I really liked your analysis on Notre Dame, like the fact that the church was actually a central character. I thought the way you presented it was unique and offered a different perspective to characterization, one I've never really seen in literature before. I wonder if Hugo typically characterizes inanimate objects, I find that really interesting. Great presentation!
I enjoyed your analysis and interpretation of beauty. When someone thinks about beauty they think of outward appearances or even what is on the inside, but we don't believe that it is controllable, and I think that you brought some new and interesting ideas to the table with that thought and by centralizing your analysis and presentation around that idea. It made me rethink what my own definition of beauty is and if I can control my own "beauty" and the beauty that is around me.
I will have to agree with Liz when she wrote about Notre Dame. It was really clever of Victor Hugo to centralize a novel that is lively and has much emotion around something that isn’t even alive. You determining that the church was basically a character was something that many other people or myself would not have thought about or make a connection. Also, I thought your research on Romanticism and its connection to the novel was very thorough and it definitely helped me understand Hugo’s writing much better. The combination of fate and beauty really embodies the Romantic period. One of the literary criticisms you mentioned said that Hugo believed that the “Romantics make use of the past”. I think this is an important aspect of that period because the past affect how we deal with our present and future. If we don’t take into consideration the things of the past, we won’t be able to learn from them and deal with the present. An example of this that I saw was when Sister Gudule remained lonely because she wasn’t able to learn from her own past. It kind of makes me wonder about all the things, even if small, that I have neglected to find any lessons from.
I really enjoyed how you opened your presentation asking what ΆNÀΓKH meant. It really caught my attentions and had me eager to listen and find out more about its meaning and why it was relevant to your topic. I agree with Alyssa and that your analysis of beauty allowed me to think of new way to view beauty, and how everything in its own way can be and is beautiful, it just depends on how you look at it. It is in your control to tell what is and isn't beautiful in your eyes and everyone has their own position on what they think is and isn't "beautiful".
Your examination of Sister Gudule was very insightful. I personally find this kind of character to be very interesting. I thought it was strange that instead of giving the love she would have given to her biological child to Quasimodo, she instead devoted all of her time to bemoaning her life. I also liked how you linked this mindset to romanticism. Do you think Hugo meant for this to be a criticism or did he not intend for the character to be seen this way? Personally, I think it makes more sense for Sister to devote her energy to her new son instead of shutting herself away from the “monster.” In this situation, I’d say that Notre Dame is the actual monster. As I see it, Notre Dame swallows people and digests people until they are twisted or unrecognizable. But, I think what I’ll most remember from your presentation would definitely be that Disney never does a good job of representing the story it remakes. I mean, the movie can be sad at times, but it certainly isn’t how you described the actual story.
I really liked your analysis on Notre Dame, like the fact that the church was actually a central character. I thought the way you presented it was unique and offered a different perspective to characterization, one I've never really seen in literature before. I wonder if Hugo typically characterizes inanimate objects, I find that really interesting. Great presentation!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your analysis and interpretation of beauty. When someone thinks about beauty they think of outward appearances or even what is on the inside, but we don't believe that it is controllable, and I think that you brought some new and interesting ideas to the table with that thought and by centralizing your analysis and presentation around that idea. It made me rethink what my own definition of beauty is and if I can control my own "beauty" and the beauty that is around me.
ReplyDeleteI will have to agree with Liz when she wrote about Notre Dame. It was really clever of Victor Hugo to centralize a novel that is lively and has much emotion around something that isn’t even alive. You determining that the church was basically a character was something that many other people or myself would not have thought about or make a connection. Also, I thought your research on Romanticism and its connection to the novel was very thorough and it definitely helped me understand Hugo’s writing much better. The combination of fate and beauty really embodies the Romantic period. One of the literary criticisms you mentioned said that Hugo believed that the “Romantics make use of the past”. I think this is an important aspect of that period because the past affect how we deal with our present and future. If we don’t take into consideration the things of the past, we won’t be able to learn from them and deal with the present. An example of this that I saw was when Sister Gudule remained lonely because she wasn’t able to learn from her own past. It kind of makes me wonder about all the things, even if small, that I have neglected to find any lessons from.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you opened your presentation asking what ΆNÀΓKH meant. It really caught my attentions and had me eager to listen and find out more about its meaning and why it was relevant to your topic. I agree with Alyssa and that your analysis of beauty allowed me to think of new way to view beauty, and how everything in its own way can be and is beautiful, it just depends on how you look at it. It is in your control to tell what is and isn't beautiful in your eyes and everyone has their own position on what they think is and isn't "beautiful".
ReplyDeleteYour examination of Sister Gudule was very insightful. I personally find this kind of character to be very interesting. I thought it was strange that instead of giving the love she would have given to her biological child to Quasimodo, she instead devoted all of her time to bemoaning her life. I also liked how you linked this mindset to romanticism. Do you think Hugo meant for this to be a criticism or did he not intend for the character to be seen this way? Personally, I think it makes more sense for Sister to devote her energy to her new son instead of shutting herself away from the “monster.” In this situation, I’d say that Notre Dame is the actual monster. As I see it, Notre Dame swallows people and digests people until they are twisted or unrecognizable. But, I think what I’ll most remember from your presentation would definitely be that Disney never does a good job of representing the story it remakes. I mean, the movie can be sad at times, but it certainly isn’t how you described the actual story.
ReplyDelete