The Perfect Paragraph #1

By narrating the novel from two different ideological perspectives, Rhys creates a foundation of multi-vocality through the characters of Antoinette by shifting the reader's attention from "Bertha" the madwoman in the attic, by exposing the painted picture of women being mad and in need for male dominance and stability in their lives. Throughout the novel, the patriarchal oppression that is vexed by the cruelty of Mr. Rochester leads the readers to understand the causes of Antoinette's so called "insanity" within the novel. Nevertheless, she is a women who is suffering from the constraints placed upon by a Victorian male who seeks to control her behavior by underestimating her worth. For example, the choice of words that Rhys uses in particular through the narrative of Mr. Mason creates a sense of de-personalization towards Antoinette's character through the use of the oppressor's abusive power. "Certainly I will Bertha." As seen here, the use of the name Bertha alienates Antoinette from her own reality. However, when read through Antoinette's perspective, the reader gains a sense of understanding as to why she was driven mad by her patriarchal oppressor. Additional factors may have included her sense of rejection and misplacement that she and her mother faced all their lives. The fact that Rhys aims to create a perspective that focuses on feminine docility throughout the novel further emphasizes the narrative purpose of Mr. Rochester in creating another side. 

The portrayal of Insanity in Wide Sargasso Sea

Thesis: The work of Jean Rhys aims to depict the evident struggle of the dominated to make their voices heard in a hostile context against which they find themselves in a position where they are portrayed as powerless. Throughout Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys' use of varied voices, historical and cultural context is used to confront her readers with a painted picture of insanity and madness that is a product of patriarchal and societal oppression. 

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Topic Sentence 1: Jean Rhys uses the setting and historical context in which the characters face their inner and outer conflicts to strengthen the sense of entrapment and the path towards insanity that Antoinette experiences due to patriarchal oppression.

Evidence: 

- Edward is paradoxically presented presented in this novel as simultaneously a victimizer and a victim of the patriarchal order. 

- The change in narration provides the readers with an alternate perspective on how Antoinette is driven to madness, through a constant shift in setting. 

-When Antoinette tries to tell him of the destruction at Coulibri, his reaction is mistrust. "I began to wonder how much of all this was true, how much imagined, distorted. Certainly many of the old estate houses were burned. You saw ruins all over the place." 

- “My mother hated Mr. Mason. She would not let him go near her or touch her. She said she would kill him, she tried to, I think. So he bought her a house and hired a colored man and woman to look after her.” - Antoinette, page 121

“What am I doing in this place and who am I?” - Speaker: Antoinette Cosway (Part 3)

“What was the use of telling her I’d been awake before and heard my mother screaming ‘Qui est la? Qui est la?’ Then ‘Don’t touch me. I’ll kill you if you touch me. Coward. Hypocrite. I’ll kill you.’ I’d put my hands over my ears ,her screams so loud and terrible. I slept and when I woke up everything was quiet.” - Antoinette speaking about her nightmare concerning her mother.

“What was the use of telling her I’d been awake before and heard my mother screaming ‘Qui est la? Qui est la?’ Then ‘Don’t touch me. I’ll kill you if you touch me. Coward. Hypocrite. I’ll kill you.’ I’d put my hands over my ears ,her screams so loud and terrible. I slept and when I woke up everything was quiet.” - Antoinette speaking about her mother.

Her behavior is legitimized by the historical context of the Emancipation act and the personal context of having experienced cruelty at the hands of her husband. 

Sailing to England...she then finds herself to be locked up in an attic. --> Relation to the sea?

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Topic Sentence 2: Throughout the novel, Rhys suggests that Antoinette's vulnerability towards patriarchal oppression and the words that are spoken about her leads her to insanity and marginalizes her as the "madwoman" in the attic as the story unfolds. 

Evidence:

On her way to the convent on the first day, she is bullied by two children who mock her and say “Look the crazy girl, you crazy like your mother. Your aunt frightened to have in you in the house. She send you for the nuns to lock up. Your mother walk about with no shoes and stockings on her feet, she sans culottes. She try to kill her husband and she try to kill you too that day you go to see her. She have eyes like zombi too. Why you won’t look at me” the boys said, “One day I catch you alone, you wait, one day I catch you alone.’ The boy goes on to annoy her even more “You don’t want to look at me, eh, I make you look at me.’ She pushed me and the books I was carrying fell to the ground. → Notice how she is antagonized by them.

“They drive her to it. When she lose her son she lose herself for a while and they shut her away. They tell her she is mad, they act like she is mad. Question, question. But no kind word, no friends, and her husband’ he go off, he leave her…” - Christophine

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Topic Sentence 3: The significance of narrating the novel from two different perspectives creates a foundation of multi-vocality through the characters of Antoinette and by shifting the reader's attention from "Bertha" the madwoman in the attic, Rhys aims to expose the problems of women being viewed as basically mad ad the need for male dominance and stability in their lives in order to remain sane. 

Evidence:

- Patriarchal oppression and was vexed by the cruelty of Mr. Rochester. She is a woman who is suffering from the constraints placed upon by Victorian male who seeks to control her behavior, ultimately being viewed as the patriarchal oppressor. --> the choice of words use to describe and refer to Antoinette throughout the novel. 

Women's attempt to create an alternative logical mode to define and give expression to reality can only be experiences as a threat by the patriarchal order.

De-personalization of his wife through his abusive power. "Certainly I will Bertha. Not Bertha tonight.' she said. 'Of course, on this of all nights, you must be Bertha' 'As you wish'

"So it was all over (...) everything was finished". Note of hopelessness. Allows us to define the main traits of the narrator's mental picture of reality, the way in which he makes sense of what happens. -> relate back to the truth...does this mean he is a reliable source as a narrator?

“My mother hated Mr. Mason. She would not let him go near her or touch her. She said she would kill him, she tried to, I think. So he bought her a house and hired a coloured man and woman to look after her.” - Antoinette, page 121

- upbringing: feeling rejected and misplaced with no one to love. Thus is becomes rather evident that Antoinette and her mother are the most susceptible to madness --> feminine docility. 

emphasized by the narration of Rochester. 

Essay Outline: Looking deeper into the relationship between men and women

"The relationship between men and women, and the differences in their role in society, are central considerations in many works of literature. Discuss the part they plan in Wide Sargasso Sea."

Thesis Statement: The work of Jean Rhys aims to depict the struggle of the dominated to make their voices heard in a hostile context against which they find themselves in a position where they are powerless. Throughout Wide Sargasso Sea, the relationship between men and women and their different roles in society are central considerations throughout the novel, as these varied voices engage in an enriching sense-producing experience. Hence, it can be said that Rhys confronts her readers with a world where the male dominates, yet female characters take a stance and embody strength and agency, therefore creating an aspect of post-modernism literature that remains outside these common social norms and societal structures. 

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Topic Sentence: The power struggle that the female gender faces throughout Wide Sargasso Sea is created through the appropriation of women by the dominant male gender through characters such as Rochester versus female protagonists such as Antoinette. 

 Evidence: 

• "So it was all over..." and "Everything was finished" --> related to hopelessness and immobility that is felt by Rochester. 
• "Her pleading expressions annoyed me" --> contrary to Antoinette who is seen as naive about their marriage and their love. 
• "She was a stranger to me, a stranger who did not think or feel as I did" wha the says about Antoinette. 
• When Antoinette fails to reach Rochester's 19th century standards of beauty, he begins to see her beauty as deceitful and almost alien like. 
• Antoinette is presented as "crazy" to a certain extent. --> " She'd be silent and angry for no reason and chatter to Christophine in Patois. 
• Her behavior is labeled as deficient, illogical, mad --> she is marginalized. 
• He renames her and turns her into his puppet, and uses his dominance to imprison her. 
• Exercise Control over reality 

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Topic Sentence: While female independence throughout the novel is shown to be somewhat temporary, many of the female characters throughout Wide Sargasso Sea embody strength and unity, thus creating a significant contrast between commonly held gender stereotypes. 

 Evidence: 

• Notable example of Christophine, a powerful and well respected figure in her community.
• Christophine derives from many of the stereotypes that labeled women of the 19th century.
• She is a benevolent driving force in Antoinette's life --> looks after Antoinette when her mother seems to go off the deep end. 
• When Rochester and Antoinette's marriage begins to disintegrate, she says "A man don't treat you good, pick up your skirt and walk out" --> represents the truth and the reality of the situation. 
• She is comfortable with her racial identity, "All women, all colors, nothing but fools

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Topic Sentence: Throughout Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys's strategic and unique use of stream of consciousness when conveying the thoughts and desires of both Rochester and Antoinette, further portrays a sense of neutrality between the two narrative voices. 

 Evidence: 

• Feminist Lens --> viewing Antoinette as a more naive character and Rochester's narrative voice as one that is more poetic and critical of his surroundings and of Antoinette. 
• Rochester’s stream of consciousness ends with alienation and distance from a world in which he does not belong and which he is incapable of comprehending. --> Distance from Antoinette, alienating his "fake" expectations of her gender and identity.
• Rochester only sees her for her beauty, but does not truly understand her --> objectification of women through narration.
• Specific use of diction to clearly represent both narrative voices and perspectives (Antoinette VS Rochester)
• Two different cultural worlds incapable of reciprocal understanding.

Characterization of Antoinette in WSS

Consider this. Creole woman goes mad and finds herself locked up in the attic of an old English home. In Jean Rhys' world renown novel "Jane Eyre", the character of Berta Mason is portrayed as a crazed Creole woman that lives in the attic; a fearful character that is evidently looked down upon. As a means of "rewriting" Jane Eyre from a newly found historically accurate perspective, Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) attempts to shed light on the intricate character of Bertha Mason, or formally known as Antoinette.

Throughout Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette is painted as an outsider to the social groups that surround her, as her hybridity is marginalized and looked down upon by both the black and white community. While her and her family are "white skinned" she does not identify herself with that community as she is Creole, and does not fit in with the black community either as she is "white skinned". In various instances in part one of the novel, we are exposed to the alienation and sense of otherness that Antoinette and her family face. A prominent example of this can be found through the relationship that Antoinette shares with Tia. At the beginning of the novel, Antoinette appears to be almost naive when she speaks of the "white and black community" co-existing. This is highlighted in her friendship with Tia.

""Plenty White people in Jamaica. Real white people, they got gold money...Old time white people nothin but white nigger now, and black nigger better than white nigger." Tia says to Antoinette.

This quote truly portrays Antoinette's lost sense of belonging and presents her as a character that is "out of place" with her community. When considering the cultural context, the novel itself takes place after the Emancipation act in Jamaica which freed black slaves, which further plays on with the themes of alienation as there appears to be evident racial tension between the black and white community.

"I never looked at any strange negro. They hated us. They called us white cockroach. One day little girl followed me singing 'Go away white cockroach, go away, go away.'" says Antoinette.

Antoinette's character is further characterized by her place in society and her attitudes towards not only how she views herself but also the people that surround her. Having been marginalized and looked down upon throughout the novel, Antoinette's breakdown at the end of the novel is clearly justified due to her troubled childhood and struggle with finding her identity.

Sheik al Junaydi in The Thief and The Dogs

What does Sheik al Junaydi represent in The Thief and the Dogs? How is he significant to the characterization of Said Mahran? How does he contribute to the themes of the text?

Naguib Mhfouz's "The Thief and the Dogs" is a work of Arabic fiction that is accompanied by many characters. As previously mentioned in other blog posts, the novel centers around the main protagonist, Said Mahran, who is the driving force behind the plot and the revealing actions that take place. Through the combination of Said's internal monologues and external occurrences, we are introduced to other essential characters in the novel, all of whom play a role in the character development of Said. Throughout the novel, the character of Sheik al Junaydi plays a significant role in decontextualising the characterization of Said Mahran, as he puts his emotions into words, and contributes to creating a better understanding of the psychological state of the character.

Throughout the novel, Sheik al Junaydi plays a minor character, but yet manages to provide an an in depth perspective onto the character of Said Mahran. As the plot revolves around the way Said's internal monologues carry it out, the insight of another character provides the readers with a unique literary lens. “Said rested his head with its short, wiry hair on his dark, thin hand”. The character of the Sheik is wise, spiritual, and respectable as he appears to be a valued definition of purity. In contrast to Said's character, the Sheik can be viewed as one that FOILS Said. 

Example from text: 

Sheik al Junaydi's sense of moral wisdom and justice further presents his character as one that is quite respectable and provides the key to answers that Said may be searching for. His wise words tell Said that "the world is unaware of him who is unaware of it", another example on how the Sheik puts Said's emotions into words. As it is highlighted that Said is on a quest for revenge, the Sheik tells him to "leave revenge" and turn the other cheek, to turn to god. This only further supports the worthiness of the Sheik and the truth in his words. As it is discovered later on in the novel, Said choses to continue on the path of revenge and fails to conform to the Sheik's words of wisdom. Furthermore, this provides a more in depth perspective from the reader and the way in which they view Said. Additionally, it allows the reader to question the protagonist's morals and gain a sense of clarity when justifying his actions. 

The Sheikh highly contributes to the themes of fate vs free will as his character examines where both themes clash and results in the fall of a tragic hero. When Said first meets with the Sheikh, he is certain that he is destined for revenge against those who have done him wrong and betrayed him. Considering the wise words of the Sheikh and Said's negative response to them, Said is further characterized as a stubborn and angry character who is trapped in his own version of reality. 

In conclusion, the characterization of Said Mahran is presented through a unique lens through the character of Sheikh al Junaydi. Mahfouz's use of indirect characterization through the use of using both characters as a foil to each other, where their conflicting qualities meet in the middle and are used to unravel certain key aspects of the character's deepest qualities. Hence, it can be said that the character of Sheikh al Junaydi not only characterizes Said's character, but also highly contributes to many driving themes of the text such as fate and free will. His inability to break through to Said's deepest inner monologues failed Said in the end as he is faced with the faults of a tragic hero. 

Practical Work - FATE AND FREE WILL

Write a detailed explanation why someone should never allow what they perceive as fate to dominate their decision making

The definition of fate has never been truly written down or set in stone for one to read and consider. Furthermore, when one decides to venture into the unknown, their expectations of the outcome should be left aside. When one has endured betrayal and heartbreak to the same extent as Said, the ultimate goal for revenge is a general state of mind. To elaborate on this, as Said is released from prison after 4 years, he believes that his path for revenge and to seek justice is clear and considered to be fate. Like any tragic hero, Said’s ultimate goal fails him in the end as he meets his final demise when the tables of fortune turn. So what went wrong?

Perceiving fate as a reason to make rash decisions further proves that what one has their mindset on doing will never truly be the resulting outcome. When read with an analytical lens, themes just as justice are portrayed through Said’s inability to accept change. For example, when he is re acquainted with Rauf for the first time after his imprisonment, his old friend’s success and adjustment to a “new future” serves as a significant shock and game changer for Said as he remains stuck in the past, unwilling to accept what his new start could lead to. It is this clear-cut vision of fate that drives his revengeful state of mind and eventually leads him to his demise.

Writing Thesis Statements

Throughout Mahfouz's "The Thief and the Dogs", Mahfouz further enhances the purpose of Said's character by portraying his character as a tragic hero. The protagonists' inner monologues allow  the reader to explore the complexity of justice and betrayal within the novel while acknowledging the cultural context.