Lucas' 20th Century Lit Blog

While Evelyn Nesbit left the pages of ragtime a few chapters ago and she may never return to the novel, I found the time we spent with her character thought provoking, compelling, and emotionally stirring. A little research into the real person Evelyn Nesbit will show that almost every shocking thing about her life actually happened. She was actually assaulted by famed architect Stanford White at 15, abused by oil scion Harry K Thaw in Europe, and witnessed her former assaulter/lover shot by her current husband atop Madison Square Garden. It should also be noted that Nesbit did in fact donate to Emma Goldman's magazine, at least according to her wikipedia article. Now if that wasn't enough for you Doctorow adds his own spice to her story: her obsession with a little poor girl from the southeast side. All of these elements not only make for interesting plot but also an extremely complex character. It is obvious that Evelyn Nesbit is looking for a fulfilling place and purpose i...

From henceforth this blog will be fully dedicated to History as Fiction.

While the general outline of HBO's Native Son and Richard Wright's original novel is the same, there are extremely noticeable differences between their plots and structure. The most striking of which in my opinion is their separate main characters. Bigger Thomas from the novel is a cold and not very sympathetic character, whereas the one from the movie with his punk style is much more likable and seems to have decidedly less violent tendencies. The relationships between Jan, Mary, and Bigger seem much more positive in the modern rendition. While Bigger states on multiple occasions that he felt hatred towards both of them, the movie Bigger seems to form something of an actual connection with them. Even securing them narcotics in return for music gifted to him by Mary. It is much easier to see Mary's death as accidental in the film because of this. In addition, his relationship with Bessie has marked differences. In the film they seem to actually care about one another an...

At a glance, the characters of Gunnar Kaufman and Bigger may not seem to share a multitude of characteristics, however upon closer inspection their stories are a lot more similar than they may appear. They are both characters in coming-of-age stories with twists, whose lives are presumably cut short. While they also share many differences, they are at their core disenfranchised young men, who are pushed into bubbles based on their racial identity, restricting their ability to live full lives. Gunnar is certainly much more educated and I dare say intelligent than Bigger, in addition to being more outwardly rebellious. However, he too finds himself surrounded by white people who all seem to want something from him. He is praised by white people for his talents, whereas Bigger is hated. However, is that really so different, neither of them are seen as individuals, merely as men defined by a few actions and accomplishments, or in Bigger's case crimes. Neither lives a satisfactory lif...

In Beloved everything seems to come back to one thing: Sethe's time at, and escape from Sweet Home. She doesn't enjoy the memories she has from her time there. She certainly doesn't want them to dictate her life, but her rememory will not let her forget the trauma. Throughout the course of Beloved , characters cannot seem to shake their past, and it all plays into a larger metaphor for the effects of slavery on American society. The most obvious instance of this, besides Sethe's time at sweet home. Is the death and murder of her baby, which has literally manifested itself in her life as a ghost haunting her. Beloved the character is quite probably Sethe's murdered child, an even more glaring instance of the past never truly going away. Sethe buys into the idea that "nothing ever dies" and even though sweet home is long gone, she will never let Denver return, because of the power she believes it holds. Paul D is similarly haunted by his time at Sweet H...

As we progressed throughout TEWWG, the main focus of the novel became the relationship between Janie and Tea Cake. As we explored their connection and interactions deeper I personally felt as though this novel became a tragic love story. Janie and Tea Cake's love is undoubtedly strong and even after his death she feels as though he still lives on within her. So much of this novel is dedicated to their romantic journey that I feel this novel is mainly and most importantly a love story. The narrative of  her other two marriages were not anywhere near as romantic or strikingly powerful as her time with Tea Cake. Logan is decidedly bland in the romance department, and while Jody initially provides some excitement, he is far from the knight in shining armor that he tries to portray himself as.  Both of these relationships mostly just provide context and background for her final and most important marriage to Teak Cake. Janie struggles to find a man who she truly loves and wishe...

It's pretty easy as a reader to group Janie's first two husbands Logan and Joe, but in reality they were very different, and grouping them together gives Logan in particular a bad rap. Let me start by clarifying, I have no sympathy for Logan, it's not Janie's fault she doesn't love him and she is obliged to leave. However, he was not abusive or manipulative as Jody came to be. He was merely a simple farmer, who proved incompatible with his much younger and much more adventurous wife. So while Janie was justified in leaving him, he didn't exactly do much wrong. In the case of Jody, he did a lot of things that were legitimately abusive, so ironically Janie leaves Logan for a worse man. Jody is a minsogynst who believes Janie's only purpose should be to sit still and look pretty. He doesn't really even allow her to work inside her own store. When he claims upon first meeting her, that working the farm is no place for a woman, he didn't mean it in a mi...