man of feeling

Mackenzie did a marvelous job in depicting that men are just as emotional as women are. Many guys find it difficult to show their emotions and express how they feel; but that doesn't mean that they don't have a gut feeling about situations. While reading Man Of Feeling, I felt as though I was a part of each storyline presented through each section. Mackenzie's words drew me and brought out all of my emotions [whether I wanted the author to or not.] I believe that our feelings determine our choices in life; just like Harley's did. He was the type of character who followed his heart rather than his mind which can fill a person's head with negativity.

Tom Jones

Although Tom Jones was a lengthy read, I greatly enjoyed the storyline and learning about each characters flaws and values. What I enjoyed most was the ways in which the author presented characters of both the upper and lower class.Characters of both social classes were depicted as thieves and liars. Those of the upper class who obtain wealth yearn for more money and power; and those who suffer in the lower class will do anything to help their family get by. Neither class was placed on a pedestal; but Fielding characterizes those of the upper class as being constantly greedy for more of what they already have. Personally, I felt that Fielding sympathized more with the lower class by creating a character like Black George. Although his actions upon stealing five hundred pounds fromTom is wrong; we can't help but be sympathetic towards him because we are introduced to the poverty he and his family are living in. The more Fielding describes Black George; the reader can't help but be forgiving towards him. But when a character like Bliful is introduced to the readers, and is known to be cruel towards Tom, I couldn't help but hate him. The fact that Bliful ponders over how much money Allworthy will leave behind for him, made me dislike him even more. I couldnt stand almost all the characters of the upper class in this novel, because instead of helping those in need; they only wanted to help themselves by gaining wealth.

Evelina

I absolutely love Burney's "Evelina". It reminds me of a soap opera; there's always something dramatic going on, there's a love story, and there are characters that always go at it with eachother. I can't help but laugh at the relationship between Madam Duval and the Captain. They're both so cruel to eachother; yet for some odd reason I can't help but like Duval and hate the Captain. The fact that he's so threatening and disrespectful to women disgusts me. True, there are times in which Duval deserves to be yelled at and put in her place; but I don't think either of these characters have to degrade themselves by spitting at eachother and threatening to hit the other. Lord Orville is my favorite character. Although he doesn't really say much in the book, his actions and his character in and of itself to me represent the most perfect man! ... Sadly there is no such thing as the perfect man [nor the perfect woman] but if there was such a thing, Lord Orville would be it! He reminds me of Mcdreamy from Grey's Anatomy. As for Evelina, i greatly disagree with those who say she's a snob. Just because she's embarrassed by her cousins when being accompanied withthem in the theater doesn't make her a snob. I'm pretty sure everyone's felt that way before when someone in their familyhas done something embarrassing; I know I have. And just because she refused to dance with a man of the upper class at her first party,doesn't make her a snob either! Maybe we keep thinking about how disrespectful it was because of the time period the novel takes place in. Nowadays if a creepy looking guy asks you to dance at a club, you pretend you don't speak English or that you have a boyfriend! Overall, this has definitely been my favorite book we have read this semester.

Chosen People

I realized I never got a chance to comment on Robinson Crusoe, so in order not to totally bore you all, I found a way to relate it to “The Mysteries of Udolpho” because of a particular passage that I found very interesting.
On page 47-48, Emily has a spiritual moment while she is sitting by herself, staring out at the landscape before her. The author describes her ascension to a higher plane of devotion in this moment. “Such devotion as can, perhaps, only be experienced, when the mind, rescued, for a moment, from the humbleness of earthly considerations, aspires to contemplate His power in the sublimity of His works, and His goodness in the infinity of His blessings.”
This makes me think about how Defoe made it so that Crusoe’s shipwreck became a spiritually purging experience. The shipwreck and all of the struggles that Crusoe went through were punishment for his disrespect of his parents. But through his repentance and his remembrance of God throughout his island-stranded life, he was able to redeem himself. God “chose” Crusoe to be freed from material considerations by putting him on the island, enabling him to reach this higher state of worship. All Crusoe could think about that whole time was God’s might, will, bounty and beneficence as he struggled to survive.
It’s as if Defoe is making it so that Crusoe is the head of a new kind of chosen people. I don’t have much experience with the Biblical versions of the stories I know from the Quran (although I’ve been told that the narrations are very similar) but it sort of reminds me of the people of the prophets, especially those of Moses who suffered on Earth, perhaps for their prior sins, but were promised Heaven if they persisted in their true worship. In this sense, Defoe makes Crusoe like one of these people who suffers hardships to redeem himself from his sins but because of his faith he is rewarded by money.
Perhaps Defoe was trying to say that the people who were like Crusoe (the middle class) were the chosen ones for wealth in this life and the hereafter if they persisted in their worship.

Money v.s. Love

The Mysteries of Udolpho shows us that money isn't always important for love. Emily falls in love with Valancourt while on a trip with her father going to Switzerland. Valancourt thinks that he is not good enough for her because he doesn't have any wealth. Emily used to be wealthy before her mother and father died. For a while she wasnt wealthy and I feel that it didnt annoy her. Emily truely loved Valancourt and even when she had moved away she still was faithful. I feel that Emily didn't need the money to make her happy. She saw that she was already happy with him and money wasnt a priorty. But in the end she ends up with both wealth and the man she loves. I believe the story ends like this because she was not money hungary. She was just a regular girl trying to find her place in society. After her parents died she found her place with Valancourt.

I love Evelina!!

This has to be my favorite book that we have read in this class. Evelina reminds me of myself. She is beautiful, self independent and does everything she wants and doesnt listen to society. Evelina's beauty and her social status attract every men she becomes in contact with. They are all mezmired by her beauty. Another thing I love about her is the fact that she disobeys society. She reminds me of people that stand up for what they believe in. She was a nobody and became a some body. Her letters help us undertand her favorite parts of life. The letters also show us her ups and downs. I love the way that it was written in letter form because you felt like you were breaking into someones diay.

The Man of Feeling V.S. Womens feelings

Everyone knows that men are the last to admit to being emotional or intouched with their inner side. Women admit their emotions all the time with no problem. For some reason men find this difficult. It is nice to see that this novel " The man of feeling" portray a different effect on men and their emotions. I also find this story to be very sentimetal with a man's feelings. Most men don't talk about how they feel when things happen to them. Maybe in a few life times will you see a grown man cry or even admit to his feelings. The author of this novel makes the story line seem as if the man was a woman. He is so expressive with everything he does.

The Black Veil

When I saw on our reading list at the beginning of the semester that we’d be reading The Mysteries of Udolpho followed by Northanger Abbey I was really excited, because ever since I first read Northanger I felt that I had to read Udolpho together with Northanger at some point in my life, but I never yet had the opportunity. When I started reading Udolpho for class I had trouble taking the book seriously because I kept on being reminded of scenes from Northanger which didn’t help me perceive the book as serious, sine Austen satires the gothic in her novel. Therefore, at some really melodramatic romantic or scary scenes I couldn’t keep from laughing. However, after last night’s reading I can say that I’ve officially become really caught up in the book. One of the reasons why I have always wanted to read Udolpho was because ever since Catherine Morland (the heroine of Northanger) mentioned the black veil I have always had this insane curiosity to find out what was behind it. So I have literally waited for years to find out what was behind that veil, and last night I thought at long last the secret will be revealed to me… But no, Emily who only had to wonder for one night what was behind that veil was able to easily discover what was behind it, while I still have to keep on waiting. Deep down I knew that such a sudden discovery was too good to be true.
Another result of having read Northanger numerous times is that I’m constantly intensely wondering about certain miniscule details that I really shouldn’t be. For example, when Emily first arrives at Udolpho she simply puts out her books and paintings on a chest. Once I read that I was like what’s in the chest, is she going to open the chest, will something really scary pop out of the chest? But she does absolutely nothing with the chest, which is really frustrating (Catherine Morland really puts her snooping to shame). Now I can’t keep from wondering if there is ever going to be anything in the chest or am I just a crazy person behaving like Catherine Morland?

Extremely late blog on Tom Jones....

When I think of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, the word "morality" comes to mind. Many 18th century plays and novels trigger the word often in my mind but Tom Jones revolves around the theme of morality. The idea of being a moral person weighs heavily in the novel. A reference to virginity is made on or around page 38 that pretty much states that it's bad to lose your virginity before you are married...perhaps it's because of the book starting out with a bastard child. We have Jenny Jones who Allworthy tries to still treat like a person even after she offended God. What she has done is appealing to her moral being...religion takes a role in that as well. This novel stresses that it's necessary to be moral in order to be respected and taken seriously. Originally, one might believe that Mrs. Western is a moralistic character; she's good natured, forgiving, etc. Is she really this things though? She only forgave the highway men because they told her she was beautiful...a moralistic character? I don't believe so.

There is also the emphasis on the "flawed hero", Tom Jones, himself. By Tom Jones being a "flawed hero", I believe it makes him more of a realistic character. He seems more relatable due to the fact that he isn't perfect. Readers tend to attach themselves to characters that they could relate to. Realism is emphasized in the novel by proving that it is not the stereotypical. Readers tend to justify characters because they may be true to life...relatable.

Radcliffe's Genius

I am finding the The Mysteries of Udolpho’s Emily the first character in the novels that we have red as being completely likeable and believable. She doesn’t feel like a character of a book, but rather can be any normal person. Emily is smart, has personality, and emotions that appear at the right times. As a reader i didn’t feel that Radcliffe was attempting to throw a lesson at you, but simply wants you to be a spectator in Emily’s world. It is nice to be reading a book where I am not skeptical about the character so Radcliffe does a great job in creating Emily and the book as a whole overall.

Burney the woman writer.....

I would have to say that I did really enjoy reading this novel. It was exciting to finally read something by a woman. Although I am a picky reader, I have a few authors I prefer to read, such as J. K. Rowling, and Lurlene McDaniel who is a teen writer. I really did enjoy reading Burney. It was so much more different then reading one of these kinds of novels written by men. Every book we have read this semester has been written by men and the novels all speak of women and what they think and feel. I feel that for a man to write that kind of novel back then especially is so typical. It was kind of insulting a little when I read Pamela and everything that she was feeling as well as Shamela. I felt that it was so typical of the men of those days, for them to describe us women that way. But reading Burney it just felt like Evelina was very real, a little naive but real. Basically what Evelina goes through is so typical of a teenager to go through. Evelina not knowing of her feelings for Lord Orville was a bit comical to me. It was as if I was reading about the teenager girls I hear talking on the buses or trains. The teenagers of our days are always having conversations how she doesn't know if she loves the boy or not and this and that. Sometimes I want to turn to them and say, stop all this non-sense and deal with life. Grow up a little and just concentrate on school, because that should be your number one priority. I felt like saying that to Evelina. Every time I read what she was going through, I just felt like she didn't really have anybody who helped her. Marriage isn't for anyone and maybe it’s the wrong time for her to go out looking for marriage. But overall the novel was very fascinating and different. It was nice reading a women's perspective for a change.

Evelina is no Pamela.

Evelina is a young lady, who knows what she wants, but she does not know how to obtain entrnace into the upper class. In contrast, Pamela is a young lady who is pious with no guidance or a person who does pious things without any good deeds behind her praying. I would say that Evelina naivete is a strength not a weakness. On the other hand, I feel that Richardson is trying to get us to be pious, but he does not tell the reader why we should be pious. I also question the notion that the reward for being virtuous is some kind of financial wealth and not just doing to feel good about oneself I've with that part of Pamela's persona.