The passage from, From Martin Eden, by Jack London, left me
feeling very sad because a passage went from childhood memories of being beat
up for years and not giving up to Martin earning everything he could have
wanted, but gives up on life. London used many literary devices in the passage.
The first literary device was flash back, Martin was in his
apartment and frustrated that his writings were being returned from the
publishers. He then shared his childhood memories about being bullied and beat
up on and off for many years, which ended in a huge gang fight that left him
with a broken arm and so angry that he could not stop punching his attack,
Cheese-face, he had lost control of himself. These memories tell moments when
he was as young as six years until he was eighteen and how these moments made
him a fighter in life and not give up.
The second literary device used was conflict, London writes about
how Martin is having inter conflict with himself, later in Martin's life, when
he becomes famous for his writings and has a lot of money, but he talks about
how unhappy he is in life and he does not like to be around others. He goes to
the doctors because he feels like something is wrong with himself, he is told
that he is psychical healthy. "It was his "thinking machine"
that had gone wrong, and there was no cure for that except to get away to the
South Seas." pg 366 He boards the Mariposa and is a first class passenger,
something he had wanted in the past and thought would be so great, but he was
still unhappy. "There was no satisfaction in being awake." pg 367
Martin was miserable, nothing around him made him happy.
Lastly London uses irony and
suspense as literary devices. One evening Martin picked up a volume of the
Swinburne and he found himself interested and happy. "That was the meaning
of it all: he had been drifting that way all the time, and now Swinburne showed
him that it was the happy way out."pg 369
"Life was ill, or rather,
it had become ill-an unbearable thing. "That dead men rise up never! That
lined stirred him with a profound feeling of gratitude. .... When life became
an aching weariness, death was ready to soothe away to everlasting
sleep."pg 369. Martin climbed through the porthole in his room and went
into the milk sea and drowned himself.
Martin gave up on life, he was
not happy and although he became a successful writer, he was not happy, the
money and all the things he wanted and was able to have were not enough for him
in the end.
From Martin Eden, Jack London 356-371
Hello Amber
ReplyDeleteI just want to start off by saying I'm so sorry that that passage had left you feeling upset. I do think that it is a sad matter to talk about because nobody wants to hear about a child being beaten and growing up to give up on life. Overall I think that all of your literary devices that you use to connect with this passage are really good. Especially the last quote I think that one really connected with me a lot. Nice job.
Hello Amber, that was a really good analysis and I liked the fact you included so many citations and quotes to back up your thoughts and ideas. It shows how you broke these readings down into the real meanings, and then you gave opinions based off the facts. I think work always is better when you can relate it somehow to your life so good job.
ReplyDeleteHi Amber,
ReplyDeleteYou did a fine job of identifying London's literary devices. I read this story too (thanks for your comments to me) and I think it was one of the most stirring things that I have read during this course. The sadness of a kid having to deal with a bully, unfortunately is not new to me. It is reminiscent of what I had to deal with growing up in Harlem, N.Y. so I could relate. However, the disillusionment that allowed Martin to take his own life cut me to the quick and I have difficulty understanding that pain. A friend of mine just lost her 16 year old son to suicide earlier this year and I am very sympathetic towards their loss, but as hard as I try, I have a hard time understanding how things can get so bad for some that they can't see another way out. It seems that we, the living, have a hard time picking up the clues. This story really got to me.
Hi, Amber!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your analysis, especially because I chose the same reading to write mine, and it'd be nice to see someone else's perception of it. Actually, I like reading your work in general because I like how thoughtful you are; it is perceptible the effort you put in it.
I found this story really sad and I can't avoid thinking that Martin may have suffered from depression. In the 46th chapter, we see that he had everything and yet wasn't happy, ending up killing himself. I don't have the knowledge to diagnostic people, but I have seen a few cases similar to Martin's. I wish he had found his happiness before deciding to end his life...
Hi Amber! You did a fantastic job on your analysis. I like how you were very detailed on Martin's childhood incident where he was bullied. It is great that the character, Martin was able to turn his negative experience of getting into fights while growing up to not giving up as an adult. This is maturity. You really made your analysis fun to read, Thank you.
ReplyDelete