William Butler Yeats

I like this poet. He seems to be able to create complex emotions in his works without addressing them directly. In his poem "Sailing to Byzantium." I felt very sad for the speaker. The speaker is old. He sees the eternal art of the ancients and knows that he can never even come close to becoming permanent as they are. He knows he will die, and this fact is reminded to him over and over as he is surrounded by the cosmopolitan city he travels through.

Life is passing, art is forever. We saw this theme in Keat's "Ode to a Nightingale," but in a more positive sense. I think the speaker of Yeats poem, was addressing art in an almost jealous nature.



I must confess that I have not finished reading all the way through Great Expectations. It has become a sort of a surprising pleasure read (who would have thought), and I resist the urge to Spark note it out, because I really have enjoyed the first two thirds.

This weeks is devoted to finishing my web page.

Dickins and his social commentary

I feel sad for the characters in this book, especially Pip. He thinks that all of these social advances will bring him happiness, but they don't.

I feel like that in much of especially American society we try to achieve material goods in the hopes of filling the void in our lives. Satisfaction is a rare thing to find in this world.

From reading the posts on Estrella and her self awareness, I realize that few people have the sympathy that I have for her. She has been brainwashed by the only guardian she ever knew, and while some argue that she could change her attitude if she wanted too, I don' think, that she thinks, that this is a possibility.

I wonder if there has been a paper using psychological criticism on Estrella.

Expectations

I remember vaguely reading Great Expectations in high school. The number one thing I remember about it was that I hated it. Now when I pick up Dickens book, I do so with a hesitant enthusiasm, wanting to continue the story, but afraid I'll remember why I hated it so much.
I think what initially threw me off of Dickens was his plain style of writing. Although the language is simple, there is a lot of it, and it was hard as a sophomore in high school to take all of those words in. Now that I'm older, I can appreciate not only the masterful construction of his sentences, but also the careful way in which he creates the plot, and the distinctive voices of the characters.
I also have developed an unexpected sympathy for Estrella and the bitter woman she lives with. Their seclusion, and the hardships they endured, though not the same type as Pip and Joe, deserve some sympathy if not pity on their part.

I finished my essay on time, but I think that given the chance, I could have expanded the paper into a twelve or fifteen page research project. Something to think about.