revised essay bleak house

 

In the novel Bleak House by Charles Dickens, a supporting character’s, Mrs. Jellyby’s greatest passion is also her greatest flaw. Because of the fact that she’s so engulfed and passionate about a “pointless” cause, she loses track of what is really important, and that is the dedication to family. She fails to grasp the concept of the pain that she brings to her family, which reveals her to be the epitome of ignorance. By means of this story, Charles Dickens is trying to play on the fact of the weak “matriarch” figure and comically shows how difficult life would be without a loving “mom”.

                A maternal purpose should lie within the comfort of the home, and not within a distant country. This is the case with Mrs. Jellyby. She dedicates every hour of the day into being the mother of a cause that should come second to most others, which is volunteering. Paradoxically, she bestows herself to saving those abroad in Africa, when she should have been paying attention to and caring for her own family. However she proves herself to be flawed in the fact, that she lacks the proper skills in being both a good Africa activist and mother. In terms of Africa, she lacks the proper voice, and motivation to incite a drastic change. Mrs. Jellyby doesn’t take opportunity of the power she has as mother, to make changes at home, but wastes it on Africa. She fails to show any logical thinking on matters of vital importance. Even the name of her project in Africa named “Borrioboola-Gha venture” seems to raise eyebrows at the question of her morality. Why would an adult mother be so convinced that nothing is more worthwhile than a social issue abroad? Ironically, Mrs. Jellby’s agenda is overall foolish because it does not seem to aid the African peoples at all. This proves her cause to be futile. Mrs. Jellyby fails to grasp the actual problem of the matter which is taking place right under his nose, proving her lack of parenting skills.               

The absence of a strong matriarch runs the entire household amok. When the main character Esther enters the Jellyby home, she finds Mrs. Jellyby’s youngest son stuck in between the railing.  Meanwhile Mrs. Jellyby continues her never-ending letter dictation to her daughter, on how she plans to save Africa by educating its people, and bestow them with the ability to grow coffee. Esther is also marveled at how messy, and cold the Jellyby house is. Mrs. Jellyby fails to feed children and guests with actual “cooked food”. Being a suitable hostess and mother is the least of her worries. Because she is so absorbed in a “useless cause” her house suffers dramatically. Mrs. Jellyby proves to be a failure in homemaking, an ability which is usually one of the main priorities of mothers. The type of lifestyle that she was essentially trying to change in Africa, manifests itself right in her home. However unlike Africa, she lacks “passion” for home. Her neglect takes the biggest toll on her children, who are turning “savage” like some African beasts on both the inside and out. Likewise, her husband seems to be “trapped” like an African bird in its poacher “cage” that his wife has turned his house into.

            In general, Mrs. Jellyby’s younger children fail to develop a close bond that most youngsters have with their mothers. However they are not at fault for this. The cause of the problem is Mrs. Jellyby’s ignorance and selfishness. If a parent fails to reach out to their child from early on in their development, there’s a good possibility that their relationship will be eternally strained. The idea of this occurring however doesn’t seem to phase Mrs. Jellyby. Her absence as a parent causes her to be blind to how her children respond to her; especially her oldest daughter Caddy. Everyday, Mrs. Jellyby requires Caddy to be her “letter writer” as she dictates her plans for Africa. Deep inside, Caddy resents her mother for making her write, and her lack of responsibility. As a result, Caddy has an emotional meltdown, which could be interpreted as a child’s call for help and love, after being “indirectly” mistreated and neglected by a mother. The same applies to Mr. Jellyby. He seems to be almost a nonentity, as he let’s his wife’s passion and solid personality take over his household. He is very secluded, quiet, and standoffish. It seems that the mere fact of his wife’s Africa agenda makes him want to commit suicide.

Most women find motherhood to be their greatest passion in life. Not only does it make them feel fulfilled, but also gives them a sense of purpose in life. However in the novel Bleak House, this is the exact opposite. Mrs. Jellyby devotes her life purpose to a cause that’s a thousand miles away instead of focusing on the one that’s calling her name right within her house. Her lack of responsibility and love towards her children thus shows that she is a flawed character and her title as mother is undeserved.

Hamlet essay

In Act 5 Scene 1 of Hamlet, the grave diggers discuss the sin of suicide, the sustainability of our actions and products, the religious aspect of suicide, as well as make jokes about death. Their back and forth banter serves a meaningful purpose if analyzed thoroughly. Not only do the grave diggers provide an outlet for comedy, but they also serve as a voice of morality and reason throughout the complex plot of the play. Their argument about Ophelia’s burial, comes to question the idea of religion, whether it truly is honest and genuine. Their riddle about the grave-maker being the strongest plays upon the power of potential death that awaits every human being. Together the ideas of suicide, religion, and death make up the overall themes of the novel, which also are all aspects of existentialism.

Shakespeare writes, “Is she to be buried in Christian burial when she willfully seeks her own salvation?”. The gravediggers understood that Ophelia committed suicide. Suicide would normally be punished by means of not giving the victim a proper burial. This was a standard code of ethics and religion. Suicide is a crime against God. No one is in the rightful position to take their own life away other than the almighty; thus it becomes a sin. Because Ophelia sinned, she had no right to be buried in a Christian cemetery. The gravediggers knew this, and were marveled at the fact that just because she was the nobility, Ophelia got a proper burial. In this case, money overpowered religion, which is wrong. The gravedigger’s argument about her suicide shows that religion is unfair and corrupt because it has the ability to be altered by money. Religion in this case it shows to lack firm a strong stance in its establishment. If religion is so easily influenced, it can cause many more believers to lose faith in it. That is where the creation and belief in existentialism can arise. Sadly, the grave-diggers would have never received the same treatment if they were to commit suicide as Ophelia. They clearly say “Do you want to know the truth? If this woman hadn’t been rich, she wouldn’t have been given a Christian burial.” The grave diggers also joke about “ Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?” The answer to this riddle is of course “A grave-maker.” With this riddle, the gravedigger are implying that no matter what type of person someone might be during their time on earth, it all comes down to death at the end. It is the grave maker that makes something so everlasting, and inescapable, thus they hold the most power.

Later on in the play, Hamlet also rummages through the commentary and wonders who the skulls belonged to. Hamlet says “That skull had a tongue in it once and could sing. That jackass is throwing it around as if it belonged to Cain, who did the first murder! It might be the skull of a politician once capable of talking his way around God, right? And now this idiot is pulling rank on him. .. Or a courtier.” No matter what type of life one leads on earth, whether it is an easy life of privilege or a difficult toil through poverty, death is inevitable. Nothing can be preserved once death comes for us. We were created from “ashes” and “ashes” are what we will eventually become. Hamlet says “Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returned to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam—and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer barrel?” This quote reinforces the idea that despite life on earth is overall meaningless. One’s name and wealth will perish along with the accomplishments. Even a marvelous figure like Alexander the Great is nothing when death comes to take him.

These ideas can then be taken and tied into the overall idea of existentialism. Existentialism is founded on the idea that people are free to make their own choices, and are responsible for their own lives. Thus it is the human being that dictates his own future. This conception eliminates the need for a God and his ability to predetermine the future. This then ties back into the case of revenge and suicide by means of Hamlet’s attack on Claudius, as well as Ophelia killing herself. Hamlet was very much entitled to his and Claudius’s future and legacy. With the statement “To be, or not to be, that is the question”, he is contemplating his life, whether to live it or not. From an existentialist perspective whether he lives or dies is meaningless because everyone is bound to succumb to it in the end. Like a true existentialist he has a chance for revenge, and the ability to take a life of another in an instant. Because Hamlet stalls in his plan shows that he is still in touch with his religious side. However contemplation and religion ironically are not aspects of existentialism, so all in all it doesn’t matter when or how Hamlet commits revenge. Instead it is the thought of having the power to instantaneously end life which matters. The same concept applies with Yorick. Though Yorick was once an admired jester, the only thing that remained of him after death swallowed him up is his skull.  In Ophelia’s case, her autonomous suicide also holds no value even though it is shunned by her religion. Everyone is bound to die at some point or another which is the basic meaning of mortality. Thus the way she carried out her death in actuality shows to have no real purpose. Though the deaths in Hamlet are characterized by tragedy, they are all in fact a part of life, waiting to strike and dominate at any given moment.

literary terms second half

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e6GKBde_MTBq_5s0e6yXA4RdvijYiky4tp3h8I8OxjQ/edit?hl=en_US

16 terms

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rr1UvE8_H8AVMWwkVf9dKV6Km03Y5Uie5leBQKBJ5t4/edit?hl=en_US