Hi folks...
Here is a link that explains basic biographical information about Atwood, as well as some of the major concepts related to her work (novels and poems) you will need to know. I promise this is a very accessible article, and one that will (hopefully!) help you understand some of Atwood's themes a bit better. Happy reading!
http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth03C18N390512635243
3 comments:
From the reading, something that I realized was the gender of the main character of her novels. The main characters of most of her books are women who are in trouble. An example can be The Handmaid’s Tale (1986) talks about a woman, who struggles to break free from her role. By looking at the struggles and problems the main characters face in their lives seem to portray some problems that women are facing. It also seems as if Atwood is a feminist, who is trying to deliver her ideas by writing. However, that is only my assumption and I do not know if she is actually a feminist or not.
In the article it mentions, “Her protagonists are forced to remake themselves, to achieve courage and self-reliance in their attitudes, relationships with others and the world around them.” The part “forced to remake themselves to achieve relationships with other and the world around them,” connects to the poem “In the Secular Night.” The poem deals with brokenness and emptiness the speaker feels, and to me the speaker seems to be a female. Actions such as “cried” and “danced” usually refer to female character’s action. However, the question I want to ask is “why?” Why are most of the main characters in her books female?
Another thing I read is, “Her sentences do much more than take the story from A to B. They can be appreciated for their rhythms, puns and delicious ironies.” I think her lyrical quality supports the sensitivity and fragility of her female main character. It creates more of dreamy and beautiful qualities that I associate with characteristics of women.
Reading this article was a chance to get to know Atwood better. In class, I remember talking about Atwood as an enigmatic writer who expresses subtle and powerful thoughts on feminism and sexual politics. In this article, I could read this with textual support, which was helpful.
Also, it was nice(?) to see the name Kafka gain. Since Atwood ends her works with subtle endings, and since I don't understand the endings of the poems(^^;;), I think Kafkaesque is a precise word to describe Atwood's characteristic as a writer.
This article really helped understand about some Atwood's ideas. Atwood, unlike Dickinson, is a feminist and shows feminist view through her poems and novels. I remember the poem that we talked in the class that showed feminist view, "Marshall Languages." It was interesting how Atwood shows the feminist view using this kind of topic. When I read that she was a daughter of a forest entomologist, I immediately thought about her poem, “Morning in the Burned House.” Her early life in the forest, isolated from the society, may have influenced her writings. The main character in the “Morning in the Burned House” is an isolated character also the main character in “In the Secular Night” is an outcast of a society. Maybe these poems express her feelings when she was young.
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