Paula Vogel, as a Post-Modernist

Paula Vogel's play How I Learned to Drive is a post-modern work. This essay highlights the aspects of How I Learned to Drive as a post-modern text.  By focusing on form, the language and concerns of this play, this essay emphasises that the position of power and control is held by the narrator herself without relying on any master narrative.

As a post-modern text, How I Learned to Drive uses silence, chorus, stage, and a direct narration to the audience. The writer arranges the play in the way in which different textualities come together within the play to form it. This is the main characteristic of a post-modernism form in which representing any issue by its all meaning is bounded to text. As it has observed by Derrida: everything happens within the language, (lecture presentation, 13/10/2016, slide. 12). Unlike the ancient Greek dramas, the form of the play How I Learned to Drive is rendered by the intrinsic qualities of a post-modern theater in which the text is not patronized by a single dominative episteme and has used any means such as silence, chorus, stage, and narration to convey the meaning.

Although the Chorus has emerged frequently in this play, it is not just a background sound, as it used to be in ancient plays. As long as the play How I Learned to Drive mostly happens within language, the Chorus is acting as an echo to reflect the cause of the event which is language itself. Although the Chorus has a complementary role in this play, it also conveys the meaningful words and thus reveals the factors by which the life of Li’l Bit has been impacted one way or another, “FEMALE GREEK CHORUS (As mother): Look, Grandma. Li’l Bit’s getting to be as big in the bust as you are” (p. 563). In a post-modern play a vital part may dedicate to a chorus which otherwise could be played by a complete character, because “with the Chorus, Vogel is saying that it is language that shapes the events of Li’l Bit’s life — and by extension, of life in general” (5/10/2016, slide. 12).

In the beginning, even before the play discloses any concern between the protagonist Li'l Bit, and uncle Peck, a series of smells are paralleled to shape the landscape of event. Li'l Bit’s speech invites the audience into the story, meanwhile, her emphases, particularly in the outset of the play is mostly connected with the sense of smell, “the smell of sleeping farms […] the smell of clover and hay […] with the smell of leather” (p. 559). Likewise, the very first sentence that the protagonist, herself, hears is: “Ummm, I love the smell of your hair”. When it comes to the form, in a post-modern play, the olfactory organs, can get involved as much as other senses to lead the scene. Furthermore, the smell can represent the overarching aspect of the play which could be either erotic or paedophilia.

Language has a direct relation to power. This is not only because language shapes the agency and represents the existence of oneself, but also because it is to language that the meaning of the whole world is conceivable. On the other hand, in a post-modern play such as How I Learned to Drive, everything happens within language, therefore, it is inconceivable to understand the events unless the language is being considered. It means language affects everything. Hence, one can observe the conspicuous coincidence of power and language. And in relation to this play; despite the fact that it is intrinsically taking a deconstructive position as it is not relying on any other master narrative, but by using the conventional signs of language, it still acting power, because language is not just presenting but also performing and affecting. “PECK: men are taught to drive with confidence—with aggregation. The road belongs to them. They drive defensively—always looking out for the other guy” (p.583).

The play How I Learned to Drive is a post-modern text written by an activist female writer. Although post-modernism is the epoch of death of God, one can argue that the feminist play writer actively opposes the masculine superiority, in which, to some extent, the presence of God is being acted by men throughout the ages. “Peck: hands on the nine o’clock and three […] your life is in your own two hands. Understand? (Li’l Bit nods)” (p. 583).

 Reference:

Vogel, P. “How I Learned to Drive” in Introduction to Literary Studies Spring 2016. Ed. Achilles S. Western Sydney University. Print.

Edgar Allan Poe & V.S. Naipaul

 “The Purloined Letter” and “The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book”

How do the ways in which these two narratives are narrated and plotted affect the way in which we make sense of their respective stories?

Every story is subject to the reciprocated effects of the aspects of narrative art and the qualities in which the narrative story is developed. Along with a close reading of the two short stories “The Purloined Letter” and “The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book”, this essay highlights narrative characteristics of these two stories and discusses the form, plot, personage, language, and the ways in which these factors affect the meaning of these stories.

The form is the most fundamental feature of a literary work, which produces the overall capacity of the work. However, both of these narratives are in the form of short stories, each of them uses a specific plot or sets the unique order in which events are presented. The plot of “The Night Watchman’s Occurrence Book” is comical and chiastic set in a series of switching messages on the hotel logbook following a new watchman taking over the duty, while in “The Purloined Letter” the plot consists of rather complicated conflict which directs toward a climax prior the last denouement. Therefore, any interpretation and significance of these stories are restricted by their form and bounded to their plots. 

Although the characterisation in “The Purloined Letter” does not seem promising, the very first reaction of the protagonist defines his personality. Following the avoidance of lighting the lamp, Dupin says: “we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark” (330). Also in his meeting with the Minister, he was wearing “a pair of green spectacles” (345), to narrow his vision. In contrast to the other personage “G—” who projects light on Minister’s house and uses many instruments, even a microscope, Dupin is a character who does not need so much light and equipment because he tries to distinguish the Minister’s method. He does not speak so much but thinking a lot. That is why his unique approach for finding the letter is grounded on the significance of identification of the opponent rather than utilising extrinsic methods. Consequently, the story tells that a clear vision does not necessarily bound in light or darkness.

The narrator is also another factor which may affect the way a story make sense. In “The Purloined Letter” the story is narrated by the first person. “At Paris, […] I was enjoying […] with my friend C. Auguste Dupin,” (330). As the roommate of the main personage, the narrator facilitates readers to get in touch with the protagonist: “"And what, after all, is the matter on hand?" I asked” (331). The narrator speaks very little so Dupin has enough floor to explain his detective work. Differs from “The Night Watchman’s Occurrence Book” in which the logbook is used as a motif in the narrative. The struggling between Chas Hillyard and the W.A.G Inskip throughout the logbook provides a glimpse into the boreoarctic system. The logbook exposits the relation between the night-watchman and his manager, who represent a different social spectrum. Likewise, in the first instance, the narrator is used to arrange the detective story in a way that shows that close proximity to the overall human’s potential may result in successful detection.

Language has been used in a creative way to illustrate the intended meanings more attractively. In “The Night Watchman’s Occurrence Book” the author has benefitted of using the language with some genuine mistakes.  Although there are frequently grammatical and spelling mistakes in Night Watchman’s notes: “but they was drinking still” (209), it is not clear either he is doing it deliberately or it is the direct outcome of being ordered to perform his job literally. Furthermore, he signs the notes each time differently, unlike the manager who always uses the same initial followed by his last name “Inskip”. In such a context this is a subtle way to show that not just the language but the whole identity of the watchman is extremely unstable compared to his manager who belongs to a different social class.

In “The Purloined Letter” the whole story is about finding the letter which has been stolen by the minister. There is a question that why does everyone in the story seem so reluctant in what the letter actually contains. Perhaps, it is better to left the letter unrevealed because with the purpose of blackmailing, the more hypothesis about the letter the more power at the hand of the minister. Although the narrative is arranged in a way in which curiosity about the letter is overshadowed by the plot, one can easily observe that the story does not show artless, because there is an obvious exaggeration in favour of Dupin, whose eyes can find an object that a microscope was failed to do. 

Reference:

Naipaul, V, S. “The Night Watchman’s Occurrence Book” in Introduction to Literary Studies Spring 2016. Ed. Achilles S. Western Sydney University. Print.

Poe, E, A. “The Purloined Letter” in Introduction to Literary Studies Spring 2016, Ed. Achilles S. Western Sydney University. Print.

Kant and Wollstonecraft on What it Takes to be Free

The quality of living as a free human has been debated throughout the time particularly during the age of Enlightenment. As a major consequence of enlightenment, the traditional religious belief and a categorical assurance was replaced by egalitarianism and thus supported individual values. Kant and Wollstonecraft along with other philosophers and writers have led this dramatic change. This essay draws a comparison between the point of views of these two philosophers with regards to what it takes to be free and posits the wisdom of uncertainty as to the eternal approach of one’s freedom and autonomy.

The state of subjection to other’s domination may happen in a variety of ways. Kant asserts that “lack of resolve and courage to use [understanding] without guidance from others” (p.2), keeps a person “in lifetime immaturity” (p.2), while Wollstonecraft contends about the state of woman and stresses that they are “so much degraded by mistaken notions of female excellence” (p.31). Kant explains that “immaturity is self-imposed” (p.2), therefore, those who incurred immaturity their guidance by someone else would be inevitable. Likewise, while affirming the law of nature that “female […] strength is, in general inferior” (p.30), Wollstonecraft complains that “men endeavour to sink us still lower’ (p.30) because “women intoxicated by the adoration which men, under the influence of their senses, pay them” (p.31). Although Kant and Wollstonecraft both argue the issue from different perspectives, they are equally identifying either guidance’s or men as those who are benefitting from the absence of autonomy and thus endeavouring to limit the state of others to think independently and be free. 

According to Kant, immaturity is the result of indolence. Kant argues that people are reluctant to endeavour the hardship of thinking independently, and makes the conclusion that those with immaturity let their guidance to practice faculty of reason on behalf of them. However, according to Kant “laziness and cowardice” (p.2) are causing immaturity, the question of the perpetual factor remains experimental. In responding to this question, Kant scrutinises the idea further and explains that “fear” generates a tendency in which immaturity continues. Therefore, in Kant’s view, “fear from danger” is the major obstacle which does not allow people to leap from immaturity, they “regard taking the step to maturity as very dangerous, not to mention difficult” (p.2). In contrast, Wollstonecraft argues the abandonment of women from education, and contends that the potential of women overwhelmed, perversely, by the notion that women should be humbler, sophisticated and attractive “women are told from their infancy, and taught by the example of their mothers, that […] should they be beautiful, everything else is needless” (p.32). In Wollstonecraft’s view, women should obtain a mutual strength for both their body and heart. Nonetheless in reality, as it has mentioned by Wollstonecraft, girls became women while their emotional aspect is largely at variance with their body strength. This is the major factor causes women as subordinate beings “enslave women by cramping their understanding and sharpening their sense” (p.32).

Youth is ephemeral and Wollstonecraft emphasises on this fact to express that when beauty is gone, female’s inefficiency and insignificance emerge as the consequence for the pleasing rendered. Therefore, criticising Rousseau and all those men who propose a “pleasing” oriented education for women, is sensible and expected. Wollstonecraft suggests some measures to be taken “provision should be made for the more important years of life when reflection takes place of sensation” (p.33).  Furthermore, Wollstonecraft demands equal education for girls, asserting that woman cannot be “good wives and mothers” (p.44) unless they obtain a good education. That said, one has to admit that Wollstonecraft was extremely pragmatist and too focused on reaching a goal. Therefore, a straightforward, and totally matter-of-fact approach has limited her viewpoints to bound the freedom of women on being ‘“good wives and mothers” rather than free human and independent female creatures.

The reason is universal and genderless. Wollstonecraft demands women to attain a rational culture and improve their own reason rather than seeking the attractiveness that men place upon them, while Kant urges that public and free exercise of reason is necessary for a mature society. One way or another, both philosopher emphasis on reason as the only canonical form of human intellect. Both writers insist that reason is more productive for all human being in order to allow every individual to improve his or her own potential, nothing should be examined except reason. Although the universality of reason as a major tool to determine independent thinking is a matter of fact, it is almost inconceivable to define a unique contrivance and specific approach for preserving freedom because from one hand thinking independently is not necessarily equal to freedom as it may reach to captive oneself in his or her very first self-reliance and on the other hand freedom depends on to various factors which may differ based on personal condition and turn free being as a relevant object. Therefore, in response to the question of what it takes to be free, it is quite hard to limit the answer to mere reasoning.

In conclusion, despite the fact that reasoning is the backbone of rationality but being free cannot be determined through rationality alone because rationality does not make the whole concepts of human progress and it is not the overall intellect of human being. Therefore, it is highly important to consider the entire of human capacity and keep the precious balance of the wisdom of uncertainty in respecting of the issue of a free being.

References:

Kant, I. “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?” in Texts and Traditions Tutorial Readings Spring 2016, Western Sydney University.

Wollstonecraft, M. “A Vindication of the Right of Woman” in Texts and Traditions Tutorial Readings Spring 2016, Western Sydney University.