English 104 - Introduction to Narrative
Dan Herzberg
Growth and Maturation in Alice in Wonderland and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and their Effect on Narration Style
Category: 2 Essay: Carroll, Twain, Faulkner, Sebold | Dan Herzberg
When we pick up a book about a child’s adventures in an unknown land, we often associate it with the typical “coming of age story.” Both Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are journey pieces that depict the travels of a child. Each...
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Posted by dherzber on December 09, 2003 at 02:13 AM
Susie's Severed Body, Narration, and Violation of Others Privacy
Category: 10 Blog: The Lovely Bones | Dan Herzberg
On page 15 of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones Susie Salmon meets her death after being raped in a cornfield. After Susie is violated, her aggressor, Mr. Harvey, grabs a knife, kills her, and proceeds to chop up her body. Immediately after Susie’s body is chopped up, so too...
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Posted by dherzber on December 04, 2003 at 01:03 AM
The Right Moment to Strike
Category: 09 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Dan Herzberg
By the time we get to Addie’s monologue on page 169 of As I Lay Dying, we have already heard from Addie’s friends and family, yet we have not heard Addie’s life story from her own perspective. Up until this climax when the reader finally is allowed inside Addie’s head,...
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Posted by dherzber on November 25, 2003 at 04:41 AM
The Nails in the Coffin
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Dan Herzberg
William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, tells the story of a poor Southern family trying to cope with the imminent death (and eventual burial) of Addie—the mother and wife. While Addie is still alive in the early part of the book, she is mostly confined to her bed. Just outside...
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Posted by dherzber on November 18, 2003 at 02:28 AM
The Same Little Huck as Always
Category: 07 Blog: Huckleberry Finn | Dan Herzberg
In a shocking move at the end of the book, Huck decides to sneak back into the wild and leave civilization behind him. Just when we think that Huck has matured and been made wiser and tougher through his adventures on the river, he throws away another shot at life...
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Posted by dherzber on November 11, 2003 at 01:47 AM
Keeping an Eye on the Enemy
Category: 06 Blog: Huckleberry Finn | Dan Herzberg
Huck tells Jim that though he doesn’t like Dauphin or Duke, “we got to remember what they are, and make allowances” (170). Why on Earth would Huck ever say this? After all, Duke and Dauphin essentially barged their way onto the raft, took control over the vessel, commandeered Huck and...
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Posted by dherzber on November 04, 2003 at 04:17 AM
Money Can’t Buy Happiness…and Huck Knows It
Category: 05 Blog: Huckleberry Finn | Dan Herzberg
To most people, money is an essential part of life. Among other uses, we use it to buy food, pay for our education, and insure we have adequate healthcare. Yet to Huck, money is simply not all that important. When he talks about the 6,000 dollars he has— a massive...
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Posted by dherzber on October 28, 2003 at 09:11 AM
The Blight of Literacy on the Victorian Household
Category: 11 Essay: James and Bronte | Dan Herzberg
Within both The Turn of the Screw and Wuthering Heights, there exists a clearly defined social order. In Turn of the Screw the governess is at the top of the social hierarchy (due to her master’s absence) as she is responsible for raising the two children. Equally, Miles and Flora,...
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Posted by dherzber on October 23, 2003 at 02:00 AM
Insight from Above
Category: 04 Blog: Alice in Wonderland | Dan Herzberg
The omniscient narrator in Alice in Wonderland is a lively, emotional and conversational storyteller. He is not afraid to go off on small tangents or to add in his own emotional slants to his story telling. On page 12, we find Alice shortly after she has drunk from the bottle...
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Posted by dherzber on October 07, 2003 at 07:25 AM
The Nut Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree
Category: 03 Blog: Wuthering Heights | Dan Herzberg
Catherine Linton serves an extension of her mother within the novel. The two share many things in common including the desire to be with men who have severe shortcomings—Heathcliff is twisted and sadistic, while Linton is weak and sickly. Similarly, both Catherine and her mother are desired by Heathcliff—her mother...
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Posted by dherzber on September 30, 2003 at 09:14 AM
See you in my dreams
Category: 02 Blog: Wuthering Heights | Dan Herzberg
Emily Bronte utilizes the technique of foreshadowing in Chapter 3 and achieves a sense of mystery and intrigue to draw the reader into her story. As Lockwood is led to his room for the night, we are told that Heathcliff “never let anybody lodge there willingly (p.15).” However, we are...
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Posted by dherzber on September 23, 2003 at 03:24 AM
A Misreading by the Governess
Category: Dan Herzberg
On page 99, the governess claims to see Miss Jessel on the grounds of Bly as she and Mrs. Grose were searching for Flora. This is the first time that she has Mrs. Grose with her when she sees an apparition and tries to use the instance to solidify...
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Posted by dherzber on September 15, 2003 at 11:25 PM
pRactice
Category: Dan Herzberg
Usually I practice at 6 am....
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Posted by dherzber on September 09, 2003 at 11:25 PM