Wide Sargasso Sea

Yes, I know that this post is a tad on the late side, but I've been very busy, amongst other things, and have either not had the time to post, or have been distracted to the point of forgetting that I needed to make this post.

Anyhow, this post is to reflect on the novel Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. According to the information presented on the rear cover of the novel, this book is meant to explore both the dark past of a certain Mr. Rochester, and the fabled "Lady in the Attic" who are both characters in the famous Jane Eyre. I cannot, however, delve too deeply into the connections between the two novels, as I have never read Jane Eyre and therefore cannot definitively attest to anything in regard to it. However, I was not drawn to the book as a result of any connection to Jane Eyre, in fact, I was not even aware of the connection until after I purchased the book. What drew me to begin with was the title. I have always had a love for and a longing to see the tropics, the Caribbean in particular, so the book's title drew me in with a promise of a tale told in a far off paradisaical isle. Alongside my love for the tropics, I also hold a love of deeply emotional, even heart wrenching stories of passionate and tumultuous love. Drawn in by its title, after reading the synopsis, I knew that Wide Sargasso Sea was, without a doubt, the novel I would select for this, my final AP English paper.

Though I believe this post was intended for reflection on one's initial feelings upon beginning to read one's novel, at this late a date I have already finished reading, and so I am reflecting on the novel in its entirety. The positives of the novel, in my opinion, include the use of the dreamlike settings of 19th-century Jamaica and Martinique, the depth of character that even the most seemingly insignificant characters are given, the alternation of narrators (by which such a depth of character can be portrayed), and the beautiful, yet still very dreamlike, tragic ending of a novel that could not have concluded in any other way. As for negatives, I can really only say that the dreamlike quality of the novel as a whole became so pronounced at some points in the work that, at times, it became somewhat difficult for me as the reader to comprehend what was occurring, or what a certain character was thinking.

As a whole, I greatly enjoyed the novel and am excited to explore some of these topics further in my essay.

Tragedy All Around

Which character, Antigonê or Creon, best fits the idea of a tragic character?

As we saw in reading "Oedipus the King," "Antigonê" does not have a character that is unique in his or her tragic-ness. Indeed, all of the characters whom we see in Antigonê are somehow affected by the indisputably tragic events that transpire over the course of the play, Antigonê takes her own life by hanging, Haimon by stabbing himself after losing her, Ismenê loses her sister, and Creon both his son, his son's intended, and his sense of his own decency. So, as I see it, the question is not so much whether Antigonê or Creon fits the ideal of the tragic character better (since both of them do so quite well), as it is which of the two is the more tragic character.

While it is my firm belief that only the author of the work has the authority to state with any certainty the proper interpretation of his or her work, I see Creon as the more tragic character for two outstanding reasons. First, of all of the characters who sustain significant loss over the course of the play, Creon has lost the most. His son is dead by suicide due to the death of his beloved Antigonê, he has lost faith in his own ability to perceive right and wrong, and most importantly, he must now go on living with the knowledge that everything that has transpired is the direct result of his own actions and that he has nobody to blame but himself. Having to live with such paralyzing guilt is equally as, if not even more tragic than winding up dead at the play’s conclusion. Antigonê has done what she knew in her heart was the right thing to do, and dies as somewhat of a martyr for righteousness and honor. Haimon took his life in a moment of passion and grief, and suffered only for a very short time. Ismenê comes closer to Creon in her tragic-ness level by sustaining the loss of her sister, though we are not made aware of how this affects her so much as we are of how it does Creon. Therefore, with the combined bearing of three traumatizing events, along with having to continue living with his guilt, and the author’s choice to showcase Creon’s sorrow so conspicuously, I feel there is ample reason to conclude that Creon is the most tragic of the characters in “Antigonê.”

Prayer #3

Prayer #3

The eyes of many a stranger do
Not reflect the Divine . . .

We--
Appreciate for a moment
The pieces painted by the
Current of emotion that
Turns with the Earth
On the heels of Night and Day
And how we wonder!
Why is beauty ever beyond our
Grasp?

When the wise suggest that
Perfection, immaculate, is forever
Past the horizon
Their error shows where
It was prior not seen
Like the bud, blessed
They too fail to see

Absurdity to run after what
Is right before you!
All around you
In every step you walk
And the people mourn,
For what, they've long forgotten
As they wander

Contentment is hidden in
The love of one's feelings
Thus, seeking contentment
(As all men do)
Turn to your treasures
And count them
They are boundless
And kneel down to pray,
To understand
In the temple
Under each footpath
And above every head

-Zach McVay 1/31/2010