Week...6? Coming back to California

Alas, although I am no longer in London, here is the video that I have been preparing throughout the last week, combining all of my London memories into one. If I had more time, I would have taken more pictures, and made this video even longer than it is. I feel like in just 7 minutes, it is nearly impossible to describe the amount that we discussed each novel. However, I did my best, and here is the final product. I hope you enjoy!

https://youtu.be/AyTn9h6Z6dw

Week 5: Coming of Age as a Global Citizen

                                 
While studying The Buddha of Suburbia, we first visited the Museum of London, where we studied the progression of the city of London through time. The novel focuses on London during the 1970s and 1980s, and this quote from Time Magazine gives us wonderful insight into what the city of London looked like at this time. The 1970's and 1980's was a revolutionary period of time for London, as they searched for their identity, and this was mainly fueled by the youth present in the population. The novel begins when Karim is 17, and this photo gives us context into what was happening in London during his childhood.

This is a poster from the Victoria and Albert Museum of a group called The Sex Pistols.
This poster provides more depth on how the music at the time was inspiring the youth revolution that was occurring in the city. Karim often listened to punk/rock music, and The Sex Pistols definitely fit into that category. As London was searching for it's identity, the music was a often a reflection of the youth and multicultural movements at this time. 

This is a 1980s lunchbox that was used in the play "Matilda" and it is present at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The poem says "We are revolting children, Living in revolting times, We sing revolting songs, Using revolting rhymes" and I think this gives us even more insight into how influential the music of the 1980's was. Throughout The Buddha of Suburbia there are constant references to counterculture music, and it is part of what makes Karim who he is when he is a youth in London. The fact that a poem such as this would be on a children's lunchbox during the 1980's really shows you how persuasive the music was at the time. 

This is a costume present at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and it was one of many that would be worn during West End productions in London. As you can see, this costume is extravagant, and it has color schemes and patterns frequently used throughout Eastern cultures in Asia. In West End shows, one would have to wear a costume like this to make the audience feel as if they were looking into Asia. In The Buddha of Suburbia, Karim was hired to act as Mowgli from The Jungle Book, and he had to paint his skin, and although he was against the idea of it, it allowed the majority of the audience (other than Karim's family, who was offended) to transport themselves into the story, such as a costume like the one in the picture could.

This is a shot I took of the London Eye, where we visited on our last day of class. It was a wonderful way to end our trip, and we got to end it with an amazing view of the city! 

Week 4 - Coming of Age as a Writer

It's now the ending of our fourth here in London, and this week we analyzed the novel Atonement, by author Ian McEwan. This week, we related our site visits to the story of our narrator Briony Tallis, as these places helped us develop a better understanding of the circumstances that take place throughout Briony's life.

The first location we traveled to this week was the British Library, which is the host of one of the most highly recognized documents in the world - the Magna Carta.

 Here is the Lincoln Magna Carta, on display inside of the British Library. The Magna Carta was a document, created to establish justice in society during the reign of King John of England, passed in 1215. King John was a tyrant, who was dependent on his Barons to provide him with money. The only way that I was able to relate this document to our novel Atonement, is that the protagonist - Briony Tallis - desires a world that is "just so" and is only able to create this through her writing. Her writing aims to establish justice, similar to the Magna Carta, as she tries to feel redemption for the crime she committed when she was a young girl.

The second location we visited was the Imperial War Museum. This location corresponds best with the second portion of the novel, where Briony is a nurse during World War II, and Robbie overseas, as a member of the British army present in France. At the museum, it was demonstrated that Britain had to grow up quite a bit during the war, both technologically and mentally, and it affected the lives of all of the citizens of England.

The last location we visited was the Florence Nightingale Museum, and this museum introduces us to Florence Nightingale, who has many similar character to traits to Briony.


Like Briony, Florence was brought up as a privileged child. As a child, she was quiet, observant, and extremely organized. All of these traits are shared by Briony. Additionally, similar to Briony, despite Florence's parents approval, Nightingale opted to become a nurse. During the war, Florence was extremely dedicated to her work, but she also continued to write. This is similar to Briony, because Briony continued to write while she was a nurse. 

Week 3 - Coming of Age as a Traveler

Our third week in London, we analyzed the novel A Room with a View, by writer E.M Foster. By connecting the protagonist of this novel - Lucy Honeychurch - to our site visits, we were able to better understand how one's perceptions can change through traveling.
                                             
                                                      
This here are two photos of both the exterior and interior of our first site visit, the John Soane Museum. Personally, I was able to connect the character of John Soane with the character of George Emerson of our novel. Soane was not part of the upper, or even middle class, yet he did not let that define him. As you can see in this photo, Soane became almost an obsessive collector, and he was taken in by artifacts from foreign countries. But John found himself through his traveling, and became one of the greater architects of all time, regardless of his class. He was an outlier of his time. In the same sense, George Emerson comes to Italy as a middle class gentleman, and he is striving to find himself – he comes to find purpose in the world, regardless of his class - and this intrigues Lucy. 

Our second day we visited the National Gallery, and my partner and I came across this painting.
This is a painting titled, “The Departure of the Argonauts” by Pietro Donzello. This painting shows Jason and The Argonauts, as they prepare for their adventure to locate the Golden Fleece. In the painting, it is clear that the adventure to find this treasured item is not very common, as the group is reporting to the king before they leave. They know that the journey to find the Golden Fleece may be dangerous, but they hunger for it anyway, similar to the idea - pointed out by Lucy - that people often "nibble after blood." Lucy experiences this as well, as she has her desire to love George Emerson, regardless that it is against the expectations of social norms.

At the Tate Britain Museum, there is this painting above, titled “Rome from the Vatican” by JMW Turner. This painting was painted by Turner in hindsight, after he left Vatican City, and the painting does a wonderful job of portraying what he took away from his time spent in Italy. He covers the historical aspect of the city through the architecture, the artistic aspect through the paintings, and he even covers the nature with the mountains in the background. This approach to Turner's painting is similar to Lucy and her views on her relationships, as her hindsight of George allows her to recognize that she is not in love with Cecil. She remembers what she took away from her time with George, and that's when she realizes she is in love with him.

Here is another painting from the Tate Britain, titled "Palestrina" by Turner. This painting seems to be a mirror image of the painting above, as it focuses more on the nature, but still has the city present in the background. The painting suggests that sometimes the road less traveled on is the right way to go, as you can see how the pathway of trees would shade any visitor from the sunlight. This is the approach that Lucy takes by following her passion for George, and she is rewarded with a better view (both figuratively and literally) at the end of the novel because of this.

Week 2: Coming of Age as a Skeptic/Believer

This week, as a class, we analyzed the book Brideshead Revisited, a novel that follows the story of a man named Charles Ryder, along with his skepticism towards religion throughout the novel. In order to gain insight to the story, this week we visited locations that focused on the different features - both architecturally and artistically - that distinguish the transitions between time periods (specifically baroque and classical) along with the primary religion of each time.  

 

The first location we visited was Oxford University. Parts of Oxford date back to 1100, and as you can see in this photo, the university exhibits a Gothic style. The particular college that we visited was Christ Church, which is the richest college of the 38 present at Oxford. Christ Church helped establish the Catholic religion at Oxford, which was not very popular when the University first began. A good example of the Catholic architecture at Christ Church can be viewed below, with the stained glass windows.

 

 

On our second day, we visited Eltham Palace, which was a very unique palace, because each part of the palace had a different feel to it, based on the families that resided here. As you can see in the photo above, there is a large architectural contrast between the two portions of the palace. The front portion has a very Classical, Gothic look, similar to what we saw at Oxford. The further section of the building in this photograph demonstrates Baroque features, as the stone disappears, and the look transforms to be appear modernized. This relates to Brideshead Revisited, because Charles states that he has been converted to the Baroque, and the photo above provides imagery for this.

 Our final visit was to Hampton Court Palace, which, similar to Eltham, had elements of the Baroque and Classical periods. However, Hampton Court demonstrated more tension between the Protestant and Catholic religions of the time, and this can be observed by the painting below.

This is a photograph of a mural at the top of William III's living space. William wanted a mural to glorify him, and the triumph of the Protestant faith, and the artist that was hired had to agree to paint this, because he was on contract. However, as you can see, the baby at the top of this photo is "taking a leak" onto the plate below him, and essentially the whole painting. While this is very subtle, it is an example of the tension between the Catholic and Protestant churches at the time.


Throughout Brideshead Revisited, Charles Ryder struggles with where he stands in his opinion of the church. By visiting these locations, we were provided insight into Charles' world, and we were able to better understand his religious journey throughout the novel.

Week 1: Coming of Age as a Worker

 

With my first week in London coming to a close, let's just say the city has left a fantastic first impression on me. The people, the atmosphere, the scenery, the food, every day gives me something new to look forward to! This week we looked over Jane Eyre, and we analyzed the topic of coming of age as a worker.

On our first day, we visited The Foundling Museum. At this stop, we learned about The Foundling Hospital, which used to help care for and bring up orphans. This museum demonstrated the difficulties of growing up as an orphaned child, and this idea correlates to the book we are currently discussing in class this week: "Jane Eyre."  The Foundling Museum in London, England, tells that orphans at the Foundling Hospital received generous care, as the workers there did what they could to develop each child’s potential. However, this was not the case for Jane, and she begins to show signs of strength and rebellion during her upbringing at Gateshead, where she resides with her cousins and her Aunt Reed, whom she does not get along with. 

                                               
Although the orphan's at the Foundling Hospital may have received more generous care then Jane did in her upbringing, they still had difficulties growing up, and this can be seen in the photo above. In this photo, you can see the tokens that the parents left behind for their children at the Foundling Hospital. Many times, this would often be the last time that a parents would see their child, so it is hard to imagine how difficult this would be as an orphan to have a single to token to remind you of where you came from.

On our second day we visited the Geffrye Museum. This Museum supplied us with more information about the common roles of working women during the time period of "Jane Eyre."  
                                 
This is a photo of the inside of one of the rooms at the Geffrye Museum. At the Geffrye Museum, it is shown that Victorian woman of the middle class were often placed below the men of the household, as they were only allowed to venture inside of their domain. However, Jane begins to notice that she is beginning to be treated as an equal when working at Thornfield, and Mr. Rochester speaks to her on the same intellectual level. This is the opposite of what she has seen as common in her time, and this helps her embrace her role as governess even more.

This is a photo of the location where we stopped on our third day, The Tate Britain Museum. At this museum, we were able to view famous paintings, which provide imagery and insight so that we can better relate to the roles of the working woman during the time period of "Jane Eyre" as well
                                          
Here are two particular paintings that demonstrate the idea of the role of a middle class woman in the society of Jane Eyre. In one, the "working man" has had something occur, and this seems to be on his mind. In the other, he is now an old man and is in need of assistance. In both, since the home was the domain of the middle class woman at the time, she is at his side making sure to take good care of him.


London has been an incredible adventure so far, and I look forward to what the future holds! Stay tuned!