Author Archives: daelyn wagner

Paris Peasant

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Although I felt that this book started a bit slow and the syntax style wasn’t my personal favourite, I really enjoyed this read. I thought that the setting was especially great and made every scene feel like it was being surrounded by beauty within the city. I think though that having a better knowledge of the what Paris is really like and what monuments and historical sights are there could have helped me to picture things better at times.

My favourite part about reading the “Paris Peasant” was the way that Louis Aragon could so vividly write about the city. He seemed to describe imagery in such a unique and powerful way that it makes the scene feel like real life. He also used many literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and comparisons as a way to help deepen the emotions that the imagery were meant to evoke. Because of the way that Louis Aragon could describe the city and his surroundings and then also tell you exactly what was on his mind, it truly made reading this book feel like you are the one behind the words. Its a very interesting point of view to experience and I think its the main reason that this book is so captivating. Its very rare to see another book with the same feel as this one so it seems as if the post interesting part of the book isn’t actually the plot but is actually the style and way that the story was delivered.

Paris Peasant is written in a surrealism style which I assume is why I found it so interesting and captivating once I got into it. Reading Paris Peasant felt like being able to hear the authors thoughts without any filter. It’s extremely interesting to be able to feel like you are gaining access to a persons thought process and even more, a persons brain. This book has a way of feeling extremely personal yet also uncomfortable. I found there were times where I would be shocked to hear what was being said because most people would never normally allow you to see and hear that side of them. Although some things seemed disturbing or excessive at times such as the amount of women he refers to as a whore. I think that it only adds to the absurdity and shock that is the “Paris Peasant”.

My question for you: What do you think inspired Louis Aragon to write something so bold and almost controversial?

“Swann’s Way” by Marcel Proust

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Initially I found “Swann’s Way” by Marcel Proust to be a slow and confusing read. It felt as if the sentences were just random words that were put together without meaning because so much seemed to be happening in the story right from the beginning. Eventually I started to get more invested and gain a deeper understanding for the storyline and that is when the reading became easier and felt less forced. Because of Proust’s extremely descriptive and detailed syntax I felt that I could better understand the protagonists emotions as they were described in quite a bit of detail throughout the book.

Marcel Proust uses the first person narrative in “Swann’s Way” which demonstrates a very personal and reflective perspective throughout the book. The character begins by describing a mix of memories and dreams, most of which are from the time he spent in Combray as a child. I found it interesting to read bout how he perceives both of his parents. It is very clear that he has a strong attachment to his mother however not his father. He feels close with his mother as she often acts as an emotional support person for him, making him feel comforted and loved. However this relationship harshly contrasts the relationship he has with his father. His father is almost the opposite of his mother, he is very demanding and harsh which creates an emotionally and physically draining relationship between them. A part of the disconnect that he feels with his father is because of the way that the father judges his relationship with his mom by thinking that goodnight kisses and emotional support will cause him to become less of an independent and strong man. This leaves a large disconnect between the father and son and causes resentment towards the father.

I find the connection that Marcel has with his mother to be very relatable. I think that it is very common for children and even adults to feel strongly connected to their mothers and for their mothers to provide a strong comforting feeling. Because this is so common I don’t blame Marcel for feeling resentment towards his father. In fact I think that his fathers judgments and overall personality warrant Marcel to feel resentment. At some point Marcel’s father was just a. child too, which means that he had also experienced comfort from his parents and did all of things that he so strongly disapproved of Marcel doing. It seems wildly unreasonable and un excusable for him to then critique his own son on things that are a normal part of growing up.

My Question for the class: Do you think that the desire for your child to grow up manly is an excuse for judgmental parenting and harsh rules? In other words, do you think that Marcel’s dad was a good father or was he too harsh and deserves Marcel’s resentment?

 

Introductory Blog Post

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Hello everyone!

My name is Daelyn Wagner and I am a first year arts student here at UBC. As of right now I am not sure what I will major in however I am leaning towards majoring in Economics. I enjoy learning about the way that our economy runs and survives and I think that economics is very useful to know just for everyday life as well. I’ve lived in BC my whole life, I was born in Kelowna and was raised in summerland up until I moved to Vancouver for university. I’ve always loved visiting Vancouver and experiencing the excitement of the city for as long as I can remember, and that played a large roll in deciding where I wanted to go for university. Although I’m unsure of my major yet I do know that I would like to pursue a law degree after getting my bachelors degree. Law is something that I have been interested in for as long as I can remember. For fun I like to go on hikes, read, and paint with acrylics and oil paints.

Although I ended up choosing this course in order to fulfill my literature requirement I am still very excited to see what this course can offer. Romance studies definitely seems like an interesting and wide concept for literature studies especially considering the incredible amount of novels and books that have been written about romance and live stories. I’ve always enjoyed reading books and am very excited to see whether or not I will find some new favourite books throughout the term from this classes readings. I also hope to improve my writing skills and become more analytical when reading texts. I find the concept of choosing your grade from the begin interesting and definitely something that I’ve never seen before. I think that allowing the student to have control and decide from the beginning how much they would like to participate and how much time they would like to dedicate to the material and course work to be a very good idea which holds students accountable for their own effort and dedication. The fact that you can much more easily control your grade outcome for this course than any other course I’ve taken at ubc is a major bonus for me personally because of the transparency of the grading system and the control that a system like this can provide for you.