In The Writing of Fiction (1925), novelist Edith Wharton states the following:
At every stage in the progress of his tale the novelist must rely on what may be called the illuminating incident to reveal and emphasize the inner meaning of each situation. Illuminating incidents are the magic casements of fiction, its vistas on infinity.
Choose a novel or play that you have studied and write a well-organized essay in which you describe an “illuminating” episode or moment and explain how it functions as a “casement,” a window that opens onto the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
In 100 Years of Solitude the "illuminating" moment is when the characters realize that Melquíades had predicted the fate of Macondo on the parchments he had written many years earlier. This emphasizes Marquez's theme of the "blending" of time between past, present, and future.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emma that 100 Years of Solitude is a perfect fit for this prompt. The book is full of "illuminating moments", as many of the characters, especially those in the Buendia family, are described as having epiphanies. The first dialogue of the text happens to be Jose Arcadio Buendia's epiphany that "the world is round. Like an orange" (5). That being said, the defining "illuminating moment" of the text occurs on the last page, when Aureliano realizes that Melquiades had, as Emma said, predicted the fate of Macondo on his parchments. The parchments are 100 Years of Solitude and the story of 100 Years of Solitude is written on the parchments. From this metafictional masterpiece we can infer that 100 Years of Solitude is a universal story that has unfolded countless times in history and will continue to do so in the future. For instance, the sub-plot revolving around Colonel Aureliano Buendia is a commentary on a type of senseless political and military turmoil that has happened a hundred times before and still goes on today. Thus Marquez's theme of the "blending" of time comes into play.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Mike and Emma. 100 Years of Solitude is hugely cyclical: the names and relationships within the Buendia family repeat throughout the generations without deviation, or for that matter, growth. That moment when Aureliano reads the parchment and finally understands his past and future is the same moment that the reader understands that the last four hundred pages that he/she has read are the parchments. As Mike mentioned, it solidifies the continuity between past, present, and future because without this link throughout time, one would never understand the danger of stagnation that ultimately leads to the Buendias' demise.
DeleteI am kind of torn between Dubliners and Song of Solomon. In Dubliners every short story had an epiphany that change the characters view point or the readers view point. For this i would focus on the Dead with Gabriel's epiphany about life and death. But i also think that Milkman's realization about his family would also be very good for this prompt. His realization shows man's ability to gain knowledge and change because of it which was one of the overarching themes of the text.
ReplyDeleteI think this prompt fits with Heart of Darkness. The illuminating moment would be when Marlow arrives at the inner station and learns the truth about Kurtz. We see that after all that Marlow has heard about Kurtz, the truth is that Kurtz was a vile, ugly individual. From this, the we are given the theme of man's innate evil. The darkness did not corrupt Kurtz, but magnified and fed the evilness that was already present in him.
ReplyDeleteThe Dead
ReplyDeleteGabriel's epiphany is illuminating because it changes the context of the rest of the piece. The Dead is filled with obscured binaries - an example of which is snow. While at the same time snow is beautiful, it also is a hindrance to many of the people who were in attendance at the dinner party, and Gabriel seems obsessed with making his wife put her galoshes on. Gabriel's communication is ironically "too good" for his audience and yet he is unable to communicate effectively with anyone there. Joyce gives us a reason for this confusion throughout via Gabriel's ultimate epiphany in the sameness that life and death share. The classic binary suddenly becomes blurred while all the others become clear relative to it.
I definitely concur with Alex about choosing "The Dead" for this essay prompt. This work seems to have the most prominent "illuminating" moment. Because this epiphany comes at the end of the piece, it truly does stick with and resonate with the reader. Gabriel's realization about the ambiguity of life and death is finally realized at the moment he confirms that he does not love his wife. Joyce gives multiple "hints" throughout the work that lead to the cullmination of Gabriel's realization. The date of the dinner party, January 6th is the 12th day of Christmas as well as a day of epiphany. Also, Gabriel is noted to be a messenger of God. In context of the "illuminating" moment, the fact that Gabriel is a messenger of God may mean that Joyce uses Gabriel's character to denote significant information, including the realization of the meaning of life and death that Gabriel comes to term with at the end.
DeleteI would use Siddhartha. The illuminating moment is when, years after becoming a riverman, he looks into the river and becomes enlightened. The nature of Siddhartha's enlightenment reflects the overall message of the book. While Sid does attain his enlightenment at this one single point in the point, he prior experience was what allowed him to. It is only after experiencing both chastity and carnality that he can realize their duality, which leads him to his enlightenment. Thus, enlightenment depends also on the experience which leads up to it.
ReplyDeleteyeah, I would also go to Siddhartha for this one. Coincidentally, our progtagonist is looking for the same illuminating moment that we are. I would however, disagree with Antony and say that the true illumintaing moment is not when Sid looks into the river, but when Sid touches Govinda's head. Until then we arent exactly sure if Sid has truly become enlightened, and we see the same scepticismthrough Govinda's narration. However, ater that moment the whole meaning of the text becomes clear. After that moment we know for sure that Sid is enlightened, and thus, we know the path to the truth of the text. We understand that Bhudda's way actually works. We see the connection to the way the text is structured: Part 1 with 4 chapters for the four noble truth, and part 2 with eight chapters for the eightfold path. We also see the connection with the river and the nature, and the way to truh becomes clear We see Hesse's unique take on enlightenment. We understand that enlightenment does not need painful asceticism, in fact, a life of flesh and sin is enlightenable. What we need is self-purging, cleansing of metal weaknesses, and to let in the ways of nature. All that flows to us just as the images of enlightenment flow in front of Govinda's eyes, emerging from Sid's touch.
DeleteI was actually thinking about writing about Hard Times, but I don't think I could write a very good essay about that book. I think the two illuminating moments that I might consider would be Siddhartha's understanding of the river and Quentin's moment of clarity before his death. Siddhartha, after struggling to search for meaning for years and years, finally learns that everything is the same as everything, but is just at a different point in time, a lesson that is essentially his enlightenment, and makes the entire story come to life at the end. Quentin's moment of clarity is also sort of compelling because it follows a very intense and complex stream of consciousness conversation with his father about his role and his duties, as well as the nature of time and the temporary nature of life itself. The simple and straightforward language of the paragraph that follows suggests that Quentin is finally able to achieve a degree of clarity before he dies. This makes his entire section, obviously the most complicated of all, seem like his life flashing before his eyes as he is about to die, until he reaches that final moment of peace as he dies and relinquishes his troubles.
ReplyDeleteI would write about Wide Saragasso Sea. In WSS, the illuminating moment would be when the "Mr. Rochester" character perceives insanity in his wife. Bertha is declared insane, however, because Wide Sargasso Sea is largely narrated by Antoinette and the reader is consequently able to empathize with her, the question of her sanity becomes pertinent. It is especially so because the reader is given limited access to her husband’s perspective, which in the context of the piece, often seems less rational than hers. So the significance of the illuminating moment is actually how ambiguous the truth is, despite how promisingly true it may seem to appear. This is reflective of the entire novel.
ReplyDeleteI agree with using "The Dead". Gabriel first comes to his illuminating moment after his encounter with Lily where he becomes embarrassed. Before that Gabriel enters the house all covered up, with goloshes and the whole set – protected totally from the snow. Yet, he does not understand that perhaps the snow could set him free. Instead he heads in through the gates of hell, to a gathering of pointless conversations that stifles and smothers him. Through his conversation with Miss Ivors, once more enlightens him. It seems that each time he is embarrassed he is achieving redemption. Miss Ivors confronts Gabriel on the nature of his writings, of which he knows is not the best. And he realizes his sloth at feeling complacent with his good pay. After all, Gabriel was never meant to be the warrior, as we later find out after meeting Michael. Additionally, there was a barrier between his wife and him long before she told him of the ‘affair’. When we hear the story of Michael, which brings Gabriel to the illuminating moment – to understand his true position in Gretta’s life. He had thought he was almighty and above them all, but in the end, he was not even first in his wife’s heart. He stood in the shadow of a dead boy, not even a man. He finally comes to self-knowledge, and only through understanding fully himself can he start empathizing with others to become a true messenger.
ReplyDeleteThis illuminating moment works as a “casement” as it opens us to see that Gabriel was vulnerable. And vulnerability is what made him feel human to the reader and thus we can relate. He learned to pity, not just himself but others, and finally learned to question mortality. He understood that “One by one, they were all becoming shades” (pg 223). “His own identity was fading out into a grey impalpable world: the solid world itself, which these dead had one time reared and lived in, was dissolving and dwindling.” The “snow was general all over Ireland” (pg 223) over the living and the dead. And like the snow, Gabriel was falling into redemption. “His soul swooned” (pg 224) as he came to understand that he would never take Michael’s place, and that this illuminating incident is setting him free, contributing to the meaning of “The Dead” as a whole and showing the reader the blindness of individuals as well as society as a whole.
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ReplyDeleteI would use Jane Eyre for this prompt due to her many illuminating moments that not only help to progress the plot but also helps add to Jane Eyre’s theme of independence for women. Throughout the novel Jane has several simultaneous urges to move; first at Lowood, then at Thornfield Hall, and finally at Moor House. Each change in location shows a growing maturity in Jane. These epiphanies that she has, such as when she feels the sudden and unexplainable need to blindly accept a new job and leave the safety and security of Lowood, shows the growing strength of Jane which was unusual in the 1800’s. Especially when she leaves Thornfield and Mr. Rochester’s marriage proposal seems strange to the reader who knows how madly in love she is with the man. However this move is accompanied with the illuminating moment in the night where she fights against her heart with her head acknowledging that she deserves more than to marry a man still married, no matter what the circumstance. These windows into Jane’s intentions shows the dependent women she grows to be.
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