It has been some time since I posted anything for recreation. Or rather, something on the topic of my personal interests; aside from my digital imaging class. That being said, I shall attempt to assemble such a post today.
I've been reading quite a bit lately. A few authors that have caught my attention are Fitzgerald, Thoreau, Bryant and Salinger. Let's start with the former, Fitzgerald.
I find Fitzgerald to be in direct concurrence to modernism in "The Great Gatsby", but in opposition to modernism being catalyzed by the economy of the time. That is to say, more freedoms for the individual in a superficial way - through blind consumption - destroy the ideology associated with modernism. Now on to the second author that has interested me, Thoreau.
Thoreau's 'Nature' inspired me semantically; he seems to be the first formal author living in the United States to take full advantage of the first person. Besides that, I didn't much care for Thoreau. Everything I read besides 'Nature' prompted evidence of my original assumption; he is a poor man's Hawthorne with, in my opinion, more interesting politics.
(William Cullen) Bryant's poetry amazes me. Lines 25-29 in the third stanza of 'Thanatopsis' has offered me a better understanding of Deist theology than anything else I have ever read. Other than that, I didn't delve as deeply into Bryant's work as any of the other authors I have mentioned. Not out of a lack of interest, rather the physical limitation of time stood in my way.
The only work of Salinger's I have been able to read is "Catcher in the Rye." I would be very interested in seeing Salinger's writing style in his other works, for I can see his potential for writing advanced literature. However, the point of view in "Catcher in the Rye" does not allow this potential to flourish, due to the age of the narrator. I do not see this as conveying laziness in his writing, though. I loved reading the story, and realize if it were written any other way, it would have been artistically inferior.
Well....
14 years ago
Hi Blake,
ReplyDeleteI wonder, are you familiar with the literary criticism of Lionel Trilling? I might have to mandate you read "The Moral Obligation to be Intelligent" and/or "The Liberal Imagination." He's probably the greatest American literary critic of the 20th century, and he has a wealth of illuminating observations about all of the authors you name (including a great essay on Fitzgerald in Liberal Imagination).
Sadly, it isn't easy to find much of his writing online, but to give you a taste, his piece on Huckleberry Finn is a classic: http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/fall2002/Finn.html
You seem to be a budding litcrit yourself! I look forward to reading more of your analysis. You might even consider creating a new blog devoted entirely to your "recreational" musings...if you decide to do something like that, please send the link!
-Rachel
I can't say I am familiar with Lionel Trilling, but his name seems familiar. From the sounds of it, he is probably alluded to quite often; explaining why the name seems so familiar.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link. It gives me a bit to look towards and will certainly keep me humble in my writing. His writings seems very interesting; focusing on the moral, religious or social ideas contained in the piece in a manner that seems univeral. He does not interpose with his beliefs on a certain topic (referring to what he wrote pertaining to capitalism in this particular review) which seems fairly uncommon in modern critique.
I think I will be creating a second blog seperate from this blog I must work on for class.
(Also, I'm not entirely sure how to leave a general comment or response on Blogger, thus explaining why it I had to leave a comment on my own blog. And, to a certain point, why it took my several days to respond.)