perhas, Becuz they need some ArtScis to teach them how to talk and behave
قولی نانوشته بود تا از او سخنی نگویم.
But I have to say this, a sociologist can suck sometimes
To begin, I would like to state my personal purpose of writing this review / criticism. I have read two works from Paul Auster so far, and after finishing each one I felt intensely crazy mostly due to sympathy for the destiny / final mood of the protagonist. After finish the last of the two, "Sunset Park", I feel obliged to express my emotions in order to reduce the intensity of the thoughts in my head.
Anyhow, Sunset park is not a story. It is several stories, mostly describing and developing several characters and their lifelong experiences up to the point the story ends. It is very compact, in that it is able to focus on development of so many characters and somehow looking to the story from their side of view.
The fifth business (the character who relates all the characters in the story and holds the body of the story) is Miles Hillard, the son of Mars Hillard, publisher of Hillard books. Like many other works of his, Auster keeps the protagonist related to literature, not only through his father, but also through his own deep understanding of some literature.
Another repeating element of the story is baseball. Seem Auster being jew, can not write a piece of work having a protagonist uninterested in baseball. Auster has declared in a couple of interviews that although his protagonists are not himself, but they are influenced similarly to the experiences Auster had himself.
Miles Hillard, 28 years old, has ran away from his family for 7 years now, for the reasons that relate to death of his step-brother and his role in the accident that killed him.
Now, after seven years, he is coming back to New York, the city where he is from (and again, the city where tends to be the setting of many of Auster's stories). It was an obligation for him to return, due to some other events that relate to his underage girl friend in Florida, who he loves and is going to marry. Hence, he did not originally return to give an end to his break up with his original family.
In New York, he settles in an abandoned house whose is intruded by several interesting people, one of which is his high school friend, who invited him there. People who live in "Susnet Park" house, happen to be very insightful people, one into art, another literature.
Consequently, three characters who live in that house also become subject of attention, exploring their whole life, how they got there, and who they really are. The compactness of the book is to the extent that the reader feel to know them, as the secondary characters, almost as much as the protagonist himself.
As well, after Miles arrives in New York, characters and lives of his father, mother, and step mother are also revealed to the reader through the omniscient narrator. Again, having a total of at least five characters beside the antagonist very developed, gives an idea as how compact the novel is and how the author takes the best use of space.
The end, however, is unexpected. One could aruge it is not unexpected of Auster's. Being the second work read from him, it was unexpected for me, specially since I was listening to the tracks, not having the book realizing I am reaching the last pages! In the end, there is a sense of suspense, somewhat relating to the begining of the story, some sense of hopelessness, absurdism, and a dark existential wrapping up. You don't feel the story wrapped up though, cause you are left in some state of semi-suspense. You know there is more that should have been indicated about the end, but you can not know how the author prefers you to imagine the final end.
Maybe the end is to make you rather careless about the story than crazy about it. Maybe it wants you to focus on the emotions passed through the story than the plot itself, the content, the philosophical questions of where did I start and where am I landing? and how sad is the whole question, the whole story, the whole beginning and end.
One final thing I want to say about this novel, it conveyed me the whole sadness of the lifelong pain not one, but several thoughtful humans could have.
Hey,
I'm just done with my essay on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I though maybe someone needs it someday, so I put it here:
A Romeo That Dies Without His Juliet
Love is one of the main challenges that a man may face in his life. Many stories are about love, and so is F.Scott Fitezgerald's The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, who is the main character of this novel, has a dream that is tighten to a love. Love is the main substance of Gatsby's American dream, but it also makes him unrealistic, leading to his downfall, showing that the American dream is impossible to be reached. Love's effect on Gatsby is portrayed through Gatsby's faults which were related to love, his pride that is caused by love, and finally his impossible dream that is a result of his intense love.
Gatsby makes many mistakes throughout the story. He believes that he can ignore the time current and go back. In fact, when Nick, who is his sincere friend, tells him that he should not think of rebuilding a relationship that has been finished long time ago, and is lost in memories, he respondes: “Can I go to past? Of course I can!” His idealistic conviction that he can ignore time, is brought up by his strong love, that has decreased the reason and amplified the passion in him during the years he and Daisy were separated. Moreover, he is ready to sacrifice his life for Daisy. When Nick asks him if Daisy had been the driver of the car which killed Myrtle Wilson, Gatsby replies, “Yes, but of course I'll say I was.” He does not like to leave Daisy with a crime that can lead to her execution, not aware of what Daisy does to him at the end, demonstrating that he is not reasonable about his love. Also, his love mainly contributes to his death. Right before his death, he is still thinking that Daisy is going to call him: “...left word with the butler that if anyone phoned word was to be brought to him at the pool.” He seems to be a totally emotional character, that can not believe that Daisy is going to betray him, while it happens, and Daisy leaves him to die alone. It proves how Gatsby is not smart enough to realize the reality about Daisy and his love. Therefore, Gatsby seems to be really affected by his love, but not in a positive way, but in a negative one.
Nevertheless, Love's effect on Gatsby is not limited to his faults; it also has a great impact on his personality traits. Love has made him so proud of himself, and this pride has no good end as well. For example, he offers Nick a job for the favour he does for him, which is asking Daisy to come for a tea. Gatsby describes the job as: “It wouldn't take up much of your time and you might pick up a nice bit of money. It happens to be a rather confidential sort of thing.” But he does not understand Nick's character, who does not like to get a reward for such a favour, and does not like to get involved in organized crime: “But, because the offer was obviously and tactlessly for a service to be rendered, I had no choice to cut him off there.” His arrogance seem to make him think he should pay Nick. Also, it shows that he does anything needed to meet his love, and the fact that he is generous when spending for his love, but he is fanciful to think Nick accepts such gifts, and this impracticality and awkwardness is all caused by love. In addition, he thinks of himself as a person who gains whatever he wants and nothing can stop him. He thinks “he is a son of God,” not thinking that a son of God can be killed someday, too! These imaginary and absurd images, are all involved with romance, and this is the passion that has these illusions for Gatsby. Thus, Gatsby is a egoistic and insolent character who is blinded by his passion.
Although Gatsby's arrogance has a critical value in his downfall, the contributions of romance to Gatsby's life are not limited to his traits. Love is the subject of Gatsby's life, the subject which has polished his American dream. In other words, Gatsby's dream started with money, but was continued by love. Even though it was “from Don Cody” that he inherited the dream of becoming rich, but if Daisy did not like “a hundred people in four private cars”, a “ whole floor if the Seelbach Hotel”, and a “string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” Gatsby did not feel the necessity to become rich as soon as he can and he did not have to do illegal works that corrupted him and his dream. Love is certainly what makes him to rush in becoming rich, and romance is the greatest portion of his dream. Furthermore, he expects too much in his dream. When he asks Daisy to tell Tom that she has never loved Tom, Daisy says that she loves them both, and also says: “Gatsby! You're expecting too much!” This high expectation reveals that his dream is not practical, so far from being practical that is inaccessible. Eventually, “the green light”, and “the orgastic future” which represent his dream, “elude us”, telling that the peruse of American dream is insane and nonsensical, although “we beat on, boats against the current,” and the false move is repeated and repeated again.
In conclusion, the huge impact of romance to Gatsby's character, exhibit him as one who is not sensible, and it builds an impractical dream for him, revealing the theme that it is impossible to attain the American dream. Gatsby's numerous mistakes, his faulty egoism, and his improbable dream show the strong influence of love on Gatsby; however, The Great Gatsby has not a happy ending, and at the end the audience is left we a Romeo that dies alone, without his Juliet.
یادم هست یکبار با دوستی رفتیم دیدن یک نمایش از کارهای آتیلا پسیانی و گروه بازی. اسم نمایش یادم نیست، یک نوع تعزیه ی سوپر مدرن بود! اسم عجیب غریبی داشت. من و دوستم نمی فهمیدیم اسمش یعنی چه اصلا. بعد راه افتادیم در صف بلیط آن نمایش از همه معنی آن اسم را پرسیدیم، روح کسی خبر نداشت! و فکر کنم هیچ کس درک نکرد معنی دقیق آن نمایش چه بود!