Importance of Brackets in To The Lighthouse
[Here Mr. Carmichael, who was reading Virgil, blew out his candle. It was midnight.] [Mr. Ramsay, stumbling along a passage one dark morning, stretched his arms out, but Mrs. Ramsay having died rather suddenly the night before, his arms, though stretched out, remained empty.] [Prue Ramsay died that summer in some illness connected with childbirth, which was indeed a tragedy, people said, everything, they said, had promised so well.] [A shell exploded. Twenty or thirty young men were blown up in France, among them Andrew Ramsay, whose death, mercifully, was instantaneous.] [Mr. Carmichael brought out a volume of poems that spring, which had an unexpected success. The war, people said, had revived their interest in poetry.]
The text from To The Lighthouse, quoted above, is the sum total of all bracketed asides that appear in the novel's second section, "Time Passes." The compelling question is, why were brackets chosen to emphasize this particular information, and how do the bracketed sections fit in with the rest of the section?
Obviously, one purpose of the brackets is to convey personal information about the family in the midst of a narrative dedicated to the empty summer house. Death of a family member occurs in three out of the five sets. This is an effective plot device to fast-forward time and to age the surviving characters. But Woolf's text is not heavily burdened with plot devices, generally. Her prose is whittled to its bare essence. So the brackets must mean more than self-conscious literary trickery.
The first and fifth bracket sets are like bookends, both about Mr. Carmichael. In the first, the information about him blo...
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...e powerful when read in the midst of the rest of the text, the story of a dying family, a deteriorating house, a falling away of the light from the lighthouse. They also remind the reader that life and death exist beyond places of sentimental houses. The brackets themselves add an emphasis beyond what is possible with a parentheses. Are they as strong as a voice-over would be in a movie? I don't think so. Rather, I imagine them as dialogue, spoken in the voices of children, neighbors, and documents, background noise that add to the overall effect but are only a tiny portion of the text that surrounds them.
Works Cited and Consulted
Latham, Jacqueline, ed. Critics on Virginia Woolf. Florida: University of Miami Press, 1970.
Woolf, Virginia. To the Lighthouse. Introduction by D.M. Hoare, Ph.D. London: J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1960
Throughout the novel, the reader is presented with many different symbols. The symbols are clearly seen by Holden's constant repetition of their importance. The symbols are so important and their symbolism is directly related to the major themes of the novel.
The knight begs the woman that just saved his life to let him be. Is this the chivalry that knights were supposed to follow? I believe that Chaucer was trying to show, thought the knights selfishness, that there was no true chivalry.
When the play sets in action, John has had a past affair with his servant, Abigail Williams. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor, is very forgiving of his sin, but John has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of ruining his good name and reputation. The affair between John and Abigail causes the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. After the affair, Abigail becomes horribly jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor realizes there is only one way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to admit to adultery which is considered a sin. . Also in the beginning R...
In Medieval Times knights are the protectors. The knights fight for, and obey the king. And for that reason Knight’s are in high rankings in the class system, compared to the peasants and merchants. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, people are going on the pilgrimage to Canterbury for Salvation. The knight is Chaucer’s ideal of a night should be. The knight is a highly principled killer who travels the world and fights for what he believes in with unequivocal bravery and valor.
Elizabeth still doubts her husband because she feels that if it were any other girl that he had to go testify against, he would not hesitate. But, because it’s Abigail, he feels he has to think harder on making a decision. John Proctor feels he is now justified in becoming angry because for the seven months since his confession, he has done nothing but try to please his wife, and she still approaches him with suspicion and accusations.
Carver develops the narrator’s tone chronologically from disdainful to cautious to introspective by deepening his relationship with Robert to express the false perception of strangers that assumptions can produce.
To further complicate matters, John decides not to reveal to the court that Abigail has admitted to him in private that they were just sporting in the woods. Abigail spreads additional accusations and false rumors about her neighbors. These accusations have no basis in truth and their only purpose is for Abigail’s own benefit. Furthermore, Abigail is jealous of John’s wife, Elizabeth, and she schemes to get rid of her in order to take her place. Abigail’s plot is to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft.
2. “Though dusk had established itself, Dick, doing a steady sixty miles an hour, was still driving without headlights, but then the road was straight, the country was as level as a lake, and other cars were seldom sighted.” (pages 56 and 57, paragraph 5)
Abrams, M. H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 1. Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, & Co. 1993. 200-254.
Woolf’s pathos to begin the story paints a picture in readers minds of what the
When we are first introduced to John Proctor, we learn of his affair with Abigail Williams, Abigail's involvement in the accusations of witchcraft, and of John's desire to do what is honorable. Because of John's desire to do what is honorable, he ends the affair with Abigail and begins to attempt to repair his broken marriage. Abigail's jealously of Elizabeth and desire to be John's wife leads to Elizabeth's name being mentioned in court. Abigail's mention of Elizabeth's name in court reveals her attempt to get rid of Elizabeth for she knows Elizabeth will claim innocence and be hung if she does. When word reaches the Proctors, about Abigail's mentioning of Elizabeth's name in court, John concludes that Abigail's motive is to kill Elizabeth. Knowing this information, John is faced with his first difficult decision, save his reputation, keep his affair a secret, and let the accusations continue, or ruin his reputation, tell of his affair, and end the girls' accusations. Not wanting to ruin his good name, John decides to hold his tongue and because of this the trials continue and more accusations are made, some of which lead to his wife's and his friends arrest for witchcraft and bewitchment.
In his story titled "The Canterbury Tales" Chaucer seems to truly admire some of the pilgrims while displaying disdain and sarcasm towards the others. The pilgrims that he most seems to admire are the Knight, the Oxford Clerk and the Parson. The knight he seems to admire based on his notation of all the campaigns in which the knight has participated in service to just causes. Chaucer makes mention of the knight 's worthiness, wisdom and humility "Though so illustrious, he was very wise And bore himself as meekly as a maid." (67,68 Chaucer). It seems as though Chaucer admires the knights great ability both in warfare and practicing what he preaches. This can be seen in his description of all those he seems to admire in the tale. The Oxford Clerk
Abrams, MH, et al. Eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1993.
Work Cited Woolf, Virginia. A. Mrs. Dalloway. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc., 2005.
Mrs. Ramsay provides her husband with support and sympathy. Mr. Ramsay comes to Mrs. Ramsay when he wants sympathy or “to be assured of his genius”. Mrs. Ramsay ha...