1830 English literature

Themes are vital facets of literature because they help to communicate to the viewer a secret (or often open) message. Forms of literature are often distinguished by a number of themes, including the main theme and subthemes related to the narrative. Different types of literature can employ distinct mechanisms to communicate messages to the audience in the form of themes. The aim of this piece is to explore the concept of giving in to sensory longings through two separate sources of literature and the methods used to spread the theme.
Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti, a poem, and 1984 by George Orwell, a novel, are among the works under consideration. The two works of art are all comprised of many subthemes, but one seems to stand out the most, this is the theme of giving in to lustful desires and their problems/benefits. Human beings are by no means perfect and are hence prone to a lot of mistakes. The literature items explain how this is the case by touching on the protagonists and antagonists of each piece and how lustful desires led to their eventual fates. Goblin market, for instance, touches upon both the positive and the negative implications of having lustful desires, the satisfying ending we get is attributed to one of the protagonists sticking to their lustful desires. George Orwell’s 1984, has however, an entirely different approach on the theme. It primarily focuses on the negative implications as seen by the tragic ending. The paper discusses the theme of giving into sensory belongings and their various implications, by taking into account two different forms of literature.

Para 1

Goblin Market

Themes refer to the overall subject that is portrayed in a specific piece of art. They are of different types, but must all relate to human life and its various implications. This is obvious since a given piece of literature is written primarily for a human audience. The following portion discusses the theme of giving in into sensory longings from the perspective of the two works of art in question. The texts will be addressed separately and later on; a comparison will be made on how effectively each art piece represented the theme.

Goblin market refers to a piece of poetry written by Christina Rossetti. The poem itself revolves around two sisters and the troubles they went through. As a result of one of them actually consumes a fruit from the Goblin marketplace. The use of fictional characters coherently classifies the text to be that of the fictional genre. It is not the Goblins alone that are fictional, but the sisters themselves since the poem’s lines describe Laura, the sister who consumed the fruit, as having hair made of gold. The hair can arguably be considered as a metaphor, depicting a certain aspect of the human society. Since it is a part of her body, it can be concluded that she gave up her body, such are symbolic allusions to human acts such as prostitution. In fact, the goblins accepted a piece of her hair as currency when she revealed that she had no money to purchase the fruit.

The themes, which stand out most in the poem, include that of sisterly love. Lizzie was prepared to go through all lengths in order to ensure her sister was well and out of harm’s way. She was saddened and disheartened with the Laura’s sickly state that she was determined to end her suffering. The constant taunts from the goblin did not deter her spirit. Notably, in the end, she found a cure for her sister since she was miraculously healed. Drug usage is also a theme since the fruits symbolically represent drugs and how they seem attractive at first but eventually cause problems in the near future. Symbolism is hence a means through which a piece of work that is fantasy oriented can connect to human reality. The fruits are used as symbols to represent drug usage while the goblins symbolize people who incite others into it. The poem’s elements including plot, character, and others, show without a doubt that it is of a fantasy-based genre. Works of art which feature supernatural references act as entertainment tropes and dramatically allows a person to look at the world from various perspectives.

Sensory longings can be defined as bodily attractions, that is, those desires and feelings of attachment, which are enticed by the five sensory organs. For example, Laura was enticed to the fruit by its sweet and juicy look. The sense of sight is hence responsible for the longing of the fruit. While sight might have been the dominant sense for her desire, smell, taste and sound might have also played a significant role. The fact that the fruit caused Laura to waste away slowly shows the negative implications of sensory longings. They have a tendency of impeding reason, and one indulges in an act without stopping to think about the various consequences involved. Laura, for example, was blinded by the juiciness and the attractiveness of the fruits. In addition, other implications include lack critical thinking tendency, that is, one is not able to fully analyse a situation and establish the correct decision.

She did not stop to think about why the goblin men would be so persuasive and even accept hair as currency. The attractiveness of the fruits was calling out to her, and she abandoned all forms of reasoning and logic. The following quote from the poem attests to this fact, “She suck’d until her lips were sore; Then flung the emptied rinds away, but gather’d up one kernel stone, and knew not was it night or day.” Laura soon found out the importance of reasoning when she immediately began wasting away. Critical thinking and reasoning should hence be always considered since they serve to avoid life threatening situations such as the one narrated in the poem. The goblins worked to use the concept of sensory desires to their advantage and Laura suffered terribly. On the plus side, it is important to note that the concept of having sensory longings is also characterized with some benefits. This is in the sense that people with sensory longings usually display a degree of resilience and determination. They often end up getting what they want, with the right display of commitment. The next portion will discuss on the positive side of sensory longings and explain how it has been incorporated into the text.

Lizzie is characterized by a considerable degree of concern over her sister as shown in the text. The first instance where the fact is confirmed is when she warns her sister not to go near the goblin market and to ignore the enticements of the goblin. Lizzie is aware of the fact that if something seems too good, think twice before indulging in it. Her sister chooses to ignore her warnings, and she ends up paying dearly. Lizzie, armed with the love and the passion for her sister, sets out to see how her ailment can be reversed. Her will and determination can be summarized as part of her sensory longing to help her sister. The reason as to why the determination is classified as a sensory longing is due to the fact she is determined at all costs. She is not open to the fact that she may also suffer the same fate her sister.

Her longings made her return home with a cure for her sister who was slowly wasting away. This characterizes the good side of having sensory longings. They prompt someone to show a significant degree of will and determination toward the entity they ever so need. The will and determination can make a person achieve their overall goals and dreams. In the event that they fail to do so, (achieve) the longings will prompt them to work harder and will maintain their sheer determination. This is hence the essence of having sensory longings; it can be described as a double-edged sword characterized by both benefits and disadvantages. The goblins also had a sensory longing of enticing Laura to eat the fruits. The sensory longings made them go to all lengths to make her consume it. Their plan was successful, and she ultimately ended up consuming the fruit. Their display of sensory longings gave them the determination and willpower needed to convince Laura to eat the fruit. They also displayed a considerable degree of determination in the process of trying to entice Lizzie into eating the fruit. Their efforts were futile and in a real sense backfired.

Summarily, it can be argued that the poem sensible represented the theme of Sensory Longings and their various implications to precision. This is mainly due to the fact that it showcases the themes from both the protagonists and the antagonist’s side. A well fleshed out theme covers is that which is covered from both perspectives i.e. positive and negative. Both these conflicting parties used sensory longings to achieve what they want. The next text, which is 1984 by George Orwell, also goes hand in hand to depict the theme of giving in to sensory belongings.

Para 2

1984

The text 1984 by George Orwell is also of the fictional genre. It differs from the poem Goblin Market in terms of the genre. The book depicts today’s society and how it would have fared if it were under the control of an overall party that wishes to exercise complete dominance over masses and population. The text features a great number of themes including love and sexuality. It can be, in fact, argued that love and sexuality forms the predominant theme. Winston and Julia are determined to be with each other despite the various odds against them. They even go through lengths to ensure they are alone and unmonitored by the party, which is the dominant organization. Notably, with love, also comes confinement since Winston learned to trust Julia with his secrets prior to her revealing her affection. It can be rightly concluded that all of the events, which happen, are directly attributed to their love and sexual relationship. They are caught and tortured as a result of their relationship, if Winston had not met Julia, he would have continued serving at the ministry of truth and his life would have moved on the way it was. It can be argued that the relationship is also a source of tragedy since they were tortured and brainwashed, in the end the couple achieved nothing. The text can hence be rightly concluded to be a tragedy based on the above fact. A quote from the book, which summarizes the theme of love and tragedy goes ”Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”

The theme regarding sensory longings and its various implications is appropriately represented as per the above text. Winston has the longing of seeing the reign of the party come to a complete stop and being part of a society, which is free to express its opinions and beliefs. The implications as a result of this longing are very many, and they are seen toward the end of the book. Similar to the poem, Winston throws reason out the window, and he willingly believes that O’Brien is a member of the brotherhood. Winston then goes on to disclose all of his secrets to O’Brien including his forbidden affair with Julia. The sensory longing was blinding him to the obvious truth that the Party had a large number of supporters and that having one to pose, as an undercover member of the party is highly probable. As a result, he paid dearly.

The overall conclusion of the narrative shows the negative implications of having sensory longings; they make you blind to reason. Julia’s overall attraction toward a member of the resisting party also blinded her to the fact that she will likely suffer the same fate as Winston if they are found out. She was tortured terribly, and her only mistake was falling in love. The party did not tolerate individuals who go against its wishes. Winston learned this the hard way, when he was subjected to increased amounts of torture in order to change his mind-set. In the end, his sensory longings caused him nothing but problems as opposed to the poem where the longings allowed the Lizzie to find a cure for her sick sister. The author has hence portrayed the implications of having sensory longings in a negative manner. Winston’s love for Julia also forms part of his sensory longings, which work collaboratively to put him into hot soup with the party.

Para 3

Comparison

It can be argued that the above forms of literature of art propagate theme of giving in into sensory longings effectively. 1984 by George Orwell used the mechanics of plotting and storytelling express the theme. His overall negative side to the theme is represented in the fact that the book ends tragically. Upon reading the book, the audience immediately realizes that following one’s longings blindly can lead to a lot of problems if the sensory longings work against an overall superior group. The poem by Christina Rossetti can be concluded to have depicted the theme in the most precise manner possible. This is due to the apparent fact that it represents the theme of following one’s sensory longings from two different perspectives, one positive and another negative. It covers more on the theme when compared to the text.

The overall conclusions of the two works of art also dictate which one has represented the theme better. Since 1984 ended up tragically, it failed to satisfy the conventional karma based trope. Such paints a negative picture of the society and might actually deter individuals from doing acts of charity. The poem by Christina Rosette satisfies the Karma trope hence it has best represented the theme.

Conclusion

Themes can be thought of as open messages targetted to human audience. The messages apply regardless of the genre of the work of art, as already explained above. An author is said to have successfully represented a theme if he or she covers the negative as well as positive implications of the theme itself. The audience may be able to relate to it more as it presents. Overall, the themes have been represented to their full potential as per the two pieces of literature. The above discussion has shown how different pieces of literature have used various mechanics all to communicate a common theme. The different works have all covered various aspects of the theme of giving in to sensory longing.

Bibliography

Dick, Bob. ”Action research literature 2008—2010: Themes and trends.“ Action Research 9, no. 2 (2011): 122-143.

Duriau, Vincent J., Rhonda K. Reger, and Michael D. Pfarrer. ”A content analysis of the content analysis literature in organization studies: Research themes, data sources, and methodological refinements.“ Organizational research methods 10, no. 1 (2007): 5-34.

Jill Rappoport ”The Price of Redemption in ”Goblin Market” Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press 2010.

Langenmayr, Felix. ”Themes Basic Literature.“ (2013).

Mermin, Dorothy. ”Heroic Sisterhood in “Goblin Market”.“ Victorian Poetry 21, no. 2 (1983): 107-18. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40002024.

Patai, Daphne. ”Gamesmanship and Androcentrism in Orwell’s 1984.“ PMLA 97, no. 5 (1982): 856-70. doi:10.2307/462176.

Thorp, Malcolm R. ”The Dynamics of Terror in Orwell’s “1984”.“ Brigham Young University Studies 24, no. 1 (1984): 3-17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43041004.

Toner, Phillip. ”Workforce skills and innovation: an overview of major themes in the literature.“ OECD Education Working Papers55 (2011): 0_1.

Wartski, Maureen Crane. ”The importance of multicultural themes in writing and teaching.“ English Journal (2005): 49-51.