İNGİLİZ/AMERİKAN EDEBİYATI I - Deneme Sınavı - 26

The novel is often described as an extended work of literature. In its basic terms, novel is defined as “an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form” In another definition, it is “a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes”.

Although the traces of novel date back to ancient times, the novel took its modern form at the beginning of the 1500s.

In the 20th century, the novel genre has been influenced by the great events of the century such as World War I, The Great Depression, World War II, The Cold War and the advances in technology. Questioning the existence of God, the supremacy of reason in human affairs and the nature of reality affected the novel as a literary genre. The literature of the 20^th century gave importance to the self, the nature of consciousness, and the processes of perception. Novels in this century are often subjective, and personal and internal.

In Epistolary Novel, the story is told through letters written by one or more of the characters. It presents an intimate view of the characters’ thoughts without the interference of the author and contributes to the dramatic atmosphere of the novel. Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740) is an example of epistolary novel.

Gothic Novel: In this type of novel, the atmosphere of the novel is created through supernatural and mystic elements like monsters, ghosts and demons. The plot includes secret, mysterious murders and the heroes are marked with a seal of demonic lot. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1817) is an example of a gothic novel.

Realistic Novel; This type of novel is sometimes referred to as “the novel of manners”. In this type of novel, characters are usually complex ones with mixed motives often rooted in their social class. These characters interact with other characters and undergo plausible and everyday experiences. Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd (1874) is an example of realistic novel.

Dynamic Character: This character type experiences changes and develops throughout the story.

Conflict may be emotional, physical or ethical, but it gives way to a kind of tension that the characters resolve and struggle against. There are four types of conflict:

1. Human- versus- Human       

2. Human- versus- Society          

3. Human-versus- Nature                

4. Human-versus-Himself

Omniscient Point of View: The story is told by a god-like narrator who knows all, hears all, and sees all in this type. We can enter the mind and inner thoughts of the characters. The narration is not restricted to only one of the characters.

Alice Walker received a Pulitzer price in 1983 with her famous book The Color Purple. During her writing career she has won many awards and prizes from many organizations. Some of her novels are: The Temple of My Familiar (1989), By the Light of My Father’s Simile (1998) and Now is the Time to Open Your Heart. Everyday Use is a story by her.

The story is told from the point of view of a mother. She and her daughter Maggie are at their yard waiting for the arrival of mother’s other daughter, Dee.

Maggie has burn scars all over her arms and legs. Some time ago, their house was on fire and Maggie was hurt. She tries to hide the scars and she envies Dee believing that Dee has always had life go her way.

Dee pulls out quilts from her mother’s trunk. She wants to take two of them for herself. The mother tells that she has promised the quilts to Maggie when she gets married, and she wants Dee to take machine-sawn quilts. Dee does not want machine-sawn quilts and insists on the ones she has chosen. She believes that Maggie will not understand the value of the quilts and she will probably put them to everyday use.

The story is closely associated to Alice Walker’s life like Maggie’s scars, she lost the sight of one eye. Apart form that physical association, Walker also went to city for education like Dee does.

Mother is proud of her life and she is strong and independent despite her poverty. She describes herself as strong as a man, which indicates that she rejects the traditional gender role as a woman. She turns her back to the house which means that she is rejecting the role given to women represented by the house, a female space.

As a character, Maggie undergoes a change. Her shyness, lack of self-confidence due to her scars seem to have gone at the end of the story when she let Dee have the quilts.

Hakim-a-barber says that he accepts some of their doctrines, but farming and raising cattle is not his style. It is quite ironic that although his name means ruler and he is a Muslim, he is far from ruling his religious society and discards other Muslims who do not have practices like him.

Grandma Dee does not appear in the story but the characters refer to her. Her presence in the story is significant. Maggie gives value to the quilts because they are made by her grandmother while Dee values the quilts just because they represent African people. Grandmother Dee also represents Maggie’s and the mother’s connection to the past.

The exact time of the story is not overtly stated, but this story is published in Walker’s story collection book In Love and Trouble (1973). Most probably the time in the short story is when the Black Movement is in rise and the equality of black people, their search for their origins and place in society are discussed.

Woody Allen is a very prolific writer. He wrote comedies, scripts for TV shows, cartoon captions, short stories and plays for theater and screen. Later, he began to direct films and starred in most of the films he directed. He won 4 Academy Awards and was nominated several times.