Passage #1 From
Novel (Hugo 273-274)
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Analysis of Close
Reading
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“Dom Claude, lost in his own thoughts, was not listening. Charmolue,
following the movement of his eyes, saw that his stare was fixed on a large
spider's web, which hung like a tapestry in the window. Just then, a giddy
fly, looking for the March sun, flew into the net and was entangled. It’s
struggles aroused the huge spider, which suddenly bounded from his central
cell, and with one lurch caught the fly, which he bent in two with his
fore-feelers; then with his hideous sucker he attacked its head. ‘Poor fly!’
said the kin’s attorney of the ecclesiastical court, and he raised his hand
to save it. The archdeacon, as though awakened from sleep, held back Jacques’
arm with convulsive violence.
‘Master Jacques,’ he cried, ‘leave the fly to fate!’ The attorney
turned about quite terrified. He felt as if his arm had been seized by iron
pincers. He haggard, fiery eyes of the priest remained fix on the horrible
little group, the fly and the spider.
‘Oh,
yes!’ continued the priest, in a voice which seemed to proceed from the
depths of his being, ‘that’s the symbol of everything. She flies, she is
joyous, she is just born; she seeks the spring, the open air, liberty: oh,
yes! But let her come in contact with the fatal network, and the spider
issues from it, the hideous spider! ‘Poor dancer! Poor fated fly! Master Jacques,
leave it alone-it’s fate! Alas, Claude, you are the spider! Claude, you are
also the fly! You flew toward knowledge, toward the lights, toward the sun;
you only wanted to reach the pure air, the broad light of eternal truth. But
rushing toward the dazzling window which opens into another world, a world of
brightness, intelligence, and knowledge-blind fly! You did not see the subtle
spider’s web, spread by destiny between the light and you; you flew into it,
wretched fool, and now you struggle, with crushed head and torn wings,
between the iron antennae of Fate! Master Jacques! Let the spider alone! Thou went flying towards
learning, light, the sun. Thou hadst no other care than to reach the open
air, the full daylight of eternal truth; but in precipitating thyself towards
the dazzling window which opens upon the other world, --upon the world of
brightness, intelligence, and science--blind fly! Senseless, learned man!
Thou hast not perceived that subtle spider's web, stretched by destiny
betwixt the light and thee--thou hast flung thyself headlong into it, and now
thou art struggling with head broken and mangled wings between the iron
antennae of fate! Master Jacques! Master Jacques! Let the spider work its
will!’
The
archdeacon did not hear him. ‘Oh, madman!’ he went on, without removing his
gaze from the window. ‘And even couldst thou have broken through that
formidable web, with thy gnat's wings, thou believest that thou couldst have
reached the light? Alas! That glass farther on, that transparent obstacle, that crystal
wall harder than brass, which separates all philosophies from the truth, how
could you have passed through it? O vanity of knowledge! How many wise men
come from afar to dash their heads against you! How many systems come buzzing
to rush pell-mell against that eternal window!’”
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This passage represents a portion of the
dramatic monologue that Frollo is delivering. He is addressing Jacques during
his speech, but Frollo is more speaking to himself than to his companion. He is
revealing elements of his character such as his strong belief in Fate and his
unwillingness to participate in free will, which would otherwise not be
directly divulged to the reader without the use of a dramatic monologue. In addition,
Hugo utilizes the use of a stream of consciousness. The speaker’s lack of
ending punctuation in a quote such as this: “You did not see the subtle
spider’s web, spread by destiny between the light and you; you flew into it,
wretched fool, and now you struggle, with crushed head and torn wings, between
the iron antennae of Fate!“ (273) shows his non-stop thought process. Frollo is
attempting to justify his actions towards La Esmerelda while working through
his though process and basing his actions on the spider and the fly.
The use
emotion and descriptive detail can cause even the smallest of occurrences to
become memorable. For example, “You flew toward knowledge, toward the lights,
toward the sun; you only wanted to reach the pure air, the broad light of
eternal truth. But rushing toward the dazzling window which opens into another
world, a world of brightness, intelligence, and knowledge-blind fly! . . . You
did not see the subtle spider’s web” (272). Hugo is describing the sun and air
as knowledge and truth and using formal language to describe something so
miniscule as a fly becoming caught in a spider’s web. This elevated language
suggests determination and is eventually what leads Frollo into using fate as
an excuse to trap La Esmerelda. Eventually, he will draw her into his web of
destruction because that is the way he thinks Fate intends it to be.
Believing in fate causes a
person to simply accept what has come to them therefore, saying little to
change their circumstance. In the quote, “Poor dancer! Poor fated fly! Master
Jacques, leave it alone-it’s fate! Alas, Claude, you are the spider! Claude,
you are also the fly! . . . Master Jacques! Let the spider alone!” (273),
Frollo speaks in short bursts filled with emotion to emphasize his want and his
need to ensnare La Esmerelda. Hugo’s use of short fragments with copious
punctuation affirms Frollo’s strong belief in fate and his future plans. Short
fragments in dialogue also contribute to how a character is perceived. In this
case, Frollo shows his eager determination and his inability to stay calm when
contemplating his desires.
The
Hunchback of Notre-Dame is considered a piece from the Romantic era. This
era is depicted as a literary, artistic and intellectual movement that was a
reaction to the Industrial Revolution. The quote above not only describes
Frollo’s views on fate, but it uses formal language and expressive punctuation
to address Hugo’s commentary on society. The Industrial Revolution, which
spurred on Romanticism were two movements that provided an escape from reality
and an opportunity to take one’s future into one’s own hands. However, Hugo is
explaining how “wise men come from afar to dash their heads against you” (274)
and try to change their life without the effects of fate.
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Spider and the Fly Close Reading Analysis Chart
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Prose Passage
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Does Frollo believe that everyone's fate will lead to destruction and they are to gracefully accept it? But Frollo says that Claude is the spider and the fly. So he controls his own fate but is yet subject to it. Is he responsible for his own destruction?
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