A few words on the last chapters as well as comments on themes and topics from the book: The relationship between mother and sons (particularly Paul and William) is unhealthy and troubling in a much different way than I was expecting from the reputation of the book. The dependence the sons have on her as […]
I’m beginning to like the book more, but it doesn’t mean I like the characters any better. This section covers the first half of Part II—Paul at work, his relationships with Miriam and Clara, and the declining health of his mother. There are two quotes in this section that seem to be a key to […]
Sons and Lovers has been a challenge for me. I love Lawrence’s style and find the book quite powerful, but every one of the characters disgust me so much that at times I don’t look forward to reading it. Part One (Chapters 1 through 6) covers up through the eldest son William’s death and Paul’s […]
There is a lot of online resources available for Lawrence. There are only a few, but many of these links have additional resource links: Lawrence’s Wikipedia entry Lawrence’s online works from Project Gutenberg and Project Gutenberg of Australia The LibriVox recording of The Rainbow A book review of the biography DH Lawrence: The Life of […]
The text for The Good Soldier can be found at Project Gutenberg. I have rounded up a few online resources on Ford Madox Ford. Since The Good Soldier doesn’t really lend itself to posts on the sections as you read through them, I approached writing about the book with the following topics: The Good Soldier: […]
The credits for The Good Soldier, produced by Granada Television, can be found at IMDB. I remember seeing this when it originally aired on Masterpiece Theatre and enjoying it immensely. I didn’t realize it would be 25 years later before I read the book. The movie runs very true to the book despite the difficult […]
One theme in Ford’s book is the inadequacy or irrelevance of social and religious institutions in the modern (at that time) world. That there is a moral and social shortfall is hammered home by his use of August 4th (the day Britain declared war on Germany in World War I) for all important dates in […]
I covered quite a bit on Dowell’s self-deception and moral blindness. The inability to face the truth or make any sense of events is his personal failing. That Dowell elevates his personal failures to not being able to understand the world or judge another’s character does not mean Ford agrees with him. I think Ford […]
“I have, I am aware, told this story in a very rambling way so that it may be difficult for anyone to find their path through what may be a sort of maze. I cannot help it.” This quote, from the start of Part IV, sums up the method quite well. John Dowell has undertaken […]
John DowellA Quaker from Philadelphia, John Dowell is the direct narrator of the story. His family came from England with William Penn, settling in Pennsylvania. He controls property in Philadelphia and is able to maintain a wealthy lifestyle. John prides himself on being attentive and nursing. Florence (Hurlbird) DowellFlorence is a Protestant who lives with […]
The Good Soldier does not lend itself very well to discussion by chapters or parts, I’ll approach it in a different manner. I will start with a chronology, discuss the main characters, cover themes and motifs, review the 1981 TV movie version, and throw in anything else that makes sense in covering this challenging book. […]
Some online resources for Ford Madox Ford: Wikipedia entry The Good Soldier at Project Gutenberg The Ford Madox Ford Society International Ford Madox Ford Studies, published by the Ford Madox Ford Society Agreg-ink’s site appears to have many useful links for online texts, bibliographies and other resources Julian Barnes’ essay for The Guardian: The Saddest […]
The text for Lord Jim can be found at Project Gutenberg. A free audio version can be downloaded from the LibriVox site. This post is the best spot for any comments on the book. Below are the links for resources and posts for the book: Online resources for Joseph Conrad Lord Jim discussion: Chapters 1 […]
The 1965 movie version of Lord Jim, directed by Richard Brooks and starring Peter O’Toole as Jim is a visually beautiful film to watch. Other notables in the cast include James Mason as Gentleman Brown, Eli Wallach as an oppressive general, Dahlia Lavi as the Patusan girl (Jim calls her Jewel in the book) and […]
The text for The Shadow-Line can be found at Project Gutenberg. Joseph Conrad’s The Shadow-Line is a reminiscence of the narrator obtaining his first command in addition to his first voyage as captain. The young sailor meets all kinds of challenges and crises, overcoming them mostly with help he doesn’t recognize, and advances over the […]
This section covers the Patusan episode of Jim’s life. Reaching Patusan safely, Jim is imprisoned by one of the rival leaders. He leaps twice to safety and renown (as compared to his one leap to dishonor from the Patna), once over the blockade and once over the narrow river between settlements. Jim devises and carries […]
This section covers from the outcome of the court inquiry through Jim reaching Patusan. The verdict was relatively mild, requiring the sailing certificates of the Patna crew cancelled (although you got the feeling it would have little impact for most of the crew). As Marlow put it, “The real significance of crime is in its […]
The text for Lord Jim can be found for free at Project Gutenberg. There are also audio versions there and at LibriVox. The breaks for discussion for Lord Jim are totally arbitrary but I hope they will be at natural points. Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim was written around the same time as Heart of Darkness, […]
Mark Twain’s King Leopold’s Soliloquy engages the atrocities in the Congo differently than Conrad—through satire. While the subject matter hardly seems like it would lend itself to such an approach, Twain does a good job at lampooning King Leopold II and issuing a call to end the hellish arrangement. The American Museum of Natural History […]
I’m sure that almost everything that can be said about Heart of Darkness has already been said (except for someone writing a dissertation on some of the minutiae). But I’ll throw a few things together anyway. First, the text can be found on Project Gutenberg. A free audio reading of it can be found on […]