Our hero, Ivan Denisovich, is not an extraordinary man. He lives in the midst of a world where there is not enough to eat, in a world where you are dependent on the kindness of those around you, yet he feels no envy for the packages of food the others have received. It is a small thing, but an enormous thing. It is a basic decency that cannot be crushed out of some men. In the midst of the horror and darkness we get glimpses of not just man at his worst, but man at his best. Like the stars shining in the dark sky. This basic decency and dignity is everywhere in the novel. The Soviets could not crush it out. They tried. There is noting the state can do to crush out art, as art elevates. They tried. If you love life, then you can love life in the camps. This is life too. Whatever is going on in the bigger world is happening here too. This is not an entertaining book. It does educate. This novel teaches that there is something higher: have courage; speak the truth, and be willing to suffer no matter whatever God sends.
The final act of the play takes place back in Sicily, where the story began. The anticipation of the reunion of the daughter to her father and the two kings does not happen on stage, but off stage. The reason is that it is impossible to have two climatic scenes at the same time. The second reunion will suffer. But this is not the highpoint of the play. In the chapel where the final scene takes place, is a beautiful, almost life like statue of a woman. It is Hermione, the presumed dead wife of King Leontes. She moves. She comes to life. She is resurrected. It is magical. This is the only time in all of Shakespeare’s works that he withholds information from the audience. We are stunned. And the purpose of this moment is to bring us as close to heaven as possible and the day when we will all be resurrected to life and reunited with those we love. Christ taught us what we need to know to attain salvation through stories, through parables. It is in our nature to listen and learn. We are created with this. Listen to the Master, trust and obey.
In this introduction to Charles Dickens and David Copperfield, Dr. White discusses the beloved author’s great success early in life with his very first novel and how it came about from his job as a journalist. He speaks about Charles Dickens’ special preference for David Copperfield and his belief that it was Dickens’ very best novel, giving anecdotes of people in his life who were singularly touched by the novel and the realness of his characters. Dr. White describes the serial format in which Dickens’ novels appeared and how they affected his writing. Dr. White discusses Dickens’ influence on the great writers of the twentieth century, especially of the Russian school, and his amazing ability to write children and bring the reader into the child’s point of view – an ability that shows, in Dr. White’s opinion, that there was some part of the great author that must have never truly grown up. From here Dr. White segues into a discussion of the importance of fairytales in a child’s formation, for fairytales help children discover the moral order. He characterizes Dickens’ works as fairytales for adults.
Dr. White discusses Charles Dickens’ great gift for characterization, which extended even to very minor characters. He gives specific examples of this from David Copperfield, including the based-on-life character of Miss Moucher. Next, Dr. White discusses some of the author’s literary devices, including his masterful foreshadowing and the device of having a double perspective from the narrator: David experiences things as a child, and the elder David who is narrating looks back on it as an adult, giving an adult’s perspective. Indeed, Dr. White points out, the novel is somewhat autobiographical, and Dickens in examining David Copperfield’s life examines his own. Useful or important passages of the novel are read and explained. Dr. White discusses the overwhelmingly female world that David is born to, giving him no male figure to look up to. This section ends with a look at the scene in which Copperfield discovers that his mother is going to be remarried to Mr. Murdstone.
The story now moves away from Venice, never to return. The characters arrive one by one at Cyprus by sea, having weathered a heavy storm. Nature itself is confused. They assemble here to prepare for battle with the Turks. In Act One, Iago only talks about his plans, but now, in Act Two, away from home, he puts his plans into action. Iago gets Cassio drunk and into a fight, disrupting the wedding night of Othello and Desdemona. Othello breaks up the fight. Cassio is dishonored. To help put him right again with Othello, Iago suggests that he talk with Desdemona to have her plead his case with her husband. He agrees. Iago uses this meeting to plant doubts about Desdemona’s fidelity. Iago has several roles in this play. He is first and foremost, the villain. A purely evil man: evil for the sake of evil. He appears as a fellow well met, but his words hide his real intent. Iago provides the comic relief in the play. He is funny, witty, clever. Audiences for centuries love this character. They recognize him. He reminds us all that we are human. But behind his jokes is a sinister plan of destruction and disorder.
Dr. White discusses sentimentality and its characteristics, explaining that it focuses on emotions and wallows in them for their own sake, and pointing out that true artistry allows one to respond on one’s own, without manipulation. Dickens’ work was touched by sentimentality, he explains, particularly in some of his death scenes. Dr. White discusses some of the episodes of his own life that Dickens put into this work, which was partly autobiographical. David’s influences and hero-figures are examined with their respective influences upon him. Dr. White also gives some time to the character of Mr. Micawber, whom he ranks as one of the three great comic characters of literature. Finally, Dr. White touches upon the effect that Dickens had in changing child labor laws and school conditions, the state of which he dramatized in his novels, thus raising awareness of them.
