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(2017
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2017 #2a: Short Essay (Favorite Passage) |
LITR 4328 |
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Timothy Morrow
11
Oct. 2017
Finding the Spark in Dissecting
The Lamplighter
(2a)
“Many
people were passing, but no one noticed the little girl, for no one in the world
cared for her. She was clad in the poorest of garments; her hair was long,
thick, and uncombed, and her complexion was sallow, and her whole appearance was
unhealthy. She had fine dark eyes; but so large did they seem, in contrast to
her thin, puny face that they increased its peculiarity without increasing its
beauty. Had she had a mother
(which, alas! she had not), those friendly eyes would have found something in
her to praise. But the poor little thing was told, a dozen times a-day, that she
was the worst-looking child in the world, and the worst-behaved*. No one loved
her, and she loved no one; no one tried to make her happy, or cared whether she
was so. She was but eight years old, and alone in the world.” [1.2].
The Lamplighter, written by
Maria Susanna Cummins, is a book written during the American Romantic period,
but could be defined by its subgenre of domestic literature. This subgenre,
influenced by Jane Eyre, focused on
women struggling though the mundane while also being conflicted between their
passions and vice and the “right” moral way to live their lives. While many
books and stories from the American Renaissance were broadly accepted, those of
this subgenre became best sellers captivating the nation. What makes the book,
The Lamplighter so effective is the
use of the Romantic literary elements such as the Grotesque, Sentimentality, and
the characteristic of the Child’s innocence in the novel.
One thing that the novel The
Lamplighter does well is use the literary element of the Grotesque. This
Gothic element is normally shown as a portrayal of something gruesome or morbid,
but this element is versatile. This grotesque also shows something more
Realistic than Gothic, but by displaying this reality, refers back to the Gothic
interchangeably. Cummins begins her novel early on with images of the grotesque.
When describing her protagonist, she states, “She was clad in the poorest of
garments; her hair was long, thick, and uncombed, and her complexion was sallow,
and her whole appearance was unhealthy.” This image is a dark and distorted one,
painting the scenery Cummin’s narrative as Gothic. Other domestic narratives,
like Little House on the Prairie,
have portrayed their protagonists as happy and healthy, when even being
impoverished, yet the author presents her heroine as something quite miserable
to look at. She uses the word “sallow” which portrays her protagonist as
malnourished and discolored. The description is purposefully disturbing as
Cummins is using the Grotesque as a way to entice the reader to continue on, and
feel a little sorry for the girl garbed in rags.
Another thing that Cummins uses to her advantage is the appeal of pathos
to her reader, through the rhetorical element of sentimentality. Many scholars
have discussed the use of sentimentality, and the use of sentiment to invoke the
emotions of readers during the American Romantic era. This can be recognized
through animal narratives and overly romantic stories, but there can also be an
element of sentimentality when depicting children. Cummins does this in her
domestic tale within the first paragraphs of
The Lamplighter. The author writes,
“But the poor little thing was told, a dozen times a-day, that she was the
worst-looking child in the world, and the worst-behaved*. No one loved her, and
she loved no one; no one tried to make her happy, or cared whether she was so.”
It would be enough to simply tell the reader that Gerty, the protagonist, was
mistreated by everyone, yet simply writing that is not the author’s plan.
Cummins’ goal was to evoke an emotional appeal to the reader, making them feel
sorry for Gerty. She uses superlatives of lamentation in order to express the
terrible injustice done to the protagonist. This demands full attention and
support from the reader, who has been emotionally enthralled by Cummins.
The use of Sentimentality is purposeful, with Cummins pushing the reader
into feeling sorry and emotionally bounded to Gerty, going as far as to use
superlatives as well as engaging the reader’s attention to her novel and
protagonist.
The last thing Cummins uses in her novel that not only relies in the
Romantic, yet also attracts readers is the Romantic belief that children are the
purest innocence and are wise compared to the world. Although it is less
apparent, the passage above subtly expresses this philosophy when introducing
Gerty. The author states, “She was but eight years old, and alone in the world.”
With this closing sentence from the passage, Cummins has set up the protagonist
as an “other” compared to the world. While there is indeed the denotative
analysis of the sentence showing that Gerty is physically alone in the world,
that would be too simple. Gerty is alone in the world because she doesn’t fit in
with the world. Other than the savior character of the Lamplighter, every adult
is portrayed as angry and heartless, a far contrast to the protagonist. There is
an element of something pure and kind from Gerty, while everyone around her are
cynical and cruel. Cummins is using the European Romantic era theme of the
innocent child within her novel with Gerty, giving the reader not only a
sympathetic character, but one that at least at the beginning, is pure at heart.
While some people nowadays would argue against the idea that children are more
innocent than adults, the theme of children as a fresh start still is prevalent
in society, which continues to make the Romantic idealistic view of Children
relevant.
By looking above, it is clear that while some could discredit Cummins’
Lamplighter as simply a domestic tale
that tells a story of an impoverished child, there is more happening on the
page. This narrative is rich with
multiple elements of the American Renaissance while borrowing from the European
Romantic era. Cummins weaves the grotesque, sentimentality and the theme of the
innocent child early on in her novel skillfully manipulating the emotional
appeal of the reader towards her protagonist. This type of writing is appealing
and important to examine because not only does it show the literary merit of
Cummins, but explains why the novel was a best seller as well. While the
American Romantic period may be written off as older, or unappealing, by
examining the grotesque, sentimentality with superlatives, and the theme of the
innocent child in a passage from the
Lamplighter, there is clear evidence of literary quality to Cummins’s
writing as well as proof that the author wrote effectively manipulating her
audience to the point of becoming a bestseller.
