Song: Hey There Delilah

Daisy and Gatsby have a very confusing and complex relationship. I believe the song “Hey there Delilah” by the band Plain White T’s connects to these two characters by describing the struggles of a person trying to get in a relationship with another person already in a relationship.

First, let’s look at the context of this song.

The singer, Tom Higgenson, was in love with a girl named Delilah. However, Delilah was already in a relationship with someone else and thus could not date Higgenson. As a result, Higgenson wrote this song as a way to persuade Delilah to commit to him instead of staying in her current relationship. Unfortunately, she denied Higgenson and they never ended up getting together.

This situation epitomizes the circumstances that surround Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship where Gatsby tries to get Daisy despite her already being with someone else. In addition to this, Gatsby and Daisy never end up getting together just like how Higgenson and Delilah could never get together after this song.

“Hey there, Delilah
I know times are gettin’ hard
But just believe me, girl
Someday I’ll pay the bills with this guitar
We’ll have it good
We’ll have the life we knew we would
My word is good”

This series of lyrics show that despite Higgenson being relatively unsuccessful at this point in time, he wishes to make enough money in order to have a strong foundation for his relationship with Delilah. Similarly, Gatsby has the ambition to be with Daisy and thus goes into bootlegging in order to make enough money so that he can raise his chances of being with Daisy.

“Listen to my voice, it’s my disguise”

I believe this lyric connects with Daisy’s entrancing voice. Daisy’s voice sounds soft and innocent, but behind this charming innocence, there is strong greed for money and materialism. As a result, Daisy’s voice is like a disguise for her true intentions. Gatsby even realizes this and says “Her voice is full of money” (120) showing that he recognizes her deceptive personality.

“Close your eyes
Listen to my voice, it’s my disguise

What’s it like in New York City?
But, girl, tonight you look so pretty

Yes, you do
Times Square can’t shine as bright as you
I swear, it’s true”

In this passage, we can see rhymes. Rhymes are very important literary devices especially when it comes to songs.  A rhyme helps to give structure for the chorus and helps with the memory for recitation. This is something important for songs because of how artists want fans to know their songs. It also gives predictable pleasure for the fans and thus makes it more enjoyable to listen.

“We’ll have it good
We’ll have the life we knew we would
My word is good”

“Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
 Oh, it’s what you do to me”

Repetition can be found in these lyrics. Repetition can be used to place emphasis on something, or in other words, highlight what is important to the singer. The repetition of “good” in this song could be to signify that everything will be “good” if Delilah chooses to be in a relationship with Higgenson. In other words, Higgenson is saying that if Delilah and he go together, all their conflicts will be resolved and life will be good.

The repetition of “Oh, it’s what you do to me” could signify the immense impact that Delilah has had on Higgenson’s life at that time. Higgenson shifted his ambition of making music to trying to get with Delilah. He fell in love with her and made a song specifically for her even though she was already in another relationship. These things are influenced by Delilah and shows what her influence has done to Higgenson.

“Times Square can’t shine as bright as you”

We can also find a simile in this lyric. The singer is comparing his lover to the brightness of Times Square saying that she outshines the district in New York. Brightness can be associated with the value someone holds in a person or how important they are in said person’s life. Times Square is a place where there are tons of streetlights making the city profuse with light. As a result, saying that Delilah is brighter than Times Square shows how much importance that Delilah holds in Higgenson’s life.

Image: The Stork Club

Speakeasy, a secretive bar where alcohol would be illegally sold and then consumed by its patrons. These bars were typically owned by criminals such as Al Capone and they were able to generate profits upwards of 60 million dollars in the 1920s. The name speakeasy comes from the idea that patrons had to speak a password to gain entry so as not to be overheard by law enforcement. On top of this, there were trick walls and unmarked doors that made it difficult for speakeasies to be located. Speakeasies came into existence because of the Prohibition that took place in the United States. Ironically, this means that supporters of the Prohibition were responsible for the rise in alcohol crime during this time, with one of them being the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Speakeasies was also a common place for women called Flappers. Flappers were female dancers who went against the social norms during this time by wearing revealing clothing, engaging in more sexual activity, drinking alcohol, etc. They became another reason for people to visit speakeasies.

Speakeasies were common throughout America but the pinnacle of speakeasies took place in New York. In fact, there were so many speakeasies in New York that it became known as America’s center for organized crime. Among all these speakeasies in New York, The Stork Club was the most popular one. The owner of this club was an x-bootlegger named Sherman Billingsley (who is in the picture above) and this business ran from 1929-1965. The Stork Club was so popular because of its famous patrons that visited this speakeasy including celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Sherman was also known to offer very lavish gifts to his patrons which helped to boost popularity.

This club also had some special qualities that separated it from the rest of the speakeasies. Other than catering to the wealthy, Sherman had a system in place where he would use hand gestures to instruct his staff on what to do without his customers noticing. Some hand gestures include Sherman putting his palm up on a table, which is one of his signals to a nearby assistant that means “Bring a bottle of champagne.” Another hand gesture was Sherman having his hands interlocked and thumb up which meant “Get them out and don’t let them in again.”

With this being said, do you believe that speakeasies (and their imapct) will hold value in a society like ours today?

If you would like to learn more about Al Capone and his ventures click here.

Click here for audio.

Header image: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/06/08/npr-the-alice-network-is-a-crackling-tale-of-spies-and-suspense

The Alice Network finally reaches its conclusion.

To start off, I believe that the thematic idea of this novel has been adjusted based on what has happened in this third of the book. I mentioned in a previous post that this book served a purpose in highlighting the important roles that females had taken during the World Wars. However, I think its safe to say that the acceptance of one’s own failures plays a fairly large role in this book.

After Claire learned about the death of Rose she was initially distraught saying that she failed to help her beloved cousin as well as her brother. “I loved them both so much, and I’d failed them so utterly.” However, eventually, she learns to accept the fact that nothing can be done to help Rose and her brother and that she should focus on what she still has left. “I’d lost my brother. I’d lost Rose, I wasn’t losing anyone else I loved.” Due to this realization, Claire was able to clearly see the potential danger that came with Eve wanting to murder René and in the end, was able to help save Eve from dying to the hands of René.

Grief

This thematic idea also applies to Eve. Eve has been living the past 30 years in the novel with this false sense of guilt that she was responsible for the death of Lili (a.k.a the Queen of Spies). When Eve learns about this lie fabricated by René, it acts as a catalyst for Eve to accept that she was not able to save Lili even though she put forth her best effort. As a result, instead of living in a state of depression which was amounting to suicidal thoughts, Eve decides to continue on with her life with her being able to accept her failure. She evens decides to don the war medals that she immensely despised because of how it represented success even though she let Lili die.

Relationships between the character have also changed.

One of the main changes in a relationship between characters would be René and Claire. In the previous two sections, the connection between René and Claire was formed due to how they both knew Eve. However, in the final portion of the novel, a more personal connection is established between the two. This is because Claire finds out that René played a role in the murder of her beloved cousin, Rose.

The relationship between Eve and Claire has also progressed further. “It was as though Charlie had turned into Lili right before her eyes, little and fierce as a wolverine, dancing on her wits just a hair’s breadth ahead of a disaster, improvising her way out of death.” Eve compares Claire to Lili who was her most treasured friend. This shows that Eve has the same admiration for Claire as she did with Lili.

Friends

In addition to character relationships, the perspective from which the story is told has shifted.

Up until the third part of the novel, the story has reflected on Claire’s story in the 1940s and reflected on Eve’s story based in World War I. In the third part, when the story switches to Eve’s character, its timeline is the same timeline with Claire and the audience can now see what thoughts Eve has in the current timeline. Before, the audience could only see Claire’s thoughts and opinions on what has happened in the novel in the present time. I personally think this is a nice adjustment simply because we can learn more about Eve’s character in the current timeline rather than just learning through Claire’s perspective. This is also the reason why we are able to learn that Eve cares about Claire.

With that being said, the journey that the Alice Network has taken me on finally comes to an end. Overall, this book has done a wonderful job in keeping me interested in its plot. It had enough twists and turns that it wasn’t lacking or excessive. I found that the characters were likable and somewhat relatable showing that life comes with its failures and successes. The fact that the story switched between two different perspectives was also a factor in why I really enjoyed this book. If you would like to learn more about this book, click here.

Header image: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/06/08/npr-the-alice-network-is-a-crackling-tale-of-spies-and-suspense

In the second third of the Alice Network, a lot of critical development has been unveiled.

For starters, let’s look at the progression of the main characters.

In the case of Eve, I believe she has become more amicable towards Charlie (while the signs may be subtle). For instance, Eve says to Charlie, “Yes, and I’ll c-cover this one. You’ve been buying till now.” While covering the cost for food may seem like an insignificant gesture to us, for Eve, this is a big step forward. Earlier on in the novel, Eve was simply using Charlie’s wealth in order to track down Renée Bordelon (She also demanded that Claire does not get in her way and asked for a sum of money to allow Claire to come with her). In other word’s, Charlie was just a piece to be used to achieve Eve’s goal. However, later on, Eve is making an effort (in small ways) to help Charlie and not just use her.

Another example of friendship being created between Charlie and Eve is after Eve learns about the death of Rose from Charlie. Instead of rubbing it in Claire’s face that she was right about the fact that Rose would not be alive, she decides to comfort Claire. “I’m sorry, […] For what it’s worth. Which is nothing, when a friend’s g-gone. Sorry isn’t worth anything, but I still am.” Up until now, Eve showing empathy for Claire would have been considered completely out of character.

In this third of the book, we also see Finn’s and Charlie’s relationship become something more than just acquaintances. After learning about Rose’s death, Finn shares personal information that he has never shared before (his experience in the war). After the exchange of personal stories, the two become lovers.

In addition to character development, the main focus of the plot has changed. As mentioned earlier, Claire learns that Rose died. Rose was killed by the Germans in a small French town called Oradour-sur-Glane. There, she was shot down in a mass shooting along with her infant child. After Claire learns about this loss, she no longer holds an interest in continuing the adventure with Eve and Finn. However, Eve makes an attempt to rekindle this interest by saying “Let me know if you decide you’re a fleur du mal after all, and I’ll tell you why you should come with me to find René Bordelon.” The second third of the book ends here.

Oradour-sur-Glane

A symbol that pops in this third of the novel is Eve’s medals of war. These medals are only given to the bravest and most accomplished soldiers, and Eve was one of those people. However, Eve decides not to accept these medals. This might be because these medals might symbolize how Eve had to sacrifice her best friend and coworker, Lili, and let her be captured by the Germans. Eve did this in order to relay important information to the British Empire which is what got her these medals. The medals would be a constant reminder of the sacrifice she made rather than symbolizing her accomplishments.

One of the medals that Eve received was the Order of the British Empire

This story continues to intrigue me, and I am curious as to what direction the plot of this novel will go, but that will be for another time.

Dance, an art that most people love, and some strongly dislike. I follow the latter. Vickie Sears, the author of the short story Dancer, addresses the life of a young, adopted, Assiniboin girl named Clarissa. Through dance, Clarissa is able to unlock pieces of her heritage and thus is able to find a sense of pride in her culture.

In this story, 2 types of dance pop up; the Owl dance and the Circle dance (which is now also known as the Friendship dance). These dances are usually performed at social gatherings that are referred to as Pow Wows. These gatherings help to preserve Native Indian culture and heritage that runs ever so thin in present-day Turtle Island. (Yay colonialism!)

Pow Wow

Each of these dances is performed for a specific purpose, but in a broader sense, they are used to express Native Indian culture. The Owl dance, for example, is a couples dance that is used for courting and socializing. On the other hand, the Circle dance is a dance of friendship that helps to create a strong sense of community and togetherness. This is one of the few dances that both indigenous and non-indigenous peoples can participate in.

Pow Wow regalia holds equal significance in Indigenous dancing. Each piece of regalia is unique and sacred to the dancer. This includes items such as moccasins, eagle feather fans, hair roaches, etc.

With all this being said, other cultures should not try to perform these cultural dances without the permission of the Indigenous peoples. There have been multiple accounts of people trying to honor the Indigenous peoples but end up insulting them instead. A perfect example of this took place in a Utah high school (also known as the home of the redmen…). The school was trying to honor the Indigenous people but instead ended up offending the culture by using things like eagle sounds and fake braided wigs during the performance. The school was even asked by the Paiute Tribal Council to consult with them first but the school never followed up. You can read more about this article here.

Okay, let’s transition back to the beauty of cultural dance.

When I look at Indigenous cultural dance, I can’t help but notice some similarities in Indian cultural dance (yes, I am talking about the country with an overpopulation problem). Indian dance, like Indigenous dance, acts as an art of expression for our culture that is used to tell different stories.

A dance that my younger cousin performs is Bharatanatyam, and as much as she is annoying, she is fairly good at it. This dance is typically used to express Hindu religious stories and devotions. This usually consists of different symbolic hand gestures to tell a story.

The equivalent of the Owl dance in Indian culture is known as the Kathak. This a love dance that is performed by both men and women that features intricate footwork.

Kathak

As much as I detest dancing, I admittedly hold a lot of respect of how dance can have such spiritual and deep meaning. This form of expression can be beautiful to look at and can be used as a catalyst to become with one with your culture. This idea of learning culture through dance is embodied by the character Clarissa and shows just how powerful dance can be.

There’s no equation here, or, is there…  In the novel Alice Network by Kate Quinn, Charlotte ‘Charlie’ St. Clair is trying to solve for X with a former veteran spy named Eve who served in the first world war for the Allied Forces. The X I am referring to is none other than Rose, the beloved cousin of Charlie who is presumed to be dead by the rest of her family due to the aftermath of the Great Wars.

Let’s take a look at what happened in the first third of the book.

Charlie leaves her mother in order to embark on this journey to find Rose. Her mother is someone who forces the gender stereotypical roles of a female on Charlie. Charlie, on the other hand, is a quiet, nice, smart college student who does not wish to adhere to the typical female roles that were put on to women during this time period. This ultimately gives her the push to find her cousin (can’t blame her).

Charlie visits an old woman named Evelyn Gardiner in London. Eve had worked at a bureau helping to locate for refugees and she came across Rose’s file. She, unfortunately, does not have any information on Rose (mind you that Charlie has a Luger pointed at her face during all this).

Luger

The book transitions to Eve in her younger days during the first world war. She gets recruited by Captain Cameron for her language skills. She is asked if she would like to work as a spy for the Alice Network and she agrees.

Charlie mentions the name “Le Lethe” which leads Eve and her caregiver Finn to agree to go on the journey. Charlie mentions something that she refers to multiple times as “My Little Problem”. It is assumed that she is pregnant. Eve makes a call to a woman and they depart for Rouen. It is also here that we learn Finn is an ex-convict.

Going back in time. Eve meets Alice Dubois, the leader of the Alice Network (I guess the spies were creative in everything except for naming their organization). She learns that she will be working at a restaurant called Le Lethe in the town of Lille under a corrupt man named René Bordelon. In this restaurant, German officials would meet up and occasionally discuss attack plans. Alice was given the mission to eavesdrop on their conversations and report back any important intel to Alice.

Female Spy

What makes this book so unique is the fact it switches between Charlie’s and Eve’s perspective constantly. By doing this the readers are able to get a more in-depth understanding of what life was like for Eve. This also gives readers like us information that Charlie wouldn’t know about, similar to how soliloquies are used in Shakespeare’s plays.

We can also see that this book discusses issues that females encountered during this time period by looking through the feminist lens. We can see how male dominance was prominent back in the day and how women were abused by that power. This book highlights the way women thought versus how they acted. Not all women wanted to be dressed up and pretty like Kim Kardashian. The Alice Network was an actual organization in real life and this book shows the important roles that women had in the ending of the Great Wars. This aligns with the thematic idea that women are just as capable as men.

Woman In War

I find that the author’s style of writing for the characters Charlie and Eve really helps to create personality. Obviously, by adding swearing to Eve’s dialogue, the reader can clearly see she is an “unwomanlike” character and that she doesn’t care about what other people think of her. While there is no swearing in Charlie’s dialogue, we can see how Charlie doesn’t have the same type of tone or mannerisms that her mother possesses when talking to men (like raising her voice in front of other men).

Some symbols that pop up are “My Little Problem” and “Solve For X”. “My Little Problem” is the baby that she is holding in her stomach, however, there is a deeper meaning to it. After becoming pregnant, Charlie was regarded as a “whore” by everyone including her family. This baby is a burden, or in other words, a problem for her because it completely destroys her image and innocence which are two aspects that were treasured most in that time period for a woman. The variable X as I said before, symbolizes Rose. However, this symbol also tells us a lot about Charlie’s personality. It tells us that she is someone who is good with numbers and wants to be able to solve everything in her life. This was looked down upon, as women were not supposed to be good with numbers back in that time period. However, she does not care about adhering to the gender stereotypes of a woman.

I don’t say this that often (since I don’t read much), but this is truly a book that I can’t put down. I was afraid that this book would be too focused on feminism but it has the perfect mix of integrating feminism in its interesting plot. I’m looking forward to the to discovering how this plot unfolds.

In the oratory novel Memory Serves by Lee Maracle, Maracle uses imagery to depict an ideal place symbolized by a silver streak that lies in the border between a sandbank and river. This silver streak is synonymous with the indigenous people of Turtle Island and others who can express their true creativity through literature without the insular placing standards on them. As Maracle describes it, “There is a place between the sandbank and the river where silver streaks are born.” All in all, this oratory discusses the struggles of postcolonialism.

“Our words, our sense and use of language are not judged by the standards set by the poetry and stories we create. They are judged by the standards set by others.”

Chances are that you, the readers, are not negatively impacted by colonialism. In the context of this quote, the “we” are the people who have suffered through colonialism and who are now trying to adjust to a state of postcolonialism. The “others” are people like me who have immigrated to countries such as Canada and helped to colonize it. The colonizers have taken power and now govern this country. Thus, the literature that is produced from the indigenous is judged by the standards of the colonizers because of how this country is now ruled by colonizers.

A person like me feels somewhat guilty of the struggle that the Indigenous have to deal with at our expense. However, the goal of this oratory is not to bash on the colonizers. It is meant to serve the purpose of spreading awareness that these postcolonial conditions exist and how it affects their ability to express their true creativity through literature.

“I see future. The voices of George Ryga and some of the citizens who died join the congregation of my ancestors and form an arc […] The concept of the arc of light, which both binds and separates us, is born of the realization that humans hold a thread of hope […]”

In this passage, Lee Maracle pictures a future where George Ryga and her ancestors come to a uniform opinion on the concept of colonialism. George Ryga was a Ukranian immigrant who made plays about the struggles that the Indigenous people of Turtle Island experienced in the face of colonialism. Readers like us can be inspired by George Ryga’s efforts to spread awareness of this imperative issue. It shows that he has made an attempt to understand the conflict that arises between colonialism and the Indigenous and that we should follow suit.

“This hope is held dear by those who refuse to peer like cowardly voyeurs at the world from behind the fence posts of a colonial fort.”

This idea of hope is Maracle referring to the idea of a complete understanding between the Indigenous and the colonizers. A place where ideas can be expressed that the Indigenous see fit in their literature. However, Maracle looks down on the idea of certain Indigenous people giving up on this hope and choosing to be assimilated instead “behind the fence posts of a colonial fort.”

Overall, I believe that this oratory novel does well to express the concerns that Indigenous people like Lee Maracle have in regards to their freedom to express their creativity in literature. It tells the readers of what is desired from the indigenous side and how they feel about the issue of colonization.

If you would like to learn more about this book click here.

If you’re interested in seeing a grade 12 English student attempting to make the perfect analysis for different texts, you know how to surf the internet pretty well.

WELCOME TO MY

First off, I want to start by saying this blog has no specific target audience. Casual readers to hardcore Hamlet fans, this blog can be for anyone within this spectrum. If you couldn’t tell already, the goal of this blog is to create ideal analyses for a different range of texts. These texts range from Shakespeare to Great Gatsby to even indigenous literature (my analysis knows no boundaries).

I decided to title my blog: Analysis Paralysis. I know this condition all too well and felt that it would be ever so ubiquitous while making this blog which gave me the inspiration for the name. In terms of the font and size of the title, I wanted it to be the center of attention. This led me to use a peculiarly named font called Abril Fatface. The font makes the letters look bolder and wider which would help imitate the effect of standing out along with an increased font size.

In terms of organizing my blog, I found it necessary to put all my blog articles on the front page of this site. This was done so that it could be easier for readers like you to have immediate access to my analyses.

For the color palette of this website, well… you can see. The black and white help to create at least some sense of professionalism rather than barfing up all the colors in the rainbow similar to a blog for toy reviews (which surprisingly racks up a lot of traffic). Black and white also have the highest contrast which means that reading whatever I write is easiest to see with this color palette.

Finally, the style of my writing. I decided I want to use some sense of sense of humor in my blog. This is to achieve a deeper connection with you, the readers, instead of using higher level vocabulary. When reading in more formal language, it can sometimes get boring to read and lose hold of the reader’s interest. As a result, my countermeasure is to use said sense of humor to reel the reader back in.

I hope you come along for the ride!