They Let Us Read This Stuff in School?

            Sexual imagery is everywhere in literature. They can be very subtle, like a bowl with a key inside of it or they can be not so subtle, like a curtain blowing in the wind. But I was surprised that Shakespeare was not mentioned with the examples in the chapter; his plays are filled with sexual references. An example of one is in The Taming of the Shrew when Kate and Petruchio meet for the first time. They have a very quick witted exchange that has subtle hints of flirting woven in. In the exchange, Kate calls Petruchio “a join’d-stool,” which has three legs implying that the third leg is Peturchio’s penis. Since Petruchio is a well-educated man, he immediately understands the meaning and asks Kate to sit on his lap because he is a stool. So, just in this part of the exchange, there is one implication about having sex.

            Another example is in Flowers for Algernon when Charlie thinks back on his childhood and his mother. He remembers his mother threatening him that if he did anything to his sister or any other woman she would “cut off his peanuts.” She is seeking to prevent a taboo (incest) by promising to emasculate her own son who has the mental abilities of a toddler. His sexual instincts are just that, instincts. But when he gains intelligence, and wants to pursue a relationship with Alice, his former teacher, he is emotionally crippled by the memories of his mother which is prompted by seeing a knife on a table.
            Often considered one of the greatest romantic novels in American literature, The Great Gatsby contains no real love scenes. There are implied love scenes, but there aren’t any written in the novel. Tom has a “woman in the city” which is code for a mistress, but rather than cover it up he flaunts it like a trophy. Nevertheless, Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, is very earthy in comparison to Daisy. Fitzgerald never specifically describes Tom and Myrtle’s sexual relationship, but, in the scene where Nick accompanies Tom to the city with Myrtle to their apartment, Tom buys Myrtle a puppy. Since Tom and Myrtle can’t have children together, the puppy serves as a substitute baby. Later, when Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, discovers the dog leash and collar he now has proof of Myrtle’s sexual infidelity.
           The “great romance” of the novel is between Daisy and Gatsby. Their affair is only implied by Gatsby when he dismisses the servants and stops his famous party to spend time with his lost love. There is no big consummation scene as all of the movie adaptations feel obligated to add in. But Gatsby’s illusion of Daisy is ultimately shattered when he is introduced to Daisy’s daughter. He pictured Daisy as an untarnished flower that had waited for him to come back, but her child is tangible evidence that she had sex with her husband. Ultimately Gatsby is killed by Myrtle’s husband Wilson who is convinced that it was Gatsby who had killed her in order to cover up their affair, and he is convinced by Tom who was actually having the affair with Myrtle. But Myrtle was really killed by Daisy, who was having the affair with Gatsby and unknowingly killed her husband’s mistress. So really, The Great Gatsby isn’t about the American Dream, it’s all about sex.

The seasons are changing, and so are you

 

 

              It’s easy to understand that the seasons represent the phases of life. Spring is rebirth, summer is adolescence, fall is old-age, and winter is death. Whenever a child is born in a novel, it’s usually when the sun rises on a new spring day. Then, when the child is a teenager, he/she is usually running through a field in early summer enjoying life. Fall, as the leaves gently flow down to the base of the trees, he/she walks slowly to a favorite spot with a loved one as they both begin to show the signs of old age. And finally, the cold piercing winter. It cuts through the frail skin of our protagonist and slices through him/her without a second thought.

            Or, in other novels, winter can just mean death for anyone. For example, in Wuthering Heights Catherine dies of a broken heart, afterwards snow starts to fall, when she discovers that Heath Cliff has married someone else. Sure, Catherine wasn’t old and frail but she was severely wounded spiritually making her frail and weak. So, she didn’t have to be old to feel the sting of winter. She was already weakened from an unhappy marriage and thinking her soul-mate was happily married without her.
            Keeping the theme of Wuthering Heights at the moment, there are countless scenes in the book where Heath Cliff and Catherine are running through the heather enjoying life and the time with each other in their youth. These scenes symbolize their happiness and their youth because they mostly play during the summer. Then when Catherine leaves with the Lintons but then returns in the winter, it symbolizes the death of her old life with Heath Cliff and of her youth but also the rebirth of her new life. (Which, if you are going to be very analytical, is doomed to fail and die because it ultimately began in the winter.)
            Another example that uses the same theme of the seasons and the stages of life is Jaques’ speech from As You Like It. He says in his speech that life is seven stages instead of four. But, the stages can be put into four categories. For instance, the first two stages he talks about, the infant and the schoolboy, can be put in the category of spring because they are young and symbolize a new beginning. Next, in the category of summer, is the lover and the soldier. In these stages, they have matured to make their own decisions to enjoy life even more. In the category of fall, we have what Jaques describes as the justice and the pantaloon. This is we where we see old age at its beginning and partial end because as a justice they have more experience and then the pantaloon shows the signs of the mind slowly fading away. Finally, there is the “second childhood,” which means they have grown so old they can no longer take care of themselves. This is in the category of winter because of the loss of freedom that they have entered. That is when it becomes too much and the eventual death comes as a relief from suffering.