Thinking activity: an artist of the floating world

 Thinking activity On "An Artist Of The Floating World"

 

Hello readers,

Here I'm writing this blog about the novel 'An Artist Of The Floating World' by Kazuo Ishiguro in which I've been pondering upon some points. So let's begin…

Introduction:

Kazuo Ishiguro 

Sir Kazuo Ishiguro OBE FRSA FRSL is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and moved to Britain in 1960 when he was five. Ishiguro is one of the most celebrated contemporary fiction authors in English. 

Am Artist Of The Floating World :

An Artist of the Floating World discusses several themes through the memories of the narrator, Masuji Ono. The analysis of these themes is facilitated through their transcendence of time, allowing the audience's rumination on Ono's experiences, permitting them to judge the narrative objectively. 

  

 

The very first point in which I've to discuss is that…

1. Lantern appears 34 times in the novel. Even on the cover page , the image of the lanterns is displayed . What is the significance of lanterns in the novel ?

In the novel Lanterns are associated with Ono’s teacher Mori-san, who includes a lantern in each of his paintings and dedicates himself to trying to capture the look of lantern light. For Mori-san, the flickering, easily extinguished quality of lantern light symbolizes the transience of beauty and the importance of giving careful attention to small moments and details in the physical world.  And this is the symbol in the novel Lanterns represent the fleeting beauty and warmth of nightlife as well as the transience of the traditional way of life in Japan, which vanishes after the war. 

Lanterns are the old-fashioned, welcoming source of soft light at Mrs. Kawakami's. Within their spheres of light Masuji Ono is embraced. As a symbol of the floating world, lanterns often appear in Mori-san's work, either within the picture or as the implied light source for the subject in the painting. 

The second point is that…

2. Write about 'Masuji Ono as an unreliable narrator' .

Masuji Ono is the narrator and protagonist of the novel he represents as an unreliable characters in the novel. We are introduced to a retired artist of great acclaim, Masuji Ono. Ono lives with his youngest daughter Noriko, and his attempts to secure a good match for her is a central theme. In the past, Noriko’s engagement had been called off. While Ono likes to believe that his family was more powerful than the boy’s, Noriko’s often belligerent behaviour suggests the unsuccessful engagement has more to do with Ono's past. His older daughter Setsuko asks Ono to meet his acquaintances and rectify his errors should Noriko’s prospects inquire about the family’s history. This simple task is the starting point of his recollections, opening twisted alleys of memory. 

Ono is one of the many traitors who led the country awry with grand plans of Japanese Imperialism that caused only pain and loss. Ono himself lost his son to the Manchurian War and his wife to a freak raid. The reader might assume these topics to be of particular importance to him. Still, Ono avoids speaking about any issue that exposes his emotional vulnerability and delves too much into his past affairs. Mentions of these deaths come and go, as little remarks stuffed into the larger scheme.   

Ono also feels that the younger generation’s bitterness towards his generation and desire to sweep away all the old traditions is too extreme a response to the devastation of the war.  So , our narrator and protagonist of the novel represents as an unreliable character of the novel.

The 3rd point is a very interesting point…

3. Debate on the uses of Art  / Artist( Five perspectives: 1. Art for the sake of Art - aesthetic delight, 2. Art for earning money / Business purpose, 3. Art For Nationalism / Imperialism - Art for the propaganda of government power, 4. Art for the poor / Marxism , and 5. No need of art and artist (Masuji's father's approach)

• Art for the sake of art - aesthetic delight

In the novel the this use of art "art-for-art’s-sake" milieu of Moriyama, which focuses on the ephemerally sensual “floating world” of the traditional Japanese pleasure district. Moriyama, influenced by European Impressionism just as Impressionism was influenced by Japanese prints, represents a convergence of East and West in the nation-nullifying utopian space of the painting, a space whose evanescence is the guarantee of its authority. 

• Art for earning money/Business purpose

In the novel the character of Matsuda believes that artists are failing to address the social and political problems around them, and he mocks Ono’s naïve attitude towards the world. Ono comes to work closely with Matsuda and to have great respect for him as an independent thinker who tries to achieve something meaningful through his work. After the war, Matsuda is in poor health and confined to his home. He seems regretful that he never married and has no heirs and says that his life’s work amounted to little. Ono, however, believes that Matsuda doesn’t truly believe this. 

• Art For Nationalism / Imperialism - Art for the propaganda of government power 

This is the use of art that is very highly described in the novel  An Artist of the Floating World, as a case study. This popular representation of Imperial Japan features a non-linear narrative of a propagandist’s life, presenting scenes from before, during, and after World War II. This allows Ishiguro to juxtapose two stances on Japanese identity: the pre-war militarist stance and the post-war pro-Western stance. The militarist stance obscures the process of empire-building, preferring the narrative of a great battle against the European powers, while the pro-Western stance is narrowly nationalistic, with no consideration for Japan’s neighbouring countries. 

• Art for the poor / Marxism

 As we have discussed in our classroom that this is the image of the three poor boys , this is the image about the voice of the poor , so in this context we can say that we are also used as a voice for poor people. 

• No need of art and artist (Masuji's father's approach)

In this context Masuji Ono’s early memories of home life in his small village involve exclusion from the formal reception room, that was barred to him as a child until he was 12 years old.  At that age, he was required to go to weekly “business meetings” with his father and was miserable because he did not understand what his father was talking about.  He wanted to be an artist, but his father saw that as the path to living “in squalor and poverty” and burned Ono’s paintings ceremonially when he was  He referred to the wandering priest’s diagnosis of “a flaw in [Ono’s] nature. A weak streak that would give him a tendency towards slothfulness and deceit”.  However, the impact of his father’s action was to kindle Ono’s ambition to be an artist. So , his father burnt all his paintings. Because for his father art is not a good thing and he did not want to making his son an artist.

The last point which I've to discuss is …

5. What is the relevance of this novel is our times ?

During Japan's Edo period  the phrase "the floating world" (ukiyo) evoked an imagined universe of wit, stylishness, and extravagance with overtones of naughtiness, hedonism, and transgression. Implicit was a contrast to the humdrum of everyday obligation. 

The best things, he always used to say, are put together of a night and vanish with the morning. What people call the floating world, Ono, was a world Gisaburo knew how to value. When people are getting poorer, and children are growing more hungry and sick all around you, it is simply not enough for an artist to hide away somewhere, perfecting pictures of courtesans. When you are young, there are many things which appear dull and lifeless. But as you get older, you will find these are the very things that are most important to you. So, this way the novel is relevant to today's situation or context. 

Thank you…

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Thinking activity: 1984

 Thinking activity on Orwell's 1984 

Hello readers, 

Here I'm writing this blog on George Orwell's 1984 which we have already discussed in our classroom so let's begin…

George Orwell:

 

George Orwell was the pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair, born in Motihari, Bengal, India, in 1903, to a family which he described in The Road to Wigan Pieras 'lower-upper middle class': 'upper-middle class without money'. 

The very first point which we've to discuss here is that…

1.  What is Dystopian Fiction ,"is '1984' dystopian fiction ?

Dystopian fiction offers a vision of the future. Dystopias are societies in cataclysmic decline, with characters who battle environmental ruin, technological control, and government oppression. Dystopian novels can challenge readers to think differently about current social and political climates, and in some instances can even inspire action. 

Yes, 1984 is a dystopian Fiction by George Orwell . Orwell's 1984 is a defining example of dystopian fiction in that it envisions a future where society is in decline, totalitarianism has created vast inequities, and innate weaknesses of human nature keep the characters in a state of conflict and unhappiness.  

The second point is interesting because in which I have to give my responses about thinking of the film of 1984…

2. Your learning about the novel from online screening of the film - share screenshots , if you have taken. 

The film of 1984 is a very interesting film , the whole idea about the novel can be very Clear by watching the film "1984"...

This is the opening screen of the film which I've captured while watching the film. 

Then, this is the next image from the film , in this image we can see the angers on the facers of the people there is the conflict of war and the people seems to have very lovable to their "big brother" they are brainwashed also they shouted with the name of "B"....  

Then, this is the image of the love between Julia and Winston , we can see in the image there were many Greene Land and in the film that shows the very beautiful moment in this film…

 This the image of room no 101 where people have to tortured very badly if they denied for believing what Said by the big brothers party , if they have told 4+4=5 then it is definitely true , and if anybody don't believe in this then they have been tortured very badly , in this scene Winston also tortured in room 101 because he can't believe in 4+4=5. 

 At last , we can see in this image the unhappy face of Winston , now he is brainwashed too. He also believes in 4+4=5 , so it means he also loves the big brother party , he is also in favour of the party and he loves the big brother party. He not only believes in those statements but he also has  care and love for big brother. 

The third point is that…

3. What according to you is the central theme of this novel ?  

 

According to me the central theme of 1984 is the idea that one member of society can try to break the illusion of the social standards as set forth by the ruling power and the effects they have as interpreted by the individual . Also we can say that the main theme of this novel is "totalitarianism" in which people are completely controlled by the government or parties in which they also have no freedom for thinking or dreaming something which is not allowed there. Total control by the big brother . " Big brother is watching you" the statement which is used in the novel gives  the main message of the control by their party of big brother , in the film we can see the very large screens all over the country and nobody can do anything. 

 The last point in which I've to give my response is that …

4. What do you understand by the term "orwellian"?

Aa we have already discussed in our classroom that Orwellian means 'deceptive and manipulative use of language'

Describing something authoritarian but not necessarily Orwellian . Words have the power to shape thought . Language is the currency of politics , forming the basis of society  from the most common, everyday interaction to the highest ideals . Orwell urged us to protect our language because ultimately our ability to think and communicate clearly is what stands between us and a world where war is peace and freedom is slavery. According to dictionary the Word "Orwellian" means it is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society . Orwellian language is of central importance to human thought because it structures and limits the ideas that individuals are capable of formulating and expressing.

Here are some the videos about the films 1984:

 

  

Thank you very much…

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Thinking activity: The Great Gatsby

 Thinking activity on The Great Gatsby :

Hello viewers,

Today I'm writing a blog about the Novel 'The Great Gatsby' which we have discussed in our classroom , I've been pondering upon the given tasks . So let's begin…

F Scott Fitzgerald :

F Scott Fitzgerald was a 20th century American short story writer and novelist. Although he completed four novels and more than 150 short stories in his lifetime, he is perhaps best remembered for his third novel, The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is today widely considered “the great American novel.” 

The very first point in which I've to ponder upon is…

1.  How did the film capture the Jazz age - the Roaring Twenties of the America in 1920s ? 

From the publication of his 1922 collection, Tales of the Jazz Age, and beyond, F. Scott Fitzgerald has been inextricably linked to jazz. Indeed, Fitzgerald is even widely believed to have coined the term “Jazz Age,” and although the phrase predated Fitzgerald’s book, his usage unquestionably boosted its popularity immensely. The presence of jazz in his other works, perhaps most iconically in his grand novel The Great Gatsby, linked the term even more tightly to his name.  Today, the moniker “Jazz Age” has come to signify, as a kind of evocative shorthand, the 1920s in both academic and pop culture. 

 

It is difficult to overstate the pre-eminence of jazz in the early twentieth century in America, appearing as a theme in everything from clubs to cartoons to realist fiction. “Jazz was everything. A weltanschauung, a personal identity, a metaphysics, an epistemology, an ethics, an eros, a mode of sociality and an entire way of being.” It was a musical style that, with its improvised orchestration, complexity, and danceable melodies, seemed to represent, through the fusion of seemingly contrary impulses, so much of the world at the time: the dissonance of Modernism, on the one hand, with jazz’s rejection of straightforward classical music, and, on the other hand, its class transcending popularity, whereby both rich and poor could, in theory, dance to similar music. 

Flapper Style. Jazz and other new musical and dance forms exploded onto society in the 1920s. This pop culture movement was personified by the flappers, whose fashion styles represented their free spirits and new social openness.  

The second point is that…

2. How did the film help in understanding the characters of the novel ?

 

According to this video we saying that this video help us for understanding the novel's characters in a better way ...For example, in the very beginning, the characters of Nick Carraway are introduced as a patient and his doctor suggests that he write down something and then he will narrate the whole story. In the same way when Daisy's first look in the movie is also fascinating. Jay Gatsby the very interesting and mysterious character. So , in short the film helps in a very good way to understanding the characters . 

The 3rd point is that …

 

3.  How did the film help in understanding the symbolic significance of 'The Valley of Ashes', 'The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleberg' and 'The Green Light'?

1.   The Valley of Ashes:- 

First introduced in Chapter 2, the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure. The valley of ashes also symbolizes the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result. 

 

2. The Green Light 

 

the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, and in Chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. Because Gatsby’s quest for Daisy is broadly associated with the American dream, the green light also symbolizes that more generalized ideal. In Chapter 9, Nick compares the green light to how America, rising out of the ocean, must have looked to early settlers of the new nation. 

3.  The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleburg

The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. They may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point explicitly.  the eyes also come to represent the essential meaninglessness of the world and the arbitrariness of the mental process by which people invest objects with meaning. Nick explores these ideas in Chapter 8, when he imagines Gatsby’s final thoughts as a depressed consideration of the emptiness of symbols and dreams. 

The another point is about the …

4)  How did the film capture the theme of racism and sexism?

As reflected the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald , the culture and social values of 1930s America allows people get away with what one would frown upon in the 21 century. The 1930s social values were disturbingly racist and sexist .

 

In the film the great Gatsby   "sexism" and "racism" describe by the gorgeousness of life. In clothing and expression the both ism describe very well.   

The 5th point is about the narrator…

5) Watch the video on Nick Carraway and discuss him as a narrator.

 

In that novel, Nick loves Gatsby, the erstwhile James Gatz of North Dakota, for his capacity to dream Jay Gatsby into being and for his willingness to risk it all for the love of a beautiful woman. 

After moving to West Egg, a fictional area of Long Island that is home to the newly rich, Nick quickly befriends his next-door neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. 

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Thinking activity : Archetypal criticism

 Thinking Activity on Archetypes of Literature by Northrop Frye : 

Hello friends,

Here I'm writing this blog about Northrop Frye's archetypes of literature which I've to complete as my thinking activity . So let's begin…

⚫ Northrop Frye :

Northrop Frye, in full Herman Northrop Frye, Canadian educator and literary critic who wrote much on Canadian literature and culture and became best known as one of the most important literary theorists of the 20th century. 

The very first point on which I've to focus is…

1) What is Archetypal Criticism ? What does the Archetypal  Critic do? 

It is a term in which Frye 's archetypal criticism strictly categorises works based on their genres which determine how an archetype is to be interpreted in a text . Basically Archetypal means "Original form". It refers to universal symbols,  theme , character, images. It repeated throughout literature.

Archetypal critics believe that these archetypal figures are part of the core of humanity and human experiences that are universal for all cultures in the world. Therefore, archetypal figures give a text universal acceptance because they are based on human experiences and core values.

The second point is…

2)What is Frye trying to prove by giving an analogy of ' Physics to Nature ' and ' Criticism to Literature'. 

Here Frye connected Spring with comedy because Spring and comedy both are symbols of something became new, birth, development, revival and resurrection and also symbolize dark to light, dry to greenness...etc. 

And Other things are that culminations to triumph both these terms. All symbolize romance through the Summer season. 

Also the season of Autumn  denotes tragedy and It is a symbol of dying life. We can see in autumn all the leaves of the tree fallen down and also the tree became lifeless. Similarly the hero fell down and the protagonist became a tragic hero.

Frye compares both Physics to Nature and Criticism to Literature. Physics is a deep study of Nature but it is called physics not Nature  though it is based on Nature only but it is called physics. So, We can say that  Literature is equal to Nature and Physics is equal to Criticism.

The third point is something interesting because in which I've to share my own views …

3) Share your views of criticism as an organised body of knowledge. Mention relation of literature with history and philosophy. 

 

If we see criticism as an organised body of knowledge then it will be the progressive way of literature But Literature never organised it should free from it for the progress of Literature . It is deeply connected with the History and Philosophy both are considered as important pillars  of Literature. The History connected with the myths and Philosophy connected with Morality and ethics. History stands for events and Philosophy stands for idea.  

4) Briefly explain Inductive  method with illustrations of Shakespeare 's Hamlet 's Grave Digger 's scene. 

In Shakespeare 's Hamlet the gravedigger scene is the example of it. In this scene we can see that gravedigger was not affected by the death of others because it is  their routine work. They have romanticized relationships with their jobs. They introduced different skulls with people and their works. It is a manifestation of the absolute integrity of a gravedigger. We came to the general observation that corruption in society. 

The next point is …

5) Briefly explain Deductive Method with reference to an analogy to music , painting, rhythm and pattern. Give example of outcome of  Deductive Method.

 

In the Deductive Method it comes from general to specific or particular observations. In this Music has rhyme and Painting has patterns. Both are connected while listening to the music for the first time. We can't understand but when we start to understand the words we imagine a picture in the mind by this imagination. We understand the things. As the same thing happens while reading literature we image the things through the imagination. It helps us to understand the literature. So music , rhythm, painting, pattern so it helps to understand the literature.  

The last  point is that…

6) Refer to the Indian seasonal grid ( below) If you can, please  read a small Gujrati or Hindi poem from Archetypal approach and apply India seasonal grid in the interpretation. 

Here is one poem which about Nature : Rain poem : 

" नभ के नीले आँगन में "

नभ के नीले आँगन में

घन घोर घटा घिर आईं।

इस मर्त्य-लोक को देने

जीवन-संदेशा लाईं।

है परहित निरत सदा ये

मेघों की माल सजीली।

इस नीरस, शुष्क जगत को

करती हैं सरस, रसीली।

इससे निर्जीव जगत जब

सुंदर, नव जीवन पाता।

हरियाली मिस अपनी वह

हर्षोल्लास दिखलाता।

इस वसुधा के अँचल पर

अनुपम प्रभाव छा जाते।

इन हरी घास के तिनकों

में भी मोती उग आते।

इनका मृदु रोर श्रवण कर

कोकिल मधु-कण बरसाती।

तरु की डाली-डाली पर

कैसी शोभा सरसाती।

केकी निज नृत्य दिखाया,

करता फिरता रंगरेली।

पक्षी भी चहक-चहक कर

करते रहते अठखेली।

सर्वत्र अंधेरा छाया

कुछ देता है न दिखाई।

बस यहाँ-वहाँ जुगनू-की

देती कुछ चमक दिखाई।

पर ये जुगनू भी कैसे

लगते सुंदर, चमकीले।

जगमग करते रहते हैं

जग का ये मार्ग रंगीले।

सरिता-उर उमड पड़ा है

फिर से नव-जीवन पाकर।

निज हर्ष प्रदर्शित करता

उपकूलों से टकरा कर।

मृदु मंद समीकरण सर-सर

लेकर फुहार बहता है।

धीरे-धीरे जगती का

अँचल शीतल करता है। 

In this poem the poet talks about the season of rain in our language " Varsha Ritu " . What the changes come in human life and on the earth it is the point i8 discussed in this point . On the earth there were new green clothes which were worn automatically when the season of rain came. There was no idea about that What a great kind of  happiness farmers felt. Earth is getting a new life by the Rainy season . So the poem's message is how the changes come on the earth when the season of rain comes.

Here is One video on archetypal criticism:👇

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