Saturday, December 8, 2007

Bildungsroman

Bildungsroman- According to Dictionary.com, it is a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist. An example from our readings would be Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" as we watch Celie, who is first introduced as a confused young girl that is constantly sexually abused by her step-father, develop into a young woman who is able to overcome some very difficult obstacles. She is able to form her own unique relationships and respect and appreciate herself for who she really is. She eventually asserts her own independence and acknowledges and accepts her femininity.
-Cecilia Luppi

1 comment:

Amanda Waldo said...

Pocketbook
This is seen the story “Parisesong for the Widow” by Paul Marshall. Avey Johnston’s pocketbook becomes part of who she is and her identity. Her pocketbook symbolizes her life. “ like her pocketbook outside, had been emptied of the contents of the past thirty years during the night, so that she had awakened with it like a slate that had been wiped clean”(151). When she wake up next day and finds her things in the pocketbook scattered across the floor Avey realize she needs to let go of her obsession with material thing. She stores everything she has in it and never leaves it behind. It becomes the storage room for thirty years of history and memories. When Avey Johnston strip her cosset and leaves her pocketbook behind it seems like she is ready to leave behind her past and move on.
Sewwandi Abeyratne ( andy)