Essay 2
1 Literal borrowing is one of the issues that are discussed by people in the literal world on a daily basis. Authors borrow ideas for their literal works to improve on the quality of work presented. Borrowing of intellectual material can be good or bad. Good borrowing of literal material is an act that almost all researchers perform. It is perfectly genuine if done according to the standard guidelines and the act is documented correctly (Yu and Peter 45). Bad literal borrowing also known as plagiarism is a wrong act since the author copies the works of another author to a wide extent. They assert that it belongs to the author copying. Many authors and artists use similar themes to produce their own works. These ideas are borrowed because of many reasons. The main point of borrowing another person’s idea is to enhance their own works to make them more suitable for the audience (Yu and Peter 48). The second reason why artists borrow from one another is caused and enhanced by the timing of the production and season. An example is where a season calls for a specific theme for example, a season for love. This makes artists stick and create their works of art based on the nature and season at hand.2 In the Awakening by Kate Chopin is a courageous fictional book based on the time produced. The main character was Edna Pontellier who is a contentious character. The plot brought out by the author is the expectations and roles of the female gender during the nineteenth century era. A shocking act by this character that is appalling is the fact that she denies her role as a wife to her husband and a mother to her own children. Kate Chopin gradually displays this kind of rejection (Durrell, Lawrence and James 200). The major theme of the novel is the responsibilities of a woman in society as a motherly figure to her children. The main character Edna fights in opposition to the natural and societal structures required from a mother, who forces her to be described as a companion of Leonce Pontellier and a mother to Etienne and Raoul Pontellier. These obligations deny her right of her being an individual that is self-defined and independent. The author drives her argument by focusing on two other female individuals. Mademoiselle Reisz and Adele Ratignolle to show the different paths taken by these women in their paths of life. These two women are individuals that male individuals in the novel compare and contrast them to the main character. This is done in the way they relate to the men at home and other places in society (Durrell, Lawrence and James 203). The other two female characters are contrasted in the way the care for their family at home and how they take care of their children. The main character Edna fails to see how important these two role models are to the society as compared to her. Edna begins to realize that her chosen path of that is the life of freedom and independence, which she craves, is not in line with the normal laws of nature. Her idea of individualism is opposite to what the society expects from her (Durrell, Lawrence and James 205). From the main plot of the book, the main character seeks a life with fewer responsibilities as compared to the other female individuals during the nineteenth century. During this point in time, women were considered as the main pillar of the home where they were expected to take care of children and her husband. The fate of the main character because of her character being brought out as a creature that is male defined results to a state of misery which results to her freedom through suicide. Based the novel, women are defined either by men and live a secluded life alone, or their ability to be good wives and mothers to their children. This was a simple fact in the nineteenth century where a female individual could be a family person or live as a secluded person in the society. The other female character Adele Ratignolle is considered as the essence of a good wife from the male perspective in society. She is defined as the mother woman by the author of the novel. The term mother-women are female individuals who adored their infant children and adored their husbands. These women saw this practice as a privilege that was holy, and that was dedicated to them alone. Based on the main plot of the novel, the male characters set their goals on providing for the family while the role of the woman was to take care of the husband and children. Women who were ambitious and self-centered were often looked down upon in the male dominated society (Durrell, Lawrence and James 208). These women were often depressed and faced many challenges in the society that often led to suicide. In contrast to Edna, Adele who is a pianist that possesses a wonderful talent in the art produces and performs her music for the sake of her offspring. She considers this act as a means of making the home environment more attractive and welcoming. Since Adele is pregnant, she keeps on bringing attention to her pregnancy showing her motherly nature, which is caring that the main character Edna finds inappropriate. Adele is an individual who is proud of her title as a mother. The author tries to show the audience that the state of motherhood is what she is destined for. Megan Kplong also borrows this idea and theme in her novel by showing the position of a woman in the society. The author shows how the main character Edna is dissatisfied with the idea of a mother-woman for her existence. She wants to live a life that is not defined by any responsibilities. Edna sympathizes for Adele for her defined character of being a mother-woman. According to the author, Adele is a woman that represents all the characteristics of a true woman as described by the domesticity cult. The four values brought out are purity, domesticity, piety and submissiveness (Durrell, Lawrence and James 210). These four attributes when put together, showed that a person was a mother, sister, daughter and a wife. Other authors also borrowed the same idea in order to show the position and true nature of a woman. Many writers have used this idea and style to try to show how a woman in society should live, and how she should behave and take care of her offspring. Many authors have used the same facts and ideas similar to those of Kate choplin They explain how the public in the male dominated community of the nineteenth century viewed women. The designation of self in relation to others is the key factor that restricts Edna from allowing herself in following the example and character brought about by Adele. Edna tries to explain her position regarding loss of self-identity to Adele who in turn fails to see her point for the pursuit of individualism. In the first encounter with another character mademoiselle Resiz, she is shown dragging a chair from the room and back inside as a protest to a crying baby in the room (Durrell, Lawrence and James 212). The theme of this novel is similar to that of Food Love and Death in Normans by Megan Kplong who brings out the same plot and theme of the role of a woman in the society. This novel shows how a woman should feel and treat her husband and children and how the society sees them.3 Consequently, Durrell’s “Oil for the Saint” is a novel that has focused on the idea of identity. This can seem like an idea that is borrowed from Kate Choplins the awakening. The two novels are interconnected by having the same plot. In both, there is a character that is not socially accepted by the society since these individuals are different from the rest. The main difference between the two novels is that one is segregated because of personal choice while the other is not optional. The works of Durelle contain majestic features (Chopin, Kate and Warner 145). His works pose challenges to gender and sexual categories as well as empires and political states. The works of durrel cover perceptions of Egypt, India and Britain. The author arrived to these states as a foreigner and analyzed the states with an outsider’s eye without discrimination. Durelle was a subject who was born in India who could not refer to Britain as his maternal home. During his stay in India Durelle homelessness and over eroticizing, the foreign people became a problem since both terms describe a stable home and a legitimate national identity. Durelle described the terms exotic and erotic spirit and sense of a particular place. Durelle seems to talk to two audiences who are diverse in nature. He is talking to the local community also considered exotic and to the foreign community. Since the foreign community seems to settle well in another country, they are considered local (Chopin, Kate and Warner 148). The novel is compelling and changes both the position of both audiences. Since foreigners are invading another land, they are changed from the aggressive type into a more tolerant party since they are in a foreign country. The audience of the locals are also swayed since the feel that persons born in the country disregarding nationality have a residential right to be there.4 Propaganda is a mode of communication with the main aim of manipulating the attitude of the audience towards a particular side of the argument. Statements with propaganda can be partially true or false. Propaganda in poetry is the most effective way of presenting information to the general audience. Propaganda in poetry can be utilized as a method of ideological warfare. Good poetry can be propaganda (Carlson and David 78). Many poems and other poetic works of art have been propaganda including many by the renowned poet T.S Eliot. This point does not mean all poetry that is based on propaganda is good for example, the Triumph of the Will that idolizes a German dictator. This factor shows that some propaganda in poetry can be healthy, but when misused or overused they become inappropriate and harmful to some parties. No art especially literary art can subsist in a vacuum. Most of the interesting poetry have some aspect of political critique and display some aspects of propaganda (Carlson and David 80). Propaganda in poetry is what makes it more interesting to the general audience. Lack of propaganda leaves poetry flat and only suited for the elite who look for the deeper meaning and underlying facts. An example of where propaganda is not used to goo artistic use is its use in justifying the holocaust. Poetry should not remain aesthetic since it only deals with beauty and taste. Poetry should have an edge in order to captivate and capture the attention of the audience. Since poetry is connected to sympathy and deep, thought there is no need for it to be directed. Poetry needs propaganda to add some edge into the creative perspective of the poem. Propaganda in poetry shows the level of creativity an artist possesses and his ability to entertain the audience .aesthetic Poetry is flat and lacks the aspect of captivating the audience (Carlson and David 83). Propaganda in poetry also shows the level at which the author is in his ability to persuade the audience into believing that the facts provided are true. Propaganda in poetry should remain as the way it is so as to suit all audiences. The main point of poetry is to drive the main point across and excite the main audience. Without propaganda, some of the audiences will be blacklisted from the art.
Works cited
Carlson, David R. John Gower, Poetry and Propaganda in Fourteenth-Century England. Cambridge [England: D.S. Brewer, 2012. Print.
Chopin, Kate, and Warner Berthoff. The Awakening and Selected Short Stories. New York:
Barnes & Noble, 2003. Print.
Durrell, Lawrence, and James Gifford. Panic Spring: A Romance. Victoria, B.C: ELS Editions,
2008. Print.
Giordano Bruno, and Aesthetic Poetry (dodo Press). Gardners Books, 2007. Print.
Yu, Peter K. Copyright and Related Rights. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Praeger, 2007. Print.
