Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote Study Guide

Written by experimental author Jorge Luis Borges, Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote does not follow the format of a traditional short story. While a standard 20th-century short story describes a conflict that builds steadily towards a crisis, climax, and resolution, Borgess story imitates (and often parodies) an academic or scholarly essay. The title character of Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote is a poet and literary critic from France-and is also, unlike a more traditional title character, dead by the time the story begins. The narrator of Borgess text is one of Menards friends and admirers. In part, this narrator is moved to write his eulogy because misleading accounts of the newly-deceased Menard have begun to circulate: Already Error is attempting to tarnish his bright Memory†¦ Most decidedly, a brief rectification is imperative (88). Borgess narrator begins his rectification by listing all of the visible lifework of Pierre Menard, in proper chronological order (90). The twenty or so items on the narrators list include translations, collections of sonnets, essays on intricate literary topics, and finally a handwritten list of lines of poetry that owe their excellence to punctuation (89-90). This overview of Menards career is the preface to a discussion of Menards single most innovative piece of writing. Menard left behind an unfinished masterpiece which consists of the ninth and thirty-eighth chapters of Part I of Don Quixote and a fragment of Chapter XXII (90). With this project, Menard didnt aim to merely transcribe or copy Don Quixote, and he didnt attempt to produce a 20th-century updating of this 17th-century comic novel. Instead, Menards admirable ambition was to produce a number of pages which coincided-word for word and line for line with those of Miguel de Cervantes, the original author of the Quixote (91). Menard achieved this re-creation of the Cervantes text without really re-creating Cervantess life. Instead, he decided that the best route was continuing to be Pierre Menard and coming to the Quixote through the experiences of Pierre Menard (91). Although the two versions of the Quixote chapters are absolutely identical, the narrator prefers the Menard text. Menards version is less reliant on local color, more skeptical of historical truth, and on the whole more subtle than Cervantess (93-94). But on a more general level, Menards Don Quixote establishes and promotes revolutionary ideas about reading and writing. As the narrator notes in the final paragraph, Menard has (perhaps unwittingly) enriched the slow and rudimentary art of reading by means of a new technique the technique of deliberate anachronism and fallacious attribution (95). Following Menards example, readers can interpret canonical texts in fascinating new ways by attributing them to authors who didnt actually write them. Background and Contexts Don Quixote and World Literature: Published in two installments in the early 17th century, Don Quixote is regarded by many readers and scholars as the first modern novel. (For literary critic Harold Bloom, Cervantes’s importance to world literature is rivaled only by Shakespeare’s.) Naturally, Don Quixote would have intrigued an avant-garde Argentine author like Borges, partially because of its impact on Spanish and Latin American literature, and partially because of its playful approach to reading and writing. But there is another reason why Don Quixote is especially appropriate to â€Å"Pierre Menard†Ã¢â‚¬â€because Don Quixote spawned unofficial imitations in its own time. The unauthorized sequel by Avellaneda is the most famous of these, and Pierre Menard himself can be understood as the latest in a line of Cervantes imitators. Experimental Writing in the 20th Century: Many of the world-famous authors who came before Borges crafted poems and novels that are built largely of quotations, imitations, and allusions to earlier writings. T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land—a long poem that uses a disorienting, fragmentary style and draws constantly on myths and legends—is one example of such reference-heavy writing. Another example is James Joyce’s Ulysses, which mixes bits of everyday speech with imitations of ancient epics, medieval poetry, and Gothic novels. This idea of an â€Å"art of appropriation† also influenced painting, sculpture, and installation art. Experimental visual artists such as Marcel Duchamp created â€Å"ready-made† artworks by taking objects from everyday life—chairs, postcards, snow shovels, bicycle wheels—and putting them together in strange new combinations. Borges situates â€Å"Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote† in this growing tradition of quotation and appropriation. (In fact, the final sentence of the story refers to James Joyce by name.) But â€Å"Pierre Menard† also shows how the art of appropriation can be taken to a comical extreme and does so without exactly lighting earlier artists; after all, Eliot, Joyce, and Duchamp all created works that are meant to be humorous or absurd. Key Topics Menard’s Cultural Background: Despite his choice of Don Quixote, Menard is mainly a product of French literature and French culture—and makes no secret of his cultural sympathies. He is identified in Borges’s story as a â€Å"Symbolist from Nà ®mes, a devotee essentially of Poe—who begat Baudelaire, who begat Mallarmà ©, who begat Valà ©ry† (92). (Though born in America, Edgar Allan Poe had an enormous French following after his death.) In addition, the bibliography that starts off â€Å"Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote† includes â€Å"a study of the essential metrical rules of French prose, illustrated with examples taken from Saint-Simon† (89). Oddly enough, this ingrained French background helps Menard to understand and re-create a work of Spanish literature. As Menard explains, he can easily imagine the universe â€Å"without the Quixote.† For him, â€Å"the Quixote is a contingent work; the Quixote is not necessary. I can premeditate committing it to writing, as it were—I can write it—without falling into a tautology† (92). Borges’s Descriptions: There are many aspects of Pierre Menard’s life—his physical appearance, his mannerisms, and most of the details of his childhood and domestic life—that are omitted from â€Å"Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote†. This is not an artistic flaw; in fact, Borges’s narrator is fully conscious of these omissions. Given the opportunity, the narrator consciously backs away from the task of describing Menard, and explains his reasons in the following footnote: â€Å"I did, I might say, have the secondary purpose of drawing a small sketch of the figure of Pierre Menard—but how dare I compete with the gilded pages I am told the Baroness de Bacourt is even now preparing, or with the delicate sharp crayon of Carolus Hourcade?† (90). Borges’s Humor: â€Å"Pierre Menard† can be read as a send-up of literary pretensions—and as a piece of gentle self-satire on Borges’s part. As Renà © de Costa writes in Humor in Borges, â€Å"Borges creates two outlandish types: the adulating critic who worships a single author, and the worshiped author as a plagiarist, before ultimately inserting himself into the story and rounding things out with a typical self-parody.† In addition to praising Pierre Menard for questionable accomplishments, Borges’s narrator spends much of the story criticizing â€Å"Mme. Henri Bachelier,† another literary type who admires Menard. The narrator’s willingness to go after someone who is, technically, on his side—and to go after her for rather obscure reasons—is another stroke of ironic humor. As for Borges’s humorous self-criticism, de Costa notes that Borges and Menard have strangely similar writing habits. Borges himself was known among his friends for â€Å"his square-ruled notebooks, his black crossings-out, his peculiar typographical symbols, and his insect-like handwriting† (95, footnote). In the story, all of these things are attributed to the eccentric Pierre Menard. The list of Borges stories that poke gentle fun at aspects of Borges’s identity—â€Å"Tlà ¶n, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius†, â€Å"Funes the Memorious†, â€Å"The Aleph†, â€Å"The Zahir†Ã¢â‚¬â€is considerable, though Borges’s most extensive discussion of his own identity occurs in â€Å"The Other†. A Few Discussion Questions How would â€Å"Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote† be different if it centered on a text other than Don Quixote? Does Don Quixote seem like the most appropriate choice for Menard’s strange project, and for Borges’s story? Should Borges have focused his satire on a totally different selection from world literature?Why did Borges use so many literary allusions in â€Å"Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote†? How do you think Borges wants his readers to react to these allusions? With respect? Annoyance? Confusion?How would you characterize the narrator of Borges’s story? Do you feel that this narrator is simply a stand-in for Borges, or are Borges and the narrator very different in major ways?Are the ideas about writing and reading that appear in this story totally absurd? Or can you think of real-life reading and writing methods that recall Menard’s ideas? Note on Citations All in-text citations refer to Jorge Luis Borges, Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, pages 88-95 in Jorge Luis Borges: Collected Fictions (Translated by Andrew Hurley. Penguin Books: 1998).

Essay on The Gothic Genre and What it Entails - 6177 Words

The invaluable works of our elder writers re driven into neglect by frantic novels, sickly and stupid German Tragedies, and deluges of idle and extravagant stories in verse. The human mind is capable of being excited without the application of gross and violent stimulants.. William Wordsworth, Preface to The Lyrical Ballads, 1802. ..Phantasmagoric kind of fiction, whatever one may think of it, is not without merit: twas the inevitable result of revolutionary shocks throughout Europe thus to compose works of interest, one had to call on the aid of Hell itself, and to find things familiar in the world of make believe.. Marquis (Donatien Alphonse) de Sade, Reflections on the Novel.,†¦show more content†¦It was not until around 1960 that academics like Robert Hume rose to its defence. (Maybe its renewed popularity was something to do with the very unique socio-political situation in the 1960s echoing a the unique situation of the late eighteenth century, the heyday of the genre.) Since then there has been a deluge of commentary which has elevated the genre to a critical and scholarly favourite. It is often said that one of the unifying features of Romanticism is its intentional political relevance. Much of the canonical Romantic literature is inspired or informed by socio-political events. We need only look at Blakes work or key poems by second generation Romantics like Shelleys Ode to the West Wind or The Mask of Anarchy to verify this. The same is true of Romantic Gothic which arose around that unique period in European history posthumously defined by the French Revolution but significant for its trans-European massive cultural and social upheaval indicated in part by repeated rioting in Britain (Lowe, vii) and a widespread clamour for various reforms. Victor Sage writes, English Gothick of the eighteenth century is seen as a collective symptom of political pressure felt all over Europe. 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Why World Cinema Is an Important Topic to Study Free Essays

WhyWhy world Cinema is an important topic to study? Third Cinema is a very different topic to the rest of the syllabus topics; this will allow us to broaden our viewing range and develop our own film interest. Popular Hollywood films are usually number one choice, when it comes to choosing films as there is a limited number of choice and verity within the small section provided that under world cinema. Unless you have knowledge in the industry and about the films you are searching for, it becomes a challenge to find something suitable for your interests. We will write a custom essay sample on Why World Cinema Is an Important Topic to Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now Studying ‘Global Cinema’ will expand our knowledge on the 10% of films that do not fall under that category of Hollywood films. Although Hollywood films have a much higher success rate, it will not always have a new creative plot or narrative. Similar article: Pestle Analysis for Odeon Cinema Where-as world cinema films challenges Hollywood films within creativity by exploring different structures etc. Although there are some difficulties we will face whilst trying to study specific films such as the language barrier, variations in culture, different sense of humour and sometimes words, sayings or puns will be lost in translation. However we will be able to gain information about various cultures and country of origin and their industries, different ways techniques and styles of films. There is no such thing as a typical world cinema film, as it is a collective term used for all manner of films from different national cinema and therefore there a wide range of genre within world cinema to be explored to be able to suit various interests. World cinema is unique and differs from predictable mass culture. Which is often something neglected, undervalued or misunderstood as Hollywood has ‘power’ when it comes to the film industry therefore films from around the world have categorised by the fact they are not Hollywood films rather than genre based. Hollywood films often have similar plot points or nothing ‘new’ about their style of films. There are some national cinema films which have been remade by Hollywood. A classic example of ‘Hollywood remakes’ is the original Internal Affairs (1990, Mike Figgis) this film was an initial success within its origin country however it became a global success after Hollywood remade this film with an all-star cast, produced by Brad Pitt. In conclusion it is important to study world cinema films is to be able to expand our knowledge as it is often not discussed. Hollywood films do not always provide us with unique creative films that challenges against the conventional way in which film is portrayed through Hollywood. This will give us a new film experience whilst learning about new culture and the country of origin. How to cite Why World Cinema Is an Important Topic to Study, Essay examples

Liberal Arts Persuasive Essay Example For Students

Liberal Arts Persuasive Essay As a result, students are gradually becoming less interested in Liberal Arts. People have chosen Science subjects over Art subjects because they believe that less intelligent students study arts, getting a good job is difficult in the arts field, and they are not willing to commit the time and money needed to study arts. In the article The Liberal Arts: Preserving Humanity, Jennifer Urbane talks about how Liberal Arts has lost popularity due to peoples increased interest in modern activities, She also talks about how people want to get rid of Liberal Arts courses and focus on areas of study that lead to careers with a high paying salary. She then expands on what has lead to the decline to liberal art studies and it gaining a negative reputation (1-4). In Stanley Ashs article, The Last professor, he states that people are being nave to assume that the liberal art crisis is a short term discrepancy. He talks about how this has been happening for a long time and that eve are unable to stop from happening. Stanley than goes on to talk about how timing is a great issue when studying liberal arts and how being born too late or too early is a factor (1-2). ;;;; The first reason that Iberia arts have been decreasing in popularity and facing a disaster is due to the people being money-oriented. Therefore individuals are always trying to study a course that Will enable them to get a well paying job in the future, Which causes them not to follow their dreams. The terrible stereotype of the starving artist has lead to frighten people to do so (Urbane I). In todays world people value being rich more than having an education in a field of their interest. People generally go into fields that have higher salaries and not study for the sake of being passionate and interested in the subject. I had a friend who was actually planning to major in women studies but after doing research and communication she had change her mind as she was afraid of not having a solid cushioning career to fall back on (Urbane 2). Even though woman studies help develop critical thinking and writing skills they still have limited job opportunities in the future. The second reason for lost interest in liberal arts is the fact that it is more time consuming and expensive than majoring in other fields. People no longer bothering Liberal Art subjects such as Philosophy, Sociology and Dance (Urbane 2). Those who gain a degree in humanities have spent more time and money than students who have achieved a degree in Science, and are considered to be wasting time upon dead languages (Carnegie CTD. In Fish). Also some liberal arts subjects require costly investments on equipments even before you can have any sort of education. Therefore only people who plan their college experience according to their own interest are continuing with the study of liberal arts (Urbane 2). The last reason why liberal arts are being ignored is due to the fact that they are underestimated compared to Other majors. Nowadays, people Who study Liberal arts are assumed to not be as intelligent as students who are in science or business majors. For example, in my case, my parents and relatives were very proud that I was studying to become a mechanical engineer. It always made me wonder if they would feel the same way if had decided to major in humanities. @Len Iran students have to choose when entering high school if they want to major in Science, Business or Arts. The majority of the students go for the sciences even if they do not have any interest in this field. This is due to the pressure the family exerts on them. This had lead to a lot of problems since majority of them end up not getting into university due to the high competition in this field. Therefore many to them end up being uneducated even though these students have a special aptitude for liberal arts. .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca , .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca .postImageUrl , .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca , .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca:hover , .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca:visited , .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca:active { border:0!important; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca:active , .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u513fe0e88afd630f9b877d4e8cebaeca:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Essay about Impact of Cyber Security Vulnerability on Organizations EssayIn conclusion, the decrease in study of liberal arts looks serious even though humanities professors like to think that this is a temporary imbalance and talk about ways of redressing it (Fish 1). The recent education system has shown that interest in liberal arts is neglected even though it helps provide intellectual flexibility, skills in self expression, ND a universal understanding of diversity (Urbane 2-31 Once upon a time notable scholars were studying the arts, reading and writing about history and sociology, understanding the world through education. We should be thankful for the developments Science and Business have brought to our world but is it worth loosing What was once important? Science and Business progressions hue brought efficiency and effectiveness into our lifestyles which people are now incorporating into their education programs. Rather than devoting a life time to perfecting their understanding of subject students are choosing to study what hey are not interested in to save time and money.