How do writers use repetition to create meanings in their texts?In your answer, refer to the work of the three writers you have studied.(42 marks)
Repetition is used in The Great Gatsby to create meaning through emotional ties or links with what is being repeated. Firstly, the green light on the end of Daisy Buchanan's dock, "he stretched out his arm towards the dark water in a curious way...a single green light, minute and far away". The green light represents many things in The Great Gatsby, for mostly it represents Gatsby's longing and lingering love for Daisy, and so it also represents dreams, a major theme in Gatsby. Dreams are a main theme as on the surface The Great Gatsby is about a man and his longing love for an interrupted romance, but Gatsby and Daisy's love symbolises dreams in a larger, less romantic way, as it criticises the American Dream. It criticises how the Americans wanted to believe that people could become whoever they wanted or do whatever they wanted despite class, but it is clear throughout Gatsby and also in Fitzgerald's life that class and wealth did matter. In terms of Gatsby and Daisy's romance, class means they can never be together, for she married Tom, which is similar Fitzgerald's first love wouldn't marry him as her father didn't approve of his lack of wealth. In terms of the rest of the story as a whole, the contradictory American Dream is also shown through the Valley of Ashes and Myrtle and Wilson's position is society and how Tom represents hope for them. There is repetition on the Valley of Ashes that holds this view of lost hope and criticising the American Dream also, as words such as 'grey' and 'ash' are repeated a lot, all words from the semantic field of darkness or death, to symbolise the lack of hope for some people. The repetition of the green light emphasises this lost hope further and further throughout the novel, and the end of the novel summarises this symbolism, "For Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us... so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past". This view of satirising the American Dream creates meaning in The Great Gatsby, as on the surface the constant repetition of the green light and Gatsby's longing for it creates sympathy for Gatsby and Daisy, and also creates meaning of how people such as Wilson would have never achieved their goals, that both he and Myrtle were inevitably going to die as such, as they started in the ash, the burnt remains that can be burnt no more.
A similar meaning in repeated throughout The Road, a feeling of hope verses lost hope, shown through the repetition of "carrying the fire". The boy in The Road symbolises hope, which is why he is the one who is constantly asking if they are still "carrying the fire". Fire can symbolise danger and burns, loss of control, but it could also mean warmth, which is what they boy carries throughout the novel. 'Fire' is also significant as in The Road, the man and the boy are living in a post apocalyptic world, where fire is one of the main sources for them to survive from, alongside food and shelter. Carrying hope is meaningful in the post apocalyptic world as the temptation of death is always there, represented and repeated through the flashbacks and memories of the man's wife, "I've taken a new lover...'death is not a lover'...'oh yes he is". By having the boy represent hope, it creates a battle for the man between which to choose.
The phrases "good guys" and "bad guys" are also repeated through the novel, giving meaning to the type of life they man and the boy must lead. The man doesn't try to explain to the boy what is going on in detail, which is why they are referred to as the "good guys" and others as the "bad guys", even though that world is all the boy has known, which could show how the man doesn't want to take away any of the boys hope by telling him what is actually going on, or it could show how the man is trying to keep his distance from the boy, as most of their conversations are short, and very rarely with any emotion at all, "she was gone, and the coldness of it was her final gift". The idea that the man and the boy are the "good guys" links in with the meaning of carrying the fire, as it shows how the boy represents hope. Having the rest of the world as the "bad guys" shows meaning as it causes sympathy for the boy, but also shows the lack of faith of the man, as at the end of the novel when the man has passed away the boy becomes part of a new family, "are you carrying the fire?'...'yes. yeah. we are".
There is repetition in Rime of the Ancient Mariner also, such as the repetition of "glittering eye" in the description of the Mariner. The idea of the Mariner having a 'glittering eye' gives meaning to the ballad as Rime was written during the romantic period, meaning there were great influences from the gothic, involving aspects of the supernatural. A 'glittering eye' could be seen as giving the Mariner some sort of supernatural presence, especially when repeated showing its importance, and paired with other descriptions, "skinny hand", causes contrast, further emphasising the eye and drawing more attention for the reader as how it stands out. The meaning of having supernatural elements adds to the meaning of the ballad overall, as it causes the events in the ballad to be even more fearful, even more mysterious, as the supernatural has been combined with the natural, meaning anything could be possible in the world of the Mariner.
Other repetition of Christian related terms in Rime takes the ballad away from the idea of it being more of a gothic text and suggests it could be more of a Christian allegory, such as repetition of water terms. Water in Christianity is used for christenings and baptisms, and so is seen as something that can 'wash away sins', like salvation. In Rime there is a lot of repetition of water, "water water everywhere". A Christian allegory gives meaning to the ballad through emphasising the message it wishes to convey, "all things both great and small, for the dear God who liveth us, he made and loveth all". Another way that Christian terms are repeated throughout the ballad are in examples such as "instead of the cross, the albatross was hung about my neck".
A similar meaning in repeated throughout The Road, a feeling of hope verses lost hope, shown through the repetition of "carrying the fire". The boy in The Road symbolises hope, which is why he is the one who is constantly asking if they are still "carrying the fire". Fire can symbolise danger and burns, loss of control, but it could also mean warmth, which is what they boy carries throughout the novel. 'Fire' is also significant as in The Road, the man and the boy are living in a post apocalyptic world, where fire is one of the main sources for them to survive from, alongside food and shelter. Carrying hope is meaningful in the post apocalyptic world as the temptation of death is always there, represented and repeated through the flashbacks and memories of the man's wife, "I've taken a new lover...'death is not a lover'...'oh yes he is". By having the boy represent hope, it creates a battle for the man between which to choose.
The phrases "good guys" and "bad guys" are also repeated through the novel, giving meaning to the type of life they man and the boy must lead. The man doesn't try to explain to the boy what is going on in detail, which is why they are referred to as the "good guys" and others as the "bad guys", even though that world is all the boy has known, which could show how the man doesn't want to take away any of the boys hope by telling him what is actually going on, or it could show how the man is trying to keep his distance from the boy, as most of their conversations are short, and very rarely with any emotion at all, "she was gone, and the coldness of it was her final gift". The idea that the man and the boy are the "good guys" links in with the meaning of carrying the fire, as it shows how the boy represents hope. Having the rest of the world as the "bad guys" shows meaning as it causes sympathy for the boy, but also shows the lack of faith of the man, as at the end of the novel when the man has passed away the boy becomes part of a new family, "are you carrying the fire?'...'yes. yeah. we are".
There is repetition in Rime of the Ancient Mariner also, such as the repetition of "glittering eye" in the description of the Mariner. The idea of the Mariner having a 'glittering eye' gives meaning to the ballad as Rime was written during the romantic period, meaning there were great influences from the gothic, involving aspects of the supernatural. A 'glittering eye' could be seen as giving the Mariner some sort of supernatural presence, especially when repeated showing its importance, and paired with other descriptions, "skinny hand", causes contrast, further emphasising the eye and drawing more attention for the reader as how it stands out. The meaning of having supernatural elements adds to the meaning of the ballad overall, as it causes the events in the ballad to be even more fearful, even more mysterious, as the supernatural has been combined with the natural, meaning anything could be possible in the world of the Mariner.
Other repetition of Christian related terms in Rime takes the ballad away from the idea of it being more of a gothic text and suggests it could be more of a Christian allegory, such as repetition of water terms. Water in Christianity is used for christenings and baptisms, and so is seen as something that can 'wash away sins', like salvation. In Rime there is a lot of repetition of water, "water water everywhere". A Christian allegory gives meaning to the ballad through emphasising the message it wishes to convey, "all things both great and small, for the dear God who liveth us, he made and loveth all". Another way that Christian terms are repeated throughout the ballad are in examples such as "instead of the cross, the albatross was hung about my neck".
Ellie
ReplyDeleteA very interesting section on Gatsby which is well argued and supported by events from the story. Within The Road you could perhaps use those tally charts I created which track the frequency of certain words, this will help connect to the repetitive nature of life and survival on the road. With ROTAM the entire text is an act of repetition as the Mariner has to atone for his sins by repeating his tale, I would open with that point as it is so central to the story.