ohh Archer

Archer Newland Analysis

Let us take a journey back to Newland's first introduction in Age of Innocence. The paragraph that starts out "The second reason for his delay...." (2) talks about Archer's pleasure. It says that Archer experiences pleasure as that of delicate, rare, and exquisite. I mean, what kind of man thinks like that...? Archer is so dramatic and overtly sensitive. To analyze why he is, we can look at his background and time period. He grew up in the richest family and was taught to think, feel, and act a certain way. Therefore, everything "seemed as natural to Newland Archer as all the other conventions on which his life was moulded..." (2). His conduct and belief were products of society, and he behaved like every other men in his circle. Towards May, he is like a child who is excited by a new toy, "he contemplated her absorbed young face with a thrill of possessorship..." (3). May represents the ideal woman who he wants to marry due to her purity, innocence, and beauty. Because she is who she is, Archer does not question or contemplate the progression of his engagement and marriage to May. He continues his feelings even after meeting Ellen who "he hated to think of May Welland's being exposed to the influence of a young woman so careless of the dictates of Taste" (9). Ellen contrasts as a foil to May, and she is seen initially as a mere trivial deterrent in Archer's road to happiness "...he was definitely afraid that the Mingotts might be going too far..." (13). Archer also cherishes May because of her simplicity and the fact that "she was always going to understand; she was always going to say the right thing" (15). We know that Archer progressively starts hating the fact that she is like a machine who says the right things at the right time. Therefore, what sparks the change? Also when Archer says "...he thanked heaven that he was a New Yorker, and about to ally himself with one of his own kind" (20). In just a span of one chapter, chapter 5, Archer is in the library defending Ellen's freedom in a flurry of passion to Mr. Sillerton Jackson. After he announces his thought, he immediately alter his view on May as well, and for the first time, he calls May a 'stranger'. In chapter 6, Archer is having an enlightenment where he observes his society as one where "...all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done " (29). Then, he blames his change in ideology on Ellen Olenska by saying, "'Hang Ellen Olenska!'" (29). I think up to this part is the book's beginning, which is proceeded by a dull and tedious thoughts of Archer, who is consumed by the overwhelming presence of Ellen, until chapter 25. In chapter 25, the story picks up pace as the mystery of Ellen unravels, Archer's feelings for Ellen is suspected by family, and May's behavior adds to the sense of frustration and hope. However, every desire for Ellen and my wishful expectation comes crumbling down by the last sentence of 34, when May cunningly gets rid of Ellen and ties Archer back to her side by the news of her pregnancy. Archer's hope and wantings for Ellen become something that is so unattainable as he matures into his later years. Although Ellen's sudden appearance in the novel prompts Archer to question his society, beliefs, and morals, he unfailingly submits back to society's ways and expectations because (this is my favorite quote) he says "There was good in the new order too" (226). He finds a balance in the force of old society and new evolving society, which shows his maturity.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, (340)

BY EMILY DICKINSON

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,

And Mourners to and fro

Kept treading - treading - till it seemed

That Sense was breaking through -

And when they all were seated,

A Service, like a Drum -

Kept beating - beating - till I thought

My mind was going numb -

And then I heard them lift a Box

And creak across my Soul

With those same Boots of Lead, again,

Then Space - began to toll,

As all the Heavens were a Bell,

And Being, but an Ear,

And I, and Silence, some strange Race,

Wrecked, solitary, here -

And then a Plank in Reason, broke,

And I dropped down, and down -

And hit a World, at every plunge,

And Finished knowing - then -

I am going to try and analyze this poem without any background knowledge expect the little recollection of Emily Dickinson from 8th grade. Emily Dickinson as I remember was a loner and wrote hundreds of poems in her room. I think she hid them all over her house and whatnot. The most memorable poem of hers that I remember reading is "Nobody" because it parallels so much with her actual life. Also, I remember that Dickinson never titled her poems, which is why the titles we give them are just the first line of the poem. With that limited knowledge, "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" by Emily Dickinson starts off with a peculiar image. The command center of one's body, and in this case the speaker's, feels a Funeral. What could that mean? How does one feel a commemoration ceremony of death inside the brain? I thought that maybe the speaker is saying that her source of connection with others, route to memories, and road to thinking process were shut off. The third line "Kept treading - treading - till it seemed..." emphasizes the monotony and strong meaninglessness as the Mourners paced back and forth without purpose. The speaker's life could resemble the Funeral procession and how the life was spent in futility. I don't quite understand the second stanza because the mourners finally "were seated" but instead of the mourners, the Service takes the place of the stagnation with its dull and rhythmic beating. The two stanzas stresses how something always "Kept treading" and stresses it by capitalizing it and repeating the line. Therefore, it is during that futile progression that the mysterious 'them' lift the coffin and look into the depth of the speaker's Soul. The third line of the third stanza is very interesting, "With those same Boots of Lead, a gain,... began to toll". The "Boots of Lead", capitalized, signify a slowing and perhaps reluctant walking towards an unknown Space. In that space, the speaker identifies her/himself as one that belongs to "some strange Race", marking that even the speaker does not know or realize what he/she is. The speaker is all alone in that stagnant monotonous Space. The mourners are all gone and it is only the speaker that is present. A peculiar syntax with the phrase "a Plank in Reason" evokes that the plank is justified for breaking, letting or forcing the speaker to an unforeseeable bottom. I have to keep in mind that the speaker is still a soul that has been let out of the coffin in the third stanza. Therefore, by dropping, the speaker hits 'a World', another seemingly foreign place, either still as a soul or human being. The last line is significant because it shows how the journey out of the coffin was in essence a quest for knowledge and experience. I am not quite sure what to make of this poem because the tone is very depressing from start to finish. Even the mention of Heaven did not lift the dreary mood at all. Also, the speaker leaves his or her own funeral without consent and only leaves because the mourners lift the box. Although I may have analyzed completely different from Dickinson's intention, I can't help but believe that the poem illustrates the tedious journey for light that will always perpetuate in a cycle. 

Age of Innocence

I remember I told a friend, "I hate Age of Innocence" I suppose there is a reason as to why people say that hate is a strong word because I regret saying it. I didn't realize that there is so much more to Age of Innocence than I thought there was. Now, I can see why this book is one of Mrs. Clinch's favorite book. For this blog, I just want to point out a few of really interesting ideas I found.

To start, my opinion changed as I read the book's final third section, chapter 25 to the end. The first difference was the pacing of the book; it was much faster. The events started to escalate and the process of resolution kept me absorbed throughout the whole book. The incidence with M. Riviere and the conversation started off slow but quickened as we learned that he was the mysterious secretary Countess Olenska ran away with. An interesting point here is that May, when Archer asked her to if he could invite Riviere to dinner, she completely dismissed the idea. Therefore, the fact that Ellen trusted Riviere and trusted him even though he was from a lower class. The contrast again reiterates May's ignorance and Ellen's acceptance. The scene with M. Riviere also brings up how he is similar to the characters in Doll's House because he says,  "I returned to him, a few months ago, for reasons of private necessity such as may happen to any one who has persons ill and older persons, dependent on him" (Wharton 165). He did what he did (going back to Count Olenski's employment) because he had to. The circumstances of other people depending on him for survival caused him to take on a mission that he strongly wished to avoid. As I read this passage, I couldn't help thinking about Nora, Christine, and Krogstad. They, similar to M. Riviere, committed actions they preferably wouldn't have wanted to in order to survive. This comparison shows that people's sense of loyalty and love for others causes them to take a certain path that would be condemned by society.

Also, I thought this particular section mentioned the aspects of society more frequently than before. The most protruding line was, "After all, a young woman's place was under her husband's roof..." (169) This idea repeated itself several times and again, another similarity to Doll's House. As the family in Age of Innocence discussed Ellen's affairs, the idea of separate spheres was stressed, along with the importance of keeping to traditions and staying away from trends.

Nora = Archer; however, only in their pride and temper. Archer's scene in the library with Mr. Jackson so similarly connected with Nora's confrontation with Krogstad. Both of their ego won over and led them to dig their holes. Wharton's line perfectly lays out the situation, "... as if this were exactly the fact he had been laying a trap for" and "he had once more the feeling that it was exactly what Mr. Jackson had been waiting for" (171). Although Archer is consciously aware of Mr. Jackson's intention, his pride and temper gets the best of him, causing him to show a side of him that would have been better off not revealing. For both Nora and Archer, the things they say makes them suffer.

What I really loved about Age of Innocence was the last chapter. The epilogue was not only fascinating because of its 26 years fast forwarded plot but also because of Archer's changed view of society and life. New York's old family no longer stayed in the old fashioned world and advanced with the changing culture. Archer puts away Ellen as something that's just unobtainable and lives his life to the fullest, "starting the first school for crippled children, reorganizing the Museum of Art, founding the Grolier Club, inaugurating the new Library, or getting up a new society of chamber music" (225) Rather than keeping his view (gentlemen didn't work), he allowed himself to be occupied by meaningful work and did things for his society. This development shows how much Archer changed in the span of time. He is no longer a love-sick man who wished to get away from principles, rather, he changed to someone who found value in principles and of change.