The Red And The Black Literature Reviews Example

#1. Julien Sorel adored Napoleon, he wanted to become something like the great leader. During this time, his love was divided, he wanted to follow the footsteps of his hero, Napoleon, yet he wanted to also be a prominent figure in society. Being only a carpenter’s son, his status was not much. During this time, the only way you could gain power was to be part of the church. This was because the Catholic church was just restored in France at the time. In training to become a priest, he took another job, as the tutor of the mayor’s children. However, Julien had an affair with the mayor’s wife, because he thought that this was something that he was supposed to do. They mayor found out about the affair, but the mayor’s wife convinced him otherwise. Later on, Julien was sent to a monastery. His life reflects the time in France right after the Bourbon restoration. The church just regained power, and therefore priests were much greater figures than soldiers. His love of becoming a soldier gets lost in his obsession to become like Napoleon. Instead of being able to realize his dreams, he finds that society has no place for him. This was reflective of the rising middle class, and the failure of the restoration. Another character that is reflective of France is Mme. de Rênal. She represents hope and purity, even though she cheated on her husband. She had a true love for Julien, even after he tried to kill her. This is representative of the people during the time, who were struggling post-revolution. She is willing to sacrifice everything for her love, and she fought for Julien, even refusing to testify against him. She also dies of love right after his execution, which shows her dedication.
#2. Julien was egoistic, materialistic and selfish. However, his tender and kind-hearted side came out because of Mme. de Rênal, who showed somewhat a maternal and deep love for him, even though it was also intimate. This does not last, though. Julien is seen to care more about himself and his ambitions. He became a person who was trapped in his own desires, by pursuing happiness through passion and intrigue. Stendhal, through his character of Julien, builds an anti-hero who criticized the Catholic Church. This was because, during the time, the Catholic Church was a dominant power in France. Although Julien did not really want to become a priest, it was almost as if being a priest was his only way into acceptance. He uses Julien’s experiences, the love affairs, the hypocrisies and all of the scandalous acts he had gotten himself involved in as a satire for the French government during the time. Julien manages to get away from all the rumors and his negative image by running away. Instead of telling the truth and facing his problems in his first affair, he chooses to hide away in a monastery where he faced more negative backlash. Not learning from his first affair, his second affair resulted in another tragedy. His past caught up with him when he tried to marry his new love interest. His jealous old lover, who still truly did want to be with him, reminded him of what he had done. This was Stendhal’s way of showing the flaws in absolute monarchies, how they do have their secrets, and that these secrets will soon go public. Instead of creating a character that everyone would love, Stendhal does not hide behind his characters. He creates them so that the readers and the audience can judge or even mock them.
#3. The role of the “effect of reading” given by Standhal is seen in the relationships that were present in the book. It was one of the first novels that put an emphasis on the psychological impact as well as the observations of people, especially with emotions relating to love, passion and intrigue. There were different types of love seen in the novel, passion, vanity, physical love and materialistic love. Instead of falling in love whimsically and sweeping the women off their feet, Julien is seen to have some sort of a formula with whom he falls in love with. He sees the people as his way into becoming wealthier. So, instead of falling in love with them directly, he falls in love with their money or their status. The high social statuses of the women that he had “fallen in love with” were seen to flatter his ego, making him want them more. Therefore, he did not fall in love blindly with a person. He was seen to fall in love blindly with his desires, or his pursuit of a higher social status. This is seen in how the cognitive effect of reading has an effect, depending on the reading level of an individual. The person reading analyzes the task given and will be able to reveal the cognitive locus. Some individuals will focus on the rise and the fall of the character, while others will focus on the events. However, Stendhal does something different with his work, giving his character a bit more of a complex personality. Unlike the usual love story, this one is not about the romance of a boy and a girl, although outwardly it might seem as if it is. The love seen in Stendhal’s book is about a boy falling in love with the idea of power and a better social status.