NO EXIT by Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher famous as an existentialist (for definitions and more see "Genre"). Throughout the course of his life (1905-1980), he wrote treatises, plays, essays, and novels. His fictional work was generally intended as a medium through which he could explore his bigger philosophical ideas. No Exit is one literary exploration of his philosophical concepts. Written in 1944, the play focuses on three individuals trapped together in hell. Sartre portrays hell as a locked drawing room with three couches. This doesnt sound like the traditional conception of hell and it isnt. But trust us, this version of hell is, well, hellish. As the three characters try to determine why they are in hell and how they are to be tormented, they soon come to the conclusion that they will act as torturers for each other. The play famously concludes with one of Sartres most-quoted lines of all time: "hell is other people." This line, however, goes far beyond the concept of other people simply being annoying. No Exit is running with one of the big ideas Sartre put forward in his famous philosophical treatise, Being and Nothingness, published in 1943, just one year before No Exit. In it, Sartre argues that the mere presence of another person will torment an individual because subjectivity is competitive. In other words, person #2 makes person #1 feel like an object rather than a subject. This sounds more complicated than it is we talk all about subjectivity and objectification in our section on "Characters." The play also explores Sartres idea of "bad faith" the refuge we all seek in lieu of facing the anguish and terror of existence. (Again, not as complicated as it sounds. Dont worry.) The point were making here is that No Exit is about more than three people trapped in hell. (As if that werent enough!) Some critics even argue that, in addition to acting a pulpit for his pet philosophy, No Exit functions as social commentary on Sartres environment

Paris during World War II in the midst of the German occupation. When you read about the "Setting" of No Exit, youll notice that Sartres hell sounds a lot like Paris in the 1940s. It is possible that Sartre thought of the German occupation as hell, but if so, this commentary remains secondary to the plays philosophical significance.

Sartre, No Exit
Dr. Michael Delahoyde Washington State University

The traditional reading of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit, published in 1943, seeks to identify the various tenets commonly associated with Sartrean existentialism, namely that man is an absolutely autonomous individual, determined by his own will alone, for whom his consequent separation from others facilitates infallible liberty and free choice. No Exit is widely

regarded as the literary expression of another Sartrean work, Being and Nothingness, published the same year. Sartre deliberately wrote No Exit as a one-act play so that theatergoers would not be kept past the German-imposed curfew. Many forms of entertainment, including plays, had to be approved by German censors. During rehearsals, clearance to perform the play was given and taken away several times before the first performance in May 1944 just before liberation of Paris. The most famous line in the play is given by Garcin, saying that hell is other people ("l'enfer, c'est les autres"). How is Hell other people? One student wrote: These characters torture each other because they are able to reflect one another better than any mirror. That being said, they also torture one another because they are what they can't have. Inez wants Estelle, who wants Garcin, who sides more with Inez (after wanting Estelle's love/trust, which she is incapable of giving). Great big happy un-love triangle. But there is much more to Sartre's quirky and fun imagining of hell than just three people's torment. Sartre's saying something that's very true to human nature. Some people we hate without mercy but can't live (or be dead) without. Dealing with other people is hell. Not circumstances or red-hot pokers, physical torture or our own emotional pain. For example, me and my sister mutually despise one another. At the end of the day, we pull out the metaphoric paper knife and try to kill each other with insults, catty remarks, and the occasional threat of bodily harm. But it doesn't get us anywhere, because as Estelle, Inez and Garcin find out, ultimately, there is no escaping. There's no escaping each other and there's no escaping the truth. How is this Hell?

Another student wrote: This is, perhaps, the most legitimate and frightening picture of Hell I've seen to date, and in light of my experiences in illustrative and textual fantasy works that concern themselves primarily with physically and psychologically scaring the crap out the viewer/reader with a particularly disturbing view of Hell, that's quite a statement for my own part. My views are, of course, subject to no less than a dozen personal fears which Sartre touched on individually: 1> Forever: I don't care if it's bliss or burning, you propose having to be subjected to anything forever, with no foreseeable or even imaginable end, and I'll promptly take living a hundred contemptible lives over it any day. The mere abstraction of 'forever' makes me shiver. Reality outside of a timeline doesn't really seem to carry with it any kind of need for initiative, for good or evil. 2> Futility: At least in life we know that no matter how terrible things are, we can do something, anything, no matter how small or large. Being robbed of the ability to stab your annoying roommates is a fine expression of this. If the stabbing won't accomplish anything, why would you even want to, and if you can't stab them, why hug them, since on that infinite timeline they'll likely want to be stabbing you every now and then too. 3> Repetition: Forever and futility certainly bring with them some pattern of consistency, even on the most stretched out timeline. "Hm, it's been about five years now, so I'm sure I'm due for another futile stabbing." "I'd like to sit.... Hm, let's see, the green couch, the red couch, or the blue couch. So much variety!" 4> Things made of bronze: I can't explain it, the particular shade just rubs me the wrong way. Probably has something to do with traumatic metallic crayola encounters in my youth. Even more irksome is the unexplained fascination that Garcin has with the bronze ornament in the

room. "They knew that I'd stand at the fireplace stroking this thing of bronze, with all those eyes intent on me" (45). 5> Reading plays as scripts: The hugemongous gaps in discernable individual character are certainly a result of this. Inez, Estelle, and Garcin seem like the same person arguing three different character synopses at themselves. 6> The bell/buzzer which does and doesn't work: As if hell isn't bad enough, they want to tease you too. 7> Hell's patrons have family: Somehow being stuck with the valet and his uncle down the hall is far more torturesome than some terrible looking multi-horned, bile-spouting, noxious smelling demon stamping around and dishing out punishment. Demons, at least, are exciting. 8> No food: Although hunger wasn't mentioned, I'd assume that it would enhance the whole torture mood, in the absence of food. 9> No privacy: Having company every day, every minute, forever seems like the worst guest/host jumble imaginable. 10> No light switches: Dark is good, what an ironic twist. 11> No ending: The play starts where I began, with that terrible idea of forever. And then it ends. Again, how ironic. 12> No twelfth thing: That's right, I ran out! All in all I like it because it seemed so much more believable than all those other depictions of hell we get. I have trouble believing a few people can-crash land on some lost island and peacefully build a new society, let alone not kill each other by the end of the week, so the play adequately sucks all that ridiculous romance out for me. Delightful."

Quotations: "Hm! So here we are?" (3). "I had quite a habit of living among furniture that I didn't relish, and in false positions. I'd even come to like it" (3). "Your eyelids. We move ours up and down. Blinking, we call it.... You can't imagine how restful, refreshing it is" (5). "And, by the way, how does one recognize torturers when one sees them? Evidently you've ideas on the subject." "They look frightened" (8). "I'd rather be alone. I want to think things out, you know; to set my life in order, and one does that better by oneself" (9). "Well? What's going to happen?" "I don't know. I'm waiting" (10). "I'm not the torturer, madam" (10). "But you can't expect me to sit on that one. It would be too horrible for words. I'm in pale blue and it's vivid green" (10). "Oh, well, the great thing is to keep as cheerful as we can, don't you agree?" (11). "I never could bear the idea of anyone's expecting something from me. It always made me want to do just the opposite" (15). "It's obvious what they're after--an economy of manpower--or devilpower, if you prefer. The same idea as in the cafeteria, where customers serve themselves" (17).

"No, I shall never be your torturer.... So the solution's easy enough; each of us stays put in his or her corner and takes no notice of the others" (17). "When I can't see myself I begin to wonder if I really and truly exist. I pat myself just to make sure, but it doesn't help much" (19). "When I say I'm cruel, I mean I can't get on without making people suffer. Like a live coal. A live coal in others' hearts. When I'm alone I flicker out." (26) "Peter dear, think of me, fix your thoughts on me, and save me" (32). "No, I couldn't leave you here, gloating over my defeat, with all those thoughts about me running in your head" (42). "A man is what he wills himself to be" (43). "You are -- your life, and nothing else" (43). "You can't throttle thoughts with hands" (44). "l'enfer, c'est les autres" "Hell is -- other people" (45).

Works Consulted Decino, Denchu Jose. "Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)." Sartre Online. http://www.geocities.com/sartresite/sartre_biography.html. 2001. Sartre, Jean-Paul. No Exit and Three Other Plays. NY: Vintage International, 1976. http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/20th/sartre.noexit.html

No Exit By Jean-Paul Sartre About No Exit

Next Character List No Exit (Huis Clos) is one of Sartre's finest plays; it is produced and studied more than any of his other dramas. The setting is Hell even though it resembles the real world around us. Three characters come together in this microcosm of Hell in a way which shows their indispensability to one another: They become inextricably involved in

each other's stories, and they represent the fundamental idea of the playnamely, that other people are torture for us. The question of "the others" is integral to the works of Sartre; he describes over and over how other people can condemn us, define us, withhold love from us, murder us in short, take the power away from us to live life as we wish. But "the others" cannot rob us of our freedom, and this is the central notion in Sartrean existentialism. The anguish which we feel when we are confronted with the vast and meaningless universe is something which Sartre calls "nausea." To combat this "nausea," man can use his freedom freedom of thought, choice, and action. But once man has chosen and acted upon his choice, there is no turning back: This choice stands as an imprint on his essence, on his human makeup, and it follows him for the rest of his days. In No Exit, Sartre pushes this idea to its extreme, showing how the torture of looking back on our past is a form of Hell, particularly when we fail to choose an act when the opportunity presents itself. If man is alive, he can always choose to rearrange his life, but when he dies, the lifelong events are frozen into a mold which can never be broken. This is the atmosphere in No Exit, where all three characters have died and are condemned to the unmalleable truth of their past actions. Contrary to the situation in The Flies, this play shows what happens when people do not choose properly. In The Flies, we witness the results of correct, as well as incorrect, choices. The play opens with Garcin and a Valet in a drawing room decorated in Second Empire style. This is no ordinary drawing room, however: It is actually Hell, and the play takes place in an afterlife following the death of its characters. The two men discuss the furniture; Garcin disdains the Second Empire furnishings, but he says that he was able, during his lifetime, to accustom himself to most styles. Actually, he is rather surprised by the decor; it is nothing like what he had expected or had

been told about the afterlife. The Valet shrewdly points out that living people who have never set foot in the afterlife are not likely in a position to describe the details of it. Garcin wonders where all the instruments of torture are: Hell is supposed to have racks and "red-hot pincers." The Valet is amused by Garcin's persistence in believing the myths and the stories told by human beings about Hell. And when Garcin becomes angry over not having his toothbrush, the Valet retorts that Garcin has not yet gotten over his sense of human dignity. Human beings always ask the Valet silly questions when they arrive here. Garcin is conscious of his position and announces that he is facing up to it. He soon realizes that this Hell will be disagreeable because it is life without a break: There is no sleeping, no brushing one's teeth, no doing all the ordinary things of life except living, non-stop. He wonders how he will endure his own company, not knowing yet that others will join him. Garcin points to a bell and asks the Valet if he will respond to it when Garcin rings for him. The Valet says that the bell is unpredictable: Its wiring is faulty, and it is itself capricious. Analysis In these opening moments of the play, Sartre raises three fundamental matters which will underline the action of the drama: (1) religion; (2) aloneness; and (3) "the others." He discredits religion particularly Western religion by referring to life on earth as being "down there": Christian religion refers to Hell as being down below and to Heaven as being up above. Sartre reverses this notion and depicts Hell as being above earth. It's one way of upsetting stereotyped notions in the minds of spectators. As for the importance of "aloneness," Sartre isolates Garcin from the very start of the play; Hell is defined as being within the confines of this Second Empire structure, and beyond these limits, there is nothing. It makes for a lonely, panicky environment where hope is all but nullified. This sets the stage for Sartre's portrayal of our need for "others" in order for us to define our essence: Garcin depends, from the start, on the input from the Valet. He needs answers to questions and

desires instructions on how "life" evolves in this world of Hell. The Valet is surprised by Garcin's use of the word "life," but he humors him throughout the conversation. This idea of "the others" being necessary to us is the central idea of the play: Other people are our Hell. Theban Plays
.......The Theban Plays retell a mythological tale already familiar to the Greeks. Why, then, would Athenians attend the performance of a play with a plot well known to them? The answer, of course, is that they wanted to see how the events unfolded and how they affected the principal characters. If you saw the movie Titanic or Pearl Harbor, you were probably aware ahead of time that the Titanic sank and that Pearl Harbor was left in smoking ruins. Nevertheless, you saw these movies anyway because you wanted to see the persons involved and the events leading up to the tragedies. Athenians approached Sophocles' plays in the same way: They wanted to see how Sophocles told the story with his his extraordinary writing and interpretive talents.

It is based on events that already took place. The audience is familiar with these events. The protagonist (main character) is a person of noble birth and stature. The protagonist has a weakness and, because of it, becomes isolated and suffers a downfall. Because the protagonist's fall is not entirely his or her own fault, the audience may end up pitying him or her. The fallen protagonist gains self-knowledge. He has a deeper insight into himself and understands his weakness. The audience undergoes catharsis, a purging of emotions, after experiencing pity, fear, shock and other strong feelings. The people go away feeling better. The drama usually unfolds in one place in a short period of time, generally about one day.

Difference Between Tragedy and Comedy

.......A Greek tragedy focuses on a great and noble character--such as Oedipus, a king-but a Greek comedy usually does not. Also, in a comedy, the author usually pokes fun at the characters. Finally, a comedy does not end tragically. An example of a classic Greek comedy is Lysistrata, by Aristophanes.

.......The three Theban plays tell the continuing story of Oedipus and his daughter Antigone in the following order: (1) Oedipus Rex (also called Oedipus the King and Oedipus Tyrannus), (2) Oedipus at Colonus, and (3) Antigone. Because each play can stand alone as a separate dramatic unit and because Sophocles wrote the plays years apart and out of sequence, they technically do not make up a trilogy, although some writers refer to them as such. Most writers refer to them instead as "The Theban Plays." However, even this name is a misnomer, since the second play takes place at Colonus.

Role of the Chorus

.......The chorus generally had the following roles in the plays of Sophocles: To explain the action To interpret the action in relation to the law of the state and the law of the Olympian gods To foreshadow the future To serve as an actor in the play To sing and/or dance To present the author's views.

Dates Completed
.......The probable date for the completion of Antigone was 441 B.C. and for Oedipus the King, 430 B.C. Oedipus at Colonus was produced posthumously in 401 B.C. However, as stated under "Sequence and Classification," the story Sophocles tells begins with Oedipus the King, continues with Oedipus at Colonus, and ends with Antigone.

In some ways, the chorus is like the narrator of a modern film or like the background music accompanying the action of the film. In addition, it is like text on the film screen that provides background information or identifies the time and place of the action.

Sophoclean Tragedy
.......A tragedy of Sophocles, as well as another Greek playwright, is a verse drama written in elevated language in which a noble protagonist falls to ruin during a struggle caused by a flaw (hamartia) in his character, such as pride (hubris), or an error in his rulings or judgments. A Greek tragedy has the following characteristics:

Pride (Hubris or Hybris) as a Character Flaw

.......Pride was considered a grave sin because it placed too much emphasis on individual will, thereby downplaying the will of the state and endangering the community as a whole. Because pride makes people unwilling to accept wise counsel, they act rashly and make

bad decisions. Great pride, such as that of Oedipus ( Oedipus Rex) or Creon (Antigone), is referred to as hybris or hubris.

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Mythology Background
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........To understand Oedipus the King, as well as the continuation of the Oedipus story in the other two Theban plays, readers and playgoers should familiarize themselves with the following mythological background, well known to the Greeks who attended productions of the plays on the stages of ancient Greece. ........An oracle warns King Laius of Thebes that his wife, Jocasta, will bear a son who will one day kill him. After Jocasta gives birth to a boy, Laius acts to defeat the prophecy. First, he drives a spike through the child's feet, then takes him to Mount Cithaeron and orders a shepherd to kill him. But the shepherd, taking pity on the baby, spares him after binding his feet and tying him to a tree. A peasant finds the baby and gives him to a childless couple--Polybus (also Polybius), King of Corinth, and his wife, Periboea (also Merope). They name the boy Oedipus (meaning swelled foot) and raise him to manhood. ........One day, when Oedipus visits the oracle at Delphi, the chief city of a region in central Greece known as Phocis, the oracle tells Oedipus that a time will come when he slays his father and marries his mother. Horrified, Oedipus later strikes out from Corinth. He does not want to live anywhere near his beloved parents, Polybus and Periboea, lest a trick of fate cause him to be the instrument of their demise. What he does not know, of course, is that Polybus and Periboea are not his real parents. ........In Phocis on the road to Thebes, at an intersection of three roads, Oedipus encounters his real father Laius, whom he does not recognize, and five attendants. Laius, who is riding in a mule-drawn wagon, is on his way to Delphi to hear a prophecy from the oracle. Laius, of course, does not recognize Oedipus either. Oedipus and Laius quarrel over a triviality--who has the right of way. The quarrel leads to violence, and Oedipus kills Laius and four of his attendants. One attendant escapes. ........Outside Thebes, Oedipus encounters the Sphinx, a winged lion with the head of a woman. The grotesque creature has killed many Thebans because they could not answer her riddle: What travels on four feet in the morning, two at midday, and three in evening? Consequently, the city lives in great terror. No one can enter or leave the city. ........When Oedipus approaches the Sphinx, the beast poses the riddle. Oedipus, quick of mind, spits back the right answer: man. Here is the explanation: As an infant in the morning of life, a human being crawls on all fours; as an adult in the midday of life, he walks upright on two legs; as an old man in the evening of life, he walks on three legs, including a cane. ........Surprised and outraged, the Sphinx kills herself. Jubilant Thebans then offer this newcomer the throne of Thebes. Oedipus accepts it and marries its widowed queen, Jocasta. Jocasta is, of course, the mother of Oedipus, although no one in Thebes is aware of this fact. Thus, the oracle's prophecyto Laius and Oedipus is fulfilled.

Summary: Oedipus Rex

Characters
Protagonist: Oedipus Antagonist: Fate, the Truth Oedipus (ED ih pihs or EE dih pihs): King of Thebes. Jocasta: Wife of Oedipus. Creon: Jocasta's brother. Teiresias (ti RE se uhs): Blind prophet. Antigone(an TIG uh ne): Daughter of Oedipus. Ismene (iz ME ne):Daughter of Oedipus. Messenger Shepherd Chorus of Theban Elders
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Setting
Ancient Greece in the city of Thebes, northwest of Athens.

Theme
.......Fate punishes the proud and the insolent with ironic outcomes terrible to behold. Oedipus as king of Thebes exhibits great pride (hubris) that blinds his ability to accept the truth. (Ironically, theblind prophet Teiresias readily "sees" the truth.) As a result, Fate sends Oedipus tumbling headlong into an abyss of humiliation, grief, and remorse in a single day.

The Story
.......When a plague ravages Thebes, Oedipus sends Creon, his wife Jocasta's brother, to the oracle at Delphi to find out the cause of the plague. After Creon returns, he tells Oedipus the oracle's finding: The cause of the plague is the murderer of Laius, the former king. The murderer is in the city at that very moment, and not until he is identified and punished will the plague end. According to Creon, Laius died when attacked while he was traveling to Delphi with five attendants to hear a prophecy from the oracle. Four of his attendants were also killed. One escaped. There was a witness to the killings, a shepherd. .......To learn more, Oedipus summons the blind Theban seer Teiresias, a very old man

..

who can read omens and fathom the will of the Fates. He also has knowledge of past prophecies affecting Thebes and its citizens. When Oedipus asks him the identity of the killer, Teiresias provides only evasive replies, then refuses to give any information at all. Angry, Oedipus says:
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him. Oedipus sends for the shepherd. After he arrives, the shepherd reveals that the baby he took to Polybus came from the House of Laius. .......Both Oedipus and Jocasta then realize the truth of the matter. Jocasta hangs herself and Oedipus blinds himself, then urges Creon to exile him.

..............Monster! thy silence would incense a flint. ..............Will nothing loose thy tongue? Can nothing melt thee, ..............Or shake thy dogged taciturnity?
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The Climax
.......The climax occurs when Oedipus realizes the awful truth: that he killed his father, married his mother, and caused the plague afflicting Thebes.

.......Teiresias continues to withhold his knowledge, well knowing that disclosing it will unleash the fury of the gods on Oedipus. However, when Oedipus accuses Teiresias of planning the murder, Teiresias decides to reveal the truth: that Oedipus himself is the murderer. Furthermore, in an oblique reference to Oedipus's marriage to his own mother, Teiresias says, "I say thou livest with thy nearest kin / In infamy, unwitting in thy shame." Oedipus reacts by accusing Creon of bribing Teiresias to undo him and Teiresias of willingly accepting the bribe solely for profit:
.

Summary: Oedipus at Colonus

Characters
Protagonist: Oedipus Antagonist: Creon Oedipus (ED ih pihs or EE dih pihs): Banished King of Thebes Antigone (an TIG uh ne): Daughters of Oedipus Theseus: King of Athens Creon: King of Thebes Polynices (pol ih NE seez): Older son of Oedipus Messenger: Attendant of Theseus Chorus of Citizens From Colonus
.

..............See, for this crown the State conferred on me. ..............A gift, a thing I sought not, for this crown ..............The trusty Creon, my familiar friend, ..............Hath lain in wait to oust me and suborned ..............This mountebank, this juggling charlatan, ..............This tricksy beggar-priest, for gain alone ..............Keen-eyed, but in his proper art stone-blind.
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.......Creon pleads his innocence. But Oedipus, refusing to believe him, threatens him with a death sentence. Jocasta comes forth to calm Oedipus and end the altercation, urging him to accept Creon's denial of wrongdoing. The chorus supports her, saying, "Brand not a friend whom babbling tongues assail; / Let not suspicion 'gainst his oath prevail." Oedipus relents and dismisses Creon, but rancor remains in his heart. .......Jocasta then tells Oedipus that he should put his mind at ease, declaring that the words of seers are not to be trusted. To prove the truth of her observation, she reminds Oedipus that Laius was prophesied to die by the hand of his own son but instead died by the hand of unknown robbers in Phocis at the intersection of three roads, according to reports shortly after the death of Laius. But instead of calming Oedipus, the words further unnerve him: "What memories, what wild tumult of the soul / Came o'er me, lady, as I heard thee speak!" He begins to suspect that he could be the murderer after all, especially when Jocasta describes Laius as a tall man whose hair was streaked with silver. Oedipus seems to have a vague memory of such a man. Deeply concerned, Oedipus sends for the man who carried the report of Laius's death to Thebes. .......Meanwhile, an elderly messenger arrives from Corinth to report the death of King Polybus, whom Oedipus had thought was his biological father. He presents his report to Jocasta while Oedipus is elsewhere. The Corinthians, the messenger says, want Oedipus to be their king. Jocasta, thrilled with this good news, sends for Oedipus. However, after the messenger presents his report to Oedipus, he also discloses that Polybus was not the real father of Oedipus. Then he recites the tale of how Oedipus was abandoned as a baby and later taken by a shepherd to Polybus and his wife, who raised

Setting
Ancient Greece in the town of Colonus, just outside Athens. Colonus is favored by the Furies, spirits who punish evildoers.

Theme
.......Through love, piety, and hardship, Oedipus achieves redemption . Oedipus, stripped of dignity, wanders in a wilderness of suffering for many years. Though blind, he begins to "see" again with the eye of his soul, recognizing his faults and realizing the importance of love and right living with the help of his daughters, Antigone and Ismene.

The Story

........After Oedipus leaves Thebes, Creon becomes the temporary ruler of the city while it is decided which of the sons of Oedipus, Polynices or Eteocles, will become the permanent ruler. However, in time, the brothers agree to rule in alternate years. Meanwhile, the blinded Oedipus wanders for years from one place to another with his daughter Antigone, suffering many trials that earn him redemption for his sins of long ago. Eventually, he arrives at Colonus, a town just outside Athens where he believes he is fated to die. ........Colonus is favored by the Eumenides, a euphemistic term for the Furies--three spirits who punish evildoers beyond the pale of human justice. The townspeople of Colonus refuse to accept him and order him to leave. He is the accursed Oedipus, after all, and his presence can only bring the wrath of the gods upon Colonus. But the ruler of Athens (and its suburb, Colonus) accepts him and declares that Oedipus may count on Colonus as his final resting place. This ruler is Theseus, famed for countless heroic adventures against man and beast. No one in his realm dares countermand his edicts; what he says is law. Theseus is a just man, but he is also a practical one, hoping to capitalize on a prophecy that the land where Oedipus is buried will be a land that receives the blessings and protection of the gods. ........By and by, Oedipus's other daughter, Ismeme, joins him at Colonus and reports that Polynices and Eteocles are at war over the throne of Thebes. It seems Eteocles refuses to yield the throne to Polynices even thought it is the latter's turn to rule. She also reports that Creon is approaching from Thebes on a special mission. After Creon arrives, he tries to persuade Oedipus to return to Thebes, believing that his death and burial there will protect the city from turmoil resulting from the war between Polynices and Eteocles. To further his plans, Creon has his henchmen abduct Antigone and Ismene. Then he tries to carry off Oedipus himself. However, redoubtable Theseus prevents further mischief by Creon and rescues Antigone and Ismene. ........Polynices arrives to ask his father to help him defeat Eteocles. Enraged that one son would seek the death of the other son, Oedipus curses them both, calling down the wrath of the gods on each. ........Shortly thereafter, thunder rumbles in the heavens while Oedipus talks with Theseus, and Oedipus says his time to die is near. They then exchange ominous words:
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........After bidding goodby to his daughters while Theseus remains nearby, Oedipus dies. A courier reports to the citizens (the chorus) that the manner of Oedipus's crossing to the afterlife is known only to Theseus. The courier says:
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................It was a messenger from heaven, or else ................Some gentle, painless cleaving of earth's base; ................For without wailing or disease or pain ................He passed away--an end most marvelous.

The Climax
.......The climax occurs when the courier reports the death of Oedipus.

Summary: Antigone
Characters
Protagonist: Creon Antagonist: Antigone
Although it has been argued that Antigone is the protagonist, she does not experience a requirement of classical Greek protagonists: a moment of truth in which the protagonist recognizes and acknowledges his or her mistakes, failures, or sins.

................THESEUS ................What sign assures thee that thine end is near?

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................OEDIPUS ................The gods themselves are heralds of my fate; ................Of their appointed warnings nothing fails.
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Creon: King of Thebes, who creates conflict when he forbids the burial of Polynices. Antigone (an TIG uh ne): Daughter of Oedipus, sister of Polynices, and niece of Creon. She defies Creon's orders and buries Polynices. Ismene (iz ME ne): Reticent sister of Antigone. Haemon: Son of Creon, betrothed to Antigone. Eurydice (yoo RID uh se, yor RID uh se): Wife of Creon. Teiresias (ti RE se uhs): Blind prophet. Chorus of Theban Elders Messengers, Watchman
.

Setting
Ancient Greece in the city of Thebes, northwest of Athens.

................THESEUS ................How sayest thou they signify their will?

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................OEDIPUS ................This thunder, peal on peal, this lightning hurled ................Flash upon flash, from the unconquered hand.
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Themes
Intractability and pride cause the downfall of even the noblest humans. Both King Creon, defender of the temporal law, and his niece Antigone, defender of the eternal law, doom themselves with their recalcitrance.

Overriding divine law with the law of the state leads to ruin. Creon's refusal to permit Antigone to bury her brother Polynices was a violation of moral law even though Polynices had rebelled against Creon's rule as King of Thebes. Injustice and tyranny can provoke justified civil disobedience. To uphold the moral law, Antigone breaks the civil law. Down through the ages and into modern times, citizens have used this theme to guide them in redressing their grievances. During the Vietnam War, American protesters took the role of Antigone as they demonstrated and sometimes rioted against the government's war policy. Women can be as wise and as strong as men. The Thebes of Creon is a male-dominated society that reduces women to subservient roles. Thus, when a mere slip of a girl, the teenage Antigone, dares to speak out against his unjust policy, he regards her behavior as a challenge not only to his royal power but also to his masculine power. Throughout the play, he repeatedly denounces her as much for her gender as for her defiance of his decree forbidding the burial of Antigone's brother. However, to the very end, Antigone is unshaken in her resolve, demonstrating to Athenian audiences of Sophocles' time that women can be just as wise and as strong as men--in fact, in Antigone's case, even more so.

Antigone to keep her place in a male-dominated society that surely will not brook the defiance of a teenage girl. ................Shall we not perish . . . ................If in defiance of the law we cross ................A monarch's will?--weak women, think of that, ................Not framed by nature to contend with men. ................Remember this too that the stronger rules; ................We must obey his orders, these or worse. ........But Antigone has made up her mind. When night falls, she goes to the battlefield and throws a ceremonial handful of dust on the corpse of her brother, satisfying ancient traditions and qualifying Polynices for a peaceful life in the afterworld. A guard then arrests her and takes her to Creon. Although she readily admits she disobeyed his decree, she says she did so out of respect for divine law, which takes precedence over man-made law. ................Yea, for these laws were not ordained of Zeus, ................And she who sits enthroned with gods below, ................Justice, enacted not these human laws. ................Nor did I deem that thou, a mortal man, ................Could'st by a breath annul and override ................The immutable unwritten laws of Heaven Antigone's stubborn refusal to cooperate with Creon prompts him to rail against her in a show of his manly authority: ................But this proud girl, in insolence well-schooled, ................First overstepped the established law, and then-................A second and worse act of insolence-................She boasts and glories in her wickedness. ................Now if she thus can flout authority ................Unpunished, I am woman, she the man. What he does not realize is that his intentionally ironic comment (last line of quotation) is in fact true, figuratively. Antigone does become the man in her boldness, proving herself more than a match for Creon. In retaliation, he sentences her to be buried alive in a tomb even though she is betrothed to his own son, Haemon. ........The prophet Teiresias later persuades Creon to reverse his decision, warning that to do otherwise would invoke the wrath of the gods. Creon relents, buries Polynices, and goes to the tomb to release Antigone. But Creon's change of heart comes too late to forestall fate: Antigone has hanged herself rather than accept Creon's sentence passively. Haemon, overcome with grief and anger, lunges wildly at his father with a sword, but misses. Haemon then plunges the sword into his own body and dies. Creon's distraught wife, Eurydice, then turns a dagger on herself, cursing Creon, and she too

The Story
........In Thebes, Eteocles and Polynices have been fighting over the throne. Though they were to rule in alternate years, Eteocles had refused to yield kingship to his brother when it was the latter's turn to rule. After Polynices flees to Argos to seek help, the king of that city helps him muster an army. With numberless swords and shields gleaming in the bright sun, Polynices returns to Thebes and lays siege to the city. But the forces of Eteocles are also many and strong, and a standoff results. Then the

brothers duel in hand-to-hand combat and kill each other. The armies resume battle to no avail, and the forces of Polynices withdraw. The war dead, including to the two brothers, lie on the battlefield unburied. ........Meanwhile, Creon--the brother of the late queen of Thebes, Jocasta, and brother-inlaw of the late king, Oedipus--assumes the throne. He regards his nephew Polynices, the attacker of Thebes, as a traitor. Consequently, in his first act as King of Thebes, he forbids the burial of Polynices under pain of death, a ruling that appears to violate an ancient moral law and sacred tradition: the right of all families to bury their dead. Antigone, the sister of Polynices, condemns the decision. After learning of it, she tells her sister, Ismene, that Creon has decreed an honorable burial for Eteocles, enabling him to enter the afterlife as an esteemed and worthy soul, but has ordered Polynices to lie unburied, a feast for the vultures, dooming his soul to wander aimlessly. Though only a slip of a girl aged 15 or 16, Antigone decides to defy the decree. Ismene, horrified, urges

dies. Creon stands alone to harvest the terrible suffering he had sown by exalting the law of the state, or man's law, over the law of the gods, or the moral law.

The Climax
.......The climax occurs when Creon, realizing he cannot bend Antigone to his will, sentences her to be buried alive. His action precipitates the suicides of Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice and leaves Creon a broken man.

Biography of Sophocles
......Although Sophocles died more than twenty-four centuries ago, he continues to live today in his plays as one of history's greatest writers. His themes justice, pride, obstinacy, flawed humanity, and the struggle between destiny and free will are as timely today as they were in his own time. Aristotle lauded Sophocles as the supreme dramatist, maintaining that Oedipus the King was a model for all playwrights to imitate. ......Sophocles was born a mile northwest of Athens in the deme (township) of Colonus between 497 and 495 B.C. Because his father, Sophillus, shared in the profits of a successful family weapons and armor manufactory, Sophocles was a child of advantage, enjoying the comforts of the privileged and receiving an education that undergirded his natural talents. He studied poetry, dance, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, law, athletics, and military tactics. He also studied music and became accomplished at playing the cithara, a stringed instrument resembling the lyre of the harp family.

......In spite of his aristocratic background and entitlements, Sophocles was a man of the people: kindly, generous, popular. Fellow Athenians esteemed him highly throughout his life. That he was quite handsome may have helped bolster his popularity. ......Sophocles earned his entry into the Athenian literary world with a play entitled Triptolemus,which does not survive. He used it in 468 to defeat another outstanding dramatist, Aeschylus, in a writing competition. Competing plays were performed in a theater dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry. Sophocles went on to win about two dozen more drama awards against Aeschylus and other extraordinary writers. It is said that he sometimes acted in plays. On one occasion, he reportedly presented a juggling act that dazzled the audience.
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Sophocles' Innovations
..

......Until Sophocles' time, dramatists wrote tragedies three at a time. The second play continued the action of the first, and the third play continued the action of the second. The entire three-play series of tragedies was called a trilogy. Sophocles broke with tradition by writing single plays that stood alone as dramatic units. Ajax is an example of a stand-alone Sophocles play. The Oedipus series of plays (Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone) is not technically a trilogy (although sometimes referred to as one) because the plays were written years apart as single units. ......Sophocles also emphasized people more than his predecessors, taking characters in well-known plots from mythology and dressing them up as real human beings with noble but complex personalities vulnerable to pride and flawed judgment. Audiences in ancient Athens did not go to a Sophocles play to be entertained by a plot with a surprise ending. They already knew the ending. They went to a Sophocles play to see how the characters reacted to the forces working for or against them--mostly against. Thus, Sophocles' plays required superb writing and characterization to hold the interest of the audience.

......In portraying his characters, Sophocles raised irony to high art, making the characters unwitting victims of fate or their own shortcomings. The irony was both verbal (with characters speaking words laden with meaning unknown to them) and dramatic (with characters ensnaring themselves in predicaments charged with danger that they do not recognize but that the audience well knows will lead to disaster). The audience knew, for example, what Oedipus did not know (until the end of Oedipus the King): that the man he killed and the woman he married were his father and mother. This type of dramatic irony occurs often in Sophocles' plays, allowing the audience to become engrossed with a character's response to a situation rather than the eventual outcome of the situation. ......Another of Sophocles' innovations was an increase in the number of actors in plays from two to three, presenting more opportunities to contrast characters and create foils. He also introduced painted scenery, enhanced costuming, and fixed the number of persons in the chorus at 15. The chorus also diminished in importance; it was the actors who mattered. ......"The key to his work was provided by Matthew Arnold in the phrase to the effect that Sophocles possessed an 'even-balanced soul,' " drama critic John Gassner wrote in Masters of the Drama (New York: Random House, 1954, Page 42). "He comprehended both the joy and grief of living, its beauty and ugliness, its moments of peace and its basic uncertainty so concisely expressed by his line 'Human life, even in its utmost splendor and struggle, hangs on the edge of an abyss.' " ......Sophocles' handling of human tragedy was influenced, in part, by the tragedies of war. During his lifetime he had witnessed the devastating Persian and Peloponnesian wars and even participated in a war when he served as a general with Pericles to quell rebellion on Samos, an Aegean island. ......Besides military duty, Sophocles served as a city treasurer, helping to control the money of the Delian Confederacy of states. He also served as member of a governing council and as a priest in the service of Asclepius, the god of medicine, to whom he was especially devoted. Well into old age, he remained productive in civic activities and writing. He wrote Oedipus at Colonus, for example, when he was over 90. It was that play which saved him from a charge of mental incompetence brought by his sons. According to ancient accounts by Cicero and Plutarch, when Sophocles appeared in court, he read from Oedipus at Colonus, which he was working on at that time. So impressed were the members of the jury that they acquitted him, apparently realizing that only a man fully in charge of his faculties could write such beautiful words. Sophocles died about 405. He and his wife, Nicostrate, had a son, Iophon, who was also a tragedian. Sophocles and his mistress, Theoris of Sicyon, had a child named Agathon. Agathon was the father of Sophocles the Younger, also a writer. Above: Public domain image of Sophocles from Widimedia Commons

Glossary of Greek Drama

Agon: a debate between characters in a play. For example, in The Clouds, a comedy staged in 423 B.C. by Aristophanes, two teachers at a thinking shop operated by Socrates debate the validity of traditional values and logical reasoning (which

Aristophanes supports) vs the new ideas and deceptive reasoning of philosophers known as sophists. Anagnorisis Startling discovery; moment of epiphany; time of revelation when a character discovers his true identity. Anagnorisis occurs in Oedipux Rex when Oedipus realizes who he is. Antagonist Chief opponent of the protagonist in a Greek play. Attica Peninsula in southeastern Greece that included Athens. According to legend, the King of Athens, Theseus, unified 12 states in Attica into a single state dominated by Athenian leadership and the Athenian dialect of the Greek language. The adjective Attic has long been associated with the culture, language and art of Athens. The great period of Greek drama, between the Sixth and Fourth Centuries, B.C., is known as the Attic Period. Drama itself was invented by an Attic actor,Thespis, who introduced speaking parts to accompany choral odes. Catastrophe Denouement (resolution) of a tragedy in the drama of ancient Greece. Catharsis In literature and art, a purification of emotions. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) used the term to describe the effect on the audience of a tragedy acted out on a theater stage. This effect consists in cleansing the audience of disturbing emotions, such as fear and pity, thereby releasing tension. This purgation occurs as a result of either of the following reactions: (1) Audience members resolve to avoid conflicts of the main characterfor example, Oedipus in Oedipus Rex and Creon in Antigonethat arouse fear or pity or (2) audience members transfer their own pity and fear to the main character, thereby emptying themselves of these disquieting emotions. In either case, the audience members leave the theater as better persons intellectually, morally, or socially. They have either been cleansed of fear of pity or have vowed to avoid situations that arouse fear and pity. In modern usage, catharsis may refer to any experience, real or imagined, that purges a person of negative emotions. Chorus Bystanders in a Greek play who present odes on the action. A parode (or parados) is a song sung by the chorus when it enters. A stasimon is a song sung during the play, between episodes of action. The chorus generally had the following roles in the plays of Sophocles and other Greek playwrights: (1) to explain the action, (2) to interpret the action in relation to the law of the state and the law of the Olympian gods, (3) to foreshadow the future, (4) to serve as an actor in the play, (5) to sing and/or dance, and (6) to give the author's views. In some ways, the chorus is like the narrator of a modern film or like the background music accompanying the action of the film. In addition, it is like text on the film screen that provides background information or identifies the time and place of the action. On occasion, the chorus may address the audience, as in the revised version of The Clouds, by Aristophanes. Chalmys Short, sleeveless outer garment, or cloak, worn by some actors in a play of ancient Greece. Cothurni (singular, cothurnus): Boots worn by actors in ancient Greece to increase their height and, thus, visibility to theater audiences. Singular: cothurnus. Denouement Outcome or conclusion of a literary work; the final part of a plot. The denouement occurs after the climax. Dialogue Conversation between characters in a play. Drama: Literary work with dialogue written in verse and spoken by actors playing characters experiencing conflict and tension. In Greek drama, a play often derives its plot

from stories from history or mythology. The English word drama comes from the Greek word "dran," meaning "to do." Dramatic irony Failure of a character to see or understand what is obvious to the audience. Oedipus, for example, was unaware early on of what the audience knew: that he was married to his own mother, Jocasta. Dionysia See Dionysus. Dionysus Patron god of Greek drama; god of wine and vegetation. Dionysus, called Bacchus by the Romans, was the son of Zeus and one of the most important of the Greek gods. Dionysus died each winter and was reborn each spring, a cycle his Greek devotees identified with the death and rebirth of nature. He thus symbolized renewal and rejuvenation, and each spring the Greeks celebrated his resurrection with ceremonies that eventually included drama contests. The most prestigious of these festivals was the Greater Dionysia, held in Athens for five days and participated in by playwrights such as Sophocles, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, and Euripides. Festivals held in villages and small towns were called the Rural Dionysia. Dithyramb Choral hymn that praised Dionysus, god of wine and revelry, and sometimes told a story. In his great work Poetics, Aristotle wrote that dithyrambs inspired the development of Greek tragic plays, such as those of Sophocles. The first "play" supposedly took place in the 6th Century B.C. when Thespis, a member of a chorus, took the part of a character in a dithyramb. The action shifted back and forth between him and the chorus. See also thespian. Emmelia Type of dance accompanying some odes. Episode Scene or section of a play with dialogue. An episode may be compared with acts or scenes in a Shakespeare play. Episodes come between the odes sung by the chorus. The dialogue in an episode usually involves one or two characters and the chorus. Exodos, or Exode Final scene of a play after the last stasimon. Greater Dionysia See Dionysus. Hamartia Character flaw or judgment error of the protagonist of a Greek tragedy. Hamartia is derived the Greek word hamartanein, meaning to err or to make a mistake. The first writer to use the term was Aristotle, in The Poetics. .Hybris or Hubris Great pride. Hybris often is the character flaw (hamartia) of a protagonist in Greek drama. Pride was considered a grave sin because it placed too much emphasis on individual will, thereby downplaying the will of the state and endangering the community as a whole. Because pride makes people unwilling to accept wise counsel, they act rashly and make bad decisions. Machine Armlike device in an ancient Greek theater that could lower a "god" onto the stage from the "heavens." The Greek word for machine, mechane, later gave rise to a pejorative Latin term, deus ex machina (god from a machine), to describe a contrived event in a literary work or film. A contrived event is a plot weakness in which a writer makes up an incident--such as a detective stumbling upon an important clue or a hero arriving in the nick of time to save a damsel in distress--to further the action. The audience considers such events improbable, realizing that the writer has failed to develop the plot and the characters in such a way that their actions spring from their motivations. The term (pronounced DAY ihs ex MAHK in uh or DE ihs ex MAHK in uh) is usually used adverbially, as in The policeman arrived deus ex machina to overhear the murderer admit

his guilt to his hostage. However, it can also refer to a character who becomes the "god from the machine." Mask Face covering with exaggerated features and a mouth device to project the voice. Greek actors wore masks to reveal emotion or personality; to depict the trade, social class or age of a character; and to provide visual and audio aids for audience members in the rear of the theater. Ode Poem sung in a play or a festival. Old Comedy: a genre of plays in Greece of the Fifth Century, B.C. Old comedy displayed great imagination and used cutthroat satire, caricature, and sometimes vulgar dialogue to ridicule people, ideas, trends, and institutions. The Clouds, by Aristophanes, is an example of old comedy. Onkos Headdress worn by some Greek actors to increase their height and, thus, visibility to theater audiences. Orchestra See Theater, Greek. Parabasis: an ode in which the chorus addresses the audience to express opinions of the author, including his views on politics, social trends, and other topics. In The Clouds, a comedy by Aristophanes, the chorus scolds the audience for its lukewarm reception of an earlier production of the play. Paraskenia See Theater, Greek. Parodos, or Parode See chorus. Periakti Prism having surfaces painted with pictures. When it revolved, it could change the scenery on a stage. Peripeteia In a tragedy, sudden reversal of fortune from good to bad. Poetics Important work by Aristotle written about 335 B.C. It analyzes Greek theater and outlines its origin and development. One of its theses is that literature and other forms of art imitate the activity of humans. Tragedy is the higher form of the playwright's craft, Aristotle says, because it imitates the action of noble persons and depicts lofty events. Comedy, on the other hand, focuses on ordinary humans and events. Prologos: Prologue that begins the play with dialogue indicating the focus or theme of the play. Proscenium See Theater, Greek. Protagonist Main character in an ancient Greek play who usually interacts with the chorus. In a tragedy, the protagonist is traditionally a person of exalted status--such as a king, a queen, a political leader, or a military hero--who has a character flaw (inordinate pride, for example). This character flaw causes the protagonist to make an error of judgment. Additionally, the typical protagonist experiences a moment of truth in which he or she recognizes and acknowledges his or her mistakes, failures, or sins. Skene See Theater, Greek. Stasimon See chorus. Satire In Greek literature, a play or a passage in a play that pokes fun at public figures, institutions, ideas or the gods. An example of a satire is The Clouds, a comedy by Aristophanes. Satyr play Play that pokes fun at a serious subject involving gods and myths; a parody of stories about gods or myths. Fragments of Sophocles' satyr play Ichneutae (Trackers) survive along with his seven complete tragedies. Tetralogy Four plays (three tragedies and one satyr play) staged by a playwright during

the drama competition each spring in honor of Dionysus. Theater, Greek Open-air structure in which plays were performed. The stage faced the afternoon sunlight to illuminate a performance while allowing the audience to view the action without squinting. A Greek theater consisted of the following: .....Skene: Building behind the stage. First used as a dressing area for actors (and sometimes an .....entrance or exit area for actors), the skene eventually became a background showing appropriate scenery. .....Paraskenia: Extensions or annexes on the sides of the skene. .....Proscenium: Acting area, or stage, in front of the skene. .....Orchestra: Ground-level area where the chorus performed. It was in front of the proscenium. .....Parados: Passage on the left or right through which the chorus entered the orchestra. .....Thymele: Altar in the center of the orchestra used to make sacrifices to Dionysus. .....Theatron: Tiered seating area built into a hillside in the shape of a horseshoe. .....Machine: Armlike device on the skene that could lower a "god" onto the stage from the heavens. . Theatron Tiered seating area built into a hillside in the shape of a horseshoe. Thespian Noun meaning actor or actress; adjective referring to any person or thing pertaining to Greek drama or drama in general. The word is derived from Thespis, the name of a Greek of the 6th Century B.C. who was said to have been the first actor on the Greek stage. See also dithyramb. Thymele See Theater, Greek. Tragedy Verse drama written in elevated language in which a noble protagonist falls to ruin during a struggle caused by a flaw (hamartia) in his character or an error in his rulings or judgments. Following are the characteristics of a Sophocles tragedy: (1) It is based on events that already took place and with which the audience is familiar. (2) The protagonist is a person of noble stature. (3) The protagonist has a weakness and, because of it, becomes isolated and suffers a downfall. (4) Because the protagonist's fall is not entirely his or her own fault, the audience may end up pitying him or her. (5) The fallen protagonist gains self-knowledge. He has a deeper insight into himself and understands his weakness. (6) The audience undergoes catharsis, a purging of emotions, after experiencing pity, fear, shock and other strong feelings. The people go away feeling better. (7) The drama usually unfolds in one place in a short period of time, usually about a day. Trilogy Group of three plays on a related subject or theme. Zeus King of the Olympian gods.

.......The Greek theater was an open-air stone structure with tiered seating, a stage, and a ground-level orchestra. It was an outgrowth of festivals honoring the god Dionysus. In these festivals, calledDioniyia, the Greeks danced and sang hymns called dithyrambs that sometimes told stories. One day, Thespis, a choral director in Athens, used spoken words, or dialogue, to accompany the singing and dancing in imitation of poets who had done so before. Soon, the dialogues of Thespis became plays, and he began staging them in a theater.

......."A contest of plays in 535 [B.C.] arose when Pisistratus, the tyrant' whom the common people of Athens invested with power, brought a rustic festival into the city [Athens]," drama critic John Gassner writes in Masters of Drama. Such contests became regular features of the festivals, and the theaters in which they were held were specially built to accommodate them.

Major Sections of the Theater .....(1) A tiered, horshoe-shaped seating area called a theatron. The theatron faced the east to allow the audience to view plays--usually staged later in the day--without squinting.

.....(2) A stage called a proscenium. The staged faced the west to allow the midday sun to illuminate the faces of the actors.

.....(3) An orchestra in front of the proscenium to accommodate the chorus .

Other Theater Sections

.....Skene: Building behind the stage. First used as a dressing area for actors (and sometimes an entrance or exit area for actors), the skene eventually became a background showing appropriate scenery.

Greek Theater
.....Paraskenia: Extensions or annexes on the sides of the skene. Definition and Background

.....Parados: Passage on the left or right through which the chorus entered the orchestra.

.....Thymele: Altar in the center of the orchestra used to make sacrifices to Dionysus.

example, William Shakespeare used the transliteration of the Latin version in his plays and poems. Instead of referring to the king of the gods as Zeus (the transliteration of the Greek name), he referred to him as Jupiter and Jove, the transliterations of the Latin names (Iuppiter and Iovis). Here are the names of the Olympian gods and a brief description of each:. Zeus (Jupiter and Jove) King and protector of the gods and humankind. As ruler of the sky, he made rain and thunder and wielded lightning bolts. Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea.

.....Machine: Armlike device on the skene that could lower a "god" onto the stage from the heavens.

Hera (Juno) Queen of the gods and protector of marriage. She was the wife of Zeus and, as the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, also his sister.

The Gods of Mount Olympus

.......Encyclopedias and mythology books generally list the same twelve gods as permanent residents of Mount Olympus by virtue of their overriding importance and their genealogical background. However, two of these important deities spent most of their time in the domains which they governed, the sea and the underworld. In addition, the Greeks of one era sometimes differed with the Greeks of another era on who were the most important gods. Consequently, the list of the favored twelve sometimes changed, omitting one god in favor of another.

Athena or Pallas Athena (Minerva) Goddess of wisdom and war. She was born fully grown in a suit of armor, issuing from the forehead of Zeus. The Greeks highly revered her and built many temples in her honor.

Ares (Mars) God of war and the son of Zeus and Hera.

Poseidon (Neptune) God of the sea and brother of Zeus.

Hades (Pluto) God of the underworld and brother of Zeus. .......The Olympian gods were the successors of an earlier dynasty of gods known as Titans. The Titan ruler, Cronos, believing that one of his children might attempt to overthrow him, swallowed each of them after his or her birth. However, one child, Zeus, was rescued by his mother and hidden on the island of Crete. Later, Zeus forced his father to vomit the other children from his stomach. Then, with the help of his siblings, he overthrew Cronus to become lord of the universe.

Hephaestus (Vulcan) God of fire and metalwork who built the palaces in which the Olympian gods lived. He also forged their armor and made their jewelry. He was the son of Zeus and Hera.

.......The names of the chief Olympian deities are listed below. Writers in ancient Greece such as Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripidesused the original Greek names, the English transliteration of which appears at left in the list. Writers in ancient Rome and its dominions used the Latin version of the names, the English transliteration of which appears in parentheses.

Apollo, Phoebus Apollo, or Phoebus (Same as Greek Names) God of prophecy, music, poetry, and medicine. His alternate name, Phoebus, means brightness, and he was thus also considered the god of the sun. He was the son of Zeus and Leto, the daughter of Titans. The Greeks highly revered him and built many temples in his honor. One such temple at Delphi was the site of a famous oracle, the Pythia, who pronounced prophecies as the mouthpiece of Apollo.

.......Some English language writers, past and present, use the transliteration of the Greek version; others prefer the transliteration of the Latin (or Roman) version. For

Artemis (Diana) Goddess of the hunt. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto (see Apollo) and the twin sister of Apollo.

Aphrodite (Venus) Goddess of love and beauty. According to Homer, she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione, the daughter of a Titan; according to the Greek poet Hesiod, she was born from the foam of the sea.

Hermes (Mercury) Messenger god who wore a winged hat and winged sandals. He was also the god of science, luck, commerce, and cunning. He was the son of Zeus and Maia, the daughter of a Titan.

Hestia (Vesta) Goddess of the home and hearth and sister of Zeus. .......Other lists of the major Olympian gods omit Hades in favor of Hebe, a cupbearer of the gods. Still others rank Dionysus (Roman name, Bacchus), the god of wine and vegetation and a patron of the arts, as one of the elite twelve.

The Abode of the Gods

.......The Olympian gods lived in palaces constructed by Hephaestus on the summit of Mount Olympus, the highest peak (9,570 feet) in a mountain range between Macedonia and Thessaly near the Aegean Sea. Mount Olympus is sometimes called Upper Olympus because it lies just north of a lesser peak (5,210 feet) known as Lower Olympus. .......Minor goddesses called the Seasons maintained watch at the entranceway of Mount Olympus, a gate of clouds which opened and closed whenever a god left or returned to Olympus. .......In their lofty domain, the gods breathed only pure air, or ether. They took their meals in the palace of Zeus, eating ambrosia to sustain eternal life and drinking a delicious beverage called nectar, served by Hebe. Near the throne of Zeus sat lesser goddesses known as Muses, who were nine in number. They regaled the gathering with songs of the gods and of earthly heroes and history. These daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, learned under the tutelage of Apollo. .......Other lesser gods on Olympus included the following: (1) Eros (Cupid), god of love and son of Aphrodite who shot arrows that impregnated humans with love. (2) Iris, messenger goddess of Zeus and Hera who created rainbows when she flew across the sky. (3) Themis, a companion of Zeus who was the goddess of justice. She holds scales on which she weighs the claims in a suit of law. (4) The Charites, or Graces, goddesses of joy and beauty. (5) Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance and punishment. (6) Aidos, the goddess of conscience.

.......Since ancient times, western literature has lived at the foot of Mount Olympus, the nearly two-mile high colossus that was believed to be home to important Greek gods. Writers of every age and every genre have invoked the magic of Olympus to make fire and thunder with wordsor to perfume them with the breath of Venus. .......The Greek writers Hesiod (born in the 7th or 8th Century B.C.) and Homer (born in the 8th or 9th Century B.C.) immortalized the Olympian godsHesiod in the Theogony and in Works and Days, Homer in The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Theogony presents a creation myth and a genealogy of the gods, along with accounts of their exploits. The Works and Days advises farmers how to prosper, through honest toil and righteous living, without incurring the disfavor of the gods. Homers Iliad tells the story of the final year of the Trojan War, between Greece and Troy, focusing on the greatest Greek warrior, Achilles, and on the machinations of Olympian gods who take sides and attempt to influence the outcome of the war. The Odyssey narrates the adventures of Odysseus (known as Ulysses to the Romans), a hero of the war who designed the famous Trojan horse to breach the walls of Troy, on his long sea voyage home after the war. While sailing home, the Olympian gods alternately help or hinder his progress. The Iliad and The Odyssey, both epic poems, are among the greatest works in world literature. .......Every great writer since Hesiod and Homerincluding Sophocles, Vergil, Ovid, Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Miltonhas climbed Olympus to retrieve metaphorical divinities or one of their qualities to illumine, clarify, or beautify his or her language. .......Though everlasting and supernal, the gods of Olympus exhibited humanlike behavior. They could be loving and generous, wise and forbearing. They could also be petty and base, fickle and vile. And, they could be quick to anger. In "Book I" of The Iliad, the Olympian god Apollo descends the great mountain in a rage after the Greek general Agamemnon captures a beautiful maiden and refuses to give her up to her father, Chryses, a priest of Apollo. .......[Apollo] came down furious from the summits of Olympus, with his bow and his quiver upon his shoulder, and the arrows rattled on his back with the rage that trembled within him. He sat himself down away from the ships with a face as dark as night, and his silver bow rang death as he shot his arrow in the midst of them. First he smote their mules and their hounds, but presently he aimed his shafts at the people themselves, and all day long the pyres of the dead were burning. (English translation by Samuel Butler) The gods could also be quick to laugh. In "Book 8" of The Odyssey, the blacksmith god, Vulcana lame and ugly hunchbackfashions an invisible chain to ensnare his beautiful wife, Venus, and her inamorato, Mars, after they rendezvous to make love. In bed, they become hopelessly entangled in the chain. Vulcan then invites other gods to look upon his unfaithful wife and her paramour caughtlike wasps in a spiders webin his trap. .......On this the gods gathered to the house of Vulcan. Earth-encircling Neptune came, and Mercury the bringer of luck, and King Apollo. . . . Then the givers of all good things stood in the doorway, and the blessed gods roared with inextinguishable laughter, as they saw how cunning Vulcan had been. . . . (English translation by Samuel Butler)

Literature and the Gods

The Turn of the Screw: A Study Guide

By Henry James (1843-1916) A Study GuidePlot

she has died. Besides Mrs. Grose, the staff includes a cook, a maid, a groom, a garden, and a dairywoman, all reliable. .......The new governess must accept one condition of employment: She must never bother her employer under any circumstances. Offered a good salary, the parsonu0092s daughter accepts the job even though she thinks the estate might be lonely and depressing. It appears that her decision to become the new governess was influenced by an attraction to the young gentleman. Reads Manuscript .......Douglas then begins to read the manuscript, written in first-person point of view. Following is the summary of it in third-person point of view except for quoted passages. .......The parsonu0092s daughter arrives in June at her employeru0092s country estate in Essex to assume her duties as governess and general overseer of day-to-day activities. Her first sight of the estate impresses her: I remember as a most pleasant impression the broad, clear front, its open windows and fresh curtains and the pair of maids looking out; I remember the lawn and the bright flowers and the crunch of my wheels on the gravel and the clustered treetops over which the rooks circled and cawed in the golden sky........Flora u0093was the most beautiful child I had ever seen,u0094 she writes in the manuscript. The governessu0092s room is elegant, with mirrors, luxurious draperies, and a large state bed. And the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, seems wonderful: u0093stout, simple, plain, clean, wholesome.u0094 On her first day at Bly, the young lady thinks she hears a far-off cry of a child and the sound of footsteps near her door. But she does not bother herself about these occurrences, for she is only too happy now to turn her attention to her job.

Summary

By Michael J. Cummings... 2007

.......Before a fireplace on Christmas Eve, a man named Griffin tells holiday revelers a story about a little boy who awakens his mother to show her a ghostly apparition in his room. After the conclusion of the story, one listener remarks that it is the only story of his acquaintance about a specter appearing to a child. But a gentleman named Douglas says he knows of a case involving two children in spectral events of u0093uncanny ugliness and horror and pain.u0094 .......When the audience prods him to tell the story, he says it is in the form of a handwritten manuscript locked in a drawer in his London apartment. u0093I shall have to send to town for it,u0094 he says. .......Under questioning, he informs the group that a woman dead for twenty years wrote the manuscriptu0097a record of the horrors she experienced before accepting a position as governess to Douglasu0092s sister. The governess was a charming and agreeable woman who confided in himu0097though he was ten years younger than sheu0097one summer when he was home from Trinity College. He was the only person to whom she told her story and, before she died, she left the manuscript in his care. .......In the morning, Douglas sends for the manuscript. After it arrives, the listeners gather in eager anticipation to hear the story. (At this point in the story, the unnamed narrator of The Turn of the Screw informs the reader that Douglas entrusted themanuscript to him shortly before Douglas died.) Before reading the tale, Douglas presents the following background information. .......The story is about a twenty-year-old daughter of a Hampshire parson travels to London to answer an advertisement for a governess. Her prospective employer is a handsome young bachelor who lives in a large and luxurious house on Harley Street. After she arrives for an interview, she falls immediately under the spell of his charm and gallantry. In addition, his house impresses her with its size and elegantappointments. However, she would be working at his country estate in Essex as the superintendent of his nephew, about ten, and niece, eight. They are the children of his brother, a soldier who died two years before. His parents had been their guardians until their recent deaths, and now he has become their guardian. He says he has tried to do the best for them, hiring an excellent staff at the estate, called Bly. However, because his affairs consume all his time, he cannot supervise their upbringing. Keeping watch on the children until the arrival of a governess is thehousekeeper, Mrs. Grose, who had served as maid to the young gentlemanu0092s own mother. She dotes on the children, in part because she never had children of her own. There had been a previous governess, an excellent, but

.......Flora moves into the governessu0092s room. Miles, away at school, is due to arrive within days. At supper, Mrs. Grose tells the governess that the boy is every bit as engaging as sister. .......Three days later a short note from the governessu0092s employer arrives. Accompanying it is a sealed envelope containing a letter. In the note, the young gentleman tells the governess that he recognizes the handwriting on the sealed envelope as that of the boyu0092s schoolmaster. She is to read it and deal with it but not to report back about its message. Opening the letter, she she reads disconcerting news: The school has expelled Miles. .......u0093They wonu0092t take him?u0094 Mrs. Grose asks. .......u0093They absolutely decline.u0094 .......The governess says the letter indicates u0093that heu0092s an injury to others.u0094 Surprised, Mrs. Grose says it is cruel of the school authorities to make such a charge about so endearing a child.

.......Toward evening, the governess asks Mrs. Grose whether she has ever known Miles to be bad. She answers yes, explaining that a boy who has never been bad is not a real boy. The next day the governess asks the housekeeper whether her predecessor had died at the estate. No, Mrs. Grose says. She simply went home on a vacation, then died. The childrenu0092s uncle did not disclose the nature of her death. .......On the day of Milesu0092s return to Bly, the governess picks him up at an inn where a coach had dropped him. She finds him a handsome, charming lad in whom u0093there was something divine I had never found to the same degree in any child.u0094 How could he have caused harm to anyone? .......The summer goes wonderfully well. The children dutifully attend to their school lessons, and the governess enjoys u0093space and air and freedom, all the music of summer and all the mystery of nature.u0094 .......One afternoon while walking on the grounds, the governess sees a man on one of the buildingu0092s two crenelated towers. She wonders who he isu0097someone living in secret at Bly or perhaps an insane relative kept in confinement? .......When she goes inside, she does not mention the man to Mrs. Grose. For several days, she feels uneasy about the experience, then concludes he must have been a traveler who had stolen into the house unseen and left the same way. She again devotes herself entirely to the children who, she says, are u0093a constant joy.u0094 Miles never speaks of the school or its students or master. Sees Same Man .......One Sunday, while preparing for a church service late in the day, she goes to a dining room for a pair of gloves she had left there and sees the same man looking in through a window. Cold runs through her, and she has the feeling that he had come to Bly for someoneu0097not her, but someone else. Mustering courage she hurries outside and runs around the house to the window. But the man is nowhere in sight. When she looks through the window as he did, she comes face to face with Mrs. Grose. After the latter walks around to the window, the governess informs her of what she saw, noting that she had previously seen him on one of the towers, and says he frightens her. .......The governess then describes him: He wears no hat. He has red hair and whiskers. His face is pale and long, his eyes sharp and small. Mrs. Groseu0092s reaction to the description suggests that she knows the man. She says, u0093But he is handsome?u0094 The governess says, u0093Remarkably!u0094 A moment later Mrs. Grose identifies him as Peter Quint, the valet of the childrenu0092s uncle when he was staying at Bly. .......u0093They were both here last year,u0094 Mrs. Grose says. After the master left, Quint was in charge of Bly for a short while, then he, too, left. When the governess asks where he went, Mrs. Grose shocks the governess with this answer: u0093God knows where! He died.u0094 .......Although Mrs. Grose has never seen an apparition of Quint, she does not express doubt about the governessu0092s story. Instead, she supports her and shows her only kindness. The governess tells her that Quint seemed to be looking for someoneu0097Miles, she thinks. Mrs. Grose asks, u0093What if he (Miles) should see him (Quint)?u0094 The governess then suggests that u0093he wants to appear

to them (both children).u0094 .......Mrs. Grose tells her that Quint had played with and spoiled Miles and was u0093much too freeu0094 with everyone at Bly. When the governess asks whether Quint was a bad person, Mrs. Grose says she knew he was but the master did not. Later, the governess learns that Quint had been found dead with a head injury on a nearby road after he had left a tavern and attempted to walk down an icy slope. The governess now sees her mission as a heroic one: u0093to protect and defend the little creaturesu0094 against the evil around them. Oddly, she feels a certain fulfillment, a certain joy, in acting as their protector. u0093They had nothing but me, and Iu0097well I had them,u0094 her manuscript says. .......One afternoon, the strange happenings at Bly become even strangeru0097and more frightening. Flora is eager to go outside, so the governess takes her for a stroll while Miles remains indoors reading a book. When they come to a pond (which everyone at Bly calls a lake), they pretend it is the Sea of Azof, for Flora has been studying geography. After the governess sits on a stone bench to do stitching, she becomes aware of a third presence across the lake even without looking up. It could simply be a worker about the placeu0097or perhaps a postman, a messenger, a boy from the village. Before mustering courage to raise her eyes, she listens for signs of alarm from Flora. But the little girl, who is making a tiny boat from scraps of wood, remains silent. Finally, the governess faces the intruder. .......Indoors two hours later, the governess, distraught, throws herself into Mrs. Groseu0092s arms and tells her that the children know all about the strange happenings. u0093Itu0092s too monstrous: they know, they know.u0094 Then she discloses that a woman appeared at the pondu0097pale woman in blacku0097and that Flora saw her. .......u0093She has told you?u0094 Mrs. Gross says. .......u0093Not a wordu0097thatu0092s the horror. She kept it to herself.u0094 .......But, she says, she could tell that Flora saw her by the look on her face. She worries that the child will keep seeing it without telling anyone. The governess further discloses that the woman had looked only at Flora, had fixed her gaze on her with u0093awful eyesu0094 that signified she wanted u0093to get hold of her.u0094 The woman was beautiful, the governess said, u0093but infamous.u0094 .......Mrs. Grose now realizes that the description fits that of Miss Jessel, the previous governess, now dead. She says Quint and Miss Jessel were both infamous, that she did whatever Quint wanted her to dou0097implying that they had engaged in a liaison. Moreover, Quint and Miles were often together for hours at a time. When Mrs. Grose told him not to associate with Quint because he was a lowly servant, the boy told her she was no better than he. Sees Quint .......Early one morning while the governess is searching the upstairs hallway on a premonition that something is amiss, her candle suddenly goes out and, by the first light of dawn, she sees Quint on the stairs gazing at her as he had done before. This time she decides to stare down the apparition. A minute later, it turns and leaves. .......When she returns to her bedroom, she notices that Flora is gone. To her relief, however, the little girl emerges from behind a window blind, saying she had been looking

out on the grounds because she thought u0093someoneu0094 was out there. When the governess asks Flora whether she had seen anything, the girl says no. The governess thinks she is lying. .......On another occasion, the governess awakens about 1 a.m. and discovers that Flora is again behind the blind, staring out the window. Without disturbing her, the governess goes to another room to see what Flora is looking at. Out on the lawn, she sees Miles in the moonlight. .......On the terrace the following afternoon, she tells Mrs. Gross about the incident. After taking Miles into the house, the governess says, she asked him why he had gone out in the middle of the night. He replied that he wanted her to u0093think meu0097for a changeu0097bad!u0094 He kissed her then, and she hugged him close. Miles went on to say that he had left his bedroom at midnight after instructing Flora to look out the window for him. Knowing that the governess would discover Flora at the window and then investigate, Miles waited outside for the governess to appear. .......The next day, the governess discusses the matter further with Mrs. Grose, saying she is convinced that the children have been meeting with the apparitions. She regards it as singularly suspicious that neither child has ever mentioned Quint or Miss Jessel, as if they have been making a conscious effort to conceal a relationship with them. .......u0093Even while they pretend to be lost in their fairytale, they're steeped in their vision of the dead restored,u0094 the governess says. u0093Their more than earthly beauty, their absolutely unnatural goodness. It's a game . . . it's a policy and a fraud!" Mrs. Grose seems stunned. Then the governess says, u0093It has been easy to live with them, because they're simply leading a life of their own. They're not mineu0097they're not ours. They're his [Quintu0092s] and they're hers [Miss Jesselu0092s]!" .......When the governess says Quint and Miss Jessel could ultimately destroy the children, Mrs. Grose urges her to persuade her their uncle to take them away. But the governess says he would only dismiss the story she would tell, claiming it was a ploy to get him to notice her. She warns Mrs. Grose not to appeal to the young gentleman on her behalf. If she does so, the governess says, u0093I would leave on the spot.u0094 .......As time passes, the governess expects to encounter Quint or Miss Jessel from time to time, but they do not reappear. Meanwhile, autumn arrives and Bly u0093with its gray sky and withered garlands, its bared spaces and scattered dead leaves, was like a theater after the performanceu0097all strewn with crumpled playbills.u0094 .......Eventually, she becomes convinced that the children have seen more than she has seenu0097u0093things terrible and unguessable.u0094 Although suspicious of the children, she does not hate them. .......One Sunday morning, when the two adults are walking to church with the childrenu0097Mrs. Grose in front with Flora and the governess in the rear with Milesu0097Miles asks, u0093When in the world, please, am I going back to school?u0094 After the governess asks whether he was happy at school, Miles replies that he is happy anywhere but that u0093I want to see more of life.u0094 He also says he wants to be around children his own age, not just Flora. Outside the churchu0097after Mrs. Grose, Flora, and other worshipers are insideu0097Miles inquires whether his uncle knows how he is getting along. .......u0093I donu0092t think your uncle much cares,u0094 the governess said. .......Then, Miles replies, he will get his uncle to come to Bly. At that, he u0093marched

off alone into church.u0094 .......Unnerved by the conversation, she remains outside the church wondering what to do. To get things straightened out with her employer on the matter of Miles would be desirable, but the master made it clear that he does not want to be disturbed at matters at Bly under any circumstances. She thinks about leaving, giving up, and decides to return to the house to pack her belongings. When she enters the schoolroom to retrieve personal items, there, seated at a table, is Miss Jessel, as if saying she had just as much right to be there as her successor. The governess blurts out, u0093You terrible, miserable woman!u0094 A moment later, the apparition disappears. .......After Mrs. Grose returns with the children, none of them questions the governess about her absence from church. The children had suggested that they say nothing, Mrs. Grose later tells the governess, because u0093they said you would like it better.u0094 To this, Miles had added, u0093We must do nothing but what she likes.u0094 .......The governess then tells Mrs. Grose that she saw Miss Jessel again. This time, the governess says, Miss Jessel spoke, saying she suffers u0093torments . . . of the damnedu0094 and wants to u0093share themu0094 with Flora. The governess also says she plans to send for her employer. u0093If [Miles] thinks Iu0092m afraid tou0097and has ideas of what he gains by thatu0097he shall see heu0092s mistaken,u0094 she says.u0094 She plans to show her employer the letter from school about Milesu0092s expulsion. .......That evening, after deciding to remain at Bly for the time being, she sits down to compose a letter to the childrenu0092s uncle while Flora sleeps soundly. But before getting a start on it, she gets up and goes into the hallway to listen at Milesu0092s door u0093for some betrayal of his not being at rest.u0094 But Miles calls out to her to come in. When she enters, he asks, in his charming way, u0093What are YOU up to?u0094 When she asks how he knew she was at the door, he says, u0093Did you fancy you made no noise? You are like a troop of cavalry.u0094 They begin to talk, and Miles says he was lying awake thinking about her and about u0093this queer business of ours . . . the way you bring me up and all the rest.u0094 She assures him that he will return to schoolu0097another oneu0097and points out to him that he has never spoken of what went on at his old school. He repeats his request to see his uncle, and she asks his whether there is anything he wants to tell her, thinking perhaps that he will own up to seeing Quint. Then she breaks down, saying, u0093"Dear little Miles, dear little Miles, if you knew how I want to help you! It's only that, it's nothing but that, and I'd rather die than give you a pain or do you a wrong . . . .u0094 Suddenly, she feels a blast of cold air and the room goes dark. She looks about in wonderment, saying, u0093Why, the candleu0092s out.u0094 .......u0093It was I who blew it out, dear,u0094 Miles says. .......On the afternoon of the next day, Miles behaves like a perfect little gentleman and, in the schoolroom, plays the piano for the governess. She listens intently, so intently that she forgets about Flora. When she later awakens from her reverie, she notices with alarm that the little girl is absent. After searching the upstairs, she goes downstairs in hopes that the child is with Mrs. Grose. But the latter says she thought Flora was with the governess. The governess then concludes that Flora is with Miss Jessel: u0093Sheu0092s with HER!u0094 When Mrs. Grose asks where Miles is, the governess

says he is with Quint in the schoolroom. She says Miles played the piano for her as part of a trick to divert her attention from Flora. Goes to Lake .......She then leads Mrs. Grose outdoors to find Flora, leaving a letter to the childrenu0092s uncle on a hall table for a servant, Luke, to pick up. The governess heads for the lake, believing that Flora had gone there to commune with Miss Jessel. Mrs. Grose follows close behind. When they arrive, the little girl is nowhere in sight. Thinking she has gone out in the boat, they search further and find the boatu0097empty. Suddenly, they exclaim in unison, u0093There she is!u0094 Flora is a short way off, smiling. Mrs. Grose runs to her and hugs her while the governess remains at a distance. Flora then asks the governess where Miles is. The governess replies, u0093Where, my pet, is Miss Jessel?u0094 .......A moment later, the governess sees the apparition across the lake, where it had stood the previous time. The governess feels relief, for now Mrs. Grose is there to see it, too. But Mrs. Grose sees nothing. The governess exclaims that the image is as u0093big as a blazing fire,u0094 but Mrs. Groseu0097looking at the governess with u0093negation, repulsion, compassionu0094u0097says, u0093She isnu0092t there, little lady, and nobodyu0092s thereu0097you never see nothing, my sweet.u0094 Flora stares at the governess u0093with her small mask of reprobation.u0094 She, too, denies seeing anything, says she never has, and declares that she now dislikes the governess. Crying, she tells Mrs. Grose, u0093Take me away from her!u0094 .......The governess thinks the crying scene is an act. While Mrs. Grose and Flora return the house, the governess remains outdoors crying and sobbing for a long time. By the time she goes back inside, all of Florau0092s belongings have been removed from the governessu0092s room. .......Early the next morning, Mrs. Grose awakens the governess to inform her that Flora is running a high fever seemingly precipitated by fearu0097not of Miss Jessel but of the governess. The governess looks into Florau0092s room and says, u0093She resents, for all the world like some high little personage, the imputation on her truthfulness and, as it were, her respectability.u0094 Mrs. Grose admits that Flora is displaying a u0093grand manner.u0094 After the governess reiterates her belief that the children are involved in a nefarious plot, she tells Mrs. Grose to take Flora to her uncle so that she will no longer be under the influence of Quint and Miss Jessel. The governess says she will remain behind to look after Miles, who lately has been cordial toward her. Mrs. Grose agrees with the plan. Furthermore, although she has not seen apparitions, she says, she has heard Flora say horrible thingsu0097u0093really shocking . . . beyond everythingu0094 about the governess. The governess is relieved to know that Mrs. Grose now appears to realize that evil has indeed invaded Bly. There is more. Mrs. Grose noticed that the letter to the childrenu0092s uncle was gone from the table when she returned from the lake with Flora. She questioned Luke about it, and he said he did not even know that a letter had been left for him to post. Mrs. Grose concludes that Miles took it. .......Mrs. Grose then leaves with Flora. .......It is November now. Miles is looking out a window. After a while, he turns around and tells the governess he is now content at Bly and asks her whether she is, too. She

answers that she enjoys his company and stays on because of u0093the tremendous interest I take in you till something can be done for you that may be more worth your while.u0094 Moments later, she asks him whether he took the letter she left on the table in the hall. .......Suddenly, Peter Quint appears at the window, staring in at her with his u0093white face of damnation.u0094 Miles, meanwhile, says, yes, he took the letter. Heartened that he has admitted the deed, she draws him to her and enfolds him in her arms while still observing the apparition. Miles says he took the letter u0093to see what you said about me.u0094 The apparition vanishes as Miles says, under questioning, that he found nothing upsetting in the letter, then burned it. The governess then asks him what he did at school to cause his dismissal. Miles answers that he said offensive things to classmates, which they repeated to school authorities. .......u0093What were these things?u0094 .......Before Miles can answer, Quint appears again at the window. The governess shouts at him: u0093No more, no more, no more!u0094 Miles questions her about what she sees and asks, u0093Itu0092s he?u0094 The governess asks whom he means by he? He answers, u0093Peter Quintu0097you devil! Where?u0094 The governess says, u0093There, there!u0094 .......In the concluding paragraph of her manuscript, the governess writes: But he [Miles] had already jerked straight round, stared, glared again, and seen but the quiet day . . . [Then] he uttered the cry of a creature hurled over an abyss, and the grasp with which I recovered him might have been that of catching him in his fall. I caught him, yes, I held himu0097it may be imagined with what a passion; but at the end of a minute I began to feel what it truly was that I held. We were alone with the quiet day, and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped.

Settings

The story begins in the 1890's at a Christmas gathering outside London. It then flashes back to the 1840's, when the main character seeks employment during an interview at a house on Harley Street in London. The scene then shifts to a country estate in Essex, a county bordering London on the east and northeast, where most of the story takes place. The estate, called Bly, consists of a mansion with two crenelated towers, spacious grounds, and a pond referred to as a lake.

Characters
Narrator 1, Unnamed Person: See Narration. Narrator 2, Douglas: See Narration. Narrator 3, the Governess: The main character of the story. She is a demure twentyyear-old, the daughter of a Hampshire parson, who serves as governess for two orphans, Miles and Flora, and superintends affairs at Bly, the estate where the children live. During the interview in which she is hired, she becomes strongly attracted to her employer, a handsome young bachelor who is the uncle of the children. But he remains in London while she lives at Bly, putting him out of reach and perhaps motivating her to take action

that will eventually attract his attention. While at Bly, she sees apparitions of two deceased persons, Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, who had worked at Bly. For additional information, see Narration. Employer of the Governess: A handsome, charming, and apparently wealthy young bachelor who hires the parson's daughter (Narrator 3, the governess) to look after upbringing of Miles and Flora, the orphaned children of his brother. A condition he imposes on her at the time of her hiring is that she must never contact him about any matters arising from her employment as governess. Mrs. Grose: Housekeeper at Bly. She is a kind and reliable woman who loves Flora and Miles and supports the governess in her care of the children. Miles: Charming boy, about ten, who was orphaned by the death of his father, a soldier who died when Miles was about eight. Although he seems to be a perfect little gentlemen, Miles was expelled from school for a reason that school authorities fail to elaborate on in a letter received by the governess. The letter says only that "heu0092s an injury to others." The governess believes that he is under the influence of the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. Flora: Beautiful, engaging eight-year-old girl, who was orphaned by the death of her father. She is the brother of Miles. The governess believes that he is under the influence of the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. Peter Quint: Deceased valet of the governess's employer when the latter was living at Bly. The governess sees apparitions of him and believes he is attempting to corrupt Miles. Miss Jessel: Deceased former governess of Miles and Flora. The current governess (the parson's daughter) sees apparitions of her and believes she is attempting to corrupt Flora. Luke: A servant at Bly. Griffin: A storyteller in the opening chapter of the novel. Mrs.Griffin: Griffin's wife. She asks Douglas (Narrator 2) whether the governess was in love with her employer. Others: Cook, maid, groom, gardener, and dairywoman at Bly. They are mentioned by Douglas but do not have speaking roles in the dialogue.

Gurney, co-founder in 1882 of the Society for Psychical Research, which investigated paranormal phenomena. In addition, an allusion in the first paragraph of Chapter 4 suggests that James may also have used (or was influenced by) a novel by English writer Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823). The allusion is in the second sentence of the paragraph: u0093Was there a u0091secretu0092 at Blyu0097a mystery of Udolpho or an insane, an unmentionable relative kept in unsuspected confinement?u0094 In her popular Gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), Radcliffe wrote about a young orphan who is mistreated by guardians. Much of the action takes place in a foreboding castle in a remote setting.

Narration
Three narrators tell the story. The first narrator, unnamed, sets the scene and repeats what he hears at a Christmas gathering when revelers are telling stories around a fireplace. The second narrator, Douglas, boasts that he knows a chilling ghost story, then presents introductory background for his tale. Next, he reads the tale from a manuscript handwritten by a young woman, unnamed, who experienced the events in the story and entrusted her manuscript to Douglas. As Douglas reads her story word for word, the young woman becomes the third narrator even though she has been dead for twenty years. Long after the holiday gathering, Douglas gives the manuscript to the first narrator. Thus, the latter has all that he needs to write The Turn of the Screwu0097the manuscript and the memories from the holiday gathering. The most important narrator is, of course, the young woman, who is also the novelu0092s protagonist. Her manuscript makes up approximately ninety percent of the wording in the novel. A central question the novel raises but does not answer is whether the apparitions that the young woman sees are real ghosts or figments of her imagination. Therefore, the reliability of her narration is open to question.

Type of Work and Year of Publication

The Turn of the Screw is a psychological horror story with Gothic overtones that probes the psyche of the main character, who seesu0097or imagines she seesu0097malevolent ghosts at an old estate in the county of Essex, England. Because of its length, the work falls into the category of short novel, or novella. It was serialized in Collier's Magazine, an American publication, in 1898.

Themes
Paranormal vs Paranoidal: Are Peter Quint and Miss Jessel paranormal phenomena or manifestations of a paranoid mind? The ability (or inability) to distinguish the real from the unreal is a central issue in The Turn of the Screwu0097and sometimes in life itself. Alienation: The Turn of the Screw is a story of progressive alienation for the main character. First, circumstances separate her from her family in Hamphsire, then from the her employer in London, for whom she has a strong attraction. After she sees the apparition of Miss Jessel at the lake in the presence Mrs. Grose and Flora, the housekeeper and the little girl both declare no such image exists. Mrs. Grose says, u0093She isnu0092t there, little lady, and nobodyu0092s thereu0097you never see nothing, my sweet.u0094 Flora tells the governess, u0093I think you're cruel. I don't like you!" Mrs. Grose and Flora then return to the house, leaving the governess sobbing in

Sources
Henry James is said to have adapted the The Turn of the Screw from a story told to him in 1895 by Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 to 1896, and from research on the human psyche conducted by Cambridge University scholar Edward

painful isolation. At the end of the novel, Miles dies, leaving the governess alone to confront her ghosts.

Ambiguity, Uncertainty, Mystery

Author Henry James well knew that life is not simple and not easily fathomed. To reflect the dubiety and puzzlement of life, he infused The Turn of the Screw with ambiguity, uncertainty, and mystery, posing many unanswered questions, including these: Is the governess motivated, wittingly or unwittingly, by an attraction to her employer? Does his refusal to visit Bly or become involved with the children indicate that he is aware of baneful activities there? Does the governess really see ghosts? Why was Miles expelled from school? Is he a hellion in the guise of an angel? Are the children plotting against the governess? How did Miss Jessel die? In the last words he speaks before he dies (Chapter 24), Miles exclaims, u0093Peter Quintu0097you devil!u0094 Do the words you devil refer to Quint or the governess? (Refer to the last six paragraphs of the story to see the context of these words.)

Need for Attention: The narration suggests, but does not explicitly say, that the governess suffers from a frustrated desire to be noticed by her employer, the handsome young uncle of Flora and Miles. Harboring such a desire, according to one interpretation of the story, could have caused her to imagine the ghosts so that she could become a heroic protector of the children. The young gentleman would then think highly of her for keeping the children from harm. But even before she sees the ghosts, she betrays a need to be noticed, as indicated in the following passage from Chapter 3 in which the governess is taking a leisurely evening walk on the grounds of Bly. Note the use of publicly in the last sentence. It was a pleasure at these moments to feel myself tranquil and justified; doubtless, perhaps, also to reflect that by my discretion, my quiet good sense and general high propriety, I was giving pleasureu0097if he [the young gentleman] ever thought of it!u0097to the person to whose pressure I had responded. What I was doing was what he had earnestly hoped and directly asked of me, and that I COULD, after all, do it proved even a greater joy than I had expected. I daresay I fancied myself, in short, a remarkable young woman and took comfort in the faith that this would more publicly appear.Repressed Desire: The narration also suggests, but again does not explicitly say, that the young governess could be suffering from repressed sexual desire for her employer. But rather than consciously acknowledging this desire, according this interpretation of the story, she projects it onto the apparitions, believing that they intend to corrupt the childrenu0097that is, involve them in perverted acts.

Meaning of the Title

In the first chapter of the story, Douglas uses the phrase turn of the screw to indicate that a ghost story has a more terrifying effect if a specter targets a child rather than an adult, as in a story just completed by a man named Griffin. Then Douglas asks his listeners what they would say of a ghost story with two children. One of them says such a story would cause two turns of the screw. Here is the passage: ......."I quite agreeu0097in regard to Griffin's ghost, or whatever it wasu0097that its appearing first to the little boy, at so tender an age, adds a particular touch. But it's not the first occurrence of its charming kind that I know to have involved a child. If the child gives the effect another turn of the screw, terror what do you say to TWO childrenu0097?" ......."We say, of course," somebody exclaimed, "that they give two turns! Driving the

Climax
The climax of a literary work, such as a short story or a novel, can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events. According to the first definition, the climax of The Turn of the Screw occurs in Chapter 20 when the governess sees the apparition of Miss Jessel and calls it to the attention of Mrs. Grose and Flora. But Mrs. Grose says, u0093She isnu0092t there, little lady, and nobodyu0092s thereu0097you never see nothing, my sweet.u0094 Flora, too, says she sees no apparition and never has. Here was an opportunity for the governess to prove the validity of her observations; instead, the occasion causes Flora to reject her and precipitates the tragic events that follows. According to the second definition, the climax occurs in the final chapter, when the governess sees the apparition of Quint and points it out to Miles. Miles exclaims, "Peter Quintu0097you devil! Where?" A moment later Miles dies.

Reader On
James keeps the reader turning the page by leaving him in suspense at the end of most of the chapters. For example, Chapter 4 ends when the narration of the governess says, "I wondered why SHE [Mrs. Grose] should be scared." The reader wonders why, too, and turns the page. At the end of Chapter 5 is a four-word sentence: "Mr. Quint is dead." How did Quint die? The reader must read Chapter 6 to find out. At the end of Chapter 6, the governess is seated on a bench, sewing, after feeling the presence of a specter across the lake from her. Her eyes remain on her needlework until, in the last sentence of the chapter, she says, "I faced what I had to face." The reader must turn to Chapter 7 to learn more. At the end of Chapter 7, the governessu0097talking with Mrs. Grose about the danger the children faceu0097says, "It's far worse than I thoughtu0097they're lost!" Again, the reader must turn to the next chapter for more information.

oppressive government. The author may have had in mind the city of his birth, Prague.

Study Questions and Essay Topics

1. Write an essay arguing that the apparitions of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel are real and that they influence the behavior of Miles and .....Flora. Support your view with passages from the novel and scholarly research. 2. Write an essay arguing that the apparitions of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel are figments of the governessu0092s imagination. Support your .....view with passages from the novel and scholarly research. 3. Why does the childrenu0092s uncle wish to remain apart from them? 4 To what extent do the country estate and its environs affect the behavior of the main characters? 5. Why was Miles expelled from school? 6. Is the governess infatuated with her employer? If so, does her infatuation affect her behavior at Bly? Until 1918, Prague was part of Austria-Hungary, also called the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Late that year, Austria-Hungary was dissolved as part of the outcome of the First World War and divided into Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. (Small parts of Austria-Hungary were incorporated into Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Italy.) Prague became the capital of Czechoslovakia. The nation was made up of Czechs, Slovaks, and minority groups that included Germans, Ukrainians, and Hungarians. Czechoslovakia fell under Nazi domination between 1939 and 1945, then under Soviet communist domination until 1989, when Sovietcommunism collapsed. In 1993 Czechoslovakia was divided into two republics, theCzech Republic and Slovakia. Prague is the capital of the former.

The Trial
(Der Prozess)
By Franz Kafka (1883-1924) A Study Guide

Characters
.

Protagonist: Joseph K. Antagonist: The Government and Court System

..

Type of Work
.......The Trial is a novel that expresses the frustration, anxiety, and loneliness of a man living in a country with an oppressive government that orders his arrest and trial without ever informing him of what he supposedly did wrong. What happens to him is tragic and, at the same time, darkly humorous. Franz Kafka, Kafka, a Czech Jew, wrote the novel in German, as he did all of his works. It was published in Berlin by Verlag die Schmiede in 1925, a year after Kafka's death.

Title
.......Der Prozess (The Process), the German title of the novel, means lawsuit or legal action. It is an apt title, for the legal action against the protagonist is a continuing process that does not end until he dies.

Setting
.

.......The action takes place in a gray and gloomy European city in a country with an

Joseph K.: Thirty-year-old bank officer accused of an undisclosed crime. He lives alone in a boardinghouse. Willem and Franz: Officers who arrest K. one morning but refuse to disclose the crime he is said to have committed. . Frau Grubach: Joseph K.s landlady. Fralein Brstner: Tenant in Joseph K.s boardinghouse. K. visits her one evening to tell her about his arrest and ends up impulsively kissing her. Thereafter, she refuses to see him. Frulein Montag: German woman who teaches French and lives in the same boardinghouse as Joseph K. She is a friend of Frulein Brstner. One Sunday, she moves into Brstner's apartment and later meets with Joseph K. to tell him that Frulein Brstner does not wish to see K. again. Uncle Karl: Joseph K's uncle, who introduces his nephew to a lawyer supposedly skilled in defending clients. Erna: Daughter of Uncle Karl. She is the one who informs him that Joseph K. is to stand trial. Dr. Huld: Joseph K.s lawyer. He is languishing in bed with an illness. Leni: Dr. Hulds nurse, who is attracted to Joseph K. Albert: Office director at the court and a friend of Huld. Manufacturer: Person who hears about K.'s case and advise him to see a painter who knows how the court system works. Titorelli: Painter who advises Joseph K. on court proceedings. Rudi Block: Client of Dr. Huld. Block is also awaiting trial in a case that is five years old. Inspector: Man who conducts a proceeding at Joseph K.'s boardinghouse to inform K.

officially that he is under arrest. Rabinsteiner, Kullich, Kaminer: Junior bank employees who attending the proceeding at the boardinghouse. Elsa: Waitress in a wine bar that K. usually visits once a week. Captain Lanz: Nephew of Frau Grubach. He lives in the boardinghouse. Bank President: K.'s employer. He gets along with K. Bank Vice President: Official who covets the bank president's job. Priest: Prison chaplain whom K. encounters in a church. The priest advises K. that his case is going badly and tells him to accept his fate. Anna: Cook in Joseph K.'s boardinghouse. Landlord's Son Court and Police Officials Various citizens

home. After moving a bedside table to the middle of the room to serve as a desk, the inspector conducts an official proceeding. K. maintains his innocence and asks who is accusing him of wrongdoing and which government office is investigating him. But the inspector says he knows very little about K.'s case and cannot provide details on the charge against him. The only thing he can say for certain, he says, is that K. is under arrest.

........K.

then tells him that he would like to contact a government lawyer named Hasterer, a friend of his, for advice. K. may do so, the inspector says, but he would be wasting his time. K. is under arrest and nothing can change that fact. K. decides not to make the call. In the end, nothing is accomplished in the hearing except for K.'s official notification that he is under arrest.

Plot Summary
By Michael J. Cummings... 2003 Revised in 2010 ........When

The plot summary is based in part on a translation posted by David Wyllie at Project Gutenberg.
........While

lying in bed one morning in his room at a boardinghouse, Joseph K., a thirtyyear-old bank clerk, wonders why the cook, Anna, has not brought him breakfast at the usual time, about eight oclock. Irritated he rings for his landlady, Frau Grubach. But when the door opens, a strange man named Willem appears at the threshold.

the inspector leaves, he surprises K. by telling him he is free to go about his daily affairs as usual, including reporting for work at his bank. Bewildered, K. thinks being under arrest may not be such a terrible thing. Of course, there will be a trial, preceded by hearings. The inspector then notes that three of the men he has brought with him are bank employees who will escort K. back to work. K. hadn't noticed them before because they did not take part in the proceeding and instead spent their time looking at a display of Fralein Brstner's photographs. Now, however, he recognizes them: Rabensteiner, Kullich, and Kaminer, all youngeremployees on the bank staff. K. rides to work with them in a taxi.

........Who

are you? K. asks.

........In

........Willem

does not respond.

........When

K. says he has been expecting his breakfast, Willem repeats Ks statement to another man, Franz, in an adjoining room. Franz and Willem laugh. Then they inform K. that he is under arrest. Dumbfounded, K. cannot think of a single thing he did wrong. Someone must have told lies about him. When he presses them for information, they tell him that they are not there to explain why he is to be held, only that he is being held. After K. asks to see a warrant, all they do is tell him he must resign himself to the fact that he is under arrest.

the evening when he returns from work, K. apologizes to the landlady, Frau Grubach, for being the cause of the commotion that morning. She seems unconcerned and tells K. not to take the incident seriously. K. then says he would like to speak with Fralein Brstner to apologize to her, too, because the proceeding held in her room may have left it in disarray. But Frau Grubach informs him that Brstner is still out. She tells K. not to worry about the room, for it has already been tidied up. Consquently, there is no need to apologize to her. When K. observes that Fralein Brstner often stays out late, Frau Grubach gossips about her, saying she has seen her with different men in other neighborhoods.

........Finally,

inspector arrives with three other men, and everyone including Franz and Willemconvenes in the room of another tenant, Fralein Brstner, a typist, who is not
........An

after 11:30, Fralein Brstner returns and K. goes to her room and describes the mornings events to her. She seems unconcerned until she complains that several photographs are out of order. When K. tells her he does not know why he is being held for trial, she then wonders why he is bothering her at such a later hour. But K. continues to talk about the proceeding and even demonstrates where theofficials stood. When they hear a loud bang on a door to an adjoining room, where Frau Grubachs nephewan army captain named Lanzis staying, Fralein Brstner worries that she

and K. are causing a disturbance and tells K. to leave. In the hallway, he impulsively kisses her on the lips, face, and neck; she seems impassive, uncaring.

and, finding it empty, waits for her. When that effort fails, he sends a letter to her office and to her apartment. She does not respond.

........At

work, K. receives a telephone call to report on Sunday for the first of a series of hearings. When he arrives at the address, he discovers that the building is a tenement house. Guttersnipes playing marbles on the steps block his way. One of them grabs a leg of his trousers to prevent him from continuing on until a marble reaches its destination. K. does not protest for fear of causing a scene.

Sunday morning, another tenantFrulein Montag, who teaches French moves from her apartment into Fralein Brstner's, then later sends a maid to ask K to
........One

........Once

inside, he goes from room to room to find the court. Each time a door opens to his knock, he pretends that he is looking for a carpenter while he looks inside to see whether he has discovered the court.

him meet her in the dining room. When they talk, Montag tells him politely that her friend does not wish see K. again. Fralein Brstner does not believe it would be to the benefit of either herself or K., she says. As K. leaves, Captain Lanz, a big man who appears to be about forty, enters, greets both of them with a bow, and kisses Montag's hand.

........K. ........Does

then goes directly to Brstner's apartment and knocks. There is no answer. He enters the room, but it is empty. a carpenter named Lanz live here? (K. had remembered that Frau Grubach's nephew was named Lance, so he decides to use that name.)
........While ........He

repeats the question again and again, mainly to housewives tending children. Sometimes the housewives repeat the question to others within.

........Does

a carpenter named Lanz live here?

working late several days later, K. hears noises in a room and investigates. Inside the room are the policemen who arrested K., Willem and Franz, and a man who is about to beat them with a cane. The policemen tell K. they are to be punished because K. complained about them at court. K. says, however, that he did not lodge a complaint; he simply reported what happened on the morning when the two policemen entered his room and announced his arrest. After the flogger begins beating them, K. tries to persuade him to stop. But he continues to punish them. The next day, K. discovers the same scene in the same room the flogger caning the policemen. Horrified, he tells two underlings to go into the room and tidy it up. They agree that the room needs attention and say they will clean it up the next day.

........When

he finally finds the court, the magistrate scolds him for his tardiness and wants to know whether he is a house painter. At wits end, K. harangues the court, receiving applause from the spectators seated before the bench. He leaves.

........K.

returns to the court the following Sunday. In the courtroom is a cleaning woman who tells him that no sessions are scheduled for the day. The room now resembles a living room, and the woman explains that she and her husband live there when the court is not in session. It is one of the advantages of his being a court usher. A disadvantage, however, is that a student at the court continually makes advances toward her, and her husband can do nothing to stop him for fear that the student will someday rise in the court system and will have the power to fire him.

........K.'s

........Over

several weeks afterward, K. repeatedly attempts to contact Fralein Brstner to apologize for his behavior earlier, but he fails every time. He even enters his apartment

Uncle Carl, a country landowner, hears about the case against his nephew from his daughter Erna and pays him a visit. Telling him that the legal action is a serious matter, he takes K.to see a lawyer, an old school friend of his named Dr. Huld, supposedly a skilled defense attorney. Huld is sick in bed but is well informed about K.s case. With him is his nurse. Reluctant to have the nurse hear the conversation that is about to take place, Uncle Carl orders the nurse, Leni, to leave the room. After she goes into a kitchen, Huld says the case will be very difficult to handle and wonders whether he

will have the strength to see it through. However, he says, he is quite interested in it and is eager to play a role in it.
........One

then introduces them to a court colleagueAlbert, whom Huld calls the office directorwho has been sitting in the shadows, unnoticed. A moment later, they hear a loud noise in the kitchen. When K. goes into the kitchen to investigate, Leni tells him she threw a plate against the wall to attract his attention. After acknowledging their interest in each other, they enter the lawyer's office. It is dark. When Leni asks K. whether he has a girlfriend, he tells her about Elsa, a waitress at a wine bar whom he visits weekly, and shows her a photograph of her. Leni then asks whether Elsa has any physical defects. Before he can answer the question, Leni shows him a defect of hers: a webbed hand. K. kisses it, saying, "What a pretty claw." Then they become intimate. Leni says she has replaced Elsa as his girlfriend and gives him a key, saying he can visit her anytime he wishes.
........Huld

day, the president of the bank where K. works asks him to escort an important clientan Italian business executive with an interest in artthrough a local cathedral with interesting artworks. K. was chosen because of his knowledge of art and architecture. When K. arrives at the appointed time, the Italian is nowhere to be seen, and the church is empty. While K. waits for the Italian, a priest mounts a pulpit. A sermon? Is there really going to be a sermon when only one person is in the pews? How absurd. K. quickly walks down the central aisle, hoping to reach the exit before the sermon begins. The voice of the priest then reverberates through the church: Joseph K.!

Surprised, K. turns around.

........You are being held for trial.

........After

he leaves through a front door, his uncle emerges from a car. He is furious. Not only did K. keep him, his lawyer and, most important, the office directorwho will be handling certain details in K's casewaiting for a long time, Uncle Karls says, but he also may have diminished his chances of successfully coming through the legal action. Uncle Karl says he did his best to smooth things over.

........Yes, Ive been notified, K. replies.

........Good. Youre the one I want.

........At

the bank, one of his customers, a manufacturer, furtively tells K., I heard about your trial from a painter named Titorelli. According to the manufacturer, Titorelli makes most of his income painting portraits of judges and, over time, has learned about the inner workings of the justice system. He might be able to advise K. When K. visits him, Titorelli tells him that it is impossible to gain outright acquittal. Instead, he must prolong the case by gaining a temporary acquittal, then a new trial, then another temporary acquittal, then another new trial, and so on. In the end, Titorelli is no help at all, and K. leavesafter buying several landscape paintings that he doesnt really want.

........The priest, it turns out, is a prison chaplain who arranged for K. to be in the cathedral that morning. He tells K. his trial is going poorly and that he will probably be found guilty in a lower court. When K. says he plans to get further help and seek acquittal, the priest frowns on the idea and lowers his head. The church, meanwhile, has darkened because of a storm.

........Are you angry? K. says.

........When

K. returns to see Dr. Huld, his nurse, Leni, is in the kitchen with another client, a grain merchant named Rudi Block. Apparently Leni and Block have been flirting or more. K. asks whether they are lovers, but Leni dodges the question and begins making soup for Dr. Huld. When K. talks with Block, Block says five lawyers have been handling his case, which is still in the courts after five years. K. goes into Hulds room to fire him, and Block and Leni follow. After K. expresses his displeasure with Huld, the lawyer tells him little progress can be expected in any court case. He tells Block his case is still at the beginning, even though it is five years old, and that a judge believes the outcome will be unfavorable. However, Huld says, he will continue pressing the court on Blocks behalf.

........No reply.

........It wasnt my intention to insult you.

........After a long silence, the priest comes down from the pulpit and talks with K. After K. compliments the priest for his friendly manner, the priest says K. is deceiving himself. In a

roundabout waythrough a parablehe tells K. that he must accept things as they are; he cannot fight them. What is important is not whether everything the court says is true; what is important is that the courts action is necessary.

she certainly did not intend and certainly was not appropriate."

........After six more months pass and K.s case continues to stagnate, two men wearing top hats arrive at Ks boardinghouse at 9:30 in the evening.

Themes
Theme 1

........Youre here for me? K. says.

........They nod. .......A force or entity beyond the control and scrutiny of the individual arbitrarily determines his or her destiny, justly or unjustly. A man has no alternative but to accept this destiny. In The Trial, the force or entity is ostensibly the government and symbolically fate, divine will, luckin fact, anything or anyone that rules humans by whim or caprice. Sophocles develops this theme in Oedipus Rex, in which the protagonist, Oedipus powerless to overturn the verdict of fatekills his own father and marries his own mother. In King Lear, Shakespeare sums up this theme when Gloucester observes, As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport. Thomas Hardy made t his theme central to many of his novels. His characters are dominated by environmental, psychological, or biological determinism. Of course, one of the most famous expositions of this theme is in the Bible in the Book of Job.

........Outside, they take him by the arms and lead him through the streets. He stops and resists, gluing his feet to the pavement. Ahead he sees Fralein Brstner in the shadowsor someone who looks like her. In a moment, he decides it is futile to resist and resumes walking. Eventually, they arrive at a stone quarry outside the city. One of the men strips K. bare to the waist. When he shivers, the man pats him on the back as if to say, Itll be all right. Next, they find a stone block, lay K. down and place his head on it, and take out a butcher knife. In the top story of a building across from the quarry, K. sees a figure leaning out of an open window. Who is it?

........One of the men plunges the knife into K.s heart and twists it. Theme 2

Point of View
.......Kafka presents the story in third-person point of view from Joseph K.'s perspective. The narrator reveals K.'s thoughts but avoids revealing the thoughts of other characters except on rare occasions, such as the following one in Chapter One when Frau Grubach is talking with Joseph K.: "As a result of this self consciousness she said something that

.......Big government is unwieldy, unfair, and unforgiving. In this respect, The Trial is a visionary novel that warns civilization, wittingly or unwittingly, of the coming tyranny of totalitarian governments in Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and Fascist Italy. It also attacks governments of every kind, whether Democratic or otherwise, that rely on clumsy bureaucracies to conduct day-to-day affairs. If you have ever had to wait in a long line to conduct business with a local, state, or federal governmentor if you have ever had to complete government forms with complex and confusing questions you know how frustrating government can be.

Theme 3

.......The combined forces of fate and faceless big government isolate Joseph K., making him feel lonely, abandoned, friendless. His enemies have cornered him, and he has no weapons with which to fight back and no champions to come to his rescue. Theme 4
.

interminable legal proceedings without knowing the nature of the charge against them and appear to have little hope of receiving a just settlement of their cases.

Fralein Brstner's Rejection of K.

.......After K.'s encounter with Fralein Brstner, she manages to avoid him even though they live in the same apartment building. Whenever he knocks on her door, he receives no answer. Frustrated, he enters apartment but it is empty. He writes her letters, one to her apartment and one to her work address. She does not respond. Finally, her new roommate, Frulein Montag acts as a go-between to tell K. that Brstner does not wish to seek K. again. Brstner's rejection of K. helps to develop the theme of K.'s isolation and alienation. (See Theme 3.)

.......Original sin burdens man with inherited guilt and holds him accountable for that guilt. According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Adam and Eve committed the first sin and passed it on to their descendants, the rest of the human race. In this sense, Joseph K. is guilty of an "inherited crime." He is held accountable for it just as the surviving members of a family are responsible for a debt or property mortgage inherited from a deceased member.
.

Style and Content

.

Climax
.

.......The climax of a narrative work can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events. The climax of The Trial occurs, according to the first definition, when Joseph K. realizes that his fate is sealed after the priest in the cathedral tells him, "You don't need to accept everything as true, you only have to accept it as necessary." Joseph responds, "Depressing view. The lie made into the rule of the world." According to the second definition, the climax occurs in the final chapter when Joseph K., having accepted his fate, willingly allows two men to escort him through the streets to a stone quarry, where they execute him.
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.......The novel is written in German in uncomplicated, well-crafted, easy-to-understand sentences designed to depict the feelings evoked in Joseph K. by the world around him, as in expressionism. Sometimes these feelings manifest themselves in irrational, nightmarish images, as in surrealism. The Trial is a dark and depressing noveland, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. In his attempt to solve his problem, the main character, Joseph K., is as hapless as the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote in his attempts to snare the roadrunner. Kafka's bone-dry wit and flair for surreal humoran example of which occurs in a passage in which he meets an attractive woman but discovers she has webbed handsare unsurpassed in Twentieth Century literature. In a Kafka short story entitled "The Metamorphosis," the main character, Gregor Samsa, suffers a kind of loneliness similar to, but even more intense than, Joseph K.'s: Samsa awakens one day to discover that he has turned into a huge bug. Following is the opening paragraph of this story: One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked.(Wylie, David, translator. Project Gutenberg text.) .......Gregor is like Joseph K. in that he wakes up one day to find himself in a predicament that was apparently not of his own making. And, like Joseph K., Gregor has no way to banish his predicament. In "The Metamorphosis," as in The Trial, Kafka's eccentric humor tempers the edge of the phantasmagoric circumstances in which the protagonist finds himself. For example, Samsa wonders whether he can make it to work walking on so many spindly legs. Kafka's ability to write humor into a ridiculously surreal story is a hallmark of his style.

K's Impulsivity With Women

.......When K. meets with Fralein Brstner the first time, he kisses her impulsively when he leaves her apartment. When he meets Leni in Dr. Huld's office, he readily goes into Huld's dark, empty office with her to exchange intimacies while his Uncle Karl talks with the lawyer, who is sick in bed. K's behavior with both women suggests that he is trying to take control of destiny while the government is wresting it from him. (No one told him to kiss either woman; doing so was his decision.) Ironically, however, his behavior could also indicate that he is losing control of his own emotions.

Huld's Illness
.......Huld says he suffers from heart trouble and has difficulty breathing and sleeping. Moreover, he says, he is getting weakever every day. His illness appears to represent the condition of justice in the oppressive country. The more power the government arrogates unto itself, the weaker the justice system becomes. Citizens like K. become entangled in

.......Although Samsa's sister takes pity on him and feeds him, everyone else rejects him. As an outcast, he has only one future to look forward to: death. Both Gregor Samsa and Joseph K. are innocent victims of an uncaring society.

4. If you were in Joseph K's place, what action would you take to exonerate 5. 6.
yourself? Does the government justice system in The Trial resemble in any way the justice system in present-day America or any other country? Explain your answer. Do you believe that it is possible that the justice system in The Trialsymbolizes Kafka's domineering father? If so, write an essay or generate a discussion in which you cite passages from The Trial, as well as incidents from Kafka's life, that support this interpretation. Are Joseph K.'s encounters with women in The Trial based on author Kafka's encounters with women? Explain your answer. Does Joseph K. resemble his creator, Franz Kafka? In what ways does Joseph K.'s ordeal resemble the sometimes frustrating experiences you face when dealing with big government?

Kafka and Expressionism

.......Franz Kafka is frequently identified with the early 20th Century expressionism. In literature, expressionism is a movement or writing technique in which a writer depicts a characters feelings about a subject (or the writers own feelings about it) rather than the objective surface reality of the subject. A writer, in effect, presents his interpretation of what he sees. .......Often, the depiction is a grotesque distortion or phantasmagoric representation of reality. However, there is logic to this approach for these reasons: (1) Not everybody perceives the world in the same way. What one person may see as beautiful or good another person may see as ugly or bad. Sometimes a writer or his character suffers from a mental debility, such as depression or paranoia, which alters his perception of reality. .......Expressionism enables the writer to present this altered perception. When Joseph K. perceives reality, he sees it through the lens of his minds eye. A scene that may appear normal or even cheerful to another character may appear bleak and depressing to him. Moreover, the outward appearance of a person, place, or thing may not reflect its true essence in the first place. Shakespeare expressed this view in The Merchant of Venice: A goodly apple rotten at the heart: O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath! (Antonio to Bassanio, Act I, Scene III, Lines 98-102) .......Expressionist writers often present the real world as bizarre, fantastic, and nightmarish because that is how they, or the characters in their works, see the world. Their distortions are the real world. Besides Kafka, writers who used expressionist techniques included James Joyce and Eugene ONeill.

7. 8.

Biographical Information
.......Franz Kafka was well primed to write a novel about an isolated individual. His father despised him, he never married, and he was a Jew at a time when anti-Semitism was gaining sway again in Europe.

.......Kafka was born on July 3, 1883, in Prague (now part of the Czech Republic but then part of Austria-Hungry). When he was an adolescent, he was a good student, but he disliked the traditional, hidebound, authoritarian approach to education at his school, the Altstdter Staatsgymnasium. Although he later earned a law degree at the Charles University in Prague, he did not practice law but instead worked in Prague for an insurance company and then for an insurance institute. He found insurance work tedious. Nevertheless, he did his job well, earning the respect of colleagues, and remained an office worker until 1923, when he moved to Berlin to pursue writing. By then, however, he was suffering from tuberculosis and died the following year.

Study Questions and Essay Topics

1. Why did Kafka name The Trial's protagonist Joseph K. but give other characters 2. In a good dictionary, look up Kafkaesque, a word derived from Kafka's name and 3.
the themes of his literary works. Then discuss or write about experiences of yours, including dreams, that you would describe as Kafkaesque. When The Trial was published in 1925, totalitarianism was taking root in Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union (Russia). What is totalitarianism? In what ways are totalitarian governments similar to the government in The Trial? a last name? .......Throughout his life, he was never close to his parents, Hermann Kafka and Julie Lwy Kafka. His father, a successful merchant, was a tyrant who bullied Franz psychologically. In some ways, the court system in The Trial represents the negative influence of Hermann Kafka on his son. Although Kafka had relationships with several women, one to whom he was engaged, he never married. At the end of his life, Kafka was almost completely isolatedfrom his family, from a regular job and the companionship of co-workers, from the wife that he never had, and from anti-Semitic Germans whose language he wrote in. He tried desperately to find God whom he regarded as an "indestructible" realitybut felt that God remained distant from him. He did have one close friend, however: Max Brod, an essay writer, drama critic, and novelist

who published Kafka's works after he died even though Kafka had told him to destroy all of his manuscripts.

support life, including fresh water, fruit, and game in the form of pigs. The island, which is shaped like a boat, has a forest, two small mountains, and a sandy beach. The boys form their own society on the island, with a leader and a rudimentary form of government. Their little world becomes a microcosm symbolizing the world of adults.

.......Among Franz Kafka's other works are Meditation (1913), The Judgment (1912),The Metamorphosis (1915), In the Penal Colony (1919), "A Hunger Artist" (1922), The Castle (1926), and Amerika (1927). He died on June 3, 1924, at Kierling, Austria.

Characters
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The Lord of the Flies

By William Golding (1911-1993 A Study Guide

Protagonist: Ralph Antagonists: Jack, the Imagined Beast, the Evil Inside the Boys
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Type of Work
The Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel, a literary work in which characters, events, objects, and ideas have secondary or symbolic meanings. In TheLord of the Flies, the island on which the boys are stranded after a plane crash symbolizes the world at large. The boys themselves represent adult civilization. The conflicts that divide them into opposing groups symbolize the conflicts that lead to war in the adult world.

Ralph: Handsome, athletic twelve-year-old elected leader by the boys. He is sensible and self-confident but gradually becomes disheartened under the burden of leadership, and Jack plots to overthrow him. Note: Many British pronounce the name Ralph as Rafe. Jack Merridew: Aggressive older boy who envies Ralph and vies with him for leadership. He leads the choirboys. Piggy: Fat, clumsy, asthmatic older boy who befriends and advises Ralph. Piggy is an orphan. Simon: Timid, highly sensitive older boy who respects everyone and learns a dark secret. Sam and Eric: Twins who support Ralph in his struggle with Jack. Roger: Cruel older boy who seems to enjoy harming others. The Choirboys: Singers led by Jack. They remain loyal to him in his struggle with Ralph. Naval Officer: British seaman who arrives at the end of the novel to rescue the boys.

Another popular allegorical novel is George Orwell's Animal Farm, about farm animals vying for power. On the surface, it is an entertaining story that even children can enjoy. Beneath the surface, it is the story of ruthless Soviet totalitarianism. Other famous examples of allegories are John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and the fifteenthcentury morality play, Everyman.

Plot Summary

By Michael J. Cummings... 2004 .

Date of Publication and Source

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The Lord of the Flies was published in 1954. In writing the novel, Golding drew upon his experiences as a British naval officer during the Second World War. He based much of the plot and several of his characters on an 1858 book, The Coral Island, by Robert M. Ballantyne. Ballantyne's story recounts the adventures of three British boysRalph, Jack, and Peterkinwho survive a shipwreck and create their own little society on an island where pigs run wild.Film versions of the The Lord of the flies appeared in 1963, 1990, and 2008.

British schoolboys ages six to twelve survive a plane crash on a small coral island in the South Pacific during a world war. There are no adult survivors. The boys are intelligent, well-to-do childrenthe sons of aristocratic families that run society and governmentwho had been evacuated from a battle zone. Under a hot sun, two older boysone fat and clumsy and the other handsome and athletic are on a beach getting acquainted as they discuss their plight. They are uncertain whether there are other survivors. The fat boy confides that his school chums call him Piggy, a nickname he despises. The other boy later introduces himself as Ralph. Ralph says his father will rescue them when he learns that their plane is missing, but Piggy rejects this possibility: Didnt you hear what the pilot said? About the atom bomb? Theyre all dead. While they

Setting
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The action takes place on a tiny coral island in the South Pacific during a war in which an atomic bomb may have been used. The weather is hot and sunny. Although the island is uninhabited except for the boys who survived the plane crash, it offers necessities to

get their bearings, Piggy continually urges Ralph to go with him to look for other survivors. But rather than taking this advice, Ralph goes swimming in a lagoon near a slab of pink granite. There, he finds a conch about eighteen inches long.

Piggy recognizes it as a valuable find, telling Ralph that blowing into it will make a sound loud enough to be heard a long way off. If there are other survivors, they might come running. Intrigued, Ralph tries it out and surprises himself at the deep, booming sound he produces. Within a short time, a small boy comes toward them. Then others arrive, including a group of choir singers led by a boy of superior bearing barking commands. His name is Jack Merridew. When the boys introduce themselves, Piggy pipes up, asking that a name be repeated. But Jack says, Youre talking too much. Shut up, Fatty. There is laughter all around. Meaning well but further embarrassing the fat boy, Ralph says, Hes not Fatty, his real names Piggy. There is more laughter, louder this time. Using the rules of civilization taught at school, the boys assemble to choose a leader. Jack nominates himself, and all of his choirboys vote for him. But Ralphwho seems bright and sensible and who is, moreover, the holder of the conch, which is perceived as a symbol of authoritygets the majority of votes. To pacify Jack, Ralph appoints him and his choirboys as hunters. Of course, there is plenty of fruit on the island, the boys have discovered. But they hunger for more substantial fare: meat. When Ralph, Jack, and another boy, Simon, explore the inland forest, Jack carries an invaluable tool: a long, sharp knifeensconced in a sheaththat he brought with him from the plane wreckage. They climb a summit from which they observe the entire island, which is boat-shaped. On their way back, they hear rustling and squeals. The source of the sounds is a baby pig caught in a tangle of plant growth. Food! Jack has an opportunity to stab it with his knife, but he hesitates and loses his chance. The next time, he says, he will show no mercy. Late in the afternoon, Ralph blows the conch, summoning all the boys for a meeting. First, he tells them that he, Jack, and Simon found no signs of other human life on the island; they are alone. They did discover, however, that there are pigs on the island to enliven their diet. Next, he makes a rule: Whenever anyone speaks at a meeting, he will hold the conch, signaling that no one must interrupt him. When another person wishes to speak, he will raise his hand and the conch will be passed to him. A little boy, crying, says he has seen a snake-thing. The other boys doubt his story, suggesting he had a nightmare. There are no beasties on the island, they assure him. To further hearten everyone, Ralph says his father, a navy man, will rescue them. The British, after all, have maps of every island everywhere; one day, rescuers will come. When Ralph suggests that they build a fire on a nearby mountain, everyone jumps up and carries leaves and dry wood to the site. No one has any matches, so Jack snatches Piggys eyeglasses and gives them to Ralph, who kneels down and holds the lenses over the wood pile until the concentrated sun rays start the fire. There is applause. When it is decided that someone must maintain the fire and continually create smoke visible at a distance, Jack volunteers to have some of his hunters take on this task. While

the boys are talking, the fire burns out of control. Piggyannoyed that the others have been acting hastilylike a pack of kids, says they should have put more planning into how to maintain the fire; instead, everyone just jumped up and built it without deciding what to do next. Whats more, he says, T he first thing we ought to have made was shelter down there by the beach. How can you expect to be rescued if you dont put first things first and act proper? A while later, an explosion from the fire sends vines into the air. Some little boys shout Snakes! Snakes! Look at the snakes! Before sunset, Piggy discovers that one of the little ones is missing. He is never found. When the boys build huts, they all pitch in enthusiastically at first. Then many of them mostly the littluns, as the youngest children are calledgradually drop out to swim, play games, or forage for fruit. All day Ive been working with Simon, Ralph tells Jack, who has just returned from an unsuccessful hunting expedition. No one else. Theyre off bathing, or eating, or playing. Ralph then asks Jack to help, but Jack says he has to pay attention to hunting. We want meat. The boys are on the brink of an argument when they change the subject and talk amiably. Ralph confides to Jack an unsettling thought: When he was in the forest, he felt that something was hunting him. The conversation then returns to pigs and shelters then the fire. Ralph reminds Jack several times not to forget about the fire. The next day, Jack and his boys smear clay on their faces as a sort of camouflage, then go off on another hunting expedition. On the beach, Piggy suggests to Ralph that they plant a stick in the ground to make a sun dial. But Ralph, preoccupied with the burden of leadership, turns away. By and by, he spies a silhouette on the horizon. A ship! He turns to check the signal fire, but sees no smoke. Maybe the fire is out. Frantically, he tears up the mountainside, then stops. Piggys glasses! If the fire is out, he will need them. But if the fire is still alive. No time to waste. He keeps running up the mountain. At the top, he discovers the worst: The fire is dead. As the ship begins to disappear, he shouts at it Come back! Come back! No use. In moments, it is gone. A while later, Jack returns triumphantly from the hunt. Two of his boys are carrying a pig on a pole resting on their shoulders. All of the hunters are chanting: Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood. Ralph, livid with anger, shouts at Jack, You let the fire go out! When Piggy also rebukes Jack, the latter doubles him over with a punch to the stomach. Then he slaps at Piggy, and his eyeglasses go flying. One of the lenses shatters on rocks. Ralph and Jack argue, but after tempers cool the boys build a new fire, roast the pig, and eat. When Jack doesnt offer any meat to Piggy, Simon gives Piggy a portion.

That evening, Ralph calls a meeting to restore discipline and respect for the rules, presenting the following grievances: (1) The boys neglect to refill coconut shells used to hold fresh water for everyone; (2) they shirk their duty to work on shelters; (3) they do not use the rocky area designated as a lavatory but, instead, excrete their waste wherever they please; (4) they make separate fires, causing them to neglect the signal fire on the mountain. From now on, he says, everyone must abide by the rulesand there will be only one fire, the signal fire. To allay growing fears, Ralph declares that there are no beasts to be afraid of; there are only overactive imaginations. Jack seizes this opportunity to ridicule the small boys for believing in such creatures, calling them crybabies and telling them they must learn to live with their fears. But a boy named Phil nevertheless swears he saw something big and horrid in the forest. Another boy, Percival, claims that a beast hides in the sea and comes out at night. There is also talk of ghosts. Then boys start talking out of turn; confusion and disorder result. Piggy asks, What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? Jack tries to declare himself the new chief, then storms off when he fails. Ralph begins to doubt his ability as a leader and speaks of resigning. Piggy and Simon urge him to remain the leader. Overnight, under shimmering stars and a bright moon, an explosion erupts in the sky, and an airplane goes down in the sea, leaving behind a spiral of smoke and a parachutist falling to earth. He lands in the islands forest, his lines tangled and hung up b etween a tree and a rock. He is dead. But his body bobs and sways in the wind, and the parachute billows and flaps. Nearby, twins Sam and Eric, who are tending the mountain fire, hear strange noises. As dawn nears, they investigate and, in the dim light, perceive . . . the beast! Tearing down the mountainside, they awaken Ralph and the other boys, crying out their tale of horror. There is an assembly at which the boys recite the details of their experience, describing the beast as furry and having wings. There were eyes

question. So Jack, Ralph, and the rest of the older boys set out to track the creature while Piggy remains behind with the small boys. Jack leads the way. Simon, not far behind him, is the only one who doubts the existence of the beast. He regrets that he lacked the courage to speak up at the assembly. Their destination is a high point on the far side of the island where they believe the beast has his lair. After nearing the site, Ralph, as chief, decides to steal forward alone. The others observe from bushes. Moments later, however, Jack joins him. When they arrive at the site, they find nothing. Ralph then notices that no smoke is rising from their signal fire in the distance. Other boys, realizing that there is nothing to fear where they are, come out of hiding and begin to roll rocks down the hill. When Ralph orders everyone to leave, some of the boys want to stay and play. Ralph says, Theres no signal showing. There may be a ship out there. Are you all off your rockers? They all then head back to the other side of the island. On the way, they discover fresh pig droppings. Jack says, Ralphwe need meat even if we are hunting the other thing. Ralph agrees. When a big boar crosses their path, Ralph hurls a spear that strikes it. The animal then changes directions and disappears into the forest. Ralph brags about his spear throw, and Jack shows a brush burn on his arm that he says the pig caused. The boys are excited now, and they reenact the scene, one boy, Robert, playing the charging pig, and the others jabbing at him. Later, as the afternoon merges into evening, they climb the mountain to the signal fire. There, like Sam and Eric before them, Jack, Ralph, and Roger hear noises and see the monster, a figure resembling an ape sleeping in a sitting position. (It is, of course, the dead parachutist, his body still lodged between the rock and the tree.) The following day, Ralph tells Piggy about their sighting of the beast. Downcast, Ralph thinks there is no way to kill it and no way to maintain a signal fire, for the beast sits near the mountaintop as if ready to attack anyone who goes there. What about my hunters? Jack says. Boys armed with sticks. Ralph replies sarcastically.

Teeth Insulted, Jack goes off in a huff. Claws Ralph notices the cuts and tears the twins suffered in their rush down from the mountain through the heavy forest growth. He is now convinced that there really is a beast after all. The faces of the others are stricken with terror Although the boys are all genuinely frightened, they realize they must hunt the beast down. To remain confined to the beach, cut off from their food supply, is out of the At an assembly, Jack informs everyone about the beast, then twists Ralphs words, saying he accused his hunters of being cowards. He concludes that Ralph is not a proper chief, then leaves, soon to be joined by his loyal followers. He believes he is the new chief. Piggy, glad to be rid of Jack, tells Ralph all is not lost; for they can build a fire on the beach. Ralph perks up, and so do the rest of the boys. They immediately gather wood

and start the fire, although they realize it is a formidable task to keep a big fire going without the help of Jacks boys. So they settle for a small one. Meanwhile, Jack and his boys go on another hunting expedition, deciding to search only for pigs. If they kill one, they will leave part of it behind to appease the beast. In almost no time, they find and kill a sow in a bloody struggle. Simon, who had wandered into the forest, is observing everything from the cover of leaves. The hunters cut off the head of the pig and impale it on a stake, leaving it behind as a gift for the beast. After they leave, Simon gazes intently upon the head and the flies buzzing around it. The hunters now have meat but no fire and no means of starting one, so they storm Ralphs beach site and steal burning sticks from his fire. Before leaving, Jack invites everyone to join him and his boys at his site for food and fun. He and his raiders then trot away. Ralph tells his followers they must remain at the fire to keep it going. There could be a ship. They could be rescued. But one of the boys, Bill, argues in favor of attending the feast, saying it would give them an opportunity to ask for help in maintaining their fire. Besides, there will be meat. Sam and Eric think it would fun to attend and, of course, they would have meat. Back in the forest, the impaled pigs headthe Lord of the Flies seems to speak to Simon:Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didnt you? Im part of you? Close, close, close! So there is no beast in the forest, Simon realizes; there is only the beast inside the boysthe evil that has been gradually corrupting them. Simon wanders off again, this time to the mountaintopand verifies that what others thought was a beast is really something else, a dead parachutist. He must go down immediately and tell everyone. Storm clouds are gathering on the beach. It is hot. Ralph and Piggy are bathing in the pool while little ones play at the edge. Bill, Sam, and Eric have gone to Jacks party. Piggy suggests that he and Ralph go tooto make sure nothing happens. Jack accepts the advice. Sam and Eric remain behind. When they arrive at Jacks site, boys are dancing and singing, their faces greasy with meat. There is also fruit, and coconut cups are full of water. There is a moment of silence and uneasiness when Ralph enters the camp. However, after Ralph and Piggy join in the laughter, merriment returns and Jack passes around meat. A short while later, Jack creates discord when he invites Ralphs boys to join his tribe. When Ralph and Jack argue over who is chief, Ralph declares that he is the keeper of the conch, giving him the power to call assemblies. Jack says the conch means nothing to him. Meanwhile, some of Ralphs boys abandon him for Jack. Thunder booms. Raindrops fall. The flashes of lightningfollowed by cracks and rumblesmake the bigger boys uneasy and terrify the little ones. Jack rallies them by telling them to do their dance. Forming a circle, they dance and chant, Kill the beast! Cut

his throat! Spill his blood! Little ones form their own circles. Ralph and Piggy watch and, considering the storm and the darkness of the night, are only too willing to be part of the festivities. Soon, the dancers work themselves into a frenzyjust as Simon walks out of the forest, a shadowy figure whom some of the boys say is the beast. In a moment, the dancers are upon him, poking sticks, clawing, biting, tearing. Simon dies. The next day, Piggy and Ralph are back at their own beach site, disheartened. Piggy tells Ralph that the only other ones left in their group are Sam, Eric, and a few little ones; the rest have all gone over to Jack. When they talk about the night before, Ralph characterizes Simons death as murder. Piggy says it wasnt soespecially because of the way Simon came out of the woods, taking everyone by surprise. Ralph says: You were outside. Outside the circle. You never really came in. Didnt see wh at we what they did. Piggy insists it was an accident. After they ruminate further over Simons death, they turn their attention to maintaining a fire started earlier by Piggy. During the next night, Jack, Maurice, and Roger attack Ralph, Piggy, and Sam and Eric. Piggy isnt any use, but Ralph, Sam, and Eric give their adversaries a fierce fight and drive them off. However, Jack comes away with a prize Piggys eyeglasses. Ralph and Piggy, accompanied by Sam and Eric, go to Jacks camp and, using the conch, attempt to call an assembly. When Jack orders them out of the camp, Ralph demands Piggys glasses. Jack refuses to return them. Ralph calls Jack a thief, and Jack lunges at him with a spear. Ralph parries it with own spear. They fight close in for a while, then break off. Ralph appeals to reason, saying their only hope for rescue is to join forces and maintain the fire. Some of Jacks boys surround, capture, and tie up Sam and Eric. Ralph loses his temper and attacks Jack. They exchange blows. Piggy holds up the conch and demands to speak. Out of curiosity, everyone listens. Which is better, he says, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up? Jack and his boys form into a solid wall to launch an attack. From above, someone pushes a rock from a precipice. It strikes and kills Piggy. When Jack and his boys charge, Ralph runs and hides in the forest while the others track him down. They set a fire that forces Ralph onto the beach. Running for his life, he stumbles and falls. When he looks up, he sees a British naval officer, who tells him he has seen the forest fire. Ralph breaks down, crying for the end of his innocence, author Golding writes,and for the darkness of mans heart, and the death of the true, wise friend called Piggy.

In the distance, a cruiser waits to return the boys to civilization. Text Used for Plot Summary: Golding, William.The Lord of the Flies. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, a Division of Penguin-Putnam, 1954..

individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable. The whole book is symbolic in nature except the rescue in the end where adult life appears, dignified and capable, but in reality enmeshed in the same evil as the symbolic life of the children on the island. The officer, having interrupted a man-hunt, prepares to take the children off the island in a cruiser which will presently be hunting its enemy in the same implacable way. And who will rescue the adult and his cruiser? (E.L. Epstein. "Notes on Lord of the Flies." The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1954, page 204).

The Meaning of the Title Symbols

The title of the novel is a translation of a Hebrew word, baal-zevuv, which means chief or principal devilSatan. In Greek, the word is Beelzeboub. An English word derived from the Greek word is Beelzebub, which can mean any of the following: Satan, chief devil, an assistant devil second only to Satan, orfallen angel. In the novel, the decapitated head of a pig is referred to in Chapter 8 (Gift for the Darkness) as the "Lord of the Flies" after Jack and his boys impale it on a stake driven into the ground. When the head begins to decompose, it attracts many flies. However, the head is only a symbol of the devil, or evil. Simon learns while staring at it that the real evil on the island lies inside the souls of the boys. It is interesting to note that the boys call their lead er chief, which could be interpreted as a shortened version of the meaning of Beelzebub, or chief devil. The Lord of the Flies contains many symbols used by the author to develop and support his theme. These symbols include the following: Plane Crash: Failure or breakdown of society in the world outside; spread of corrupting ideas.

Forest Scar: This path of destruction through the forest, caused by the crashing plane, appears to represent the encroachment of corrupt civilization on the pristine island.

Theme
All human beings have a dark side that can cause the breakdown of individual or community moral standards if this dark side gains sway over reason and right thinking. This is a common motif in literature, occurring in short stories, novels, and poems. Examples of other works with this theme are Shirley Jacksons The Lottery and Arthur Millers The Crucible.

Island: Before the arrival of the boys, the Garden of Eden; after the arrival of the boys, the corrupted world of humankind.

Conch: Civilized authority, democracy.

Eyeglasses of Piggy and Piggy Himself: Insight, wisdom, knowledge.

Theme as Explained by the Author

In a publicity release prepared for American publishers of The Lord of the Flies, William Golding explained the theme of his book as follows: The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the

Death of Piggy and Destruction of Conch: Failure or breakdown of society on the island.

Signal Fire: Hope.

Imagined Beast: Fear, superstition. (The boys imagine that a monster in the form of a snake, a sea monster, an ape, or other "beasties" that they dream about lurks nearby.)

Dead Parachutist: The beast. (In fact, the parachutist is a beast, for he has taken part in a war to kill fellow human beings.)

Writing Style
Golding relies heavily on figures of speech and symbols to undergird his story. A log becomes a metaphor for the throne of the ruler, or chief; a conch, the emblem of democracy; a fist fight, a military battle; an island, the whole world.

Chanting and Dancing of the Hunters: Blind emotion, loss of reason.

Logs on Which Ralph and Jack Sit: Seats of authority; thrones. Goldings language is vivid but easy to understand, and the plot moves quickly. As in Animal Farm, by Goldings fellow countryman Eric Blair (pen name, George Orwell), the characters and the action have several layers of meaning, although readers can enjoy the novel as an adventure story on its basic, literal level. One fault of the book appears to be that Golding sometimes violates a central tenet of good writing: Show, dont tell. In other words, rather than allowing his figures of speech, symbols, and descriptions to work their magic by suggesting subtle meanings, interpretations, feelings, character traits, and so on, he intrudes upon the narrative to tell the reader what such and such means or represents. This approach patronizes the reader and destroys the sense of awe and mystery that Golding is attempting to create. Notable examples of this heavy-handed approach occur in two crucial scenesthe first when the impaled pigs head speaks to Simon, the second when Ralph stumbles and falls at the feet of the navy man at the end of the novel.

The Big Boys: The emerging generation of evil.

The Little Boys: The next generation of evil.

The Naval Officer: The present generation of evil.

The Killing of the First Pig: Original sin.

The Killing of the Second Pig, the Sow: Release of perverted, Oedipal urges.

Jack's Knife, Sticks Sharpened Into Spears: Weapons of war in the macrocosmic world; phalluses as representations of masculine aggression.

In the first example, the impaled head (the Lord of the Flies) tells Simon and the readerwhat he symbolizes (Golding 143). The head, in fact, assumes the role of a teacher instructing a slow learner. Golding writes, The Lord of the Flies spoke in the voice of a schoolmaster. This has gone quite far enough. My poor, misguided child, do you think you know better than I do?

Jack and Ralph: Perhaps Cain and Abel (although Ralph does not die, as Abel did in the Bible).

The Impaled Pig's Head (Lord of the Flies): The evil in every person's heart.

In the second example, Golding is there again to tell the reader what to think and, with a reference to Piggy, to add a note of melodrama bordering on bathos: Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of mans heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy (202).

Work Cited

Golding, William.The Lord of the Flies. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, a Division of Penguin-Putnam: 1954.

The Metamorphosis
Die Verwandlung
By Franz Kafka (1883-1924) A Study Guide

Climax
.

Type of Work and Publication Year

.......The Metamorphosisis a short absurdist novel seasoned with dark humor. The main charactera textile salesmanawakens one morning to discover that he has changed into a giant bug resembling a beetle or cockroach. One of his chief concerns after making this discovery is that he will be late for work at an office run by unforgiving overseers. .......Kafka wrote the work in German in 1912 with the title Die Verwandlung. Kurt Wolff published it in 1915 in Leipzig, Germany.

The climax of a novel or another narrative work, such as a short story or a play, can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events. The climax of The Lord of the Flies occurs, according to the first definition, when Jack rebels and forms his own tribe, resulting in a "war" between his boys and Ralph's. According to the second definition, the climax occurs when Ralph fights Jack and Piggy dies.
.

Irony
.

There are several types of irony. Usually, though, irony refers to an outcome or a circumstance that is the opposite of what one might expect. It would be ironic, for example, if the shortest basketball player on a team is the highest scorer or if the most popular, most intelligent, and most attractive student in the senior class is unable to get a date for the prom. Examples of irony in The Lord of the Flies include the following:

Setting
.......The action takes place in the early years of the twentieth century in an apartment in which a textile salesman lives with his father, mother, and sister. The narrator does not say in what city or country the action takes place. But Kafka probably had in mind the city of of his birth, Prague, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today, Prague is in the Czech Republic.

1. The survivors of the plane crash are boys evacuated from a battle zone in a 2. 3.
world war. However, the society they form eventually breaks down, and the children go to war with one another. Piggy's eyesight is weak, but his insight is strong. The British naval officer who arrives to rescue the boys at the end of the novel appears to represent civilization and sanity. But he and the society he represents are actually a mirror image, on a large scale, of the boys and their corrupt island society. When Jack sets a fire to roust Ralph from the forest, he unintentionally saves the lives of all the remaining boys. It was this fire that attracted the attention of the British ship.

Characters
Gregor Samsa: Textile salesman who inexplicably changes into a giant bug. Mr., Mrs. Samsa: Gregor's father and mother. Grete Samsa: Gregor's teenage sister. Three Bearded Gentlemen: Renters of a room in the Samsa apartment. Chief Clerk: Employee of the company for which Gregor works. Maid Charwoman

4.

Internal and External Conflict

There are two main types of conflict in literature: external and internal. External conflict pits a person against another human or against an animal, an object, the forces of nature, or any other thing or things outside of him. Internal conflict involves a struggle between a person and his emotions or negative attributes. Both types of conflict occur in The Lord of the Flies. Write an essay that identifies several of them and explains how they affect the course of events.

Point of View
.......The narrator tells the story in third-person point of view from Gregor's perspective, revealing his thoughts and feelings.

Plot Summary
Based on a Translation by David Wyllie

.......Upon awakening one morning, Gregor Samsa discovers that he has changed into a giant bug. His back is thick and hard. His belly is a layer of stiff, arch-like sections. He has many spindly legs. Everything else around him is the same as it was when he went to bed: the room, the picture on the wall, the textile samples on the table that he carries with him as a traveling salesman. .......Gregor always rides the five o'clock train to work. But when he notices that the clock says nearly quarter to seven, he realizes that he must have slept through the alarm and that he has no chance of getting to work on time. He goes into a panic. The office assistant, who tattles to the boss about everything, no doubt has already reported Gregor late. Gregor could call in sick, but the boss would be suspicious. After all, Gregor has not been sick in fifteen years. .......When the clock strikes quarter to seven, his mother knocks gently at the door, which is locked, to remind him of the time. .......Didn't you want to go somewhere? she says. .......When he calls out that he is getting up, his voice is squeaky. Moments later, his father and sister ask him whether anything is wrong. He assures them that I'm ready now. .......Gregor attributes the squeakiness in his voice to a cold. Yes, he must have caught a cold. Getting out of bed proves enormously difficult. He does not yet know how to work his legs properly. He tries rolling but fails to make progress. The clock strikes seven.

.......He swings his body this way and that and begins rocking. At ten after seven, he hears the doorbell ringsomeone from work, he thinks. After the maid answers the door, he hears the visitor speak. It is the chief clerk. Why, he wondered, did he have to work for a company that checked so closely on its employees? Suddenly, with all his force, he rolls out of bed and falls to the floor on his back. There is a thump. His sister and father both call to him, informing him of the presence of the chief clerk. His father and mother make excuses, saying Gregor is ill. His father makes it a point to tell the chief clerk that his son is entirely devoted to his work. That is all he thinks about. .......Gregor says he will come to the door in a moment. However, when he doesn't appear, the chief clerk accuses him of failing to carry out his business responsibilities. Then he insinuates that the reason for his failure to appear at work has to do with money that the employer entrusted to Gregor. Finally, he says Gregor's job could be in jeopardy because his sales have not measured up to expectations. Gregor responds, saying he has had an attack of dizziness but is all right now and will catch the eight o'clock train to work. He tells the chief clerk not to wait for him. .......Gregor manages to rise, then falls back into a chair. He really wants to open the door; he wants to see the reaction of everyone to his appearance. It would give him an excuse for not going to work. .......Meanwhile, everyone outside is shocked at the sound of his voice. His mother and his sister, Grete, think he is very ill. The chief clerk says, That was the voice of an

animal. The mother tells Grete to get a doctor. The father shouts for someone to get a locksmith. Gregor feels a little better now that the others know something is wrong and want to help. .......With enormous effort, Gregor rises, holds onto the door, and turns its key with his jaws (he has no teeth), unlocking the door. The chief clerk shouts Oh! at the sight of him, his mother faints, and his father takes a hostile stance at first but then covers his eyes with his hands and cries. Gregor does not leave the room but simply looks out. He sees the cleaned breakfast dishes, the wall photograph of himself as an army lieutenant, and the open doors of the entrance hall and the apartment. Gregor says, "I'll get dressed straight away now, pack up my samples and set off. Will you please just let me leave?" .......To the chief clerk, he says, "You can see that I'm not stubborn and I like to do my job; being a commercial traveller is arduous but without travelling I couldn't earn my living. .......The chief clerkintimidated by the ghastly creature before him slowly withdraws, then makes a dash for the door to the apartment. Gregor now realizes that his job is in jeopardy and must do something to save it. So he pushes himself out the door, but falls. However, when he gets up, he has a better feel for his body. His tiny legs begin to carry him where he wants to go. By this time, his mother has recovered. When she sees Gregor, she backs all the way up to the kitchen table and sits down on it. Coffee spills onto the carpet. Gregor's jaws begin snapping at the coffee uncontrollably. His mother screams and runs to the arms of her husband. .......Gregor runs toward the chief clerk, who is holding onto the bannister outside. Seeing him coming, the chief clerk hurries down the stairs, taking several steps at a time, and goes out the door. Meanwhile, Gregor's father seizes the walking stick that the chief clerk left behind and threatens Gregor with it, forcing him back toward his room. When Gregor gets stuck in the doorway, his father pushes him inside. The side of Gregor's body scrapes the door frame, causing him to bleed. .......In the evening, his sister brings him milk with bits of bread in it. But he finds the taste of it repulsive. Grete then experiments, bringing him different kinds of food in order to discover what he likes. No one attempts to communicate with Gregor; everyone apparently believes that in his present state he cannot understand human speech. While listening to his family members talking, Gregor learns that his father had saved some money before his business failed five years before. At that time, Gregor began supporting the family. Gregor also learns that the family had put away some of his earnings. .......Whenever Grete enters his room, Gregor covers his body so she won't have to look at him. .......During the first two weeks of his confinement, his parents do not enter his room. They rely on Grete to report on his condition. .......After a time, Gregor discovers a pleasurable way to pass the time: climbing walls and hanging from the ceiling. Grete wants to remove furniture to give Gregor more room to roam. When she asks her mother to help her, the older woman enters the room. Gregor is hiding under the couch. The mother and daughter try to move thechest of drawers. After fifteen minutes, they make no progress. His mother then says,

By taking the furniture away, won't it seem like we're showing that we've given up all hope of improvement and we're abandoning him to cope for himself? I think it'd be best to leave the room exactly the way it was before so that when Gregor comes back to us again he'll find everything unchanged and he'll be able to forget the time in between all the easier. .......His mother's words make Gregor realize that he does, in fact, want to keep the furniture where it is. It will remind him that he was a human until recently. He does not want to forget that fact. But Grete insists on hauling the furniture out and persuades her mother to have another go at the chest of drawers. This time, they succeed in removing it. Next to go is the writing desk. Gregor now emerges from hiding to save a picture on the wall. When his mother catches sight of him and screams, she falls onto the couch in a faint. Grete shakes her fist at Gregor, then goes out for smelling salts to revive her mother. Gregor follows to help, but there is nothing for him to do. After she returns to the room, she closes the door, and refuses entry to Gregor.

.......Gregor has difficulty sleeping. And, when he does sleep, he dreams about things he would rather forget: his boss, the chief clerk, salesmen, apprentices, that stupid tea boy. Sometimes he is torn between an urge to help his family members and anger at them for not paying attention to him. He seldom eats. Whenever Grete cleans his room, it is a hurry-up job that leaves parts of the room dirty.

.......Oddly, Gregor does not frighten the charwoman. In fact, every morning and evening, she opens his door to look in on him, addressing him as an old dung beetle. Gregor resents this appellation and one day moves toward her menacingly. But she stands her ground, raising a chair over her head as if to crash it down on him. Gregor backs down.

.......Anxious, he starts roaming the dining room, crawling over everything in his way. Then he climbs the wall, crosses the ceiling, and falls onto the table. His father arrives home wearing a uniform with gold buttons, the sort worn by the employees at the banking institute. Apparently, he had started working again. Grete comes out and tells him, Mother's fainted, but she's all right now. Gregor got out. His father begins chasing Gregor, who is running from him on the floor. Then he begins bombarding him with apples from a bowl on the sideboard. Gregor's mother emerges and pleads with her husband to spare Gregor. Before her husband ceases, an apple lodges in Gregor's back.

.......The family begins renting a room to three bearded gentlemen who bring their own furniture and various equipment. Clutter builds up after the family moves the old furniture out of the gentlemen's room. Piece by piece, it ends up in Gregor's room. These gentlemen eat in the dining room; the family dines in the kitchen. One evening, when Grete plays the violin for the gentlemen, Gregorcovered with dust, hair, and bits of foodcreeps into the living room to listen. No one notices him. Gregor enjoys the music immensely, proving perhaps that he is not an animal. He crawls forward, hoping to persuade his sister to come to his room.

.......More than a month later, while the apple remains lodged in Gregor's back, his father, mother, and sister realize that he is still a family member and begin treating him better. The injury from the apple and his cuts and scrapes turn him into something of an invalid. Every evening, the family opens the door of his room, enabling him to see everyone at the dinner table and hear the conversation. But there is little conversation to hear. After eating, his father falls asleep in a chair, his mother sews underwear for a shop, and his sister studies French and shorthand to enable her to get a better job than her present one as a saleswoman.

.......One of the three men notices him and points him out. The music stops. Gregor's father blocks their view and attempts to herd them back to their room. They ask for explanations and slowly move toward their room. The man who first noticed Gregor then announces that he is moving out because of the repugnant conditions that prevail in this flat. He declares that he will not pay any rent for the days he occupied the house and even says he is considering suing. The other two renters also decide to move out without paying rent.

.......Tired from their jobs, Gregor's father, mother, and sister begin to ignore Gregor. And, to make their small budget go further, they sell jewelry, fire the maid, and hire a charwoman to come in the morning and evening to do the heavy work. Gregor's mother does the rest of the chores. They would like to move into a smaller apartment, but they say it would be too difficult to move Gregor. Gregor believes this is not the real reason for staying where they are. After all, it would be easy to move him in any suitable crate with air holes in it. The real reason is that they are simply in despair over a misfortune unlike any other they had ever encountered.

.......After they return to their room, Grete says, We can't carry on like this. Maybe you can't see it, but I can. I don't want to call this monster my brother, all I can say is we have to try and get rid of it. We've done all that's humanly possible to look after it and be patient, I don't think anyone could accuse us of doing anything wrong. .......The giant bug is not Gregor she says. If it were, he would have left the apartment of his own accord. When Gregor begins to move, Gretefrightenedruns to her father. But they all realize in a few moments that Gregor is simply returning to his room. They observe him in silence. With great effort, he reaches his room and enters it. His sister then closes and bolts the door.

Climax
.......Gregor discovers that he can no longer move at all. But the pain he feels from the days past begins to subside. Even the decaying apple in his back causes him less pain. That night, he does not sleep. At dawn, he can no longer hold up his headand no longer breathe. He dies. .......The climax occurs after the three men give notice and Greta says, "Father, Mother, we can't carry on like this. Maybe you can't see it, but I can. I don't want to call this monster my brother, all I can say is: we have to try and get rid of it. We've done all that's humanly possible to look after it and be patient, I don't think anyone could accuse us of doing anything wrong." This outburst signals that the family has given up on Gregor. In turn, he gives up on himself. By the next morning, he is dead.

.......When the charwoman comes in at her appointed time and sees Gregor motionless on the floor, she thinks he is pretending to be a martyr. She attempts to tickle him with her broom, then pokes at him. He does not respond. After further investigation, she realizes what has happened and shouts, Come and 'ave a look at this, it's dead, just lying there, stone dead!"

Tone
.......The tone of the novel is objective and serious. But the attentive reader will notice that dark, subtle humor creeps into the narrative like a clown tiptoeing into a funeral.

.......Grete and her mother and father respond. When they see Gregor, Mr. Samsa thanks God and makes the sign of the cross. Grete and her mother also make the sign of the cross.

Themes
Absurdity .......Life sometimes confers on a human being an absurd destiny that he is powerless to escape. Kafka makes this point with a fantasy about a man who wakes up one morning with the body of a gigantic bug. Preposterous? Of course. But, as Kafka seems to suggest, many men and women do wake up without knowing their purpose in life and without any sense of control over the course of their life. Alienation

.......When the three renters emerge from their rooms asking for breakfast, the charwoman points them to Gregor's room. They go in and observe the corpse. Mr. Samsa then orders the men out of the house with a firm command: Leave my home! They go.

.......Grete and her parents decide to take the day off and go out for a walk. After all, they had been through a lot. While they are writing excuses for their employers, the charwoman comes in and says, That thing in there, you needn't worry about how you're going to get rid of it. That's all been sorted out. But the Samsas are not interested in hearing her report, and she leaves. Mr. Samsa says, Tonight she gets sacked.

.......Gregor's condition alienates him from his family and the rest of the world. So, too in many casesdo the particulars of a person in ordinary life: his religion, his race, his social status, his personality, his stand on political issues, his mental or physical condition, and so on. When one becomes different from others, he often becomes isolated from them. Consider the plight of the deformed, the mentally ill, the leprous. The Plight of the Workingman .......After Gregor discovers that he has become a giant bug, one would expect him to exhibit sheer fright at his condition and to devote all his energies to finding a way to restore himself. Instead, he worries about being late for work. When the chief clerk arrives at the Samsa apartment, Gregorwho is locked in his room wonders why he has to be condemned to work for a company where they immediately became highly suspicious at the slightest shortcoming? Were all employees, every one of them, louts . . . ? Was it really not enough to let one of the trainees make enquiries assuming enquiries were

.......The Samsas then take a tram into the country and consider their future. They will move to another home. Mr. and Mrs. Samsa, observing the fine specimen of young womanhood that Grete has become, realize that it is time to find a good man for her.

even necessary? Did the chief clerk have to come himself, and did they have to show the whole, innocent family that this was so suspicious that only the chief clerk could be trusted to have the wisdom to investigate it? .......Gregor's parents tell the chief clerk that their son is apparently unwell. But instead of exhibiting sympathy, the clerk says (through the door), "I must say that if we

.......The Metamorphosis is at times hilarious in its absurdity. But the humor is subtle and disciplined, never calling attention to itself. In fact, the story maintains a deadly serious tone throughout. The humor relies in part on Gregor's unexpected reaction reaction to his situation. One would expect him to go into a panic when he wakes up and finds out that he is a giant bug. Instead, he calmly thinks about going back to sleep. "How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense", he thought, but that was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on his right, and in his present state couldn't get into that position. However hard he threw himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was. He must have tried it a hundred times, shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at the floundering legs, and only stopped when he began to feel a mild, dull pain there that he had never felt before. .......Then, after realizing that he had overslept, Gregor starts thinking about getting to work as fast as possible to avoid problems with his boss. What should he do now? The next train went at seven; if he were to catch that he would have to rush like mad and the collection of samples was still not packed, and he did not at all feel particularly fresh and lively. And even if he did catch the train he would not avoid his boss's anger as the office assistant would have been there to see the five o'clock train go, he would have put in his report about Gregor's not being there a long time ago. At no time does Gregor seem to be concerned about boarding a trainor showing up at workas a gigantic bug.

people in commerce ever become slightly unwell then, fortunately or unfortunately as you like, we simply have to overcome it because of business considerations." He also tells Gregor that his job is not secure. Kafka here seems to be calling attention to unjust treatment of the workingman. Inherited Sin and Suffering .......After Adam and Eve fell, they passed to their progeny sin, suffering, and death. Kafka may be alluding to this religious tenet when he mysteriously "inherits" the body of an ugly creature (sin) and when his father (an Adam figure) throws apples at Gregor. One of them lodges in his body and causes painful festering and ulceration. Eventually, Gregor dies. Generosity of Spirit .......Gregor suffers indignities from the chief clerk and his family. Yet he returns only goodwill. For example, he treats the chief clerk courteously even though the clerk implies that Gregor has misused company money and hints that Gregor's job may be in jeopardy. Moreover, Gregor remains faithful to his family members and even feels guilty that he can no longer provide for them. He does not complain. And he does not give up on his father, mother, and sister until they give up on him. Taking People for Granted .......In a job he did not like, Gregor supported himself, his parents, and his sister. Not until he turns into vermin do his parents and Grete lift a hand to support themselves. They had taken Gregor for granted. After a time, they neglect Gregor. When he dies, they are relieved.

What Is the Creature?

. ......In the original German version of the novel, Kafka never tells readers what kind of creature Gregor has become. Instead, he uses the generic term Ungeziefer, which means vermin. Vermin include cockroaches, bedbugs, centipedes, lice, ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, weevils, and even rats and mice. The narrator's description indicates that Gregor has the body of an insect with an antennae. The charwoman refers to him as a dung beetle, which eats dung and breeds in it.

Biographical Information
.

Irony
.......Gregor is ugly on the outside. But the other characters are just as uglyin fact, more uglyon the inside. One can argue that they are the real vermin in the story.

Humor

.......Franz Kafka was well primed to write a novel about an isolated individual. His father despised him, he never married, and he was a Jew at a time when anti-Semitism was gaining sway again in Europe. .......Kafka was born on July 3, 1883, in Prague (now part of the Czech Republic but then part of Austria-Hungry). When he was an adolescent, he was a good student, but he disliked the traditional, hidebound, authoritarian approach to education at his school, the Altstdter Staatsgymnasium. Although he later earned a law degree at the Charles University in Prague, he did not practice law but instead worked in Prague for an insurance company and then for an insurance institute. He found insurance work tedious. Nevertheless, he did his job well, earning the respect of colleagues, and remained an office worker until 1923, when he moved to Berlin to pursue writing. By then, however, he

was suffering from tuberculosis and died the following year. .......Throughout his life, he was never close to his parents, Hermann Kafka and Julie Lwy Kafka. His father, a successful merchant, was a tyrant who bullied Franz psychologically. Although Kafka had relationships with several women, one to whom he was engaged, he never married. At the end of his life, Kafka was almost completely isolatedfrom his family, from a regular job and the companionship of co-workers, from the wife that he never had, and from anti-Semitic Germans whose language he wrote in. He tried desperately to find Godwhom he regarded as an "indestructible" realitybut felt that God remained distant from him. He did have one close friend, however: Max Brod, an essay writer, drama critic, and novelist who published Kafka's works after he died even though Kafka had told him to destroy all of his manuscripts. .......Among Franz Kafka's other works are Meditation (1913), The Judgment (1912),In the Penal Colony (1919), "A Hunger Artist" (1922), The Trial (1925), The Castle(1926), and Amerika (1927). He died on June 3, 1924, at Kierling, Austria. For a more detailed biography of Franz Kafka, click here.

.......Akakiy gets no respect from his superiors or anyone else in his office. Even the porter refuses to rise when he passes. A supervisor sometimes tosses a documenton his desk without offering a pleasantry or even saying, u0093Copy it.u0094 But Akakiy copies it just the same. .......The younger fellows in the office tell stories about himu0096that his landlady beats him, for example. Sometimes they rip up paper and drop the pieces over his head, calling it snow. Usually, Akakiy ignores them as he continues to do his work. However, if his taunters go too far, he says, u0093Leave me alone! Why do you insult me?u0094

Study Questions and Writing Topics

Do you believe Kafka intended the story as a portrait of an insane man? Does Gregor resemble the author in any way? Does any character in the novel besides Gregor undergo a metamorphosis? Kafka was a Jew. Write an essay arguing that Kafka intended Gregor to represent Jews, whom many anti-Semites regarded as vermin. The author describes Gregor as vermin. Write an essay arguing that other characters in the story are the real vermin. Write an essay that compares and contrasts Gregor Samsa with Joseph K. inKafka's The Trial. .......Akakiy loves his work, for which he receives a salary of four hundred rubles. And he is good at it. When his pen moves against paper, he smiles and works his lips. A department director decided one day to give him a special assignment: to alter a letter, changing a heading and a few words, not merely copy the document. However, this project so tasked Akakiy that he asked only for copy work. Now, that is all his superiors give him, copy work. .......Akakiy is not particularly careful about his personal appearance, for there is always something clinging to his uniform, such as a piece of hay or fuzz. When on the street, he tends to walk under a window just when someone is tossing out waste, so that he might enter his office with a melon rind on his hat. .......At home after a dayu0092s work, he eats cabbage soup and maybe a little beef and onions. Then, while all the other workers are enjoying their time off by going to the theater, playing cards, chasing pretty girls, smoking pipes, or otherwise entertaining themselves, Akakiy sits down and eagerly copies papers he has brought home with him. If he is all caught up, he copies another paper anyway, just for the pleasure of it. Then he goes to bed, content. .......However, one day, his back and shoulders begin to bother him. The problem, he determines, is his cloak. It is worn too thin in the back to protect him against the icy northern wind that blows through the city each morning. So frayed is it that he can actually see through it. The lining is coming apart. His coworkers make fun of it, calling it a cape instead of a cloak. .......Akakiy decides to take it to a tailor, Petrovitch, who keeps shop in an apartment on the fourth floor of a building with a dark staircase. He has only one eye, but he does good work when he is sober. Petrovitch was once a serf named Grigoriy, but he began calling

The Cloak
(The Overcoat)
By Nicholay Gogol (1809-1852) A Study Guide
By Michael J. Cummings... 2007

Plot Summary

.......Working in a government department in St. Petersburg is an official known as a perpetual titular councillor. He is a short, red-haired man with a receding hairline and a ruddy complexion. Others in the department cannot remember when he began working there or who appointed him. It was as if he was born at his desk. .......His name is Akakiy Akakievitch Bashmatchkin, a surname derived frombashmak, meaning shoe.

himself Petrovitch after he received his liberation papers. He used to drink only on major holidays. However, in keeping with family tradition, he now drinks on all church festivals as well. If a cross appears on a day in a church calender, he drinks. His wife, whom he calls a u0093low female and a German,u0094 wears a cap and dress and has a face that no one is particularly interested in looking at. .......After Akakiy enters the apartment, he passes through a smoky kitchen where Petrovitchu0092s wife has been frying fish. Akakiy finds Petrovitch in the next room seated on a table as he tries to thread a needle. Akakiy had previously decided he would pay no more than two rubles for the work. When Petrovitch greets him, Akakiy speaks the way he almost always doesu0096in phrases and prepositions without finishing his sentences. .......u0093Ah! Iu0096to you, Petrovitch, thisu0096u0094 .......u0093What is it?u0094 .......u0093A cloak, clothu0096here you see, everywhere, in different places. . . .u0094 .......Petrovitch examines the cloak and declares it too far gone to mend. When Akakiy asks whether it can be patched, Petrovitch says the cloak has nothing to which patches can be sewn. It is rotting. Akakiy tells him to strengthen the cloak, but Petrovitch says Akakiy has only one option: to get a new cloak. It will cost more than one hundred fifty rubles for materials and labor. .......u0093A hundred fifty rubles for a cloak!u0094 Akakiy says. .......Petrovitch confirms the figures, adding that the cloak will cost more than two hundred rubles if it has a marten fur collar and a silk-lined hood. Akakiy leaves, disappointed. On the street, he mulls over his problem and concludes that Petrovitchu0092s wife must have been beating him. He decides to return to the tailoru0092s Sunday morning. At that time, he will be sleepy and cranky. He will want a drink but his wife will not give him the money. So he will be happy to mend the cloak to make an extra kopek. .......When Akakiy returns, Petrovitchu0092s head is drooping for want of sleep. Still, he remains adamant about the cloak: Itu0092s impossible to mend. Akakiy flashes a tenkopek piece. It doesnu0092t do any good. Finally, he accepts the inevitable: He must get a new cloak. But how? He also needs new trousers and he already owes money to a shoemaker. Although he believes Petrovitch would probably make a new cloak for less moneyu0096perhaps eighty rublesu0096Akakiy still would be able to pay only about half that sum with the small change he has saved over the years and keeps in a small box. To get the rest of the money, he would have to cut back on tea and candles. He would also have to walk very lightly on the streets so as not to wear down his shoes. In addition, he would have to change into a dressing gown as soon as he got home in order preserve his work clothes.

.......After he begins his money-saving campaign, he doesnu0092t really mind it that much. Whenever he feels deprived, he thinks of his new cloak. It is like a new friend or even a wife. Then he thinks maybe it should have a fur collar. Once a month, he stops at Petrovitchu0092s to discuss the cloak. .......One day, Akakiy receives a wonderful surpriseu0096a pay raise to sixty rubles. Perhaps the director was aware that he needed a new cloak. Or maybe it was just good luck. Two months later, with his continued frugality, Akakiy has eighty rubles. So he goes shopping with Petrovitch, and they select a fine cloth for the cloak. For lining, they choose a cotton so thick that Akakiy thinks it better than silk. Because the marten fur is too expensive, they decide on cat fur for the collar. .......In addition to the expenses for these items, Petrovitch charges twelve rubles for the labor after spending two weeks making the cloak. He delivers it himself just as extremely cold weather is setting in. Its arrival is a glorious moment for Akakiyu0096and Petrovitch, who points out what a bargain it is. Akakiy agrees and pays the tailor in full, then goes directly to work. When he enters the office, everyone inspects his new cloak and congratulates him. Someone suggests that he hold a u0093christeningu0094 party for it after work. He is pleased but very embarrassed. Then a supervisor butts in and invites everyone to his home instead to celebrate his birthday. They all accept the invitation and say it would be discourteous if Akakiy did not also accept it. So he does. Besides, he would have another opportunity to wear his new cloak. .......At home after dinner, he spends time admiring his new cloak and comparing it with the old one, then leaves for the supervisoru0092s residence, located in an apartment on the second floor of a building in an upscale part of the city. There he encounters welldressed ladies and men attired in coats with otter-skin collars. Upon entering the supervisor's apartment, he notices the array of coats and cloaks hung up along the walls. Some have beaver collars. After hanging up his own cloak, he enters an inner room, where there are lights, card tables, and lively conversations. After his coworkers greet him with a shout, they go into the ante-room to look at his cloak, then return to the card tables to play whist. .......Akakiy is not sure what to do next. So he sits down to watch the card games. Eventually, he grows weary, since it is past his bedtime, but the men say he must drink champagne in celebration of his new cloak. After they all eat a sumptuous meal, they serve him two glasses of champagne. He feels a bit more chipper, but at midnight he decides he has had enough. When he goes out for his cloak, he finds it on the floor. After brushing it off, he puts it on and leaves. .......The streets in the neighborhood are bright and cheerful in the falling snow, putting Akakiy in a good mood. But later, when he approaches his own section of the city, the lights dim and the buildings become plain and dreary. Entering a square, he begins to worry about his safety, u0093as though his heart had warned him of some evil.u0094

Just ahead, he sees bearded men. One of them says, u0093The cloak is mine!u0094 He grabs at the collar while a second man punches Akakiy in the mouth. Then they take his cloak and disappear. .......When Akakiy recovers, he shouts for help and runs to the nearest watch box. There he lodges a complaint, and the watchman tells him to go the police the next day. After Akakiy runs home and informs his landlady of his misfortune, she advises him to report the theft to the district police chief himselfu0096whom she knowsu0096and not to a subordinate, who would only promise to investigate, then do nothing. .......At the district chiefu0092s office early the next morning, Akakiy presents his complaint. Officials there tell him the chief is still asleep. When Akakiy returns at ten ou0092clock, they tell him the chief is still asleep. When he returns at eleven, they tell him the chief is out. At noon, Akakiy asserts himself and demands to see the chief. Finally, the chief hears his story. However, he treats Akakiy as if he had committed a wrong, asking why he was out so late and whether he had been to a brothel. Akakiy goes home wondering whether the police are on his side. For the first time in his life, he misses a day of work. .......When he enters his office the next day, he is wearing his old cape. After hearing his story, a few of his coworkers cannot pass up the opportunity to ridicule him. Others take up a collection for him. However, because many of them have already committed money for a directoru0092s portrait and for the purchase of a book recommended by a department head, Akakiy receives only a pittance. One coworker advises him not to rely on the police. If they track down the cloak, he says, Akakiy may have a difficult time proving that it is his. Instead, he says, Akakiy should lay his case before a certain u0093prominent personageu0094 who would speedily attend to it. This person had only recently become prominent. Before that, he had been an u0093insignificant personage.u0094 This person sternly rules an office of ten persons, often asking them these questions: u0093How dare you?u0094 u0093Do you know whom you are speaking to?u0094 u0093Do you realize who stands before you?u0094 .......After Akakiy arrives, the prominent personage is talking with an old friend on matters of little importance. But he makes Akakiy wait in an ante-room just to demonstrate to his friend that he has the power to make people wait. When he finally receives Akakiy, the latter explains deferentially what had happened. The prominent personage tells Akakiy that he should first have lodged a complaint u0093at the court belowu0094 so that it could go through the proper channels: the department head, the chief of the division, and a secretary, who would refer the matter to him. He scolds Akakiy so roundly that the latter almost faints. Akakiy leaves in a daze. .......On his way home through a snowstorm, he catches quinsy and by the next day is delirious with a burning fever. After a doctor examines him, he predicts to the landlady that Akakiy will be dead in thirty-six hours and tells her to order a pine coffin for the poor fellow. In his delirium, Akakiy imagines that cloak robbers are under his bed. Then he has

a vision of himself standing before the prominent personage and saying, u0093Forgive me, your excellency!u0094 However, a moment later he curses violently, shocking his landlady, and then lapses into gibberish and dies. There are no heirs to receive his propertyu0096some goose quills and paper, three pairs of socks, some buttons, and the old cloak. His is taken out and buried. Not until four days later do officials at his office hear about his death. .......An official with slanted handwriting takes his place. .......In the ensuing days, a rumor spreads that a dead man has been appearing on and near Kalinkin Bridge looking for a stolen cloak. Whenever anyone wearing a cloak passes, the dead man strips it away, claiming it is his. One department official actually sees the dead man and recognizes him as Akakiy. Terribly frightened, he runs off as fast as he can. Complaints mount throughout the city about stolen cloaks and cold shoulders. Police vow to catch the corpse dead or alive and punish him severely to set an example. A watchman and two comrades nearly catch him when he is stealing the cloak of a retired musician, but the watchmanu0092s snuffu0096which he takes out to refresh his nose during the apprehensionu0096causes the corpse to sneeze into the eyes of his would-be captors, and he escapes. Thereafter, watchmen in the city pass their hours on the job in mortal terror of the dead man. .......Meanwhile, the prominent personage who had shouted at Akakiy feels remorseful when he finds out that Akakiy has died of a fever. To lift his spirits, he decides one day to go to a party at the house of a friend, where he spends a pleasant evening topped off with champagne. After the party, he decides not to go directly home but to visit a certain lady of his acquaintaince, Karolina Ivanovna. Such a nocturnal visit does not imply that he has a troubled family life. In fact, he has an attractive wife, two sonsu0096one of whom is already in government serviceu0096and a pretty daughter. .......On the way in his coach, he feels a tug on his collar. Turning around he sees Akakiy, who says, u0093I need your cloak; you took no trouble about mine, but reprimanded me; so now give up your own.u0094 .......Terrified, he throws off his cloak and orders his driver to make for his home at full speed. .......The next day, his daughter comments on how pale he looks. But he says nothing about what happened the night before. At his office, he is now less stern and doesnu0092t often say u0093How dare you?u0094 .......Meanwhile, reported sightings of the dead man die down. Perhaps the prominent personageu0092s cloak fits just right and the corpse has ended his search. However, a few people still claim he appears in different parts of the city. Then one day, one watchman actually sees the corpse emerge from behind a house and follows it. When the corpse asks, u0093What do you want?u0094 the watchman says, u0093Itu0092s of no

consequence.u0094 The corpse then walks off while the watchman goes in the opposite direction.

Type of Work and Years of Publication

u0093The Cloaku0094 is a tragicomic short story in which the author uses droll humor to satirize the oppressive bureacracy of 19th Century czarist Russia. The story was published in Russian in 1842 and in English in 1850.
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Setting
The time is winter in the first half of the 19th Century in St. Petersburg, Russia, a port city on the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea. St. Petersburg was Russia's capital from 1712 to 1918. During the reign of Czar Nicholas I between 1825 and 1855, government offices in the the city employed an army of bureaucrats to carry out the czar's autocratic policies. Between 1914 and 1924, the city was known as Petrograd. Between 1924 and 1991, it was known as Leningrad. In 1991, the Russian government restored its original name.

Style
In a simple, straightforward style, the author presents the story of a common man enduring the oppression and ridicule of an unfeeling society and its bureaucracy during the autocratic reign of Czar Nicholas I. In drawing his portrait of the simple, hard-working Akakiy Bashmatchkin, Gogol highlights seemingly insignificant details and incidents to symbolize or call attention to the abuse suffered by an ordinary man: [Akakiy] had a peculiar knack, as he walked along the street, of arriving beneath a window just as all sorts of rubbish were being flung out of it: hence he always bore about on his hat scraps of melon rinds and other such articles. Gogol never resorts to preachment or sentimentality when discussing the plight of his hapless protagonist. Instead, he uses humor, which is sometimes wonderfully bizarre. For example, after Akakiy rises from the dead to search for his stolen cloak, Gogol writes, Arrangements were made by the police to catch the corpse, alive or dead, at any cost, and punish him as an example to others in the most severe manner. In this they nearly succeeded; for a watchman, on guard in Kirushkin Alley, caught the corpse by the collar on the very scene of his evil deeds, when attempting to pull off the frieze coat of a retired musician. Having seized him by the collar, he summoned, with a shout, two of his comrades, whom he enjoined to hold him fast while he himself felt for a moment in his boot, in order to draw out his snuff-box and refresh his frozen nose. But the snuff was of a sort which even a corpse could not endure. The watchman having closed his right nostril with his finger, had no sooner succeeded in holding half a handful up to the left than the corpse sneezed so violently that he completely filled the eyes of all three. While they raised their hands to wipe them, the dead man vanished completely, so that they positively did not know whether they had actually had him in their grip at all.

Characters
Akakiy Akakievitch Bashmatchkin: Bureaucrat in one of the departments of the Russian government in St. Petersburg, the nation's capital city. Bashmatchkin, about fifty, is a quiet, self-effacing man with red hair and a receding hairline. His job is to copy documents such as letters. Although he enjoys his work and never makes a mistake, he has no desire to take on more challenging work, realizing that he has limited capabilities. Because he is meek and dresses shabbily, most of his coworkers regard him as a nobody and frequently pick on him. When his cloak becomes so frayed that it can no longer protect him against the bitter cold, he dedicates himself to saving enough money to purchase a new cloak. Petrovitch: One-eyed, heavy-drinking tailor whom Bashmatchkin hires to make his new cloak. Petrovitch was once a serf. Wife of Petrovitch: Woman of plain looks whom the narrator says Petrovitch calls "a low female and a German" when they argue. Bearded Assailants: Men who rob Akakiy of his new cloak. Landlady of Bashmatchin: Elderly woman who advises Akakiy to report the theft of his cloak to the district police chief. District Police Chief: Official who hears Akakiy's report about his stolen cloak. The policeman asks Akakiy embarrassing questions, as if he were a criminal. The policeman is of no help. Employee With Advice: Coworker of Akakiy who advises him to see a certain prominent personage in a government office who will help Akakiy track down his stolen cloak. Prominent Personage: Bureaucrat mainly concerned with demonstrating the power he wields as a supervisor. He excoriates Akakiy for not going through the proper government channels to get an interview. He is of no help. Physician: Doctor called after Akakiy develops a throat infection. He tells Akakiy's landlady to order a coffin. Various Government Officials, Watchmen

Themes
Bureaucratic and Class Oppression of the Common Man As an employee of a government department, Akakiy Bashmatchkin endures the petty petty cruelties and jests of his coworkers. As a crime victim, he gets nowhere with the incompetent and abusive bureaucracy. As a member of the lower classes with an income

to match his status, he must constantly struggle to eke out a meager existence. For example, while saving money for a new cloak, Akakiy . . . . decided that it would be necessary to curtail his ordinary expenses, for the space of one year at least, to dispense with tea in the evening; to burn no candles, and, if there was anything which he must do, to go into his landlady's room, and work by her light. When he went into the street, he must walk as lightly as he could, and as cautiously, upon the stones, almost upon tiptoe, in order not to wear his heels down in too short a time; he must give the laundress as little to wash as possible; and, in order not to wear out his clothes, he must take them off, as soon as he got home, and wear only his cotton dressing-gown, which had been long and carefully saved. Many workers in czarist Russia were serfs, laborers bound to the farmland which they worked. Without permission of the landowner, they could not leave the land or get married. They were virtual slaves. In "The Cloak," Petrovitch somehow earned his way out of servitude to become a tailor. Still, he must work hard to make his way in the world. His heavy drinking and that of his family members before him suggests that alcohol has become an escape from the rigors of everyday life in an unfair government and social system. In 1861, Czar Alexander II issued an edict abolishing serfdom. Bureaucratic Incompetence In the first half of the 19th Century, the Russian government was unwieldy and ineffective, in part because it was top heavy with unqualified or ill-trained officials who had attained power on seniority rather than talent. Their incompetence resulted in a fear of making decisions. Consequently, these inept bureaucrats frequently passed the buck or postponed decisions indefinitely, as in "The Cloak." Akakiy is as much a victim of bureaucratic inaction, which robs him of justice, as he is of theft. Unappreciated and Unrewarded Underclass Life was hard for the common man in 19th Century Russia. Pay for lower-class workers was meager, in part because of economic problems and in part because of a government tax policy that favored the nobility. In addition, the best jobs frequently went to persons with the best pedigrees. Lower-class citizens, regardless of their abilities, often had to settle for menial labor. Their contributions to society typically went unnoticed. Akakiy, though a devoted and highly efficient copyist, is regarded as a nobody, as the narrator of "The Cloak" points out after Akakiy dies: And St. Petersburg was left without Akakiy Akakievitch, as though he had never lived there. A being disappeared who was protected by none, dear to none, interesting to none, and who never even attracted to himself the attention of those students of human nature who omit no opportunity of thrusting a pin through a common fly, and examining it under the microscope. Retribution

After he returns from the dead, Akakiy gains vengeance by terrorizing St. Petersburg and stealing the cloaks of pedestrians. Government workers appear to be his favorite targets. The narrator says, "Constant complaints poured in from all quarters that the backs and shoulders, not only of titular but even of court councillors, were exposed to the danger of a cold on account of the frequent dragging off of their cloaks."

Climax
The climax occurs when bearded men accost Akakiy Bashmatchkin and steal his new cloak.

Cloak as a Symbol
Akakiyu0092s old cloak appears to represent a Russia whose humanity has worn thin. This Russia exposes citizens born without rank or privilege to poverty, hunger, cold, and indignity. The new cloak appears to represent warmth, acceptance, prosperity. When thieves rob Akakiy of his cloak, they rob him of all that matters in his life. And he dies.

Roving Corpse: Divine Justice

When Akakiy returns from the dead, he appears to symbolize divine retribution or moral indignation. Like the Furies of ancient Greek mythology, he bedevils evildoersu0096in this case, the bureaucrats and aristocrats who prey on the weak. And he brings an implied warning from the author: Unless Russia changes, Akakiy will be millions, and he will bring down society itself.
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Study Questions and Essay Topics

1. Is there anyone like Akakiy in your school or work group? If so, how do people treat him or her? 2. What was life like for lower-class Russians in the first half of the 19th Century? 3. In Gogolu0092s fantasy world, does Akakiy really rise from the dead? Or is the notorious cloak robber one of the bearded men who stole ....Akakiyu0092s cloak? 4. Akakiy is a copyistu0096that is, one who hand-copies documents. In the 19th Century, copyists were fixtures in offices throughout the ....world. What invention, or inventions, rendered them obsolete? 5. Petrovitch was a serf before he became a tailor. What was a serf? 6. What is quinsy, the illness Akakiy develops while walking through the cold, blustery streets of St. Petersburg? Is quinsy commonplace ....today? 7. Write an essay comparing and contrasting the bureaucrats of todayu0096in the United States, England, and other countriesu0096with the ....bureaucrats of czarist Russia.

The Catcher in the Rye

A Novel by J.D. Salinger Study Guide

Type of Work and Year of Publication

The Catcher in the Rye is a coming-of-age novel (or apprenticeship novel). Such a novel centers on the period in which a young person is struggling to grow up and attempts to adapt to life around him. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) pioneered this type of novel in Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship). An apprenticeship novel can also be identified by its German name,bildungsroman, meaning novel of educational development. The Catcher in the Ryewas first published in Boston on July 16, 1951, by Little, Brown and Company.

Setting
The Catcher in the Rye begins in 1950 in California, where the main character, Holden Caulfield, is undergoing psychiatric therapy. It then flashes back to a day in December 1949, when Holden Caulfield leaves Pencey Prep in the fictional town of Agerstown in southeastern Pennsylvania after flunking out. Pencey Prep is a boardingschool for boys of well-to-do parents. Caulfield leaves Pencey Prep late at night on a train bound for New York City, via Trenton, N.J. In New York, Caulfield checks into a hotel and spends several days going to nightclubs and roaming the streets before going home (an apartment in a Manhattan building). Salinger may have based Pencey Prep on Valley Forge Military Academy in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1936.

Characters
Protagonist: Holden Caulfield Antagonist: Holden's Internal Conflicts Holden Caulfield: Intelligent but insecure high-school junior who is expelled from Pencey Prepthe fourth boarding school he has attendedfor failing four out of five subjects. Although Holden seems likable and has a good sense of humor, he has difficulty facing his shortcomings, in particular his inability to adjust to his peers and society in general. In short, his emotional growth is stunted; he has trouble growing up and maturing. But instead of accepting blame for his shortcomings, he projects them onto others, calling them phonies. Caulfied is 6 feet, 2 inches tall. He has a patch of gray hair on the right side of his head. Phoebe Caulfield: Holden's ten-year-old sister, the only person with whom he can communicate while feeling completely at ease . He loves and admires her, and she

seems destined for success in all of her endeavors because of her precocity. However, Phoebe exhibits some of the qualities of Holden. For example, she writes books about a girl detective but never finishes them. Her failure to complete them parallels Holden's failure to complete school. Moreover, when Holden decides to run away, Phoebe impulsively follows him and insists that he allow her to accompany him. D.B. Caulfield: Holden's older brother, a writer in Hollywood. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, participating in the D-Day landing. Allie Caulfield: Holden's younger brother. When still only a child, he died of leukemia. Allie's death devastated Holden. At the time the novel begins, Allie has been dead about four years. Ward Stadlater: Holden's conceited roommate, a senior. Robert Ackley: Pencey Prep senior whom Holden befriends even though Ackley annoys him with his habit of poking through Holden's personal belongings. Jane Gallagher: Friend from back home whom Holden befriended when he was growing up. He likes her and worries that Stadlater, who had a date with her, may have tried to compromise her virtue. Sally Hayes: Girl Holden once dated. He calls her in New York, and they attend a play and go ice skating. Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield: Holden's parents, who live in an apartment building in New York City. Mr. Caulfield is a corporation lawyer Mr. Spencer: Holden's history teacher. Before Holden leaves Pencey Prep, Spencer scolds Holden about his poor performance in his studies and attempts to inspire him with concern for his future. Mr. Antolini: Holden's English teacher at Elkton Hills. He allows Holden to stay at his apartment in New York City. However, after Holden falls asleep, he awakens moments later after Antolini begins stroking his head. Shocked, Holden makes an excuse and leaves. Maurice: Elevator operator who sends a prostitute named Sunny to Holden's room. Sunny: A prostitute. Mrs. Morrow: Woman Holden meets on the train to New York. Her son, Ernest, attends Pencey Prep. Two Nuns: Members of a Roman Catholic religious order. Holden has a pleasant conversation with them and gives them $10. Lillian Simmons: Young woman Holden encounters in New York. She once dated Holden's brother, D.B. Other Characters: Students, cab drivers, nightclub patrons, people on the street, including a boy singing "Comin' Thro' the Rye."

Plot Summary
By Michael J. Cummings... 2006

The year is 1950. Teenager Holden Caulfield introduces his story by speaking directly to his readers:

"I know that, sir. Boy, I know it. You couldn't help it." If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

In other words, Holden will not do what author Charles Dickens did when he wrote David Copperfield: Start at the beginning of his life, then tell about his childhood, his family, his home life, etc. Rather, Holden will tell readers about the madm an stuff that happened to me around last Christmas before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy.

Spencer reads excerpts from Holdens examination paper, then notes that Holden also had problems at the Whooton School and Elkton Hills. Actually, Holden says, he did not flunk out of Elkton; he quit. He doesnt tell Spencer whynamely, because Holden thought the school was full of phonies. The headmaster, Mr. Haas, was the kind of person who would talk with impressive-looking parents but ignore parents who were plain or corny-looking. Spencer continues lecturing Holden, saying hes trying to help, and Holden finally excuses himself and returns to his dorm room.

After removing his coat and tie, he puts on a hat he bought for a dollar that morning in New York. Holden does not sayat least at this pointwhere here is or what is wrong with him. The only other person who knows what happened to him is his brother, D.B., a writer in Hollywood. D.B. will be driving Holden home from here, in about a month or so. It was this red hunting hat, with one of those very, very long peaks, Holden tells the reader. He likes it even though it looks odd, especially the way he wears it with the peak in the back. I looked good in it that way. Holden, seventeen, begins his story by flashing back to a Saturday in December of the previous year, 1949, when he was a sixteen-year-old junior at Pencey Prep in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. He has just flunked out after failing four of his five courses. He is scheduled to return home on Wednesday, for good. He has not yet told his parents that he has been kicked out and does not plan to. He will let a letter being mailed from the school do that. Holden has just returned from New York with the fencing team, which he has been managing. Pencey is the fourth boarding school he has attended.

Holden picks up a nonfiction book, Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen, which he has been rereading. He likes the book, but his favorite authors are his brother, D.B., and Ring Lardner. He also reads novels like The Return of the Native, as well as war books and mysteries, although they dont knock me out.

Holden walks past the football stadium, where a game is under way, to the house of Mr. Spencer, his history teacher, who wants to see him before he leaves the school. He and Spencer exchange pleasantries before Spencer gives him a lecture.

"I flunked you in history because you knew absolutely nothing."

Robert Ackley, an annoying fellow from the next room, comes in. Hes a tall fellow with a pimply face whos a slob in his personal habits. Holden cant remember ever seeing him brush his teeth. Ackley, a senior, has a talent for aggravating Holden, always going around his room and picking up personal items or standing in his light when he is reading. He asks about the fencing match, but Holden says nobody won because he absentmindedly left all the fencing foils on the subway. After he and Ackley talk for a while, Holdens roommate, Ward Stradlater, comes in from the football game and asks to borrow Holdens hounds tooth jacket. Holden says okay as long as Stradlater doesnt stretch it out of shape with his big shoulders.

Holden dislikes Stradlater because, Holden says, hes a phony. Hes a conceited ladies man who thinks hes doing someone a favor by talking to him. Hes also a slob, a secret slobthat is, he always looks good to the girls but leaves a mess behind in the bathroom.

Holden swings at him, striking a glancing blow. A fight ensues and Holden winds up with a bloody face.

For instance, Holden says, you shouldve seen the razor he shaved himself with. It was always rusty and full of lather and hairs and crap.

That night, feeling lonely, Holden decides to leave, four days ahead of schedule, and return to his hometown, New York. There, he will get a hotel room, rest up, and settle his nerves. In two minutes, he has his bags packed and a short while later is on a train to

Because Stradlater has a date, he asks Holden to write an English composition for him something descriptive. Holden doesnt want to, but he agrees to write it anyway. While Stradlater is putting Vitalis on his hairHoldens Vitalishe tells Holden his date is a girl from a nearby school. When he identifies her as Jane Gallagher, Holden is surprised. She was a neighbor of Holdens who used to play checkers with him. After Stradlater leaves, Holden sits in a chair and thinks about Jane with Stradlater. The idea of Jane, a nice girl, with Stradlater makes him nervous. When Ackley barges back in, Holden is actually glad to see him, because he takes Holdens mind off everything.

New York. At Trenton, a woman who boards and sits near Holden notices the Pencey sticker on his bags. When she asks whether he knows her son, Ernest Morrow, Holden tells her Morrow is in his class. Holden thinks Morrow is one of the most hateful guys at Pencey. Nevertheless, because Mrs. Morrow seems nice, he praises him: "He adapts himself very well to things. He really does. I mean he really knows how to adapt himself." When Mrs. Morrow adds that her son is a sensitive boy, Holden thinksyes, about as sensitive as a toilet seat.

Later, Holden, Ackley, and another friend of Holdens, Mal Brossard, decide to take in a movie in Agerstown. But when Ackley and Brossard find out that they have already seen the movie, they all just get hamburgers, play a pinball machine, and return to the dorm about nine. Holden writes Stadlaters essay and finishes it about 10:30. Its about Holdens brother Allies lefthanded baseball mitt, which had poems written in green ink on the fingers and pocket. Allie died of leukemia a few years back, and Holden tells the readers, Youd have liked him. He was two years younger than Holden but fifty times as intelligent and was also the nicest member of the family.

After Stradlater returns and reads the essay, he flies into a rage because it is about a baseball glove, saying it was to be about a room or a house or something.

After his arrival at Penn Station, Holden feels like telephoning someone maybe his brother or his little sisteror Jane Gallaghers mother to find out when Janes vacation started. Then he thinks of Sally Hayes, a girl he used to see. In the end, though, he decides not to make any calls. If he called his sister, his parents might answer. If he called Sally Hayes, her mother might answer and then blab to his parents about the call. Its also getting pretty late. So he takes a cab to the Edmont Hotel and chec ks in. It is a depressing place that is full of perverts and screwballs all over the place. The hotel gives him a crumby room with a view out the window that looks onto the other side of the hotel.

They argue, and Holden rips up the paper. Moments later, Holden wondering about Stradlaters date with Jane, asks, Whatd you do? Give her the time in Ed Bankys car?

Thats a professional secret, buddy, Stradlater says.

After smoking a few cigarettes, Holden calls a girl named Faith Cavendish. At a party, a Princeton student, Eddie Birdsell, had given Holden her address and phone number. She was supposed to be hot stuff. When Holden gets her on the phone, he identifies himself as a friend of Birdsell and asks her out for cocktails. She warms to him after he talks in a deep voice, but she declines his invitation, saying its the middle of the night and she has to get her beauty sleep. When Holden proposes to go to her placeanother hotel in New Yorkshe says her roommate is sick and cannot entertain a guest.

returns with Maurice, who pushes Holden around, hits him, and goes away with another $5. Holden decides to go down to the Edmonts Lavender Room. While changing his shirt to look presentable, he thinks about his little sister, Phoebe, age 10. According to Holden, she is the smartest, prettiest little thing you ever saw. She writes books about a person named Hazel Weatherfield, a detective. But she never finishes them. He thinks too about the times he and Allie used to take her to Central Park on Sundays.

In the morning, Holden calls Sally Hayes and asks her to a movie.

Id love to. Grand. In the Lavender Room, Holden orders a scotch and soda but settles for a Coke after the waiter discovers that he is under age. Holden dances with three women, one quite ugly. When the Lavender room begins to close, Holden leaves. In the lobby, he begins to think about Jane Gallagher againthe times they played checkers and tennis. They didnt do much in the way of love, but Holden says, She was terrific to hold hands with.

What a phony word, grand, Holden thinks.

Holden takes a cab to another bar, Ernies. There, he orders a scotch and sod a and gets it. He observes the people and listens to their conversations and decides that they are phonies. A girl named Lillian Simmons, who once dated D.B., approaches and says, Holden Caulfield! . . . How marvelous to see you! She asks how Holdens big brother (D.B.) is doing, and Holden tells her he is in Hollywood writing. That news impresses her, Holden thinks, and she keeps talking to him while ignoring people that she is holding up in an aisle even though her date, a Navy man, tells her that people are waiting for her to move on. When she compliments Holden on his looks, he concludes that she is only trying to get in good with him so that he will tell D.B. about her. In other words, shes a phony. She invites Holden to her table, but he doesnt want to be bored to death listening to her. So he makes an excuse and leaves.

After checking out of the hotel, Holden has breakfast in a restaurant at Grand Central Station. Hes to meet Sally nearby, at the Biltmore Hotel, at 2 oclock. While eating, he talks with two nuns, whom he finds pleasant, and he donates $10 to help them with their work. After breakfast, he kills time walking around the city, then returns to the Biltmore. When Sally arrives, she looks lovely in a black coat and black beret, and in their taxi ride to the theater Holden has a hard time keeping his hands off her. They see a play with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine. At intermission, they go out for cigarettes, like just about everybody else, and Sally sees a guy she knows from Andover College. When he comes over and talks with her, Holden pegs him for a phony. Sally and the guyGeorge something, Holden saystalk about people they knew and places theyve been to.

The jerk had one of those very phony, Ivy League voices, one of those very tried, snobby voices, Holden observes. After Holden walks back to his hotel, the elevator attendant offers to send a girl to his room for $5, and Holden says okay. It was against my principles, he tells the reader s, but I was feeling so depressed I didnt even think. After the play, they go skating and have Cokes in a bar where they can watch other skaters. Holden talks about how much he hates school. In fact, he talks about how much he hates everythingNew York, taxicabs, buses, phony people. At his school, he says, people learn just enough to earn m oney to buy a Cadillac, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day.

In his room, hes feeling nervous, because hes a virgin. When the girl arrives, Holden introduces himself as Jim Steele and begins to feel depressed. So all he does is talk with her for a while, then pays her $5. When she says he owes her $10, he tells her the elevator man, Maurice, quoted a price of $5, and thats all he gives her. Later, the girl

Then, out of nowhere, he asks Sally to go away with him to Massachusetts or Vermont, telling her he has $180 in the bank. They could live in cabin camps, and we co uld have a terrific time. She refuses, of course, saying were both practically children. After they argue about Holdens idea, he calls her a royal pain in the ass and she leaves.

Phoebe tells Holden, to his relief, that their parents are at a party in Norwalk, Connecticut, and wont return until very late. Then Phoebe, aware that Holden was not due home until Wednesday, realizes he has been expelled from schoolagain. Holden admits that he flunked out.

Holden calls Carl Luce, a friend from the Whooton School who now attends Columbia University, and they agree to meet at 10 oclock at the Wicker Bar on 54th Street for a few drinks. To kill time, Holden sees a movie, then walks to the Wicker and has a couple of scotches with soda. After Luce arrives, Holden makes inane, immature wisecracks that annoy Luce.

"Daddy'll kill you," she says.

But Holden says he plans to go away. Same old Caulfield, he says. When are you going to grow up? "What I may do, I may get a job on a ranch or something for a while, " he says. "I know this guy whose grandfather's got a ranch in Colorado. I may get a job out there." After Holden asks very personal questionsmany having to do with the woman Luce is dating, a Chinese sculptress in her late thirtiesLuce becomes further annoyed. Luce, whose father is a psychiatrist, answers several questions Holden poses about what would take place if Holden made an appointment with Dr. Luce. But conversation goes nowhere, and Luce excuses himself and leaves. Holden stays and has more drinks and gets so drunk I could hardly see straight. He calls Sally Hayes. When she answers, he tells her he wants to come over on Christmas Eve and help her trim her tree. Realizing how drunk he is, she pacifies him for a while by saying its okay to come over on Christmas Eve, then hangs up.

Deeply disappointed in Holden, she accuses him of being too hard to please: You dont like any schools. You dont like a million things. Then she challenges him to name one thing that he likes. After concentrating for a while, Holden says, I like Allie. He also says, And I like doing what Im doing right now. Sitting here with you, and talking, and thinking about stuff, and

Holden goes to Central Park to watch ducks in a lagoon, as he did as a child. He always wondered what happened to them in the winter. Later, he goes homewhich is actually an apartment in a buildingso he can talk with his kid sister Phoebe. He enters the apartment very quietly so as not to wake his parents. When he awakens Phoebe, she throws her arms around him. They talk for awhile. Phoebe says shes in a school play, acting the role of Benedict Arnold.

Phoebe is not satisfied with the answer, noting that Allie is dead, but she moves on to another question: Name something youd like to be. Holden rules out several occupationsincluding that of his father, lawyerbut then thinks of something crazy.

You know what Id like to be? he says.

It starts out when Im dying. This ghost comes in on Christmas Eve and asks me if Im ashamed and everything. You know. For betraying my country and everything.

Then he asks, You know that song If a body catch a body comin through the rye? Id like

Phoebe corrects him, saying the word should be meet, not catch, and pointing out that the words are from a poem by Robert Burns. Holden then reveals what hed like to be: A person stationed at the edge of a cliff while children are playing in a field of rye. Whenever a child runs over the edge of the cliff, Holden catches him or her.

While waiting for Phoebe at the museum, two boys ask him where the mummies are, so he escorts them to the Egyptian exhibits. He explains in simple terms how the Egyptians preserved the dead using a "secret chemical." Shortly after noon, he goes to the main door to wait for Phoebe. While standing there, he muses about his future life in the west, in a cabin. He will not come back east, he says, unless a family member or relative is dying. He would allow Phoebe and D.B. to visit him, but neither would be permitted to do anything phony while under his roof.

Daddys going to kill you, Phoebe says.

Not wishing to confront his parents, Holden calls up an English teacher he had at Elkton HillsMr. Antolini, who now lives in New York and asks to stay at his apartment for the night. Antolini says Holden would be welcome.

After his parents return from Connecticut, Holden hides in the closet while Mrs. Caulfield looks in on Phoebe briefly. He then borrows several dollars from Phoebe and leaves for Mr. Antolini's place. At his classy apartment on Sutton place, Antolini does what Mr. Spencer didgive Holden advice about life. In a short while, though, Holden falls asleep on a couch. Moments later, he awakens when Antolini is sort of petting me or patting me on the head.

At about 12:35 Phoebe arrives with a suitcase, saying she wants to go away with Holden. He says no, but she pleads with him. He refuses again. They go back and forth on this subject until Holden says, "I'm not going away anywhere. I changed my mind. So stop crying, and shut up." Feeling hurt, Phoebe doesn't talk for a while. To try to pacify her, he takes her to the zoo, where they watch sea lions eating fish, then see the bears. Later, they go to Central Park, where Phoebe rides the carousel while Holden watches her. During the ride, Phoebe and other children reach out to grab the gold ring, and Holden worries that she will fall off the horse. "But I didn't say anything or do anything," Holden says. "The thing with kids is, if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them."

In other words, Holden decides not to be a catcher in the rye after all. Kids have to work things out for themselves; one must let them take chances if they are to grow up right.

Boy, was I nervous! Holden says. After the ride, Phoebe says to Holden, "I'm not mad at your anymore." Then she kisses him before going back for another ride. Holden says, "She looked so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all. God, I wish you could've been there."

He thinks Antolini might be a pervert. After making an excuse, Holden leaves and spends the rest of the night on a bench in Grand Central Station.

The next day, Holden leaves a note at Phoebe's school. It says: "I can't wait around till Wednesday any more so I will probably hitch hike out west this afternoon. Meet me at the Museum of art near the door at quarter past 12 if you can and I will give you your Christmas dough back. I didn't spend much."

Thats all Im going to tell about, Holden says in the final chapter. However, he does talk on, saying:

I could probably tell you about what I did after I went home, and how I got sick and all,

and what school Im supposed to go to next fall, after I get out of here . . . .This one psychoanalyst guy they have here keeps asking me if Im going to apply myself when I go back to school next Septem ber.

Holden thinks its a stupid question.

December of the previous year before he "got pretty run-down." In the second paragraph, he begins telling the story by flashing back to a Saturday in that previous December. He continues his tale until the end of Chapter 25. In Chapter 26, consisting of three short paragraphs, Holden flashes back to the present, when he is undergoing treatment at the California center. Thus, the plot structure resembles a row of books kept in place by bookends on the left and right. The bookends are the beginning and end of the novel, when Holden is undergoing treatment; the books are the chapters that tell his story. Most of the episodes in the novelsuch as Holden's encounters with teachers, fellow students, nuns, a prostitute and a pimp, and his sister Phoebe are self-contained stories, in a manner of speaking, with their own expositions and climaxes.
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When his brother, D.B., visits him, he asks Holden about all the things that happened to him. Holden tells the reader that he didnt know what to say. But he does mention that he misses the people he told about in his narrativeeven Stradlater and Ackley.

Point of View and Style

Salinger writes the novel in first-person point of view from the perspective of the main character, Holden Caulfield. When presenting the narration and dialogue, the author convincingly mimics the language of a bright teenager struggling to grow up. The style, therefore, is conversational, deliberately intended to contain numerous colloquialisms and clichs. In this respect, the style in The Catcher in the Rye differs markedly from the style in such first-person narratives as Moby Dick and David Copperfield. The prose in those two novels is more formal and more grammatically precise, more elegant and decorous. In telling his story, Holden is more akinHuckleberry Finn, who tells his tale in the language of a boy who hates school, than to Melville's Ishmael or Dickens's Copperfield. Holden also shares a characteristic with many first-person narrators of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories: unreliability. Because of his immaturity and his reluctance to see himself as others see him, Holden slants his narrative so that other characters appear more reprehensible than he. Poe's narrators, such as Montresor in the short story "The Cask of Amontillado," are unreliable for another reason: They are deranged, maniacal, moonstruck.

Themes
Growing Up Is Hard to Do: In terms of psychological and emotional development, Holden Caulfield seems stuck in adolescence, unable to advance. He envies other teenagers and young adults who have less trouble adjusting than he does. But to protect his ego and preserve his self-esteem (which is already low), he refuses to acknowledge his shortcomings and face himself. Rather, he continually harps on the shortcomings of others. He thinks the outer world is at fault for his problems, not his own inner world. Holden's refusal to confront his weaknesses makes it difficult for him to mature and grow emotionally. Loneliness and Alienation: Holden has been unable to make any real friends or confidants, save for his little sister, Phoebe, and Jane Gallagher, whom he befriended in childhood. Consequently, he feels lonely and depressed. It is his isolation and depressionalong with his failure to face his shortcomings (Theme 1) that bring about his emotional breakdown. Escape: Unable to solve his problems, Holden continually escapes from them. He escapes school by flunking out. He escapes the company of others by arguing with them or insulting them. He even leaves school four days ahead of schedule to have a few days on his own in New York City. There, he asks Sally Hayes to escape with him to Vermont or Massachusetts. He wants her to camp out with him and leave the world behind. When she refuses, he insults her and she walks out on him. Lack of Commitment: Holden aimlessly drifts from school to school and refuses to commit himself to definite goals for the future. His father was a Roman Catholic but fell away from his religion. D.B. was a writer of promise but abandoned serious writing to produce schlock for big bucks in Hollywood. The Search for Identity: In his effort to "find himself," Holden buys a red hunting hat.

Bookend Structure
The story begins and ends at a California treatment center in which seventeen-year-old Holden Caulfield is undergoing therapy for his mental problems. In the first paragraph of Chapter 1consisting of approximately three hundred fifty words Holden announces that he is going to tell the reader about the "madman stuff" that happened to him in

Wearing it makes him unique. No one else around him has such a hat. Therefore, by wearing the hat, he becomes an individual, sui generis. Abandonment: Holden may feel abandoned for the following reasons: (1) Time and again, his parents send him to a boarding school. (2) His brother D.B. lives on the West Coast, nearly 3,000 miles away. (3) His brother Allie died. (4) His childhood crush, Jane Gallagher, has decided to date Ward Stadlater, a Pencey Prep ladies' man. (5) His peers continually reject him because of his abrasive manner. Rebellion: Holden has perfected the art of rebellionagainst his school, his peers, his parents, and society in general. Deception: Holden sees others as phonies because he thinks they pretend to be what they are not. However, Holden himself sometimes pretends to be what he is not. He also lies frequently about his age and his identity in order to overcome adverse circumstances. He also tells Mrs. Morrow, a train passenger with whom he converses, that he has a brain tumor. Hope: There seems to be a glimmer of hope for Holden. He reads good literature, including works by Ring Lardner, Thomas Hardy, and W. Somerset Maugham. He also loves his parents, in spite of any faults they may have, noting on the first page of the novel that "They're nice and all." In addition, although he too often generalizes about peoplecalling many of them phonies even though he knows little about them he does seem to recognize the importance of sincerity, candor, and modesty.

Comin' Thro' The Rye By Robert Burns If a body meet a body, Comin' thro' the rye, If a body kiss a body, Need a body cry? Every lassie has her laddie, Nane, they say, ha'e I; Yet a' the lads they smile on me, Comin' thro' the rye. If a body meet a body, Comin' frae the town, If a body greet a body, Need a body frown? Every lassie has her laddie, Nane, they say, ha'e I; Yet a' the lads they smile on me, Comin' thro' the rye. Amang the train there is a swain, I dearly love mysel' But what's his name, or where's his hame, I dinna choose to tell. Every lassie has her laddie, Nane, they say, ha'e I; Yet a' the lads they smile on me, Comin' thro' the rye.

Climax
Most of the episodes in the novelsuch as Holden's encounters with teachers, fellow students, a prostitute and a pimp, and his sister Phoebeare little stories in themselves, with their own expositions and climaxes. However, the climax of the entire novel appears to occur in Chapter 25, when Holden tells Phoebe that he has decided to return home instead of going out west to work on a ranch.
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Symbols The Title

While walking on a New York street, Holden hears a boy singing the first two lines of a poem by Robert Burns: "If a body meet a body, / Comin' thro' the rye." However, either the boy is singing it wrong or Holden hears it wrong, for Holden later tells the reader that the boy is singing "If a body catch a body." At any rate, Holden tells his sister Phoebe that he would like to become a catcher in the rye. Here is what he envisions: Children are playing in a field of rye near a cliff. Posting himself at the perimeter of the rye field, Holden saves children from falling over the edge of the cliff. It may be that, symbolically, he would be saving children from running headlong into the big bad world of grownups, as he did. Following is the complete poem by Robert Burns Red Hunting Hat: Holden's individuality. A red hunting hat is certainly an oddity at Pencey Prep and in New York City. And that is precisely what Holden himself wants to be: different, unique. In short, the hat is his red badge of individuality. Holden's hat could also symbolize his own personal hunting expeditionfor himself. Further, its color could symbolize his dead brother, Allie, who had red hair. Ducks in the Lagoon: The ducks represent Holden in that they remain isolated, within boundaries, as does Holden. Unable to grow and develop, Holden cannot break free to the adult world. Each year, he ends up at a boarding school, just as the ducks end up at the lagoon. However, when Holden begins to wonder what happens to them in the winter, he also begins to wonder what will happen to him after his latest expulsion from school. Will he "fly off"? Or will he return to begin the cycle of failure all over again.

Those Four-Letter Words

Because The Catcher in the Rye contains numerous profanities, it was controversial when it was published and remains controversial today. Parents frequently oppose its inclusion in high-school curriculums. Why did author Salinger give Holden Caulfield such an offensive tongue? Apparently to show that Holden is trying to sound grown-up in front of his peersand the reader. Holden mistakenly believes that uttering profanities makes him seem worldly-wise and mature. However, his swearing has the opposite effect, revealing him as a confused adolescent who still has a lot of growing up to do. Thus, Salinger writes profanities into the story to serve a literary purpose. Not all writers are like Salinger in this respect. For example, many Hollywood scriptwriters insert profanities into dialogue solely to obtain an adults-only rating, such as "R," to enhance box-office appeal; the swearing is gratuitous.
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The Carousel: The carousel (Salinger uses the French spelling, carrousel), or merry-go-round, represents the carefree days of childhood. Holden seems emotionally stuck in childhood, unable to develop into a young man. He goes from one school to another, then another. In effect, he is going in circles. Will Phoebe, whom Holden is watching as she rides the carousel, end up like Holden? The Museum: Holden's desire for stability and security. Holden has never forgotten his childhood, during which he enjoyed stability and security and the close friendship of Jane Gallagher. Apparently, he likes to visit the museum because it represents such stability and security. Nothing in it changes; everything remains the same. Fencing Foils: As manager of Pencey Prep's fencing team, Holden has charge of the foils. (A foil is a long, thin sword used in sporting competitions. It has a blunted tip to prevent injury .) However, Holden absentmindedly leaves the foils on a subway. Consequently, a match between Pency Prep and its opponent cannot take place. The loss of the foils could represent Holden's reluctance to graduate from school to become part of the competitive business world, which he thinks is run by phonies. Ice Skates: Perhaps the skates Holden's mother bought him, hockey skates, represent society and socialization in that the the user of them is part of a team. On the other hand, the skates Holden wanted, racing skates, may represent his isolation in that the user competes as an individual. The Broken Record: Before going home to talk with Phoebe, Holden buys her a record with a song entitled "Little Shirley Beans." However, while walking toward Central Park, he drops it and it shatters. Perhaps the record represents Holden. After his latest failure, he goes home "in pieces," emotionally distraught.

Figures of Speech
Because the narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is a teenager who tells his story in a conversational style, most figures of speech in the novel are clichs, such as strictly for the birds, frozen to death, shoot the bull, for crying out loud, gives me a royal pain, hated his guts, booze hound, sharp as a tack, slept like a rock, and tossed his cookies. Here and there, however, are other types of figures of speech. Among them are the following: Anaphora and Metaphor It rained on his lousy tombstone, and it rained on the grass on his stomach. It rained all over the place.

Is Holden a Phony?
Holden continually characterizes people around him as phonies. For example, in Chapter 2, he says, "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies." Oddly, though, Holden himself repeatedly does what phonies do: deceive people. "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life," he admits to the reader. Nevertheless, he doesn't seem to deserve being called a phony. Here's why: Generally, Holden does not lie to impress people; rather, he lies (or otherwise deceives people) to protect his ego or his identity, to get a drink in a bar, to avoid confrontations, to make an excuse to leave, or to play a joke. The true phony, on the other hand, uses deceit to impress people. Of course, Holden is not averse to telling a whopper, which he does after Mrs. Morrow asks him (on the train ride to New York) why he is going home on a Saturday, four days earlier than the scheduled Wednesday dismissal. Holden answers, "I have to have this operation. . . .It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain."

Anaphora occurs with the repetition of it rained at the beginning of clauses. The metaphor compares the grave to a stomach.

Metaphor Or you'd just passed by one of those puddles in the street with gasoline rainbows in them.
The metaphor compares the image in the puddle to a rainbow in the sky.

Alliteration crazy cannon fresh-air fiend We can smoke till they start screaming at us Irony and Hyperbole

It's really ironical, because I'm six foot two and a half and I have gray hair. I really do. The one side of my headthe right sideis full of millions of gray hairs. I've had them ever since I was a kid. And yet I still act sometimes like I was only about twelve
Holden himself explains the irony here. The hyperbole is "millions of gray hairs."

Dramatic Irony Dramatic irony is a dominating figure of speech in the novel. Although Holden acknowledges that he has faults and weaknesses, he fails to realize how immature and maladjusted he is. However, the careful reader is aware of his immaturity throughout the novel.
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Glossary of Terms From the Novel

Beowulf: Medieval epic poem written in Old English. For further information, see theBeowulf Study Guide on this site. Biltmore: World-famous luxury hotel between 43rd and 44th Streets in New York. In 1942, the Biltmore hosted a meeting of Jewish leaders in which David Ben-Gurion announced a resolution supporting the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. BenGurion (1886-1973) later became the first prime minister and first defense minister of Israel after it was established in 1948. The Biltmore Hotel was converted into the Bank of America Plaza Building, beginning in 1981. Bourgeois: As a noun, member of the middle class; as an adjective, having the qualities or values of a member of the middle class. The word is often used to label a person, place, or thing as ordinary, commonplace, or inferior. Example from the novel: He was always saying snotty things about them, my suitcases, for instance. He kept saying they were too new and bourgeois. Chiffonier (or Chiffonnier): Chest of drawers or bureau, usually with a mirror. Colored: Term used in the 1950's to describe an Afro-American or black. Example from the novel: Ernie's a big fat colored guy that plays the piano. The terms AfroAmerican and black did not gain currency in America until the late 1960's. David Copperfield: Great coming-of-age novel written by Charles Dickens (1812-1870). Dickens based the book in part on the difficult early years of his own life. For further information, see the David Copperfield Study Guide on this site. Dope Fiend: Drug addict. El Morocco: World-famous nightclub on East 54th Street, between Second and Third Avenues. Its main room was decorated in a zebra-stripe pattern. Galoshes: Rubber overshoes or boots with a warm lining. Gladstone Bag: Hinged traveling bag or suitcase that opens flat to reveal two compartments. Grippe: Widely used term for flu, or influenza. Some Americans of the 1950's would call in sick by saying, "I have the grippe" rather than "I have the flu." Hamlet: Shakespeare play that Holden Caulfield, his brother D.B., and his sister Phoebe

saw in 1948. For complete information on the play, see the Hamlet Study Guide on this site. Hound's-Tooth Jacket: Jacket printed or woven with a pattern of irregular, jagged checks. I Know My Love: This Broadway play, by S.N. Behrman (1893-1973), opened on November 2, 1949, and closed on June 3, 1950. It is the play that Holden Caulfield attends with Sally Hayes. It starred the popular husband-wife acting team of Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne. Jitterbug: In the 1940's and 1950's, a lively dance in which a partner did twirls, lifts, or splits while holding one or both of the other partner's hands. Lardner, Ring: Writer of short stories distinguished in part for their realistic presentation of ordinary American speech and conversation. LaSalle: Luxury car manufactured by Cadillac between 1927 and 1940. Muckle-Mouthed: Big-mouthed, verbose, long-winded; tending to jabber on. Example from the novel: She was sort of muckle-mouthed. I mean when she was talking and she got excited about something, her mouth sort of went in about fifty directions, her lips and all. Of Human Bondage: Novel by W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965). It centers on an orphan with a clubfoot who attends several schools, tries several careers, and finally becomes a country doctor after marrying the wife of a friend. Out of Africa: Nonfiction book by Isak Dinesen (1885-1963), penname of Danish writer Karen Christence Blixen-Finecke. Pedagogical: Having the qualities of a pedagogue, a teacher who shows too much concern for minor details; picky, fussy. Phony: Fake, artificial; a person who pretends to be more important, talented, or accomplished than he is The Return of the Native: Novel by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) depicting a failing marriage. The characters in this novel and other Hardy novels live in a world Darwinian determinism in which persons are dominated by forces beyond their control. Record: As you are no doubt well aware, no music CD's existed in the 1950's. All music recordings were on records, disks that spun on a turntable while a needle on an armlike apparatus was positioned in a circling groove on the disk to produce sound. There were several types of recordssome spinning fast on the turntable, some spinning more slowly. Records spinning more slowly were programmed with more music (or speeches, sound effects, etc.). Records spinning at 33 revolutions per minute (rpm) were called LP'sthat is long-playing records. Other records would spin at 45 rpm and 78 rpm. Records that would spin at lower speeds were made of vinyl and would not shatter when dropped. Records spinning at 78 rpm were brittle and would shatter when dropped. It is likely that Holden Caulfield's "Shirley Beans" record was a 78 rpm. When he dropped it, it shattered into many pieces. Romeo and Juliet: Shakespeare play that Holden Caulfied discusses with nuns. For complete information on this play, see the Romeo and Juliet Study Guide on this site. Snow Someone: Deceive, mislead, or persuade a person through flattery, glib talk, or specious argumentation. Holden Caulfield says of Ward Stradlater: "What he'd do was, he'd start snowing his date in this very quiet, sincere voicelike as if he wasn't only a very handsome guy but a nice, sincere guy, too.

Stork Club: World-famous nightclub at 3 East 53rd Street. It opened in 1929 and closed in 1965. Swell: 1950's equivalent of cool, awesome, or great. Examples from the novel: swell guy, swell song, swell girls, swell to see you. Tattersall: Fabric pattern of dark squares on a light background. Example from the novel: On my right there was this very Joe Yale-looking guy, in a gray flannel suit and one of those flitty-looking Tattersall vests. The 39 Steps: 1935 film of mystery and intrigue directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Robert Donat. It is Phoebe Caulfied's favorite movie. Vye, Eustacia: Character in The Return of the Native. (See above.) Ziegfeld Follies: Stage show featuring music, beautiful chorus girls, comedians, and elaborate sets. Florenz Ziefeld debuted his follies in New York in 1907.

Study Questions and Essay Topics

Will Holden Caulfield go on to a successful life in a worthy career? Or will he continue to fail? Will Phoebe grow up like Holden, isolated and lonely, or will she continue to be a good student who looks forward to a promising career? When preparing an answer to this question, consider the following information that Holden discloses about Phoebe: (1) She writes books (the girl-detective stories) but never finishes them. (2) She is very emotional. (3) She impulsively decides to run away with Holden. Why do Holden's parents keep sending him away to boarding schools? Using passages from the noveland your interpretations of these passages write a profile of the Caulfield family as it was when Holden was growing up with Allie and Phoebe. Among the questions you might address in your essay are the following: Was the Caulfield home a happy one? Did Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield devote enough attention to their children? Did they attempt to instill in their children strong moral values? To what extent did Holden's New York environment shape his character when he was a child. Keep in mind that his home was an apartment on the 12th floor of a building in New York City. Keep in mind, too, the kinds of material advantages (or disadvantages) to which he had access. The novel is full of clues about the financial status of Holden's parents. An example of a clue is this sentence: "The week before that, somebody'd stolen my camel's-hair coat right out of my room, with my fur-lined gloves right in the pocket and all." Holden also points out that his father is a corporation lawyer. To what extent did author J.D. Salinger base Holden Caulfield's experiences on his own? While researching this question, you will discover that Salinger grew up in New York City (as did Holden), graduated from a boarding school (Valley Forge Military Academy, in the same part of Pennsylvania as fictional Agerstown), and attended several colleges but did not graduate from any of them. (Holden, of course, attends several boarding schools without graduating.) Salinger's background is similar in other respects to Holden's. Find as many of these similarities as you can. (See the table above to get a start.) Then discuss whether Holden Caulfield is actually J.D. Salingeror write an essay on this subject. The Catcher in the Rye was published in the middle of the 20th Century. Is the novel still relevant today? Do some teenagers continue to face the kinds of problems Holden faces?

Salinger and Holden Caulfield

American author J. D. Salinger, who was born in 1919, apparently drew upon his own experiences when bringing Holden Caulfield to life. In the following, note the similarity between events in the life of the fictional Caulfield and events in the life of Salinger. Holden Caulfield Born and raised in New York City Attends several boarding schools but does not graduate Parents Are of Different Religious Faiths Parents Are Well-to-Do Undergoes Psychiatric Treatment Isolates Himself From Others J. D. Salinger Born and raised in New York City Graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy; attended several colleges but did not graduate Parents Were of Different Religious Faiths Parents Were Well-to-Do Hospitalized for Stress After Serving in World War II Lives Reclusively in New Hampshire

The Atheist's Mass

(La Messe de lu0092athe)
A Short Story by Honor de Balzac (1799-1850)

...Horace Bianchon enjoys an outstanding reputation as a physician, surgeon, and developer of a system of theoretical physiology. While pursuing his education at a medical school in Paris, he studied under the great French surgeon Desplein, acknowledged even by his enemies as an extraordinary physician and teacher. As the narrator points out, Desplein had a godlike eye; he saw into the sufferer and his malady by an intuition, natural or acquired, which enabled him to grasp the diagnostics peculiar to the individual, to determine the very time, the hour, the minute when an operation should be performed, making due allowance for atmospheric conditions and peculiarities of individual temperament. .......But if Desplein had a godlike eye, there was nothing of the divine in his soul, for he was an atheist. He was as absolute in his belief that there was no God as he was supreme in his medical art. However, when he died, he took with him all his skill; he left

to the great doctor, and the physician hospitalized the manu0092s friend and took care of him and, over time, other needy patients.

.......After completing his medical studies, Bianchon went on to become an important surgeon at the Htel-Dieu,2the main hospital in Paris, where Desplein also practiced.

behind no important discoveries, inventions, or medical breakthroughs. Thus, he was like a great stage actor rather than a great playwright. When the actor dies, so does his fame. When the playwright dies, his works survive to be performed again and again.

.......When Desplein was alive, colleagues envious of his incomparable talent were always on the lookout for deficiencies in him to criticize. Finding none, they resorted to nitpicking about his moods or other manifestations of his personality. There was his eccentricity, for example. He might dress impeccably for a while, then neglect his appearance for a time. Or he might travel in a carriage one day, then walk the next. However, Desplein did have at least one good friend, Bianchon.

.......One day at 9 a.m., Bianchon was crossing the street when he saw Desplein furtively entering the church of Saint-Sulpice3on the Rue du Petit-Lion.4Following him inside, Bianchon was surprised to discover the avowed atheist kneeling at an altar and then staying for mass, after which he made a contribution to the church and gave alms for the poor. Bianchon left without being seen by Desplein. It so happened that Desplein asked Bianchon to dine with him that day at a restaurant. Over dessert, the latter deliberately steered the conversation to religion. To bait Desplein, Bianchon said the mass was a shameful and ridiculous exhibition. Desplein agreed, declaring that it has cost Christendom more blood than all Napoleon's battles and allBroussais'5leeches. The mass is a papal invention, not older than the sixth century, and based on the Hoc est corpus.6What floods of blood were shed to establish the Fte-Dieu, the Festival of Corpus Christiu0096the institution by which Rome established her triumph in the question of the Real Presence,7a schism which rent the Church during three centuries! .......Three months later, a physician at the Htel-Dieu who had seen Desplein at SaintSulpice asked him why he, an avowed atheist, had visited a church. Bianchon was with the two doctors at the time. Desplein explained that he was ministering to a priest with a knee affliction. The questioner accepted the answer. Bianchon knew, of course, that Desplein was lying. Thereafter, he decided to observe Desplein closely. Exactly one year after Bianchon saw Desplein enter the church, Bianchon posted himself outside SaintSulpice at nine ou0092clock and saw the great surgeon again steal his way inside and attend mass. After Desplein left, Bianchon asked a sacristan whether Desplein regularly visited the church. The sacristan told him that Desplein attended a mass four times a yearu0096a mass that Desplein himself sponsored.

.......In his college days, Bianchon was destitute, experiencing many a hardship while living in Maison Vauquer, a run-down boarding house in the Latin Quarter.1But he was always cheerful and always willing to help others without expecting recompense. He was also forthright and modest. His qualities earned him the deep respect of others. Desplein, in particular, favored him and formed a strong bond with him.

.......Seven more years passed and Desplein continued to attend mass on the appointed days. Finally, Bianchon decided to follow Desplein into the church and kneel beside him during the mass. Desplein did not seem at all surprised to see Bianchon. When they left church, Bianchon said, u0093I have caught you three times going to massu0096You! You must account to me for this mystery, explain such a flagrant disagreement between your opinions and your conduct. You do not believe in God, and yet you attend mass? u0093

.......Desplein would take him with him on calls to homes of the wealthy, where patients would always put a jingle in Bianchon's pocket. On one occasion, Bianchon called Despleinu0092s attention to a poor man afflicted with a serious illness caused by lack of food and rest. After Desplein healed the man, he gave him money to helphim pursue his trade. Later, the man brought a sick friend to Desplein, saying he would entrust him only

.......Desplein answered, u0093I am like a great many devout people, men who on the surface are deeply religious, but quite as much atheists as you or I can be."

.......As they passed into the Rue de Quatre-Vents, a slum, Bianchon asked Desplein why he was having a mass said four times a year. Desplein pointed to the top floor of a building, noting that sponsorship of the mass was prompted by events that took place when he lived there.

having had the opportunity to help him. With his wages, Desplein bought Bourgeat the barrel and horse he had always wanted. Bourgeat was deeply moved, and a tear came to his eye.

.......Desplein said he had endured great suffering in the place: u0093hunger and thirst, want of money, want of clothes, of shoes, of linen, every cruelty that penury can inflict.

.......He lived there alone, with no one to help him pay the costs of his medical education or lodging. For breakfast, he ate a stale roll. He was so poor that he could afford dinner only every other day. But he persevered, studying hardu0096sometimes an entire night.

.......By and by, Bourgeat became ill. Desplein nursed him back to health, but two years later the man relapsed and none of Despleinu0092s magic could save him. Remembering that Bourgeat had been a devout Catholic, Desplein arranged to have four masses said for him every year at Saint-Sulpice. Further, Desplein attended these masses and even prayed that Great God, if there is a sphere which Thou hast appointed after death for those who have been perfect, remember good Bourgeat; and if he should have anything to suffer, let me suffer it for him, that he may enter all the sooner into what is called Paradise. Desplein concluded his story by telling Bianchon that he would give away everything if he could have the kind of faith that Bourgeat had.

.......One day, the landlord evicted him, effective the following morning, because he could not pay his rent. The landlord also evicted a neighbor, Bourgeat, simply because he was a lowly water carrier. With nowhere to go and no money to rent a cart to haul away his meager furnishings, Desplein spent a restless night wondering what to do. However, in the morning, Bourgeat offered to transport Despleinu0092s belongings in a cart he had rented. In addition, he proposed that they join forces to find a new place to lodge. So off they went.

.......After Desplein died, Bianchon never assumed that he died an atheist. The narrator says, u0093Will not those who believe like to fancy that the humble [Bourgeat] came to open the gate of Heaven to his friend as he did that of the earthly temple on whose pediment we read the wordsu0096"A grateful country to its great men."8

Setting
.......After finding two affordable rooms, they settled in and dined together daily. Over time, Bourgeat had saved nearly enough money to buy a horse and a barrel for his trade. However, he decided to make all his money available to Desplein, who was struggling to complete his medical studies. Of this extraordinary generosity, Desplein said: That man, my friend, understood that I had a mission, that the needs of my intellect were greater than his. He looked after me, he called me his boy, he lent me money to buy books, he would come in softly sometimes to watch me at work, and took a mother's care in seeing that I had wholesome and abundant food, instead of the bad and insufficient nourishment I had been condemned to. .......One day Bourgeat told Desplein that he once had a dog, his only companion. He took it with him wherever he went, even to massu0096which was often, because Bourgeat was a devoted Catholic. Not once in twelve years did the dog bark in church. After it died, he wondered whether the church would permit priests to say masses for it. It was a touching story, and Desplein never forgot it. The action takes place in Paris, France, in the first half of the 19th Century.

Characters
Desplein: Surgeon with unsurpassed skill. He boldly avows atheism but attends a Roman Catholic mass four times a year. Horace Bianchon: Highly respected surgeon who studied under Desplein. One day, he sees Desplein entering a church to attend mass and decides to monitor Desplein to find out why he, a thoroughgoing atheist, kneels in a pew to hear mass. Bourgeat: A poor man who helped Desplein when the latter was an impoverished medical student. Sacristan: Roman Catholic priestu0092s assistant responsible for preparing and maintaining vestments, chalices, and altar cloths and for seeing to the day-to-day operation of the sacristy, a room in a churchu0096usually behind the main altaru0096where chalices and vestments are kept and where a priest robes himself for mass.

.......After becoming a house surgeon at Htel-Dieu, Desplein had to move to the hospital. He felt an u0093indescribable, dull painu0094 in doing so. But Bourgeat was proud at

Type of Work
u0093The Atheistu0092s Massu0094 is a short story that is part of a larger work, The Human Comedy (La Comdie humaine), consisting of more than 90 novels and short stories knitted into a gigantic tapestry. The Human Comedy is divided into the following sections: (1) "Scenes From Private Life," (2) "Scenes From Provincial Life," (3) "Scenes From Parisian Life," (4) "Scenes From Political Life," (5) "Scenes From Military Life," (6) "Country Life," and (7) "Philosophical Studies." "The Atheist's Mass" appears in "Scenes From Private Life." It was published in January 1836 in La Chronique de Paris and incorporated into The Human Comedy in 1844.

of theoretical physiology, and who, while still young, made himself a celebrity in the medical school of Paris." Whether, after hearing Desplein's story, he will follow in his mentor's footsteps is an open question.

Imagery
To draw his characters or to make observations, Balzac uses similes and metaphors that burn, cut, rip, or present easy-to-visualize images of people, places, and things. In other words, reading Balzac is to see and feel what the words portray. Following are examples of Balzac's imagery. His [Bianchon's] earliest studies were guided by one of the greatest of French surgeons, the illustrious Desplein, who flashed across science like a meteor.

Narration
Balzac tells the story in limited third-person point of view in which the narrator enters the mind of only one character, Bianchon. The thoughts of Desplein become known only when he verbalizes them in his conversations with Bianchon.

Ses premires tudes furent diriges par un des plus grands chirurgiens franais, par l'illustre Desplein, qui passa comme un mtore dans la science.

Structure
The structure of u0093The Atheistu0092s Massu0094 consists of the following: 1. An exposition providing information about the education, work, and accomplishments of the two main characters; about the personality ....of Desplein; and about the relationship between Desplein and Bianchon when the latter was an impoverished medical student. 2. The presentation of the u0093riddleu0094: Why does Desplein, an atheist, go to church to attend mass? Here, Balzac piques the curiosity of the ....reader, who must read to the end of the story to discover the answer. 3. The account of Bianchonu0092s close observation of Desplein to learn the reason for the atheistu0092s godly behavior. 4. Despleinu0092s explanation of his behavior. 5. Bianchonu0092s conclusions about Desplein.

Metaphor comparing Desplein to a meteor (mtore). They [Bianchon and Desplein] had already exchanged thoughts on quite equally serious subjects, and discussed systems de natura rerum, probing or dissecting them with the knife and scalpel of incredulity. Ils avaient dj, sur des points tout aussi graves, chang des penses, discut des systmes de natura rerum en les sondant ou les dissquant avec les couteaux et le scalpel de l'Incrdulit. Metaphor comparing thoughts (penses) and systems (systmes)to objects that can be cut; metaphor comparing incredulity to cutting instruments (couteaux, scalpel). I hardly know whether in later life we feel grief so deep when a colleague plays us false as we have known, you and I, on detecting the mocking smile of a gaping seam in a shoe, or hearing the armhole of a coat split. Je ne sais pas si plus tard nous prouvons autant de chagrin par la trahison d'un confrre que nous en avons prouv, vous comme moi, en apercevant la rieuse grimace d'un soulier qui se dcoud, en entendant craquer l'entournure d'une redingote. Personification/metaphor comparing a shoe that has ripped open (un soulier qui se dcoud) to a mocking smile (rieuse grimace). He [Bianchon] carried his poverty with the cheerfulness which is perhaps one of the chief elements of courage, and, like all people who have nothing, he made very few debts. As sober as a camel and active as a stag, he was steadfast in his ideas and his conduct. Il portait sa misre avec cette gaiet qui peut-tre est un des plus grands lments du courage, et comme tous ceux qui n'ont rien, il contractait peu de dettes. Sobre comme un

Character Motivation
In u0093The Atheistu0092s Mass,u0094 it is easy to see that Bourgeatu0092s driving motivation is to do what is right in the eyes of God. As for Desplein, his driving motivation is to deliver superior treatment. But it is interesting to note that superior treatment has a double meaning in this story. To Despleinu0092s envious colleagues, the term refers to the ability to heal with superior skill. To Desplein, the term refers to the ability to heal with unstinting compassion, thanks to the influence of Bourgeat. And Bianchon? We are told at the beginning of the story that he is "a physician to whom science owes a fine system

chameau, alerte comme un cerf, il tait ferme dans ses ides et dans sa conduite. Simile comparing Bianchon to a camel (chameau) and a stag (cerf). These gilded idiots say to me [Desplein], "Why did you get into debt? Why did you involve yourself in such onerous obligations?" Ces imbciles dors me disent: Pourquoi donc faisiez-vous des dettes? pourquoi donc contractiez-vous des obligations onreuses? Metaphor comparing wealthy persons to objects layered with gold (imbciles dors). Bianchon knew the mysteries of that temperament, a compound of the lion and the bull, which at last expanded and enlarged beyond measure the great man's torso, and caused his death by degeneration of the heart. Bianchon connaissait les mystres de ce temprament de lion et de taureau, qui finit par largir, amplifier outre mesure le buste du grand homme, et causa sa mort par le dveloppement du cu009cur. Metaphor comparing Desplein's temperament (temprament) to the qualities of a lion (lion) and a bull (taureau).

Climax
The climax of the story occurs when Desplein reveals why he attends mass.

The Title
The English title of the story, "The Atheist's Mass," is both an oxymoron and a paradox; the French title, "La Messe de lu0092athe," is a paradox. But whether in French or English, the title expresses a contradiction: that a person who denies the existence of God has arranged for a mass to be saidu0096a mass at which the person says prayers.

Themes
Humanity, not knowledge, makes a man great. Despleinu0092s medical colleagues deeply envied him for his knowledge of medicine and his unsurpassed ability to treat his patients. So envious were they of Desplein that they criticized him for the slightest faultsu0096his occasional deviations in the way he dressed, for example. But Despleinu0092s true greatness lay not in his medical skillu0096formidable as it wasu0096but in his unheralded work on behalf of the poor. Desplein himself apparently did not fully appreciate the importance of charitable undertakings until the humble water carrier, Bourgeat, set an example for him. Though a man of meager means, Bourgeat made his life savings available to Desplein so that he could complete his medical education. Moreover, u0093Bourgeat did all my errands," Desplein told Bianchon, "woke me at night at any fixed hour, trimmed my lamp, cleaned our landing; as good as a

servant as he was as a father, and as clean as an English girl. He did all the housework . . . sawed our wood, and gave to all he did the grace of simplicity while preserving his dignity, for he seemed to understand that the end ennobles every act.u0094 After gaining prominence as a physician, Despleinu0096a man known for meanness, according to his detractorsu0096began treating poor patients, telling one of them to bring all of his poor friends to him. He also repaid his benefactor, Bourgeat, for his kindnesses, buying him a barrel and a horse for his trade. In addition, after Bourgeat died, Desplein arranged to have masses said for him four times a yearu0096and attended each one of them himself even though he claimed to be an avowed atheist. It may well be that Desplein's humanity ignited a spark of faith in his soul. Humble faith understands what proud science cannot. Bourgeat was unshakable in his belief in God and in the inherent goodness of creation. Before he met Desplein, he had only one friend, his dog. But it was the best of dogs, one that knew enough not to bark in church. After he met Desplein, he saw the future doctor as goodu0096a man who could heal, another Christu0096and did everything in his power to help Desplein. Bourgeat understood what science could not: that God does not manifest Himself under a microscope. One must look for Him in the faces of the poor and the sick and the downtroddenu0096and sometimes in the quiet recesses of a church, where even a dog recognizes a divine presence. Appearances are deceiving. The narrator says that Desplein's life "was marred by many meannesses, to use the expression employed by his enemies." The narrator also says that "in his heart he mocked at everything; he had a deep contempt for men." But the reader discovers later that Deplein's private life was marked by many kindnesses and that he had a deep respect for poor and downtrodden men, to whom he generously gave of his time and money. Envy breeds enmity. Desplein's colleagues envy him for his enormous medical skills. To bring him down to their level, they criticize him for the tiniest fault and gossip about him, calling him a mean man. Envy can turn quickly into enmity, it seems. Hard times forge sturdy character. The three central charactersu0096Desplein, Bianchon, and Bourgeatu0096all endure hard times before their lives change for the better. But their poverty helped make them what they became. As the narrator says, "Burning poverty . . . is a sort of crucible from which great talents are to emerge as pure and incorruptible as diamonds, which may be subjected to any shock without being crushed." The sick heal the sick: While Desplein heals the bodies of poor persons, the latter seem to heal the soul of the spiritually ailing Desplein.
.

Study Questions and Essay Topics

1. At the end of the story, the narrator tells the reader, "After Desplein died, Bianchon never assumed that he died an atheist." What is ....your view? Was Desplein an atheist at the time of his death? 2. Why does Desplein decide to help Bianchon? 3. Will Bianchon carry on Desplein's tradition of helping the poor? 4. At the end of the story, does Bianchon imply that Desplein was entombed in the Panthon along with other great citizens of France? 5. What does the anecdote about the dog add to the story? 6. Write an informative essay about the history and traditions of the Htel-Dieu of Paris. Notes 1. Latin Quarter (Quartier Latin): Section of Paris on the left bank (rive gauche) of the Seine River, south of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. .....In medieval, Renaissance, and later times, the Latin Quarter was the site of the University of Paris, which consisted of many colleges, .....including the famed Sorbonne. Until 1789, the university's students and their teachers spoke only Latin in class, in cafes, and on the.....streets. Consequently, the university environs became known as the Latin Quarter. The area had a vibrant intellectual life that spawned .....important social, cultural, literary, artistic, and scientific developments. 2. Htel-Dieu: Hospital founded in 651 on the le de la Cit, a small island in the River Seine that is connected to the rest of the city by .....bridges. The le de la Cit is the site of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The term Htel-Dieu refers to the principal hospital of a French .....city. Thus, other cities in France each have an Htel-Dieu. Today, the HtelDieu of Paris boasts an outstanding staff of physicians. .....Until the Renaissance, it was the only hospital in Paris. 3. Saint-Sulpice: Second largest church in Paris. Balzac attended Mass there when he lived nearby. The church gained widespread .....attention after Dan Brown referred to it in his novel The Da Vinci Code. Brown's information was inaccurate. 4. Rue du Petit-Lion: Street on which the Church of Saint-Sulpice was located. Today, the street is know as Rue Saint-Sulpice. 5. Broussais, Franois-Joseph-Victor: French physician who bled patients with leaches and prescribed fasting. He gained a wide .....following early in the 19th Century. 6. Hoc Est Corpus: Incomplete reference to hoc est enim corpus meum (for this is my body). A priest speaks these words at the part of .....the mass known as the consecration, in which a wafer of bread becomes the "Real Presence" of Christ, although the bread itself does .....not change in appearance. Christ spoke the words hoc est corpus meum in His native language at the Last Supper, as reported in the.....gospels of Matthew (26:26), Mark (14:22), and Luke (22:19) and in 1 Corinthians 11:24. 7. Real Presence: See No. 6. 8. A grateful country to its great men. (Aux grands hommes, la Patrie reconnaissante.) Inscription above the entrance of the Panthon, a .....domed building in the Latin Quarter of Paris honoring the memory of great citizens of France. It was constructed as the Church of .....Sainte-Genevive between 1758 and 1789, but became a public building during the French Revolution (1787-1799). Among the more.....than seventy illustrious persons whose remains are entombed there are Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778),

Voltaire (Franois-Marie .....Arouet, 1694-1778), Mirabeau (Honor-Gabriel Riqueti, 1749-1791), mile Zola (1840-1902), Alexandre Dumasu0096Pre (1802-1870), and .....Louis Braille (1809-1852).

Siddhartha
By Hermann Hesse (1877-1962)

Type of Work
.......Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha is a bildungsroman, a novel that centers on the development and maturation of the main character. The novel, written in German, was first published in Berlin in 1922 by the publishing house of Samuel Fischer.

Setting

.......The action takes place in northern India in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Scenes in which the title character, Siddhartha, meets the historical figure Siddhartha Gautama (563?-483? BC), known to history as the Buddha, take place in a grove near the town of Sravasti, identified in the novel by its Sanskrit-language name, Savathi. (This study guide uses the preferred spelling of that name, Savatthi). The town is in the present-day Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, below the Nepal border.

Point of View
.......Hermann Hesse tells the story in omniscient third-person point of view, enabling the narrator to reveal the thoughts of the characters.

Characters
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Siddhartha: Young Indian who seeks spiritual enlightenment. He first lives for a while as a Hindu ascetic. Failing to make progress, he travels to see the Buddha, who has achieved spiritual perfection, to hear what he has to say. But he discovers that he cannot achieve what he is looking for by following the teachings of another. Rather, he believes he is better able to make progress independently, without formal lessons. He next samples the pleasures of materialism, which only degrades him. Finally, he again leads a simple life but this time progresses. In Sanskrit, the name Siddharthameans he who has achieved self-realization. Father of Siddhartha: Brahmin scholar who instructs Siddhartha in the tenets of

Hinduism. Mother of Siddhartha: Woman who takes great pride in her son and sings to him. Govinda: Best friend of Siddhartha. He accompanies Siddhartha on his quest but decides to remain with the Buddha. In Hinduism, Govinda is another name for the godKrishna. Samanas: Ascetics with whom Siddhartha and Govinda live for a time in hopes of learning the way to enlightenment. The Buddha: Siddhartha Gautama (or Gotama), founder of Buddhism. Siddhartha meets him in a grove near the city of Savatthi. Kamala: Courtesan (prostitute with wealthy clients). After Siddhartha prospers as a businessman, he becomes her favorite client. Her name appears to be derived fromKamadeva, the name of the Hindu god of love. Kamaswami: Wealthy merchant who hires Siddhartha. The name Kamaswamiappears to be derived from the Sanskrit words kama, meaning desire or distraction, and swami, meaning master or owner. His name thus indicates that he represents a distraction that postpones Siddhartha's progress toward enlightenment. Vasudeva: Humble ferryman who helps Siddhartha toward enlightenment. In Hinduism, Vasudeva is the family name of Krishna, an important god who is the incarnation of Vishnu, one of the three major gods who make up the Hindu trinity. Little Siddhartha: Spoiled son of Siddhartha and Kamala. Monks: Disciples of the Buddha. Old Woman of Savatthi: Woman who gives Siddhartha and Govinda food and tells them where to find the Buddha. Woman Washing Clothes: Young woman Siddhartha meets after giving up his life as a Samana. Although he is attracted to her, he rejects her advances after a voice inside him tells him to move on. Young Man From Magadha: Person who informs Govinda of the whereabouts of the Buddha. Anathapindika: Wealthy merchant who provides land for Buddha and his followers. Passerby: Person whom Siddhartha encounters on his way into a city after he decides to pursue a worldly life. He tells Siddhartha the name (Kamala) of the woman in the grove. Barber's Assistant: Man whom Siddhartha encounters and befriends in the city where Kamala lives. He gives Siddhartha a shave and haircut, then anoints him with fragrant oil. Servants
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.......Everyone loves young Siddhartha, who is handsome, respectful, quick to learn. His father, a Brahmin, teaches him the ways of Hinduism, and his mother sings to him. The maidens of the town hold him in the highest favor. When the wise men gather for discussions, Siddhartha is there to take part. He already knows how to meditate using the sacred word Om. Even more, he can feel the presence of the Atman, the universal soul, within him. His bearing, his decorum, his gentle voice, his surpassing intelligence, and his dark and inquiring eyes endear him to all. His best friend, Govinda, knows that Siddhartha is special, and he is always at Siddhartha's side to serve him and learn from him. .......Oddly, Siddhartha himself is restless. Even though he enjoys the abundant love of his parents and everyone else around him, even though his father and the wise oldBrahmins of the town impart to him the best of all that they know, even though he practices Hindu rituals and reads the Hindu scriptures, there is an emptiness in part of his soul. And he begins to question what he has learned. Was it really Prajapati who had created the world? Was it not the Atman, He, the only one, the singular one? Were the gods not creations, created like me and you, subject to time, mortal? Was it therefore good, was it right, was it meaningful and the highest occupation to make offerings to the gods? For whom else were offerings to be made, who else was to be worshipped but Him, the only one, the Atman? And where was Atman to be found, where did He reside, where did his eternal heart beat, where else but in one's own self, in its innermost part, in its indestructible part, which everyone had in himself? But where, where was this self, this innermost part, this ultimate part? .......One day he and Govinda sit under a Banyan tree to practice meditating. But after the time arrives for their evening ablutions, he remains lost in thoughthardly breathingas he thinks the holy word, Om, and his soul tries to drink in understanding. Shortly thereafter, three asceticsSamanas, they are calledpass through the town. They are thin and worn and dusty, almost naked, scorched by the sun, surrounded by loneliness. . . strangers and lank jackals in the realm of humans. That evening, Siddhartha informs Govinda that he will join them. Govinda, surprised, realizes Siddhartha has made his decision to go his own way in the world. And, of course, wherever Siddhartha goes, Govinda will go.

Plot Summary
by Michael J. Cummings. 2009

When Siddhartha tells his father of his plans, his father becomes angry and refuses permission. Upset, his father cannot sleep. Several times he goes outside in the darkness to think and notices that Siddhartha remains in the spot where he had informed his father of his decision. Hours pass. Still Siddhartha does not move. At dawn, his father relents, and Siddhartha leaves with Govinda.

Part One

.......Hurrying along, they catch up with the Samanas, who accept both young men. Siddhartha gives away his clothes, keeping only a loincloth. In time, he grows thin from fasting and becomes bitter about life. It is then that he decides that he must empty himself of desire and longingof all feelingso that he dies to himself and gives birth to

the inmost part of his being. He learns to endure extreme heat, cold, and thirst. When he brushes against thorns, his skin bleeds, but he remains rigid until the pain subsides. He trains himself to calm his heartbeat, and he learns to empty his mind of memories so that he isat least for a timea non-self. Eventually, the self returns again and, with it, the human feelings and sensations that he has been trying to escape. Then he repeats the process, hoping eventually to achieve apermanent state of selflessness. Govinda does what Siddhartha does, and together they evaluate their progress. On occasion, they beg for food for themselves and for the other Samanas.

surprised to see so many people gathered in one place. Many of the monks are leaving with alms dishes to beg food that they will bring back for their only meal, taken at midday. Siddhartha recognizes the Buddha (a simple man in a yellow robe, the narrator says) even though he has never seen him before. As the Buddha also leaves with his alms dish, Siddhartha perceives him as a man of deep inner calm who is a reservoir of truth.

.......But Siddhartha is not satisfied. He observes that even an ox-cart driver who drinks rice wine after a day's work can escape from the world of the senses. He also notes that the oldest of the Samanas is sixty and has not yet achieved the fullness of enlightenment, which enables a person to overcome suffering and end the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth, life, death, and so on. (Hindus call this cycle samsara.) That Samana will go on searching for full enlightenment but never find it. Siddhartha says the same will happen to him unless he ceases learning in the conventional Hindu way and instead pursues a different path.

.......In the evening, Siddhartha, Govinda, and others assemble while the Buddha presents a lesson. The only way to escape the suffering of the world, he says, is to follow his teachingsin particular, the eightfold path. He reviews doctrines, gives examples, repeats important points. He is like a light from the sky. After he finishes, many ask for acceptance into his community, including Govinda, and the Buddha receives them. But Siddhartha decides to leave Govinda and the community and go a separate way.

.......So, after living with the Samanas for three years, Siddhartha and Govinda strike out again. Siddhartha tells his friend of a rumor he heard about a man named Gotama who had achieved what Siddhartha seeks: complete mastery of the senses and a permanent state of selflessness, enabling him to overcome samsara. He has no home, no wife, no possessions. As he and his followers wander the land, the rumor says, the high and the mighty present themselves to him and become his students. They call him the Buddha, meaning enlightened one.

.......Walking in the grove the next morning, Siddhartha comes upon the Buddha and tells him he has been privileged to listen to his teachings but will be moving on. In explaining his decision, Siddhartha says, You have found salvation from death. It has come to you in the course of your own search, on your own path, through thoughts, through meditation, through realizations, through enlightenment. It has not come to you by means of teachings! . . . This is why I am continuing my travelsnot to seek other, better teachings, for I know there are none, but to depart from all teachings and all teachers and to reach my goal by myself or to die. (Part 1, "Gotama") .......After Siddhartha goes off on his own, he reviews his life up to this point. So far, he has been trying to peel away the layers of himself to get at the core the Atman, which is part of a universal soul. In so doing, he has been escaping from himself, fleeing himself, the narrator says. Through all his experiences, he really learned nothing about himself. Now, he decides, he will learn about himself, and he will be his own teacher. Part Two .......No longer will Siddhartha try to fathom a hidden world beyond the material; he will be part of the world. He will drink in its beauty, take part in its pleasures. When he comes to a river, a ferryman takes him across, expecting no payment, and wishes his passenger good will. Siddhartha then passes through a village and comes to a stream on the other side of it. There, a young woman washes clothes. When she sees Siddhartha, they exchange idle talk and then she makes a subtle advance that reveals her carnal desire. Siddhartha, aroused, kisses her bosom but suddenly withdraws after a voice in him forbids him to continue this encounter. He turns and walks away. .......Just before evening, he arrives at a grove on the outskirts of a city. Servants are carrying a beautiful young woman into the grove on a canopied chair. She wears a garment of green and gold. When their eyes meet, she smiles slightly. However, the servants look with disdain upon him, for he still looks the part of a poor Samana. On his way into the city, he learns from a passerby that the woman is a courtesan named

.......In a village one day, Govinda learns that the Buddha actually exists; a young man from Magadha has told him that he has seen the Buddha and listened to him while he was teaching. After he tells Siddhartha the news, both young men decide to seek out the Buddha and he what he has to say. When Siddhartha informs the oldest Samana of his and Govinda's decision to leave the group, the old man becomes angry and curses. Siddhartha then stands directly in front of the man and, with a penetrating gaze, turns him mute and motionless. After a few moments, the Samana bids him and Govinda good fortune and wishes them a happy journey.

.......On their travels, they hear that the Buddha is in the town of Savatthi (written in the novel with one t). When they go there, an old woman who gives them food tells them Gotama stays in a grove called Jetavana, a gift to him and his followers from a wealthy merchant, Anathapindika. They can stay the night there, she says, for the Buddha welcomes pilgrims. On their way, they encounter followers of the Buddha, as well as many other pilgrims, and thus have no trouble finding the grove. At dawn, they are

Kamala, who owns a house in the city. Siddhartha enters the city, looks around, and makes friends with a barber's assistant in a temple of Vishnu. He stays the night near boats by a river, and in the morning goes to the barber's shop for a haircut, shave, and anointment with oil. He then bathes in the river. .......In the afternoon, he again sees Kamala at the grove. After she inquires about his changed appearance, he informs her that he had been a Samana for three years but now has abandoned that calling. Consequently, he no longer needs to look like an ascetic. What is more, he no longer needs to look away when he sees a beautiful woman. Boldly he asks her to teach him the joys of love. But he is not yet ready, she says. He must have money and elegant clothing, and he must bring gifts for her. He then asks her if she will kiss him if he composes a poem for her. Yes, she says, if she likes it. Siddhartha ponders for a moment, then recites a poem that flatters her. Kamala claps. When she kisses him, demonstrating her skill as a courtesan, Siddhartha notes to himself that he is already learning from her. .......Before he leaves, she gives him a gift: white clothing for the upper part of his body. She promises to speak to him again the following day. Siddhartha already knows the location of her house. When he appears there the next day, she tells him that she has recommended him for employment in the business of a wealthy merchant, Kamaswami, who lends money at interest and buys and sells rice, wool, linen, and other goods. If Siddhartha conducts himself properly, he will one day become wealthy himself, for Kamaswami is old and lazy and is ready to pass on responsibility to someone else. .......Kamaswami, pleased that Siddhartha can read and write, hires him to write letters and business contracts and invites him to live in his sumptuous home. In time, Siddhartha makes great sums of money and lives a life of pleasure. He eats the best foods, wears elegant clothes, buys his own house with a team of servants, keeps a garden on the outskirts of the city, travels about on his own palanquin, and receives the attentions of Kamala, who regards him as a favorite. In his new lifestyle, he welcomes other pleasures as well, including gambling and drinking. .......As the years pass, vices overtake him greed, envy, lust. Eventually, the material world begins to lose its luster. When he rolls the dice, he bets enormous sums a way of showing disdain for his riches. He wins vast sums, then loses vast sums; he loses possessions and wins them back. And so the cycle goes. .......One evening, while spending time with Siddhartha, Kamala asks him about the Buddha. After Siddhartha speaks of him at length, she says that she may one day join the Buddha, offering him her garden as a gift. Later, when lying with her, Siddhartha notices the little lines in her face. Her youth is running out; she is tired. He himself, now in his forties, exhibits gray hairs; he too is tired. After returning home, he spends time with dancing girls and drinks heavily. Later, he has trouble sleeping, for he is disgusted with the smell of wine and perfume and with what he has become. Toward dawn, he dozes off and dreams of Kamala's bird, which lives in a golden cage. It has stopped singing. When he goes to the cage to see why, he finds the bird lying flat and stiff. It is dead. .......After waking, Siddhartha goes to his garden and meditates. He remains there all day. When he finally comes out, he decides to strike out anew. Leaving behind his house and other possessions, he moves on, not even stopping to say goodbye to Kamala or Kamaswami. .......Passing through the forest, he arrives at the same river he crossed years before.

Now deeply troubled, he stands by the river, looks down at his image in the water, and spits at it. He considers drowning himself to end his suffering. Then the sacred word comes to himOm. Immediately, he realizes how wrong it would be to kill himself. He repeats the word again and again, then collapses and falls into a deep sleep. .......When he awakens, refreshed, he sees a monk in a yellow robe. Despite his shaven head, Siddhartha recognizes him Govindabut Govinda does not recognize Siddhartha. Govinda tells him he has been sleeping in a dangerous place, where there are snakes and other wild animals. Apparently Govinda had been sitting there to watch over Siddhartha. When the monk gets up to leave, Siddhartha says, Farewell, Govinda. Surprised, Govinda asks how he knows his name. .......Siddhartha then reveals his identity and says he is on a pilgrimage. He tells Govinda what has happened to him since they last saw each other and says he is now on a new journey to find himself. After Govinda moves on, Siddhartha seeks out and finds the ferryman who treated him kindly about twenty years before. After they talk for a while, the ferryman recognizes Siddhartha and introduces himself as Vasudeva. Siddhartha offers him his fine clothes in exchange for a ride across the river and a simple loincloth. Goodly Vasudeva cooperates and invites Siddhartha to stay the night in his hut. To Siddhartha, the river holds mysteries, and he tells Vasudeva that he would like to live near it and become Vasudeva's assistant. Inside the hut, Vasudeva gives his guest bread, water, and mango fruit. Then they sit on a log before the river while Siddhartha recounts the story of his life. It is very late when Siddhartha finishes his tale, to which Vasudeva listened raptly. Before they retire, Vasudeva says Siddhartha will learn much from the river in the days ahead. It knows everything, the river, everything can be learned from it," Vasudeva says. "See, you've already learned this from the water too, that it is good to strive downwards, to sink, to seek depth. The rich and elegant Siddhartha is becoming an oarsman's servant, the learned Brahmin Siddhartha becomes a ferryman . . . (Part 2, "The Ferryman"). .......Years pass as Siddhartha lives in contentment with Vasudeva. .......Meanwhile, Kamala has given up her life as a courtesan, donated her garden to Buddha's monks, and begun following his teachings. She now has a son, who was sired by Siddhartha before he left Kamala. He is unaware of the existence of the child, who is named after his father. .......When word spreads across the land that the Buddha is dying, she and the boylike so many others from around the landgo to be with him. Along the river, the boy becomes unruly. Tired and irritable, he wants to return home, complaining that it is no concern of his that some holy man is dying. Not far from Vasudeva's ferry, the boy insists that they stop to rest. By this time, Kamala herself is also tired, so they halt their journey. .......While the boy eats a banana, Kamala lies down. Shortly after she closes her eyes, a snake bites her and she screams. They run along the bank, looking for people and shouting for help. When they near Vasudeva's ferry, she collapses. Vasudeva, who has heard their cries, carries her to his boat and takes her and the boy to his hut. Siddhartha, who is lighting a stove fire, recognizes her. Seeing himself in the boy's face, he realizes that he is his son. .......Before she dies, Kamala tells Siddhartha that she can see that he has found peace at last. And Siddhartha tells her that she, too, has found peace. .......After she dies, Siddhartha keeps the boy with him. The child, age eleven, spends

many days mourning the loss of his mother, the only parent he knewone who pampered him and saw to his every need and desire. Realizing little Siddhartha will have trouble adjusting to a life without the material things he is used to, his father is patient with him. He gives him appetizing meals and avoids forcing him to do chores when he resists. But the boy refuses to adapt and refuses to accept his father's love. He disobeys him and insults him, and one day says he would rather be a criminal and go to hell than be like his father. .......The morning after this outburst, the boy is nowhere to be found. Vasudeva and Siddhartha then discover that the money they had saved from their ferry business is missing. They also observe that their boat is on the opposite bank. Siddhartha wants to pursue the boy and bring him back. But Vasudeva tries to talk him out of it, saying the boy knows his own mind and is now old enough to get along. But Siddhartha pursues him, traveling all the way to the garden that was once Kamala's. There, he begins to believe it would be useless to reclaim the boy. For a long time, he sits and meditates, completely losing himself in his thoughts. Then the hand of Vasudeva, who had followed Siddhartha, touches his shoulder, and Siddhartha returns with him to their river hut. But he does not readily get over the absence of his son. Each time he sees a child, he wonders why he has been deprived of the joy of living with his own child. .......Siddhartha is now less proud than he was in his youth. All his experiences the good ones and the bad ones, as well as the wisdom he has gained living a simple life by riverhave made him a better man and brought him closer to achieving full enlightenment. .......One day, he imagines that he hears the voices of his father and son and of Kamala and Govindaof everyone he has ever heard or seen, of everyone in the entire world merging in the river. The river is all life flowing toward a goal. It sings the great song of the thousand voices, which consists of this word, Omperfection. .......Do you hear? says Vasudeva. .......Siddhartha hears. And he smiles. Siddhartha's self had flown into oneness (Part 2, "Om"). He has achieved enlightenment. Vasudeva hears the same sound in the same way, and he also achieves nirvana. Overjoyed, he decides it is time to leave and go off into the forest to enter "the oneness" (Part 2, "Om"). .......Meanwhile, Govinda has heard tales of a wise old ferryman who plies his trade only a day's journey away. Over the years, Govinda has learned a great deal in his pursuit of perfection, and younger monks admire him. Still, he yearns to know more, and so he seeks out the ferryman. When he finds him, he asks him what he should search for to achieve enlightenment. The old ferryman, Siddhartha, tells him that he must not search for anything, for a search means seeking a goal. The best strategy is to be free, to have no goal, Siddhartha says. When Siddhartha recalls the time long ago when he slept on the riverbank and a man came by and guarded him against snakes, Govinda realizes that he is speaking with his old friend. He expresses his happiness at seeing him again. .......That night, Govinda stays in Siddhartha's hut. .......The next day, when Siddhartha and Govinda continue their conversation, Siddhartha says he does not believe in words or lessons but in actions and in observing the things of the world. When the time comes for Govinda to leave, he asks Siddhartha to give him some bit of wisdom to take with him to guide him on his struggle to attain enlightenment. Siddhartha then says, Kiss my forehead, Govinda!

.......When Govinda does so, he sees in Siddhartha innumerable facesof men, women, fish, crocodiles, elephants "and all of these figures and faces rested, flowed, generated themselves, floated along and merged with each other. . . (Part 2, "Om"). They are all Siddhartha. And Govinda, at this moment, achieves the enlightenment he seeks.
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Terms to Know
.......When reading Siddhartha, you will encounter unfamiliar terms. The following glossary may be helpful to you when you read, study, and write about the novel. Most of the terms appear in the book. ablutions: In Hinduism, ritual cleansing of the body to rid it of sins and prepare it for prayer. In the first chapter of the First Part of Hesse's book, Siddhartha questions the validity of certain Hindu practices, including ablutions: "The ablutions were good, but they were water, they did not wash off the sin, they did not heal the spirit's thirst, they did not relieve the fear in [Siddhartha's] heart." Agni: In Hinduism, the god of fire. Hindus invoke him when they build ceremonial fires to make sacrifices or conduct worship services. Agni acts as a go-between who delivers the sacrifices that humans make to the gods. He also serves as a messenger between humans and gods. ascetic: One who leads a life of self-denial; one who renounces material pleasures. Atman: In Hinduism, an individual's eternal element; the spirit or soul. The Atman is part of Brahman. In the first paragraph of the First Part of Siddhartha, the narrator refers the Atman when describing the spiritual development of the title character: "He already knew to feel Atman in the depths of his being, indestructible, one with the universe." The Atman survives death and transmigrates to another body (human or animal) unless the individual has achieved moksha. Those who achieve moksha become part of Brahman. Sometimes Atman and Brahman are identified as the same entity, as Siddhartha does when he questions the validity of certain Hindu beliefs: "And what about the gods? Was it really Prajapati who had created the world? Was it not the Atman, He, the only one, the singular one?" (Part 1, "The Son of the Brahman"). Bo Tree of Gya (or Bodhi Tree; or Gaya): Tree in India's Bihar state under which the Buddha sat while attaining enlightenment, according to Buddhists. Brahma: One of the three major Hindu deities. His role is that of creator. He is also referred to as Prajapati. Brahman: In Hinduism, the single eternal essence of which the universe is made. Brahmin: In Hinduism, a priest or scholar. Brahmins make up the highest class in the Hindu social system. Buddhism: Philosophical system founded by Siddhartha Gautama (563?-483? BC),

known as the Buddha (a title meaning enlightened one). Buddhism teaches how to obtain release from suffering and the cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara) through the attainment of perfect enlightenment (nirvana). The Buddha did not believe in the existence of a supreme being. Buddhism, therefore, is either atheistic (denying the existence of a supreme being) or non-theistic (not believing in the existence of a supreme being but not ruling out that such a being could exist). There is no such thing in Buddhist thought as a heaven. In metaphorical language, the ultimate goal of a Buddhist is to enter a state of eternal, undisturbed, peaceful sleep. The Buddha established Four Noble Truths as the central tenets of his philosophical system, which are as follows:. 1. Life on earth consists of suffering.

(spirit, soul, or eternal part of an individual) survives death and transmigrates to another body (human or animal) unless the individual has achieved moksha.

Krishna: In Hinduism, the incarnation of Vishnu, one of three major gods. (SeeHinduism, above.)

Lakshmi: Hindu goddess of prosperity, beauty, success, and good luck. She is the wife of Vishnu. (See Hinduism, above.)

2. The cause of this suffering is the desire for sensual pleasure, material possessions, and nonexistence or continued existence.

Mara: In Hinduism, the god of death, sin, and destruction. In Buddhist myth, he is viewed as an evil god of magic and illusion who once tried to tempt the Buddha away from meditation.

3. Individuals can end their suffering by suppressing or giving up their desires.

maja (or maya): In Hinduism, the belief that the everyday world of the senses is an illusion.

4. The way to suppress or give up their desires is to follow the Eightfold Path. This path consists of having (1) the right view, requiring seeing the world and reality as they really are through belief in the Buddhist system; (2) the right intention, requiring a willingness to renounce the material world and follow the Buddhist system; (3) the right speech, requiring abstention from lying, verbal abuse, slander, and idle talk; (4) the right action, requiring abstention from committing murder or harming in any way another living thing, from committing theft, and from committing sexual improprieties; (5) the right livelihood, requiring the refusal to do work that contravenes Buddhist tenets; (6) the right effort, requiring avoidance of harmful thoughts and the development of good thoughts; (7) the right mindfulness, requiring continual awareness of thoughts, feelings, and anything that affects the body; (8) the right concentration, requiring meditation that detaches one from the world and brings tranquillity and composure. Eightfold Path: See Buddhism.

moksha: In Hinduism, the achievement of perfect enlightenment that frees an individual from samsara and enables him or her to unite with Brahman. Moksha is comparable to the Buddhist experience of nirvana.

nirvana: In Buddhism, the liberation of the self from attachment to the physical world; extinction of suffering and all human desires. The word nirvana comes from a Sanskrit word meaning to blow out. A person who achieves nirvana blows out the fires of lust, greed, envy, and other passions. Nirvana is comparable to the Hindu experience ofmoksha.

Four Noble Truths: See Buddhism.

Hinduism: Major world religion centered in India that encompasses many beliefs. One Hindu may accept some beliefs that another Hindu rejects. Generally, however, Hindus believe in a supreme being, the creator Brahma. They also believe in two other major deities that, with Brahma, make up a trinity: Siva (also called Shiva), the god of destruction and restoration, and Vishnu, the preserver. Hindus believe that the Atman

om: Sacred word chanted by Hindus and Buddhists. The Encyclopdia Britannicadefines the term as follows: The syllable Om is composed of the three sounds a-u-m (in Sanskrit, the vowels aand u coalesce to become o), which represent several important triads: the three worlds of earth, atmosphere, and heaven; the three major Hindu gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva; and the three sacred Vedic scriptures, Rg, Yajur, and Sama. Thus Om mystically embodies the essence of the entire universe. It is uttered at the beginning and end of Hindu prayers, chants, and meditation and is freely used in Buddhist and Jaina ritual also. (2001 Standard Edition CD-ROM) Prajapati: Another name for Brahma.

considers drowning himself. He then meditates on the sacred word, Om, and gains renewed strength to carry on. Samana: Ascetics seeking enlightenment. The Folly of Materialism, or Less Is More .......Materialism is a false realitythe Hindus call it maja (or maya)that hinders spiritual development. Siddhartha discovers the wisdom of this Buddhist and Hindu tenet when he immerses himself in the pleasures of the physical world but cannot satisfy his deepest longings. After returning to a simple life, he discovers that less is more, and he achieves enlightenment. The Paradox of Unreal Reality Veda: Body of four sacred books of the Hindus. .......Reality is an illusion to the Buddha and Siddhartha. Yet they acknowledge the reality of desire and feelings, which they must overcome to achieve nirvana. The Buddha and his disciples accept alms from well-wishers. But, according to the Buddha, both the alms and the well-wishers are illusions. Meanwhile, Siddhartha learns from the river. But how can he learn from an illusion? And what about love? After achieving enlightenment, the Buddha teaches his followers how to achieve enlightenment, thereby exhibiting love for them. But love is a feeling that he supposedly overcame when he achieved nirvana. Siddhartha also exhibits lovebefore and after he achieves enlightenment. Siddhartha recognizes but cannot fully explain the paradox of "unreal reality." In the final chapter of the book, he and Govinda discuss this paradox. .......Govinda said: "But is that what you call `things', actually something real, something which has existence? Isn't it just a deception of the Maja[Maya], just an image and illusion? Your stone, your tree, your riverare they actually a reality?"

samsara (or sansara): in Hinduism, the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth, life, death, and so on.

Sanskrit: Ancient language of India.

Vishnu: See Hinduism.

Themes
Self-Realization .......Throughout the novel, the title character struggles to achieve the self-realization (or spiritual perfection) required to end the cycle of birth and rebirth and to become one with the universal soul. Personal Experience vs Formal Training .......The Buddha teaches a system for attaining enlightenment, or nirvana. His disciples then teach others to follow this system. In Siddhartha, the title character rejects formalized learning, although he does not condemn it, and instead pursues knowledge independently, progressing toward enlightenment through his own experiences. He listens to nature and to the voice within him. However, he does accept advice, such as that given by Vasudeva. Persistence **.......Siddhartha never abandons his quest for self-realization, although he does become deeply discouraged at times. The closest he comes to giving up is the moment he

......."This too," spoke Siddhartha, "I do not care very much about. Let the things be illusions or not, after all I would then also be an illusion, and thus they are always like me. This is what makes them so dear and worthy of veneration for me: they are like me. Therefore, I can love them. And this is now a teaching you will laugh about: love, oh Govinda, seems to me to be the most important thing of all. To thoroughly understand the world, to explain it, to despise it, may be the thing great thinkers do. But I'm only interested in being able to love the world, not to despise it, not to hate it and me, to be able to look upon it and me and all beings with love and admiration and great respect."

......."This I understand," spoke Govinda. "But this very thing was discovered by the exalted one to be a deception. He commands benevolence, clemency, sympathy, tolerance, but not love; he forbade us to tie our heart in love to earthly things."

......."I know it," said Siddhartha; his smile shone golden. "I know it, Govinda. And behold, with this we are right in the middle of the thicket of opinions, in the dispute about words. For I cannot deny, my words of love are in a contradiction, a seeming contradiction with Gotama's words. For this very reason, I distrust in words so much, for I know, this contradiction is a deception. I know that I am in agreement with Gotama. How should he not know love, he, who has discovered all elements of human existence in their transitoriness, in their meaninglessness, and yet loved people thus much, to use a long, laborious life only to help them, to teach them! Even with him, even with your great teacher, I prefer the thing over the words, place more importance on his acts and life than on his speeches, more on the gestures of his hand than his opinions. Not in his speech, not in his thoughts, I see his greatness, only in his actions, in his life." (Part 2, "Govinda")

.......Following are examples of the symbols in Siddhartha and what they represent. Kamala's songbird: Siddhartha. After Siddhartha dreams that it dies, he "dies" to his dissolute life as a pleasure-seeker. Om: Ultimate reality; the essence of the Brahman. For further information see, theglossary entry. River: (1) Transition. Siddhartha crosses the river when he ends his life as a samana to experience the world of the senses. He crosses it again when he ends his life as a materialist and becomes a simple ferryman. (2) Unity of all things; Brahman. (3) Depth of the inner self; atman. Gambling: Samsara. Siddhartha wins, then loses, then wins, then loses. Gambling appears to symbolize the cycle of birth and rebirth. Smile: Nirvana; moksha; enlightenment. Everyone in the novel who has achieved enlightenment, or is destined to achieve it, smiles. Other characters do not. Yellow robes: Self-abnegation. According to Buddhist scripture, the Buddha told monks to wear robes dyed with hues from tree bark, roots, leaves, and other naturally occurring materials. The dyes imparted earth tones, such as yellow and brown ( Vinaya Texts. Mahvagga. Eighth Khandaka, Chapter 10. Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 17. Davids, T.W. Rhys, and Hermann Goldberg, Translators. 14 Sept. 2009 ). The yellow robes thus can be interpreted as symbolizing self-abnegation in that the yellowness represents humility and lowliness, like the dirt or mud beneath the feet.

Foreshadowings
.......Following are examples of foreshadowings in Siddhartha. Apes .......While walking through the forest after leaving the Buddha, "Siddhartha saw a group of apes moving through the high canopy of the forest, high in the branches, and heard their savage, greedy song" (Part 2, "Kamala"), the narrator says. This sentence foreshadows Siddhartha's life in the city when he hearkens to the "song" of Kamaswami, whom the narrator later describes as having "a greedy mouth" (Part 2, "With the Childlike People"). Sheep .......After seeing the apes, "Siddhartha saw a male sheep following a female one and mating with her," the narrator says. This sentence foreshadows Siddhartha's lustful relationship with Kamala (Part 2, "Kamala"). Snakes .......When Govinda comes upon Siddhartha sleeping by the river, he stands guard over him. When Siddhartha awakens, Govinda tells him, "It is not good to be sleeping in such places, where snakes often are and the animals of the forest have their paths" (Part 2, "By the River"). This scene foreshadows the one in which Kamala rests by the river and suffers a fatal snakebite.
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Climax
.......The climax of a novel or another literary work, such as a play, can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events. .......According to the first definition, the climax of Siddhartha occurs in the chapter entitled "By the River," when Siddhartha hears the word Om while standing at the river as he considers drowning himself. This mystical sound heartens him, restoring his will to live. The narrator says, "Om! he spoke to himself: Om! and again he knew about Brahman, knew about the indestructibility of life, knew about all that is divine, which he had forgotten." The moment represents a turning point that eventually leads to his achievement of nirvana. .......According to the second definition, the climax of the novel occurs in the chapter entitled "Om," when Siddhartha and Vasudeva both achieve perfect enlightenment (nirvana or moksha) at the same moment while listening to the river. ......."Do you hear," Vasudeva's gaze asked again.

Symbols

.......Brightly, Vasudeva's smile was shining, floating radiantly over all the wrinkles of his old face, as the Om was floating in the air over all the voices of the river. Brightly his

smile was shining, when he looked at his friend, and brightly the same smile was now starting to shine on Siddhartha's face as well. His wound blossomed, his suffering was shining, his self had flown into the oneness. In this hour, Siddhartha stopped fighting his fate, stopped suffering. On his face flourished the cheerfulness of a knowledge, which is no longer opposed by any will, which knows perfection, which is in agreement with the flow of events, with the current of life, full of sympathy for the pain of others, full of sympathy for the pleasure of others, devoted to the flow, belonging to the oneness. (Part 2, "Om").

silently, the word of words, to speak it silently into himself while inhaling, to speak it silently out of himself while exhaling, with all the concentration of his soul, the forehead surrounded by the glow of the clear-thinking spirit. He already knew to feel Atman in the depths of his being, indestructible, one with the universe. .......Hesse also frequently uses anastrophe, a figure of speech that inverts the normal word order. Here is an example, in which Kamala addresses Siddhartha: "Beautiful are your verses, oh brown Samana, and truly, I'm losing nothing when I'm giving you a kiss for them." (In everyday conversation, a person would say, "Your verses are beautiful.")

Writing Characteristics
.......The writing in Siddhartha is generally formal. In English translations, words such as quoth, O, and behold occur frequently in the dialogue. These words and the overall formality of the writing generally undergird the novel's dignified tone while also helping to suggest an ancient setting. .......Perhaps the most frequently occurring figure of speech in the novel is anaphora, the repetition of a word of phrase at the beginning of successive word groups. Note, for example, the repetitions (highlighted) that occur in the opening paragraph of the novel. The original German wording appears first, then an English translation.

Structure and Dedications

.......Hesse divided the novel into two parts, the first part with four chapters and the second with eight. This structure seems to align itself with the teachings of Buddhism in particular, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The chapter titles are as follows: .......Part 1 1...The Son of the Brahman

Im Schatten
des Hauses, in der Sonne des Fluufers Booten, im Schatten des Salwaldes, im Schatten des Feigenbaumes wuchs Siddhartha auf, der schne Brahmanen, der junge Falke, zusammen mit seinem Freunde, dem Brahmanensohn. Sonne brunte seine lichten Schultern am Fluufer, beim Bade, bei den heiligen Waschungen, beiden heiligen Opfern. Schatten flo in seine schwarzen Augen im Mangohain, bei den Knabenspielen, beim Gesang der Mutter, bei den heiligen Opfern, bei denLehren seines Vaters, des Gelehrten, beim Gesprch der Weisen. Lange schon nahm Siddhartha am Gesprch der Weisen teil, bte sich mit Govinda im Redekampf, bte sich mit Govinda in der Kunst der Betrachtung, im Dienst der Versenkung. Schon verstand er, lautlos das Om zu sprechen, das Wort der Worte, es lautlos in sich hinein zu sprechen mit dem Einhauch, es lautlos aus sich heraus zu sprechen mit dem Aushauch, mit gesammelter Seele, die Stirn umgeben vom Glanz des klardenkenden Geistes. Schon verstand er, im Innern seines Wesens Atman zu wissen, unzerstrbar, eins mit dem Weltall. In the shade of the house, in the sunshine of the riverbank near the boats, in the shade of the Sal-wood forest, in the shade of the fig tree is where Siddhartha grew up, the handsome son of the Brahman, the young falcon, together with his friend Govinda, son of a Brahman. The sun tanned his light shoulders by the banks of the river when bathing, performing the sacred ablutions, the sacred offerings. In the mango grove, shade poured into his black eyes, when playing as a boy, when his mother sang, when the sacred offerings were made, when his father, the scholar, taught him, when the wise men talked. For a long time, Siddhartha had been partaking in the discussions of the wise men, practicing debate with Govinda,practicing with Govinda the art of reflection, the service of meditation. He already knew how to speak the Om

2...With the Samanas

3...Gotama

4...Awakening .......Part 2 1...Kamala

2...With the Childlike People

3...Sansara

4...By the River

5...The Ferryman

6...The Son

7...Om

8...Govinda Hesse dedicated the first part to Romain Rolland (1866-1944), a French playwright and essayist who won the Nobel Prize in 1915. He dedicated the second part to William Gundert, his cousin.

Study Questions and Essay Topics

In the first chapter of the novel, Siddhartha's father tells his son, "When you'll have found blissfulness in the forest, then come back and teach me to be blissful. If you'll find disappointment, then return and let us once again make offerings to the gods together." The novel ends shortly after Siddhartha achieves enlightenment at the river. Nothing is said about whether he plans to return home. If you had written the novel, would you have extended its length with a chapter in which he goes home to see his father? Explain your answer. Write an essay that explains the extent to which Hermann Hesse basedSiddhartha on his own experiences in India. Write an essay that compares and contrasts the Siddhartha of the first chapter with the Siddhartha of the final chapter. Explain what you believe is the main difference between Hinduism and Buddhism. Write an essay that compares and contrasts the Siddhartha with Govinda. Why does Siddhartha choose not to follow the Buddha? Explain the following quotation. The speaker is Siddhartha. "Most people, Kamala, are like a falling leaf, which is blown and is turning around through the air, and wavers, and tumbles to the ground. But others, a few, are like stars: they go on a fixed course, no wind reaches them, in themselves they have their law and their course." Siddhartha and his son are alike in one respect: Each of them rejects his father's lifestyle to go his own way. In what ways are they different?