The Sun Also Rises by Erest Hemingway | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Before that, he won the Pulitzer Prize of 1952 for his novella The Old Man and the Sea.

Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois, U.S. and he died on July 2, 1961. He was influenced by Mark Twain and famously appreciated him in 1935 and said “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn. It’s the best book we’ve had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.”

Like Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, Ernest Hemingway also created a fictional character named Nicholas Adams for his short story collection published by the title In Our Times which was published in 1925. He married four times and he was a heavy alcoholic. He served as an ambulance driver during the First World War on the Italian front. He was influenced by the effects of the World War and became an active member of the literary circle Lost Generation. The Lost Generation was the social generational cohort that was in early adulthood during World War I. "Lost" in this context refers to the "disoriented, wandering, directionless" spirit of many of the war's survivors in the early postwar period. The term “Lost Generation” was popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it in the epigraph for his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises: "You are all a lost generation".

Characters: Jake Barn is an American expatriate veteran of World War 1 who lives and works as a journalist in Paris. Robert Cohn is also an American expatriate novelist living in Paris. A neighbor of Jake Barn but Robert Cohn didn’t fight in World War 1. Lady Ashley Brett is a British expatriate living in Paris. She nursed Jake when he was injured during World War 1. Jake loves her and she loves him in return but their relationship could not be consummated. Brett is already twice divorced and promiscuous in nature. Bill Gorton is another journalist friend of Jake Barn who didn’t fight the war but he did cover the war as a correspondent. Mike Campbell is a Scottish alcoholic war veteran, a fiance of Brett. Pedro Romero is a 20-year-old attractive matador with a good future in bullrings. Montoya is a hotelier in the town of Pamplona, in Spain's Basque country.

Summary of The Sun Also Rises

The Sun Also Rises is a story about a group of young American and British expatriates wandering in Europe during the late 1920s after the First World War is over. The war had a deep impression on these groups of people most of whom took an active part in the war. These people are cynical and disillusioned and are part of the group called Lost Generation. Jake Barn and Lady Ashley Brett are prime examples of the Lost Generation.

Jake Barn is an American who left America for Europe and joined World War 1. During the war, he got injured and was treated by Lady Ashley Brett, a British lady who worked as a nurse during the war to take care of the injured soldiers. Jake and Brett develop an emotional relationship as they fall in love with each other. However, the injury leaves James impotent unable to consummate his relationship with Brett. Despite their emotional bond, they get apart because Brett couldn’t give up the idea of sex.

After the war, James decides to move to Paris to work as a journalist. In Paris, Jake lives near his old Jewish friend named Robert Cohn who is a novelist. Somehow, Brett also reaches Paris and starts living there. She meets Cohn and Jake and Cohn confesses his feelings for her to Jake. Jake cautions him against pursuing a relationship with Brett because he is in love with her and he knows that she has been engaged to Mike Campbell, a rich Scottish army veteran. Brett becomes the cause of the tussle between Cohn and James. After some time, both James and Cohn leave Paris. James goes to San Sebastien, a small beach town in Spain. Meanwhile, Cohn moves to the countryside.

After a few months, James returns to Paris and finds that his other good old friend Bill Gorton has visited Paris. Jake and Bill enjoy their memories of the old days and then decide to go to Sapin to attend Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona to see the running of the bulls and bullfights.

Before Jake and Bill could leave Paris, they accidentally meet Brett and her fiance Mike Campbell who are also going to Spain. Brett and Mike insist Bill and Jake should visit Pamplona along with them. During their journey, Brett gets some private time with Jake and she reveals that she had been with Cohn in Spain for the last few weeks.

Bill and Jake meet Cohn in Spain and together, the three decides to go to Pamplona. In Pamplona, they meet Brett and Cambell again. All of them decide to stay at a hotel owned by a man named Montoya. Montoya is a bullfight enthusiast and he is very eager to tell and teach everything about bullfights to foreign visitors. Jake is very interested in bullfighting and Brett is captivated by a young 19-year-old bullfighter named Pedro Romero. So there are three men with emotional and romantic feelings for the same woman who is taking much interest in a young lad. One night, Mike, Jake, and Cohn get involved in a heated argument over Brett, and incidentally, Brett happens to listen to all of it. She gets upset and runs off to Madrid with Romero.

After some time, the festival ends and Jake, Mike, and Cohn decide to leave Pamplona. Jake returns to the south of France where one day, he receives a telegram from Bett. Brett demands his help in returning from Madrid. Jake immediately reaches to Madrid to help her out where he learns that Brett decided to send Romero back as she didn’t want to spoil him and ruin his future. Jake and Brett take a taxi in Madrid to return to her Fiance Mike. In the taxi, Brett tells Jake she thinks they could have had a wonderful time together. Jake replies, “Yes, isn’t it pretty to think so?”

And the novel ends.

Analysis

Ernest Hemingway was accused of antisemitism for the depiction of Robert Cohn as an unlovable jew. However, the novel has no antihero. Furthermore, at times, it appears as if Ernest wanted to depict James as the hero, at other places, it appears as if Robert Cohn is being projected as the hero, and at some other places, Pedro Romero appears to be the hero of the novel. The title of the novel “The Sun Also Rises” obliquely refers to Jake’s injury that he suffered during World War 1 and what no longer rises because of it. The novel is an example of roman a clef (a novel with a key) in which Hemingway represented some real-life events with a facade of fiction. Brett is a promiscuous lady who wants sex without love but she truly loves James and trusts him too. She is vulnerable, forgiving, independent, and to an extent, immoral too. Jake is in love with her and most often understands her, but at times, he gets bitter against her as once he says, "Send a girl off with a man... Now go and bring her back. And sign the wire with love."

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss American English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

Samson Agonistes by John Milton | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. In 1671, John Milton published two of his works titled Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes.

Paradise Regained was a further telling of his successful epic Paradise Lost. Paradise Regained has four volumes and in each volume, Satan continuously tries to tempt Christ and cause his fall but fails.

Paradise Regained was published along with Samson Agonistes (Samson the Champion). Like Paradise Lost, Samson Agonistes is also a biblical allegory. It is a tragic closet drama written in blank verses. A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed on stage but read by a solitary reader or sometimes out loud in a small group or chorus. On the title page of Samson Agonistes, Milton wrote that it is a ‘Dramatic Poem’ rather than a drama. Samson Agonistes proves the versatility of John Milton. His Lycidas is considered one of the finest elegies ever written, Paradise Lost is certainly one of the best English epics and Samson Agonistes is a fine example of Aristotelian tragedy.

Characters: Samson is the son of Manoa, an Israelite who prayed a lot to get a son. Samson is a God gifted son who has superhuman powers that reside in the seven locks of his hair. Samson was advised by God not to reveal the nature of his powers to anyone. Dalila is a Philistine woman who seduces Samson and marries him. Dalila is actually a stooge planted by the Philistine people to find out the reason for Samson’s excessive powers and a way to defeat him. Samson tries to hide the secret of his powers but ultimately, he once shares his secret with his wife. Dalila then cares for him and makes him sleep in her lap. While he was sleeping, Dalila calls a barber to remove his hair and thus, weakening him. Later on, Samson is captured and imprisoned by Philistine people who take his eyes out and treat him as a slave in Gaza (Milton describes Samson as “Eyeless in Gaza”. Harapha of Gath is a giant who had heard a lot about the power and bravery of Samson. He visits him in the prison and pities him. He refuses to fight against Samson as he believes that Samson is now too weak and it will bring no honor to him. Public Officer of Philistine orders Samson to visit the Philistine temple and greet Philistinian God. The Chorus is a group of people who like in ancient Greek dramas explain and expresses their views about the actions of the main drama.

Summary: The original Samson is a hero of Israelite folklores. Milton turned him into a good Christian to tell his story. The story begins as Samson laments at his current state and how he was imprisoned and blinded by his enemies. He says that he was the person who was supposed to save Israelites against the tyranny of the Philistine people. However, now he is imprisoned, blinded, and a slave to the same people whom he was supposed to defeat.

Samson is too depressed as he discusses his blindness and says that God first created light and now when he is blind and cannot see or feel God’s light, he feels Godless. He feels as if he doesn’t exist or as if he is like a serpent or an animal who can never feel the glory of God again. Samson is so depressed that he feels like a walking grave. While Samson is lamenting in his monologue, he hears some footsteps. The chorus appears and they discuss how the mighty Samson who could kill lions with his bare hands is now blind and helpless. The chorus tells him that he should not blame God for his pitiful state as it was his own fault. The chorus says that he didn’t listen to God and shared his secret with Dalila, he married a girl, not from Israel. Samson agrees that it was his own fault and then the chorus announces that Manoa is coming to see Samson.

Manoa fails to recognize his son but the chorus points him out. Manoa is shocked by his son’s condition. He laments that Samson was a perfect child, so strong, blessed by God only to suffer this deplorable state. He says that God is too harsh to him.

Samson soothes his father and says that he should not blame God for his failures. He tells Manoa that he was also betrayed by his first wife. He criticizes women in general for their betrayal. Manoa says that the Philistine people will tell everyone how they overpowered Samson as they are preparing for a big celebration at their temple. Samson feels pain as he thinks that now the Philistine God will be worshipped more than the true God. His father says that he will take Samson out to safety but Samson refuses and says that he has no desire to live further. Manoa goes away as Samson continues to lament how lonely he feels.

Dalila visits Samson and she is very sad for him. She feels guilty and asks for his forgiveness. Samson says that he has forgiven her. Dalila tries to touch his hand but he refuses to believe her again and says that she is only a manipulative woman who cannot feel any love or remorse. He says that he has forgiven her only till she stays away and if she tries to come near him again, he will kill her. Dalila says that she betrayed her only for love as she believed that once his powers are gone, he will become her slave and will always stay with her. She tells him that she will ask the government to forgive him and let him live with her in peace as she will tender and care for her but he sternly refuses. As Dalila realizes that Samson will never forgive her, she goes away.

Next comes Harapha of Gath. He mocks Samson and says that he wanted to fight against him when Samson was in his prime. But now when Samson is blind and has no energy left, he doesn’t want to fight. Samson challenges him and asks him to fight but Harapha refuses. Samson derides him and calls him a coward but Harapha ignores him and goes away.

After some time, a public officer comes to Samson and says that he will have to go to the temple of Philistine in the honor of their God. At first, Samson refuses as he feels it will offend his true God. But then he realizes that he must be there and agrees. Samson leaves with the public officer to their temple.

Later on, the chorus describes the events that happened at the temple and how Samson broke the pillars of the temple where all the three thousand Philistines were gathered together for the celebration. The chorus reveals that as the temple fell, Samson and all his enemies died together violently.

As Manoa returns, the chorus tells him about what happened. The chorus says that Samson killed every Philistine by bringing the building down but that also killed him. Manoa tells himself that his son did the right thing while the chorus thinks that there may have been a better way.

Themes: Violence is one of the major themes of Samson Agonises. Samson plans a mass murder-suicide as he kills civilian religious people attending a religious feast. Milton has extolled and praised all this in his poetic drama. Another important theme is a betrayal by women. The play centers around the betrayal of Samson at the hands of Dalila. Milton suggests that women and men’s desire for women is connected to idolatry against God and there can be nothing sacred within the bonds of marital love. Milton portrays the negative effect of love. Samson was holy and strong but desirous of Dalila and hence he shared his secret with her and hence disobeyed God. As a result, he was emasculated.

Blindness is also a major theme of this play. Milton was completely blind by the time he finished this job. He portrays Samson as ‘Eyeless in Gaza’ and expresses his own feelings about blindness through Samson. However, Samson’s blindness is much more. Samson got blinded by his sexual desires. Samson got blinded by Dalila’s feminine wiles.

Milton refined the character of Biblical Samson for his play. Biblical Samson is an egocentric, insensitive bully, he is neither morally correct nor intelligent. However, Milton turned him into a thoughtful person and compared him to a seventeenth-century Puritan.

So this is it about Samson Agonistes. We have covered most of the works by John Milton. L'Allegro and Il Penseroso are his companion poems written in octasyllabic couplets. Lycidas was a pastoral ellegy. Comus is a masque written by Milton, On His Blindness was a sonnet by Milton and Aeropagitica is a prose tract.

We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

The Reivers by William Faulkner | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. William Faulkner is one of the only four writers who won two Pulitzer Prizes for fiction. The first one he got in 1954 for A Fable and the second was in 1963 for The Reivers which was published in 1962. It is the last novel by William Faulkner based in the fictional Yoknapatwapah county. Faulkner was known for writing serious Southern gothic novels with complex literary styles and structures. However, The Reivers is comparatively straightforward and lighthearted. The Reivers is a Picaresque Novel. A Picaresque novel deals with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero and in this case, he is Lucius Priest. Eleven-year-old Lucius Priest is persuaded by Boon Hogganbeck, one of his family’s retainers, to steal his grandfather’s car and make a trip to Memphis. The Priests’ black coachman, Ned McCaslin, stows away, and the three of them are off on a heroic odyssey, for which they are all ill-equipped, that ends at Miss Reba’s bordello in Memphis. From there a series of wild misadventures ensues—involving horse smuggling, trainmen, sheriffs’ deputies, and jail. Throughout his journey, Lucius learns much of the world, including the consequences of non-Virtue, as well as the power of racism, sexism, prejudice, and greed. However, through Ned's gentle guidance and Boon's opposite actions, Lucius also learns of honor, Virtue, glory, and humility.

Characters:

Lucius Priest is an eleven-year-old boy whose grandfather Boss Priest is a successful banker of Jefferson, Mississippi. Boon Hogganbeck is a family friend and male servant of Priests. He is young, strong, dimwitted, and very fond of Lucius Priest. Hogganbeck loves a woman named Corrie (or Everbe Corinthia) who is a prostitute. Hogganbeck wants to marry her. Ned McCaslin is a black servant of Priests who works with Hogganbeck at their stable. He is also a blood cousin of Priests. Otis is a nephew of Corrie of the same age as Lucius. Miss Reba is a brothel owner where Corrie lives with Otis. Sam is a railway worker at Prasham and Butch is a corrupt local lawman of Prasham. Coppermine is a stolen horse that Ned trades and Lucius rides in horseraces.

Summary:

The novel begins as Lucius Priest invites the readers to listen to one of his past stories that happened in 1905 when he was just 11 years old. The story is set in 1905 and it tells about three people of Jefferson, Mississippi who decide to travel to Memphis. Boon Hogganbeck is the family friend and servant of Lucius Priest’s grandfather. He is strong but dimwitted and is like a friend to Lucius. Lucius’s grandfather is a rich banker who bought one of the first cars in Yoknapatawpah county. His other grandfather recently died in St. Louis and his parents and grandfather went to his funeral. Back at Jefferson, Boon wants to visit Memphis as soon as possible so that he may meet and convince Corrie, a prostitute, to marry him. He has been a regular client of hers.

Since Hogganbeck has no way of getting to Memphis, He steals the car of Boss Priest and he and Lucius drive away to Memphis. Lucius is a young boy who never visited Memphis and non-virtue tempts him to be with Hogganbeck.

Soon they find out that Ned McCaslin, another servant of Priests and a back blood cousin of Lucius has stowed away with them. Ned is related to Lucius’s grandfather but since he is half-black, he has no share in his wealth. Hogganbeck is not very happy with the presence of Ned during the journey but he reluctantly allows Ned to travel to Memphis along with them.

As they travel further, they find out that the road is not in good condition and their speed is too slow. They are forced to stop at Miss Ballenbaugh’s, a store with lodging facilities. The next morning, they set off once again and reach Hell Creek bottom which is the deepest mud hole in the whole area. The car gets stuck in the mud and there is no way it can be freed. The trio tries their best and then gives up in exasperation. A local man sees the opportunity and offers them help in getting their car out of the mud with the help of his horses.

As their car gets out of Hell Creek, they begin their journey to Memphis again. Hagganbeck couldn’t wait to meet Corrie any longer so he decides to go directly to Miss Reba’s brothel along with Lucius and Ned. Miss Reba, the brothel owner, and Corrie both are disturbed after seeing an eleven-year-old boy at the brothel. Corrie is already sheltering her nephew Ottis at the brothel who is of the same age and another child appears to be troublesome at such a place. Anyhow, they settle the three visitors for a period. Ottis is an ill-mannered boy. In the evening, he tells that Corrie used to engage in prostitution in their old town and he used to charge men to watch her entertaining her clients through a peephole and thus make some money. Lucius gets angry and he fights Ottis. Ottis is stronger and he has a pocketknife with which he cuts Lucius’s hand. Hagganbeck breaks up the fight. Corrie sees this all and she is moved by the chivalry of Lucius. She tenders his wound and determines that she will leave prostitution and will lead a better life. The same night, Ned goes out and acts like a reckless gambler and trades the borrowed car to a stolen racehorse never known to have won any race.

Hagganbeck and Lucius get furious at Ned but they have no way to go to Mississippi and face Lucius’s grandfather without his car. Ned persuades Lucius and Lucius has no way but to accept to ride the stolen horse in a race in the hope of winning back his grandfather’s car. Ned convinces them that he knows a secret way to make any horse run and win any race. Ned tells them about a horserace going to be held soon in a nearby town Prasham. Miss Reba, Corrie, Ned, Hagganbeck, and Lucius hatch a plan to take the horse by rail to Prasham. Ned says that the other horse in the same race has defeated their horse Copper mine twice and thus, everyone will bet against their horse. However, he knows a secret way to make their horse run and win the race. Thus, Ned says that they can win enough money to buy back their car. Corrie uses the connection of one of her clients named Sam who works in railways to help them reach Prasham through a night train. However, Butch, a local lawman of Prasham finds them out and tries to force Corrie to sexually gratify him. However, Miss Reba threatens him that if he doesn’t let them go away, she will reveal to the public that he ordered two prostitutes to come to him and this will anger the public in his constituency.

Lucius rides Coppermine on the day of the race and as they planned, the horse loses the first round. As they prepare for the second round which they expected to win, Butch arrives and arrests Hagganbeck for stealing the horse. Lucius and one of Ned’s friends somehow take the horse to safety. Hagganbeck is released as Corrie supposedly agreed to sexually gratify Butch. The race resumes the next day and as they planned, Coppermine surprisingly wins the second heat. However, they couldn’t celebrate the win much as Boss Priest arrives at the racing track at the same time.

Boss Priest scolds them all and then Ned reveals his plan. He says that his cousin Bobo was in a difficult situation as he accrued a huge gambling debt to a white man. To repay the debt, Bobo agreed to steal a racing horse. Ned helped him in stealing the horse but when he saw the horse, he recognized some spirit in the horse that he once saw in a mule that he made to win a race. He thus decided to trade the car for the horse so that he could win the race. Through that money, he had planned to get back the car but Boss Priest’s arrival has ruined his plan.

Boss Priest listens to him carefully and agrees to let him use his trick to make Coppermine win the third heat of the race (Ned’s secret was to entice the horse with sardine.) Boss Priest agrees to bet the race. If they win, Boss Priest will pay $500 for the car and legally take the horse to Mississippi. If they lose, Boss Priest will pay $500 and will not be required to take the horse along with him. Anyhow, Bobo gets rid of his debt while Boss Priest will pay for the car.

Ned intentionally throws the race and Coppermine loses as he knows that Coppermine is a worthless horse. Boss Priest pays $500 and they all come back to Jefferson. At home, Lucius’s grandfather saves him from getting any punishment from his parents as he knows that the ordeal he has faced during his journey was enough punishment for him. Hagganbeck marries Corrie and after some time, Corrie gives birth to his child whom they name Lucius Priest Hagganbeck.

The Reiver is the only novel by William Faulkner with a happy ending in which the romantic hero (Hagganbeck) marries his lover. Unlike his other novels, it is a light-hearted story. This is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

The Massacre at Paris by Christopher Marlowe | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Christopher Marlowe was the first Elizabethan dramatist who used blank verse in a versatile manner and that became the reason for the popularity of his tragic dramas. We have discussed his other popular dramas including Dido, The Queen of Carthage, Jew of Malta, and Doctor Faustus. The Massacre at Paris is probably the bloodiest Elizabethan drama as it included as many 18 murders in total, most of them stabbed, while some poisoned. Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus also gained fame because of the bloodshed shown it but Titus Andronicus had a depiction of 14 murders in total. Yet, Titus Andronicus is considered more gruesome and gory because of the depiction of the rape of Lavinia and how her hands and tongue were cut off so that she could not reveal the names of her rapists either by saying or by writing.

The Massacre at Paris was first performed by Lord Strange’s Men on 26 January 1593 by the title The Tragedy of the Guise. Later on, Admiral’s Men performed the same drama ten times between 19 June and 25 September 1594 by the title The Guise or The Massacre.

The Massacre is a history play. A History Play is based upon the real events of history that actually happened. The Massacre is based on the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre that happened in 1572. The play also depicts the assassination of Duke of Cardinal of Guise and of Henry III, the king of France that happened in 1588 and 1589, respectively.

Major Characters:

Christopher Marlowe was known for producing excellent Machiavellian characters for his plays. Tamburlaine, Doctor Faustus, and The Jew of Malta were prime examples of his creativity. The Machiavellian character of The Massacre At Paris is the Duke of Guise. Henry of Navarre is a reputed Huguenot Nobel who is being arranged to marry Margaret of Valois who is the sister of Catholic King Charles IX. Catherine de Medici is the Queen Mother of France, she is the mother of Margaret and Charles IX. Charles is the King of France, his son is Henry III who later becomes the King. Joyeux is a Catholic supporter confidante of the duke of Guise. Dumaine and Cardinal Loraine are brothers of Guise. Some minor characters are the Queen of Navarre, The Admiral who is the leader of the Huguenot faction, a friar, three assassins, and other courtiers.

Background:

The Massacre at Paris is a History play that depicts three true events of French History. During the late 1560’s France was suffering a religious civil war between Catholics and Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots). In 1570, the treaty of Peace of Saint Germain was signed between Catholic King Charles IX and Admiral Gaspard De Coligny who was leading the Huguenots. To strengthen the peace treaty, the marriage of Margaret of Valois and Henry of Navarre was to be held on 18August 1572. However, the peace treaty was fraudulent as the assassination of Gaspard De Coligny was attempted on 22 August 1572 when the majority of Huguenots were in Paris for the preparation of marriage. Later on, King Charles IX died and his son Henry III became the king. The Duke of Guise, who lead the assassination attempt of The Admiral was murdered in 1588, and Henry III was murdered in 1589 Christopher Marlowe was a British playwright and he depicted these events while showing Huguenots in a positive light while Catholics were shown villainous.

Summary:

The play begins with the marriage precessions of Margaret of Valois and Henry of Navarre in Paris. Mother Queen Catherine De Medici has cruel intentions against the Huguenots and while many prominent Huguenots are in Paris to attend the marriage, they also do not trust the Catholic administration. The leader of the Catholic faction is the Duke of Guise who has planned the murder of the Queen of Navarre and one of her admirals who is the leader of Huguenots. While the marriage happens peacefully. Duke of Guise’s plan is executed well as Queen of Navarre is murdered as she receives poisoned gloves. The Admiral is also attacked and shot but he survives despite being lethally wounded.

King Charles allows medical care of the Admiral and while he goes to meet the wounded admiral, Duke of Guise, Catherine de Medici and other members and leaders of the Royal Family plan a massacre to kill all the Huguenots who were present in Paris to attend the marriage. King Charles IX ordered the marriage of Henry of Navarre with his sister Margaret with the pure intention of bringing peace between the two religious factions. However, this move wasn’t supported by other Catholic people of prominence and hence he is forced by them and his own mother to allow the massacre of Huguenots.

Some trusted members of the Catholic faction attack the admiral again and murder him in his bed while other Catholics lead by Guise spread the massacre throughout Paris. Henry of Navarre is inside the Palace along with Margaret of Valois and he realizes that even his marriage to a Catholic princess failed to do any good to bring harmony between the two religious groups.

Guise and his trusted compatriots call for the blood of Huguenots and especially of any Huguenot who is in close relationship with the Navarre line. They do not let even the tutors and pastors favoring the Navarre line go unscathed. Henry of Navarre manages to save his life somehow and he reaches his own territory. Meanwhile, the massacre in Paris is considered successful. King Charles IX suffer death due to Tuberculosis.

After the death of King Charles IX, Mother Queen calls her son Henry III back from abroad and announces him to be the next King. However, she makes it clear in the court that the actual rein of power will remain in her hands.

Meanwhile, Henry of Navarre is disheartened though he is safe in Navarre. He learns that the Duke of Guise is raising an army to attack Navarre. Navarre decides to raise his army and send his soldiers to face the French army before they could reach the borders of Navarre. The army of Guise is led by Joyeux.

Henry soon gets the message that Joyeux has been killed and his army has been defeated. Guise is disappointed and angry because of this failure. Meanwhile, the new King Henry III realizes that Guise is proving to be too costly for France and decides to part ways with him. The rumors of Henry III planning to get rid of Guise reaches the ears of both Guise and Henry of Navarre. Navarre decides to make a move. Henry of Navarre sends a message to Henry III that he would like to join forces with him to help him get rid of the Duke of Guise. On the other hand, the Duke of Guise also prepares to tackle the threat.

However, before Henry of Navarre and Henry III could join their forces, Henry III succeeds in convincing the Duke of Guise to attend the Royal Court at Blois. Henry III then arranges three assassins to murder Duke of Guise, Guise is killed at Blois and Henry III then shows his dead body to Duke of Guise’s son to make it public that Guise has been killed. Then Henry III also orders the murder of Dumaine and Cardinal of Lorraine, brothers of the Duke of Guise, to avoid any act of revenge from their side. He goes to meet Catherine De Medici and informs her of what he has done. Mother Queen gets angry at him for doing such an act without taking her advice. Henry III realizes that Mother Queen was favoring Duke of Guise from start.

Henry III then joins forces with Henry of Navarre and together they fight against the Catholic League in Paris. Meanwhile, Dumaine comes to know about the assassination of his brother and decides to take revenge. A Friar offers his services to Dumaine and says that he can easily reach near to Henry III without letting anyone know his intentions and then he will murder Henry III.

The friar pretends that he has to deliver a letter of political importance to Henry III. Henry III allows him to meet him and then the friar stabs him. Henry III also attacks him and the friar dies. However, Henry III is also lethally wounded. As he realizes that he won’t survive, he announces his friend Henry of Navarre to be the next King of France. The play ends with Navarre, now Henry IV, vowing yet more revenge on the Catholic League.

Analysis:

Like other typical tragedies of the Elizabethan era, this play by Christopher Marlowe is also full of gory, murders, bloodshed, criminal plots, and political conspiracies. Cristopher Marlowe successfully depicted the actual events of the history of France from a Protestant’s point of view. Unlike Marlowe’s other famous plays, this play failed to face the test of time. The only surviving text is an octavo edition without any publishing date, which at 1,250 or so lines seems too short to represent the complete original play and which has been conjectured to be a memorial reconstruction by the actors who performed the work.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

A Fable William Faulkner | Characters, Summary, Analysis

 

…thinking how war and drink are the two things man is never too poor to buy.

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. William Faulkner often used Christian allegory and biblical inferences in his stories and novels and A Fable is one such novel for which he won the Pulitzer Prize of 1954. A Fable is a war novel based on World War I. A war novel or military fiction is a novel about war. It is a novel in which the primary action takes place on a battlefield, or in a civilian setting (or home front), where the characters are preoccupied with the preparations for, suffering the effects of or recovering from war. A Fable is an example of a modern allegory full of Christian symbolism. The story expresses the end of World War 1 in the trenches of France as a result of soldiers’ mutiny. The soldier’s mutiny soon turns into a mass movement inspired forcing the leaders to end the war.

Summary

A Fable is full of allegorical inferences. It talks about the struggle of the Christ-like Corporal Stephan who is widely known as “the corporal” in the novel. He is fighting for the French army in the trenches of World War I.

The novel begins in 1918. Four years after the beginning of the horrific warfare of World War I, a mysterious corporal of the French army convinces his 12 fellow officers to stop fighting. He is tired of killing enemies and seeing his soldiers being killed. He preaches and convinces his fellow officers to opt for peace by simply denying to fight anymore. His disciples promise to follow him, along with “the corporal” they convince Three Thousand other soldiers of their battalion to initiate a military mutiny by refusing to fight. The whole battalion of 3000 soldiers decides to lay down their weapons. Neither they leave the trenches nor they shoot any other shot.

The German soldiers wonder this sudden silence. While they are expected to mercilessly crush these French mutineers, they realize the importance of peace too, and respond in the same manner by dropping their own weapons. The situation turns into a truce and as the French and German soldiers communicate, they realize that the power to put an end to this meaningless fight is in their own hands.

While the foot soldiers and common citizens are happy about the truce, the higher political and military officers feel as if power is slipping out of their hands. They realize that the entire facade of their ruling power depends on their ability to wager the war again. This sudden truce makes them feel as if they are not at all required. The French and German higher officials arrange a meeting and decide to find out the reason for this truce and break it as soon as possible to reinitiate the war.

The allied generals inspecting the french trenches ordered the arrest of all the 3000 soldiers who refused to battle. All the prisoners were brought to Chaulnesmont, a French town. The ruling class spreads propaganda against these soldiers and this creates a mob frenzy. Locals demand execution of these soldiers however, soon the Generalissimo realizes that not all soldiers but the twelve officers leading them are to be blamed. They further come to know that the leader of these twelve soldiers is ‘the corporal’ or Corporal Stephan.

The Generalissimo orders execution of Corporal Stephan who again peacefully accepts the execution showing his adherence to pacifism. After his execution, his dead body is sent to his wife and his sisters who bury him in Vienne-la-Pucelle.

Meanwhile, the German and French soldiers continue to meet with each other in the trenches, and even after the execution of Corporal Stephen, it appears that the war is at its end. But the rulers succeed in causing confusion and one day, artillery from both sides resume while attacking the peaceful congregants. This again resumes the war.

As the conflict resumes, a barrage of artillery destroys the grave of Corporal Stephan and his spirit is freed. The corporal’s spirit then transfers into a British message runner who again starts spreading the message of peace and pacifism. Finally, this British message runner confronts the Generalissimo and defeats him to bring peace.

Alongside this main story, a loosely related story of an injured American racehorse is also being told. The racehorse is injured and about to face execution. However, his rider and trainer are very fond of him and they somehow rescue him from being executed. He then runs away with the horse and travels through various small towns where the horse still continues to win races even though the horse is running only on his three legs. The rider then becomes a sentry. He adopts a new identity and is sent to Europe to join the war.

Analysis

A Fable is highly allegorical. Corporal Stephan is shown christ and he is generally addressed as ‘the corporal’ throughout the novel. Faulkner has blatantly used Christ’s allusion to describe Corporal Stephan. He gathers twelve disciples, he is aged 33 at the time of mutiny and his execution. The night before his execution he had the last supper along with his twelve disciples including the one who betrayed him. Furthermore, the name of his mother is Marya and his lover is a prostitute from the city of Marseilles.

The whole action of the novel parallels with the span of Christian Holy Week, with the triumphant entry, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the resurrection. After his execution, his grave is destroyed as a result of German artillery and his spirit resurrects. Even his name Corporal Stephan alludes to Christianity and resembles Saint Stephan who is mentioned in the New Testament and is widely considered as the first martyr in the history of the Christian Church.

The main theme of the novel is Pacifism and strong opposition to the war. The novel finely describes the absurdity and destructivity of war and how some of the power grabbers always want to continue the war. The novel further shows military authority in a bad light.

Faulkner won the Pulitzer Prize of 1954 for this novel and he said that A Fable is "the best work of my life and maybe of my time". He began writing this novel during the last weeks of the Second World War and the Korean War began when he finished this novel. Obviously, he wanted this novel to be a strong satirical pacifist message against war. Another novel with similar themes was Catch 22 which was written by Joseph Heller.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

Aeropagitica by John Milton, Summary, Analysis and Background

 

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. John Milton wrote a strong polemic in 1644 that continues to be one of the most influential philosophical documents in support of the liberty of the press and freedom of speech and expression.

The title of this polemic was Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England. John Milton wrote it while opposing licensing and censorship.

Milton was a supporter of Presbyterian against the Royalists and he supported the abolition of Charle’s Ist’ Star Chamber by Presbyterians in 1641. After that, the Presbyterians gained power in the Parliament and they were no longer oppressed and hence, they decided to curb the freedom of the press again as they were worried that the works supporting the King may weaken their position. In addition, the Parliamentarians also wanted to keep control over radical Presbyterians and independents. As a result, Parliament passed the Licensing Order of 1643. This Licensing Order reintroduced almost all the stringent regulations on the press that were imposed by the Star Chamber. However, now the licensing power was in the hands of Parliamentarians.

Despite being an ardent supporter of Presbyterians against the Monarchy, Milton took a stand and chose to oppose the Licensing Order of 1643. He already had confronted Puritans over the issue of Divorce during the time when he wrote the four Doctrines on Divorce. He had suffered the ill effects of censorship and thus he offered his philosophical and reason-based opposition to the Licensing Order of 1643.

While the title of this work suggests that it was a speech that John Milton presented to the Parliament of England, it was not a speech. Rather, Milton printed pamphlets of this work and distributed them openly while directly confronting the Licensing Order according to which every author was required to get a pre-publication license before publishing their work.

Summary

Milton begins Aeropagitica by complimenting the Parliament for overcoming the tyranny of Charles Ist. Then he defines the benefits of constructive criticism over false flattery. He then wishes the Parliament to follow the voice of reason and to support truth and upright judgment.

Milton then discusses the history of the licensing system. He mentions that the ancient civilizations including Greeks and Romans never practiced licensing. He mentions that there were cases when blasphemous or libelous books were burnt and their authors were punished but that happened only after the production of such texts when these were rejected, not before it. He further sheds light on the history of licensing of the press by mentioning that the first time licensing was used to curb the freedom of speech and expression was by Catholics during the periods of Inquisition.

English Parliament was full of prominent Protestants and there were strong conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in England. Milton pointed out how the Catholic Popes turned into licensing tyrants during the inquisition. He mentioned how heretical books were prohibited. He also mentioned how not only heretical but books unfavorable to friars were also prohibited and hence, there could be no positive criticism.

Milton then discusses the objective of the Licensing Order and how it will fail to achieve the objective. He says that the order is meant to stop the availability of bad books but even the Bible had been historically limited and censored to readers for containing offensive descriptions of blasphemy and wicked men. He further says that even if such books are censored to restrict the spread of ‘infection,’ those men who have already read them will continue to spread the message through other recreational means. Hence, the order will prove to be futile. Milton further points out that it will require huge manpower to correctly check every book before it is published that it will contain no offensive message. Milton suggests that better would be to let any book be published and if the readers point out and complain about the content of that book, then it can be prohibited and its copy can be destroyed. He says that licensing books cannot possibly prevent societal corruption as there will be other means to spread the same infection. "If we think to regulate printing, thereby to rectifie manners, we must regulate all recreations and pastimes, all that is delightful to man".

Milton points out that even if there are men capable to check and make judgments about censoring a book even before it is published, they may commit mistakes. Furthermore, he points out that the basis of censoring will remain subjective and arbitrary judgment of the licenser. He says that it will be dishonoring and derogatory to those authors who produce their works with genuinely good intentions.

Milton says that this Licensing Order is akin to believing that only the Government has a monopoly over truth and understanding which is not a good sign for the future of England. He says that this Licensing Order will promote conformity and laziness. He says that such an order will hinder the discovery and progress of truth by governmental biases and prejudices. He suggests that there will always be more truth to be found and revealed than we already know. Milton says that if there is God’s plan, governmental licensing order will interrupt it as it is a power to silence others through whom God may suggest new ways.

In this essay, Milton strongly opposed the Licensing Order that made it mandatory for all publishers to get permission from the government before publishing any work. However, Milton didn’t put forth the libertarian idea of the right to free speech and expression as he says that after a book or work of literature is published and it is found to be offensive, blasphemous, or libelous, it can be completely destroyed and the author and publisher can be punished by the authority. In a way, Milton’s only point is to let all sorts of works be published freely to be evaluated afterward if they require any censorship, he strongly opposes prior censorship of literary works. However, he shows a degree of tolerance to all sorts of authors as he says,

“I mean not tolerated Popery, and open superstition, which as it extirpates all religions and civil supremacies, so itself should be extirpated, provided first that all charitable and compassionate means be used to win and regain the weak and the misled.”

While Milton was a supporter of Presbyterians and he vociferously supported Parliamentarians against the Royalists during the civil war, he was at odd against the Parliament during the time when this Licensing Order was issued. He already had argued against the Parliament for individual rights in his Doctrines of Divorce and he experienced the effects of censorship by himself. The Puritan society of England resisted Milton’s revolutionary ideas but later on, they were incorporated in case of Divorce as the Westminster Assembly of Faith allowed divorce to be legal in case of adultery and abandonment in 1650. On the other hand, his opposition against the Licensing Order didn’t win immediate support as the Licensing Order continued till 1695.

So this is it about Aeropagitica. We will continue to discuss other major works of John Milton. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

Requiem for a Nun by William Faulkner | Characters, Summary, Analysis

 

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Requiem For a Nun is the sequel of William Faulkner’s earlier novel Sanctuary and it tells the story of Temple Drake after she returns from Sanctuary in Paris. We learned that she was abducted and raped by Pompey who kept her in a brothel. Being impotent, Pompey forced a fellow criminal Red to exploit Temple under his watch. Temple was too frightened of Pompeye and she had guilt feeling that she was actually enjoying her being exploited to some extent. She realizes that she is in love with Red but before she could strengthen her relationship with Red, Pompeye kills him. She had written some letters to Red that were collected by his younger brother Pete who used them to further blackmail and exploit Temple.

The title of this sequel contains ‘Nun’ which can refer to either someone who sacrifices herself to save the sinners, and it has also been used as an Elizabethan era slang meaning a prostitute.

Characters of Requiem for a Nun

Nancy Mannigoe is a black drug addict and occasional prostitute whom Temple Drake hires as her nursemaid to take care of her kids. Temple Drake has been married to Gowan Stevens and is now Mrs. Temple Stevens. Eight years ago, because of the irresponsible behavior of Gowan, Temple fell in hands of a bunch of bootleggers and criminals and was forced to live a short life as a prostitute and sex slave of a criminal named Popeye. Popeye is now dead. Gowan Stevens marries Temple after that out of a sense of responsibility. The two have settled back in the well-to-do society of Jefferson and now they have two kids. Gavin Stevens is the uncle of Gowan Stevens. Pete is the younger brother of Red, whom Temple once loved during her days in the brothel of Miss Reba.

Summary of Requiem for a Nun

The story begins with Nancy Mannigoe facing a trial for murdering Temple’s six months old daughter. Nancy is found guilty and is sentenced to death. However, Gavin Stevens, uncle, and guardian of Gowan Stevens aren’t satisfied. He feels that Temple is withholding some information about the murder of his six-month-old granddaughter.

Eight years ago, Temple returned from Sanctuary in Paris to Jefferson in Yoknapatawpha county along with her father. She suffered extreme torture and rape by Popeye who while himself was impotent and unable to have sex, used other things to rape her, like a corncob. He further forced Temple to live in a brothel and made her have sex with one of his fellow criminals Red, in front of him. Temple couldn’t fight and gradually, she started liking her life in the brothel. She even fell in love with Red. The hard events had such an impression on her that she offered false testimony in court to save Popeye because of which Lee Goodwin was sentenced to death for the murder of Tommy, and was later lynched. Tommy was the only one of the bootleggers who along with Ruby Lamar, tried to protect Temple. Tommy was shot dead by Popeye while he was trying to safeguard Temple. Later on, when Popeye felt that Temple might have fallen in love with Red, he murdered Red too. While Temple was recovered by her father from the brothel and was taken to Sanctuary for treatment, Popeye was caught for some crime that he might not have actually committed and was sentenced to death.

After her return from Sanctuary, Gown Stevens married her as he couldn’t face the guilt of causing all the mishaps and mistreatment that Temple was forced to go through because of his careless behavior. With time, Temple and Gowan both were recovering from their dark past and now they were a happy couple with two children. Temple gave birth to a girl child six months ago and she decided to take the help of Nancy Mannigoe as a nursemaid to keep care of her kids. However, Temple had other reasons too to appoint Nancy. Nancy was a black drug addict and occasional prostitute. Temple chose her as she was the only one in her home with whom Temple could discuss and share experiences of her life in the brothel of Miss Reba. Temple was yet not able to forget her past and in a way, she had some sweet memories of those times that she didn’t want to give away.

On the other hand, Red’s younger brother Pete finds some letters written by Temple to his dead brother. He comes to know that Temple was in love with Red and decides to blackmail her for some money. He visits Jefferson and meets Temple, threatening her of revealing her secret love for Red to her family, and asks for monetary help. Temple is afraid and somewhat impressed by Pete’s threatening attitude. She again finds her passion in Pete and not only decides to offer him what he asked for but to elope with him too.

Gowan’s uncle Gavin knew Nancy for a long and he knew that she was trying to overcome her drug addiction. He finds it unlikely that Nancy will murder such a cute kid for whom she was chosen as a nursemaid. He decides to defend her in court and finds that Temple is withholding some information about the murder. Gavin confronts Temple in absence of Gowan and asks her to inform him exactly how her daughter was killed. Temple says that Nancy was neither mentally ill nor she had criminal intent, yet she murdered the kid. Temple further says that there were some reasons for which Nancy killed the baby. Gavin implores Temple to say more but Temple decides to avoid answering anymore and goes away to California on an extended trip.

Now when Gavin knows that Nancy wasn’t wholly responsible for the murder of the kid, he tries to save her with more intent but fails. Just one week before Nancy’s scheduled execution, Temple returns from her long trip. She arranges a meeting with Gavin in absence of Gowan. She drugs Gowan with sleeping pills, which he dodges without her knowledge. Believing that Gowan is in deep sleep, he calls Gavin to discuss Nancy and the murder of her six-month-old daughter. She tells Gavin that though Nancy did kill her baby but she also had a hand in that murder and wants to help Gavin in saving Nancy’s life. Gavin says that it is already too late and she must directly visit the Governor of Mississippi to appeal and urge him to stop Nancy’s execution. Gowan overhears all this conversation and vows to know all the truth.

The day before Nancy’s execution, Temple visits Governor’s office at Jefferson, Mississippi. She sees that Governor is sitting in the officer but his face is on the opposite side of her. She decides to confess and says that before her daughter’s murder, she had already planned to leave her husband and kids and run away with Pete, the younger brother of her former lover Red. She informs him that she met Red during the days of her abduction when she was forced to live in a brothel. She informed how Popeye forced her to have sex with Red in front of him and later on, she started liking and loving Red. When Popeye came to know this, he murdered Red and Temple was devastated. Though she returned from Sanctuary in Paris to lead a normal life in Yoknapatawpha county, she could never forget her experiences of being an abductee of Popeye and her days in the brothel. Later on, Red’s younger brother Pete visited her with some letter that she wrote to Red. He started blackmailing her. Pete reminded her of Red and her old days. She was impressed by his dominating attitude and felt love for him and proposed to run away with him. Nancy was too close to her and she came to know about her plan to leave her family. Nancy tried everything possible to stop her from eloping with Pete and while doing so, she smothered her baby as a final attempt to stop Temple from running away, while Nancy knew it will cost her own life. Temple urges the Governor to stop the execution of Nancy but to her surprise, she comes to know that the Governor had already rejected the clemency appeal of Nancy and had left the office much before she visited there.

She soon comes to know that the person to whom she confessed her guilt was none other than her own husband Gowan. Gowan then faces her and says that he too is sorry for initiating the chain of events that led her to the current state, had he not shown irresponsibility eight years ago, Temple might not have been abducted and raped by Popeye. Gowan says that the past is unchangeable and over and goes out. Temple remains there, standing and worrying about her own salvation.

The next day, before her execution, Temple and Gavin go to meet Nancy. Temple tells her how she tried her best to save her by trying to confess in front of the Governor. She says that Nancy was not solely responsible for the murder of her daughter. Nancy says that now Temple must live to face the consequences of her actions. Nancy praises God and extols the virtues of suffering while accepting her execution.

This is it for today. We have discussed the whole story of Temple Drake composed in the novels Sanctuary and Requiem for a Nun. We will continue to discuss other works of William Faulkner. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.