To Kill A Mockingbird Essays: Clarissa's View Of Life
Clarissa holds a very strong view towards life. The following passage elucidates her
thoughts and beliefs regarding life:
For Heaven only knows why one loves it so, how one sees it so, making it up,
building it round one, tumbling it, creating it every moment afresh; but the veriest
frumps, the most dejected of miseries sitting on doorsteps (drink their downfall)
do the same; can’t be dealt with, she felt positive, by Acts of Parliament for that
very reason: they love life.
This quote is a part of Clarissa’s thoughts as she walks to the flower shop in the morning.
Through this quote, her strong attachment towards life and the whole concept of life as her own
creation is revealed as she says, how one sees it so, making it up, …show more content…
building it round one, tumbling
it, creating it every moment afresh. She sees that it is up to her to create the life that she wants.
The structure of the quote, which is one long sentence, mirrors her excitement towards life.
Clarissa understands that the impressions of everything around her may not hold true beauty or
meaning, however humans can act in such ways to turn these impressions into beautiful
moments. She also realizes that even the most impoverished person living on the streets can
derive the same wonder from living that she does. This is expressed through the quote as well:
but the veriest frumps, the most dejected of miseries sitting on doorsteps (drink their downfall)
do the same. She seems to understand that anyone can have happiness, regardless of their social
status. Clarissa believes that every class of people has the ability to conceptualize beauty and
enjoy life, and she therefore feels that government intervention has limited uses. She does not
equate class with happiness.
Section 2
Lucrezia’s life as seen throughout the novel revolves around her husband, Septimus, who
suffers from shell shock, or in modern terms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The
following passage gives insight into Lucrezia’s life:
“Look, look, Septimus!” she cried. For Dr. Holmes had told her to make her
husband (who had nothing whatever seriously the matter with him but was a little
out of sorts) take an interest in things outside himself.
So, thought Septimus, looking up, they are signaling to me. Not indeed in actual
words; that is, he could not read the language yet; but it was plain enough, this
beauty, this exquisite beauty… Tears ran down his cheeks.
Section 7
Peter cannot decide what he feels and tries often to talk himself into feeling or not feeling
certain things. For example, he spends the day telling himself that he no longer loves Clarissa,
but his grief at losing her increases when he is around her, and his obsession with her is
suggestive of the fact that he is still attracted to her. The following passage shows how he is still
has romantic feelings for her:
Her emotions were all on the surface. Beneath, she was very shrewd – a far better
judge of character than Sally, for instance, and with it all, purely feminine; with
that extraordinary gift, that woman’s gift, of making a world of her own wherever
she happened to be. She came into a room; she stood, as he had often seen her, in
a doorway with lots of people round her. But it was Clarissa one remembered. Not
that she was striking; not beautiful at all; there was nothing picturesque about her;
she never said anything specially clever; there she was, however; there she was.
In this passage, Peter is constantly talking about Clarissa. His diction is carefully chosen and
accurately depicts his view of Clarissa. He is also very observant and makes the following
observations of Clarissa: her emotions were all on the surface, she was very shrewd, and a far
better judge of character than Sally. He fantasizes about her, and says that she possesses this
extraordinary gift. The passage also goes on to indicate that it was Clarissa one (Peter)
remembered. The last few lines go back to showing how Peter is ambivalent as he tries to
convince himself that Clarissa is not striking, beautiful, picturesque, or especially clever.
Section 7
Septimus often holds a negative and very critical view towards the world; however, he is
also sometimes overcome with the beauty that exists in the world. The following quote
exemplifies this:
Beauty, the world seemed to say. And as if to prove it (scientifically) wherever he
looked at the houses, at the railings, at the antelopes stretching over the palings,
beauty sprang instantly. To watch a leaf quivering in the rush of air was an
exquisite joy.
Up in the sky swallows swooping, swerving, flinging themselves in
and out, round and round, yet always with perfect control as if elastics held them;
and the flies rising and falling; and the sun spotting now this leaf, now that, in
mockery, dazzling it with soft gold in pure good temper; and now again some
chime (it might be a motor horn) tinkling divinely on the grass stalks—all of this,
calm and reasonable as it was, made out of ordinary things as it was, was the truth
now; beauty, that was the truth now. Beauty was everywhere.
Here, everything Septimus seems to look at contains beauty. The quote reads, wherever he
looked at the houses, at the railings, at the antelopes stretching over the palings, beauty sprang
instantly, in other words, wherever he looked he saw beauty. He goes on to describe swallows
with a long list of adjectives that all convey the beauty he sees in them – referring to their actions
as, swooping, swerving, flinging themselves in and out, round and round, yet always with perfect
control as if elastics held them. He then vividly describes the beauty he sees in the sunlight. He
refers to the sunlight shining on the leaf as, dazzling it with soft gold in pure good temper. …show more content…
He
even describes the sound of a motor horn as divine. The quote ends with, beauty was everywhere,
which truly sums up how he was overcome by the beauty of everything around him.
Section 7
https://books.google.com/books?id=AYMfTq_K7xcC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=fear+n
o+more+the+heat+of+the+sun.+she+must+go+back+to+them&source=bl&ots=Xo_YUVkT
7N&sig=CT02jQ66yT7yoCww1vCO9iHWs1o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WQTHVNrtLfSRsQTK
mIGoCg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAw#v=snippet&q=mayfair&f=false
But to go deeper, beneath what people said (and these judgements, how
superficial, how fragmentary they are!) in her own mind now, what did it mean to
her, this thing she called life? Oh, it was very queer. Here was So-and-so in South
Kensington; some one up in Bayswater; and somebody else, say, in Mayfair. And
she felt quite continuously a sense of their existence; and she felt what a waste;
and she felt what a pity; and she felt if only they could be brought together; so she
did it. And it was an offering; to combine, to create; but to whom?
Section 9
Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent that Septimus and Clarissa sort of desire the
same thing, however they both go about it differently.
The following passage helps bring to light
some of their differences:
…and the words came to her, Fear no more the heat of the sun. She must go back
to them. But what an extraordinary night! She felt somehow very like him – the
young man who had killed himself. She felt glad that he had done it; thrown it
away. The clock was striking. The leaden circles dissolved in the air. He made her
feel the beauty; made her feel the fun. But she must go back. She must assemble.
At this point in the novel it becomes apparent that there is constant comparison going on between
the sane and insane, or in other words between Clarissa and Septimus. Both of them seek the
same things: wholeness of reality and communication. Clarissa is able to almost empathize to a
degree as she felt somehow very like him. In perspective, only Septimus takes the path that will
absolutely lead to these things. Clarissa’s attempt to create unity in her party, the world of light,
mirrors Septimus’ dark embracement of death in his suicide note which reads: Fear no more
the
heat of the sun. In a way, she realizes and is able to appreciate his view as the passage reads: She
felt glad that he had done it; thrown it away. Through this idea of life and death being mirror
images, death can be indirectly spoken of through the description of the concept of life
thoughts and beliefs regarding life:
For Heaven only knows why one loves it so, how one sees it so, making it up,
building it round one, tumbling it, creating it every moment afresh; but the veriest
frumps, the most dejected of miseries sitting on doorsteps (drink their downfall)
do the same; can’t be dealt with, she felt positive, by Acts of Parliament for that
very reason: they love life.
This quote is a part of Clarissa’s thoughts as she walks to the flower shop in the morning.
Through this quote, her strong attachment towards life and the whole concept of life as her own
creation is revealed as she says, how one sees it so, making it up, …show more content…
building it round one, tumbling
it, creating it every moment afresh. She sees that it is up to her to create the life that she wants.
The structure of the quote, which is one long sentence, mirrors her excitement towards life.
Clarissa understands that the impressions of everything around her may not hold true beauty or
meaning, however humans can act in such ways to turn these impressions into beautiful
moments. She also realizes that even the most impoverished person living on the streets can
derive the same wonder from living that she does. This is expressed through the quote as well:
but the veriest frumps, the most dejected of miseries sitting on doorsteps (drink their downfall)
do the same. She seems to understand that anyone can have happiness, regardless of their social
status. Clarissa believes that every class of people has the ability to conceptualize beauty and
enjoy life, and she therefore feels that government intervention has limited uses. She does not
equate class with happiness.
Section 2
Lucrezia’s life as seen throughout the novel revolves around her husband, Septimus, who
suffers from shell shock, or in modern terms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The
following passage gives insight into Lucrezia’s life:
“Look, look, Septimus!” she cried. For Dr. Holmes had told her to make her
husband (who had nothing whatever seriously the matter with him but was a little
out of sorts) take an interest in things outside himself.
So, thought Septimus, looking up, they are signaling to me. Not indeed in actual
words; that is, he could not read the language yet; but it was plain enough, this
beauty, this exquisite beauty… Tears ran down his cheeks.
Section 7
Peter cannot decide what he feels and tries often to talk himself into feeling or not feeling
certain things. For example, he spends the day telling himself that he no longer loves Clarissa,
but his grief at losing her increases when he is around her, and his obsession with her is
suggestive of the fact that he is still attracted to her. The following passage shows how he is still
has romantic feelings for her:
Her emotions were all on the surface. Beneath, she was very shrewd – a far better
judge of character than Sally, for instance, and with it all, purely feminine; with
that extraordinary gift, that woman’s gift, of making a world of her own wherever
she happened to be. She came into a room; she stood, as he had often seen her, in
a doorway with lots of people round her. But it was Clarissa one remembered. Not
that she was striking; not beautiful at all; there was nothing picturesque about her;
she never said anything specially clever; there she was, however; there she was.
In this passage, Peter is constantly talking about Clarissa. His diction is carefully chosen and
accurately depicts his view of Clarissa. He is also very observant and makes the following
observations of Clarissa: her emotions were all on the surface, she was very shrewd, and a far
better judge of character than Sally. He fantasizes about her, and says that she possesses this
extraordinary gift. The passage also goes on to indicate that it was Clarissa one (Peter)
remembered. The last few lines go back to showing how Peter is ambivalent as he tries to
convince himself that Clarissa is not striking, beautiful, picturesque, or especially clever.
Section 7
Septimus often holds a negative and very critical view towards the world; however, he is
also sometimes overcome with the beauty that exists in the world. The following quote
exemplifies this:
Beauty, the world seemed to say. And as if to prove it (scientifically) wherever he
looked at the houses, at the railings, at the antelopes stretching over the palings,
beauty sprang instantly. To watch a leaf quivering in the rush of air was an
exquisite joy.
Up in the sky swallows swooping, swerving, flinging themselves in
and out, round and round, yet always with perfect control as if elastics held them;
and the flies rising and falling; and the sun spotting now this leaf, now that, in
mockery, dazzling it with soft gold in pure good temper; and now again some
chime (it might be a motor horn) tinkling divinely on the grass stalks—all of this,
calm and reasonable as it was, made out of ordinary things as it was, was the truth
now; beauty, that was the truth now. Beauty was everywhere.
Here, everything Septimus seems to look at contains beauty. The quote reads, wherever he
looked at the houses, at the railings, at the antelopes stretching over the palings, beauty sprang
instantly, in other words, wherever he looked he saw beauty. He goes on to describe swallows
with a long list of adjectives that all convey the beauty he sees in them – referring to their actions
as, swooping, swerving, flinging themselves in and out, round and round, yet always with perfect
control as if elastics held them. He then vividly describes the beauty he sees in the sunlight. He
refers to the sunlight shining on the leaf as, dazzling it with soft gold in pure good temper. …show more content…
He
even describes the sound of a motor horn as divine. The quote ends with, beauty was everywhere,
which truly sums up how he was overcome by the beauty of everything around him.
Section 7
https://books.google.com/books?id=AYMfTq_K7xcC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=fear+n
o+more+the+heat+of+the+sun.+she+must+go+back+to+them&source=bl&ots=Xo_YUVkT
7N&sig=CT02jQ66yT7yoCww1vCO9iHWs1o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WQTHVNrtLfSRsQTK
mIGoCg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAw#v=snippet&q=mayfair&f=false
But to go deeper, beneath what people said (and these judgements, how
superficial, how fragmentary they are!) in her own mind now, what did it mean to
her, this thing she called life? Oh, it was very queer. Here was So-and-so in South
Kensington; some one up in Bayswater; and somebody else, say, in Mayfair. And
she felt quite continuously a sense of their existence; and she felt what a waste;
and she felt what a pity; and she felt if only they could be brought together; so she
did it. And it was an offering; to combine, to create; but to whom?
Section 9
Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent that Septimus and Clarissa sort of desire the
same thing, however they both go about it differently.
The following passage helps bring to light
some of their differences:
…and the words came to her, Fear no more the heat of the sun. She must go back
to them. But what an extraordinary night! She felt somehow very like him – the
young man who had killed himself. She felt glad that he had done it; thrown it
away. The clock was striking. The leaden circles dissolved in the air. He made her
feel the beauty; made her feel the fun. But she must go back. She must assemble.
At this point in the novel it becomes apparent that there is constant comparison going on between
the sane and insane, or in other words between Clarissa and Septimus. Both of them seek the
same things: wholeness of reality and communication. Clarissa is able to almost empathize to a
degree as she felt somehow very like him. In perspective, only Septimus takes the path that will
absolutely lead to these things. Clarissa’s attempt to create unity in her party, the world of light,
mirrors Septimus’ dark embracement of death in his suicide note which reads: Fear no more
the
heat of the sun. In a way, she realizes and is able to appreciate his view as the passage reads: She
felt glad that he had done it; thrown it away. Through this idea of life and death being mirror
images, death can be indirectly spoken of through the description of the concept of life