Dracula

 

"...masses of sea fog came drifting inland--white, wet cloud, which swept by in ghastly fashion, so dank and damp and cold that it needed but little effort of imagination to think that the spirits of those lost at sea were touching their living brethren with the clammy hands of death" (66).

There are few genres that I enjoy as much as gothic horror. There is something so striking about the contrast between English formality and the haunting monster-laden shadows of nightmares. Like Frankenstein, Dracula addresses social and cultural issues of its time by dramatizing the battle between good and evil. In a world where the demons are physical entities that can be struck down with garlic and stakes, the enemy is satisfyingly clear and conquerable. The heroics of a few intrepid vampire hunters are inspiring to those who may fight against the more hidden ills of society.

However, there is also great value in the method and form of the novel, notwithstanding the historical significance. Dracula and his plan to infiltrate England are deliciously horrid; the descriptions of his villainous castle and the women he has cursed to spend eternity with him in perpetual purgatory align perfectly with the stuff of Victorian revulsion and fear. And of course, the romance between Mina and Jonathan contributes the tragically ideal background for a passionate journey of retribution.

1. "I didn't think of it at the time; but when she went away I began to think, and it made me mad to know that He had been taking the life out of her" (240).

Unique format. The simplicity of the formatting of Dracula adds so much to its effect. Journal entries, newspaper clippings, and telegrams piece together the story from different perspectives and adds an immediacy to the tale, also emphasizing the emotional impact inherent in reading a person's intimate thoughts. In all practicality, Stoker made a unique choice that has been duplicated in many modern novels because of its relatability and success.

2. "He throws no shadow...He can come in mist which he create [sic]...He come on moonlight rays as elemental dust...He can see in the dark" (205).

The villain. There are some villains that stand out above the others. In my opinion, they adhere to a specific brand of cold, barely restrained cruelty. These blackguards are masters of manipulation, quietly percolating in their hatred for humanity, and you know that they could burst forth with unfettered violence if pushed too far. Darth Vader, Maleficent, Sauron, Lady Macbeth, and the King of the Undead himself. 

Dracula is a brilliant villain. He is first introduced before we know that it is him, taming rabid wolves with a commanding hand. He is then presented as a demure and accommodating, if rather strange, host to Jonathan. Until he locks Jonathan in a room and refuses to let him leave. And then crawls down the side of the house like a spider on all fours. And materializes from dust motes. And sleeps, during the day, in a coffin full of dirt. Not all is as it seems in Transylvania.

For most of the rest of the novel, we catch only glimpses of Sir Dracula. He is seen leaning over Lucy and sucking the life from her veins, dressed all in black on a street corner of London, and observed through Mina's hypnotic connection to his unconscious mind. It is not until the last chapter that we see him once again, in his full glory, seething at being foiled in his plans and foaming at the mouth with blood. He is scary because he is truly dangerous and horrifying, but also because of the way he fades into the background, becoming the unseen terror that you know will bring impending doom.

3. "Then I caught the patient's eye and followed it, but could trace nothing as it looked into the moonlit sky except a big bat, which was flapping its silent and ghostly way to the west" (94).

Genre. Overall, I just love true gothic horror. There is nothing quite like it. Culturally, the genre has left a great impact on our modern media landscape, although arguably not enough. Too much contemporary horror relies on shock and gore to thrill the audience. I think that constitutes a lazy brand of horror, as it is too easy to walk away and forget. There is no lasting impression left in your mind, and the creativity and cleverness that it takes to invent an entirely new nightmare is severely lacking. 

I love that Dracula is a classic with unique character and a genuinely engaging read. In college, I was part of group that performed a dance version of Dracula, and it was one of my favorite performance experiences. We were given a copy of Dracula to read and educate ourselves during the rehearsal process, but of course, I elected to commit civil disobedience and avoid the book at all costs. Now, having read it on my own time, I am reminded of the many excellent aspects of the story that I enjoyed as a performer. 

Do I wish I had read the novel all those years ago? Maybe. Making a point was very important to me at the time. Somehow, I think the characters of Dracula would've supported me in this endeavor. But I am glad to recommend it now. 

Wuthering Heights

 

"It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff, now; so he shall never know how I love him...he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same" (59).

On my journey through the classics, few have disappointed me. I have found most of them, both the ones that I remember from my academic career and those that I do not, to be impactful and also (shockingly) rather likable as well. However, there are a group of outliers. Wuthering Heights seems to be one of those classics in which I can see the reasoning behind its endurance as an important piece of literature, but I also question the sanity of readers who laud it as enduringly admirable and exemplary. I can't say that I hated the book, but at the same time, I would prefer to never read it again. 

I was never assigned Wuthering Heights as a student, so I don't have the benefit of prior engagement with the text to influence my opinion on it. Perhaps there are pros to this approach, as I was able to come in without any expectations, which is relatively rare for many of these novels. The main analytical feedback that I have seen or heard has to do with the promotion of Heathcliff and Catherine's romance, as proof that they exemplify some ideal relationship. All I have to say in response to those who think this way is, Have you read the book?? The Pinterest posts of quotes indicating that this couple have any qualities worth imitating hit so differently now that I have read their context.

1. "Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest, as long as I am living. You said I killed you--haunt me then" (124)!

Romanticizing unhealthy relationships. Let's just get right into the meat of my issues with this novel. I often refer to what I have termed "The Notebook Effect" when discussing the problems with modern iterations of romantic relationships. The crux of this phenomenon is the glorification of poor behavior or toxicity, from the perspective that the relationship is somehow more passionate or meaningful for being codependent and emotionally unhinged. In The Notebook, the main characters are portrayed as constantly fighting, verbally and sometimes physically abusive, and complete opposites in terms of upbringing and life goals. When the female love interest cheats on her fiancé (who happens to be a stable, mature, and tragically boring individual), the act is exonerated as a necessary return to the man with whom she was always destined to end up.

I will perhaps have to adjust my vernacular to now include "The Wuthering Heights Effect," as this novel is just as bad. The whole plot is full of selfish and harmful choices compounding on one another while the main characters escape culpability for their actions because they are supposedly in love. Isn't it romantic how, even when married to other people, the couple finds a way back to each other? Isn't it meaningful that they portray extremely selfish and borderline narcissistic personalities, but yet still cling to a codependent and boundary-less relationship? Don't you want to imitate an emotional attachment that endures beyond the grave, to the extent that the living parties suffer within an all-consuming obsession until they themselves perish?

Um...no?

Why does the culture promote these types of relationships? Maybe it's because they make more money in media, whether written or filmed, than the healthy and normal alternative. Regardless, I find them increasingly frustrating to observe.

2. "...it is some devil that urges me to thwart my own schemes by killing him--you fight against that devil, for love, as long as you may; when the time comes, not all the angels in heaven shall save him" (103)!

"Victim of circumstances" mentality. Here is a continuation of the prior point. Wuthering Heights is narrated by the housekeeper as she relays the story of her employers to a man who has rented one of the adjacent houses. Thus, we have an unreliable source who gives her own opinion on situations as readily as the actual facts. I like this perspective for two reasons: the choice highlights a sense of mystery and strangeness as though we are also outsiders looking into the story, not able to fully understand or interfere, and it also provides an interesting bias that adds layers to the character and plot development.

Though I may appreciate the narrative choice as a thematic element, I do not enjoy the resulting morals revealed to the reader. It would seem that the author is trying to help the reader to empathize with the characters, even as they make questionable and even murderous decisions throughout. Ellen, the housekeeper, continually makes excuses for nearly everyone, even when she still condemns their actions. Heathcliff is abusive and violent because he was mistreated as a child, Catherine is selfish and vindictive because of her ethereal spirit and mistreatment as a child, Linton is verbally cruel and self-obsessed because he is physically ill and mistreated (you guessed it) as a child.

At what point do we start holding people accountable for their actions, regardless of whether or not they were disadvantaged by some situation out of their control? Even though Ellen does openly criticize and lament the behaviors of those around her, they are so consistently shown in light of their treatment by others that the resulting actions are painted as almost inevitable. The book seems to be saying: Yes, it is wrong to be cruel, narcissistic, and deceitful, but people are always the result of their environments and can't necessarily be held fully responsible. 

3. "I...listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers, for the sleepers in that quiet earth" (248).

Literary value. I do believe, despite my dislike for the general characterization and underlying moral values of the text, that there is literary value in the writing. The historical context, turbulent characters, and artistic composition all speak to the talent of the author. Emily Brontë's critics and readers were convinced that the writer must be a man, as the subject matter was considered too intense and crude to have come from the delicate mind of a woman. Clearly, she was not afraid to write on darker and more sinister topics that belied resistance from her contemporaries. These aspects I respect greatly, and this novel being the lone publication of her short life, it is all the more worthy of analysis to determine the impetus of the different literary elements.

Do I consider this a profound and important piece of British literature? Yes. Wuthering Heights certainly provides the grounds for some very interesting conversations about characterization and the psychology of anti-heroes. I'm not sure that I will be treading through its pages any time soon, but I do consider the time well-spent, even though my general dislike for the novel is (I'm guessing) abundantly clear. Read it if you are curious, but otherwise, I believe there are other novels that achieve the same effect with less frustrating techniques.

Jane Eyre

"One would almost say that, if there were a ghost at Thornfield Hall, this would be its haunt" (108).

Jane Eyre is another text that I was assigned as a high school student and cannot, for the life of me, remember reading. I must have, because I certainly recall submitting an essay on the topic. Perhaps I hated it so much that I blocked out any details? Difficult to say. Ultimately, my experience with the book did not stick with me whatsoever. I have lived with a vague acknowledgement of its prominence in British literature for many years and not felt compelled to delve between its pages in adulthood.

This year, I decided that I should probably spend some time reminding myself of what I either repressed or never truly engaged with in young adulthood. One conclusion at which I have arrived: Jane Eyre is not a book that precludes feeling. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it demands feeling. The characters are complex and experience both growth and stagnation; their actions are sometimes excusable and often completely outlandish, but also painfully relatable. This novel is one that you think about, for days afterward, and try to move on. But you can't. The tragedy and ecstasy of each plot point continues to revolve in your mind, making you pine for a windswept English hillside and the darkened halls of a country estate, haunted by the living as much as the dead.

1. "Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! -- I have as much soul as you -- and full as much heart" (250)!

The passion. Jane goes through a series of life changes that illustrate the capriciousness of circumstance. She is alternately an angry child plotting revenge on her cruel family members and a grown woman leaving behind her fiancé when she can no longer face his lies and deception. In between, her emotions fluctuate with the changing of the weather: Jane is abandoned and then she is in love, she is content and then she dreams for a different life. She speaks with gentle understanding, acquiescing to the desires of others, and then her true character reveals itself when she stands on her convictions and refuses to yield. Who is Jane? She is all of us--any woman who has traversed the undulating mountains or valleys of adolescence and young adulthood. Charlotte Brontë allows her heroine to make mistakes and to learn from them, to be mostly right but a little bit wrong, and to come out on the other side hoping for, at the very least, strength of character and endurance.

2. "'What must you do to avoid [hell]?' I deliberated a moment: my answer, when it did come, was objectionable: 'I must keep in good health, and not die'" (35).

The wit. The draw of Jane Eyre, and perhaps most 19th century British authors, is the biting dialogue. The smart articulation and stoic flirting between characters is unmatched. Who has never thought of a perfect comeback hours after a conversation, wishing that the brain had cooperated and produced such a retort in the moment? Reading books of this genre are as satisfying as saying the pithiest riposte every time. 

3. "I looked with timorous joy towards a stately house; I saw a blackened ruin" (416).

The dramatic romanticism. Arguably, no one is more dramatic than a Brontë sister. Why have a normal and healthy relationship with a single man when you can find one with his insane wife hidden in the attic? Dark romance is successful only when the characters are making absolute spectacles of themselves for the good of the melodrama. I think this aspect is largely why the genre has become so prevalent, as stories of brooding and emotionally stunted men with dark secrets who fall for brave but sensitive orphan girls really fulfill some deep need in a woman's psyche.

4. "I understood that, sitting there where I did, on the bank of heath, and with that handsome form before me, I sat at the feet of a man, erring as I" (399).

A terrible example of a romance. The greatest problem in modern evaluations of Jane Eyre happens to be its greatest triumph historically speaking. At the time of its publications, the author used a pen name in order to hide that she was female, because public opinion of female writers was generally unfavorable. Insinuating that women were just as worthy, intelligent, strong, and flawed as their male counterparts. Brontë is essentially arguing for the humanity of her female characters by showing their vast internal landscapes. However, that attempt has not aged well in every aspect of the text...Rochester is, unfortunately, a complete disaster as a love interest. He is rude, selfish, mercurial, and an outright liar who commands Jane like an army general. Jane, for her part, cannot get over the inequality in their relationship--he is wealthy, older, and a man, meaning that she is at his mercy. This reality does not sit well with her, and she can only fathom acquiescing to marriage after Rochester has had a terrible accident and becomes physically dependent on her, essentially evening the field. There are other examples, but overall, there is unfortunate romanticization of very unhealthy relationship dynamics.




Jane Eyre is an undertaking, and it does not allow the reader to walk away without contradicting thoughts and desires, mirroring the journey of the main characters. It is perfect for cold winter nights when the wind is howling and the lamps are glowing warmly.

Death on the Nile

 

"Her eyes met his, just for a swift moment. Thinking it over the next day, he came to the conclusion that there had been appeal in that glance. He was to remember it afterwards" (144).

Mystery's unmatched mistress, Agatha Christie, produced work that was uniquely set, but with casts of characters that formulated a suspenseful crime-scape with consistency. What successful blueprint did Agatha land upon, one might ask? I believe her success has to do with, number one, the inclusion of all elements that attract fans of the genre. The reader can nearly check them off of a list: stock characters with too many secrets, strange occurrences that can be written off as coincidence until the shocking crime is produced, red herrings that drive suspicion and distrust within the investigation, and the internal machinations of a mercurial detective piecing together what the audience hopes to understand before the grand reveal.

And yet, despite all of these expectations, mystery novel readers don't want the plot twist to be revealed to them too readily. They come in order to have very specific desires fulfilled within the text, but if the perpetrator is too obvious, then the satisfaction of reading is compromised. To write a classic mystery thus requires a very talented author, as one is given specific and nearly un-varying tools with which to work, but must produce something surprising enough to be thrilling. Death on the Nile does this task through subverting expectation enough that the reader begins to question his or her own logic, until the ending reveals that the secrets were within reach all along.

1. "They came out from the shade of the gardens on to a dusty stretch of road bordered by the river" (40).

The setting. Egypt is a land ripe with majestic awe. The cultural elements add an exotic and unfamiliar background, and the contrast between the ancient monuments and modern accoutrements of the characters adds to the thrill. Almost one hundred years ago, those sandy Nile shores held a fascinating escape for the European traveler. It has remained a stalwartly striking setting for the modern reader.

2. "The body of the dead woman...lay on the floor of her cabin. The two men bent over it" (258).

Bonus murders. The primary murder is obviously portrayed and advertised before one can even crack open the book. The bonus murders are a perfect addition, as they add trepidation and throw complications into whatever thought process the reader may have concerning the guilty party. Of course, many of the characters have reason to despise the life of the wealthy heiress. But what relationship would any of them have with the other corpses?

3. "But now that she is dead and that her husband, as you have just pointed out, inherits, the whole thing is different" (302).

Missing shock factor? There were many twisting turns that my mind took as I was reading, and several of them resulted in musings over climaxes that could have been quite unexpected. The resolution is one that perhaps could (and should) have been assumed from the beginning, but Christie has the habit of causing one to doubt oneself continually. Was I unsatisfied with the result? Perhaps partially. I was quite attached to some of the hypotheses that I constructed along the way. But I also feel a certain amount of gratification in the fact that my suspicions from the beginning were confirmed, albeit put under heavy scrutiny as so many other possibilities crowded my mind. On both accounts, Christie remains triumphant.

Frankenstein

 

"...we are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves--such a friend ought to be--do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures" (16).

Monsters. Ghosts. Aliens. Witches. Dragons.

What goes thump in your night?

Nothing haunts quite like a Victorian ghost story. There is a sophistication and subliminal quality inherent in the British horror genre. Dracula, Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man...and, of course, Frankenstein. The American monsters are brash, bold, and seemingly indiscriminate in their destruction: chainsaw-wielding cretons and swamp-dwelling clowns rampage through the streets and wreak havoc on the unsuspecting residents of Small Town, USA. Even a girl dripping with the blood of an innocent pig quite literally upends an entire community with her wrath. But across the pond, British writers have been the ruling class in Gothic literature. Their specters are born of universal internal conflict, fears that one can feel but not quite see in their entirety, the true "bumps in the night" that reveal themselves to be none other than actualized versions of the demons terrorizing society. From where do these stoic beasts originate, if not in the minds and hearts of the people themselves? Don't worry, they seem to say. Your worst nightmares are true.

Mary Shelley is probably one of the most mercurial and fascinating writers of her time. Her life was a constant reflection of the darkly ironic and twisted sensibilities of the genre in which she has conjured nearly immortal fame. Losing her virginity on her mother's grave? Check. Murder rumors surrounding the death of her lover's wife? Check. Carrying around your dead husband's calcified heart? Check. She stated that her inspiration for Frankenstein was a lucid dream in which she saw a maddened scientist kneeling by a re-animated corpse.

Right. Check and check.

But really, who else could have written such an enduring myth? Only a teenage girl, albeit one with incredible talent and intelligence, could have dreamt up a story about a crazed and self-righteous chemist becoming involved in the re-assembling of the deceased for the purpose of alchemical experiments. Only Shelley could have herself constructed a book that artfully cobbles together critiques of scientific abuses, male ego, unfounded prejudice, and revenge, all while essentially pioneering the idea of crossing horror with science fiction, an as yet unplumbed genre. Frankenstein unearths the monster within, and perhaps the most terrifying fact it teaches is that one cannot separate oneself from that internal fiend.

1. "Those were the last moments of my life during which I enjoyed the feeling of happiness" (177).

The drama. Victor Frankenstein is sort of like Jack Black's character in the re-imagined Jumanji--a teenage girl trapped in the body of a grown man. He is moody and obsessive, isolates himself from family and friends for long periods of time, romanticizes the fictional, blames others for the problems of his own creation...and we love him for it. The wonderful thing about the novel is that it creates a world in which his surroundings match the dramatizations of his soul. Every event happens exactly how it must in order to create a sense of mourning over the tragic destruction of nearly perfect beauty. Victor succeeds in re-animating a corpse which longs only to please its creator, but their relationship is forever destroyed by Victor's fear, selfishness, and warped savior complex. Each character, man and beast, loses his beloved at the unmerciful hand of the other. The monster lingers in the shadows of a stormy night, lures Victor to blustery mountaintops for a keen warning, and then escapes into the Tundra on a dogsled, of all things. Frankenstein captures the imagination by embodying the dramatic underpinnings that have enabled the longevity of gothic horror.

2. "Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master--obey!" (153).

Subverted expectation and social commentary. One cannot have a conversation about Frankenstein without discussing the innate critiques of society present in the writing. The true monster is, of course, Victor Frankenstein himself, not the creature who has (ironically) taken his name in modern day. Victor feverishly constructs his own worst nightmare and then proceeds to deny it of any human rights: food, shelter, clothing, and community. The brilliance of these British horror novels is that the physical manifestation of fear is, while fairly terrifying in its own right, only a front for the real villain. Greed, lust for power, abuse of authority, selfishness, pride, unfettered conquest, you name it. This quality makes it impossible for readers to lie peacefully in bed at night, comforting themselves with the thought that "it was all made up." Is the true monster something on the inside, something all around, something subversive, something impossible to destroy with a physical weapon of war? Are we doomed to forever fight that which is part of humanity? In that case, we might wish for an animal more easily slain. Haunting, isn't it?

3. "These wonderful narrations inspired me with strange feelings. Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous, and magnificent, yet so vicious and base? He appeared at one time a mere scion of the evil principle, and at another as all that can be conceived as noble and godlike" (107).

Literary quality. For me, Frankenstein walks the line between containing gorgeous, marginally archaic language and still being reasonably readable. There are classics that I like, but I would not read again. They are certainly worth the trouble the first time around, but I can't exactly sink into the stories and lose myself in them. Frankenstein is a re-reader. It's one to which I return, because the experience is not tainted by having to trip over lengthy prose and indiscernible syntax.

I am a step away from adding this novel to my British Literature course. Read it for yourself and unironically enjoy one of the classics. 

The Bell Jar

 

"I wondered why I couldn't go the whole way doing what I should any more. This made me sad and tired. Then I wondered why I couldn't go the whole way doing what I shouldn't...and this made me even sadder and more tired" (18).

Having read much of Sylvia Plath's poetry, this year felt like the right moment to finally interact with her one and only novel, The Bell Jar. There is a part of me that wishes I had read it as a teenager, or at the very least in my early 20s, in order to compare my current thoughts to the response I might have had as a younger woman. When a book infiltrates one's dreams, its impact is evident. The few nights that I read a few chapters before bed and the taste of them lingered in feverish nightmares. I was relieved when I finally reached the end. It is difficult to slog through the inner workings of an emotional breakdown and navigate the twisted thoughts of a person caught in the throes of mental illness. Few authors have undertaken such a risky and unnerving task, and Plath's tragic legacy only add to the solemnity that descended upon me during my journey through the book.

There is some literature that can be liked or disliked, others that can only be accepted and respected for what they are, in spite of our emotional responses to them. I believe this text to be one of the second category. Can anyone truly like interacting with the brokenness of internal struggle and sickness? Perhaps we see ourselves in the characters, or maybe others with whom we have interacted. A lucky few may have had little to no contact with any psychological disorders, and these readers could entirely miss the accuracy in Plath's presentation of disordered thinking. Whatever our response to her work, no one can debate that she knew quite intimately the subject matter on which she chose to write. Such skill came at the highest cost, and her honesty haunts each new generation of readers.

1. "They hung the raw, red screen of their tiny vessels in front of my face like a wound" (82).

Literary artistry. Plath has mastered that form of figurative language that I consider as walking the line between inevitability and surprise. The descriptions cut to the truth of human experience--they feel so true that it almost shocks the reader into contemplating why they hadn't thought of it that before. Simultaneously, the comparisons are fresh. They don't remind one of any other text. Artists are always influenced by other artists, but Plath manages to bury her influences so deeply that each passage shines with the crystal clarity of originality. I think at once, Ah, of course, that is the feeling! and, Well, I have never thought of that before.

2. "...babies doing all the little tricky things it takes to grow up, step by step, into an anxious world" (153).

Accurate portrayal of mental illness...positives. The accuracy in Esther's decent into madness and depression, and her struggle to dig out of the darkness and back to a functioning life, is unmistakable. Especially for a woman of the mid-twentieth century--wherein women who displayed excessive emotion in any direction would be considered unstable and hysterical--recording the experience of mental and emotional disintegration is important. Many who have had similar struggles may feel seen and understood, and those who have not may take time to understand that which is outside of their realm of experience.

3. "I felt myself melting into the shadows like the negative of a person I'd never seen before in my life" (6).

Accurate portrayal of mental illness...negatives. The problem with delving into a broken mind is that madness can be catching. I have already mentioned that this book was not an easy read for me, as the nightmarish cast of Esther's plunge into self-flagellation and harm began to manipulate my own way of thinking. A consistent aspect of mental illness is the selfishness that encapsulates the person who is suffocated by their own internal contortion. The internal becomes all-encompassing, even as external forces are blamed as the causal factors for one's agony. Esther views her life as a failure, but she ultimately believes herself to be a victim of the choices that others have made. Her boss, her friends, her parents, her lovers, her counselors and doctors...they have all compromised her in some way, forced her into the shape of a monster that will ultimately destroy every good aspect of her life. While this characteristic may be important to identify, it is imperative that a person does not dwell on such duplicitous thinking for long. We are all prone to selfishness and faulty introspection anyway, and such constant reminders cannot be healthy.

Tread with care if you choose to undertake this read. It is an important work but may not be appropriate for every mind.

And Then There Were None

"It is perfectly clear. Mr. Owen is one of us..." (150).

This novel is the first Agatha Christie that I read. It also happens to be one of her most famous works, adapted time and again into movies, plays, and other mysteries that owe their existence to Christie's influences. What makes the simple recipe of her cliffhangers so addictive? As she wrote, she had not even deciphered the enigmas for herself. Her process was one of writing without thought for how the book would end--she let the mystery run away with itself, as it were. Christie is quoted as saying that she would often change her decision on who the murderer was in the midst of drafting her stories. The simple, stock characters, all with something seemingly sinister to hide, sever the idea of absolution from the ending. Everyone is guilty! The question becomes, who is guilty of this crime? Murders are being committed in increasingly mind-boggling ways, and there is a psychological underpinning that invokes a certain terror as the reader contemplates the meaning of true culpability. However frustrating the process may sound to me, her recipe for a satisfying mystery seems to be working...

I read an article a few months ago about some tourists visiting her home and becoming stranded there during a storm that blocked the only road to her isolated residence. How they felt about being stuck, miles from any civilization, was not recorded in the report--but I couldn't help thinking, This is exactly what she would have wanted. The really interesting aspect of such a real-life occurrence is the simultaneous oddity and predictability of it all. Of course, one of the most famous mystery novel writers of all time would live in a foreboding mansion on the other side of a harrowing, single road. But an unsuspecting group of mystery novel fans being told they are victims of a sudden storm and will be inhabiting this home for an unforeseeable number of hours? A plot twist of astronomically ironic proportions.

1. "Outside the rain poured down and the wind howled in great shuddering gusts against the windowpanes" (167).

The foreshadowing. Agatha Christie's pacing is impeccable. Her revelations of each murder and subsequent descriptions of the guests descending into madness alongside each other extend just long enough to drive the reader to his or her own form of insanity. She manages to reveal the next clue at exactly the right moment, either before or after the reader (or the characters) expect it. I finished this book in two days; the chapters are neither too long nor too short. Christie has defined the perfect framework for a satisfying riddle. 

2. "Mr. Justice Wargrave was sitting in his high-backed chair at the end of the room. Two candles burned on either side of him. But what shocked and startled the onlookers was the fact that he sat there robed in scarlet with a judge's wig upon his head" (222).

The theatricality. There is something to be said about the camp and hyperbole of the mystery genre. The best mysteries are the ones that embrace such drama and use it to their advantage. Imaginations are captured by the enduring commotion of the inscrutable, the strange, and the quizzically outlandish. Christie's descriptions provoke an image: she triggers emotion through the atmosphere of the scene. The balance between subtlety and sensation is where a successful mystery lies.

3. "...writing my confession, enclosing it in a bottle, sealing the latter, and casting it into the waves" (285).

A mystery too subtle? One possible critique is the extremely detailed back story given to explain the motivation for such seemingly passionate bloodlust. It is possible that a serial killer, à la Dexter, kills for psychotic reasoning that is a combination between commonly accepted morals and the need for personal vindication in some form. And Then There Were None is not the story of such a murderer. The architect of this nightmarish scenario may turn out to inhabit that realm, but the book itself does not endeavor to explore such a conscience. Christie focuses on the reactions of the victims as they try to decipher a scheme that is not rooted in common sense. The ending may feel unsatisfying when many of the clues to the identity of the enemy are unknowable outside of the context of his or her personal background.

The Screwtape Letters

 

"...you must keep him praying to it--to the thing that he has made, not to the Person who has made him" (25).

C.S. Lewis is a name that echoes continually through the labyrinthine annals that constitute the 20th century literary canon. He was a man who wrote for children, for adults, for Christians, and for those less inclined to trust in an omnipotent spiritual figure. The Screwtape Letters perhaps straddles the gaps amongst all of these groups, as it whimsically presents the sinister intentions of two demons plotting for the destruction of an average chap navigating war-torn Britain. The demons function both literally (as Satan's fallen counterparts of ancient times) and figuratively (toying with the emotions, thoughts, and desires of a man's most hidden psychological landscape). The intrepid letters are either cynical satire or a hopeful fight against the subversive manipulative powers that inhabit the domain beyond what we can see. Whatever a reader's response to the novel, its creative conception is undoubtedly the work of a writer deeply in touch with his own personal failings, and to a greater extent, the troubles and temptations that plague each of us. The reader approaches the text hoping to easily point the finger of condemnation at others, but instead, he or she finds the inner workings of their own soul--the personal foul play that human beings are ever attempting to veil and forget. 

1. "...fix his attention inward that he no longer looks beyond himself to see our Enemy or his own neighbors" (35).

Humbling reality. My mother-in-law recently read TSL, and she was horrified by it. Her response could possibly have something to do with reading the text in a language to which she is not native, but I tend to think that perhaps her sensitivity to the spiritual matters may be of a greater influence. Sometimes I catch myself nodding along to the profane wanderings of a demon's mind; the mind finds familiar ground when not actively guarding itself against the book's meditations on the theories of practical temptation. The content itself is rather benign, lacking the sensational elements of great evil, terrifying gore, or even easily identifiable hypocrisy. When "the Patient's" mother is passing undue judgement, it is easy to decide that she is the villain and can reasonably be treated with disdain. But isn't that the point that Lewis is attempting to prove? The work of the devil is to corrupt us, not necessarily to outrageous crimes of passion, but in the less obvious, everyday missteps.

I am much more concerned with a lack of horror when it comes to the personal commentary that I refuse to see. I suffer through many days entrenched in my own victimhood, hypnotized by the perceived cruelties and inconveniences that plague my interactions with those around me. But in reality? I am the one who grits my teeth at the sour taste in my mouth created by my subtle animosity for those around me. The architecture of my mind has convinced me that others have created the problems that, truthfully, can only come from within.

2. "He must have some real reason for creating them and taking so much trouble about them" (112).

The contrast. Hope is found in the truth that pours through the mind like fresh streams of cool water. One of my personal copies of TSL is inscribed with every Scripture that jumped out to me from between the lines of Satanic manipulation. As Jesus in the desert proposed verse after verse to combat the lies of the devil, so have I used this same weapon in my fight against the temptations that strike me where it hurts the most. Satan is clever, and my corruptible humanity is susceptible to the mere suggestion of selfishness. But at the end of the book, when "the Patient" transcends the reach of his demon's grasp, I see the goal of all this striving: freedom from the world's cloying grasp and eternity in the presence of the Savior.

3. "This animal, this thing begotten in a bed, could look on Him. What is blinding, suffocating fire t you, is now cool light to him, is clarity itself, and wears the form of a Man" (186-87).

Heavenly hope. I would be remiss if I did not quote this portion of text. Reading the intellectually challenging moral war of TSL can be just as exhausting as actually living it. However, encountering a description of heaven's arms opening wide to receive the weary Christian is even more poignant when considered from the viewpoint of he who can never again approach that celestial gateway. All of TSL is striking in its literal portrayal of the "devil's advocate," but considering this final triumph from the perspective of a demon's ultimate defeat feeds some desire of the soul. There is a sense of justice fulfilled, safety and serenity absolutely achieved, and humble meditation on the rescue from a flaming plummet into unrestrained damnation.

4. "There are two equal and opposite errors...One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them" (xlvii).

Preoccupation. C.S. Lewis says it here, right at the beginning of his text, that such preoccupation with the unknowable evils of the spiritual realm can only result in spiritual sickness. Not acknowledging it at all, however, will result in a similarly negative repercussion. The author himself stated that he would not be writing a sequel to the book, as his time inhabiting the hypothetical mind of a demon had left him bereft in a strange weakness of body and spirit. There is no way, at least on this side of heaven, to know how close these imaginative letters come to the reality of what we face each day on earth. If the after-effects of reading TSL are any indication, I would say that he was supernaturally inspired to write that which is needed for us to soberly self-evaluate our willing participation in our own allurement from the path of righteous living. I agree that after spending annual time in this book, I am glad to leave it behind until the next year. The work of self-evaluation through the lens of other-worldly influences is good, but there is a reason why we are solidly grounded in the physical world.

To Kill a Mockingbird

"It's not necessary to tell all you know...You're not gonna change any of them by talkin...they've got to learn themselves, and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language" (143).

There were two types of stories that I enjoyed in my late elementary and middle school years: the fantastical fairy tales that carried me away to shining otherworldly realms, and the coming-of-age, fictional memoir. I loved each for differing reasons, but the second category carried a certain attraction that is difficult to unpack. For one, they were often told in first-person POV and created a sense of closeness between the narrator and reader so poignant that it almost conflated the two. While an imaginative story filled with magic and impossibility holds its own appeal, there is something solid and comfortable in the possible. Reading the thoughts of a young girl navigating relationships, education, and the internal narrative of a developing maturity lent credence to the struggles and triumphs I was also experiencing. Others have walked these paths as well, and they conquered them without discovering a hidden ability, traveling to a different dimension, inhabiting a supernatural body with wings or a cape or a horse's lower half.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of these stories. It tells a tale that is, at least partially, based on the life of its author. She unravels a plot thread that covers the highs and lows, but also the mundane in-between--occurrences that seem unimportant (albeit funny, sad, or touching in some sense), but actually carry symbolic meaning for those who are willing to take the time and meditate upon them. Could our lives also be shaped by such events? Perhaps there are meaningful and important influences happening right in front of us, and we need someone else's story to remind us to keep our eyes open.

1. "If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other" (259)?

The questions. To Kill a Mockingbird has existed in a realm of awed historical preservation almost since its publication, as readers felt its importance as a stirring record of the questions that can start a revolution. As the book itself states, it is the innocence of children that often sets such change into motion. Scout and Jem look at their world with fresh eyes, untainted by the complacency of having been overwhelmed by the world's prejudice for too many years. They ask the simplest of questions, draw the most obvious of connections between the behavior of the adults around them and the contradictory tolerance that their southern good manners dictate. For this reason, TKAM has remained an important and scathing look at the human tendency towards convenient cognitive dissonance, staring at readers through the eyes of capacious youth.

2. "...when I asked Atticus about it, he said there were already enough sunbeams in the family and to go on about my business, he didn't mind me much the way I was" (93).

Family and identity. Scout is the narrator of this tale and the forceful heart behind its emotional impact. She is unabashedly herself, climbing the mountains of societal expectation without care or self-doubt. Atticus defends this wild independence, granting her the freedom that comes with the primary male figure in a young girl's life looking at her in approval no matter her perceived failings. Jem has reached a point in adolescence where he must decide if he will adhere to and perpetuate the standards set by the surrounding culture or give these up for redefinition by a new generation. Sometimes he is one and sometimes he is the other, as we often discover to be true of us all. Scout's character, however, juxtaposes this inconsistency. She makes mistakes and blunders her way through the growth of empathy and emotional maturity, but her framework for herself and the world around her stays constant. Her family has provided an environment in which personal identity formation is encouraged.

3. "...the mockingbirds were silent" (108).

The symbolism. The mockingbird is perhaps one of the premier symbols in modern American literature. This novel is almost an allegory at points, breaking into what appear as short parables to extrapolate the importance of the narrative being told. Symbols like this are, of course, an English teachers dream, but they are also invaluable for teaching concepts that elude many adults. Children understand the world through images, not words. They see most clearly what language has perhaps dimmed for those of us more mature in years--the applicable nature of the everyday occurrence. Two young children watch their bookish, lawyer father take up a rifle and shoot the diseased dog, dumb to his actions, weaving his way toward the people he would take with him on his path to ultimate doom. The canker of the town's racism festers unchecked in a humid courtroom. A group of neighbors, looking each other in the eyes, are able to pull the trigger backwards and shoot themselves in the name of perverted justice. Such stories leave a scar upon our hearts, refusing to go numb, so that the events that should impact us as though we had never seen the evil in this world in fact still do.

Great Expectations

"Out of my thoughts! You are part of my existence, part of myself. You have been in every line I have ever read since I first came here, the rough common boy whose poor heart you wounded even then" (272).

I first read an abridged version of Great Expectations as a middle school student, and what I remember most readily are the feelings that the prose invoked. There was something tragically romantic about the macabre living tomb of Satis House. Flames licked at its cobweb-bedecked corners and the smoky mirage rose like a specter before my eyes, drawing me into the contrasting worlds of England's jaded social elite and the misty moors of rural poverty. Reading the novel in its entirety further cemented my infatuation with Dickens' starkly illustrated worlds. Each setting's clarity of purpose actualized it in my mind as though I could see the shadows of such places, all around me, within the physical world.

My first night in London, nearly a decade later, I stepped out of the airport and imagined that the streets were fairly melting from the pages I'd read years before. Glowing streetlamps cast their yellow pallor upon rain-streaked cobblestone, leaving the buildings in shadow against the navy sky. Every ancient corner held echoes of living history, from Roman occupancy to modern existence. That image may have been a result of the jetlag, but the impression has stayed with me. All the elements that craft a story stand out with exactitude in a Dickens novel: the emotionally rich characters are placed in startlingly vivid settings, and they interact with veracity through the whole spectrum of relational and circumstantial potentiality.

1. "Miss Havisham's house, which was of old brick, and dismal, and had a great many iron bars to it. Some of the windows had been walled up; of those that remained, all the lower were rustily barred" (48).

Setting. The setting is what first drew me to Dickens. Each tableau characterizes the lives of its inhabitants--innocent Pip lives in the bleak and windswept moors, describing the graves of his parents as his most formative memory. The impactful moment of change for him arrives in the form of the formidable shadow of Miss Havisham's crumbling edifice. He falls hopelessly (and I do mean hopelessly) in love with the beautiful, cold Estella, and seeks a doomed sentimental connection with her as he trades his humble familial allegiances for bustling London streets. The depressed and lackadaisical members of the city's elite care only for appearances, and they envelop Pip into their world begrudgingly. Each of these locales is utilized to its full extent and takes on the qualities of a character in its own right.

2. "These people hated me with the hatred of cupidity and disappointment. As a matter of course, they fawned upon me in my prosperity with the basest meanness" (159).

Character. Some of the individuals who populate Dickens novels are stereotypes in the sense that they evoke certain qualitative elements within the setting they populate. The aggregate of wealthy and self-absorbed family members lounging in Miss Havisham's mansion treat Pip with a contempt that he finds matched in the forbearance of his own sister and the townspeople of his childhood home. The difference in financial status may provide interesting contrasts, but ultimately, meanspirited and selfish people are found in every social stratum. Miss Havisham and Estella are an odd pair, one overwhelmed by anger and hurt to the point of absurdity, the other raised to feel nothing whatsoever. Herbert Pocket, the loyal and amiable friend, good-naturedly partners with Pip through all of his myriad troubles and joys. Dear Joe, the beating heart of Pip's story, provides a stalwart home to which he can (and does) return. The characters are human, full of faults and quirks and relatable nonsense that mirrors and enhances the world around us.

3. "After so many years, it is strange that we should thus meet again, Estella, here where our first meeting was! Do you often come back" (357)?

Plot. To avoid any spoilers, I will not unpack all of the revealed connections amongst the characters. Suffice it to say, I have a diagram drawn in the front cover of my copy that has lines of connection tracing each character's relationship to the others. These interactions are unfolded slowly, as time goes on and long-held secrets are revealed. Pip eventually pieces together the identity of his benefactor and the villains who pursue them both, Estella's biological parentage, and his own unlikely part in all of their stories. He is the protagonist and narrator, but the true drama of the plot really takes place around him as he becomes involved through a series of happenstances. What a world! The main character is himself somewhat of a side character in his own story. Pip does not take a backseat to all that occurs, but rather goes through a journey of growth that shows both his moral failings and ultimate development of maturity.

My only criticism is, with all personal consistency, that many of the descriptions of characters and daily goings-on can continue for what seems like an exhausting number of pages. Perhaps this response is the fault of the reader alone; 21st century consumers have certainly been trained into shorter attention spans and degraded tolerance (much less enjoyment) of any media that does not present only the most immediate and relevant information. Hold this opinion against me and not Dickens, as his novel is a beautifully constructed coming-of-age story with characters that will live in your heart and mind beyond the time you sit with them.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

 

"Right is right, and wrong is wrong, and a body ain't got no business doing wrong when he ain't ignorant and knows better" (355).

Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are the models for boyhood camaraderie and unhindered adventure. When I teach this novel, the male side of the class usually relates to the characters and story with ready approval. The girls, however, sometimes feel as though they've entered a fever dream where there are no rules and no comforting securities. I think that this response tells us something about the differences between men and women, but also about the success that Samuel Clemens (known by his pen name, Mark Twain) had in writing for a certain audience. My frustrated and sometimes horrified response to the material is exactly how I feel when hearing my brother relay stories about his daily interactions and choices. So, while I'm taking a deep breath in between chapters, I am also struck by the authenticity that Clemens was able to infuse with his storytelling. For this reason, and many others, I give you many a reason to pick up Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, whether you are the intended audience or not:  

1. "We said their warn't no home like a raft, after all...You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft" (256).

The boyish simplicity. Samuel Clemens is a master of the childhood adventure novel. He writes like a boy whose mother had her hands full, and in fact she is quoted saying as much about the prolific author. He creates madcap scenarios for his characters to navigate, and they do so with a nonchalance that provides an ironic underpinning to the whole ordeal. Huck's self-awareness is marked by polar opposites: He will realize truths that no one else in the text seems to understand, but yet he happily goes along with whatever wild enterprise he or his friends dream up. If I had no prior awareness of the book, how would I know the appeal of this novel to the inner boy in every young man? My feminine horror at almost every page turn. The unpredictable setting along the Mississippi River, each ridiculous disagreement and misuse of common words, and the unnecessarily complicated, hairbrained schemes of Tom, Huck, and Jim...This book is exhausting! I consistently find myself wanting to mother all three of them. I'm guessing that this is the effect that Twain was going for.

2. "He was thinking about his wife and children away up yonder, and he was low and homesick...I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for ther'n" (286).

The recognition of mutual humanity. Huck Finn was such an important work for its time, and it still remains so today. The simplicity in Huck's journey as he grows in friendship with Jim, the only true father figure in his life, is a beautiful testament to the unnatural bigotry of racism. Many of Huck's direct influences tell him that skin color categorizes and alienates. Independent of the society that establishes these ideas, he conceives very quickly of the comparative humanity in Jim. They are the same in all essential aspects. An even greater testament to this realization is the fact that Huck continues, for a time, to believe that it is a moral wrong to protect and help Jim. Yet, he still does so out of loyalty to his friend and belief in his individualism. The most powerful tool against hatred and isolation is relationship, and Twain communicates the empathy between Huck and Jim with great poignance.

3. "Jim said bees wouldn't sting idiots; but I didn't believe that, because I had tried them lots of times myself, and they wouldn't sting me" (202).

The humor. This point is obvious and almost doesn't need to be made, but for the sake of fastidiousness, I will cover it nonetheless. Situational irony abounds. Twain often plays on the reader's awareness of what the characters seem not to know. The well-rounded emotional impact of the novel is both lighthearted and occasionally serious--Huck Finn is a well-balance novel with all of the personality and depth of a real boyhood coming-of-age. 

One critique--the length. I will fully acknowledge my bias in this area, as I often feel that books, movies, and even songs can go on for too long. There is a lot of fluff and nonsense (primarily coming from Tom as he crafts convoluted rescue plans that really only need a chapter to convey) that make re-reading it somewhat of a chore. I am not probably the audience that Twain imagined, and so I would not hesitate to recommend the book to anyone who desires a look into the mind of a young and hapless teenage boy growing up in a pre-Civil War America.