English 104 - Introduction to Narrative
Molly McCarter
They’re Watching: The Narrator as Voyeur
Category: 2 Essay: Carroll, Twain, Faulkner, Sebold | Molly McCarter
The Lovely Bones and Alice in Wonderland are both books about children. Alice in Wonderland, however, is ostensibly a children’s book, and The Lovely Bones is aimed at adults. It is counter-intuitive, and then, that the narrator of Alice seems to be an adult, while the narrator of The...
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Posted by mmccarte on December 08, 2003 at 11:45 PM
One Violation Deserves Another
Category: 10 Blog: The Lovely Bones | Molly McCarter
Just as Susie’s departure from life was a violation of privacy, so is her way back into the life of the living. She was violated sexually – and this violation was her first, and last taste of real sexuality. It is particularly interesting, then, to observe the way she witnesses...
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Posted by mmccarte on December 03, 2003 at 09:18 PM
Darl Looses His Sense of Self
Category: 09 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Molly McCarter
Darl’s earlier monologues have always been significant for their ability to “get into the heads” of other people. This ability, while helpful in terms of narration, hints at a deeper problem. In his final monologue, Darl is no longer able to see even himself in the first person – his...
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Posted by mmccarte on November 25, 2003 at 09:43 AM
“Addie is” versus “Addie was”
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Molly McCarter
The classification of the corpse of Addie as a “thing” versus a “person” is an important choice. Anse and Samson disagree on this classification, revealing insight into each of their characters. Anse still speaks of Addie in the present tense. She is not a corpse, a shell of the...
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Posted by mmccarte on November 17, 2003 at 08:44 PM
Huck, The Mini-Adult
Category: 07 Blog: Huckleberry Finn | Molly McCarter
The most disturbing element of the end of this novel comes with the re-introduction of Tom and the absurdity of their plot to release Jim. Up until now Huck has been acting as a peer to Jim, and the reader may begin to forget Huck’s age and imagine his...
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Posted by mmccarte on November 10, 2003 at 07:31 PM
Huck seizes the day
Category: 05 Blog: Huckleberry Finn | Molly McCarter
Huck is a determinedly practical minded child. He has faith in that which he has experienced and that which he can touch, feel, or see. He lives in the physical, immediate world. Religion and make-believe are luxuries which belong to people who live in a safer world than he does....
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Posted by mmccarte on October 27, 2003 at 09:11 PM
Social Gaps and Plot Holes - The Effects of Social Class on Narrative Style
Category: 11 Essay: James and Bronte | Molly McCarter
Nelly and the Governess have been framed by their social class- they are expected to act in a certain, pre-defined way that is appropriate to their position in life. The profound impact this external pressure has had on their lives is echoed in their narratives. It is up to...
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Posted by mmccarte on October 22, 2003 at 07:34 PM
Alice’s Wonderland of Discourtesy
Category: 04 Blog: Alice in Wonderland | Molly McCarter
Alice’s most bewildering habit is her insistence on being polite and kind. It seems odd that Alice would choose to retain her good manners in this Wonderland of rude and illogical characters. Her manners seem out of place to us, but they are entirely incomprehensible to the characters she meets...
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Posted by mmccarte on October 06, 2003 at 07:27 PM
Naivety and Nonchalance
Category: 03 Blog: Wuthering Heights | Molly McCarter
Catherine boldness echoes that of her mother’s. The Catherines in this novel are unique in that they are the only characters who are not only not afraid of Heathcliff, but attempt to sympathize with him. Young Catherine has far more contempt for Heathcliff than her mother did, but they...
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Posted by mmccarte on September 28, 2003 at 08:40 PM
Class Tensions
Category: 02 Blog: Wuthering Heights | Molly McCarter
Nelly’s reliability is undermined by an internal conflict in which she is obliged to act one way, but feels another. In her narration, she attempts to portray herself as an invisible observer, which is, of course, how she is supposed to act. Her social standing demands that she be without...
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Posted by mmccarte on September 22, 2003 at 09:22 PM
Paranoia at Bly
Category: 01 Blog: Turn of the Screw | Molly McCarter
The governess is obsessed with the conspiracy within Bly. In her determination to convince those around her (namely, Mrs. Grose) of the terrors within the house, she often misconstrues situations in an effort to support her delusions. Her relationship with the children is particularly colored by this problem. She refuses,...
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Posted by mmccarte on September 15, 2003 at 08:38 PM
practice
Category: Molly McCarter
watch me post....
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Posted by mmccarte on September 11, 2003 at 11:18 AM