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(2018
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2018 #3: Web Highlights (Index) |
LITR 4328 |
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Lauren Kruse
A simple tug of the Heartstrings
I have found the Sentimental writings to
be intriguing, what is it that draws the reader into a predictable and blatant
appeal to human emotion? Reading
the responses from Sarah Hurt, Timothy Morrow and Jennifer Robles, I feel more
confident in my understanding of the genre.
Sarah Hurt shares her take in
The Lamplighter, More Than Just a
Best-Seller (2015 – Short Essay Response). Describing it as the “Best and
worst of the American Renaissance,” Hurt breaks it down simply: “While
I can enjoy some elements of Romantic rhetoric such as allusions to mythology, I
tend to get tired of the extremes and superlatives. Especially when they
contradict themselves in the same paragraph.”
She also expressed an appreciation for this literary genre’s role in
popularizing women authors among common households.
In
Finding a Spark in Dissecting The
Lamplighter (2017 – Short Essay Response), Timothy Morrow mentions that
Cummins pushes her readers to feel the intended emotions, through the use of
superlatives and sentiment.
Sentimentality relies on an understanding of stereotypes, as displayed through
the stereotype of the innocent child.
Should the reader begin reading
The Lamplighter believing that all children are snotty-nosed gremlins that
show their worst when they are wet and exposed to sugar, the image of Gerty as a
grotesque and pitiful sight would have fallen flat.
The assumption that the reader will feel sympathy for the forlorn orphan
drive the entire story. As Morrow
notes, that while modern-day readers are less prone to view children as the
image of innocence and perfection, this overall sentiment remains, rendering
Cummins’ writing as yet an example of well-executed sentimentality.
Jennifer
Robles looks at the logistics of this genre in
Sentiment vs. Sentimentality: A Sign of
True Artistry (2015 – Short Essay Response).
Sentimentality at its base is described as, “the
cheap thrill to our emotions, an instant gratification and a mass appeal to
everyone who witnesses it.”
Within sentimentality there is no room for interpretation on the part of the
reader. The author manipulates
emotions through the use of superlatives and stereotypes, portraying
one-dimensional characters. I
appreciated her comparison of “Nan” from The Lamplighter and the “Father”
of Wide, Wide World. While
neither character was particularly likeable, Nan is displayed in an unforgiving
light, only inviting the reader to know of her outward appearance and actions.
The Father, while cold and one-dimensional, does share some of his
inner-turmoil as he watches Ellen lie in bed.
This latter example is an example of wisely employed sentiment, as the
author appeals to the inner emotions of the reader, while leaving room for
individual interpretation.
As
for the draw to sentimental works, while they might not withstand the test of
time, as individuals, I believe that sentimentality will remain.
In a world seemingly full of despair and injustice and all of the
complicated emotions between, access to “cheap and easy emotions” can provide an
outlet for simple feelings. Just as
the perpetual Hallmark plot-line and the story of the underdog, these
sentimental works provide a glimmer of hope among the gloom.
The idea that the young child, suffering the injustices of this world,
might succeed and experience relief, or that the sentimental stereotypes remain,
allow for a brief respite from the complications of this world.
