Odour of Chrysanthemums by D.H Lawrence

Today in class we read an extract from the story 'Odour of Chrysanthemums' by D H Lawrence.

The story is set in 1911 and explores a time in Great Britain when industry was taking over. Britain's economy was expanding through exports. Many men were employed in the mines and they worked long hours in poor conditions. Poverty was common and living standards were low. Machines were taking priority over the people. Many workers went on strike and demanded better pay and work conditions. The lower class consisted of laborers and the cycle was rarely ever broken.

Lawrence sets his story in the countryside. However, this isn't the kind of countryside full of fresh air and singing birds. It's a dying place.  'The fields were dreary and forsaken'.  Although the environment in which the story is set may not be as dark and dreary as it is seen as being a lifeless place through the eyes of those that live there. Clinging to life the 'large bony vine clutched at the house' as though it were just holding on.  A layer of thick smog settles on everything present in the scene.  Nothing can escape the industrial pollution.  Nothing can exists.  Lawrence uses a lot of language techniques such as personification and similes to drill into the reader's mind a picture as dark as the Britain in his head.  An example of a simile from the text is when Lawrence describes the pit-bank.  He says it 'loomed up beyond the pond, flames like red sores licking its ashy sides'.  This description makes the reader associate the landscape with unpleasant images usually associated with hell.  Through Lawrence's creative use of language and words he is able to position the reader so they see 1911 Britain as a dark, evil and bland place. 

The people in the story are suppressed by the blanket of smog that rules their lives.  Many of them exists without personality.  They are mealy just objects.  They are not people.  At the beginning of the extract we are introduced to a women who is startled by the loud locomotive engine as it clunks past her.  The woman is symbolic as she represents the British people who have had to take second place to industrial machines.  Next we meet the miners.  A majority of Britain's working class.  They follow each other in a collective mass of suffering.  'Like shadows diverging home' they march through life.  Without freedom.  Without heart.  Without life.  A woman waits outside her house.  Her white apron runs a contrast to her surroundings and we find that she is the only beautiful creature left in the godforsaken land in which she lives.  'Imperious mien, handsome, with definite black eyebrows' she stands with an expression of 'disillusionment'.  Her son nearby is the perfect example of poverty.  He is dressed in hard material that has been cut down from a man's clothes.  He is a future miner and you can tell this by his actions.  Aged around five he acts like a stubborn teenager.  Weighed down by his environment he is far from the optimistic child he should be. 

This extract communicates what a sad time 1911 was for Britain's lower class.  As the industrial era loomed so did the destruction of the environment.  The lower class were forced to live in conditions that shouldn't have to be endured by anyone.  They took the back seat to Britain's exports.  This story is a perfect example of a Marxist text this is because it shows what living in the lower class was like.  Many people were trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty.  Their jobs and fate weighing them down.  The woman is a symbol of thousands of women who were stuck in lives where their children were raised in poor environments and were married to lifeless men who sucked the end of a beer bottle until they could see no more.  

Overall the extract was a perfect depiction of life in 1911 and adds many depths to the way we as future readers see the industrial revolution.  Through clever writing techniques Laurence was able to paint the perfect picture of lower class life

My Personal Reading history

1. When I was one I was given the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear. I was immediately grasped by it’s rhythmic writing style and within a week I had memorised the entire book. 
2. During my early years of primary school I feel in love with the book “There’s a Hippo on my Roof Eating Cake”
3. During my early primary school years my mum used to read us a story from the original “Winnie the Pooh” every night before bed and I'd lap up every word. 
4. “the BFG” was one of my all time favourites. I could read it again and again and it got me through my last years of primary school.
5. In my opinion “to Kill a Mocking Bird” is most probably one of the best books written. It takes the reader on a journey they will never forget and explores human nature in the simplest way. Through the eyes of a child.
6. “the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes you into the mind of a young boy as he struggles with what he is told to be right and wrong and what he is finding to be right and wrong.

Walkabout

Today we watched the film walkabout searches many issues and through imagery is able to successfully portray the artificial lifestyle associated with urban lifestyle. The director adds images of tall office buildings that look down on the insignificant people below. These tall buildings dominate each scene. The feature if brick walls adds a sense of separation as the people are separated for their environment a place were little beauty can be found.

Large masses of people march through the streets. Moving without a cause. The bland clothes of office workers enforces the theme of looniness and artificial lifestyle. The barriers created between people are huge. People walk around, robots. Even the relationship between the mother and the father is fake. Not a word or gesture is shared between the two and little love can be found between them. The people lack personality and not even a smirk can be seen. The life has been squeezed out of the people.

In grey and white clothing the students sit in their big school. Unable to be themselves they are left robots to the system. The same clothes, hair and expression on every child leaves little life in these children. The soldiers marching through the streets confirms the synthetic lifestyle of the city.

Large buildings cover nature and make everything look small and swallow anything and everything up. All food and material items come in plastic. Urban life squeezes the life out of nature.  

Sylivia Plath: Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit

On reading the story 'Superman and Paula Brown's Snowsuit' i was given the task to write up a paragraph on the history in which the story was set (1939). World war 2 began in 1939 between Germany and the world.  Also on the other side of the world for America a war was happening when Japan began to invade many of the countries in the Pacific Ocean.  This was a great concern to America with many of their allies under threat.  They decided to join the war.  During the time of the war it was very common for cinemas to show a short film before the main picture that went for about 20 minutes.  These short films tended to be news reports or Disney short films such as Mickey mouse.  Because not many peep had a Tv news reports and anti Germany or anti Japanese films were often shown.  Many of these films were gruesome and some were historically incorrect as they were a form of propaganda.

Snowdrops by Leslie Norris

Snowdrops tells the story of a young boy who is eagerly awaiting to see the snowdrops in his school yard.  All the  while he is oblivious to the world around him.

While the snowdrops feature in the story as an object they also play a roll in describing two issues explored text.  The snowdrops are very symbolic as they help describe the teacher (Miss Webster's) mood and the gradual maturity of the boy.

In the story the snowdrops are described as being fragile flowers that 'shake, and straighten gallantly''holding bravely' against the wind.  This description fits Miss Webster perfectly.  She was in a very fragile state after losing her companion.  Yet she came to school and braved the harsh winter just like snowdrops are said to do.  Miss Webster tried to stay strong 'she smiled', yet the cool wind of emotion spiraling insider her left her cadged behind iron gates as she began to 'cry aloud' for the man she had once loved.

The boy is the main character in the story.  His development can be reflected in the growth of the snowdrops.  'The snowdrops had been asleep under the ground, but now they were up, growing in the garden'.  Like the flowers the boy grows.  Originally we see him as being a young boy, naive (thought Miss Webster was upset about her finger after two hints were dropped about the Meridith boy's death) and living in his own world ('he looked around for Miss Webster to explain these simple flowers').  Like the flowers the boy grows to understand the harsh reality of death and grief as his well admired teacher weeps by the iron gate.  The boy is forced to confront the real world and the heavy emotions associated with it.  Just like the snowdrops confront the cool weather and all it has to offer.

There are three main characters in the story that really stand out.  The boy, Miss Webster and Edmund all have their own personalities that they contribute to the story.

Not once do we hear the name of the main character.  His character is one that many adults can feel an attachment to as his mind is a perfect example of the typical child.   We are taken on a journey with him as he reaches a mile stone in his life that will shape his future self.  His appreciation and curiosity for something as simple as a sandwich is an example of how simple minded he is. although he has bacon he is astounded to find that the bacon in his sandwich can taste so differently and be 'incredibly new and marvellous'.  Where most people like Edmund will simply say 'it's only bacon'.  Stuck in a world where the promise of seeing snowdrops rules his life the boy sees his world in black and white.  Oblivious to what goes on around him (the death of the Meridith boy) the boy sees only what concerns him.  Whether it be the traffic his been told to avoid, his drawing of a robin or the possibility of flowers the boy is unable to think outside the box.  However, seeing his teacher cry is something that opens his eyes to the emotion of grief and how it can consume a person.

Miss Webster is the young teacher idolised by the boy who was 'pleased' when she approved of his actions and sought her knowledge 'he looked around for Miss Webster to explain'.  Immediately we can establish  her characters position in the story.  She is a sweet young women.  to her students she is like a God and the slightest shift in her mood leaves them 'frightened'. While she is greatly admired by the boy we are also exposed to her more fragile side as she morns the death of her lover.  The 'poor girl' as the boy's mother refers to her as has her own personal funeral.  Dressed in black she comes to school and all the while morns to Meridith boy's death.  Like the boy's robin Miss Webster beings the day 'standing up bravely, throwing out [her] chest to sing'.  However the heavy emotion of grief is to much and her sweet character is left in pieces.  Exposed to her frightened and confused students.

There is a great contrast between the main character and his good friend Edmund.  The main character lives in his own little world. He is lost in the world of innocence.  While Edmund is a brave, energetic and a far more street wise person then his friend.  Edmund is constantly joking around 'Edmund told a joke' and having fun.  Which he does in front of the teacher's to his friend's amazement 'Edmund was very brave'.  The main characer looks up to Edmund and is constantly looking for his support when he is unsure.  The main character sees Edmund as a very brave and strong.  When the boy is unsure he looks for Edmund's opinion.  An example of this is when the boy asks Edmund what is in the sandwich. Edmund has reached a maturity far from the one illustrated in the boy.  The magic that engulfs the young child's mind is absent from Edmund's mind.  Edmund has no interest in the flowers that entrance his friend's mind.  'I don't care because I've seen some already'. Edmund is making the transmission from childhood to adulthood.  He has already been exposed to some of the harsh realities of life.