Analytic Essay:
Assignment 1
Due: Monday, September 29th
Your first writing assignment will be to analyze one of the four essays assigned for unit one, namely “Upon Some Verses of Virgil,” the “A Chapter on Ears,” “Seeing,” or “In Praise of Shadows.” This is a close reading exercise in which you will identify the essay’s thesis, and the relevant evidence used to support this thesis. Although we will have discussed these essays in class, assume you are addressing a reader who is only vaguely familiar with the essay you choose. Your essay should be explanatory, in that it should address the essay’s content and “story,” but it should not be a summary. You are looking to define and analyze the essay’s requisite parts and how they crystallize to form an effective argument.
I have also included this close-reading checklist which I would like you to fill out. Hopefully it will help you to prepare to write the essay.
Close-Reading Annotated Checklist:
Essay Title:
Author:
Introduction:
How does the author introduce his or her subject?
Why?
Is the introduction effective? Why?
Is the thesis introduced? If so, what is it?
Body Paragraphs and Evidence:
What is the thesis?
How is the thesis supported and what evidence is supplied?
List examples of supporting evidence:
Construction:
Where in the essay do examples of supporting evidence occur?
Where is the thesis stated?
Does the thesis evolve? If so, how?
Conclusion:
How does the essay conclude? Why?
What new insights are gained in the conclusion?
13 comments:
Nancy Hernandez
"Seeing"
Annie Dillard wrote a personal essay “Seeing.” She opens up to the reader by sharing one of her childhood memory. As a child she would hide a penny and then try to leave trails so that someone would find it. According to her she would consider this person the “lucky passenger” who would receive this penny as “a free gift from the universe.” This “free gift” Dillard is referring to is the gift of seeing.
According to Dillard people tend to take sight for granted. In her essay she tries to show how vision is a gift. Just like the penny was a gift, seeing is a gift that people do not tend to appreciate. People are just not looking with their eyes open. That is why in her introduction she shares her penny memory because if it was not for her that she made the penny obvious to the “lucky passenger” probably the person would not have even notice the penny. Therefore it proves her point that people do not look at the obvious, to what is in front of them and for that reason, they do not appreciate their sight. For that reason she keeps giving more examples on how people can easily miss something by just not looking.
“Seeing” is an appropriate title for Dillard’s essay. Seeing is a part of nature. Sometimes people do not pay attention to nature, which can be the simplest thing. According to Dillard “nature is very much a now you see it, now-you-don’t.” Sentences like this opens up her paragraphs. It gives the sensation of a rhythm from a poem. Her writing also sounds like lyrics to a song. After these kind of sentences that seem to be taken out from a poem are followed up by examples that are converted to imagery. For example after she wrote this sentence she mentions how at first she did not see the blackbirds in the tree. She noticed them when she looked again and when they flew away.
Dillard described this scene; “it was as if the leaves of the Osage orange had been freed from a spell in the form of red-winged blackbirds.” This is an example how she uses her words to create a picture in the readers mind. This helps the reader imagine Dillard’s point of view. It is a device used to make the reader be in her position. She is using imagery as a bridge of the personal and universe. She is sharing her imagination with the reader. That is what keeps her essay flowing and interesting.
“I’m blind as a bat, sensing only from every direction the echo of my own thin cries.” She is comparing herself as a bat. This is something personal that she is sharing with the reader. However she is using a simile so that the reader would have an image in mind so that the reader can better understand her point.
Dillard could not see the birds because they were hidden and she was not looking for them. “It’s all a matter of keeping my eyes open.” Don’t we have our eyes open to see? Well she does not mean it that way. She describes two types of seeing. One is the natural obvious which is what the eye is expected to see. It is natural to the eye because it sees it everyday. However the artificial obvious which is what the eye does not see because it is not expected to see. It is the artificial obvious that Dillard wants the reader to focus on. The artificial obvious can be from the smallest things of nature that people do not see and therefore take for granted.
“But the artificial obvious is hard to see.” This is one of her open sentences for one of her paragraphs. Here she is admitting that it is difficult not see what is not expected to see. Because people do not see what they do not want see, they loose the opportunity to admire what nature has to offer. That is why Dillard gives the examples of blind people. She chooses to share a book by Marius von Senden, called Space and Sight with the reader because it is a way to prove her point. How people can take for granted their sight.
Dillard shared stories from this book where cataract operations were performed to “men and women who had been blinded by cataracts since birth.” She focused in these stories so that the reader can place him or herself in their shoes. Imagine not being able to see since birth. Most of the patients reacted differently when they used their sight.
For some patients the “visual world” was overwhelmed because it was too much for the eye to handle. Maybe that is why people ignore or do not pay attention to the smallest things that nature has to offer and we only see at the natural obvious as Dillard had described. However she tries to point out that for those who are lucky to see should take advantage to take their time to see the smallest details or the artificial obvious as Dillard had mentioned.
“Unless I call my attention to what passes before my eyes, I simply won’t see it.” Dillard is being honest with the reader. Small devices like this one helps the reader to relate to the author. Even thought this is a personal essay she sometimes uses “we” and this is a strategy to involve the reader in her thoughts. Just like she uses imagery around her essay that is the way she ends with her essay.
Junichiro Tanizaki's essay "In Praise of Shadows" challenges different Western beliefs about beauty including that things that are more easily seen are more beautiful. In his essay, Tanizaki uses many examples to support his idea that beauty is often found in the places people are less likely to look, and that sometimes beauty must be searched for in the shadows.
One example of how Tanizaki contradicts Western opinions is with age. Generally, Westerners consider youth to be beautiful and find older things unattractive, whereas the Japanese embrace the beauty of age. Tanizaki writes "As a general matter we find it hard to be really at home with things that shine and glitter. The Westerner uses silver and steel and nickel tableware, and polishes it to a fine brilliance, but we object to the practice. While we do sometimes indeed use silver...we prefer not to polish it. On the contrary, we begin to enjoy it only when the luster has worn off." He explains how the Japanese have a completely opposite opinion on what Westerners would normally consider beauty, like something shiny and polished, and instead says that things will actually become more beautiful as they age. Tanizaki describes the worn silver saying that it takes on a "dark smoky patina," and paints a picture of it which makes it sound better than the polished, shiny silver that Westerners are used to.
Another way Tanizaki challenges Western ideas is with the example of jade. "That strange lump of stone with it's faintly muddy light...are not we Orientals the only ones who know its charms? We cannot say ourselves what it is that we find in this stone. It quite lacks the brightness of a ruby or an emerald or the glitter of a diamond. But this much we can say: when we see that shadowy surface, we think how Chinese it is, we seem to find in it's cloudiness the accumulation of the long Chinese past." In these few words he describes how beauty to them is not just something very bright or very glittery, but something meaningful that can tell a story, or be a physical reminder of the past. He also describes the jade as being a "shadow" because, to him, it is something whose beauty is not always appreciated as much as it should be since it has no captivating sparkly qualities.
Tanizaki also uses the example of gold. "The Priest's surplice of gold brocade is perhaps the best example. In most of our city temples, catering to the masses as they do, the main hall will be brightly lit, and these garments of gold will seem merely gaudy...But when you attend a service at an old temple, conducted after the ancient ritual, you see how perfectly the gold harmonizes with the wrinkled skin of the old priest and the flickering light of the alter lamp and how much it contributes to the solemnity of the occasion." It's ironic that in Western jewelry stores, time is spent polishing gold and positioning lights at exactly the right angles so the true beauty can be captured and the metal will glisten, and in Tanizaki's opinion, gold can only be fully appreciated in darkness. In this particular case, the gold along with the darkness creates a sort of dramatic affect
Another way Tanizaki supports his thesis is with the example of women. "Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty. Our ancestors made of women an object inseparable from darkness, like lacquerware decorated in gold or mother-of-pearl. They hid as much of her as they could in shadows, concealing her arms and legs in the folds of long sleeves and skirts, so that one part and one only stood out– her face." In other words, darkness can be used to highlight the important parts, like a woman's face, rather than hide the ugly ones. "The person who insists upon seeing her ugliness, like the person who would shine a hundred candlepower light upon the picture alcove, drives away whatever beauty may reside there." When the bad parts are covered up, the good parts can be better seen. Had these women not been covered up with garments, the beauty in their faces may have been ignored, and in this sense as well, Tanizaki praises the shadows.
Another way Tanizaki supports his ideas is by using the example of lacquerware. He says that "Sometimes a superb piece of black lacquerware, decorated perhaps with flecks of silver and gold...will seem to me unsettlingly garish and altogether vulgar. But render pitch black the void in which they stand, and light them not with the rays of the sun or electricity but rather a single lantern or candle: suddenly those garish objects turn somber, refined, dignified." Tanizaki suggests that with simple lighting something can be transformed from "vulgar" to "dignified." The way he sees the lacquerware in the light is almost completely the opposite of the way it appears to him in the darkness. He also writes about an autumn moon viewing at a lake where the lake was decorated with different colored electric lights. He says "There was indeed a moon if one strained one's eyes for it." He hates the fact that something like the moon, which doesn't need anything extra to make it beautiful, was robbed of its excellence by decorative lights. He also uses the example of the Miyako Hotel. He likes it there but is disappointed by the fact that there are lights everywhere. He says that all these lights were "serving no function but to eradicate every trace of shadow," and though he loves it there he feels that the atmosphere is ruined completely by the lights. "It is a pity that so lovely a view, so perfect a place for enjoying the cool of a summer's night, should be utterly destroyed by electric lights.
Tanizaki's purpose was to try to make readers understand that beauty can be found in unlikely places. He uses the word "shadows," which he means both literally and figuratively. In one sense, he really does enjoy dimly lit rooms and candles which are far more appealing to him than bright lights. On the other hand, "shadows" can be anything that is not given as much credit as it should be. The point of the essay is essentially to credit the things that don't need dressing up and maintenance because their beauty is natural and flawless by itself.
Another important aspect of Tanizaki's essay is the way he writes it. He starts off by explaining his efforts to keep a traditional Japanese-style home in a place that has become very Westernized. He describes in detail the lighting, the heating system, and the toilet and bath. He then explores various reasons why shadows should be appreciated, and also goes into detail not only about the beauty found in shadows, but about the beauty found in things people don't often see it in. He uses the example of aged silver, and the dull, lumpy jade stone. In his closing, he seems much more accepting of the fact that Japan has become greatly Westernized, but finishes off with the hope that every once in a while people will turn off their lights and remember what the darkness is like and the beauty it can bring out.
As a personal essay, Tanizaki is very successful in getting his points across. He generalizes and speaks for the people as a whole, but also personalizes it with some of his own individual tastes. He even uses his home as an example. One of the major parts of the essay describes in detail his own opinions about the style of his home and other places, and explains how the differences in lighting make him feel.
As you can see, elegance, charm, and beauty are not the same to everyone. To Tanizaki, beauty is something that most people cannot truly appreciate because it is hidden behind darkness, dullness and fading, but real beauty does not need to be flashy. It can be calm, and reserved, and subtle, and still be beautiful.
Sam Dzhurayev
“In Praise Of Shadows”
“In Praise Of Shadows” is a personal essay written by a Japanese man who expresses his displeasures to the fact that his country is becoming westernized. He is an honest man who likes peace and quiet and longs for the way his homeland once was. Throughout the essay he expresses his dissatisfaction with the way his country is becoming and expresses his nostalgia to the aesthetic ways of his ancestors. He writes his essay in a very uniquely structured form, connecting one point to the next as if building the house he speaks about at the beginning of his essay. Towards the end he makes a compromise of accepting the way things are becoming and at the same time proposes preserving what once was.
The essay, starts off with the narrator introducing us about the struggles a Japanese man has in building a traditional house for himself with the allurement of western technologies easily available to him. The house I believe represents a sense of order and structure that the author structures his personal essay by. Just like a house structured with a foundation, and with a person exploring each room one at a time, so does the essay give us the thesis of a Japanese, conservative man concerned about preserving the culture of his ancestors and with the narrator writing the different subjects linked to the main issue while intrinsically connecting the issues discussed from subject to subject like the connection of the rooms of a house. He details the foundation, which is the building of this house, and then goes on to the different “rooms” in an organized fashion writing about the many issues he has with the change that has come upon his homeland with the advancement of Western civilization and culture. He longs for the old, inner beauty that was existed and was recognized, as opposed to what the foreigner's have brought to them. In his unique style he starts from talking about building a house and then connects that to talking about toilets, and the way that they are made and thought about differently from the westerners. Next he slides to a discussion about electric lamps and then to paper, and so on and so forth, while connecting them from one to another and at the same time maintaining the crux of the essay which is his disapproval to the way things are changing in Japan and are becoming less traditional, while adapting foreign culture and influence.
In the essay, the author points to the fact that many of his countrymen are forced to adapt to the new ways because of the pressure from other people who prefer comfort over tradition and Japanese beauty. An example of such a situation is the electric fan at the restaurant. He says “if the family business involves the entertainment of customers in summertime, the gentleman of the house cannot afford to indulge his own tastes at the expense of others”. He eventually caves in to the pressure because he wants to sustain the business. Even though he himself believes and proposes that traditionalists shouldn't cave in to the new ways of the foreigners, he does point to the fact that they do accept defeat on the personal level while speaking about how others shouldn't change. “Yet, laugh though we may when the house is someone else's, we ourselves accept defeat only after having a try at such schemes.”
The narrator writes in a very personal form talking about his own personal experiences and opinions. He expresses his own tastes and attitudes towards the issues he has, making his essay a personal essay. For example he writes “I myself have had similar experiences. A few years ago I spent a great deal more money than I could afford to build a house.” We get a sense of this essay being very personal because it is in the first person narrative. We also receive his preferences when he writes things like “while the texture of Chinese paper and Japanese paper gives us a certain feeling of warmth, of calm and repose. Even the same white could as well be one color for Western paper and another for our own. Western paper turns away the light, while our paper seems to take it in, to envelop it gently, like the soft surface of a first snowfall.”
He also uses a powerful metaphor of the shadows. With the shadows he is telling us that true beauty is something not expressed on the outside, but something that is concealed. For example he says that traditionally women were more modest, and concealed themselves with long sleeves and skirts. And only one part stood out which were their faces. In this sense I believe he is saying that beauty is isn't something that is seen on the outside, or comes with a standard rating, but is something more hidden and personal. With the “shadows” one sees beauty as a reflection of what is actually there. This beauty is deeply personal as opposed to being exposed out in the open.
Even though the narrator does have his complaints and disagreements to the way his country and society is changing he does come to a compromise in the end where he accepts the reality of the situation and at the same time proposes to preserve the heritage through literature.
“In Praise of Shadows” by Junichiro Tanizaki is a wonderfully written essay by a
man struggling with the drastically changing world around him. Tanizaki is living in a
time when Japan is going through a transitional phase, moving away from its traditional
ideals and adapting more modern western ideas and concepts. Tanizaki is finding this
change to be particularly tough as he loves the beauty and serenity of a traditional Japan. Tanizaki uses light and darkness to contrast the western ideas with those of traditional Japanese. In his essay Tanizaki prefers shadows and darkness to light because he feels that you find true beauty in what you cannot see. He feels with shadows you can imagine what’s there and make it personal to you. He feels that when one shines or flashes light on something, it takes away this ability and the object loses its beauty. In my opinion, Tanizaki associates the Western world as that light shining on Japan and thus taking away from the beauty of its culture.
Tanizaki starts off his essay by talking about all the trouble he faced recently while building a house. This trouble stemmed from his inability to decide whether to build a house that would be aesthetically pleasing to him with traditional Japanese aspects, or go for a more modern, practical, western design. Tanizaki tried to find a medium between these two aspects, but ultimately he ended up spending way more money than he expected and was unhappy with how it turned out. He felt that when the western parts of the house mixed with the more Japanese aspects, they took away from its intended beauty. This is evident when Tanizaki talks about doing his bathroom. He writes “Tile of course is infinitely more practical and economical. But when ceiling, pillars, and paneling are of fine Japanese stock, the beauty of the room is utterly destroyed when the rest is done in sparkling tile”(Pg. 336).
The main problem that Tanizaki had with his home and ultimately what he dislikes most about western culture is the lighting. Tanizaki is a man who loves shadows and darkness and associates Japanese culture with them. He feels shadows and dimness bring tranquility to his soul. We get a strong sense of this as Tanizaki talks about the Japanese toilet compared to the western toilet. Tanizaki says that a traditional Japanese toilet is made of dark wood and is often in a dimly lit room away from the actual dwelling. He calls it a “place of spiritual repose” and goes onto say “that sensation as one sits in the dim light, basking in the faint glow reflected from the Shoji, lost in meditation or gazing out at the garden…it’s a great pleasure, “a physiological delight””(Pg. 337). In contrast he says in the western world the bathroom is usually the brightest lit room in the house. The walls are often a bright white to go along with a glossy porcelain toilet. He says “That burst of light from those four white walls hardly puts one in a mood to relish Soseki’s physiological delight” (pg. 338).
Tanizaki feels that the bright lights in the western world work to illuminate every nook and cranny of the home and take away any possible shadow. He feels this takes away from a sense of mystery and intrigue. He feels you can’t use your imagination if you know what’s already there and after a while it just becomes ordinary. Tanizaki relates this to a woman being dressed from head to toe as opposed to one showing more skin. He says “A beautiful woman, no matter how lovely her skin, would be considered indecent were she to show her bare buttocks or feet in the presence of others” (pg. 338). In my opinion, Tanizaki is saying that a woman covered from head to toe is like a shadow covering an object. When he sees a woman in full clothing he finds her more beautiful than if she was showing more skin. It’s the same way he feels as if light was shining on and illuminating an object. This connection is further evident later in the essay when Tanizaki writes “for a woman of the past did indeed exist only from the collar up and sleeves out; the rest of her remained hidden in darkness…Their clothing was in effect no more than a part of the darkness, the transition between the darkness and face.” (pg. 352). He goes on to say “I suppose it is hard for those who praise the fleshy beauty we see under today’s bright lights to imagine the ghostly beauty of these older women.” (pg. 353).
In the next passage, Tanizaki seems disappointed at the fact that the Japanese are adapting western technology when they had all the resources to make their own. He feels that if the Japanese were able to design their own technology they could have taken into account their culture. Maybe they wouldn’t have had to sacrifice everything that made their culture so beautiful and would still have the necessary technologies to make life easier. This is evident when he writes “There would be no borrowed gadgets, they would have been tools of our own culturem suited to us. (pg. 340). He goes onto talk about modern medicine and hospitals. He says he hates going to the doctors because of how white the building looks inside and the new fancy machinery. He says “had modern medicine been developed in Japan we probably would have devised facilities and equipment for the treatment of the sick that would somehow harmonize with Japanese architecture. Here again we have come off the losers for having borrowed.” (pg. 342). In my opinion this gives us insight into how Tanizaki is feeling. He feels that they could have done something had someone thought about it earlier, but it seems like there no chance to change now.
Throughout the rest of the essay Tanizaki continues to use the dark and light to contrast the traditional Japanese culture with the western culture. As a reader I didn’t really see the point of why Tanizaki continued to make the same point over and over about different things. That was until I read the conclusion of his essay, and then it made perfect sense. Tanizaki seems very disappointed in the fact that Japan is adapting from the west and going away from its roots. He realizes there is nothing he can do to change it. However, there is one thing he can still do, which is write about it. Tanizaki still wants to hold on to that beautiful world of shadows that he loves and admires so much and wants to make sure others don’t forget either. In my opinion that’s why he so vividly describes the dark and mustiness of each thing that makes Japanese culture so beautiful to him. And how he describes the beauty of shadows and the way it made him feel. This is evident when he concludes “the loss we have suffered cannot be remedied, I have written all this because I have thought that there might still be somewhere possibly in literature or the arts, where something could be saved.” (pg. 361).
Missing Out
Music is and always has been a universal source of
happiness that can and does provide most people with pleasure and satisfaction. It is something that is found in every culture throughout the world and is very similar everywhere yet at the same time, quite different in each place. Music is a way of communicating ones’ feelings and emotions through different ways such as singing or playing an
instrument. It is something that will continue to mesmerize and fascinate us for a long time to come.
The author Charles Lamb, wrote a short but sweet personal essay entitled, “A Chapter on Ears” which is about a man who has no ear. “I have no ear.” So starts the essay of Mr. Lamb. This is a very misleading introduction knowing how this is not at all what the true meaning behind this sentence is. It is a very blunt
statement that makes the subject of the story seem literally, earless. The main reason as to why the author chose to introduce his subject in such a bizarre way is
to catch the reader’s attention. The introduction is not very effective knowing how this is not what is actually happening in this story. It has the possibility to steer the reader in the wrong direction. Although, as we continue reading, we discover that the writer did in fact steer us in the wrong direction, and that in all truth being earless means having no musical ear, not an actual one. “When therefore I say that I have no ear, you will understand me to mean - for music.” Now, given this information, we, the readers, can begin to understand more of
what he is going to tell us as the essay continues.
It is a fact that our subject has no musical ear but in what sense does he not have one? Our subject who remains nameless throughout the essay lacks a
musical ear in the sense that he cannot tolerate music like most other people can. Most people love and can relate to music but he could not endure all that music has got to offer and all the feeling and emotion that music encompasses. He states that, “It is hard to stand alone—in an age like this,—(constituted to the quick and critical perception of all harmonious combinations, I verily believe, beyond all preceding ages, since Jubal stumbled upon the gamut)—to remain, as it were, singly unimpressible to the magic influences of an art, which is said to have such an especial stroke at soothing, elevating, and refining the passions.” This means that he himself is surprised at the fact that he cannot endure music. It seems that he would like to be like everyone else and be able to fall in love with it
so easily but it just does not happen for him. It is like someone else watching a horror film. Many people just cannot bear to watch movies that basically cause
them pain and anxiety. It is also the same exact thing as someone who cannot stand the thought of seeing blood. This is exactly the same problem for our character. He is in the presence of too much pain whenever he is surrounded by
music especially the type that is full of too much emotion such as an opera. “Yet rather than break the candid current of my confessions, I must avow to you, that I have received a great deal more pain than pleasure from this so cried-up faculty.” He tends to get so much more pain as opposed to the desire for pleasure out of
music because he is very sensitive. What reason can there be for being too sensitive other than that is the way you,
personally are wired. In this case
our subject is so sensitive because that is how he was born. He most likely does not wish to be this way. He knows that he is different from the rest and that is not pleasing either.
At the beginning of the essay one reading it might get the impression that the character portrayed in the essay has no ear, as in he physically is missing an ear. Reading further one realizes that this is not the case. In fact the case is that he just does not have an ear for music. Having no ear for music can and is tough because it makes you stand out from the rest and that might not be a desired effect. Our character is incapable of baring a tune. To even stay in the presence of emotionally-fused music is extremely overwhelming for him. “I even think that sentimentally I am disposed to harmony. But organically I am incapable of a tune.”
In conclusion, this essay is quite interesting to read as well as decipher. Towards the end of the essay, our main character tells us how he has a friend who is the exact opposite of himself. His friend is a devout Catholic whose life is mainly music and is just a very joyous person all around because of it. What I understand is that because our character spends time with his inspirational friend he becomes more and more able to bear music just a little. He is changed because of his friend. Maybe now he can finally feel as if he is no longer missing out on what some or even most would call the best part of life.
Lauren Galizia
First Draft Analytical Essay
Charles Lamb, author of “A Chapter on Ears” uses the content, style and construction of his essay to convey his thesis. The main objective of this creative work is to follow the speaker and discover his true feelings about music. In order to uncover the genuine meaning buried within this unique essay the reader must take a closer look and use a more critical eye when analyzing the speaker’s words. Does the speaker hate music? Can he not appreciate the beauty that music has to offer? If we read closer is it possible that he is actually trying to portray the exact opposite? The role of the reader is to uncover the true meaning that the speaker is trying to convey. This paper will attempt to show the actual message of the speaker and it will display his real feelings towards music.
The essay begins with a combination of creative content and construction. The initial line “I have no ear” is an eye-catching element of this essay. Lamb uses this intriguing line to encourage the reader to continue on and learn more about the speaker’s ear, which he seems to be missing. This is where the construction becomes an important element in the content of the essay. As the reader continues to read further they find that the speaker is referring to his musical ear that is missing, not his actual ear. This introduction is extremely effective in several ways, not only does it instantly grab the readers attention, but it also correlates with his thesis. This makes the reader feel as though they have made a personal connection with the speaker. The reader begins to feel that they are learning an intimate characteristic about the speaker. Since he seems to be confiding with his audience about a personal element of himself it makes him seem more believable and trustworthy. What also added to the effectiveness of this introduction and this essay as whole is that the speaker is discussing a topic that is universally relatable. People of all ages, ethnicity’s and genders can relate to music and read this essay in relation to the way that music makes them feel.
The first mention of how the speaker feels about music seems to be that he despises and can’t appreciate the splendor of a musical note. “I am disposed to harmony…I am incapable of a tune” (166) is how the speaker describes his musical ability. Hearing this line most people would believe that this essay would be about a man who doesn’t enjoy music. This concept of someone hating music may be a concept that is harder for many people to understand and to relate to. However, only a few lines into this essay the true thesis is revealed and here we can begin to unravel the speaker’s feelings and find the deeper meaning within his words.
The truth is that this man, who seems to hate everything about music, in reality, has such a deep emotional connection with music, its lyrics, and its notes that it takes over him. It becomes a hinder on his life because his passion has caused him to “receive a great deal more pain than pleasure” (167) from music. This is not to say that music itself pains him, but that the connection that he makes between the melody and the sounds all bring him to feel overwhelmed. This is the thesis of the essay; this is the proper meaning behind the words of the speaker.
There are continuous references to the speakers’ ears throughout the essay. “The ear is passive…to music is cannot be passive. It will strive” Here the speaker is describing that he will not miss an opportunity to hear the music that surrounds him. For example, when he speaks about his trip to the opera we can clearly see this tremendous love of music and the affect that it has over him. The music and the sounds of the opera caused him “inexplicable anguish” (167) which forced him to leave and go running through the streets. In the streets, where he could no longer hear the sounds of the music, that is where he found “refuge in the unpretending assemblage of honest common life sounds.” (167) The common sounds of the street and the people around him drowned out the memory of the music. This is where the thesis of this essay becomes clear. He is running from the music of the opera because it has stirred such a passion inside of him that it’s painful. Here all readers can begin to equate some personal experience of their own with the speakers. The reader can remember a song, or a day, or a person that meant so much to them that they were brought to tears. Not out of anguish or pain but out of beauty and unexplainable love. The love and appreciation this man has towards music is becoming overpowering.
The way in which Lamb constructed this essay emphasized this concept and this thesis. The content of the essay begins with the speaker discussing a more general topic of music and then the essay slowly becomes more personal. As the essay continues the speaker’s emotions are unraveling and we slowly learn more and more about the speakers life. The structure of this essay is highly influential in the overall content and thesis.
The structure, the content and the thesis are all intertwined. Each heightens the intensity of the other making this essay so unique and interesting. On the surface of the essay, it seems that the speaker has a deep hatred towards music. However, if we take the time to read closely and really listen to what it is that the speaker is trying to say we can easily see that this man in enthralled by music and all it has to offer. It’s overwhelming; all of the emotions and desires that can be created through music can become uncontrollable. Music can become too astonishing and breath taking for this man to handle. It is similar to the feeling of piling “honey upon sugar, sugar upon honey” (167) Music is too much too sweet that it has a negative effect on his emotional state. This is where the similarity between the structure and the thesis can be made. The thesis of this essay is to appreciate the emotional meaning of music and understand music on a deeper level. The speaker is telling his audience not to take a song for just a combination of sounds, but listen for the beauty and the emotions that a song can create whether it’s painful or not.
The structure of this essay is similarly formed. When someone first listens to a song if they don’t really listen closely they may miss the incredible beauty of the notes and voices and lyrics that accompany the music. In order to learn and appreciate what music can offer, may times you must re-listen to the same song searching for the emotional connection the artist was hoping for you to feel. You must take in every note, every sound, and every lyric and really analyze it. The way in which you would have to listen to music to hear the real meaning beneath the sounds and lyrics is the same way you need to read this essay. You can’t take the message on face value. The reader is forced to look beyond the words that normally would be associated with hatred such as “malice”, “anguish” and “oppression.” (167) The reader has to look for the true feelings behind the words of the speaker. Once we find that real meaning the reader can appreciate the way he connects with music. The same style used to find the underlying connotation in music is used to find the true thesis in this essay. This connection made the thesis and the essay as whole much more effective. Lamb was creating almost an ironic structure when he wrote this. It’s almost as if he’s mocking us saying that for us to really appreciate his work we must interpret it as we would a song and maybe we will find a that deep and painful connection with the speakers words.
Everyone can relate to something that has caused pain in a pleasurable moment where the pain is considered unimportant. For example when someone is extremely happy that they begin to cry, or when someone is so deeply in love that it can cause emotional pain. This was the feeling that the speaker wanted his audience to understand about his connection with music. This was the type of pain he felt when he listened to music.
This essay was created with a unique twist, which made the connection between the speakers’ words, and the musical interpretation idea, enhance the importance of the thesis. Charles Lamb was able to intertwine the concept, structure and thesis in such an effective way that this essay could not be mistaken for anything but a passionate man and his overwhelmingly painful connection with music. Lamb was able to capture several different audiences by using so a universally loved topic such as music. Everyone can somehow relate to the feelings that the speaker was experiencing throughout the essay. This essay should be considered an extremely effective personal essay with overtly believable thesis.
Erika Matos
A Look at Beauty and Imagination in Junichiro Tanizaki’s “In Praise of Shadows”
First Draft:
In Junichiro Tanizaki’s “In Praise of Shadows,” the essay starts with the speaker discussing how to build a Japanese house while staying true to traditional architecture rather than opting for modern inventions. Through this personal tirade, the speaker then goes into great detail comparing the West and its support for light with the East and its support for darkness. He eventually goes on to say that without darkness and shadows, there is no beauty. He then draws a distinction that shadows, imagination, and beauty are all linked and that without shadows these things are all in danger. The speaker concedes that Japan has chosen to follow the West, striving to dispel the shadows from every part of their houses and their minds, but he still hopes that the arts will be able to preserve every aspect of tradition. Although the physical aesthetics of tradition will eventually be lost to the West, the speaker’s only wish is that the rest be saved in literature.
“In Praise of Shadows” starts off by the speaker addressing all of the considerations that go into building a Japanese house. For those who have ever built a home or even remodeled a room, what he is discussing is a familiar experience. There are many decisions to be made when one builds or redecorates their home, and Tanizaki’s choice of an opening is highly relatable. According to the speaker, one not only has to choose between modern conveniences and traditional methods, but also foreign and native. For example, while talking about heating, the speaker mentions that a Japanese person must choose between the convenience and comfort of an electric fan and the hot yet quiet and calm atmosphere that exists without one. Although most people opt for the fan, they end up losing the traditional authenticity of their household, as the speaker explains, saying, “…the snarl and the bulk of an electric fan remain a bit out of place in a Japanese room,” (335). The fan may be a useful invention, but for the Japanese, it exists as something that is detrimental to their traditional existence.
Tanizaki’s opening paragraphs of the essay play an integral part in molding it as a personal essay. He starts off by discussing his experiences building a house. This is a relatable subject, as those who have had similar experiences, or who have even merely redecorated a single room, can identify with him. As he discusses all of the options available to him, it becomes noticeable that there is constantly the comparison of what is new and old, contemporary and traditional, foreign and native. His ideas of what a Japanese house should be contrast vividly with the modern comforts of life that are becoming popular due to Western influence, and he constantly struggles with these two different images of the perfect home. Even this contrast between modern and traditional is relatable, since many people can identify with the experience of having to choose between something contemporary and something old-fashioned, be it in terms of fashion or even ideals. Although, in actuality, Tanizaki is making a reference to the Meiji Restoration and its effect on the Japanese people, his argument is able to transcend his country and the period in which it was written, which is the trademark of a skilled personal essayist.
Although his arguments on traditional and contemporary are important to his thesis, the main comparison that Tanizaki is making is in regards to shadow and light. After all, the importance of darkness is explicitly shown in the title of the essay, “In Praise of Shadows.” He first discusses darkness when addressing electric lighting and the proper amount of brightness that a bathroom should have, mentioning that, “there are certain prerequisites: a degree of dimness, absolute cleanliness, and quiet so complete one can hear the hum of a mosquito” (337). Then, when discussing all of the traditions passed down from elders, the speaker comes to the conclusion that darkness creates beauty. He says that beauty “…must always grow from the realities of life, and our ancestors, forced to live in dark rooms, presently came to discover beauty in shadows, ultimately to guide shadows towards beauty’s ends” (346). Thus according to the speaker, one uses imagination to interpret the shadows and to mould something beautiful out of that which cannot be seen clearly.
Aspects of life that have been passed down as tradition from generation to generation hold great importance to the speaker. Ancestors have dealt with shadows and found ways to find beauty in that which is concealed in them, and that is why he respects shadows to such a degree. Since this interpretation of shadows has been passed down according to tradition, it serves as a reliable and understandable method in surveying majesty. Without the magic of shadows and its relationship with the imagination, such as in the presence of light, nothing is left to interpretation and it becomes altogether impossible to see beauty. Later, the speaker even solidifies the importance of shadows by saying, “and so it has come to be that the beauty of a Japanese room depends on a variation of shadows, heavy against light shadows – it has nothing else” (346). This serves to strengthen the importance of shadows, mandating that without them, it is almost impossible to witness beauty.
In the clash between old and contemporary, Tanizaki also mentions the struggle that his people had to endure through the cultural battle between East and West. He says, “The Westerner has been able to move forward in ordered steps, while we have met superior civilization and have had to surrender to it, and we have had to leave a road we have followed for thousands of years” (340). Here, the audience is shown that the Japanese people have had to submit themselves to the influence of the West, and that these changes have been detrimental to their society. By being forced to copy the West, the speaker feels that his people have had to give up a part of themselves, giving into a more powerful force. This portion of the essay can indeed come across as a lament for things lost, as the speaker postulates that it could have been possible for the East to discover their own modern marvels but while staying true to who they are rather than being forced away from all that they have known.
It is this idea of what has been forced upon them and what might have been able to naturally happen that link all of Tanizaki’s arguments to his main point. Although Tanizaki’s essay appears to be a comparison of old and new, native and foreign, dark and light, the purpose of this comparison is not stated until the end. The speaker says, “I have written all this because I have thought that there might still be somewhere, possibly in literature or the arts, where something could be saved” (361). This statement ties all of Tanizaki’s arguments together. Throughout his essay, he goes from one aspect of life to another, giving a comparison of the traditional way with the modern method. At first, it is unknown why he is going through the lengths to critically critique so many aspects of life, such as the bathroom, writing instruments, dishware, food, even down to skin and the appearance of women. However, in the end he explicitly states the reasoning behind this, which is to preserve some aspect of Japanese culture and tradition, instead of abandoning everything for the new contrivances of the West.
In his essay, Tanizaki admits that the West has succeeded in overrunning the Japanese culture with foreign ideas and burdening them with choices that undo the very fabric of their tradition, but he is optimistic that it is possible for everything that it lost to be saved through literature and other fine arts. According to him, the battle between East and West has finished, and instead of mourning over the outcome, it is possible to do what one can to marry the old and the new; to take steps toward the future while taking an occasional glance back. In the end, this is the magic of the speaker’s authentic traditional Japanese house, complete with an electric fan.
Kwong Ho Wai (Gary)
First draft of analytic essay
A CHAPTER ON EARS – By Charles Lamb.
I chose to keep going with “A Chapter on ears” written by Charles Lamb, Charles Lamb had chosen to start off his story by describing himself as a little pathetic actor. He described that he has no ear, “ I have no ear - ”. It was very intense! I first kept reading this passage is because of my sympathy. In my heart, I was pretty curious whether it should be a sad story about someone’s life with innate disability, however, I was fooled. He was only tried to catch our awareness to his passage, at this point, he gained a success, however, this behavior enhanced my, I call this disgust, for using such shabby written skills. In fact, maybe I exaggerated his misbehavior. He was trying to tell readers that he didn’t has any talent, or even tolerance to music, or in his dictionary – noise. It was just like somebody who is not good at math, people claim themselves have no brain at all, like, “Oh! I have no brain on Math, Leave me alone!” It’s is quite common in our real life. So I would say the application of this is acceptable, since when you read through the passage, Charles clearly explained what he just said for not having ears, is because he had no musical ears (talent) rather than a physical one. -“When therefore I say that I have no ear, you will understand me to mean -- for music. -- To say that this heart never melted at the concourse of sweet sounds, would be a foul self-libel. -- "Water parted from the sea" never fails to move it strangely.” It was a very clear cut explanation. On the fourth paragraph, he started declaring his thesis that want us to know by his words, “I even think that sentimentally I am disposed to harmony. But organically I am incapable of a tune. I have been practising "God save the King" all my life; whistling and humming of it over to myself in solitary corners; and am not yet arrived, they tell me, within many quavers of it.” Charles spoke out directly to us; he was totally INCAPABLE of any tune. He obviously introducing the thesis here that he was about to discuss how losing a musical ear affected him and his life. Personally, I like this kind of non-fuzzy. As being a personal essay, the most important thing is to keep reader’s attention, if you are writing a paragraph of word and it doesn’t even hit the climax, readers will just close the book or flip to the other pages, like what I always do. For the introduction, not long, but clearly tells readers what will go on, Charles did a great job here.
“Scientifically I could never be made to understand (yet have I taken some pains) what a note in music is; or how one note should differ from another. Much less in voices can I distinguish a soprano from a tenor. Only sometimes the thorough bass I contrive to guess at, from its being supereminently harsh and disagreeable.” One of the thesis here, Charles tried to tell us how serious was his ignorance to music, also he couldn’t even distinguish “do-re-mi-fa-so”, from the lecture, we learned that giving relevant examples help developing a relatable essay which can also gain readers trusts. At first, I couldn’t imagine how a serious he was, but after reading the first example, my heart started fluctuating and felt sympathy. Charles wisely arranged his sequence of example in order to receive greatest effect to reader, as you may think, that was also my voice, I doubt, “Did you ever try to understand what music is? Did you try to take in music? Or Charles just didn’t like music at all and refuse to appreciate music?” I was thinking if I can hear music anymore, my life will definitely go dull. At the moment, he had shown he was not only couldn’t distinguish high or low pitch, he couldn’t sit in front of opera to enjoy musically like we do. - “I have sat through an Italian Opera, till, for sheer pain, and inexplicable anguish, I have rushed out into the noisiest places of the crowded streets, to solace myself with sounds, which I was not obliged to follow, and get rid of the distracting torment of endless, fruitless, barren attention! I take refuge in the unpretending assemblage of honest common-life sounds; -- and the purgatory of the Enraged Musician becomes my paradise.” Was it strong enough? I guess so, Charles had a construction mind, he constructed the essay wisely, he seems fully understood on how readers mind changing as we are reading his passage, at the time he thought he should give some stronger example, and he just did it all over the introduction and the body of essay. As the essay goes by, you will see repeating process of examples provided which I couldn’t include all here.
“A chapter on ears” wasn’t only talking about Charles, as known as Elia which is the voice of Charles, in the concluding section, Charles said, “Something like this "scene-turning" I have experienced at the evening parties, at the house of my good Catholic friend Nov--; who, by the aid of a capital organ, himself the most finished of players, converts his drawing-room into a chapel, his week days into Sundays, and these latter into minor heavens.” In here, I smelled Charles was about to start off another track to compare with himself. Nov, a friend of Charles was completely a freak for music, especially solemn anthems, perhaps he was a Catholics. The paragraph stated how he changed his attitude towards music. - “When my friend commences upon one of those solemn anthems, which peradventure struck upon my heedless ear, rambling in the side aisles of the dim abbey, some five and thirty years since, waking a new sense, and putting a soul of old religion into my young apprehension -- (whether it be that, in which the psalmist, weary of the persecutions of bad men, wisheth to himself dove's wings --or that other, which, with a like measure of sobriety and pathos, inquireth by what means the young man shall best cleanse his mind) -- a holy calm pervadeth me. -- I am for the time” This little turning point had shown Charles was intenerated and started accepting a little bit about music, not only music, but also his belief. –“ I am converted, and yet a Protestant.”
Allow me to say something about the feeling after reading this, in fact, hobbies can always be foster, as long as we have our faith, nothing is not agreeable. Charles, why don’t you try to spread your life and accept more music or anything you recently dislike? And finally, Charles doesn’t like music at all, how could he know so many Musical Celebrities while I like music but I don’t really know many of them.
Gary
9/29/08
Cheng Lin Zhang (Cheney)
Analytic Essay (First Draft)
“A Chapter on Ears” is an essay written by Charles Lamb who tries to share and express the feelings; the struggles that he has to music. In his essay, he provides evidences and experiences of his own to describe his views to music. Lamb begins his essay ironically. He uses a very simple line “I have no ears.” as an initial sentence. It is really a very strange and confusing line to me, as a reader. It makes the readers wonder what he is trying say. Is he really meant that he has no ears? Or it is something else? However, this simple line caught the readers’ attention because it rises up the readers’ curiosities. And the only way to find out what is this essay really about is to continue reading it. Besides, in the first paragraph, Lamb also tells the readers do not mistake him by nature destitute and that makes the readers even more curious. As I continue to read further of the essay, we will figure out what Lamb really means he has no ear. In the third paragraph, Lamb begins with a sentence “When therefore I say that I have no ear, you will understand me to mean – for music.” By reading this line we will now know that Lamb is trying to say that he is without musical ears, not his actual ears. And now by adding this explanation, it makes the introduction effective because it gives the readers’ curious a very clear response. Also, it makes the introduction even more ironic because what he means by he has no ears is actually has nothing related to his actual ears, but a musical ears. Then now the readers are focusing on how he is without musical ears. This is where the thesis introduced and that’s what Lamb does to build a closer relationship to the readers.
Later on in the essay, Lamb is describing how he feels about music. He is saying “I even think that sentimentally I am disposed to harmony. But organically I am incapable of a tune.”(Pg166 paragraph fourth) this is a line where the thesis first occurs. And from this line Lamb is trying to tell the readers about his musical abilities. And in the next paragraph, which is the fifth paragraph, Lamb provides an evidence to prove the talents of his friends in music, and at the same time, he is also comparing the talents in music between himself and his friend. In the fifth paragraph, he mentions his friend A. identifies the deficient from listening Jenny plays his piano. And he also mentions his friend A. “not dreaming of me.”(Pg166 paragraph fifth) from this we can see that his friend A. really knows a lot in music, so then even when he identifies the deficient of the piano, he knows it is not from Elia because Lamb says “I am not without suspicion, that I have an undeveloped faculty of music within me.”(Pg166 paragraph fifth); but Jenny because Jenny is “with all her (less-cultivated) enthusiasm.”(Pg166 paragraph fifth)
Lamb continues to describe the difficulties that he has in music. He mentions “I could never be made to understand what a note in music is; or how one note should differ from another.”(Pg166 paragraph sixth) by reading this line we know that he really has difficulties in music, it is not just because he could not identify the different between notes, but his ignorance to music. And once again, this is where the thesis is. Charles also gives an experience of his own to prove the struggles he has to music. In the eighth paragraph, he says “The ear is passive to those single strokes; willingly enduring stripes while it hath no task to con. To music it cannot be passive.”(Pg167 paragraph eighth) what he means by saying this is that our ears cannot choose what to hear in nature; but to music, if we do not try to learn, we will never know what music really is by only listen to it. From this we can also see that Lamb actually does try to learn music. And he mentions he had been to an Italian Opera. But he could not hold on to it because of the “sheer pain” and “inexplicable anguish”, so he went out into the street to release himself. He then went to a “unpretending assemblage”, and the sounds there makes him think that the “purgatory” becomes his “paradise”. From what I understand to this line is that he rather likes the pure music than to those music that is being set already.
All in all, throughout the whole essay, Charles Lamb uses evidences and experiences of his own to tell the readers how he tries to understand music and how music brings him painful. And I think the way he constructs his essay does help him build up a close relationship between the speaker/authors and the readers. I say that because he begins with a very tiny physical subject, the ears and then he expends into a very board subject, music. The relationship between these two subjects is tenable because as a human being, we all have ears; and music, it is the best language to communicate with each other although we might not speak the same official languages. Moreover, music is something that we need to use our own ears to listen to it. Although our feelings might be different with each other, but then this is a very subjective and personal feeling. Also, there is no especial sentences conclude as a thesis; but the evidences and examples that Lamb uses bring out the thesis. Charles begins his essay with an ironic introduction, this does makes the essay a good personal essay because it caught the attentions from the readers at the beginning, and then as the readers read along, they will discover the true meaning and message that Charles wants to bring it out.
Taylor Crabill
“In Praise of Shadows”by Junichiro Tanizaki is an essay which describes how an older
man struggles with a changing world and prefers tradition from the past. The speaker describes
how there is a different beauty in shadows then that of light. Through the speaker’s life and
experiences shadows shaped his perception. In this essay shadows represent the past and the speaker explains how things have changed over time. Now that there is electricity rooms can now be fully lite unlike candle light which could only light a room partially. This new technology makes things that were once familiar seem different in the speaker’s eyes. His perception has changed because the way he sees things is no longer in shadows but in fully lit rooms. The speaker uses the format of the essay as a tool for telling his story. He makes the whole essay like a house and each section as rooms of the house. He links each section of the essay as if you were walking into another room. This allows the story to flow from one subject to another. This essay also works well as a personal essay. The speaker is very descriptive and uses examples which are easy to relate to. This makes it easy for the reader to understand how the speaker is feeling and how this new world of light has affected him. The speaker also goes from the universal to the specific. By using this method the reader can better relate to the topic which the speaker is discussing.
The speaker of this essay has grown up in a world full of shadows and this has shaped his
view of the world around him. The speaker grew up in the past where the only way to light a room was to use a candle. The candle was only able to light part of the room leaving plenty of shadows and dark places. This is how the speaker formed his perception of the world and how he prefers to see things. The speaker says “The quality that we call beauty, however, must grow from the realities of life, and our ancestors, forced to live in dark rooms, presently came to discover beauty in shadows ultimately to guide shadows toward beauty’s end”. This quote shows how the older generation found beauty in shadows and how when things are taken out of the shadows the way they are viewed is changed. For example the speaker uses the example of a woman. He says that a woman who is viewed as beautiful fully dressed despite what she looks like underneath. What the speaker is trying to say is that a woman who might seems beautiful in one perception may seem beautiful in another. This goes along with how in a darkly lit room you see one thing and when you view the same thing in a room the is fully lit then it may seem completely different. This change in perception changes the meaning of objects. One object that is seen as beautiful and mysterious has become ugly obvious. The speaker also describes “How, in such a dark place, gold draws so much light to itself is a mystery to me. But I see why in ancient times statues of the Budda were gilt with gold leaf and why gold leaf covered the walls of homes of the nobility.” This quote offers a view in to how beauty was viewed by those who lived in dark rooms. It also allows imagination to take over and lets the reader see beauty through the speaker’s eyes. This is an important part of a personal essay because the goal of a personal essay is to connect with the reader. By being able to understand what the speaker is trying to say and see things the way the speaker does always the connection to be made between the speaker and reader.
The format that the speaker used made it seem as if you were walking threw a house. The
speaker used each section of the essay as rooms and linked the rooms together as if you were
walking from one room to another. For example in the beginning of the essay the speaker talk about how set out to build a house. He goes from speaking about lighting objects that would help make his house more traditional to speaking of stoves and his struggle to find one that would go along with his old fashioned house. Here the speaker goes from one specific part of his house to another. Another example is at the end of one paragraph, “But in the dim lamplight, the hard lines of the puppet features softened, the glistening white of their faces muted-a chill comes over me when I think of the uncanny beauty the puppet theatre must once have had.” Here the speaker is talking about how he would change the lighting to make the puppet seems beautiful for him. In the next few lines of the next paragraph he says “To me this is the very epitome of reality, for a woman of the past did indeed exist only from the collar up and the sleeves out; the rest remained hidden in darkness” Here the speaker is speaking of the same beauty from the past but has introduced a new topic to describe the beauty. Here he also describes how he would change the lighting around a woman to his liking. In this way he has linked to the two sections together and makes it easy to flow right into another subject. He is using the similar example of changing the light around the puppet and then the woman to move from one subject to the next.
“In Praise of Shadows” makes a personal connection with the reader and works well as a personal essay. The speaker is very descriptive making it easy for the reader to see things how the speaker sees them. For example when describing a traditional Japanese house he says “...but in the old palace and the old house of pleasure the ceilings were high, the skirting corridors were wide, the rooms themselves were usually tens of feet long and wide, and the darkness must always have pressed in like a fog.” With such a description the reader can picture using imagination how a Japanese traditional house must have looked like and how through this description the reader can see how much he enjoyed this type of house. The speaker describes things in the universal and then goes into the more specific. An example is “So benumbed are we nowadays by electric lights that we have become utterly insensitive to the evils of excessive illumination. It does not matter all that much in the case of the moon, I suppose, but teahouses, restaurants, inns, and hotels are sure to be lit far too extravagantly.” Here the speaker goes from the universal by using we in the first sentence to using I in the next sentence.
The speaker chooses to close the essay by making a compromise. The makes a compromise between the present and the past. He admits that the world is changing and nothing can change that. However he looks to preserve the world of the shadows through his essay. In this way the speaker is able to show how he prefers the traditional way of the past but knows that new ways are taking over society. The speaker shows the audience threw his eyes the beauty of the world of shadows. This personal essay connects the reader with the speaker. The speaker does this by using the universal to personal and by connecting the sections of the essay to each other. He also uses things that are easy to relate to in order to make that connection with the reader. The world of shadows may be lost in today’s world but is preserved threw this personal essay.
Dominique Hernandez
"A Chapter On Ears"
by Charles Lamb
“Emotion doesn't have to be happiness”. (Rex Brandt)
How can you distinguish happiness from extreme happiness, almost so extreme that can reach the point of ecstasy? How to express it and take it out of your system when the necessary words haven’t even been invented? This is not only referring to regular people, but what about in the case of artists? It is not a secret that artist feel and perceive even the smallest particle of air, which they try to express through their own language whether it be a painting, a work of literature or a beautiful piece of music. What is the border line where the joy and pleasure go over the limit of words and turn into pain and suffering? In “A Chapter on Ears” by Charles Lamb, the author finds himself strongly motivated for his surreal reaction to classical music.
Lamb’s personal essay begins in a humoristic tone, trying to play with the reader with the first phrase: “I have no Ear.” leaving him with a lot to think about. In the following paragraph the author does not wait to let the reader know that he is just speaking in a symbolic manner: “Mistake me not, reader- nor imagine that I am by nature destitute of those exteriors twin appendages, hanging ornaments… better my mother had never borne me.”(pg165) and what he really means is that he has no ear for music.
The way this essay starts shows that it is a good personal essay because it gets the readers attention and drags him into the essay because the reader somewhat feels sorry for the author, as if he been knowing for a long time. At the same time, this like accumulates a lot of energy and interest making the reader question if that is all there is in the essay, not like other essays where you kind of have to make your path to get to the thesis. At least this made me lose some interest because the speaker didn’t allow me to get to the point on my own. When later on the author clarifies that he has no ear for music, it was hard to imagine how he was going to make a connection with the rest of the world. However, he reaffirms that he is not an expert on music when he mentions: “but organically I am incapable of a tune.”
In the middle of page 166, it takes a second look to realize that there is a 180* turn. Lamb brings back a memory where he was in his friend A’s house, surprisingly playing the piano in a very masterful way: “On his first surprise at hearing the keys touched in somewhat an airy and masterful way, not dreaming of me, his suspicious had lighted on Jenny.” (This by the way offends him because Jenny is a less cultivated person.) Here is where the reader starts wandering that perhaps Lamb does enjoy and have certain knowledge of music, so then what does he mean when he says that he has no ear for music? Lamb gets to the bottom of this ploy in the following hidden line: “it is hard to...remain singly unimpressible to the magic influences of an art (he means music) which is said have such an especial stroke at soothing, elevating and refining the passions… I must avow to you that I have received a great deal more pain than pleasure from this so cried-up faculty”
Lamb is a writer, an artist; it is more than obvious that he should have some good taste and knowledge in many types of arts of the world including music. He, in comparison with Jenny, have studied and probably visited many places around the world, and he makes very clearly that he does not want the reader to confuse him with “a maid” like his friend A’s did. Lambs give more clues about his knowledge on music by italicizing very sophisticated terms like sostenuto and adagio, naming people like Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart.
As it was mention before, Lamb is an artist, an artist feel things in a different way, their emotion does not necessarily have to be happiness. This is the case of the author towards music. Lamb affirms that he feels more pain than pleasure when he listens to an orchestra or any type of classical music. The author gets too full of sentiment to the point of desperation because he cannot enjoy music like everybody else does, he describes this feeling as: “to pile honey upon sugar and sugar upon honey”, “the purgatory of the Enraged Musician becomes my paradise”
Feeling attracted to something does not have to be pleasant or a comfortable. It does not have to be a simple and temporary feeling, especially if we are talking about an artist. It can actually turn out to be a living purgatory for sensible people like Charles Lamb. When something takes you beyond than what you can tolerate, it takes you out of reality and the pain comes at the time to come back. Like Lamb, you can become addicted to this feeling and separate from society to the point that you can only express that experience in a personal essay.
Essay Title: “Seeing”
Author: Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard created the most colorful essay in the most described details possible. She begins her essay with a blast from her past. This technique draws the reader into the essay because it starts the reader to “feel” nostalgia. Dillard describes hiding pennies and drawing arrows to it, in hope of a person finding a “free gift from the universe” (p.693) But as you read on the purpose of the essay was not about childhood and penny but the given gift of sight. It is in plain black in white as “what you see is what you get” (p.693) or “now you see it, now you don’t” (694). The thesis is not so define but more applied theme as you read on. Dillard does not give away everything so simply, she spreads them into little pieces like a puzzle, to keep the reader drawn to her work.
Dillard’s main theme in the essay was “seeing”, but seeing what? “Seeing” in terms of the world around you. The word “seeing” is the act of being able to see, see things that are in light in order to be seen. But what if what you see can’t be seen, but you know its there, is it worth seeing, that is the point of Dillard’s essay. She supports this theme by several examples such as drawing, trips to places in nature, blind people seeing for the first time, and her own experiences growing up.
The structure of the essay was perfectly fit together by paragraphs and spaces. The paragraphs allowed the reader to change topics with out being lost and the spaces between the paragraphs cued the reader that she’s going to go on with another story. These pieces allowed the reader to bring out other topics with out being lost and drawing them together at the end of the essay.
Reading the third paragraph she talks about nature, how its more like a “now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t affair”. Such as fish swimming in a river, you see it, then you blink and it’s gone. Another example is late September, and birds start to fly south. She hears the birds but doesn’t see where they are coming from because they are all concealed perfectly in the tree, but if you startle them they fly off for second and return to a resting spot, more or less like as if the tree never moved.
From talking about the simplicity of a penny she moves on into certain objects that some people know of and some who nothing of a subject. People who spent their whole life searching for something that makes them happy versus those who know nothing of what the other person is in search of. “I cherish mental images I have of three perfectly happy people. One collects stones. Another-an Englishman, say- watches clouds. The third lives on a coast and collects drops of seawater which he examines microscopically and mount. But I don’t see what the specialist sees, and so I cut myself off, not only from the total picture, but the various forms of happiness.” (694) Dillard compares herself to “specialists” who look for certain things and build their whole life on, because it makes them happy and says she isn’t like them. She says this because it’s not her idea of happiness, because she engages in other activities that make her happy.
She says that “It’s all a matter of keeping my eyes open,” often. Some what saying to the reader, yes, I know it’s there but I haven’t seen it yet but will, by keeping my eye out for it. She says this for many things such as the ray or green that shoots out of the sun, or the minutiae, the flying squirrels, “skipper larvae in locust leaves”, “antlion traps in sandy soil”, “monarch pupae near milk weed”, etc. But then in the next paragraph, she admits she “only sees what she expects” (695). She continues on with this topic in later paragraphs such as a meteor can collide and she wouldn’t know unless she saw it, or not paying mind to the stars moving around as time progresses, unless she really stares at the sky.
“The lover can see, and the knowledgeable”, means that a person doesn’t have to be a specialist to love something, but they also have a full knowledge of a particular subject, which in her essay she describes her aunt, uncle, and cousins’ love for horses. She knew what a horse was but wasn’t in full knowledge of the detailing of the horse therefore having the family get on her case for her poorly drawn horse. “The point is that I just don’t know what the lover knows; I just can’t see the artificial obvious that those in the know construct.”
The best part of the essay was the part when she describes people that have been blind all their life have been given the gift of sight and is frightened by what they see. Blind people see with their other sense such as touch, smell, taste, and hearing, and for an individual who has lived a life with out sight, seeing for the first time can be a very overwhelming experience. “Those who are blind from birth…have no real concept of height or distance.” She touches on the subject that us as an individual who have been given the gift of sight are not using it to our full advantage. Something as simple as knowing the distance of you home as a mile versus steps. The gift of sight to the blind can go one of two ways, they learn how to use it and adapt to their new sense or they can go back to the way life was when they couldn’t see, for example a boy who fell in love with a girl at the asylum for the blind, but once he was given the gift of sight and released he would rather gouge his eyes out to go back for her.
Seeing is beautifully written with such witty and colorful word it draws readers to read on to find the theme/ thesis of the essay. Dillard’s theme is basically, “what you see is what you get” with knowledge. The secret of seeing is, then, the pearl of great price….But although the pearl is found, it may not be sought.” Dillard is comparing sight as a priceless gift that others may not need but for others, the gift of sight isn’t one that should be taken advantage of but to be put in good use to “see”. Look at things that are there, but are often over looked because you leave them as unseen.
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