Rudyard Kipling

I’ve decided to write my paper on Rudyard Kipling. Kipling was born in 1865 and died in 1936. He was born in Bombay during the height of British imperialism. His childhood effected much of his writings. It is said that he and his sister suffered from mental and physical abuse when their parents left them at what Kipling called the “house of desolation”. In that house he discovered his absolute love for reading. He was able to escape the house when he started to attend public school. In 1878 he traveled to America to attend a college that a close family friend ( Cormell Price) was the head master at. Price became a huge influence and role model to Kipling. After college Kipling went back to India to become a journalist. Through hard work and great stories he became a journalist for the Pioneer. In 1888 Kipling decide to go to England and make some fame for himself there. After writing many great publications he again moved to a new home in the states, but not being very welcome in the states forced him and his new family back to England. On a chance to reconnect with the states he took his family to New York and to his dismay he lost his daughter when his family fell ill. Yet because of health issues Kipling was told to stay out of England during the winter. That’s when Africa became a large part of Kipling’s life and where he was introduced to the war efforts. He lost his only son in battle and became even more bitter toward the Americans during the peace summits. Despite Kipling waning health he and his wife continued to travel around the world. His health also became the cause for his reduced publications from the end of World War 1 and his death. Kipling unfortunately died on his wedding anniversary in France after being operated on in the hospital. 

Kipling is famous for his work in children’s literature. The Jungle book was then made a movie by Disney and is still widely known  among children today. Kipling’s early life and many travels are said to have great influence on his works. My paper’s topic will be on how Kipling made his childhood and travels very influential to his works. 

The Pursuit of a Bookstore

Even though she born in New Jersey and rarely attended school, Sylvia Beach lived a cultured life. In 1902, Sylvia and her family traveled to Paris and stayed there for three years. During this time, Sylvia fell in love with Paris and even after the Beach’s moved back to America, she returned in 1916. Despite Sylvia Beach’s lack of formal education, she was still a fairly intelligent woman. Her knowledge was the result of many books read, travels, and languages learned. After she moved to Paris, Beach started attending poetry readings at Adrienne Monnier’s bookshop. Monnier later helped her open her own bookshop, The “Shakespeare and Company” bookstore which was the first English and American bookstore in Paris. The fact that Beach chose to sell books in English in a city that looked down on the language shows her determination and independence. Hemingway describes her character as “delightful and charming and welcoming” (Hemingway, 35.) and based on what I information have found about her, it seems to be true. Sylvia Beach is perhaps best known for helping James Joyce publish Ulysses, and despite her own financial troubles, she was devoted to helping Joyce and would even send him money when he needed it. Beach was also very generous to Hemingway and let him and even others borrow books without having to pay.

I really admire that Sylvia Beach chose to pursue her dream of owning her own bookstore. Even though English books were rarely sold because they were “badly bound” (Hemingway, 39) and the French said they had no value, Sylvia had an entire shop full of them available for people to read. She chose a different path than others at this time and even worked to become independent. Beach worked hard when she left her parents, often twelve hours a day and never complained. The Orlando database claims her ultimate goal was to be independent and she once wrote  “I must get at something profitable. My uselessness utterly depresses me.” (Fitch, 32.) The fact that she refused to accept “uselessness” shows how determined she was to be successful on her own. I think I may argue that Sylvia Beach was a great example of an independent woman in this time and place and that her bookstore helped her accomplish this.

Any ideas on how to narrow it or get it started?

“The Brothers” in Dostoyevsky

 

Many Russian novels depict a cold country, full of poor, downtrodden, drunken citizens. In many ways Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novels (and life for that matter) mirror this common conception of Russia, but his reflections on moral issues and human interaction sharply distinguish him from stereotypes. According to the DLB database, Dostoyevsky’s father was a doctor and although letters reveal that Dostoyevsky was fairly close to his mother there is very little communication between Dostoyevsky and his father and he is reported to have said that his childhood was rather harsh. Freud diagnosed Dostoyevsky with “hystero-epilepsy” saying that his fits were brought about by guilt over wishing his father dead. Whether or not this diagnosis is accurate,  (some reports say that Dostoyevsky’s father died under suspicious circumstances, others that he just died from a stroke) Dostoyevsky’s complicated feelings towards his father almost certainly provided much of the inspiration for  The Brothers Karamazov, which depicts four vastly different brothers, one of whom murdered his father.

In my paper, I plan to argue that the four brothers are all manifestations of Dostoyevsky himself. Alyosha, an apprentice at a monastery who always sees (and represents) the good in humanity, is the religious facet of Dostoyevsky’s personality; Ivan is the cynical, intellectual part of his brain that wrestles with God and aggressively questions the state of affairs in the world; Dimitri is less complex, a rash and masculine soldier caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, embroiled in woman troubles; Finally, Smerdyakov is the opposite of Alyosha, a kind of devil on Dostoyevsky’s shoulder who wants  his father dead and most likely killed him and also suffers from debilitating epileptic fits. I think there is enough information about Dostoyevsky’s life to find evidence for each of these facets of his personality. Any ideas or suggestions on how to make my argument more complex would be greatly appreciated!

Alice B Toklas, The quite voice in the storm

Alice B. Toklas was not the most celebrated or extravagant individual of her era or literary circle, but was far from a shadow in the corner, and much more than one of the “geniuses’ wives”. Toklas’s life help importance to the literacy culture as well as popular culture of her time as well as in present day through her assistance and inspiration within the life of Getrude Stein, who she entertained in a romantic relationship, her passive activity within the writing and art culture as well as her own writing and publications. W.G. Rogers wrote, “She was a little stooped, somewhat retiring and self-effacing. She doesn’t sit in a chair, she hides in it; she doesn’t look at you, but up at you; she is always standing just half a step outside the circle. She gives the appearance, in short, not of a drudge, but of a poor relation, someone invited to the wedding but not to the wedding feast,” Depicting that while Alice was highly revered and often took a backseat at social gatherings, she aided in the artistic culture through her own works as well as her support towards Getrude Stein, and other inventive geniuses.
Alice was born in San Francisco, April 30, 1877, to Simon and Emily Toklas, and raised in what she described as “necessary Luxury”. Moving to Paris in her younger years, where she encountered Gertrude Stein, the most pivotal character throughout her existence. In 1907 the two entered into an intimate relationship, which continued until Stein’s death in 1947. Toklas first achieved fame in 1933 through Miss Stein’s autobiography, which was entitled “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.” Prior to the publication of Stein’s autobiography, Toklas was known only by those in her immediate social group, including the writers and artist that congregated in, Stein-Toklas salon. After which Toklas became known for her strong personality and, power she held over her and Stein’s household, as well as for her cookbook and memoirs, entitled “The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book”, know highly for its Hashish fudge, which main ingredient is cannabis. This, as well as her other publications earned Toklas fame and notability, marking her importance within the community.

Post #6 – Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1896 to an upper-middle class family. Fitzgerald studied at Princeton University but was put on academic probation because his grades suffered because he was more focused on his writing then his studies. He joined the U.S. Army and then quickly wrote The Romantic Egotist. He published his most famous work The Great Gatsby in 1925, though it didn’t become popular until after his death. Fitzgerald was inspired himself by parties he had attended all over the world; he and his wife Zelda lived in many cities during their life, including Long Island, Paris, and Rome.  Seeing the lavish lifestyles of many different types of people had an effect on Fitzgerald and affected his writing. I have decided to write about how Fitzgerald’s life influenced his characters in The Great Gatsby and how his life, and Gatsby’s, was a tragic example of the positive and negative side of The American Dream.

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso was a famous Spanish painter, sculptor, who also wrote some poetry. Max Jacob was one of Picasso’s first friends. Jacob helped Picasso learn the Parisian language and its literature. Picasso also was close to Fernand Oliver, a bohemian artist who became his mistress and also appears in many of his paintings which are influenced by his relationship with her. While Picasso was in Paris, he made relationships with poet Guillaume Apollinaire, and writers Ernest Hemmingway and Gertrude Stein. Pablo Picasso was influenced a lot by women. Women appeared in many of his paintings, but beyond that, he was influenced by other things. His African-Influenced Period was strongly influenced by African sculpture. This period was also called the Black or Negro Period. One of Picasso’s most famous periods was the Blue Period. This period seemed to reflect his experience of poverty/instability. Prostitutes, beggars and drunks were frequent subjects in his paintings during this time. Dull colors, mostly blue, dominates these paintings, hence the name: Blue Period. Succeeding the Blue Period was the Red Period. These paintings were dominated by cheerful orange and pink colors which reflected a somewhat romantic quality. Here, he was inspired by his happiness in his relationship with Fernand Oliver, who was a possible reason he switched styles. Picasso was born in Spain but lived most of his adult life in France. As a child he was admitted to the Barcelona School of Fine Arts at age 13 and later went to Madrid’s Royal Acadamy of San Fernando. I think that Hemmingway’s short depiction of Picasso is accurate.

I wanted to get away from the writers mentioned and explore a bit more on Hemmingway’s relationship with Picasso to see if he was at all influenced by Picasso’s paintings. What I found was that Picasso actually had more of a relationship with Gertrude Stein, who actually introduced Picasso and Hemmingway. I am not really sure of an argument but I know I want to stay on the topic of Stein and Picasso. Possibly relaying on their relationship and if it at all had an effect of each other’s work.

Any suggestions would be helpful! Please let me know what you think and if I am able to expand on this thought.

Sylvia Beach and Company

Sylvia Beach was a rebel at a young age. She went to school rarely and as the DLB states it, “like Ernest Hemingway, she observed, she was self-educated.” She had no formal education. She eventually set up her shop “Shakespeare and Company” in Paris after moving around to many different countries and cities with her family. Her shop is mostly known for putting together a completed version of James Joyce’s Ulysses. She smuggled copies to the US when she could. Her bookstore was filled with English writers unlike her friend Adrienne Monnier, which had all French language books. Beach often filled her store with the authors that she enjoyed. Beach had many famous novelists that enjoyed her bookstore like Pound, Flanner and, of course, Hemingway. Beach’s bookstore mostly specialized in lending of books because many of the customers could not afford to buy the books. There was a library card fee and depending on the amount of books being lendind wasthe charge.

Hemingway depicted Beach accuratly she seemed like a kind shop owner She was a nice person to all that came in and recognized that many people were struggling to afford anything and offered to help with getting literature. She encouraged others to read. Beach wanted everyone to read and learn from reading.

My topic is the importance of her shop and the observations that she made of the other authors. Beach provided many authors with a way to obtain books. My argument is vague though. I want to focus on how her shop, Shakespeare and Company, helped many authors learn and without her shop many connections that authors made at her shop, possibly wouldn’t have happened if the shop wasn’t opened.

Any suggestions?

Talent Doesn’t Mean Happiness

I chose to do my paper on Ralph Cheever Dunning. Dunning was a poet from Detroit who lived in Paris. One interesting piece of information about his poetry is that he did not appear to have any desire to have his poetry published and fought against it until in 1910 when his first volume of poetry was published. His poetry was not seen much after this until the 1920’s when Ezra Pound convinced him to publish more of his works. Ezra was delighted when Dunning’s poetry was published, but Dunning himself showed little reaction. Dunning’s poetry often included themes about death.

Despite his poetry being fairly recognized as talented works, it was Dunning himself, and not his poetry that garnered the most attention. He did not talk to many people other than his friend Ezra Pound, and he usually remained cooped up in his small room. There were a few other people who managed to engage him in conversation: Samuel Putnam, an American translator and Sisley Huddleston, a British journalist and writer. Dunning was only known to wander out into public on a few occasions, and when he did, it was not to socialize. He would go to loud and crowded cafes and situate himself in front of a book and a glass of milk, silently keeping to himself. He had an addiction to Opium, which often brought on times when he would forget to eat. Ultimately, Dunning died in 1930, an event which he had seemed to be seeking for a long time. His death was caused, many believe, by a refusal to eat while he had tuberculosis. Hemingway portrayed Dunning very well, as he showed not only how unsocial he was, but also how he had a death wish: Hemingway depicts Dunning as standing on the roof of the building, contemplating suicide. Hemingway included references to Dunning’s love for milk and solitude.

I am not quite sure what my argument is going to be, but I have a few ideas. I may try to prove how Dunning and Hemingway treated life in opposite ways yet ultimately both ended up unhappy. Dunning was anti-social and had no drive to get his work published. Hemingway on the other hand enjoyed spending time with friends at cafes, on trips, while fishing, boxing, etc. Hemingway took pride in his work, and even when he knew it was not at its best, he strove always to learn more to improve it and get it published. Dunning died nearly friendless, and he died alone and unhappy (unless we undergo the assumption that death made him happy). Hemingway appeared to love life, yet in the end he was unhappy with many of his decisions in life, including cheating on Hadley with Pauline. Ultimately he committed suicide. I do not know where to go with my argument after this, but I think it is where I will start.

Post #6: Adventures with Biography and Databases

This post asks you to explore the life and cultural contexts of the writer or artist you are examining for your second paper. Using a combination of the DNB, the DLB, Orlando, and other databases provided through the English Research Guide, write one or two solid paragraphs about what you discovered about the writer through these sources. Who did the person hang out with? What significant moments from his or her life influenced the works? Where did he or she live? What sort of educational path did he or she take? Is Hemingway’s depiction accurate? Your job is to highlight the most interesting potentially useful points for your reader.

Then, write one solid paragraph that presents your paper’s topic AND your possible ARGUMENT.

Your post is due Tuesday 4/1 by class time.

Finally, read each other’s posts and comment on at least three. You can ask the writer to clarify argument, or for more info on the author, or share something you learned with him or her. Comments should be done by Thursday 4/3.

“If I told him, a Completed Portrait of Picasso” Gertrude Stein