Happy Holidays!

The main purpose of this post is that I realized they might kick me off if I was inactive for too long. So... Happy Holidays!

Darkness in The Tale of Despereaux

As fantastical and whimsical as The Tale of Despereaux is with its fairytale references, characters, and notions, the characters are a mix of light and darkness (as the story would have it) in a dark story; the princess is spoiled, stubborn, and kind of snobby, Despereaux fights cowardice, repeatedly fainting, Chiaroscuro longs for light, deep inside of himself, and Mig is just stupid and easily taken advantage of. Even secondary characters such as the king, Despereaux’ family, the cook, and Mig’s father, are varying levels of crooked, selfish, and nonsensical. Another dark side of this seemingly children’s story is the lack of things being made completely right. Despite the topic of forgiveness being brought up, redemption, as I think of redemption, is not truly gained. Both Despereaux and the Pea forgive those that have wronged them merely to protect themselves from hurting, not for the true benefit of those seeking it. The ending is no fairytale: Mig is still deaf, deformed, stupid and fat. Roscuro never finds healing. Despereaux’ love for the princess will never result in marriage or fruition by children, as he has not been a prince under enchantment. Additionally, by lack of information, Pea could stay spoiled.

The Alchemist as Hero Myth more than Bildungsroman

The Alchemist can be considered as a bildungsroman for multiple reasons, it seems to contain even more elements of the “Hero Myth.” Santiago does undergo a great amount of growth as he achieves his Personal Legend, but the fact that he is still called “the boy,” even on the last page of the novel, leaves readers wondering if there is any other “legend” as there is such a neat conclusion despite him still being a “boy.” While this is a great achievement and the boy’s journey has been at least a year, he doesn’t seem to really “come of age,” despite great understands of God and the soul of the world. As for “Hero Myth” examples, Santiago steps out of the world that he knows (shepherding), is encouraged in that “crossing of the threshold” by a mentor figure (Melchizedek, king of Salem), faces great hardships (work, fear in desert, robbery, being held prisoner) and faces an ultimate challenge (to become the wind) after training with the alchemist that allows him to “return” with the “boon” of fulfilled self-exploration, a fulfilled Personal Legend, and a material treasure (as well as a sweetheart) to boot.

Theme of Learning in The Alchemist

An interesting theme to think on that is found throughout The Alchemist is man’s search for knowledge. While in most classic literature, the search for knowledge (forbidden or inaccessible) leads to the “fall” of man, chaos, and destruction. However, within this story, man is only fulfilled by being willing to strive for, sacrifice for and search for the knowledge of what his heart says, what his treasure is, and what his Personal Legend is, with each of these intricately linked. Each step, as random as it may seem, provides Santiago with the knowledge to complete one further step of his journey (including the thief’s ignorant disclosure of the true location of the treasure after beating and robbing him). Meanwhile, the alchemist is able to teach Santiago true alchemy because unlike the Englishman, Santiago is willing to learn anything to achieve his Personal Legend, not just wanting to learn for material gain. In addition, the dialogue about the secrets of alchemy only being found by those who are not wanting it for its own sake adds more interest to the theme.

THOMS...bildungsroman?

Although THMOS could be considered a bildungsroman because of the growth that Esperanza experiences, I hesitate to categorize it as a bildungsroman because of the lack of completion in Esperanza’s growth. There does not seem to be any real resolution of the issue of childhood vs. adulthood, and although Esperanza’s voice does age throughout the story and the ending describes her coming back to the house that she once scorned and left, she does not really address the issue of innocence vs. knowledge/sensuality that has been carried throughout the book and explored in greater depth towards the end. The reader does not have a very clear idea of what kind of adult Esperanza has actually become, even though the reader can tell that she has been intelligent and studious enough to leave the area and then come back with the ability to make it better. Because of this lack of closure, it is difficult to peg this novel strictly as a bildungsroman. However, the work is still strong, because the theme of innocence vs. knowledge is a classic theme, resounding with other famous works such as Milton’s Paradise Lost, Shelley’s Frankenstein, a great deal of Blake’s poetry and the Bible.

Kinship, Cumulatively

Of the different novels that we have read throughout the semester, I thought it would be interesting to explore the kinship between Esperanza and Huckleberry Finn as characters. Each is on the border of the large transition between childhood and adulthood, and each has choices to make regarding that transition, specifically, who they will be (Will Huck be a racist as his society demonstrates? Will Esperanza be a doormat as her society demonstrates? Will Huck use his money unwisely? Will Esperanza use her sexuality to gain power?) Additionally, though there is evidence of both Huck and Esperanza leaving their societies in search of something better, both of them eventually return to their societies and make them better, because they themselves have gained value and identity despite their separation (physically, emotionally and mentally) from their places of origin.

Growing Up is Hard to Do

A prevalent conflict throughout The House on Mango Street is the conflict of wanting to remain a child versus wanting to be an adult, and what kind of adult at that. An especially poignant moment of this is the moment in which Esperanza seeks to save Sally from the boys, but finds that Sally has no desire to be saved and instead shuns her. Esperanza is always comparing her own age to the age of other girls, many of whom are already married. Additionally, she compares her own feelings about the future to the different ways that society attempts to answer the question, “What is a woman?” whether that means someone who has nice legs with fancy yellow shoes, or someone with eye make-up like an Egyptian and gray hose with black shoes, or someone that gets up before everyone to make tortillas, some “smart cookie” who “could have been something,” someone locked at home because their husband doesn’t trust them, someone to rape and beat, or someone who leaves their plate at the table and doesn’t put their chair back (much like a man). It is easy to see why the idea of adulthood both intrigues and terrifies Esperanza.