I absolutely love Zusak's use of color to evoke emotion and images. For example: "His eyes were the color of agony" (312); "even Papa's music was the color of darkness" (88); "iridescent fear" (169); "breakfast colored sun" (399); "her plump figure glowed with worry" (167)
#imagery
"The brute strength of the man's gentleness." (Zusak 33)
"Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness." (Zusak 74)
"...the scratchy feeling of sin" (Zusak 146)
#imagery
"A young man is still a boy, and a boy sometimes has the right to be stubborn." (Zusak 185)
"Even death has a heart." (Zusak 193)
#death
"The only thing truly visible was her voice." (Zusak 294)
"She hauled the words in and breathed them out." (Zusak 303)
#books
"Even the wrinkles around her eyes were joining hands." (Zusak 377)
#imagery
"Books and pages and a happy place." (Zusak 413)
#books
"Don't make me happy. Please, don't fill me up and let me thnk that something good can come of any of htis. Look at my bruises. Look at this graze. Do you see the graze inside me? Do you see it growing before your very eyes, eroding me? I don't want to hope for anything anymore." (Zusak 416)
#despair
There would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing. " (Zusak 417)
"He steps on my heart. He makes me cry" (Zusak 422)
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Book Quotes About Books/Reading
"Thank God for anyone who'll fight for the right to sit down with a good book - and then, the right to sit down with some good friends and that good book." (Amy Smith)
“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” (Jane Austen)
Austen defends novels and reading:
“And what are you reading, Miss – ?”
“Oh! It is only a novel!” replies the young lady, while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame.
“It is...only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language.”
"She hauled the words in and breathed them out." (Zusak 303)
"Books and pages and a happy place." (Zusak 413)
“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” (Jane Austen)
Austen defends novels and reading:
“And what are you reading, Miss – ?”
“Oh! It is only a novel!” replies the young lady, while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame.
“It is...only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language.”
"She hauled the words in and breathed them out." (Zusak 303)
"Books and pages and a happy place." (Zusak 413)
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Book Quotes About Women
"Even the most ordinary women's lives have a touch of magic." (Amy Smith)
Need for change in women's status in society:
Need for change in women's status in society:
“I read it (history) a little as a duty, but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all – it is very tiresome” (Austen)
“Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant. To come with a well-informed mind is to come with an inability of administering to the vanity of others, which a sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.” (Austen)
“Miss Morland, no one can think more highly of the understanding of women than I do. In my opinion, nature has given them so much that they never find it necessary to use more than half.” (Austen)
"Austen gave value to something that was undervalued - the daily lives of women, the things that mattered to them." (Smith)
"Austen gave value to something that was undervalued - the daily lives of women, the things that mattered to them." (Smith)
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Great Quotes: All Roads Lead to Austen: A Year-long Journey with Jane (Smith)
"I love teaching because I love learning, and none of us is a finished product." (301)
#education
"Believable happiness - that's what's in store for Austen's protagonists." (299)
"The landscapes of your life are the people around you." (284)
#people
"True democracy depends on an educated public." (254)
#education
"Thank God for anyone who'll fight for the right to sit down with a good book - and then, the right to sit down with some good friends and that good book." (147)
#books
"Austen gave value to something that was undervalued - the daily lives of women, the things that mattered to them." (104) #women
"Even the most ordinary women's lives have a touch of magic." (78)
#women
"We don't find love when we're looking for it, you know. That's not how it works. Love finds us." (57)
#love
#education
"Believable happiness - that's what's in store for Austen's protagonists." (299)
"The landscapes of your life are the people around you." (284)
#people
"True democracy depends on an educated public." (254)
#education
"Thank God for anyone who'll fight for the right to sit down with a good book - and then, the right to sit down with some good friends and that good book." (147)
#books
"Austen gave value to something that was undervalued - the daily lives of women, the things that mattered to them." (104) #women
"Even the most ordinary women's lives have a touch of magic." (78)
#women
"We don't find love when we're looking for it, you know. That's not how it works. Love finds us." (57)
#love
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Great Quotes:Northanger Abbey (Austen)
"Friendship is
certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love." (Chapter 4)
#friendship
#friendship
“The person, be it
gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably
stupid.” (Henry Tilney, Chapter 14)
#books
#books
“I read it
(history) a little as a duty, but it tells me nothing that does not either vex
or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in every
page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all – it is very
tiresome” (Catherine Morland, chapter 14)
#women
#women
“Where people wish
to attach, they should always be ignorant. To come with a well-informed mind is
to come with an inability of administering to the vanity of others, which a
sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman especially, if she have the
misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.” (Chapter
14)
#women
#women
“Miss Morland, no one can think more highly of the understanding of women than I do. In my opinion, nature has given them so much that they never find it necessary to use more than half.” Henry Tilney (chapter 14)
“And to marry for
money I think the wickedest thing in existence.” (Catherine Morland, chapter 15)
#marriage
#marriage
“Then we
are on very unequal terms, for I understand you perfectly well.”
“Me?
Yes; I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.”
“Bravo!
An excellent satire on modern language.” (Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland,
Chapter 16)
“To be always firm
must be to be often obstinate. When properly to relax is the trial of
judgment.” (Henry Tilney, Chapter 16)
“Modesty, and all
that, is very well in its way, but really a little common honesty is sometimes
quite as becoming. I have no idea of being so overstrained! It is fishing for
compliments.” (Isabella Thorpe, Chapter 18)
"You have both of
you something, to be sure, but it is not a trifle that will support a family
nowadays; and after all that romancers may say, there is no doing without
money.” (Isabella Thorpe, Chapter 18)
“No man is
offended by another man’s admiration of the woman he loves; it is the woman
only who can make it a torment.” (Henry Tilney, Chapter 19)
“But now you love
a hyacinth. So much the better. You have gained a new source of enjoyment, and
it is well to have as many holds upon happiness as possible.” (Henry Tilney,
Chapter 22)
#happiness
#happiness
Austen defends novels and reading:
“And what are you reading, Miss – ?”
“Oh! It is only a novel!” replies the young lady, while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame.
“It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda”; or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language.” (Chapter 5)
#books
“And what are you reading, Miss – ?”
“Oh! It is only a novel!” replies the young lady, while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame.
“It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda”; or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language.” (Chapter 5)
#books
Quotes: Jane Austen's take on her NA characters
Catherine – “her
heart was affectionate; her disposition cheerful and open, without conceit or
affectation of any kind – her manners just removed from the awkwardness and
shyness of a girl; her person pleasing, and, when in good looks, pretty – and
her mind about as ignorant and uninformed as the female mind at seventeen
usually is. “ (Chapter 2)
Mrs Allen – “Mrs
Allen was one of that numerous class of females, whose society can raise no
other emotion than surprise at there being any men in the world who could like
them well enough to marry them. She had neither beauty, genius, accomplishment,
nor manner. The air of a gentlewoman, a great deal of quiet, inactive good
temper, and a trifling turn of mind were all that could account for her being
the choice of a sensible, intelligent man like Mr. Allen.” “Dress was her passion. She had a most
harmless delight in being fine; and our heroine’s entree into life could not
take place till after three or four days had been spent in learning what was
mostly worn, and her chaperone was provided with a dress of the newest
fashion.” (Chapter 2)
Henry Tilney – “The
master of the ceremonies introduced to her a very gentlemanlike young man as a
partner; his name was Tilney. He seemed to be about four or five and twenty,
was rather tall, had a pleasing countenance, a very intelligent and lively eye,
and, if not quite handsome, was very near it. His address was good, and
Catherine felt herself in high luck.” (Chapter 3)
Mrs. Allen and Mrs
Thorpe – “they proceeded to make inquiries and give intelligence as to their
families, sisters, and cousins, talking both together, far more ready to give
than to receive information, and each hearing very little of what the other
said.” “(Mrs. Allen) was never satisfied with the day
unless she spent the chief of it by the side of Mrs. Thorpe, in what they
called conversation, but in which there was scarcely ever any exchange of
opinion, and not often any resemblance of subject, for Mrs. Thorpe talked
chiefly of her children, and Mrs. Allen of her gowns.” (Chapter 5)
Miss Tilney – “Miss
Tilney had a good figure, a pretty face, and a very agreeable countenance; and
her air, though it had not all the decided pretension, the resolute stylishness
of Miss Thorpe’s, had more real elegance. Her manners showed good sense and
good breeding; they were neither shy nor affectedly open; and she seemed
capable of being young, attractive, and at a ball without wanting to fix the
attention of every man near her, and without exaggerated feelings of ecstatic
delight or inconceivable vexation on every little trifling occurrence.”
(Chapter 8)
John Thorpe –
“Catherine listened with astonishment; she knew not how to reconcile two such
very different accounts of the same thing; for she had not been brought up to
understand the propensities of a rattle, nor to know to how many idle
assertions and impudent falsehoods the excess of vanity will lead…(her family)
were not in the habit therefore of telling lies to increase their importance,
or of asserting at one moment what they would contradict the next. “By (John Thorpe) him the whole matter
seemed entirely forgotten; and all the rest of his conversation, or rather
talk, began and ended with himself and his own concerns. He told her of horses
which he had bought for a trifle and sold for incredible sums; of racing
matches, in which his judgment had infallibly foretold the winner; of shooting
parties, in which he had killed more birds (though without having one good
shot) than all his companions together; and described to her some famous day’s
sport, with the fox-hounds, in which his foresight and skill in directing the
dogs had repaired the mistakes of the most experienced huntsman, and in which
the boldness of his riding, though it had never endangered his own life for a
moment, had been constantly leading others into difficulties, which he calmly
concluded had broken the necks of many.” (Chapter 9)
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Book Thoughts: Important Letters in Northanger Abbey
Toward the end of Northanger Abbey Catherine receives two letters. The first is from her brother. James
Moreland has more than one motivation in writing to his sister, Catherine,
about his engagement with Isabella Thorpe.
His stated motive is that it is his duty to tell Catherine that he and
Isabella are no longer engaged. His
implicit motives are to ensure Catherine does not blame him for this outcome
and to gain relief for his wounded feelings by confiding in a loving
sister. His letter shows that not only
was he a poor judge of character when he chose to become engaged to the
gold-digging Isabella, he was also a poor judge of character in continuing the
engagement. Although he had reason to
suspect Isabella not be in love with him he persisted in believing her lies to
him…”I am ashamed to admit how long I bore with it”. Moreland’s letter indicates he will continue
to be a poor judge of character as he speaks of her brother John: his “honest
heart would feel so much”.
He also indulges in dramatizing his self-pity by using phrases such as “never
to see [Bath] again” and “She has made me miserable for ever!” and again in “I
can never again expect to know such another woman”. On a more positive note, his letter also
shows affection for his sister and his desire for her to give her heart wisely
and avoid the heartache he is feeling.
Catherine's second letter is from Isabella Thorpe. The covertly stated motive in her
letter to Catherine is to get James back.
She reveals a shallow character that is willing to lie as a means to
achieve an end as she does not tell Catherine the engagement has been broken
but indicates instead that she is afraid “a misunderstanding” has occurred. This indicates she does
not discern reality but is living in a fictionalized world of her
creation. Her vanity is shown in her
talk of fashion and the fact that she is wearing purple, since it’s James’
favorite color, even though she looks awful in purple. Like James, she uses absolute phrases such as
“I particularly abhor” and “greatest coxcomb” and “amazingly disagreeable” to
dramatize her disappointment over Frederick Tilney. As always, she speaks of herself as she wants
to be thought of, not as she really is, when she uses phrases such as, “I knew
the fickle sex too well”.
Book Thoughts: Northanger Abbey: A Parody of a Gothic Novel
On the
way to Northanger Abbey, Henry Tilney satirizes Catherine’s expectations by
telling her a story in the Gothic tradition of what she finds at the
Abbey. Generally speaking, the plot details of a Gothic
novel include mysterious circumstances, stormy weather, wind, darkness, nightly
noises and a lack of sleep for the heroine, and these details are matched with
Catherine’s arrival at the Abbey. As she
is first removing her coat in her room prior to dinner, she notices a chest in
the corner. Since her imagination is
filled with mysterious circumstances, she wraps the chest in mystery and
determines to open it. She struggles,
but with a burst of adrenalin opens the chest and finds…a blanket! Eleanor enters Catherine’s room at this
moment and remarks that the chest is a handy storage space. Catherine feels shame for having given way to
her imagination and resolves not to do so again.
However,
by the time Catherine goes to bed the night has become stormy and windy. She resolves to not give in to her
imagination, so she does not build up her fire.
By candlelight she examines an ebony cabinet (like one Henry described
in his story that afternoon). She gives
in to her imaginative ideas and decides to search the cabinet. After struggling with locks she is thrilled
to discover a roll of paper. However, her candle goes out and she is left in
darkness. She lies in bed in the dark, hearing the door lock seem to move,
perceiving the bed curtains to move on their own, and hearing moans in the hall
which prevents her sleeping until about 3 in the morning. When she wakes in daylight she eagerly reads
through the roll of paper to discover…a washing bill! Once again she feels humbled and remorseful
and wants to act more sensibly.
The
Gothic influence continues to act on Catherine, despite her resolution to not
give way to her imagination, in her impressions of General Tilney. The General is generally polite to Catherine
but it seems Eleanor is afraid of making him impatient and he sometimes acts
and speaks abruptly. She notices the General avoids his late wife’s favorite walks,
her pictures, and her room. Catherine
decides he must be a cruel man who did not love his wife, and perhaps he caused
or hastened her death. She realizes her
surmises are bold but continues to think this way. After General Tilney twice prevents her from
going into his wife’s room she determines to probe its secrets. She sneaks to the room when everyone else is
occupied, thinking she will find a dark, dungeon-room and some kind of journal
telling of the General’s cruelty. What
she finds is…a normal bedroom! Realizing
the enormity of her erroneous thinking, she slips away, only to be found by
Henry Tilney who perceives what she has been thinking. He admonishes her gently and reasonably. Catherine again feels remorse, shame,misery,
and that her “eyes have been opened to her own folly”.
Her fiction reading is not in line with her
reality and she decides that Gothic novels must not be a comparison for English
people, although she might be able to draw comparisons in other countries. It is interesting to note
that she continues to believe the General is not “perfectly amiable” and further events in the story prove her to be correct this time.
Book Thoughts: Male Characters is Northanger Abbey
Henry Tilney is
characterized by his perception, his good temper, his use of wit and
word-usage, and a somewhat cynical viewpoint.
His perception is shown through his ability to quickly discern the
difference between Catherine’s actual good qualities and Isabella’s often
talked-of good qualities. Because he is
both intelligent and perceptive he is able to see both meanings in a conversation
between his sister, Eleanor, and Catherine when Eleanor puts a definite,
although mistaken, political meaning to Catherine’s comment about a book. In the same conversation
he shows he is well-read and speaks easily on several subjects. He also likes to instruct and while Catherine
cannot participate in a conversation about drawing, Austen breaks into the
narrative to tell us that there is nothing men like so well as a woman who
knows nothing. That way the man can
instruct her. :) Also, in
chapter 22 Tilney tells Catherine that a “teachablenss of disposition in a
young lady is a great thing”. His good-temper is shown in his
affectionate treatment of his sister and in his gentle admonition to Catherine
when she imagines his father, General Tilney, was abusive to his late
wife. An example of his fascination with
word-usage can be found on page 194 when Catherine comments that Isabella had
promised faithfully to write to her and Tilney wittily talks about the
puzzlement of a faithful promise. Tilney
is classified as a gentleman, as exemplified by his ability to dance, and while
dancing to converse to the interest of his partner, by his being well-read, and
by the fact that he does not brag about himself. Although Tilney is shown in a good light
overall, Austen may be satirizing a man’s susceptibility to being looked-up to by a woman (his initial
attraction to Catherine) and his tendency to try to form Catherine’s (and
Eleanor’s) ideas and opinions with his instruction.
I first
characterized Catherine’s brother, James Moreland, as being rather like
Catherine, good-tempered and affectionate and showing a caring attitude toward
his sister. This is shown in his
treatment of his sister and her value of his character. As the story progresses, however, James is
shown repeatedly to be a poor judge of character. First, his best friend is John Thorpe. James realized John talks a lot without
always making sense, but he does not ever seem to realize that John lies, is
greedy, and uses people. Even toward the
end of the story he refers to John in a letter as having “a good, honest heart”. He also chooses to become
engaged to Isabella, not seeing her for the self-centered, grasping person she is, even when she makes it obvious she wants a man with more money. When he and Isabella part ways he dramatizes
the pain of the break-up in a letter to his sister in which he uses phrases
like “miserable for ever!"
I believe Austen is satirizing young men who believe they know more than
they really do and think of themselves more than others under a guise of
affectionate, mild-manners.
John Thorpe
shines in his role as a royal bore. Austen
does not give him any good qualities, although he has a very high opinion of
himself. He is characterized by bragging,
swearing in front of a lady (Catherine), lying, talking all the time without
saying anything worth listening to, not being well-read, and an aggressive
attitude. His lack of reading is
humorously shown in an early conversation with Catherine when he tells her he
would never read Udolpho because he
would only read a novel by Mrs. Radcliffe. When he takes Catherine for a drive he brags
constantly about his horses, shows a lack of respect for her by swearing
numerous times in front of her, and bores her with his constant talk that one
minute takes one opinion and the next minute swerves to another. He speaks disrespectfully both about his
family and to his family, as when he says he did not come to Bath to take his
sister for a drive. He lies twice to
General Tilney, first stating that Catherine’s family is rich (a form of
bragging since he wants to marry Catherine) and the second time by stating that
Catherine’s family is poor. In John
Thorpe’s character Austen is satirizing men who think they are amazing just
because they are male, even though they do not possess intelligence, sense, or amiability.
Book Thoughts: Female Stereotypes in Northanger Abbey
I deeply enjoy Austen’s characterization in her
novels. Of the three women - Mrs.
Thorpe, Mrs. Allen, and Isabella Thorpe - we know the least about Mrs.
Thorpe. However, we know
enough to see that Austen is poking fun at the stereotypical gossip of her day
(and ours too, for that matter). Close behind her main love of gossip are her pride in her children (and
herself) and her concern with fashion. We can see Austen’s use of satire as she converses
with Mrs. Allen and with her daughter, Isabella. Large portions of her conversation deals with the
current gossip in Bath. When she talks with Mrs. Allen she also often talks of
her children, and particularly of Isabella. This shows a lack of consideration for feelings other
than her own since Mrs. Allen does not have children and so Mrs. Thorpe has a
kind of one-upmanship in this area. In chapter four we are told that
both Mrs. Allen and Mrs.Thorpe talk to each without hearing a great deal of
what the other one says. She believes Isabella is the most beautiful girl
around and encourages her to value wealth in a suitor. She and Mrs. Allen frequently discuss items of
fashion, another of Mrs. Thorpe’s interests, although she doesn’t have as much money
to spend on clothes as Mrs. Allen.
While we read more often of Mrs. Allen she does
not make a huge impression on the reader. I
think of her as a vague character. She
does not ever express strong emotion; and she is the most animated when she is
talking about clothes. Mrs.
Allen’s character is stereotypically fashion-oriented. She is a kind person, in a vague sort of way, but nearly
the only subject she shows animation about is related to fashion and
shopping. We see Austen’s use
of satire several times through the character of Mrs. Allen. One example is in chapter 3 when Mrs. Allen is talking
to Henry Tilney of how easy it is to shop in Bath – an item of extreme
importance to her. She states,
“One can step outdoors and get a thing in five minutes.” To her, this is one of the main attractions of Bath
and she continues to talk of fabric and fashion to Henry at the dance, even
though this seems an odd subject to pursue with a young man she has just
met. However, it does not seem
odd to Mrs. Allen because her world revolves around fashion, and like Mrs.
Thorpe, tends to only focus on what she is interested in herself. When Mrs. Thorpe talks to her about the Thorpe
children Mrs. Allen responds by talking about clothes. Again, in chapter 12 we see her ability to focus only
on clothes. Catherine is
apologizing to Henry Tilney over missing their appointed walk and appeals to Mrs.
Allen with much emotion to corroborate her statement. Mrs. Allen’s reply is, “My dear, you tumble my gown."
Isabella Thorpe’s character is stereotypical of a
totally self-absorbed, shallow person out to get all she can…a
gold-digger. In her many conversations
with Catherine she does not give any original opinions, but rather re-states
what others have said. For
instance, when they are talking about books in chapter 6, although Isabella can
rattle off a list of titles she has written down, she cannot tell Catherine
anything about them except that Miss Andrews has read them. In a nice moment of satire, Austen has Isabella play
with enjoyment the game Commerce, a game with stakes (representing her
love of money) and with bartering (representing her flirting with several
men). Isabella displays her
shallowness in her treatment of Catherine in chapter 13 when Isabella, James
and John plan to drive to Clifton and Catherine declines to go with them
because of a previous engagement. Although Catherine is firm in her inclination to do what she perceives
is right, Isabella treats her with coldness for not doing whatever Isabella
wants. We also see shallowness
of character in her treatment of John Thorpe when she discovers he has less
money than she thought. She
immediately begins flirting with the elder brother of Henry Tilney and
eventually sends James Thorpe away. Her conversation focuses mainly on herself and the local gossip. Isabella’s character satirizes the young women of that
time who are only interested in marrying for money and security and do not love
anyone other than themselves.
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