Literary Essay: The Bridge of San Luis Rey

What makes a book popular is the originality and universality of the story. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder is one of these books that travelled the time because of its philosophical meaning. The question that is asked at the beginning of the novel is the following: “Is there a divine fate?” For some reasons, the author seems to believe in divine fate, but some hints suggest otherwise. The author wanted to make the reader decide by himself, but with a little analysis, we understand that the answer is negative.

First of all, one would think Wilder believes in divine fate since he comes from a very religious family. He and his siblings all went to Christian schools. He elder brother was a professor of divinity at the Harvard Divinity School. In addition, the first character to be introduced in the novel is a monk that tries to prove the existence of divine fate through scientific and rigorous methods. His methods are not revealed, but we know that he wants to prove that the five people who died while crossing the bridge deserved it and that their deaths were an act of God.

At this point, we could think this is a religious novel that tries to show the existence of fate, but as we continue reading, the answer becomes more ambiguous. We are expecting sinners to cross the bridge and fall, but ironically, those who died were repenting. The Marquesa, who had been extremely foolish, passes away when she decides to become a better mother for her daughter. Pepita, who was judging the Marquesa, falls when she starts to understand and appreciate her. Esteban, who had been very depressed since his brother’s death, dies when he was going on a trip with the Captain Alvarado. Uncle Pio, who had always put a lot of pressure on the Perichole to become a better actress, is killed when he was going to spend a year teaching Jaime, the Perichole’s son. What about little Jaime? He died young and pure, he couldn’t be a sinner! The irony of these deaths suggest that they were accidental and were not directed by God. Why would God punish people that want to become better people?

When we finish the part called “Uncle Pio,” we are confused. What will be the answer? At first, we thought the answer was that there is a fate, and then, the irony of the deaths makes us think otherwise. The last part, “Perhaps an Accident,” also suggests that the deaths were not directed by God. The author probably wants to show the complexity of the answer. The question, at the end, is not directly answered, and is left to the reader. Now, the question is: does the fact that these deaths were accidental prove that there is no fate? Yes, because honestly, if God had a total power on us, wouldn’t He punish people who deserved it? If there were a fate, everything would be an act of God, even the fall of the bridge. That means if there were a fate, God would have killed them on purpose. Because God is supposed to be good and fair, it is now obvious that the answer is: no, there is no fate.

Wilder tries to make the answer very amibigous, so people can find their own conclusion from the novel, and more people can appreciate his work: those who believe in fate and those who don’t. Anyway, who is enough presumptuous to affirm he knows the answer to such a universal and philosophical question?

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Ways to spice up your introduction

1. Biographical Information: Ambrose Pierce was in the Northern Army, yet in Occurence at Owl's Creek he takes the point of view of a confederate to express the negative side of war / the horror of war for everyone

2. Quotes : In Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart: ''I am not mad ; no, not me''. Why did the narrator say this? Was he really mad? Explores the fine line between madness and sanity from the perspective of the antagonist.

3. Definition: According to the dictionnary, a lotery is a random draw with money as the prize. In Sally Jackson's The Lottery, the prize is indeed very macabre, but is not money.

4. A Litterary Element: Imagery is a powerful way to express feelings and emotions In L. Allan's Strange Fruit, there are many visual images to show the tragredy of lynching.

5. Life Experience of the Author: Ernest Hemingway had a lot of problems communicating throughout his life. This is reflected in Hills Like White Elephants, when Jig and the American, have problems communicating.

6. Plot: In O.Wilde's The Nightingale and the Rose, the bird his heartbroken by the students pain. By the end of the story, the Nightingale heart's is literally broken, as it is pierced by a thorn.

7. Philisophical (Socialogical) Concepts : Racism has always existed and will always exist, particularly towards people of other skin colors. In L.Hughes I, too, sing America, denounces rasism and delivers a message of hope.

8. Historical Background: Romanticism was in vogue in the early nineteenth century. It extolled the beauty of nature and denounced science and the industrial revolution. In P.B. Shelly's Ozymandias nature corrodes the statue of Ramses II which represents power.

9. Claim to fame: notoriety: J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye was written in 1951, yet still today it is read in almost every literature course.

10. Allusion: (Reference to past works) Many great works use the context to a trial to express a universal message. These include Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Rose's Twelve Angry Men, and Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

11. Using Imagery: "A painting for the painter is what the novel is for the writer. The authors of all genres face endless possibilities when shaping the canvas of their work." X. Tam

Book Report

The “Bridge of San Luis Rey” by Thornton Wilder can be considered a philosophical novel, because it has a strong hidden meaning. The story begins when the famous woven bridge between Lima and Cuzco, in Peru, breaks, precipitating five people into the gulf below. This shocking and unexpected event catches the attention of a Franciscan, Brother Juniper. He decides to find out why these five people died and no one else. He wants to prove that there is a fate given by God to everyone. The rest of the novel is what Brother Juniper found; it is the story of the five people who died.

The first person introduced is Dona Maria, the Marquesa de Montemayor. This woman is characterized by her high sensibility that eventually may lead to insanity. She writes letters to her only daughter who she worships. She is very rich and lives with Pepita, who is her “dame de compagnie.” Pepita is an orphan brought up by the Abbess, Madre Maria del Pilar, a strong and feminist woman, founder and owner of the Convent Santa Maria Rosa de las Rosas. When the Marquesa finds out that Pepita isn’t happy with her, after reading a letter that she was going to post to the Abbess, the Marquesa realizes that it had been mad of her to worship her daughter. She wants to change and become a better person when she and Pepita cross the bridge and die.

After the story of the Marquesa de Montemayor, two twins are introduced: Manual and Esteban. They are orphans and grew up with the Abbess Madre Maria del Pilar. What is interesting with the twins is that they are very close. They even invented a language understood only by them. Their relationship was a very good one until the day the Perichole, an actress, entered into their lives. Manual fell in love with her, which made Esteban feel lonely and frustrated. Manual decided to sacrifice his love for the girl, because of his brother. Soon after, Manual hurts his leg and dies from the injury. Esteban, completely devastated, meets Captain Alvarado, who lost his daughter. He invites the young man to come with him on his trip, since he needs men to work on his ship. Esteban accepts. On his way to Lima, he crosses the bridge and falls.

The next part of the novel is called “Uncle Pio” and tells the story of this character, and Camila Perichole. Uncle Pio is the one who recruited the Perichole before she was famous. He is her manager, her singing-master, coiffeur, etc. Rumors even say that he is her father. Uncle Pio makes this twelve-year-old girl singing in cafés become a famous artist. Their relationship is a strange one, since they love each other deeply, but without passion. They care for each other, but aren’t family, lovers or friends. Uncle Pio always pushes Camila to do better. Compliments from him were very rare. At some time, the Viceroy of Peru starts to be interested in Camila. He gets closer to her and teaches her many things. They have a son, Don Jaime. At thirty, Camila stops acting. The relationship with Uncle Pio has turned bad. Uncle Pio comes to see Camila, veiled so she won’t recognize him, and asks her, with a girl’s voice, to take care of her son and teach him for one year in Lima. When, on their way, they cross the bridge of San Luis Rey, they fall.

It is interesting how all the characters in this novel are related. The three main characters (the Marquesa, Esteban and Uncle Pio) have something in common: they have suffered and when they finally decide to change their ways, they die in a tragic way. This is pretty ironic. Unexpectedly, at the end, Dona Clara (the Marquesa’s daughter), the Perichole and the Abbess realize their loss, thus the hidden meaning of the story. As long as love is there, the dead will still live. The Abbess says at the end of the novel: “There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”

LEL 4: Grammar Skills 2: Fine-Tuning Your Punctuation

1. Interest level:

The course was very interesting, since there wasn't many things I already knew.

2. Difficulty:
The course wasn't that difficult, but I learned many new things.

3. What I learned:
The first lesson was about colons and semi-colons. Even though I have learned these things before, it wasn't really clear in my mind before I took the course. In the second lesson, I learned the uses of the dash, because I didn't know anything about it. In the third lesson, I learned many things, because I can never remember where to put periods, commas, colons and capitals with quotation marks. I also learned a lot in the fourth lesson, because it is hard to remember if the compound nouns are single-word, two-word amd hyphenated. I also learned when to use brackets. I learned that if a number can be written in one or two words, it must be written as a word. Otherwise, it must be written numeral. If the number is in the beginning of the sentence, it must be written as a word.

4. My score:
There was no score.

5. Course rating:
The course was very helpful, and I learned a great deal. I think it was the best, so I give it a 9/10.

LEL 3: Grammar Skills 1: Using Punctuation in Sentences

1. Interest level:

The course was well made, so I found it interesting. It is always useful to review the rules of punctuation.

2. Difficulty:
Some of the things I knew already, so the course wasn't so hard.

3. What I learned:
In the first lesson, I already knew the general rules of capitalization, but there were some expressions I wasn't sure if they needed a capital letter, like religions. In the second lesson, I learned that A.M. and P.M. need periods. I learned the Faulty Sentences (Complete Sentences, Sentence Fragments and Run-On Sentences) in secondary 4, so I didn't learn anything new in the third lesson. I think it is instinctive for me where to put the commas, so I didn't learn anything in the fourth and fifth lessons.

4. My score:
There was no score.

5. Course rating:
I found that the course was a good revision, because I learned these things a few years ago. I rate this course 8/10, because it was well explained.

Inherit the Wind

Characters:

1. Bertrand Cates - main character, science teacher, 24 years old, defendant
2. M. H. Brady - prosecutor, christian fundamentalist, politian, "hero"
3. H. Drummond - defense attorney, opposite of Brady, free thinker, city guy
4. E. K. Hornbeck - journalist, cynical, dislikes Brady, city guy
5. Rev. J. Brown - Pastor/preacher preaches "fire and brimstone"
6. Rachel Brown - daughter, lover of Cates, conflict
7. Judge - impartial, favortism towards Brady, open to free thought
8. Townspeople - reserved, conservative, fundamentalist, evolution-good values

Questions

1. How does Howard and Melinda’s interaction at the beginning of the play foreshadow the major issues of the play?

2. What does Meeker, the bailiff’s, willingness to let Cates out of jail to meet with Rachel tell us both about his offence and the town?

Cates is not threat and the whole atmosphere is easygoing.

3. What kind of town does Hillsboro seem to be in its preparations for Brady’s arrival?

Hillsboro is a very religious and conservative town.

4. What does Brady’s relationship with his wife tell us about his character?

Brady seems very insecure.

5. What does Brady’s conversation with Rachel, and subsequent behaviour afterwards tell us about his character?

He seemed manipulative and sly.

6. How is Drummond characterized by the townspeople? Later when we meet him do they seem to be correct?

They say Drummond is a heathen and unethical. At first sight it seems, but later we are proven wrong.

7. What role does Hornbeck play in the action of the play? What is the significance of the way he speaks?

Hornbeck is a troublemaker, cynical, a non-believer who supports Drummond, self-centered, close-minded, condescending.

8. Do the elements of the trial seem fair to you? Why or why not?

The Judge also names him Colonel; however, the Judge disregards all his witnesses.

9. What do you think Rachel’s motivations for asking Cates to drop the trial and admit his guilt stem from?

Rachel wanted Cates to have good or at least not a bad reputation in the town. She knew he wouldn't win, so she asked him to drop the trial and admit his guilt.

10. What does Brady’s intervention in Reverend Brown’s sermon say about him? Does this contradict what you thought about him as a character?

11. What is the central issue that Drummond is arguing for in the courtroom?

Drummond tries to convince the jury that what Darwin wrote is true.

12. Do you think it is fair that none of Drummond’s expert witnesses are allowed to act as witnesses?

No, because they would have had good, credible arguments.

Mid-Term Writing Test

Part A:

2. Why does Louise Mallard suddenly stop crying? Indicate the place in the text.

Louise Mallard suddenly stops crying when she realizes that without her husband, she will be free. She first feels sad because of his death; however, she feels releived afterwards. This quote indicates when she suddenly changes her mind, and stops to cry, "She said it over and over under her breath : 'free, free, free!' The vacant stare and the look that had followed went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright."

3. How does she feel about her future as a widow? Cite the line in the text using just the first few words, then a series of dots...?

Louise Mallard feels eager and confident about her future life as a widow. For her, the death of her husband is a good event after all. The paragraph that starts with, "There would be no one to live for during those coming years..." indicates perfectly how she feels about her future.

4. How does Louise's sister and her friend, Richards, feel about the Mallard's marriage?

They think that Louise is deeply in love with her husband, and that he is everything to her. What they don't know is that she feels stuck with him, and the love she has for him is more like an obligation. When Louise is in her room, living a "monstruous joy," Josephine, her sister, thinks she is making herself ill from sorrow.

7. Explain how Louise can feel joy and sadness at the same time.

Louise's marriage must have been against her will, since she doesn't seem to enjoy her life with her husband. Louise feels like a slave, and when her husband finally dies, she feels free. The fact that she passed all those previous years with her husband makes his death painful at first sight; however, she realizes how free she is without her husband, and that creates a great joy in her. Actually, what she feels is the Stockholm syndrome. She is like the hostage, and her husband, the hostage-taker; therefore, she feels loyal to him because of that syndrome.

Part B:

Kate Chopin, in "The Story of an Hour," uses irony several times to make a bigger effect on the readers. First, Josephine and Richards think that Louise is feeling sad in her room, and making herself ill because of that sadness; however, Louise is actually living a great joy, the joy of a prisonner who is released after several years in jail. They are scared that the news of Brently's death would give her such a great shock that it would kill her. It is ironic that what they think she is feeling is actually the complete opposite of what she is really feeling. They are trying to comfort her, because they think she is suffering terribly, but she is living the best part of her life.

Second, it is ironic that Louise feels joy and sadness at the same time. It can be explained by the fact that she probably loved her husband a little, even though he was a symbol of oppression for her; moreover, she lived the Stockholm syndrome, which is a sign of sympathy from a hostage to his hostage-taker. Also, Louise seems like a very fragile person, and she probably felt more secure with her husband, he was a symbol of stability and protection. When she obtains her freedom, she is deeply happy, but freedom comes with responsabilities, and I am not sure she could have dealed with them.

Third, the most ironic part of the story is when the husband, Brently Mallard, comes home at the end. All the dreams, all the projects, all the joy that Louise had imagined suddenly vanish. The shock is so great that Louise's fragile heart could not bear it. That part makes the whole story what it is worth. The joy that Louise felt was of an extreme intensity, but of a very short length. It is ironic that when she is finally free, she realizes that she isn't. The disappointment is so great, that I don't think she could have lived anyway. It is as if she had to die. After having lived that moment of freedom, she could not live without it. Also, it is very ironic that Louise doesn't die when she learns that her husband is dead, like Josephine and Richards thought, but when she learns that he is actually alive! The shock that was the most painful killed her. We could have thought that the most painful shock was the news of her husband's death, but actually, it was the fact that he lives.

(438 words)

Hills Like White Elephants

Ernest Hemingway

- Was born in 1927.
- American journalist.
- Bad relationship with women. (married five times)
- Very famous author, won nobel literature pulitzer prize
- Committed suicide.

- First wife travelled from Paris to Spain
- Story shows lack of communication in relationships
- Took experiences from his life
- Inspired by a conversation he had with his first wife (when she was pregnant for the seconde time)

Plan

Thesis Statement: Hemingway uses two literary elements: setting and symbolism to explore the issue of "abortion".

P1: Topic Sentence - main idea: Setting (Spain, rail station) to describe Jig and the American concerning a major
- Supporting evidence: "Two lines of rails in the sun"
- Supporting evidence: Openness and loneliness and heat
- Landscape (background)

P2: Topic Sentence - main idea: The hills "look like white elephants"
- Supporting evidence: unique and uncommon
- Supporting evidence: "shadow of a cloud" = aborted fetus

Using Quotes

1. With a complete idea:
Ex: Hemmingway often uses dialogue to emphasize a character trait: "The girl looked at the bead curtain, put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings of beads."

2 With an incomplete idea:
Ex: In Hemmingway's story, Jig said, "They look like white elephants."

3. Inside a sentence:
Ex: The girl in Hemmingway's story remarked, "Everything tastes of liquorice," revealing her habitude toward life.

4. With an incomplete quote:
Ex: Hemmingway's story takes place "between two lines of rails in the sun."

5. With an ellipsis:
Ex: "The girl looked at the beads..."

6. Within a quote:
Ex: Hemmingway wrote, "'They're lovely hills,' she said, 'they don't really look like white elephants.'"

Combining Sentences

1. She went to bed early, but it took hours for her to sleep.
She went to bed early; however, it took hours for her to sleep.

2. She wants to lose weight, so she has gone on a strict diet.
She wants to lose weight; therefore, she has gone to a strict diet.

3. The night air was very still, and a light rain had also begun to fall.
The night air was very still; moreover, a light rain had also begun to fall.

4. Her friend did her best to learn to cook, but nothing she prepared came out right.
Her friend did her best to learn to cook; however, nothing she prepared came out right.

5. Our team learned that to train would be very late, so we decided to take the plane.
Our team learned that the train would be very late; therefore, we decided to take the plane.

6. The girl can sing very well, and she is also a talented actress.
The girl can sing very well; moreover, she is a talented actress.

7. Their basement was damaged by the flood, but they can't afford to fix it now.
Their basement was damaged by the flood; however, they can't afford to fix it now.

8. My boss wants to live like a millionaire, so he bought an expensive mansion in an exclusive area.
My boss wants to live like a millionaire; therefore, he bought an expensive mansion in an exclusive area.

9. Their army lost the last few battles, but they kept on fighting.
Their army lost the last few battles; however, they kept on fighting.

10. Capital punishment is often applied unfairly, and a mistake is sometimes also made.
Capital punishment is often applied unfairly; moreover, a mistake is sometimes made.

11. The boy has been absent from class many times, so the principal called him to his office for an explanation.
The boy has been absent from class many times; therefore, the principal called him to his office for an explanation.