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THE LITERATURE OF ENGLISH 45C, The passage of time is not man-made. Still,…

- - - - H.D. (Greek) in poems such as "Oread" and "Eurydice". She additionally asserts a more feminine-oriented focus than traditionally expected.
      - "Leda and the Swan" by Yeats references Zeus transforming into a swan to impregnate a human woman named Leda
    - - hopeful or healing force
        
        Waiting for Godot Didi and Gogo hope GODot will save them (not literally God but similar to blind faith)
        
        Easter
        
        Easter, 1916
        In contrast with the rebirth symbolism of spring and Easter, this poem details mixed outcome of an unsuccessful rebellion. The only thing born is a "terrible beauty" which validates a great or awful future equally
        
        The Sound and the Fury
        The downfall of the Compsons and the spiritual epiphany of Dilsey both occur over Easter weekend, the death of the old norms and rebirth for an open future. Like Jesus, the ways of the American South may heal and be born anew
      - oppressive force
        
        Things Fall Apart
        Legends and traditions of the Nigeria-based though fictional Igbo society clash with white Christian colonizers. However, Achebe remains critical of Igbo norms even before missionaries arrive. The character Nwoye even turns to God in light of his father's harshness.
        
        Titled after a line from "The Second Coming" by Yeats
      - absurd force
  - - - Waiting for Godot
        
        You don't exist at all (skepticism)
        
        You're dreaming (some dreams are realistic, life could all be one vivid dream erased once we wake up)
        
        You're never seen or never remembered (Does anything you do matter if no one knows you or what you've done once the moment you occupy passes?)
    - - In Bartleby the Scrivener, Bartleby fulfills the role of a ghost with his abnormal behavior.
        
        He is described as a "wight," which could mean an unfortunate but average man or a supernatural being / spirit
        
        He "haunts" his own office, causing discomfort to everyone there and persisting when others leave
        
        He is generally unsettling but has a borderline hypnotic allure to the narrator
      - Flashbacks and trauma also cause characters to be "haunted" by the past
        
        Janie's grandmother speaks of her sexual trauma as an enslaved women which motivates her to marry off Janie early
        
        Gabriel Conroy
      - The Turn of the Screw
        The Governess is literally haunted by multiple ghosts
- - - - "I will arise and go now" also appears in the biblical story of the prodigal son. The reference embodies the urge to leave current pursuits for a new, sanctified life
- - - - In Mrs Dalloway, the characters Peter and Clarissa reminisce about the life they could've had w/ each other. Meanwhile Septimus mainly remembers hardships he's trying to escape, rather than return to.
      - The narrator in "Eurydice" by H.D. recalls with resentment how Orpheus failed her
      - Bengy is stuck reliving the loss of Caddy in Sound and Fury
    - - BIg Ben in Mrs Dalloway (with so many perspectives and time changes, the clock tower chiming is the only thing that concretely anchors the time of day, no matter what status a character holds, they have the same amount of time to pass)
      - Jason's watch in the Sound and the Fury (he also hates the passage of time because it is equalizing, he cannot surpass with hard work or status)
    - - Their Eyes Were Watching God
        The entire book is a retelling of Janie's life told to her friend on her porch
- - - - Beckett leaves Ireland for France, later grapples with translating a French work for an English-speaking audience
      - Zora Neale Hurston was criticized for translating the African-American dialect into the writing of Their Eyes Were Watching God
    - - "The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes describes a Black man playing blues music outdoors to express himself uniquely
      - Music is also the main way humanity decorates time
    - - "In a Station of the Metro" and "The Red Wheelbarrow" are examples of imagist poems that encourage sparse direct language
      - In A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste, Ezra Pound suggests little ornamentation in poetry
  - - - Because of suicide (literal death) and social alienation (metaphorical death), mental disability is closely associated with mortality
        The titular character from Bartleby the Scrivener is the best example of the connection in my opinion because reading the letters of dead people sends him into a unique depression, which then leads to his own death caused by choosing not to eat. Death is both the source and endpoint of his plight, though the surrounding capitalist environment certainly isn't helping.
      - Bengy from The Sound and the Fury has a learning disability he was born with which makes him cognitively younger that his apparent age (nature or arguably God is the cause)
      - Septimus Smith from Mrs Dalloway is "shell-shocked" or has PTSD (war is the cause). Despite his service he is not treated especially well and feels alienated because others don't understand him. He eventually commits suicide to escape a trip to the mental hospital.
      - The Governess from Turn of the Screw & the narrator in Man of the Crowd have obsessive tendencies which in the modern day may be regarded as paranoid or obsessive mental disorders. They both credit a supernatural element that holds their attention (supernatural cause)
    - - In Waiting for Godot, Pozzo seemingly goes blind after a day, highlighting the absurdism of the piece (God? is the cause)
        
        Pozzo says time doesn't matter to a blind man
      - Dilsey from The Sound and the Fury is explicitly weakened physically in her old age (time is the cause)
  - - - Janie
        
        Clarissa
        
        Dilsey
        
        The Governess
      - "Sea Rose" by H.D. argues a hardened and imperfect flower is more valuable than the conventionally beautiful spice-rose. Reflects a desire for women to be appreciated beyond conventional beauty. The sea rose is harsher because it endured more.
    - - Tea Cake & Jody Starks
        
        Septimus
        
        Quentin Compson
        
        Peter Quint & Miles
        
        Michael Furey
        
        Ikemefuna & Okonkwo
        
        Bartleby
      - Inhibition:
        Although they don't die, Gabriel Conroy and J Alfred Prufrock struggle with insecurity that keeps them stagnant. This is wasting their life, ie killing them.
        
        Prufrock is wasting time wondering "And how should I begin?"
        
        Gabriel realizes he and basically all of his peers are also wasting their lives by lacking purpose. "One by one, they were all becoming shades. Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion"
      - Didi and Gogo consider hanging themselves to kill time, also a joke about how killing time is to kill yourself
  - - - The Dead and Mrs Dalloway both include parties which unify a community of people
      - Dilsey takes the children to a Black church
      - Speakeasies and venues were important spaces of community during the Harlem Renaissance
    - - Quentin contemplates in starting a rumor of incest could be more honorable to his family than Caddy's actual affair. In general her sexual purity is very important to her family
      - "Nude Young Dancer" by Hughes
        Hughes portrays a Black exotic dancer who may offer services to a "clean boy" by night who very well could criticize her profession by day
    - - The Man of the Crowd
        The narrator prides himself on being able to tell who people are based on their superficial features and behaviors, their chosen company, and so on
      - Their Eyes Were Watching God
        Janie's restricted to the home and shop in her second marriage. By being inside all the time, she is also unable to speak her mind or express herself externally.
      - Waiting for Godot
        Vladimir is more external and Estragon is more internal. The former talks more often, his breath smells, and encourages thought. The latter's feet smell instead and encourages a dance from Lucky.
      - Tradition and Individual Talent
        In this essay, T.S. Eliot argues against drawing on deeply personal and emotional ties to create poetry, instead favoring historical inspiration