El Realismo

 I enjoy reading historically based novels, and over the summer I had the opportunity to read Emile Zola’s novel Germinal.  The author made great use of description, which created vivid pictures of all the characters.  While I read the introduction to Sentimental Education I learnt Flaubert had influenced Zola. 

In class on Monday, I listened to the disillusion of the 19^th century for the French citizens, and all the evils that

 

 

didn’t seem to go away.  By 1848 the Republic had changed governments four times yet, poverty, social unrest, and corruption continued.  The citizen’s way of life whether economically or socially did not seem to get any better.  In addition, the September Laws only increased the government’s authority when it came to cracking down on opposition. 

  From a literary point of view, the words Flaubert used created vivid scenes of what happened, however, this disillusion after reading the book makes me wonder if Flaubert had other motives.  Why not write a novel that would stir up the emotions of the lower classes?  The novel portrayed a lack of energy or want among the elite to better conditions for those less fortunate.  Frederic ultimately portrayed a thoughtless, greedy, and egotistical character, which was too concerned for his own well being.  I believe the love he supposedly had for Madame Arnoux was because he could not have her. 

I would like to read anyone else’s opinion.  I am interested to hear if any of you thought the same as I did.  If you like to read historical novels, I would like to recommend Germinal by Emile Zola.  It is about the same length as the novel by Flaubert, but it has a great plot. 

El Romanticismo

 

I recently had to travel to Mexico for some personal business.  I drove through the states of Coahuila and San Luis Potosi, and for the first time I took great notice of the desert landscape.  I have traveled through this area many times but never really found much interest or appreciation.  Cactuses have never been a favorite.  Yet, these last few days I managed to look at the desert terrain in a different form.  It seemed beautiful to me.  As I watched endless hills and mountains of prickly and palm style shapes of cactuses over and over again, I recognized their importance. 

As I continued my trip further south the images of an arid landscape never went away.  I realized that I was only a small speck in this immense landscape, as all other inhabitants of this area, and yet organisms have learned to adapt and survive without much water.  This year from what I could tell had produced a higher level of rain, so what little grass is available is green.  I also recognized that my concept of a desert was lifeless, and that did not fit what I was seeing. 

While in class yesterday, the discussion of romanticism and the high value that is placed on nature reminded me of my recent road trip.  The paintings Dr. Conway showed us in class were an accurate portrayal of how I viewed this immense desert.   I could see endless miles of land full of cactuses, and yet I was this tiny person in a corner looking at the horizon.  What I realized from this experience is beauty does not always have to be nicely packaged; it can also be in the form of something that would at first glance seem lifeless.