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Monday, April 26, 2010
Comparing and Contasting Bildungsromans
Compare and contrast Great Expectations to a different story that can be classified as a Bildungsroman. Within this genre, how was Dickens’ novel the same and/or different to others? (You can use a movie or a different novel.)
An example of a Bildungsroman other than Great Expectations is To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a sister and a brother, Scout and Jem, growing up together in the south and coming of age as their family is faced with some challenges. In the beginning of the novel, the characters are very young and naive, like Pip, but by the end they have matured very much and are more aware of their surroundings in the world. They have realized their place in society and observed the places of others. Jem and Scout realize by the end that there is a lot of hatred and racism in the world and Pip realizes that your rank in society determines how people treat you.
Another example of a Bildungsroman is the Harry Potter series. In the Harry Potter series, Harry is introduced as an orphan who has no idea who his parents were and about his past. Throughout the whole series Harry tries to find his place in the wizard society which is very similar to Pip who tries to find his place in Victorian englad. Also, another similarity is that the books cycle the same way. Both of these novels start of with a great loss or tragedy, which in their case is the state of being an orphan. Then as the series progress, Harry looses a lot of his friends just like how Pip isolates himself from his friends. Finnally both of these books end with the main characters finding their place in their society. Harry finds himself a wizard while Pip finds himself as a clerk earning an earnest living.
Another Bildungsroman is Batman. In the beginning, it starts out with young Bruce Wayne witnessing the murder of his parents. Growing up, he is faced with many challenges: coping with the lose of his parents, and watching their killer go free, to name a few. Bruce grows up trying to find his place in society, like Pip. Eventually, he finds his place in society as a badass vigilante who saves innocent people while dressed as a bat.
An example of a bildungsroman besides Great Expectations could be the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. There are many similarities and differences between the two however. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a story that involves the coming of age of four friends, and how their friendship together helps them find their places in society. However, in Great Expectations, it only follows the one main character of Pip. This definitely does effect the story, because it doesn't revolve on the emotions of other characters as much as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants does. However, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a good example of a bildungsroman because of the tragedy and society place finding that it entails. Both of these stories are very well told, and in different ways both fit the genre of a Bildungsroman.
The Looking Glass Wars, a mature parody of Alice in Wonderland, is a bildungsroman that, at least regarding character development, is extremely similar to Great Expectations. In the story, Alyss, the future Queen of her world, is forced to flee to the human world after a devastating coup destroys her kingdom. In the human world she lives on the streets as an orphan, then as she grows up she becomes adopted and increasingly more sophisticated. However after many years her personal body guard finds her and brings her back to her world, where she reluctantly tries to relearn the rules of her world as she leads the rebel forces trying to retake her kingdom.
This runs multiple parallels with Pip's journey. At one point they are both orphans living in London, that get a chance to become a part of the upper class. Then by the end of the story they are back where they started by the end, with Pip in the lower/middle class and Alyss back in her kingdom. However there are some differences as well. Pip made most of the decisions in his life that determined his social status. However Alyss was forced to make every one of her changes. A military coup violently forced her out of her lavish life as a princess, and by the time she was used to her place in the human world, she was forced right back into the militant turmoil of her original world. Also Pip's life is better in the end than it was in the beginning. He started out as an orphan with an abusive sister and ended up as a proud worker in the emerging middle class. Alyss started as a spoiled princess that got anything she wanted and ended up leading a band of rebels in a war.
An example of a Bildungsroman would be the Chronicles of Narnia. While there are many different characters that serve as the main protagonists for the stories, the most memorable characters would be Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy. This family of four braves the perils of Narnia numerous times, right up to their ends in the final book. They start the series young and inexperienced, completely unused/to the dangers of Narnia.
6 comments:
An example of a Bildungsroman other than Great Expectations is To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a sister and a brother, Scout and Jem, growing up together in the south and coming of age as their family is faced with some challenges. In the beginning of the novel, the characters are very young and naive, like Pip, but by the end they have matured very much and are more aware of their surroundings in the world. They have realized their place in society and observed the places of others. Jem and Scout realize by the end that there is a lot of hatred and racism in the world and Pip realizes that your rank in society determines how people treat you.
Another example of a Bildungsroman is the Harry Potter series. In the Harry Potter series, Harry is introduced as an orphan who has no idea who his parents were and about his past. Throughout the whole series Harry tries to find his place in the wizard society which is very similar to Pip who tries to find his place in Victorian englad. Also, another similarity is that the books cycle the same way. Both of these novels start of with a great loss or tragedy, which in their case is the state of being an orphan. Then as the series progress, Harry looses a lot of his friends just like how Pip isolates himself from his friends. Finnally both of these books end with the main characters finding their place in their society. Harry finds himself a wizard while Pip finds himself as a clerk earning an earnest living.
Another Bildungsroman is Batman. In the beginning, it starts out with young Bruce Wayne witnessing the murder of his parents. Growing up, he is faced with many challenges: coping with the lose of his parents, and watching their killer go free, to name a few. Bruce grows up trying to find his place in society, like Pip. Eventually, he finds his place in society as a badass vigilante who saves innocent people while dressed as a bat.
An example of a bildungsroman besides Great Expectations could be the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. There are many similarities and differences between the two however. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a story that involves the coming of age of four friends, and how their friendship together helps them find their places in society. However, in Great Expectations, it only follows the one main character of Pip. This definitely does effect the story, because it doesn't revolve on the emotions of other characters as much as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants does. However, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a good example of a bildungsroman because of the tragedy and society place finding that it entails. Both of these stories are very well told, and in different ways both fit the genre of a Bildungsroman.
The Looking Glass Wars, a mature parody of Alice in Wonderland, is a bildungsroman that, at least regarding character development, is extremely similar to Great Expectations. In the story, Alyss, the future Queen of her world, is forced to flee to the human world after a devastating coup destroys her kingdom. In the human world she lives on the streets as an orphan, then as she grows up she becomes adopted and increasingly more sophisticated. However after many years her personal body guard finds her and brings her back to her world, where she reluctantly tries to relearn the rules of her world as she leads the rebel forces trying to retake her kingdom.
This runs multiple parallels with Pip's journey. At one point they are both orphans living in London, that get a chance to become a part of the upper class. Then by the end of the story they are back where they started by the end, with Pip in the lower/middle class and Alyss back in her kingdom. However there are some differences as well. Pip made most of the decisions in his life that determined his social status. However Alyss was forced to make every one of her changes. A military coup violently forced her out of her lavish life as a princess, and by the time she was used to her place in the human world, she was forced right back into the militant turmoil of her original world. Also Pip's life is better in the end than it was in the beginning. He started out as an orphan with an abusive sister and ended up as a proud worker in the emerging middle class. Alyss started as a spoiled princess that got anything she wanted and ended up leading a band of rebels in a war.
An example of a Bildungsroman would be the Chronicles of Narnia. While there are many different characters that serve as the main protagonists for the stories, the most memorable characters would be Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy. This family of four braves the perils of Narnia numerous times, right up to their ends in the final book. They start the series young and inexperienced, completely unused/to the dangers of Narnia.
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