Summaries and analyses of literature

The American Dream

·      Author - Edward Albee, absurdist American playwright.  Influenced by Samuel Beckett, Anton Chekov.

·      Setting - Apartment on the east coast of the U.S., could be anything from middle class to upper.

·      Characters -

Mommy: A savage, overbearing woman who bullies Daddy, Grandma, and Mrs. Barker. New American dream.

Daddy: A man who fails at being a man.  Cowed by Mommy.

Grandma: Old woman who lives in the apartment, deceives Mommy, power over the play, old American Dream.

Young Man: Comes looking for a job.  Twin brother killed by Mommy, has lost everything except his looks.

Mrs. Barker: Comes to do something, but does not know what.  Represents "They"

·      Plot - Mommy and Daddy wait for "Them" to come.  Mrs. Barker arrives, does not know why.  Grandma tells Barker about how Mommy kills the baby.  Young man comes, tells Grandma about his brother.  Grandma lets him know he can find work with Mommy and Daddy, breaks the fourth wall, ends the play.

·      Point of view - N/A

·      Tone - memories elided, facts confused, gives a sense that events are slipping away even right after they have happened.

·      Imagery - Figures of speech are literalized, become images of actual events.

·      Symbolism - Grandma's boxes.  Though nicely wrapped, they contain ordinary junk, similar to the Young Man.  Mommy and Daddy only see the wrapping.

·      Theme -  The part of modern America that is unable to think abstractly is animalized, driven by base instincts to control the present and future America when it should be looking to a past America for wisdom.
    Mommy in The American Dream is unable to see beyond concrete form.  She has lost her humanity, and tries to get satisfaction in a base manner.  She controls everyone (Daddy, Mrs. Barker, bumble, Young Man) in the same brutal way.  Real wisdom and power lie with Grandma.  She should be respected, but is not.

·      Quotes - "I no longer have the capacity to feel anything. I have no emotions. I have been drained, torn asunder disemboweled. I have, now, only my person, my body, my face."
    The deeper part of the Young Man is destroyed by the abuse of his brother.  He is left with nothing but his appearance.
       "...twisted into the shape of a complaint"
    This refers to a literal twisting of the body.  When old people and their appreciation for substance are ignored, their concrete form is twisted.

Death of a Salesman

·      Author - Arthur Miller

·      Setting - Brooklyn, 1940s

·      Characters -

Willy: A failing, aging salesman.  Creates false images of success, especially in Biff, but it is all an illusion.

Biff: Has failed at everything in the real world, but tries to find the truth and question his life.  The "Death of a Salesman" is his death.

Happy: Mindlessly continues Willy's dream in a low-level business job.

Linda: Steady figure to Willy, her function is to try to mend the family.

·      Plot - Biff returns home to the west, argues with his father about the future.  Gives in to Willy, tries to find a job and fails.  Biff confronts the failure, Willy denies, kills himself instead of really facing the truth.

·      Point of view - N/A

·      Tone - Constant struggle, fast rise and fall of hope creates confident, then tragic tones.

·      Imagery - usually pertains to the past

·      Symbolism - Red car symbolizes Willy's past, Linda's stocking symbolizes the family's stability, always trying to mend it.

·      Theme - Blind hope is not enough to achieve the American Dream.
    Willy's creation of a false religion and gods in Biff, Happy, and Ben crashes. He is unable to realize that he really has nothing.  When his hope dies, he dies.

·      Quotes - "A diamond is hard and rough to the touch."
    Willy has accomplished nothing.  The absence of material wealth does not worry him, though.
    "Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground."
    Willy's delayed realization that he has left nothing enduring.

Ceremony

·      Author - Leslie Marmon Silko

·      Setting - Laguna Pueblo Reservation, New Mexico

·      Characters -

Tayo: Mixed white and Laguna heritage, develops PTSD during World War II, cured by new Enemy Way ceremonies mixing white and Laguna culture.

Ts'eh: Represents nature, literally she is Mount Taylor, Tayo's relationship with her helps him connect with the land.

Betonie: Medicine man who practices the new ceremonies that help cure Tayo.

·      Plot - Tayo is traumatized while fighting in WWII by his cousin Rocky's death and thinks he sees his uncle Josiah in the face of a Japanese soldier who is killed.  Tayo wishes the rain away.  He returns home, sick with PTSD or Ghost Sickness, to the drought-stricken reservation.  Tayo is helped by Betonie and Ts'eh, purifies Emo's witchery.

·      Point of view - Third person omniscient.

·      Tone - Somber

·      Imagery - Pertains to pollen, yellow things, many images contain blue and yellow (Tayo's eyes)

·      Symbolism - Mount Taylor = the land = Ts'eh.  Josiah's cattle = racial mixing is a good thing.

·      Theme - Problems cannot be solved by one racial/ethnic group alone; a mixture of these is required for a good solution.

·      Quotes - "It seems like I already heard these stories before—only thing is, the names sound different."
    The world forms a web, all stories are interconnected.  Distinctions are not fixed.
    “I will tell you something about stories . . . They aren't just entertainment. Don't be fooled. They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death.”
    Stories carry power, harness the natural force.  Stories/ceremony is the solution to the problem, but they have to be done correctly.

Pride and Prejudice

·      Author - Jane Austen

·      Setting - 1811 England

·      Characters -

Mr. Bennet: Tired from his marriage, Mr. Bennet sits around in his study and is usually sarcastic.

Mrs. Bennet: Stressed from having to marry off her daughters, nervous.

Jane: "Perfect" woman stereotype.  Always thinks of others, keeps her mouth shut.

Elizabeth: Rebellious, too smart, the opposite of Jane.

Mr. Bingley: Excessively rich and bland, "Perfect" man stereotype to complement Jane.

Mr. Darcy: Proud man, personality clashes with Elizabeth until he gets to know her.

·      Plot - Bingley moves into town, causes a stir among everyone.  Shortly after there is a ball where Jane and Bingley meet.  Darcy and Elizabeth meet too, but don't like each other.  Weird Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, she turns him down.  Elizabeth meets Wickham, who talks trash about Darcy, Elizabeth gets more mad at Darcy.  Charlotte gets married to Mr. Bingley.  Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, she refuses.  Lydia runs away with Wickham, Darcy saves the day with his money, proposes again to Elizabeth, she accepts.

·      Point of view - Third person limited

·      Tone - Attention to upper-class conventions makes the tone stiff, more passionate with Elizabeth because she rebels against her societal restrictions

·      Imagery - The novel is based in dialogue, few remarkable images.

·      Symbolism - Could not find any.

·      Theme - If you can get past a person's exterior and you see something you like, a relationship with this person is worthwhile.
    Darcy and Elizabeth both have pride and prejudice, this prevents them from being compatible.  When they are able to overcome this, they become happy in the same way that Bingley and Jane (the ideal couple) are.

·      Quotes - "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
    Reveals a goal of Jane Austin's society, this is the plot in miniature.
    "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me" (Darcy to Bingley discussing Elizabeth)
    Shows Darcy's pride.

Hamlet

·      Author - Shakespeare

·      Setting - Denmark late Middle Ages

·      Characters -

Claudius: King of Denmark.  Poisons Old Hamlet, is elected king by the nobles and creates a phantom war with Norway.

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark.  Returns home from university to attend his father's funeral, is frustrated with his mother's quick remarriage.

Polonius: Advisor to Claudius.  Shrewd politician, interested in Claudius keeping power.

Ophelia: Polonius' daughter.  In a relationship with Hamlet, father and brother disapprove.

Gertrude: Queen of Denmark, marries Claudius.  She is weak and cares only about her social status.

·      Plot - Hamlet is told that the ghost of his father has been appearing during the night.  He goes to see him, and the ghost tells him that Claudius has murdered him.  Hamlet vows revenge.  Claudius is worried about the way Hamlet has been acting, sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to figure out what is the matter, and uses Ophelia as bait to find the cause of his "madness".  Hamlet uses a band of players to test Claudius' guilt by putting on a play about the murder of a king by his brother.  Hamlet thinks he is guilty, sets off to kill him, but cannot.  Claudius orders Hamlet sent to England.  Hamlet goes to see his mother, kills Polonius, who is hiding behind a tapestry, makes the Queen feel guilty, hides the body.  Ophelia goes crazy, kills herself, Hamlet goes to see, gets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed.  Hamlet returns to Denmark, gets into a weird fight with Laertes in Ophelia's grave.  Hamlet and Laertes duel, everyone ends up poisoned, and Horatio is left to tell the story.

·      Point of view - N/A

·      Tone - The subject matter of the play and the frequent confusion of birth and death gives this play a dark and ironic tone overall.

·      Imagery - Gardens described as foul and rotting, Denmark's sickness.

·      Symbolism - Yorick's skull (commonness of death), flowers and their symbolic meaning (especially rue, believed to cause miscarriages.)

·      Theme - All people die the same death, no matter who they were in life.
    In all deaths in Hamlet, the person who dies retains nothing of his life.  The cause makes no difference.  Hamlet spends the entire play coming to this conclusion.

·      Quotes - "To be or not to be, that is the question"
    Makes death academic, death is an escape from a life of suffering.
    "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"
    Denmark is frequently compared to a body, a sick body.

Fifth Business

·      Author - Jefferson Davies

·      Setting - 20th century Canada

·      Characters -
            Padre Plazon: Spanish priest who is obsessed with saints, gives Dunstan advice about Mary                  Dempster, matches him intellectually.

Dunstan Ramsay: Fated to be always in the background of a greater story, he has an unusual obsession with saints.

Liesl: Dunstan's confidante and lover, forces him to face his own self.

Mrs. Dempster: Mentally disturbed woman who does what Dunstan considers miracles; he wants to canonize her.

Paul: Born prematurely because of the snowball that hit Mrs. Dempster in the head, he becomes a great magician.

Boy: An upper-class big shot, the opposite of Dunstan.  Boy tries his hardest to get what he wants, and cannot take failure.

·      Plot - Outraged by the way he is portrayed in a college newspaper, Dunstan decides to send the headmaster a memoir about his life.  He begins with an account of Paul's birth, then recounts his experience in WWI, rehabilitation, and near-marriage, and homecoming.  He then writes about his experiences in college and contact with Boy, his job as a schoolmaster, and his trips to Europe and Mexico where he runs into Paul and pursues his study of saints and meets Liesl, who gives him insight into his own personality.  Boy is killed by the rock in the same snowball he threw at Dunstan.

·      Point of view - First person limited

·      Tone - Dunsten's detachment from the narrative makes his tone aloof, especially when he recounts far-off memories.

·      Imagery - Stovepipe description emphasizes Dunstan's distance from events,  Madonna statue recalls Mary Dempster.

·      Symbolism - Snowball symbolizes fate, clockwork symbolizes god or god-like power.

·      Theme - History does not have to be completely factual in order to teach people about the past.
    Dunstan's account of his life, especially when recalling his childhood sacrifices some truth.  His canonization of Dempster might not be valid, but her miracles are miracles to him.

·      Quotes - "It was as though she was an exile from a world that saw things her way"
   Dempster seems exiled in Deptford, her insanity is ignored here by Dunstan.
 “Life itself is too great a miracle for us to make so much fuss about potty little reversals of what we pompously assume to be the natural order.”
   The many coincidences in the novel are not extraneous, they are the most logical progression of a story.