Of Kirilov and Kleos

Prompt of the Day #10

What makes your character unique? Or what's the point in your poem? For that matter, why are you writing? Do you have a purpose? Is there a reason for your actions or the actions of your characters? What contributes to the purpose/purposelessness of your writing? 

Becoming a writer is tough, we all know that. I imagine a bunch of you have the same days as I do: sitting, pen in hand, the dim glow of a dying bulb glancing over the page, computer battery dead and notes upon notes scattered about with their pigeon-scratch-scrawl glaring accusingly at your ineffectual attempts to write anything worth reading. Or maybe you've just opened the mail and received yet another rejection generically printed out by a publishing company that hasn't quite forgotten its manners. Perhaps you've been perusing the new best-sellers and bemoaning the fact that your work is so much better than this. I don't doubt we've all been there at some point. The industry does not work in our favour. It just doesn't. There are too many of us for it to do so. So what's the point? 

Point One for the day is this: Think about what motivates you, because if it's money and fame, then you're probably deluded. If you think it'll eventually happen or that someone will notice you, then your naive. Seriously, you'll probably never be published by one of the Big Six and you shouldn't hold out hope that your luck will change. It might never be your day. So what's the point?

You've noticed by now that I'm deliberately being antagonistic and demoralising. I've also been incredibly unsubtle and used a wee epistrophe for my own entertainment. 


This week has been all about Freedom - we've tried to offer you prompts and examples of how some of the best writers out there have reflected the issues surrounding freedom in their work. Here, in the SUNDAY SUMMARY.  We want to address one last point: Purpose. Freewill in Literature almost always ties into the purpose of a character. 


If a character, like our 'metallurgical Louisa' from Of Gradgrinds and Great Expectations, is in your story then she will play a symbolic role - representing the pull of two factors and the way that these twist within her own life, or depicting the inner tug-of-war between personal and social identity. Her purpose as a character is as an illustration of how much or how little one's life is determined. If you have an Aragorn or a Frodo or your story is about a Quest type journey, then you'll be considering the relationship your characters have with their 'destiny' or the 'inevitable'. If you have a Voyage and Return style plot then you might be playing with 'The Reluctant Hero' or you you might be looking at the way they develop, what spurs them on. Or if you're looking at ideas of personal identity, then you might be using concepts that philosophers still puzzle over: to what extent we remain ourselves through time, how much is nature vs nurture, whether or not freewill is important to our sense of self. 


When it comes to poetry, you might be writing inner-monologues where a character frets over their purpose or lack thereof, or using symbolism that reflects a conflict between freewill and determinism. You might be looking at the works of T.S.Eliot and the post-modernists who look at the new sense of existential freewill, what that means for society or you might be leaning more towards a  discussion lie that in 'The Road Not Taken'. Maybe you're a determinist or you find glory in the idea of a higher power - in which case maybe you'll look at the poetical techniques and symbols in Psalms or at writers such as Gerald Manley Hopkins. 


When it comes down to it, a lot of things seem pointless if you don't have freewill. It would feel like we were in our own Sisyphus style existence, constantly struggling towards something that will only happen if it is determined. With freewill, there's a sense that we can do anything, that choices can be made and we can thus define ourselves - or as Kirilov in Dostoevsky's 'The Possessed' suggests: become God. This is rather wonderfully illustrated in one of the many philosophical discussions of the novel -

 God is necessary, and so must exist.But I know that He doesn’t exist and can’t exist.But don’t you understand that a man with two such ideas cannot go on living?

And is later followed by the more extensive consideration of his own sense of inevitable necessity.

Is there no man on this planet who, having finished with God and believing in his own will, will have enough courage to express his self-will in its most important point? […] All man did was to invent God so as to live without killing himself. That’s the essence of universal history till now. I am the only man in universal history who for the first time refused to invent God. […] To realize that there is no god and not to realize at the same instant that you have become god yourself – is an absurdity, for else you would certainly kill yourself. If you do realize it, you are a king and will never kill yourself, but will live in the greatest glory. But he who is first to realize it is bound to kill himself, for otherwise who will begin and prove it? […] I am still only a god against my will, and I am unhappy because I am bound to express my self-will. […] Fear is the curse of mankind. But I shall proclaim my self-will. I am bound to believe that I do not believe. I shall begin and end, and open the door.

He feels that he MUST 'open the door', that in order for any to realise their freedom to act as they will, he must prove it so. There is much more to be said of these passages and of Kirilov but I want to focus on that idea of necessity. Kirilov is a symbolic figure in the novel but he is endlessly interpretable. We see him as he does, 'absurd' in his actions and suicide; we see him as committing a 'Christian suicide'; we see him as an opposite to characters such as Shatov as Orthodox Russians; we see him as a representative of political thought, as a figure of nihilism, a moment of inwardness, seeking kleos. 


On this note we're going to conclude our week on Freedom - it's up to you now to decide why. 


Je serai poète et toi poésie,
SCRIBBLER

Of Jumanji and Journeys

Prompt of the Day #9

You are on a journey that you didn't want to take. What forced you to make it? Why didn't you want to go? How do you feel now that you're on it and what life do you envision when you reach its end? Write a story or poem that considers one or many of these questions - pay attention to where you are and why you didn't want to go and the difference between before and after. 

Jumanji is oddly one of the best examples of what I want to talk about today. You have the unlucky teen who's sucked into the board and is freed only when more foolish youths roll the dice to draw him out, only once he's out, he's forced to become the protector of all the others - despite wanting nothing more than to go back to the life he left behind. As a group, they have to journey through their own issues to eventually conquer the game (aka 'The Call'), save the people they love and allow them to return to the normal lives they wanted. This is the The Reluctant Hero and he's embarking on A Fated Journey.  

Gandalf says something rather interesting in the letter to the hobbits at Bree, he sends them a poem that contains the famous, exquisite line: 'Not all those that wander are lost'. The poem is repeated by Bilbo when he tells Frodo about how Aragorn's true identity was revealed to him and it relates to his transformation from Ranger to the rightful King of Gondor. Aragorn, the reluctant hero, hiding his name and heritage takes both a literal and inner journey alongside his Fellowship companions. It's one of the most simple and perfect examples of how a journey has to be made, how sometimes someone who looks unimportant is crucial to success and how avoiding Fate is never possible (at least in most fiction). 

The reluctant hero (what TV Tropes calls the character who 'Just Wants to be Normal' but eventually is 'Resigned to the Call') is a fairly standard character type in literature. It's not just people like Aragorn, AKA Strider, or any of the Hobbits - Harry Potter spends a tonne of time, especially in 'The Order of the Phoenix' asking 'why me?' before he knuckles down in 'Deathly Hallows' to accept that though he feels 'beleaguered and blackmailed' he is now ready to 'go out and greet death as an old friend' just like the Third Brother. What about the almost hilarious repetition of the 'why me' clause in The Belgariad? Or the moments in classical epic where Odysseus and Aeneas stop and wonder whether or not continuing on their journey is really worth it - it would be nice to stay with Circe or with Dido. 

This trope isn't restricted to (High) Fantasy though: Jack from Lost is recognised as a 'reluctant hero', and the whole premise of Hancock is that he doesn't want to be a hero. Even more 'real' are characters such as Maggie Tulliver in Eliot's 'The Mill on the Floss' and Sherlock Holmes will always claim that he's just a brilliant observer; the Baudelaire Orphans are thrust into the center of 'unfortunate' adventures after the death of their parents and can you name a teenage-aimed television show that lacks this character trope? 

What is creates a character of this type is the inclusion of a 'Call' which they realise they cannot deny and usually a moment where they either scream to the sky (or muse aloud) complaining about their involvement, or they might even leave (something which is all too often seen in Hollywood Movies for 'dramatic effect'). They always come back - that's the whole point - but they also go through a struggle that we empathise with. They are forced to grow, change, adapt. Often there's an element of self-sacrifice, or a moment-of-revelation when the reluctance is thawed out completely and s/he becomes infused with Heroic Willpower for the end scene. The whole point is to make this character human, that's often all they want to be after all, and their journey involves a struggle then acceptance of Fate or Necessity. 

So why not consider what odds your characters have to face? Or what high powers dictate the movements of your plot. If you're writing a poet, imagine the internal monologue of a wo/man that's placed in this position, or even consider the voice of Fate. Maybe you can consider the role of Freewill and to what extent it can play any role in literature. More often than not Inevitability drives plot. Play with these ideas and see where they take you this time.

Of History and Hair

Prompt of the Day #7

Write about a world before or after today. This can be the distant past, the faraway future or last year or next month or even just tomorrow. How is it different? How is it the same? Has something dramatically altered the shape of society? Do people communicate as we do? What are they wearing? Is anything consistent? 

Sorry this is late everyone, the UNC vs Duke game was on and since the whole school cannot help but give our soul to the Tar Heels, the last few hours have been spent asking 'is this real life?' and 'did that really happen?'. This was one of the tightest games of basketball I've seen, with a Dookie shooting literally on the second mark and the ball going through the net after it hit 00:00. The bar we were in fell silent, everyone stilled in their seats where moments ago they'd been wriggling with anticipation of rushing Franklin Street. Then a girl pipes up, "Did that seriously happen?" 

It had. UNC had lost by one point after a three pointer from the Blue Devils and no one knew what to do. It was then that the 'what ifs' began. What if Zeller hadn't batted at the previous Duke throw? What if he'd scored the second free-throw? What if Duke had been fouled in those last seconds? Why didn't x do y and a try b? 

Time is a funny thing, we imagine the possibilities and extrapolate scenarios based on the historical past. We're fascinated by the past, spending hours relating our days to our friends, our life stories to new acquaintances. We're proud or dismayed by our family legacies. All to often, we find ourselves engrossed in discussions such as: what you want to call your kids, or whether or not you'll let them read Harry Potter all in one go. Furthermore, we watch shows about history or set in history, make up stories of the future, aims and achievements that society should strive for. We're a very funny race. 

With a story, little things can help you to develop a sense of 'when'. Does the woman have her hair pulled back to reveal her 'shapely neck' and does the man admire it? Does she wear it in a beehive and match it with coral coloured earrings or a yellow polkadot dress? Does he look dapper in a suit or swagger through the streets with that particularly modern suave? Maybe it's a post-apocalyptic scenario - are they split into groups where some are selectively allowed to thrive and others bear the brunt of social decay? Simply describing someone's hair can convey an era. This is what we see with the descriptions of women figures in Hedda Gabler - there is a sense of how a woman who embraces her femininity will wear her hair loose but Hedda will no. Or if we look at the novels of Austen or Welsh or Joyce, you see a fascination with the way particular character bind or loosen their hair, as if one transforms from Virgin to Whore (Freudian terms I assure you) through the way ones hair is done. 

The thing that really marks how this evokes a sense of time is how these are appreciated by on lookers and how we interpret them. Something such as hair and the reactions towards it, show the limitations or unfreedoms imposed upon a figure. It doesn't have to be just the woman effected - it's society as a whole. This is particularly poignant for us as modern writers because of our concepts of fashion and anti-fashion. We want to combine our ideas of what is acceptable, our ingrained sense of fashion, with our knowledge of history.

In poetry, you can use tense to slip and slide through the past, present and future. In 'For the Union Dead', Lowell spends the majority of the poem in the past yet only 17 of 60 lines are in the past tense. This adds to the sense of how the world is being transformed, the structure and sense of the poetry being confused by the 'shaking' of the earth by 'civic machines'. As with 'hair', small details can hint at the time that you're setting your poem in. Even if this is usually the 'present', clues can be found in the use of colloquialisms or current figures. If you're writing about the past or future, this can often help to evoke a deeper level of understanding. Just think about political or satirical poetry, even if you're not trying to talk about these things directly or appeal to my favourite British genre, by including or hinting at contemporary images or figures, you're asking people to engage in the world which inspired your writing. 

When it comes down to it, history is about freedom. Something as small as hair can convey the ways that society changes and the way that freedoms shift and alter civic relationships. This is why I'm going to leave you with my favourite quote from Ulysses:

"History is the Nightmare that I am trying to escape," said Stephan

.... What if that nightmare gave you a kick?"

Je serai poète et toi poésie,

SCRIBBLER

Of Gradgrinds and Great Expectations

Prompt of the Day #

It is the late 1800s and the world around you is a strange, cold place. Manners dictate your interactions with men and women. The lull of the country and the lure of the city compete for your affection. Industry is overwhelming traditional ways of life. The middle classes are entrenched into society but a 'self-made man' is still an object of scorn. Utilitarianism and Religion compete over societal morals. Everyone and everything is moulded to fit the figure of a newly mechanised world. 

Write about a day in the life of the19th Century. 

Happy 200th Birthday Mr Dickens

Many of you will have noticed the Google image of the day: all in honour of one of the greatest writers than Britain has ever seen. 

Prolific, passionate, political - Dickens' novels remain some of the most influential works of fiction in the English canon. From Hard Times' clinical consideration of the effects of extreme Utilitarianism and the import of imagination, to the the heart-wrenching stories we find within a Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickelby or Oliver Twist, Dickens was a master of character and plot. His ability to write serials, a term referring to the presentation of chapters published one at a time either days or weeks apart in magazines and newspapers, was crucial to his success. Even if he was boring you to tears at the beginning of a 'chapter', he could have you coming back for more by the end of it. Part of this is through suspense, other times it's through the introduction of sideplots and mysteries that you feel the urge to unravel. 

Many critics, including James Wood of 'How Fiction Works' laud his ability to create characters. In Hard Times, the plot is driven by our understanding of the 'metallurgical Louisa' and her relationship with her 'mathematical' brother, her 'eminently practical father' and the 'brazen' Mr Bounderby. Epithet-type motifs such as these recur through the novel (in fact 'eminently practical' appears no less than 7times - mostly in one chapter!) and act as signs for the characters. Similarly, the voice of the narrator will often bleed into the voice of characters - for example with the heavy repetition of the word 'facts', this is firstly the voice of McChoakumchild but later is adopted by the narrative voice to describe the city - this creates a sense of how man shapes a society, how philosophy can change language, thought and appearance.

For me, I see the conflict of the novel as a dialectic between the social and the personal - where the social dictates that Louisa marry Bounderby or that Coke Town work its weary way into the ground; but also where the personal suggests Louisa wants to 'burst out' of the fire, that Coke Town still glows with 'faery palaces'. Dickens' art is thus in the way that he sets up characters as caricatures, embodiments of the problems at large, whilst maintaining the reader's sympathy. 

Character is certainly an art and its well-worth figuring out if you have that Dickensian grasp on characterisation. Not everyone does, Iris Murdoch still claims that though the mark of a great novelist is to be able to create a plethora of characters that are unlike oneself, she has not achieved this. James Wood even cites her as saying: 

"How soon one discovers that, however much one is in the ordinary sense 'interested in other people', this interest has left one far short of possessing the knowledge required to create a character who is not oneself. It is impossible, it seems to me, not to see one's failure here as a sort of spiritual failure."

Whilst you could be as melodramatic as Murdoch, you could also realise that Dickens had a talent - he was a daily rag writer, surrounded by the great age of satire and the caricature was a natural tool in his belt of brilliance. You don't have to be disheartened. You can think about which of these sorts of writers you are. Try you hand at creating character upon character, think about their voices and their mannerisms. Is there a particular word or phrase that summarises their situation or personality? Have they 'freedom' from the inky dictatorial pen? Try thinking about how you introduce them - Dickens has an amazing way of describing everything about a person, except their appearance. And why not play with their situation - what world are they born in? Are they white or blue collar? What's the political situation of the time? 

Let Dickens' influence continue and wish him a very happy second century.  

Of Freedom and Freeverse

Prompt of the Day #5

What is freedom? People fight for it, people die for it, people march down streets proclaiming their right to it; in fact, we all seem to believe that we're free and feel terrified when our autonomy is threatened. 

Write about Freedom. 

Be it to do with the abstract, a character, society or something else entirely. This week is all about Freedom. 

Freedom today is a massive issue, particularly when it comes to things like Freedom of Expression, Intellectual Freedom, Free Speech and such. When you think about it, it seems like its constantly under threat, think about things such as CCTV which are already an everyday aspect of our lives, or the Congressional attempt to introduce SOPA. Think about how debates rage over whether or not we have the right to know about the lives of football players or whether they have the right to privacy. It's about the freedom of the press - shouldn't they be able to publish whatever they see fit? Surely a super injunction impinges on the freedom of speech and expression? But then what about the right of the subject in question - are they not allowed to live their life the way they wish to without worrying about it being splashed across international news stands?


Novels such as Orwell's 'Nineteen-Eighty-Four' build off the fear of what would happen in a world without freedom of anything, where autonomy is a vague dream. Both the film and the original graphic novel, 'V for Vendetta', continue along a similar idea, where totalitarianism grows out of human greed and fear and overwhelms society. Banksy, the elusive British street-artist, frequently alludes to a belief in the power and necessity of freedom. 


When poets such as Owen, Sassoon, Pound, Lowell, Yeats and Eliot were writing, free verse was an expression of freedom too. Many of their writings reflect the deterioration of society, a breakdown in structure and hierarchy. Lowell's poems 'Memories of 5th Street and Lepke' as well as 'For the Union Dead', look at how, on the one hand the writer and others like him were prosecuted despite acting within the realms of freedom of expression, compared to the blind 'savage servility' of the modern man going about his day. His writing evokes images of acceptance - as if fatalism is our own creation. Similarly Eliot addresses this idea in his own writing with what we would likely describe as a strange sense of existentialist anxiety. To these poets, form could either instruct or undermine an idea. All of them were well-acquainted with sonnets and villanelles, iambs, trochees and anapests - they experimented with meter and verse to emphasise the conflict between freedom and society, the interplay of rules. 


If you're a writer, you not only have to be somewhat aware of deep-seated, human emotions towards themes such as these (even if it's only on a vague level), but you also have to think about your form and what that will do to your writing. This latter point may seem more valid to the poet but the short story writer can play with just as many conventions - think of Joyce and the voice of the nationalistic Dedalus, or the way Dickens' characters sometimes take on the voice of the narrator and vice-versa. 


So think about what you're writing about and whether there's anything deeper to the ideas that you're exploring. Think about the modern day mindset and how your themes can appeal to them. And while your at it, why not explore ways of emphasising things in a way that's subtle and interesting as well as unique. 

Please note that this is the first Monday of our blog and therefore we are introducing the weekly theme for all of our prompts until Sunday.