AP Lit

Monday, October 25, 2010

Works Cited

Bear, Jacci Howard. “Blue.” About.com. 2010. The New York Times Company. 25 Sept, 2010 <http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorselection/p/blue.htm>.

“Cause for Fear: Sexual Apprehension in the Writings of Virginia Woolf.” UPenn. 3 Oct. 2010 <http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~lpottle/Thesis.html>.

“Characteristics.” Department of Horticultural Science. 3 Oct. 2010 <http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Rhodosp.htm>.

“History and Meaning of the Yellow Rose.” ProFlowers. 2010. 4 Oct. 2010 <http://www.proflowers.com/flowerguide/rosemeanings/yellowrose-meanings.aspx>.

Lee, Hermione. “Virginia Woolf.” The New York Times. 1997. The New York Times Company. 3 Oct. 2010 <http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/l/lee-woolf.html>.

Nicolson, Nigel. “Virginia Woolf.” The New York Times. 2000. The New York Times Company. 3 Oct. 2010 <http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/n/nicolson-woolf.html>.

Snyder, Ed. “Death Depicted in Cemetary Symbolism - Part I.” Stone Angels. 2010. WordPress and Hybrid. 25 Sept. 2010 <http://www.stoneangels.net/death-depicted-cemetery-symbolism-part-1/>.

Tompson, Richard S. "Woolf, Virginia." Great Britain: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Modern World History Online. 27 Sept 2010< http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=

WE53&iPin=GB1369&SingleRecord=True>.

“Virginia Woolf.” Introduction to Comparative Literature. 2004. Colorado College. 3 Oct. 2010 <http://ats.coloradocollege.edu/co100-04-b1/author/page.php?autPage=3>.

Whitaker, Daved J., Rachael King, and David Knott. “Jellyfish.” Sea Science. 2006. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. 4 Oct. 2010 <http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/jellyfi.html>.

Photo Credits:

"Abstract Smoke Art Tutorial." 101 Prints. 2010. 24 Oct. 2010 <http://www.101prints.com/tutorials/abstract-smoke-art-tutorial/>.

"Embassy of the United States, Sofia Bulgaria - Earth Day (April 22, 2009)." Embassy of the United States, Sofia Bulgaria - Home. Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://bulgaria.usembassy.gov/media_04222009a.html>.

"How Much Astrological Influence Affects My Creative Visualization? | Learn Creative Visualization." Learn Creative Visualization | Visualize and Materialize. Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://learn-creative-visualization.com/2010/02/06/how-much-astrological-influence-affects-my-creative-visualization/>.

Jelly Fish. Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://www.jellyfishs.com/>.

Johnson, Erin. "The Buzz: Making Waves on ScienceBlogs." Web log post. ScienceBlogs. 26 May 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2010 <http://scienceblogs.com/seed/2009/05/the_buzz_making_waves_on_scien.php>.

"Monarch Butterfly Pictures." Fohn.net. Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://fohn.net/monarch-butterfly-pictures/>.

"Scottish Paintings by Scottish Artists." Scottish Paintings Art Gallery with Canvas Prints. Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://www.scottishpaintings.eu/scottishpaintings.html>.

"TLC Home "Caring for Roses"" TLC "Guides" Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/how-to-care-for-roses.htm>.

"To from Flowers2world.com." Sending Flowers Online - Flower Shops, Florist, Flowers, Send Flowers, Red Rose Bouquet, Flower Delivery. Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://www.flowers2world.com/send_flowers_online/viewdetails.asp?product_id=36&productid=68863>.

Vaughan, Beth. "The Harper in Fairyland." Spirit of Trees. 24 Oct. 2010 <http://www.spiritoftrees.org/folktales/vaughan/harper_in_fairyland.html>.

Hours/Dalloway #16

“They sit quietly for a moment. It is somehow worse that the house still stands. It is worse that sun and then dark and sun have entered and left those rooms every day, that rain has continued falling on that roof, that the whole thing could be visited again” (132).

Cunningham uses this passage to suggest the theme that time passes and lives continue to be lived even when people are not there to witness it. Clarissa and Louis both realize that this house, which stands for their past together, sat at a standstill as they continued their lives separately. Cunningham makes the point that as humans, past experiences are difficult for us to cope with. He successfully conveys this point through repetition of the phrase “it is worse.” Many people choose to ignore the past because it can lead to regret of what one could have or should have done. Clarissa and Louis realize that “the whole thing,” or their life together, “could be visited again” but that does not mean that it will happen. It makes it that much harder that they realize the option is still there but they both know neither will take the chance. Cunningham shows time passing through the usage of the words “sun” and “dark” to emphasize the fact that Clarissa and Louis’ past together was a very long time ago. Through these few simple sentences, Cunningham brings to life the idea that time will never stop.

Photo Credit:

"Scottish Paintings by Scottish Artists." Scottish Paintings Art Gallery with Canvas Prints. Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://www.scottishpaintings.eu/scottishpaintings.html>.

Hours/Dalloway #15

“From far away, she can hear a dog barking” (215).

Cunningham uses the imagery of a dog barking to create the idea of isolation. Mrs. Brown has separated herself from reality through her reading and worrying. A dog barking suggests the idea of something being very far off in the distance; this can be interpreted to mean that Mrs. Brown has distanced herself from the rest of life, leading to her isolation from the world and people around her. This isolation ultimately leads to her attempt at suicide. Cunningham used the imagery of a dog barking not only because it creates the appropriate image for this scene but because it relates the moment to a similar one in Mrs. Dalloway where Septimus Warren Smith hears dogs barking in the distance. Using this same image in a parallel situation creates a string connecting both books. Cunningham did not write The Hours as an original book; rather, he created it to be his version of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. By using several of the same images as Woolf, he lets his readers know that it is his intent to produce a version of the previous novel.

Photo Credit:

Hours/Dalloway #14

“I don’t think two people could have been happier than we’ve been” (200, 7).

Cunningham places this line twice in the novel. The first time the line appears is in Virginia’s letter to her husband before she commits suicide. The second time, this line is Richard’s last words right before he jumps out of the window. Cunningham uses this line twice to create the connection between Richard and Virginia. These characters lived parallel lives. Similarly, Leonard and Clarissa have similar lives since they are in the position of trying to help Virginia and Richard. The way Cunningham uses this line enforces this idea; just as Leonard was the one to whom Virginia was speaking, it was Clarissa to whom Richard was speaking. Placing this line in the first few pages of the book and then the last few pages brings the book full circle, connecting seemingly unrelated lives.

Hours/Dalloway #13

“Everything she sees feels as if it’s pinned to the day the way etherized butterflies are pinned to a board” (141).

Cunningham uses this comparison to give both the scene and Mrs. Brown’s character a morbid mood. The analogy Cunningham uses here creates the image of a lifeless, dead day. The day is even unnaturally dead since the butterflies are “etherized” or put to sleep with anesthetic and then “pinned to a board” which kills them. This process of death is not natural. This analogy creates a somber mood and it plays up the negative effect that Mrs. Brown has on other characters such as Richie since she is the principle cause of his suicide. Cunningham chose to use this particular analogy not only because it created the appropriate mood for the scene but because catching butterflies was something that Virginia Woolf did in her actual life. When she was a child, she would spread syrup on trees causing butterflies to get stuck when they tried to land on the trunk. She would then spread the butterflies out on cork boards and pin them there. Cunningham uses this moment as a way to bring more of the actual Virginia Woolf into his writing.

Works Cited:

Nicolson, Nigel. “Virginia Woolf.” The New York Times. 2000. The New York Times Company. 3 Oct. 2010 <http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/n/nicolson-woolf.html>.

Photo Credit:

"Monarch Butterfly Pictures." Fohn.net. Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://fohn.net/monarch-butterfly-pictures/>.

Hours/Dalloway #12

“She thinks of how much more space a being occupies in life than it does in death; how much illusion of size is contained in gestures and movements, in breathing. Dead, we are revealed in our true dimensions, and they are surprisingly modest. Hadn’t her own mother seemed to have been removed surreptitiously and replaced by a little version made of pale iron?” (165).

Through this passage, Cunningham explores Woolf’s relationship with death. Her observation that people take up more space when they are alive suggests that Woolf feels as though people do not deserve to use that space. This belief of hers is confirmed when she uses the word “true” to explain how people are in their dead state. Cunningham uses this opportunity to explain the impact Woolf’s mother’s death had on her. Woolf was only thirteen when her mother died and the fact that she talks about her mother here, as she discusses death as being a good thing, suggests that her mother’s death sparked her suicidal condition. She uses the fact that her mother was “replaced by a little version made of pale iron” to support her claim that we as humans take up more space alive than dead, since iron is very dense. Also, the words “removed” and “replaced” seem to hint at the idea that Woolf’s mother was taken away by somebody else and then this same person put a little statue in her place. This suggests that Woolf believes in some sort of God even though she was raised in an agnostic family. Perhaps her conflicting spiritual beliefs within herself have contributed to her unstable mental condition.

“Virginia Woolf.” Introduction to Comparative Literature. 2004. Colorado College. 3 Oct. 2010 <http://ats.coloradocollege.edu/co100-04-b1/author/page.php?autPage=3>.

Nicolson, Nigel. “Virginia Woolf.” The New York Times. 2000. The New York Times Company. 3 Oct. 2010 <http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/n/nicolson-woolf.html>.

Hours/Dalloway #11

“I think of them as coalescences of black fire, I mean they’re dark and bright at the same time. There was one that looked a bit like a black, electrified jellyfish” (59).

“She might see it while walking with Leonard in the square, a scintillating silver-white mass floating over the cobblestones, randomly spiked, fluid but whole, like a jellyfish” (70).

Cunningham uses these two passages to show the similarities between Richard and Virginia Woolf. Both of these characters struggle with mental illness and using a jellyfish to describe both of their struggles creates that connection. Here, Richard is discussing the images and voices that he sees and hears and Virginia is describing her “headaches.” Cunningham uses the symbol of a jellyfish in both cases since a jellyfish, due to its radial symmetry, has the ability to see all around itself. Richard and Virginia, though labeled as being mentally unstable, are clearly very intelligent; they are both very talented writers who both are known for their brilliant words. Society labels Richard and Virginia as being “handicapped” just as jellyfish may appear to be underdeveloped, but in reality, they are very advanced. Even though Cunningham is using these passages to point out the similarities between Virginia and Richard, he uses the color of these jellyfish to reveal the different ways people can feel pain. Virginia’s pain is expressed through a “silver-white” jellyfish and Richard’s pain through a black jellyfish. This color symbolism seems to represent day and night. Virginia feels as though she is stuck in daylight as she “prays for dark the way a wanderer lost in the desert prays for water” (71). On the other hand, Richard is trapped in the dark as Cunningham describes his face as “[seeming] to rise up out of the darkness like a sunken sculpture hauled to the surface” (58). Through this, Cunningham suggests that too much of anything causes people to feel trapped, whether it be light or dark.

Work Cited:

Photo Credit:

Jelly Fish. Web. 25 Oct. 2010 <http://www.jellyfishs.com/>.