The Wife

"As the vine, which has long twined its graceful foilage about the oak, and been lifted by it into sunshine, will, when the hardy plant is rifted by the thunderbolt, cling round it with its caressing tendrils, and bind up its shattered boughs; so is it beautifully ordered by Providence, the woman, who is the mere dependent and ornament of man in his happier hours, should be his stay and solace when smitten with sudden calamity; winding herself into the rugged recesses of his nature, tenderly supporting the drooping head, and binding up the broken heart."

-The Wife, pg. 65

This excerpt relates to not only the couple featured in the story, but also to everyone in real life. Both the tree and vines are personified to be a man and a woman, and the woman is tending to the mans "wounds." The irony in this passage, though, is that the man has the broken heart. Men are almost always described as the stronger of the two sexes- they are untouchable. Women have to deal with pain, not men. The story, though, focuses on Leslie's paranoia regarding his new wife, Mary. Instead of Mary constantly worrying of what Leslie will think of her, Leslie drives himself into a depression. This displays that everyone experiences pain. Just because you're a man doesn't mean you can't cry. When the story wraps up, Irving alludes back to his previous imagery- "A wild vine had overrun one end with a profusion of foliage; a few trees threw their branches gracefully over it..." Irving uses this nature theme to display that men feel pain, but women are usually the ones to heal, and hurt, the wounds.

blog post

1) "A man, my dear Asem, who talks good sense in his native tongue, is held in tolerable estimation in this country; but a fool, who clothes his feeble ideas in a foreign or antique garb, is bowed down to as a literary prodigy. While I conversed with these people in plain English, I was but little attended to; but the moment I prosed away in Greek, everyone looked up to me with veneration as an oracle."

2) "To let thee at once into a secret, which is unknown to these people, themselves, their government is a pure unadulterated logocracy, or government of words. The whole nation does everything viva voce, or by word of mouth..."

The first document from Mustapha Rub-a-Dub Keli Khan gave off a superior tone; the diction used in the first letter was powerful and all knowing. This second expercept from him, however, transitioned into a much more contradictory tone. The above two quotes display this very well. The first one explains how a man who fakes knowledge (i.e., a language foreign to him), is the one that attains respect, not the actual person who understands the power of words. The next page, however, contained diction that gave off a new, clueless tone. The second quote contradicts what the narrator first said- he was now speaking in a language that was foreign to him (the language was also quite absurd. It was not belieavable in the least).

By transitioning these two letters from Mustapha Rub-a-Dub Keli Khan from wise to clueless, Washington Irving created a new meaning in his work. Mustapha is not an intelligent, respected leader, but the prototype he had always degraded. This indirect imagery displays a rhetorical scenario with no true answer; everyone constantly contradicts themselves, and even though the human race will always attempt to be perfect, we will never be able to.

Post 1/2/09

The letter from Mustapha Rub-a-Dub Keli Khan, from the Selections from Salmagundi, was hysterical. The actual narrator from the other letters must have actually written this, to prove the point that he's conveying in the rest of the letters. The satirical tone makes the reader laugh with the absurd situations presented.
I really liked this selection, so I have two quotes from it.

Quote 1- "But, notwithstanding the charms of these infidel women, they are apt to have one fault, which is extremely troublesome and inconvenient. Wouldst thou believe it, Asem, I have been positively assured by a famous dervise, or doctor, as he is here called, that at least one-fifth of them-have souls! Incredible as it may seem to thee, I am the more inclined to believe them in possession on this monstrous superfluity, from my own little experience, and from the information which I have derived from others. In walking the streets I have actually seen an exceedingly good-looking woman, with soul enough to box her husband's ears to his heart's content, and my very whiskers trembled with indignation at the abject state of these wretched infidels. I am told, moreover, that some of the women have soul enough to usurp the breeches of the men, but these I suppose are married and kept close; for I have not, in my rambles, met with any so extravagantly accoutered; others, I am informed, have soul enough to swear!- yea! by the beard of the great Omar, who prayed three times to each of the one hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets of our most holy faith, and who never swore but once in his life- they actually swear!"
Not only did I laugh at this quote, but I also realized it connected with previous selections in the novel. The narrator is always trying to prove that societies standards of everything and everyone-especially women- are completely ridiculous and difficult to obtain. Instead of using an angry tone, though, the narrator tried a different style; by showing how insane societies standards of women are with dramatic diction and an over the top situation, he showed his readers the problem in a very obvious way that is easy to grasp and laugh at.

Quote 2- "One of them, in the zeal of admiration, threw an old show, which gave thy friends rather an ungentle salutation on one side of the head, whereat I was not a little offended, until the interpreter informed us that this was the customary manner in which great men were honored in this country; and that the more distinguished they were the more they were subjected to the attacks and pelting of the mob."
Firstly, I found this quote ironic because of the recent incident when a shoe was thrown at President Bush. I honestly just like how easily the narrator exposed the problems society disregards, and how everyone puts themselves up on a pedestal, especially the well known. When leaders do something that will negatively hurt the people they care for, they will try to express their anger, but they still think they are the best thing that ever could have happened to their country.

A bunch of posts (aka 2) in one- 12/13/08

1) "As to honest John Bull, I shake him heartily by the hand, assuring him that I love his jolly countenance, and, moreover, am lineally descended from him; in proof of which I allege my invincible predilection for roast beef and pudding."

2) "Far from this; I love the nation, as being a nation of right merry fellows, possessing the true secret of being happy; which is nothing more than thinking of nothing, talking about anything, and laughing at everything. I mean only to tune up those little thingimys, who represent nobody but themselves; who have no national trait about them but their language, and who hop about our town in swarms, like little toads after a shower."

3) "His conversation was to me a perpetual feast; I chuckled with inward pleasure at his whimsical mistakes and unaffected observations on men and manners, and I rolled each odd conceit 'like a sweet morsel under my tongue.' "

4) "I so far gained his confidence, that, at his departure, he presented me with a bundle of papers, containing, among other articles, several copies of letters, which he had written to his friends at Tripoli."

While reading the third letter of Salmagundi, I came across these passages. I think that, when read alone, they present a key problem Irving is trying to expose.
The first passage presents the conflict; the narrator has a negative opinion of the stereotypical person they are conversing with, yet they act happy to be around them. The colloquial and pleasing diction (heartily, jolly, invincible, etc.), camouflages the macrocosm that all people are too opinionated of people who are content with living a good life.
The second passage progresses the macrocosm of the problem; that society is empty and ignorant, while true problems are occurring. Again, the positive diction hides the negative conflict arising, because of society. The toad simile is a nature motif that is excessively brought up in this letter. Nature is a pure, beautiful thing in existence. By using this motif, Irving contrasts society to show that it appears to have a beautiful exterior, but corrupt interior.
The third passage is basically identical to the first one. The progression of societies fakeness is accelerated.
The fourth passage (which I am slightly taking out of context for the purpose of the explanation), indirectly answers the rhetorical question Irving is asking his readers. Although the narrator is still acting fake, he is rewarded with a possession. By not being real, the narrator gained respect and trust. Does he receive happiness, though? Does he receive pride for being a decent person? No. The narrator symbolizes societies problems with exposing their true colors and, potentially, being hurt. By not being ourselves, we will always be rewarded, but we will never be happy.

**This post is long, but it also makes up the one I missed last week.

Post #2 11/21/08

"Our intention is simply to instruct the young, reform the old, correct the town, and castigate the age; this is an arduous task, and therefore we undertake it with confidence."
-Selections from Salmagundi

This quote is a metaphor that relates to the overall "newspaper" motif of the first letter of Salmagundi. The speaker is a self-acclaimed "journalist" who thinks he knows how to fix societies problems, which is displayed in the quotation above. As the selection progresses, though, it's revealed that the diction the speaker uses is over exaggerating the point that the staff at the newspaper knows better than everyone else does. Although the imagery and diction are depicting a newspaper office setting, it is indirectly reflecting the conflict of the human mind. People will act confident, like the newspaper office, so they can get praise that they feel they're worthy of, or that they just want so they don't feel so under appreciated. The conflict presented in this piece between any person and their mind displays that everyone has a feeling of emptiness inside of them.

Post #1 11/17/08

"Nothing is more intolerable to an old person than innovation on old habits. The customs that prevailed in our youth become dear to us as we advance in years; and we can no more bear to see them abolished than we can to behold the trees cut down under which we have sported in the happy days of infancy."

- Letter II from Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.

When I first read this excerpt from the letter, I believed that the narrator was wise and trying to convey a problem that existed (and still does) in society. As the letter progresses, though,I realized that Oldstyle is a symbol of the average person today. The letter first foucuses on his  family and the `Squire having very elaborate and rich things. The diction describing these things supports this idea- Barbara's possessions are described with words such as high, enormous, long, etc. All of these words are accepted to have a positive connotation (the bigger, the better). The `Squire has a relatively similiar situation. Although Oldstyle desires for a simplistic life, he also gets caught up in the progression and change of time. This passage as a whole displays the irony Oldstyle faces in the letters. His ironic (Oldstyle, although he has adapted to the new styles quite easily,) and generic (Jonathan- as typical as a name can be,) name symbolizes his desire to keep old custom, but how society's quick pace to advance to bigger and better things stops him. The "tree cut down" symbolizes how society no longer protects him from things being the same. Because of society, Oldstyle has allowed his greedy desires to possess him, just like everyone else. And he doesn't even realize it.