An Artist of The Floating World

 Hello!

I am Nidhi Jethava and I am a student of MKBU department of English. Today I am going to ponder some questions connected with ‘ An Artist of Floating World’  by Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro.

Kazuo Ishiguro :-

Sir Kazuo Ishiguro (born 8 November 1954) is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and moved to Britain in 1960 when he was five. Ishiguro is one of the most celebrated contemporary fiction authors in English. He has received four Man Booker Prize nominations and won the award in 1989 for his novel The Remains of the Day. Time named Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go the best novel of 2005 and one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.

In 2017, the Swedish Academy awarded Ishiguro the Nobel Prize in Literature, describing him in its citation as a writer "who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world"

 

An Artist of the Floating World:-

 

An Artist of the Floating World (1986) is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. It is set in post-World War II Japan and is narrated by Masuji Ono, an ageing painter, who looks back on his life and how he has lived it. He notices how his once great reputation has faltered since the war and how attitudes towards him and his paintings have changed. The chief conflict deals with Ono's need to accept responsibility for his past actions, rendered politically suspect in the context of post-War Japan. The novel ends with the narrator expressing good will for the young white-collar workers on the streets at lunch break. The novel also deals with the role of people in a rapidly changing political environment and with the assumption and denial of guilt.

The novel is considered both historical fiction and global literature (Weltliteratur). It is considered historical fiction on account of its basis in a past that predates the author's own experiences, and it draws from historical facts. It is also considered global literature on account of its broad international market and its thematization of how the world today is interconnected.

1. 'Lantern' appears 34 times in the novel. Even on the cover page, the image of lanterns is displayed. What is the significance of Lantern in the novel?

Answer :- 

Lanterns in the novel are associated with Ono’s teacher Mori-san, who includes a lantern in each of his paintings and dedicates himself to trying to capture the look of lantern light. For Mori-san, the flickering, easily extinguished quality of lantern light symbolizes the transience of beauty and the importance of giving careful attention to small moments and details in the physical world. Lanterns, then, symbolize an outlook on life which prizes small details and everyday moments above the ideological concerns of nationalists or commercial concerns of businesspeople. It is an old-fashioned, aesthetically focused, and more traditional way of viewing the world.

2. Write about

'Masuji Ono as an Unreliable Narrator'.

Answer :-

Released in 1986, this relatively short novel is dense with ideas and possibilities. Set in Japan in the late 1940s, the story is narrated by Masuji Ono, a celebrated painter who once created propaganda for the Imperial Army. He now finds himself labeled a traitor by the younger generation, a reputation that threatens to derail his youngest daughter’s forthcoming marriage.

With Ishiguro, however, nothing is straightforward. Ono is an unreliable narrator, disguising his motives and spinning recollections to portray himself more favorably. Although he denies making mistakes, his true feelings slowly seep through and the evolution of his character is expertly revealed by the reactions of his worried daughters.

Ono does feel real guilt over his past, but he struggles to admit this — even to himself. His guilt tarnishes everything, turning the most innocent of comments into accusations. He lingers long over stories of those who choose to commit suicide to apologize for their mistakes.

“An Artist of the Floating World” is a sensitive examination of the turmoil in postwar Japan, a time when certainties were overturned, gender politics shifted, the hierarchy of the generations seemed to topple and even the geography of cities changed. All this is made more poignant when seen through the eyes of a man who is rejected by the future and who chooses to reject his own past.

3. Debate on the Uses of Art / Artist (Five perspectives: 1. Art for the sake of art - aesthetic delight, 2. Art for Earning Money / Business purpose, 3. Art for Nationalism / Imperialism - Art for the propaganda of Government Power, 4. Art for the Poor / Marxism, and 5. No need of art and artist (Masuji's father's approach)

Answer :-

Art is a central theme of the novel, with One's role as a propaganda artist being the chief storyline. The novel questions the ability of art to influence and inspire political action within a community. There is a large conflict between whether art should be politicized or whether it should be simply a source of pleasure and gratification. The novel highlights the way politicized art was retrospectively seen as detrimental to society through the impact of the war, but also presents views within which art is conversely seen as ineffectual and unable to influence events, by implying that the war and its subsequent effects would have occurred with or without Ono's propaganda.

4. What is the relevance of this novel to our times?

Answer :- 

The novel ‘ The Artist of the Floating World’ is very fascinating in a way. The word ‘ Floating’ is the most important thing in the whole work. The novel's title is based on the literal translation of Ukiyo-e, a word referring to the Japanese art of prints. Therefore, it can be read as "a printmaker" or "an artist living in a changing world," given both Ono's limited understanding and the dramatic changes his world, Japan in the first half of the twentieth century, has undergone in his lifetime.

The title also refers to an artistic genre. Ono's master is especially interested in depicting scenes from the pleasure district adjacent to the villa in which he and his students live. Ono mentions the ephemeral nature of the floating world that could be experienced during each night. His master experiments with innovative softer Western-style painting techniques, rejecting the hard black outlining that was considered more traditional. Under the influence of right-wing political ideas about tradition, Ono becomes estranged from his master and forges his own career. He feels gleeful when his master's paintings fell into disfavor during a return to the use of more traditional bold lines in the paintings used for nationalistic posters.

This time is also very relevant with the Floating world. We can say that we are living in a floating world. Specially after this pandemic we can say that we all are in that kind of situation when we all are floating in air. 

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characters :- 7087

Words :- 1183

Sentences :- 59

Paragraphs :- 33

1984 by George Orwell

Hello!

I am Nidhi Jethava and I am a student of MKBU department of English. Today I am going to answer some of the questions connected to 1984 by George Orwell. 

About George Orwell :-

Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English essayist, journalist and critic. His work is characterized by lucid prose, biting social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism.

One of the interesting things about his pen name is that he took both the names from different types. 

George- King George the 5th 

Orwell-  River Orwell 

His Famous works :-

1.  Animal Farm (1945)

2.  Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). 

3.  The Road to Wigan Pier (1937).

4.  Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture, and the adjective "Orwellian"—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms, such as "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "Two Minutes Hate", "Room 101", "memory hole", "Newspeak", "doublethink", "proles", "unperson", and "thoughtcrime".

1) What is dystopian fiction? Is '1984' dystopian fiction?

Answer:- 

Dystopian fiction offers a vision of the future. Dystopias are societies in cataclysmic decline, with characters who battle environmental ruin, technological control, and government oppression. Dystopian novels can challenge readers to think differently about current social and political climates, and in some instances can even inspire action.

Dystopian literature is a form of speculative fiction that began as a response to utopian literature. A dystopia is an imagined community or society that is dehumanizing and frightening. A dystopia is an antonym of a utopia, which is a perfect society.

1984 as dystopian fiction :-

George Orwell’s 1984 is a defining example of dystopian fiction in that it envisions a future where society is in decline, totalitarianism has created vast inequities, and innate weaknesses of human nature keep the characters in a state of conflict and unhappiness. Unlike utopian novels, which hold hope for the perfectibility of man and the possibility of a just society, dystopian novels like 1984 imply that the human race will only get worse if man’s lust for power and capacity for cruelty go uncorrected.

In 1984, characters live in fear of wars, government surveillance, and political oppression of free speech. The London of the novel is dirty and crumbling, with food shortages, exploding bombs, and miserable citizens. The government is an all-powerful force of oppression and control, and crushes the characters’ identities and dreams. This dystopian vision of the future, written thirty-five years before the year the novel is set, suggests that man’s inherent nature is corrupt and repressive. Orwell wrote the book in the aftermath of World War II and the rise of fascism in Germany and the Soviet Union, and paints a pessimistic picture of society’s ability to avoid further global disasters.

Dystopian fiction usually works backward from the present to find an explanation for the fictional society’s decline, and thus to provide a commentary on the reader’s society or a warning of how the future could turn out. In 1984, as Winston works to acquire objects from the past, find spaces without telescreens or microphones in them, and recover memories of the time before the Party, Orwell provides the reader with glimpses of how Winston’s society came to be. We learn about a nuclear war, a revolution, mass famines, and a period of consolidation of power by the Party.

Dystopian novels explore the effects of oppression and totalitarianism on the individual psyche as well as how the individual functions in a repressive society. Winston’s trouble retrieving and trusting his memories illustrates the way the Party has corrupted his emotional life as well as his daily existence, asking the reader to question the nature of memory and individual consciousness. By suggesting that Winston is initially complacent because he can’t remember whether or not life was better and he was happier before the Revolution, the book examines the importance of memory in creating a sense of self.

Q.2 your learning about the novel from online screening of the film 

Answer :-

Screening helps us to understand so many things. The novel 1984 by George Orwell is one of the interesting novel and we also did a screening of this novel. Screening helps us to understand lots of things. Such things are very clear to understand with help of screening. In this work screening helps to understand such a situation of dystopian society. How people were brainwashed and how everyone obeyed particular parties it’s clear to mind. It throws light on so many things. Whatever we see is more memorable than we watch. 

3) What according to you is the central theme of this novel? 

Answer :-

According to me totalitarianism is the central theme of the novel. Totalitarianism is one of the major themes of the novel, 1984. It presents the type of government where even the head of the government is unknown to the public. This theme serves as a warning to the people because such a regime unleashes propaganda to make people believe in the lies presented by the government. Throughout the novel, there is no proof of Big Brother’s existence in Oceania. The Party exercises complete control not only on the sexual lives of their citizens such as Julia’s and Winston Smith but also on their thoughts, feelings and even writing a diary. The overall monitoring and surveillance of the people through telescreens and subversion of history through the Ministry of Truth are some of the common casualties of such regimes. The third casualty of totalitarianism is the truth through language. This happens in the shape of mottos such as “War is Peace.”

Q.4 What do you understand about the term 'Orwellian'?

Answer:- 

"Orwellian" is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by propaganda, surveillance, disinformation, denial of truth (doublethink), and manipulation of the past, including the "unperson"—a person whose past existence is expunged from the public record and memory, practiced by modern repressive governments. Often, this includes the circumstances depicted in his novels, particularly Nineteen Eighty-Four but political doublespeak is criticized throughout his work, such as in Politics and the English Language.

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Characters :- 1064

Words :- 6660

Sentences :- 52

Paragraphs :- 36

THE GREAT GATSBY

 Hello! 

    I am Nidhi Jethava and today in this blog I am going to ponder some questions about ‘ The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Introduction :- 

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

The novel was inspired by a youthful romance Fitzgerald had with socialite Ginevra King and the riotous parties he attended on Long Island's North Shore in 1922. Following a move to the French Riviera, Fitzgerald completed a rough draft in 1924. He submitted the draft to editor Maxwell Perkins, who persuaded Fitzgerald to revise the work over the following winter. After making revisions, Fitzgerald was satisfied with the text, but remained ambivalent about the book's title and considered several alternatives. Painter Francis Cugat's final cover design impressed Fitzgerald who incorporated a visual element from the art into the novel.

After its publication by Scribner's in April 1925, The Great Gatsby received generally favorable reviews; some literary critics believed it did not equal Fitzgerald's previous efforts and signaled the end of his literary achievements. Gatsby was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 20,000 copies by October, and Fitzgerald's hopes of a monetary windfall from the novel were unrealized. When the author died in 1940, he believed himself to be a failure and his work forgotten. After his death, the novel faced a critical and scholarly re-examination amid World War II, and it soon became a core part of most American high school curricula and a part of American popular culture. Numerous stage and film adaptations followed in the subsequent decades.

Gatsby continues to attract popular and scholarly attention. Contemporary scholars emphasize the novel's treatment of social class, its portrayal of inherited versus self-made wealth, race, environmentalism, and its cynical attitude towards the American dream. As with other works by Fitzgerald, criticisms include allegations of antisemitism. The Great Gatsby is widely considered to be a literary masterwork and a contender for the title of the Great American Novel.

1) How did the film capture the Jazz Age - the Roaring Twenties of America in the 1920s?

Answer:-

In this video we came to know how the director capture the Jazz culture. , The Great Gatsby, jazz appears as constant background music. In the contemporary phenomenon of “Gatsby parties”—festivities intended to capture the air of the titular Jay Gatsby's famously lavish, bacchanalian parties—jazz is de rigueur to evoke the 1920s

2) How did the film help in understanding the characters of the novel?

Answer :- 

In these both videos we come to know how characters are represented and their entries. The scenes help us to understand characters very well. For example, in the very beginning, the characters of Nick Carraway are introduced as a patient and his doctor suggests that he write down something and then he will narrate the whole story. In the same way when Daisy's first look in the movie is also fascinating. Jay Gatsby the very interesting and mysterious character. His entry is also very interesting. In brief the film helps a lot to understand the character by events and gestures.

3) How did the film help in understanding the symbolic significance of 'The Valley of Ashes', 'The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleberg' and 'The Green Light'?

Answer :- 

1 The Valley of Ashes:-

In the movie the scene is describe very well. , the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. The film we clearly watch the image and setting of ' The valley of Ashes '. It helps to understand the situation of industrial as well as people of that time. 

2. The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleburg :- 

The eye of Eckleburg The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. They may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point explicitly.

3. The Green light :-

The Green Light is very important part of the film. The film helps us to understand the significance of green light. The character Jay Gatsby love green light.  Jay constantly watching that light. According to Nick Jay is the very hopeful fellow, this green light signifies hope. This symbolizes the destruction of Gatsby's dream. By the end of chapter seven Gatsby is watching over nothing.

4) How did the film capture the theme of racism and sexism?

Answer :- 

The theme of racism and sexism is also important in 'The Great Gatsby'.  In the middle part of the movie we come to know  sexism and racism in the movies describe by the gorgeousness of life. In clothing and expression the both ism describe very well.  

With the help of this frame we come to know the idea of black and white people treated in America. Black people always considered as uncivilized and salves. 

5) Watch the video on Nick Carraway and discuss him as a narrator.

Answer :- 

The narrator of the novel Nick Carraway is very important and wise character. The novel in written in the first person point of view. The character of Nick Carraway is one kind of observer in the novel.

 He uses some of the interesting lines. He recalls her father and his moral advises. The way he represent the story is awesome and in chronological.

Nick is very good human. He is wise and great observer. He allows Jay and Daisy to spend time together in his home and he wend out in his home. It's describe the greatness of Nick.

This frame is taken from the end of film. Nick is stranger for Jay but he stay whole night with death body of Jay. we can say he is the great soul in a way. 

Thank you....

 Characters :- 5972

 Words :- 1023

 Sentences :- 66

 Paragraphs :- 36