Amerikansk Litteratur OG Kultur PDF

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Eksamen LENG175 2019, Langsvar (spørsmål og svar), Karakter A ...

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AMERIKANSK LITTERATUR OG KULTUR Eksamensspørsmål 2019

Trickster Tales We might argue that the primary aim of the Trickster Tales is to educate and entertain. Using “Trickster and the Talking Bulb” (NAAL Vol. 1 36), identify three key elements of the text that are central to the story's power to educate and entertain. You may discuss formal and/or thematic elements. The primary aim of Trickster Tales are to educate and entertain, and "Trickster and the Talking Bulb" is no exception. To identify the story's power to educate and entertain we may look at three key thematic elements. This story teaches us to not think of yourself as superior to natural forces. Despite the bulb's warning "He who chews me will defecate" (36), the Trickster still believes that he is superior to the bulb and claims that "I know very well [. . .], I will not defecate" (36). However, he underestimated the bulb, and the Trickster starts to defecate a good deal. He tries to run from the consequences by relying on the trees which he climbed up in order to get to higher grounds. However the excrement began to come up to him. This teaches us that we as humans must never believe that we are superior to natural forces as the consequences might be too great for us to simply run from. At the same time, the story teaches us to rely on nature. After falling into the excrement and blinded by the filth, he had to rely on the trees in order to escape death. He sang to the trees asking if there might be some water around, and the trees answers him "Go straight on." (37). The Trickster almost died that time because the dung had been on him a long time and had dried. It is said that had the trees not spoken to him, he certainly would have died. This theme is still relevant today as humans need to rely on nature in order to survive. This story also teaches us a bit of cynicism. When the Trickster encounters a place where people were living he warned them that a big warparty was upon them and that they had to place their lodge, the dogs and themselves on top of Trickster. However, this was all to his amusement as he started to break wind and as a result they all fell apart from one another. As the people were shouting to one another, the Trickster were "laughin at them till he ached" (37). To sum it up, "Trickster and the Talking Bulb" uses thematic elements involving nature and cynicism in order to educate. However the surreal events also makes it entertaining which is an important aspect of oral traditions.

Edgar Allan Poe Dark Romanticism emerged, we might argue, as a reaction against certain ideas of Trascendentalism. Using Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” (NAAL Vol. 1 749), discuss three significant characeristics in the writing of the Dark Romanticists, such as Poe, that are central to the success of this short story in particular. Key elements to the success of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher", is three significant characteristics that is found in the writings of the Dark Romanticism. Firstly, we can find darker elements of the psyche in the doubling of the twins Roderick and Madeline. Roderick represents the mind, and his illness is characterized as a 1

mental idiosyncrasy. Madeline on the other hand represents the body, and her condition which was physical "baffled the skill of her physicians" (753). This doubling could suggest an individual's failure at coming to terms with both his mind and body. The fact that the mind and body cannot be separated is emphasized with the death of Roderick and Madeline at the end of the story. Secondly, we can find characteristics of trauma in the doubling regarding the "House of Usher" which represents both the house itself and the Usher family. More specifically the house seems to represent the past of the Usher family, which they are having a hard time coming to terms with. Rather than a soulless house, Poe describes the mansion as a living evil entity with "eye-like windows" (749). Furthermore, the narrator describes them as "to be altogether inaccessible from within" (751), which suggests that the house is keeping the twins trapped inside. This indicates that Poe is underlining the need to accept one's dark self and come to terms with one's past. Thirdly, the story includes gothic descriptions and supernatural events. For instance, the story opens with a gothic description of the house with "vacant eye-like windows" (749) and landscape as "an utter depression of soul [. . .]" (749). In addition, there are a series of supernatural events involving the dead sister Madeline. The most chilling one is where Madeline appears before the narrator and Roderick with "blood upon her white robes" (761) as she proceeds to fall heavily inward upon her brother which results in his death. To sum it up, I have now discussed three significant characteristics found in Dark Romanticism involving the darker elements of the psyche, trauma and supernatural events, which were central to the success of this story.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In the final line of Adventures of Huckleberry Finnl, Huck says, “But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilise me and I can’t stand it. I been there before” (290). How might we interpret this final statement in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as wonderfully ironic? Make reference to plot, character, and theme. To understand the irony in the final statement "But I reckon I got to light out of the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adapot me and sivilise me and I can't stand it. I been there before" (290), we have to look at plot, character and theme. Regarding the plot, it is ironic that the story ends with going back to the beginning, "I been there before" (290). Even though Huck has come to like Sally and Silas, they are still a part of a society which Huck has come to distrust. Furthermore, Aunt Sally intends to "sivilise" him. This is ironic considering that Huck's "adventure" all began due to Widow Douglas' attempt at civilizing him as well. As a result, Huck decides to start a new adventure heading west in order to escape further civilizing. Thus, the story ends with going back to where it all started. Aunt Sally's intention is to turn Huck into an upright boy with education, religion and an indoctrination in right and wrong. However, I would argue that keeping slaves is considered unmoral and less Christian. Huck on the other hand, sees the humanity in Jim. He even goes as far as to rescue him from the rapscallions who stole him, and this action is arguably considered morally right and more Christian. Despite that fact, Huck still says "All right, then, I'll go to hell" (242) as he tears up the letter to Miss Watson. It is ironic that despite all this, the text still suggests that Huck still needs to be civilized. The theme regarding freedom is also ironic, because is Huck and Jim ever free? The land represent the society and civilization, where each place represents civilization in 2

different ways. The people living in those societies appears to be weird people, for instance the feud between the Grangerfords and the Shephersons; when asked why they're fighting, Buck says "I don't know" (176). Thus the river is supposedly there to represent freedom of morality, especially in terms of the relationship between Huck and Jim. However, the river is also taking them to the "slave country", so are they really ever free? As a conclusion, it's clear that to understand the irony in the final statement in "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" we must look at plot, character and theme.

The Yellow Wall-paper Central to the success of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wall-Paper” (NAAL Vol. 2 511) is Gilman’s use of the narrator in the story. After first identifying the narrative style that Gilman uses, discuss two ways in which this narrative approach underpins the main theme(s) of the story. To understand how the narrative in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper" underpins the main theme of the story, we must first identify the narrative style that Gilman uses and discuss how it is used. The narrative in the story is told in a 1st person narrative, and the story could not have been told in any other way. The use of this type of narrative means that the narrator is unreliable. For instance, the narrator is arguably confided in a psychiatric based on the fact that the bed is nailed down and the bars at the window, just to mention a few. However, the narrator insist on that she is in a nursery, which emphasizes the fact that she is not reliable. Furthermore, Gilman uses dramatic irony in order to create a distance between the reader and the narrator. As we're aware of her mental illness, we're able to see the significance of her actions and words, whereas she is not. The style or structure, is a key element to how the narrative underpins the main theme. The style of the story has a diary-like structure. This means that it's written in sections where each section is separated by a period of time. Take notice of the fact that each section seem to become shorter and shorter as we move towards the end of the story, with the exception of the very last section. This symbolizes the deterioration of her mind as time passes, until she finally "snaps" at the end and says "I've got out at last" / [...] you can't put me back!" (523). Another key element to this diary-like style is that she is prohibited from writing. Whenever John or Jane shows up, she must put it away because they "hate to have me write a word" (513). This indicates that the narrator's eventual insanity is a product of repression of her imaginative power, and not the expression of it. To conclude, Gilman's use of narrative to underpin the main theme of the story is arguably a central key to the success of "The Yellow Wall-paper".

Mrs. Spring Fragrance The complex nature of identity and nationality is arguably the central theme of “Mrs. Spring Fragrance” (NAAL Vol. 2 550). Focusing on two characters from the short story, discuss how Sui Sin Far uses these two characters to explore the everyday issues immigrants faced with regards to their identity after arriving in the United States at the turn of the 20th century. Identity and nationality is arguably the central theme of "Mrs. Spring Fragrance" and to understand how Sui Sin Far explores the everyday issues immigrants faced regarding this theme after arriving in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, we must look at two characters from the story. 3

Firstly, we have Laura Chun Yuen who represents the more Americanized second generation of Asian Americans. This is clear by how she for instance chooses to go by her American name rather than her Chinese name, Mai Gwi Far. However, she still finds herself standing in between the Chinese culture, which her parents want her to hold on to, and the American culture, in which she was raised. Despite her relatively Americanized parents, they still wish to adhere to the Chinese customs regarding marriage. This means that Laura is to marry a man she has yet to meet out of obedience to her parents. Furthermore, she is expected to renounce her true love, and as a results she lives her life in misery. Whereas Laura struggles with her position standing in between two different cultures, Mrs. Jade Spring Fragrance on the other hand tries to maintain the characteristics of both cultures. Despite being so Americanized that "There are no more American words for her learning." (550), she still does not disregard the Chinese culture completely. For instance, she doesn't encourage Laura to disobey her parents, instead she comes up with a scheme to please all parties involved. Similarly, she also maintains some submissiveness which can be found among women in Asian cultures. When she wanted to extend her stay in San Francisco, she sent a letter to her husband, Mr. Spring Fragrance, asking for "permission". However, she most likely intended to stay regardless of her husband's answer. To sum it up, Sui Sin Far uses these two characters to explore the everyday issues immigrants faced regarding their identity and nationality. Both Laura and Mrs. Spring Fragrance stands between two different cultures, however they don't seem to identify themselves completely as one or the other, which results in conflicted feelings.

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