Classics Corner: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Welcome to the Public Domain, Old Sport

 

Classics Corner: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Welcome to the Public Domain, Old Sport

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Jay Gatsby has achieved a feat achieved by many before him such as King Arthur, Robin Hood, Don Quixote, Cinderella, Hamlet, Jane Eyre, Mr. Darcy, Oliver Twist, Ebenezer Scrooge, Sherlock Holmes,  Alice, Dracula, Huckleberry Finn, The Wizard of OZ (book form not MGM movie form) have received. He,Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Nick Caraway and the "whole rotten crowd" have entered the public domain. That means that F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic gets all that comes with it: academic interests, adaptation, remakes, alternate points of view, parodies, merchandise and the rest. (A zombie version is reportedly in the works.)

Many take The Great Gatsby at face value. They think it reveals the glamor of the Roaring Twenties, the parties, drinking, and what the hell fun before reality hit with the Crash of '29. It's a lot deeper than that.

The Great Gatsby is about the illusion of fame and celebrity and how the rich and famous look to the people underneath them. To them, they look attractive, carefree, and cannot possibly have anything wrong with their lives. The countless suicides, public meltdowns, and o.d’s of celebrities have shown otherwise. Inside every celebrity is a frightened suffering person that has to hide that suffering under the spotlight

Jay Gatsby, the eponymous protagonist Fitzgerald’s novel is someone who has an illusion of a rich and famous life but suffers a lonely existence. He is a wealthy mysterious man who throws the wildest parties that are attended by the best and brightest of the Roaring Twenties: gangsters, politicians, actors, producers, and scores of flappers.

The people drink, dance and have a great time and wonder about their mysterious host who throws the parties but is rarely seen at them. Is he a bootlegger? Is he a distant cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm? Did he kill a man? No one knows, but still they go to his parties. All they know is he is the  man who seems to have everything, wealth, splendor, fame, and the masses can’t help but enjoy themselves.

To them Gatsby is the embodiment of the Jazz Age: Live free, live rich, live large, and have fun. In this liberated freedom of the Jazz Age, many people felt free to experiment. Women in particular were free from corsets, wore short skirts, smoked in public, and were allowed to embrace their sexuality and that often involved having affairs. Fitzgerald captured that carefree and sexually liberated milieu that surrounds Gatsby perfectly.

Gatsby’s life is recounted by Nick Carraway, the naive narrator and Gatsby’s next-door neighbor. At first, Nick watches bemused at all the people who attend Gatsby’s parties. He watches the events next door with a detached admiration and perhaps some slight envy at his neighbor’s carefree seemingly easy adventurous lifestyle (some think maybe with lust for Gatsby). Until he realizes that he has a closer connection to Gatsby than he was previously aware. This connection comes in the form of Daisy Buchanan, Nick’s second cousin and her husband, Tom, an old friend of Nick’s.

While getting reacquainted with the Buchanans and their friend, Jordan Baker whom Daisy wants to “fling together” with Nick, Nick learns that Tom has a mistress in the city and that Daisy and Gatsby are former lovers. Nick becomes a go-between as Daisy and Gatsby are reunited and rekindle their love affair.

By far the most intriguing character in the book is Gatsby, whom Nick describes as “worth the whole damn bunch put together.” At the very least, he is a much better character than the narcissistic Daisy and the bad-tempered Tom whom Nick describes as “careless people. They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they made.”

 As Nick gets to know his wealthy friend, he begins to piece together the events in his life that shaped him. He learns about Gatsby’s impoverished background and his drive to improve himself and his situation. Nick also learns how Gatsby obtained his wealth through his military service and making good connections with wealthy, sometimes shady characters. In learning about Gatsby’s backstory, Nick saw a man who was constantly trying to look upwards and always trying to achieve happiness.

Even when he has found wealth, success, and is surrounded by the “Bright Young Things,” Gatsby still isn’t happy. He purposely chose the mansion on West Egg, Long Island, because it overlooks the lake surrounding the East Egg where Daisy lives.  Jordan confides to Nick that the only reason that Gatsby began the parties in the first place was so by chance that Daisy would wander into them. It’s no surprise that once Daisy is back in Gatsby’s arms that the parties cease. Through all of his wealth, connections, and fame, Gatsby still yearns for his lost love, “The One That Got Away.”

What makes Gatsby’s story sadder is that Daisy is not really worth the attention Gatsby gives her. He is still caught up in his romantic juvenile fantasies of the young innocent girl that he remembers, not the vapid flirt that she has become. She is less interested in loving Gatsby than she is fascinated by his big house and shiny things and wants to get even with her husband and his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Even when Gatsby forces Daisy’s hand by confronting Tom with their affair, she still can’t summon the courage to decide between them playing both men at once. Even after a violent occurrence which puts all matters upfront, Daisy avoids Gatsby entirely and poor Gatsby still believes that somehow, someway Daisy will come rushing into his arms.

Like the real-life celebrities who have come to violent ends, Jay Gatsby’s life is sadder and lonelier than anyone realizes. This is shown particularly in the final crushing scenes when despite all of the countless people that attended his parties, despite the love he held for Daisy, the only people in attendance at Gatsby’s funeral are a permanent house guest, Gatsby’s estranged father, and Nick, who is revealed to be Gatsby’s best, truest, and only real friend.

Classics Corner: The Collected Stories of Franz Kafka by Franz Kafka; Into the Weird, Creepy, and Terrifying Mind of The Kafkaesque

Classics Corner: The Collected Stories of Franz Kafka by Franz Kafka; Into the Weird, Creepy, and Terrifying Mind of The Kafkaesque

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: There are few authors who are so ubiquitous with a chosen genre, that their names are synonymous with a certain type of writing. Those terms become almost shorthand. Dickensian calls to mind Victorian cities, intense poverty, and characters with bizarre names. Austen-esque makes one think of romance, particularly Regency-era, social commentary, and witty lovers. Orwellian is comparable to police states, dictatorships, and thought crimes.

Another author who lent his name to a style of writing was Franz Kafka (1883-1924). The term Kafkaesque describes the situations which Kafka wrote. The situations are surreal distortions and reveal a senseless, menacing, complex sense of danger.

Last year, I reviewed The Trial, which featured Josef K., Who was on trial for a crime that he didn't even know he committed. He suffers through a bureaucratic nightmare of a trial in which he can barely defend himself. It's an existential surreal situation in which Josef finds himself, the kind that puts the entire legal system on trial. 

These situations were the type that Kafka was knowledgeable about in his whole life. He was born into a middle class German-Jewish family in Prague and was the eldest of six children. His father Hermann, a ritual slaughterer and later a fashion retailer, was severe and cold leaving many scars that appeared in Kafka's writing. His mother was shy, but also never home much, spending 12 hours a day managing the family business. Because of this, Kafka's childhood was a lonely one.

During WWI, two of his sisters moved with their children back to the family home after their husbands went missing. Kafka moved out of the family home at age 31 getting some long sought for quiet.

Though his family were Ashkenazi Jews, Kafka often disagreed with Jewish law and eventually only visited synagogues on the high holy days. He later became more interested in the Yiddish Language and Literature and studied Zionism. He was also an ardent Socialist.

Kafka studied Law at the Deutschland Karl-Ferdinands Universitat in Prague. It was at University where he met fellow law student, Max Brod who became his best friend. Brod described his friend as an avid reader and someone who rarely spoke, but when he did it was important and profound. After Kafka received his Doctor of Law in 1906, he worked as an unpaid law clerk. In 1907, he worked for an insurance company. The long hours and tedious work left him little time for writing. He resigned in 1908 and worked at a company that was more agreeable to his schedule. He eventually became partners with his brother in law at an asbestos company. He enjoyed it at first but felt this partnership also encroached in his writing. In WWI, he attempted to enlist but was discovered to have health difficulties, associated with tuberculosis, which would cause him problems for the rest of his life.

Besides physical health, Kafka had mental health problems as well. He had depression and often said he feared the world inside his head. Modern psychologists believe that he may have had schizoid personality disorder or borderline personality disorder. He certainly saw a lot of bleakness and darkness in the world and that influenced his writing. 

Kafka never married, but had a few girlfriends some of which were the inspiration for characters in his works. He had a strong correspondence with one of his girlfriends, Felice Bauer which resulted in the book, Letters to Felice. He also dedicated his story, "The Judgement" to her.

He was also fond of children. An apocryphal tale reflects this in which Kafka comforted a little girl who had lost her doll. Kafka calling himself "the doll postal worker" wrote her a series of letters pretending to be the doll and explaining that she had gone on a trip and wanted to see the world. He returned with a new doll that looked nothing like the old one but was attached to a note that says, "My travels have changed me." There are some doubts to the veracity of this lovely tale, but it reveals a contrast to the  Kafka people usually are familiar with.Even though there was a dark side to his personality, Kafka was also very imaginative and childlike at times.

Kafka died of tuberculosis in 1924 at the age of 40. Some of his works such as The Trial and The Metamorphosis were published during his lifetime. On his deathbed, he made Brod, his executor, burn his unpublished works including his stories, letters, sketches, and diaries. Brod ignored him and from 1925-1935 had his novels and collected works published. His final lover, Dora Diamant kept some of his letters and notebooks but they were confiscated by the Gestapo in 1933. Scholars continue to search for them.

Kafka's works demonstrate the surreal darkness and are filled with themes of existential crisis and dehumanization. There is an overwhelming sense of complex danger and fear in his short works as well as long. The Collected Stories are a collection of his short stories and novels. Some are extremely complex and hard to define, but most carry those dark themes in which Kafka was known. 

The best of these works are: 

Meditations or Contemplations (1912)

" Unmasking a Confidence Trickster"

Plot: While approaching a house, a recent emigre spots another man who he recognizes as a con artist and tries to avoid him.

Review: The majority of the works in Contemplations are very short two or three paragraphs or barely fill a whole page. They take a short time to reflect a mood, but when they do, the mood is impactful partly because of their brief length.

This particular scenario shows conflict between immigrants and citizens. The Narrator believes that the Confidence Trickster finds him an easy target because he's new to the country. He is hyper aware of the xenophobia that surrounds him, perhaps has already experienced, so he suspects it around him. 

The text never says whether the other man is a confidence trickster or not. Except for a couple of minor lines, he doesn't say anything at all. It's enough that the newcomer suspects that he is, leading to an intense fear and uncertainty bordering on paranoia in his new surroundings.

"Resolutions"

Plot: The narrator is depressed and resolves to pull himself out, but the more he tries the unhappier he feels.

Review: This brief story reveals what it is like to have Depression and is among the most accurate depictions of the illness that I have ever read. The Narrator, possibly Kafka himself since the story first appeared in his journal in 1911, wants to pull himself out. He wants to put on a show, a smile,and be friendly towards his acquaintances that he dubs A,B, and C. He even wonders if it's worth it to even rise from his chair. There are days when it is a great achievement for someone with depression to rise from their bed. 

The Narrator then realizes that it's easier to "throttle down whatever ghostly life remains in you" and refrain from human interaction. Sometimes all someone with depression wants to do is avoid everyone else and be alone with their thoughts. For me this story is 100% accurate as though I, or the more than 3 million people who have this disorder, could have written it. In some ways, I, or rather we, have.

"The Tradesman" 

Plot: A businessman goes about his daily business in a job that depresses him. He feels disconnected from his clients even though he tries to help them. On his way home, he feels depressed and has an out of body experience in which he observes a man getting robbed.

Review: As I mentioned in Kafka's biography, Kafka worked as an insurance clerk but felt that the job stifled his creativity and disrupted his writing time. He felt disconnected and alienated. This story reflects that alienation.

The Narrator is in a job in which he helps people but doesn't feel like he makes any difference in their lives. He even imagines that they are in better circumstances than he is.

When he imagines the robbery, it is a reflection of his own soul. The job is "robbing" him of his joy and purpose in life. But he can't quit, because he depends on the creature comforts that it provides. He allows himself to be robbed again and again.

"Passersby"

Plot: The Narrator walks out at night and imagines that two people walking past him are either playing a game or one is robbing the other with the other chasing him.

Review: This is another one of Kafka's short stories that takes a brief time to reveal a mood. This one reflects The Narrator's paranoia. He goes from believing that the passersby are up to innocent pranksterish fun to believing something dark and disturbing about them.

There is also the fear connected with getting involved. As The Narrator fears one of the passersby is getting robbed, he wonders if it's his duty to help and what would happen if he doesn't. Instead of getting involved, he chooses to resist making that connection, even to potentially save someone's life. He would rather be alone and stew in his what if scenarios than reach out to a fellow human being.

"Unhappiness" 

Plot: A man enters his apartment and gets involved in a strange conversation with a child leaving the possibility that one or both of them are ghosts

Review: It is easy to see why the Kafkaesque world later appeared in other works including TV shows like The Prisoner and Twilight Zone. This story could have fit very easily into any incarnation of The Twilight Zone. (In fact variations of a ghostly child confronting an adult have appeared in Zone episodes like "Nightmare As A Child" and "What Are Friends For?".)

The conversations between The Narrator and The Ghost Child disturb the Narrator but there is something long lost and forgotten in them. The Ghost Child represents his lost innocence which disappeared as the Narrator matured and carried on the burdens of adulthood.

While The Ghost Child is physically dead, the Narrator is figuratively dead. He just floats along his life like a ghost unable to reach anyone or anything. The Ghost Child is the first real emotional connection that he has made.

Stories Published In Kafka's Lifetime

"The Judgement"

Plot: Georg Bendemann, a young businessman, writes a letter to his long distant friend telling him of his upcoming engagement to Frieda Bandenfeld. While visiting his father, the old man taunts Georg about his mother's death, his friendship, and his engagement. During this intense conversation, Mr. Bendemann gains more power and sentences his son to death "by drowning."

Review: This story is probably the most reminiscent of Kafka's real life. He dedicated this story to his then-lover, Felice Bauer who had the same initials as the fictional, Frieda Bandenfeld. While they were never engaged in real life, Kafka's correspondence with her was numerous and affectionate. Perhaps he thought of her as the one that got away.

There are also parallels between Georg and his father and Kafka and his father. Both their fathers were strict, severe, cold men that were hard to please. While Georg keeps swallowing his father's insults to the point that he feels overwhelmed by them, Kafka did not suffer his father's criticisms so lightly. He wrote a long detailed letter explaining why he was afraid of him. (It was published as "Letter to His Father.")

The final passage in which Georg is sentenced to drown is a metaphor for the control that his father has over his life. He suffocated him with his harsh words and cold behavior. Georg's own life slips away under the harsh cruelty of his father.

Because Kafka spent some time working in a job that he hated to help support his family, particularly his cold father, Kafka also felt like he was drowning. Unlike his fictional counterpart, Kafka managed to carve out a life for himself, albeit a short-lived one, through his writing. He finally in his own way silenced and diminished the role that his father had over him.

 

"The Metamorphosis"

Plot: A young man, Gregor Samsa wakes up to find that he has been transformed into a giant insect. His greedy soul sucking family are first terrified of him and then shun him leading to his demise.

Review: This and The Trial are probably Kafka's most famous works and it's easy to see why. "The Metamorphosis" covers a majority of Kafka's most common and prevalent themes.

The idea of a man turning into an insect could be something out of a B Horror film. But Kafka turned this concept into something terrifying and mesmerizing. 

As Gregor struggles to adjust to his transformation, it becomes apparent that he has already been dehumanized. His cruel father, money hungry mother, and spoiled sister, Grete, required him to work in a dull job to support them. They lived off of him like leeches until they bled him dry. As with most of Kafka's protagonists, he takes their emotional and financial abuse in stride. Even after he transforms, his main concerns are how it will affect his family and not, you know, that he is now an insect.

His father's abuse towards Gregor increases as the family finally gets off their lazy behinds and finds jobs. But Gregor's role has diminished. When he finds that his family no longer thinks of him as Gregor, the son that they lost, and refer to him as an insect or "it," he feels his life slip away and he is thrown out like any other insect. He has completely lost his humanity.

The final passage is a gut punch as the Reader becomes aware that his family has learned nothing from the experience. While on the tram both parents realize how attractive their daughter has become and that it's about time she found a husband. As if in mutual agreement, Grete, stretches herself in a sexy pose luring any approachable man. Now that they have lost Gregor, they want to find a new husband and son in law to live off of.

"In The Penal Colony"

Plot : An explorer visits a prison colony and observes the cruel instruments of torture and brutal sadistic behavior of the officer. He is helpless to stop the torture around him or to stop the Officer from dying by his own machine.

Review: This story is so gruesome because it's based on truth. There were many penal colonies, such as Devil's Island, in which prisoners were tortured by their guards.

There are many graphic moments, particularly that concern the torture machine that the Officer operates. He almost treats it like a lover or a cherished object with how lovingly he speaks about this machine that's sole objective is to hurt people. He even jealously guards the blueprints so only he can know how it works. He almost thinks of the torture as his God given right to inflict as his calling. He thinks of the prisoners as vermin who deserve to have inhumane treatment inflicted upon him.

Besides the torture itself, what stands out is the acceptance that the characters have towards this situation. Of course the Officer is too much in love with his work to bother. The Condemned Man, whose only crime is failing to salute a senior officer, has been so abused that he has lost the will to fight. A Soldier just placidly observes the action around him. Even the Explorer makes no move to stop the torture. His only action is to say that he will have a private conversation with the commandment. Release does not come until after the Officer has died by his own machine.

The numbness to the torture and cruelty has spread to all of the characters. Even the Explorer has that cruel sadistic streak in him. When he leaves by boat, he forces the Soldier and the Condemned Man to refrain from jumping into the boat. Though his cruelty is less obvious than the Officer, he shows his own brutal nature and that he too thinks of the Condemned Man as "The Other," someone who deserves to be isolated from society.

"Before the Law"

Plot: This is told in the style of a folktale. A man tries to gain admittance into a building called The Law but is denied by the doorkeeper. The man comes day after day with pleas, threats, bribes,  feigning friendship, until finally the doorkeeper lets him in revealing that the door was only for him at the right time.

Review: This is told in the style of a parable. The Law that the man wants to enter could be a court of law or a synagogue reflecting Jewish Law. The man cannot gain access for unexplained reasons except that it wasn't the right time. It is implied that the right time was during his death.

The man waits for years in front of the door, hoping to be good enough to access the knowledge within. It never occurs to him to leave the door alone or that some things are better left undiscovered. Instead he waits and tries to find ways to get inside, even feigning friendship with the doorman. The fact that he can only access the knowledge after death and the door was meant for him reveals that such knowledge will always be closed in one's lifetime. Some things are better left unlearned.

"Josephine The Singer, or The Mouse Folk"

Plot: Josephine's singing has a large following. Those who hear her are practically hypnotized. They consider her voice a relief from their misery and almost hold her up as an idol or fragile object. They ignore her humanity, personality, and other abilities for the only thing that they value from her: her voice.

Review: As a writer, Kafka was familiar with the struggles of artists and in Josephine's story, he recounts someone whose art is so profound that it has the power to move people for better or worse.

The mouse people are attracted to Josephine's voice because she offers them a sense of culture, entertainment, and a break from their humdrum lives. They are hypnotized by her singing and feel a deep connection to that voice.

Unfortunately, the admiration is not unanimous. Some don't believe that she can sing and that another is singing for her. Others think that she just whistles, like other mice, so isn't anything special. Others resent her because she doesn't do any hard labor. However, no one wants her to do any hard labor or be involved with the community. They only want her to sing.

Josephine's trajectory is like many stars who find fame, become accepted for their talent, are looked as above regular people, and then just as quickly are discarded and made the object of scorn. There is also an attack on commercialization of one's talent. Josephine just wants to share her singing ability, but her audience want to own her voice, control it, and keep it for themselves. They don't care about Josephine as a person and are unaware that she is lonely and her talent singles her out making her lonelier than ever. Just like anything else that is over commercialized and saturated, Josephine is found to be expendable and easily disposable.

Like many entertainers and artists, Josephine disappears young and used up. She is forgotten by the people who praised her singing but failed to know her. Instead they work as before waiting for another distraction to take up their time.

Stories Published Posthumously

 

"The Village Schoolmaster (The Giant Mole)"

Plot: A schoolteacher writes a pamphlet about a giant mole long believed as folklore in his village. He makes this study of the creature his life's work despite the mockery of others, particularly a young smarmy scholar. The Narrator attempts to fix the teacher's reputation by publishing a pamphlet based on his observations which leads to arguments between the two.

Review: This story remained unfinished and ended in a stalemate between the Schoolmaster and The Narrator but it also makes sense that it would end in such a manner. Two scholars bent on their own interpretations would be unable to find little in common with each other.

The story is about the interest scholars have in their subjects. The Schoolmaster forgoes the derision that others have in his pursuit of the Giant Mole. His research is the most important thing in his life and is at the expense of his others, even the Narrator's friendship.

When the Narrator publishes his own pamphlet, the Schoolmaster looks on it as competition as though the Narrator is forcing himself into his territory. He is possessive towards his pursuit of the Mole, considering the research belonging only to him. The research is an obsession in which he feels responsible and owns.

"The Hunter Gracchus"

Plot: In the Afterlife, the deceased Hunter Gracchus, gets into a conversation with the Burgomaster. He has been hunting on the ground and in the stars long enough and wants to be taken to the Other Side.

Review: It's hard to read this without thinking of Kafka being aware of his own impending demise. This almost reads like a Greek myth in which a dead man tries to cross the River Styx. 

Gracchus seems to live a wearying afterlife. While he was a hunter in life, his afterlife achieves little success. He is forced to continue his monotonous existence and hopes that the Burgomaster will lead him to an eternal rest. 

Perhaps as Kafka lay dying, he wanted to finally achieve rest from his personal demons and what he felt was a fruitless existence. He wrote about surreal unhappy things that he knew would continue after him. His final plea was that he could find the happiness after death that sometimes eluded him in life.

 

"The Truth About Sancho Panza"

Plot: A reworking of Don Quixote's famous loyal sidekick. Instead of humbly playing along with his friend's knightly fantasies, this short story suggests that he is encouraging his delusions to the point where he creates the character Don Quixote De La Mancha out of boredom and for his own sadistic entertainment.

Review: Who knew Franz Kafka was a fanfiction writer? Using his usual taste of dark situations, Kafka found a darker interpretation of the loyal friendship between Don Quixote and his faithful squire.

Instead Sancho is fully aware that his friend is delusional. He is the one who enables and encourages his pursuits. 

Similar to the Mouse Folk with Josephine, Sancho feels like he owns Quixote and pushes him for entertainment and amusement. Perhaps he considers Quixote's knightly quests as a relief from his otherwise dull life. He might also push his friend as a means of control and dominance.

"The Advocates"

Plot: The Narrator is on trial and is uncertain whether he has any advocates or defendants. He despairs when everyone seems to be judging him and he wishes that he could collect advocates.

Review: We continue with one of Kafka's favorite targets of criticism: the legal system. This story could have fit right in with The Trial. The Narrator is desperate to find advocates, anyone to defend or speak for him.

This story carries on the theme of loneliness as the Narrator can't find anyone who knows him well enough to defend him. The Narrator is so alone that he can't even defend himself. It is almost the opposite of "The Passersby" in which the Narrator feared getting involved with his fellow humans. In this case, The Narrator is the result of that lack of caring. He now stands alone victimized by the system which tries him.

"Investigations of a Dog"

Plot: A dog tells of his life. He gains an aptitude for music and compares himself to other dogs. He contemplates his own wild nature and wonders if humanity has suppressed it. He experiments with receiving food from humans. In embracing his music and ability to hunt, the Dog accepts his wild nature and freedom.

Review: Since Kafka wrote a lot about dehumanization, it makes sense that he would write about animals becoming more human.

In this case, the Dog is a creative logical creature. He uses his power of music to express his deeper feelings. Like an artist, he reveals his personal pain and struggles through song.

He also expresses an analytical mind as he studies how he receives food from humans. It's a clever twist on the scientific experiments that humans have often inflicted upon dogs.

Despite his logical and creative mind, much of which was adapted because of his involvement with humans, The Dog realizes that he cannot suppress his wild urges forever. When he joins a pack of dogs, it is a liberating and freeing experience for him. He is able to accept his bestial nature and leave the human training behind.

"The Burrow"

Plot: An agoraphobic misanthropic animal, possibly a mole or a badger marvels at the underground burrow that he has made to keep others out. As he goes over the various details, he fears the sounds of approaching animals.

Review: This was another unfinished story but what is there is a brilliant look at agoraphobia and misanthropy told from the point of view of an animal. The Narrator spends most of the time proud of his burrow describing every nook and cranny. It provides his food, shelter, defense, and all that is necessary. He uses it to keep the outside world away from him.

As he hears steps from what could be other animals, he is uncertain that what he hears are real or in his head. He fears the creatures outside so much that it has affected his senses. 

As much as he fears the outside world, he fears himself just as much. As he investigates his burrow, the Narrator both loves and hates his project. With his rejection of the outside world, he wonders if the burrow keeps him safe or holds him prisoner. Does it protect him from the outside world or keep him from it? Can a place be a sanctuary and a trap at the same time?

Franz Kafka certainly gave us plenty of stories that offered deep looks into the dark side of the human psyche. They aren't easy to read or interpret and cause one to feel a sense of bleakness and sadness about the world. However, they also provide a lot of thought and understanding.

Classics Corner: Anne of Green Gables (The Anne Shirley Blythe Series Book One) by Lucy Maud Montgomery; The First and Best Book of Montgomery's Series About The Lovable Imaginative Red Haired Canadian Orphan

 

Classics Corner: Anne of Green Gables (The Anne Shirley Blythe Series Book One) by Lucy Maud Montgomery; The First and Best Book of Montgomery's Series About The Lovable Imaginative Red Haired Canadian Orphan

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Well there are plans and there are disrupted plans. My Reading goal last year was to read and review the books on the PopSugar Reading Challenge for 2020. While I finished reading them in 2020, I hadn't finished writing the reviews. I blame the flu in October and Covid in November for getting me behind schedule (that's bad) and the glut of requested reviews that I had to do first (that's good). But here finally are the final three: The first book that you touch with your eyes closed (Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery), A book with 20 or more books in the series (The Nancy Drew Mysteries 1-10 by Carolyn Keene) and a book from a previous category-A book you started but haven't finished (The Collected Stories of Franz Kafka). I could give up on them, but when it comes to reading goals, I'm not a quitter!

Well self-pity is over on with the review:

In the book KidLit by Tom Durwood, Durwood found adult themes and analyses in children's literature. One of the examples that he cited was Anne of Green Gables. He saw it as a search for one's identity and belonging and I would have to agree. This book is about Anne Shirley, a young orphan who had been neglected and unloved, though packed with identifiable flaws, and slowly becomes accepted into a family and her community of Avonlea.

I first became acquainted with Anne in the late-'80's during "Anne-mania" when Kevin Sullivan produced two lush, beautiful, and lovely miniseries on the Anne books for CBC (since I'm an American, I saw them on the Disney Channel.) that starred Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Richard Farnsworth, Jonathan Crombie, and Schuyler Grant. Follows was just lovely as Anne in the role that made her a star.

The first miniseries was based on the first book, Anne of Green Gables and was almost a word for word adaptation. The second miniseries, Anne of Avonlea, was a composite of three subsequent books, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars.

 I also enjoyed the spin-off series, Road to Avonlea starring rich girl, Sara Stanley (Sarah Polley) and her rural family, The Kings headed by her prickly schoolteacher aunt Hetty (Jackie Burroughs). Road to Avonlea was based on Montgomery's anthologies, The Story Girl, The Golden Road, Chronicles of Avonlea, and Further Chronicles of Avonlea. (The first two were not related to Avonlea in book form but were adapted into that universe on television.) 

Many Readers and viewers, myself included, were drawn to the beautiful Prince Edward Island, its charming characters, and its almost idyllic dream like portrayal of Canada's past.

When it comes to the book series, the first Anne of Green Gables is the best. Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island are also good, though in some cases spend more time developing new characters at the expense of older ones. The later three aren't as well written as though Montgomery grew tired of the series and wanted it to end or lost her knack for writing Anne in favor of her children. However one thing the entire series gets right is how it develops Anne from a young girl into a woman.

The first book does a brilliant job of introducing us to Anne and the world in which she inhabits. Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, an elderly unmarried brother and sister, are getting on in years. They need some young blood to help them run the farm at their family home of Green Gables in the town of Avonlea. So they decide to adopt a boy from the orphan asylum in Nova Scotia. 

 In the first three chapters which are titled "(Insert character name) is surprised," local town busybody, Rachel Lynde is, well, surprised. She is miffed that the Cuthberts did not ask her because nothing goes on without her say so. Don't we all know someone like that? That is Montgomery's secret: creating characters that we instantly know and recognize in our own lives, just simply living in 1900's Canada.

Rachel cites gruesome stories about orphan boys setting a house on fire, on purpose and another orphan putting strychnine in a well. "Only it was a girl this time," Rachel said.

"Well we're not getting a girl," says the sharp tongued and severe Marilla. ("as though poisoning a well was purely feminine accomplishment and not to be dreamt of by a boy," Montgomery wryly tells us.) 

Cut to the next chapter where, of course, Anne Shirley (always spelled with an e, never without), an 11-year-old orphan girl, sits at the train station waiting for Matthew Cuthbert to arrive and take her to Green Gables. (There was a mix up at the orphanage since the request was sent secondhand, via correspondence).

There are many things that draw the Reader into these books and marks it as a beloved classic. One of those is the description in setting. Nearly every road, stream, or house is described in a lovely enchanting way that turns Avonlea into an almost fairy land, a distant past that is lovely to dream about. In once chapter, Matthew drives his buggy along a road. "It was a pretty road, running along between snug farmsteads, with now and again a bit of balsamy fir wood to drive through or a hollow where wild plums hung out of their filmy bloom," Montgomery wrote, "The air was sweet with the breath of many apple orchards and the meadows sloped away in the distance to horizon mists of pearl and purple; while 'The little birds sang as if it were/The one day of summer in all the year.'"

This is a contrast to other children's classics, say Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, that want to zero in on how hard frontier life was in the past. Montgomery wanted to draw her Readers into this world as much as she wanted Anne to be drawn in. 

Instead, it is Anne's old life that is described in muted browns and grays. Her past being raised solely to bring up other people's young children including "twins three times in succession", being abused by adults particularly one foster mother's "drunken husband", and her move to the overcrowded orphanage, are empty and devoid of color. It's a hard world. Anne's only "bosom friends" are her reflection in a glass case, that she dubs Katie Maurice, and her echo in a valley, that she names Violetta.

Green Gables, Avonlea, and Prince Edward Island are constantly described in ways that feel like home. That's the point. It's a place meant to make Anne feel welcome as soon as she arrives and in turn welcome the Readers. It's not a surprise that these books are solely responsible for the increase in tourism to Prince Edward Island. Who wouldn't want to visit these beautiful landscapes at least once?

Besides the attention to detail in setting, what makes Montgomery's books stands out is her lead character, Anne. From the moment that she first appears and greets Matthew at the train station, she makes an undeniable impression. Anne is already introduced as a talkative outspoken imaginative young girl. One of her first monologues takes about a page and a half in which she rhapsodizes about how a tree resembles a bride, then how she imagines that she wears pretty clothes (even though she wears the plain wincey asylum dress) as well as her desire for fashionable clothes, highlights of her boat trip to the island, the questions that she asked her chaperone, Mrs. Spencer on the way over, and her first impressions of the island and its red roads. 

This is not a surly argumentative rebellious kid. Instead she is a girl who has a firm hold on her imagination and optimism, as she dreams and hopes for better days.Anne is the type of character that takes delight in the simplest things, like giving objects names (She calls a nearby pond The Lake of Shining Waters), her first taste of ice cream, wearing a dress with puffed sleeves, and finding kindred spirits.

Anne's instantly lovable personality allows her to find kindered spirits everywhere even in the most unlikely of people. She instantly finds one in Matthew during the first ride home when the shy man is amused during her long conversations and realizes that he kind of "likes her chatter." She finds one in Rachel Lynde when after she explodes when Rachel mocks her looks, she makes a melodramatic heartfelt apology which amuses the busybody. 

She finds not only a kindred spirit, but a "bosom friend" in Diana Barry, a somewhat wealthy girl who is quieter but willing to go along with Anne's imaginative escapades. She also finds one in Diana's strict mother. Anne accidentally gets Diana drunk when she mistakes currant wine for raspberry cordial and Mrs. Barry orders the two best friends to be separated. She eventually apologizes and becomes another kindred spirit, when Anne's experience with children and quick thinking results in Diana's younger sister from being cured from the croup.

 It takes a very long, long time in admitting that Anne finds a kindred spirit in Gilbert Blythe, a boy who pesters her about her looks and earns her long-lived ire. They become academic rivals as the two brightest students in the one-room Avonlea schoolhouse. Later their relationship develops into a friendship and, in subsequent books, a romance and eventual happy marriage. 

While Marilla takes some time in admitting it, she becomes another kindred spirit when after she hears about Anne's past, she refuses to surrender Anne to a hardened taskmaster who would also abuse her. Through the book, Marilla goes from feeling sympathy for her charge, to liking her despite and sometimes because of her flaws, to growing fond of her, to considering Anne "dearer to her more than anyone on earth." Anne awakens maternal instincts that Marilla didn't even know that she had. 

Part of Anne discovering her own identity and belonging is intertwined in her development and maturity. The majority of the book consists of various scrapes that Anne gets involved in usually concerning follies in hers or other's behavior. One of the first involves a missing amethyst brooch that was a family heirloom of Marilla's. Marilla believing that Anne took it, orders her to stay in her room until she confesses. Taking that punishment literally, Anne creates a confession from her own imagination on which she dropped the brooch into the water below. When Marilla finds her brooch safe and snug on her shawl, they both learn something: Anne not to take things that don't belong to her and Marilla not to jump to hasty conclusions and to believe Anne.

Another lesson cures Anne of her vanity. One of the "crosses that (Anne) bears" throughout her life is her bright red hair. Anyone, like Gilbert or Rachel, makes the mistake of mentioning it will surely receive the the sharp angry end of Anne's mouth. Anne has long wanted to have raven black hair like Diana's (She can't even imagine herself with any other color hair. She can imagine anything else, except her hair is always red.) So she buys hair dye from a shifty peddler which turns her hair green. Humorously, she learns that there are worse things than red hair and eventually grows to accept her hair when it grows to a handsome darker auburn.

 However, she never loses her desire for pretty clothes so that later when Matthew, tired of Marilla dressing Anne in the plain clothes that she makes herself, buys fancier fabric and commissions Rachel to make a dress with puffed sleeves. Anne not only cherishes the dress because it's a long sought for dream come true, but recognizes it as a gift of love from Matthew towards the young woman that he always thought of as "(his) girl."

Sometimes Anne's over developed imagination gets her in trouble. One incident, her creation of a haunted wood causes her to fear walking through the woods at night, terrified of the ghosts that she created. Anne is "contented with commonplace places after this". (However, this incident creates long term repercussions with Diana whose imagination becomes underdeveloped because of her fear.) Another incident results in Anne getting lost adrift in a boat while pretending to be the Lady of Shallot. She is rescued by Gilbert (which though she doesn't realize it, leads to her forgiveness for his long ago taunting), but believed that this incident which left her cold, drenched, and embarrassed cured her of her desire for romance. However, her imagination and romance never dies as throughout the series, as she develops a talent for writing and finding beauty, adventure, and more kindred spirits in the most comnon of places and situations.

Anne is a girl who is looking for a place to belong and she finds that in Green Gables. Before she considered herself "Anne from nowhere and belonging to nobody." She accept being a part of a family and her life as "Anne of Green Gables" ("which is better than being Anne from nowhere".) At first, she is seen as an outsider, a strange girl with a bad temper who goes on weird tangents. Then her circle grows wider as she becomes a schoolgirl and church member  with many friends her own age. 

Though she thinks the pastor's sermons are too long and boring and doesn't like the first teacher Mr. Phillips, who makes eyes at one of the older students, Prissy Andrews. She later bonds with the new minister and his wife, the Rev. and Mrs. Allen, as well as the schoolteacher, Miss Stacey. The Allens and Miss Stacey become guides that help Anne on her path.

As Anne matures, she hones her interest in literature, composition, and imaginative situations into academic success. She becomes an honor student and gets accepted into Queen's College winning a scholarship for Arts students. Despite great tragedy in her family, she is able to forge ahead on her path and become an important member of her community.

Later she becomes a schoolteacher, a member of the Avonlea Improvement Society, a student at Redmond University, a high school principal, a wife to Dr. Gilbert Blythe, a mother of five, and eventually a writer of short stories and novels, first of romantic love stories then more realistic ones that depict fictionalized versions of her childhood experiences.

Symbolic of Anne's growing influence as a fulfilled woman who is aware of her personal identity and involvement in her growing communities is the change in titles throughout the series. Anne of Green Gables depicts her family home and close friends and family. Anne of Avonlea causes the circle to spread throughout the town as we see her as a schoolteacher and townsperson, getting to know her pupils, their families, and other townspeople and neighbors. Then it grows even wider to Anne of the Island (as in Prince Edward Island) as Anne explores university life with her fellow classmates, gets involved in romance with Gilbert and another man, and even in one of the best chapters visits the home in which she was born and reads love letters between her deceased birth parents. Eventually, Anne leaves the island to settle in towns like Windy Poplars and Ingleside, creating an even larger connection that extends throughout Canada. 

It's clear that in the 112 years since she was first created, Anne Shirley has found kindred spirits in many of her Readers. Far from unloved or unaccepted, she is "Anne of Everywhere."

New Book Alert: Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism by Tom Durwood; Fascinating Analytical Look Into Literature, Films, Comics, and Pop Culture

 

New Book Alert: Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism by Tom Durwood; Fascinating Analytical Look Into Literature, Films, Comics, and Pop Culture

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

There are many who don't think that literary criticism is necessary, beyond saying whether a work is good or bad. They especially are wary of criticizing Children's Literature, thinking that this form of literature is for kids and should just simply be recognized on that superficial level.

But what many don't realize is that whether they are aware of it or not, they criticize and analyze children's Literature. When they make comparisons between the Hunger Games' characters' rebellions against the Capitol and Marvel's hero's fights against HYDRA and Thanos, they are making an analysis. They are also criticizing literature when they introduce their own favorite childhood works to a younger generation and wondering if the writing still holds up or whether a work is appropriate for their children. Even a simple subjective analysis of whether a work is good or not is a form of literary criticism, because one has to analyze what specifically they liked or didn't like about it.

Tom Durwood's fascinating book Kid Lit: Introduction to Literary Criticism is an analytical look into children's literature and other cultural touchstones like popular movies and comics to understand that there are more to works that are aimed for children than many think.

The book is divided in two halves. The first half covers the history of children's literature as well as various analytical themes that are present in such works. The second half offers a sample of literary analysis discussing works as diverse as The Lion King, Harry Potter, Tintin, Tarzan, Pixar films, and Afrofuturist literature.

Timeline

The first chapter offers a timeline of literature from the past and present. Durwood takes us through Fables and Fairy Tales like The Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Arabian Nights. Then,

19th Century British Literature entered the scene with books like Treasure Island, the Alice books, Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Winnie the Pooh, and Beatrix Potter's works. The 20th century is revealed by largely American works like The OZ and Little House books, the popularity of Dr. Seuss, Disney, and epic fantasy, the creation of awards like the Newbery Medal, and books that addressed more serious topics. The serious topics included divorce, death, warfare, gang violence, and homosexuality. 

The 21st Century offers a blend of medium from books, movies, television, and online gaming and streaming services, to create memorable stories and characters like The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Five Nights at Freddy's that overlap from one form of media to another. There is also a rise in multicultural literature such as works by African, Asian, and Native American authors. 

The timeline is skewered mostly in favor of European and American literature by mostly white authors. However, it explores how the genre changed over the years in terms of authors, characters, and themes. It also shows how other popular culture touchstones outside of books played into the world of literature.

Building Blocks and Themes of Literature

The book covers the various building blocks to create a good work of literature such as characterization, plot, and theme. Durwood goes into details about the plot including the three act structure of introduction, rising action, and crisis and surprising resolution. He also includes Billy Wilder's Rules such as "Audiences are fickle", "If you have a problem with the third act, then the real problem with the first act", and "Let the third act just build, build, in tempo and action until the last event and that's it. don't hang around."

 Durwood gives some witty examples of works that did this right and others that did not. For example he described Franco Zeffirelli's version of Hamlet as one that worked because it resisted the temptation to insert long speeches after the action. However, he felt Lord of the Rings movies did not work as well, "because they hung around so long, (Durwood) wanted to grade papers, anything."

Durwood also writes of various themes in the first part of Kid Lit, that are common in children's literature. These themes include coming of age narratives, the protagonist's search for identity and belonging, gender roles in literature, class conflict and trauma, and warfare and rebellion. 

He cites some examples like Anne of Green Gables as an example of Anne Shirley's search for identity as an orphan girl adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert and evolved into her role as a scholar and a schoolteacher in the Avonlea community. 

The Outsiders focuses on class conflicts between the wealthy Socs and poor Greasers as well as the trauma experienced by the impoverished orphaned Curtis brothers and the violent actions of the unstable Dallas.

Literary Analysis

These samples are mere tastes of the real analyses that occur in the second part of KidLit. The book presents summaries or interviews with the authors about the essays while offering links to the essays themselves. The interviews explore in great detail different works of fiction and analytical meanings behind them. Some Readers may not agree with these analyses, some may even find them offensive. But they present intriguing alternative views of these works and that's what literary criticism is about. To dig deeper into what you are reading or viewing and find those connections.

The Lion King and Social Darwinism

One of the most provocative essays in the second half of the book is Dan Hossler-Forest's critique of the Disney animated film, The Lion King, "'The Lion King's and Its Message of Social Darwinism: A Cultural Critic Sees Undertones of Fascism in the Popular Story."

In his summary of Forest's work, Durwood writes that "The inherited right of Simba and Mufasa to lord it over the lower animals of the veldt is presented as a fact, and their absolute authority is never questioned."

One of the take-aways that young people could learn from the Lion King is how power is dispersed and how power is portrayed in the media. One scene in the movie that Forest believes that illustrates his theory is the famous "Circle of Life" scene where Mufasa explains to his son that they eat the antelope but that when lions die, they become grass for the antelope to eat. Forest compared this dialogue to a child asking his rich father why they are rich and others are poor. "The father's answer would be maintaining balance in the world since a small majority of the rich (the top of the food chain) were meant to rule over the poor... Simba's response is to simply internalize this ideology and look forward to all the privilege that awaits him once he's all grown up."

One suggestion that Forest would have in improving the narrative is to take the hyenas seen as comic relief poachers and show what it's like to live outside of the lion's society and in the fringes of a wasteland. (Disney themselves attempted this by presenting a hyena protagonist character as a friend of the main lion in a spin-off series called The Lion Guard.)

Forest's critique is compelling in how it personifies animal characters in animation. We aren't looking at animal characters in some ways, we are looking at metaphors to our own societies, problems, and fears. Through Forest's eyes we see a world that accepts the social darwinism dynamic as unchangeable, but the theme is faulty because it can be changed...in the human world.

However, where Forest fails in his criticism is to put a largely human ideal into a movie about animals. While the characters in the Lion King are metaphors, they are also themselves animals. An animal cannot choose to follow their natural instincts to hunt other animals or what society in which they create and live. Survival of the fittest is built into them as well as protection for their pride. Instead, The Circle of Life scene is an explanation of how nature works and is unable to be changed. Forest took a human concept into an animal story when he would have done better to take that theme into a movie about humans, or at least in something like Zootopia or DuckTales, where the animal characters are anthropomorphic and live closer to a human-like society.

Star Wars and Government

Governmental roles also play a big part in Alexander Maxwell's critique of the first six Star Wars films "Star Wars and Government: The Heart of the Space-Based Franchise Lies in Civics." Maxwell's premise, Durwood says is "That beneath all of the lightsaber fights and spaceships, memorable characters and thrilling adventure, the Star Wars series are all about government: specifically clashing forms of government and what they bring to their citizens."

Maxwell sees the governments created in the movies as a composite of modern governments like the United States and the United Nations, as well as historic governmental bodies most notably the Roman Empire. George Lucas himself was inspired by recent history when he fashioned the original trilogy. 

The space fights in the original trilogy were intentionally reminiscent of the  aerial dogfights of WWI and WWII. Lucas also compared the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi to the Vietnam War with the native Ewoks and rebels able to stand against and beat the more technologically based and seemingly powerful Empire.

In comparing the Galactic Senate to the General Assembly of the United Nations. Maxwell said "Delegates to the U.N. General Assembly represents their respective countries, not political parties. Is it really so strange that the Galactic Republic would resemble the U.N. General Assembly?"

 Even though many mocked the concept of Naboo having elected queens, Maxwell cited the Holy Roman Emperor and the Prince of Novgorod as examples of elected monarchs in history.

Maxwell also sees recent history in the series. While he disagreed with George Lucas' comparison to Vietnam, he saw images of the United States after 9/11 and the creation of the Patriot Act.

 This was especially evident in the scene in Revenge of the Sith when Supreme Chancellor Palpatine declares himself Emperor in front of the Galactic Senate for the first time. Amidst the overwhelming rush of support, Senator Padme Amidala recognizes the tyranny that lies ahead and says, "So this is how liberty dies with thunderous applause."

Maxwell's analysis goes all over the place to the point where he cites various incidents in ancient and modern history as well as current events as sources for the Star Wars films. Maybe if he stuck to one historical comparison, say the Fall of the Roman Empire, the essay might have been clearer.

 However, the Star Wars movies themselves are an amalgam of different historical and current sources and this essay reveals it. It also shows the importance of using fiction to study history. 

On a personal note, as one of the few Star Wars fans who likes the prequels (even considers Revenge of the Sith as my second favorite film after A New Hope), it is nice to see someone, especially an academic, finding something of value in the prequel trilogy.

Tintin and European Colonialism

Another discussion that KidLit goes into is how literature evolves with how the so-called "Other" is portrayed. This also plays into the Imperialism themes found in older works, particularly in Herge's comic book series The Adventures of Tintin and the Tarzan franchise.

In her essay "How We See 'The Other's in Tintin: The Role of Empire In One Of Our Most Popular Comics," Emma Walker looks at how the history of Belgian colonialism affected the early adventures of Tintin. 

She believes that many 20th century European works like Tintin carry "a dominant European narrative, the romanticized and most crucially the false representation of Asia and the Middle East as subordinate." In reading these early works for a cultural study, Readers can learn about the colonial assumptions that Europeans felt about the world around them and the natives that they encountered.

Walker said that it is important to study these cultural connections between the countries because it helps to understand a cultural identity: "Not only does the subject matter (of 'The Other' portrayed in comic books) explore how identities have been forged through class, gender, and nation, but the prints, the colours, the cost, and general materials of culture that comic books, gives us an insight into the lives of those who engage with them."

Tintin is seen in this essay as the embodiment of the typical Western hero: white, physically strong, intelligent, brave, and more heroic than the other characters around him. He is definitely the product of their time. 

Walker notes that "the stories connote racial difference through the stereotypical views of the empire. The characters offer the perfect opportunity to externalize the villain. They evidence the emergence of imperial nationalism and they represent an imperial worldview made of racial ideas. They are a product of an imperial context and must be seen as such."

One of the more troubling issues in the Tintin series is Tintin in the Congo, which depicts stereotypical images of Congolese natives and a more troubling panel of Tintin standing next to a blackboard attempting to "educate and civilize the natives." This unfortunate nod to the presumed White Man's Burden also counters with some of Herge's satirical aspects of parodying this cultural identity. 

One panel depicts Tintin acting more savage and violent than the black characters around him and another shows the incompetent Inspectors Thomson and Thompson dressing in completely inappropriate native garb and being called out by Tintin and others.

Besides these subtle jabs at cultural identity, Maxwell also notes that Herge often allowed his characters and himself to evolve with the times. The cartoonist admitted that he "was fed on the prejudices of the bourgeois society into which (he) moved….it was 1930." 

He also freely admitted that he himself had never been to Africa and based his research on biased works that reflected imperialist world views. His later comics like The Blue Lotus reflected a more balanced view of non-European characters with more nuances in character and less caricatured designs.

This essay shows how flawed research and one-sided worldviews play into more cultural touchstones like comics. Comics reflect the world in which the Authors and Illustrators live and their perspective of the characters, particularly those that they depict as 'The Other'. Maxwell reflects how important it is to study, not necessarily glorify, these images like Tintin, no matter how painful they appear to a modern audience, to see how culture was affected by the worldview. In Herge's case, it is also fascinating to read how an author changes their perspective and evolves their works as a testament to a more tolerant accepting view.

Tarzan and Imperialism

Another character who evolved with the times was Tarzan though not through his original author, Edgar Rice Burroughs. Instead, he changed with how he has been depicted by others in films, comics, cartoons, television, and in books by other authors. 

In her essay "Imperialism in Tarzan: Hidden Depths in a Story You Think You Know," Anna Kozack contrasts Tarzan's depiction in the original Burroughs' novels and in the Disney animated movie.

Durwood says that it is important to separate the original character from the reinterpretation: "(Tarzan) is a literary property that is more complex than we sometimes credit it if all we know are the movies. To understand 'the jungle king' and why he is such an enduring character-and so controversial-we need to filter out the story's many themes and elements."

Similar to Maxwell's view of Tintin, Kozack sees Tarzan's creation in 1914 as a commentary on America's growing Imperialism and its entrance as a world power. Even though Kozack grew up with the Disney film, she believed that it diluted Burroughs' Imperialist views when he presented Tarzan to the world.

She said that Burroughs was a product of their time "depicting Africans as inferior to Europeans, but it is difficult to fault him as an individual for being immersed in the racist colonial ideologies that were present when he was alive. Yet Disney does not offer a particularly strong alternative to Burroughs depiction of race-it decides to avoid the mention of race altogether by erasing any depictions of Africans…. Disney's portrayal of Tarzan as an ape man who grows up without any contact with African perpetuates the wilderness myth. Seeing Africa as a wilderness rather than as a place with humans living in it casts it as an uncultivated that allows colonizers to justify claiming it."

Kozack also sees the ongoing mythos of Tarzan as an acknowledgement of lost identity and the growth of industrialization, sort of reminiscent of Rousseau's depiction of the "Natural Man." Kozack says "As Burroughs suggests, laws produce restrictions and inhibitions, which cannot be said to have existed before the Industrial Age, but perhaps became more noticeable during moments of turbulent change that unsettles society as we know it. If Burroughs were still alive today, the villains in Tarzan would probably be less likely to resemble another individual. Tarzan would probably assume the role of some kind of vigilante (like Batman) or anarchist (Like Tyler Durden in Fight Club) and fight against modern society itself."

Similar to Maxwell's essay about Tintin, Kozack captures Tarzan as a character of his time representing the early 20th Century views of Imperialism, Masculinity, and Industrialization. However, she also acknowledges how the character evolves through other depictions which sometimes capture their own views of Tarzan and the world in which he inhabited. Tarzan, like many popular characters, before and since, are Rorschach tests of current events and cultural identity.

Binti and Afrofuturism 

One way to counter the early Imperialist views reflected by early works like Tintin and Tarzan is to look at how current books capture multiculturalism by depicting different characters, settings, themes, and plots that reflect other cultural identities than the standard views previously told in literature. One of those is Nnendi Okorafor's Binti series which is an example of a recent subgenre that has gained popularity because of depictions like Black Panther: Afrofuturism.

Afrofuturism is speculative fiction, science fiction and fantasy mostly, that is rooted in African culture and uses themes found in current African and African-American concerns. Like Black Panther, other works that fit the genre are Octavia Butler's Kindred and Bloodchild and Nancy Farmer's The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm.

 In her essay, "Empire and Higher Education in Nnedi Okorafor's 'Binti': The Empire Writes Back New Directions For The Fantasy Epic," Amanda Lagii cites Okorafor's epic fantasy series, Binti as an example of how Afrofuturism transforms a traditionally European genre to adapt its own cultural identity.

One of the areas in the Binti series that Lagii focuses on is the role that schools and museums, especially higher education, play in empire building within the series. In the series, Binti gets accepted into a prestigious intergalactic university, Oomza Uni. Like other heroes in speculative fiction, Binti is forced to leave home to seize this opportunity and fight against her oppressors.

 Durwood says that this comparison is intentional. "This begins Binti's quest to not only find her own place in the universe, but also to reconcile new knowledge with the ancient traditions of her people. If most of that sounds familiar, it is because almost any epic fantasy comes with conventions that Readers expect...These are all elements established by The Lord of The Rings saga written by a scholar who mined mythology for many of these elements. What is new is the texture of the setting, the imagery, and the special kind of story points brought by a West African language. Here the rules set up by mostly Caucasian European (English that is) epic fantasies are changed by an infusion of African motifs and themes."

Lagii wants Readers to understand the relations between fiction to their own world. She says that Readers should "think about the spaces that they inhabit and consider how colonial and settler pasts are not so distant, but are folded into the present….I challenge readers to think about the role of higher education and disciplines in privilege or discrediting ways of knowing; how do various disciplines define and value knowledge?"

Comparing Binti to another Afrofuturistic novel, Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga, Lagii sees a trend in the coming of age stories. Lagii writes, "What is the cost of coming of age in the worlds (the characters) inhabit: what losses might they accrue to attain success and development in the social contexts in which they find themselves? Rather than reconciling oneself with the world, these protagonists challenge their worlds to accommodate them.

In the real world outside of Binti's, there are many questions about the legacy of white supremacy in higher education, about how multicultural curricula is, what should be done about schools named for and featuring monuments to slave owners, and acknowledging schools being built on land stolen from Native American tribes. 

A book like Binti addresses these concerns outright albeit in a fictionalized environment. "The 'how' (these concerns) are addressed will look different in different places, but it should address everything from the school's material and physical conditions of possibility (lead, capital, labor etc.), to the production of knowledge. Who do we read? Who do we cite? Whose histories and stories am I missing? What counts as knowledge? What are the implicit values of dominant worldviews."

While Binti is an example of Afrofuturism, Lagii believes that books like this transcend culture and nationality while still remaining a part of their identity. She says,  "I can see American and Nigerian readers can see their worlds refracted in Binti, but I resist the notion that this story could be categorized along national lines. Okorafor herself has spoken at great lengths about her own identification as a 'Najiamerican,' a term that allows her to occupy the borders nationality erects between places and people. In that sense, I see her work occupying the same space."

While I have not read the Binti series, this is among the best essays in the book. Lagii's critique is a counter to Maxwell's and Kozack's about Tintin and Tarzan. It recognizes the value of capturing various voices and cultures in literature and how these literary works are a small part of how our perspectives change over time.

His Dark Materials and Exploration History

Another essay that ponders how history is used in literature is "Phillip Pullman, Polar Bears, and The Real Arctic: How a Close Reading of History Matters in 'His Dark Materials,'" R.L. Shield's commentary on Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy. With the Arctic setting and the polar bear companions standing in as Inuits, Shields sees a lot of comparisons between this fantasy world and the British history's perspective of the exploration of the Arctic. 

Shields writes "(Pullman's) explorers are manly men who shape the landscape to their own will and beautiful women in impractical clothing who never look worse for the wear. For the most part, references to cannibalism, scurvy, and other real indignities of Arctic exploration are left out of this version. There is little reference to frustrations or setbacks….Our responsibility as literary critics, however, is not to let the shadows of Imperialism go unchallenged, even in acclaimed works of literature."

One way that Shields suggests that can combat this unintentional imperialism is to hire Sensitivity Readers: Readers who help writers depict characters who are different from themselves. The sensitivity reader shares aspects of their cultural identity and personal experiences to assist with improving the character.

Shields writes, "The answer is not to give up writing outside your experience, but to always put your best effort into writing with care (with the help of a sensitivity reader)."

Shields sees other authors "romancing the past in the choice to resurrect it." Among those are George R.R. Martin and the showrunners behind Game of Thrones. While she cites characters like Brienne of Tarth and Arya Stark as exceptions to the rule, many female characters are found wanting. Of the women who end up queens: Cersei Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, and Sansa Stark, two become homicidally insane and only one retains her power in the final episode.

 Shields writes, "Since this is clearly a fantastical version of the middle ages, why must it be dominated by white men? If you're going to invent zombies why not gender equality as well? And if we're really going to be historically accurate why not take the model of Iceland, where women mostly ran the farmstead on their farms and sue for divorce?"

Ironically, His Dark Materials has an ongoing theme of questioning authority, a theme which is practiced by the protagonist, Lyra. Shields recognizes the conflict between the theme of defying authority and Pullman's fascination with Britain's imperial past. 

Shields writes, "Various Readers have discovered this conflict between this clear message about disobeying authority and fighting for knowledge and some underlying ways in which the story actually upholds and reinforces particular types of authority and knowledge….Pullman is saying that we should question authority, but he also might be implying, perhaps unintentionally, that certain elements of Britishness make Lyra particularly good at resisting and defying those in power. There are other characters who perform heroic acts and resist authority as well so this is not true in every sense of the series."

This essay reveals that many modern works still unintentionally carry many of the Imperialist views. It is important in writing modern literature to be sensitive towards how characters, especially those different from the authors, are written so they don't unintentionally fall into stereotypes and cliches. Hiring sensitivity and beta readers are steps in the right direction, as well as doing careful and meticulous research.

Pixar and Gender Roles

Besides race and history, gender is another controversial topic found in literature and media. Pixar movies are known for their brilliant characters that charm and enchant the Readers and some of them intentionally or unintentionally tackle gender roles. Durwood gathered four samples from essays in the chapter marked "Pixar Gender, Pixar Rules."

In his dissertation "The Portrayal of Gender in Feature-Length Films of Pixar: A Content Analysis," Jonathan Decker sees that Pixar goes beyond the traditional androcentric male lens experience. Though this essay was written before the female driven films like Brave and Inside Out, Decker was still full of praise for how female characters were portrayed in the animated films. "Pixar has abandoned girls with long eyelashes in favor of girls with bows and arrows….Pixar writes strong and varied female characters, breaking free of the 'princess' confines of traditional Disney by portraying women as cowgirls, chefs, superheroes, and professionals."

Suzanne G. Brydon's sample "Family Roles in Pixar: An Excerpt from 'Empowered Mothering', sees a more varied opinion of the animated studio. She cites Finding Nemo's Marlin as a male character that was able to take a maternal role for his son, Nemo. Brydon says, "Marlin was allowed to mother. Marlin shared food, groomed, nurtured, and taught. He tucked Nemo in, displayed emotions previously assigned on screen only to women, like fear and worry. In Finding Nemo that for the first time in its discourse, Disney opened up space for a male character to mother."

While she cites Finding Nemo as a film that challenged gender roles with a male character assuming what were once thought of as traditional female characteristics, Brydon believes that The Incredibles is a step backwards. Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible is super strong and hypermasculine and wants to return to his superhero days. Helen Parr/Elastigirl stretches herself too thin and cares more about the traditional family structure instead of standing out. Dash is a hyperactive boy with superspeed who makes his presence known, but learns to hold back to give other kids an advantage. Violet is a shy teenager who becomes invisible and wants to be normal, but eventually wears more attractive pink and talks to the boys at school. Brydon sees the Parrs as simply examples of the traditional family structure that just happens to have superpowers.

She writes "Despite the impressive strength and abilities exhibited by the female superheroes in The Incredibles ultimately the film emphasized the same old heteronormative structure we have seen in family films again and again."

Part of the attention to detail with Pixar's characters lie in their rules. Pixar Story Artist, Emma Coats, reveals the rules in her list, "Pixar Rules Part 1 (from a Pixar Story Artist)." Among the rules that pertain to character are "You admire a character for trying more than you do for their successes," "What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?," And "Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you, as you write, but it's poison to the audience."

In "Pixar Rules 2" Kyle Munkittrick elaborates on some of these rules and why they allow for deeper characterization. Rules like there is no magic wand that automatically fixes everything and there should be at least one intelligent character that isn't human allows for stronger interaction and that plots are resolved by characters' actions and motives and not outside forces.

 Durwood explains that these rules also reflect an ongoing theme of mistrusting the future, seen mostly in Wall-E. He says "The new is seen as dangerous and feared. In so many Pixar movies, he argues, non-human sentient beings seek out human rebels. A team is formed when the mutual outsiders recognize a shared sense of purpose. Together, they overcome the high cost of non-conformity. The benefits for humanity are tremendous in every case where non-human characters are treated with respect."

The four samples are almost too brief to discuss their themes in great detail. However, the rules capture how characters are created and scrutinized by their goals, motivations, and actions. This attention to detail helps the studio to create characters that challenge gender roles and allows for a wider range amongst them.

 Inside Out is a particularly excellent example of a strong female centered Pixar film in which the plot is driven by four female characters: Riley, an adolescent human girl and three emotions, Joy, Sadness, and Disgust, that are personified as women.

Superheroes and Philosophy

Durwood himself wrote two of the analyses. In his first, "Philosophy in Comics: Discovering Socrates in Comics," Durwood discusses the deeper meanings found within the pages of our most colorful superheroes and comic characters. As a subset of literature, comics carry strains of philosophy within their stories. Durwood writes, "Complexity, subtlety, and shades of gray have moved into comic-book narratives which were only seen in primary colors."

Durwood compiled a list of comics and characters and the most prominent philosophies that they represent. 

They include: Capitalism (Iron Man/Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, Scrooge McDuck), Existentialism (Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer), Nationalism (Captain America), Nihilism (The Joker, Galactus, The Comedian), Colonialism (Tarzan, Asterix, Tintin, Curious George, Babar), Afrofuturism (Black Panther), Zen Buddhism (Dr. Manhattan), Relativity (The Flash, Agent Carter), Libertarianism (Batman), Social Justice (Watchmen), Prejudice and The Other (X-Men, The Thing), Feminism (Wonder Woman), Our Place in the Cosmos (The Fantastic Four), Social Collectivism (The Society of the Green Lantern), Monarchy (Thor, The Inhuman), The Cult of Fitness (Batroc the Leaper), Rationalism (Reed Richards), Absurdity, Dadaism (Deadpool), and American Exceptionalism (Sgt. Rock, The Rawhide Kid).

Some comics and characters transcend various philosophies so Durwood couldn't fit them neatly in any one specific philosophy. He writes, "Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Snoopy have spawned a small library of books detailing the Peanuts philosophies but I cannot place them in any specific school of thought….The self-doubting Spiderman is one of the most philosophical of heroes, constantly giving thought and consideration to what he is doing. Doubt is a powerful element of both faith and philosophy. A key characteristic of Spidy/Peter Parker is his questioning the nature of his own gifts and his place in the scheme of things….The Siegel and Schuster Superman was among the least self-aware of superheroes. While that has changed in recent Kal-El portrayals, Superman's origin story and historical context work against recasting him as Hamlet."

Superheroes often question their morality of who they are, where they came from, what their motives are, and what constitutes justice in their eyes. Durwood says, "Almost every superhero story calls for the hero or heroine to make a moral choice. An important factor in the moral choice becomes the hero's motivation. Do they fight for revenge (The Punisher) or for the greater good ("With great power comes great responsibility?") The villainous Sandman fights for his daughter. Does a supervillain (or superhero's) motivations matter?"

What about killing? Many superheroes refuse to kill their enemies allowing them to fight another day. Are they then responsible if the villain then causes more havoc and kills more people? When villains and heroes battle, they cause a lot of property damage and deaths of extras. Are they responsible for that? Durwood discusses this matter, particularly with Batman who has a strict no killing enemies rule, even The Joker.

 Esther Ingells-Arkell writes about Batman's complicated morals, "Batman tortures an incarcerated Joker to get information. It's shown as a moral digression, one which is echoed later when Lucius Fox leaves Wayne Enterprises after finding out about a covert surveillance program. But in the comics, Batman has been torturing people for decades."

 Durwood and Ingells-Arkell also discuss other instances of Batman's questionable morals such as invasion of privacy, the balance of security and liberty, and the morality of training a child (Robin) to do deadly combat with armed criminals.

Within its characters, Watchmen discussed several themes of morality. Durwood writes, "Rorschach has clear black and white moral ideals...while Night Owl can tolerate shades of gray. The Comedian lives to erase all moral boundaries, and Ozymandias seems to exist on a plane above them, considering his extremely harsh 'greater good actions.'"

We have all wondered if we were a superhero, what kind of superpowers we would have. Two of the most common are flight and invisibility as found in a survey conducted in 2001 by writer, John Hodgman. Durwood suggests that those specific powers reveal the kind of person that the hero is and the normal person wants to be. Durwood writes, "... Invisibility is seen as a slightly sneaky voyeuristic power while flight is all about freedom and power." Others chose flight because it allows them to be in public and center stage or invisibility so they can sneak into places for free and to shoplift.

What Durwood and others found out was "No matter which power people chose in the flight/invisibility survey, they never use it to fight crime," as though crime fighting was a goal for a person with a greater amount of integrity and morals than the average person.

Durwood contemplates the hierarchy of superpowers, even those who technically don't have any. He writes, "Some characters do not have a superpower so much as a skill-Batman, Hawkeye, and Green Arrow are among those 'superheroes' who are actually just physically gifted people who work out a lot and enjoy fighting crime.

If there is a caste system among superpowers, I am guessing Thor would be placed among the aristocracy and Sandman among the riff-raff."

Plato and Socrates' philosophies can be found in comics as well, particularly in The Avengers. Philosophers, Sarah Donovan and Nick Richardson compare Socrates to Captain America because they both shared a profound faith in the idea of justice. Norman Osborn, The Green Goblin, arch-enemy of Spiderman is compared to Thrasymachus of Plato's The Republic. They act according to their own self-interest and believe that "we are only good when we think that we will benefit from it."

One of Plato's most prominent theories: The Theory of Being can also be found in comics. The theory states that humans are located in a universe of time and space. Space is the area in which things change, through time. Times moves through the Realms of the four elements-earth, air, fire, and water. Einstein believed that time and space merge, gravity can bend time, time is not absolute but relative to the observer. Time can vary depending on one's speed through space.

Durwood writes that time and space are altered quote frequently in the world of comics. He says, "Characters like The Flash, Captain America, (and Agent Carter), the teleporting X-Man Nightcrawler, and...Dr. Strange all deal directly with Einsteinian motions of time and space…..Avengers Endgame revolved around a central premise of time travel. Ditto Dr. Strange, in which the hero must stop time and re-thread it in a sort of loop, in order to defeat the dreaded Dormamaru, Lord of Chaos. In Superman: The Movie (1978), Superman flies faster than light to go back in time and rescue Lois Lane before she is killed. In the comics, The Flash the super speedster uses a cosmic treadmill to travel through time." 

Philosophy and comics present a wide variety of discussions,but Durwood's essay offers an easy handle on what would be an otherwise unwieldy topic. It is fascinating to learn that deeper meaning and relations can be found in the world of colorful costumes, special effects, and big battles. Many times the philosophical themes found within the comics are the most compelling aspects to them.

Harry Potter and The Golden Age of Literature

The final essay is a return to the old school themes under the lens of one of the most popular current series, if not the most popular children's literature series of all time: J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. 

In his essay, "Harry Potter: Last of His Breed: A Final Golden Age Book to Close The Door on High Empire Kid Lit," Durwood writes that the Harry Potter series is closer to the children's literature of the past than the current works of the present. He writes, "Brother to Peter Pan, cousin to The Hobbit (Harry Potter) is a work that sums up and closes the door on the Golden Age of Kid Lit."

Durwood describes Harry Potter as "High Empire" reminiscent of the British books of the 19th and 20th centuries. The fantastic creatures such as mountain trolls, goblins, giants, elves, werewolves etc. come from European fairy tales written by the likes of the Brothers Grimm. Others like the Phoenix and the Cerberus come from Greco-Roman mythology. Rowling who studied classics in the University of Exeter paid tribute to these early myths and legends within her world building.

There is also a strong comparison to British school age adventures like Tom Brown's School Days. Durwood writes that Tom Brown and Harry Potter share a great deal in common. "A lonely boy from a broken family arrives at an imposing boarding school with strange customs, meets a best friend, and overcomes an arrogant bully. With his pluck, good nature, and sense of fair play, the hero (Tom Brown or Harry Potter), shows up both his phony upperclassmen and his cruel teachers, all the while embodying the true spirit of the school (which had been falling into corruption), saving it from itself. Think empire."

 Other possibilities for inspiration are either approved or disapproved of by Durwood. Such genres include: J.R.R. Tolkien (Dementors and Dumbledore may be similar to Nazgul and Gandalf respectively, but magic is central and clearly explained to Rowling's world and incidental to the epic adventures of Tolkien's.), British Gothic (omens, creepy castles, twisted passageways, and ghosts are integral to the Porter franchise, but the plots center around teamwork, friendship, and real love not madness, solitude, and dark brooding), Wuthering Heights (the backstory between dark, brooding, and somewhat abusive Severus Snape and innocent romantic maternal Lily Evans-Potter), George Orwell (The Ministry of Magic's complete control over the Wizarding World and their doublespeak language), Agatha Christie (mysteries, murder in a closed setting, and accumulation of clues are central to each volume), and Jane Austen (Characters follow specific manners and conventions in their conversations such as Dumbledore appealing to Slughorn's aid in a covert way, the romances in the Yule Ball, and the class system that is revealed with the House Elves.) 

So is Harry Potter a throwback to the Golden Age of British Literature? Durwood gives that question a qualified yes. He says the books fit specific elements, "Deep friendship at the heart of each story-a family or substitute family, literacy: a love of language and wordplay, a fully realized imaginary world. Meticulously imagined, logically sound...a High Empire Britishness, an Imperial sensibility...the spotless train running from London to Hogwarts runs properly, without fail or falter, on time...invisible servers fill the Hogwarts dining halls with an endless supply of food...Life is good at the top of the pyramid. Smudge-faced working class children in factories populate Dickens stories, not the hallways of Ravenclaw."

Durwood recognizes a certain British quality in the Potter franchise, that of self-knowledge. He says that the books have "a deep inclusive sense of where one stands in the landscape, so strong that it borders on self-preservation. Americans are looking for their place (Little House on the Prairie), the British already know it."

Because of this innate Britishness, Harry Potter is quintessentially a British hero, one who would be different if he were American. This observation is made by Durwood and Ken Eckert, Associate Professor of English at Hanyang University. Eckert says, "Harry silently endures all the abuse that he does with a stiff upper lip without complaining or rebelling. If Harry Potter were set in the states...he wouldn't take all the crap he does from teachers, parents, and others. Americans love their heroes to be badass and fight authority….Harry sneaks around rules, but is no Holden Caulfield."

This essay shows that our modern literature can find its inspiration from the past. Various elements can combine to create something new that can be a throwback to the past or a newer and brighter trend. Harry Potter is no different. Despite Rowling's recent controversial offensive remarks towards the transgender community, the books themselves can be seen as a bridge between old and new. In recognizing all of the different sources that went into its creation, Readers can recognize that Rowling's work is a tribute to those works while making its mark towards young people of the 21st century.

Kid Lit: Introducing Literary Criticism is a book that informs us that there is a lot more going on in our favorite books, games, movies, shows, comics and other works that are seen on the surface. Looking at these themes and perspectives allow us to understand their creation and appreciate and understand them more.