconcile for no particular reason and all four agree to marry. Once again, the hollowness of Victorian morals becomes apparent in this three-act play, for the women are only upset because Jack and Algernon's names are not Ernest, not because they were decieved.

Wilde's use of satire helps to create humorous tone throughout the piece, as well as poke holes in the established Victorian mannerisms.

Poetry Analysis

Fatherhood is a topic often covered in poetry. Poet Simon J. Ortiz uses both foil and subtle personification in his take on the subject, Speaking (page 318, #259). Ortiz refers to crickets and cicadas twice in this poem. At first, the narrator speaks them using human language, and there is no response. Later in the poem, the narrator describes his young son, speaking using small noises instead of words. In that instance, there is a response; the leaves tremble. This use of foil- father and son -helps to emphasize the meaning of the poem as a whole; that nature answers not to our words, but to sound and action. The personification of the leaves as requiting the child's noises is a way of the poet communicating the wisdom of childhood that is often lost in adulthood. The simple language in this poem furthers the point of it; sometimes the most basic communication is the most poignant and precise.

Wallace Stevens depicts the gritty  deaths of war in his poem The Death of a Soldier (page 334, #281), utilizing technical diction and short sentence structure. In no way does Stevens glorify the passing of the soldier he is discussing. Instead of long, rambling odes, he writes in small fragments, such as "The Soldier falls." With this, the author removes any sense or romanticism from war, which is pure murder, according to the author. Instead of describing death with any pomp or celebration, the author uses technical terms. For instance, he begins the poem with the words "Life contracts..." as if it were nothing special that a young man had died.

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

The novel We features a dystopian society run, supposedly, by a figure named "The Benefactor." This character is described as stoic, lifeless, moving as if he wasn't a human, but a machine. This creates a level of doubt in the novel as to whether or not the Benefactor is a human, or some creation by the leaders of this society to instill fear into the hearts of the citizens.

Yevgeny Zamyatin gives the Benefactor inhuman and rigid qualities in order to reveal a truth about dictatorships and cruel societies. Onestate, the oppressive world to which the narrator belongs, operates on a strict and rigorous schedule, in which the citizens are allowed little free time to develop new opinions, ideas, or concepts. This rigidity is what allows such a system to exist without riots or any sort of resistance from the population. Thus, the figurehead for such a society must have similar metallic, robot-like qualities, so the citizens have some idol to pursue. While the people are preoccupied striving to be just like the Benefactor, along with worshiping him and having sex with whoever they want on their off-time, the government has all the ability in the world to rob them of their freedoms, and profit from their labor.

My favorite quote from this novel is "'You're in bad shape! It looks like you've developed a soul." In a society based on hard labor and tight schedules, embracing imagination or soul is considering an illness or a crime, and anyone who dares to dream of a different world is punished and ostracized from the pack of citizens in that society. In our world, too often are those with brilliant ideas considered insane or wrong, simply because these ideas are different.

I enjoyed this novel because of the perspective through which we view this robot-like society. D-503 begins to journal his experiences because he longs to express how wonderful Onestate appears to him. However, as the book progresses, he begins to act against Onestate for reasons he may not understand. Certain elements from our society, although dramatized, appear in this novel, such as oppressive schedules and distractions to prevent the citizens from acting against the ruling forces.