Themes Messuds works - Essay Example

Themes Messud’s works Part 1: Five Notable American Fiction Books Following are five notable fiction works written by Americans according to the American Library Association (ALA) list of 2014 [Ref15]: Enon by Paul Harding This novel follows up on Harding’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel, Tinkers[And13], and continues the history of Crosby [Rob13]. Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat Edwidge Danticat is an American writer of Haiti descent [Son13]. This novel of hers has been described as the Haitian story of love and loss; the devastating Haitian earthquake of 2010 happened when the book was halfway through and the writer was able to cleverly sneak the event into the book [Sha131]. Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See by Juliann Garey This novel, inspired by the experience of the writer [Sil13], narrates Greyson Todd’s struggle for happiness and stability in the face of bipolar disorder [Nel13]. The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud Along the lines of Chekhov’s short story, The Lady with the Pet Dog[Kak13], Claire Messud’s novel explores the theme that people are not always what they appear to be [Kak13]. The novel has been described as gown-up [Lez14]. Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki Two characters narrate this novel: Nao, a sixteen-year-old girl living in Tokyo and a writer who lives on an island off British Columbia [Dow13]. Nao keeps a diary that the writer finds on the seashore in the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami. Ozeki’s story has been described ad meditative and era-flipping [Jen13]. This bibliographical essay is about Claire Messud. Besides writing novels, Messud teaches literature and creative writing. Her best-known work is The Emperor's Children, published in 2006. Messud is well-known for her riveting style of writing. The Woman Upstairs exemplifies her style; the title itself creates suspense and gets one reading the novel to find out what is special about the woman upstairs. Part 2: Thesis statements The following are four thesis statements that describe Claire Messud: The Emperor’s Children was Messud’s most successful work. Messud’s writing career has been more successful than her teaching career. Messud is one of the greatest multicultural writers since 1945. Messud is heavy-handed in the way she depicts the characters in her stories. This essay is based on the thesis statement that Messud is one of the greatest multicultural writers the world has known since 1945. The thesis was chosen because multi-culturalism is a dominant theme in the literary works that emerged after the Second World War and has endured to date. Messud’s works are no exception and her early life seems to have prepared her for multicultural writing. Claire Messud is an American novelist and professor of literature and creative writing born in Greenwich, Connecticut. Messud was born of a Canadian mother and an ethnic French father from Algeria, a former colony of France until 1962. Besides the United States, as a child, Messud grew up in Canada and Australia. She attended the University of Toronto Schools and Milton Academy. She took her undergraduate and graduate studies at Yale and Cambridge Universities, respectively. While at Cambridge University, she met James Wood, her spouse. Today, Wood is a literary critic in the United Kingdom. Thus, the background and early life of Messud prepared her for her career as a multicultural writer. Part 3: Outline This essay seeks to illustrate thet hree themes that dominate Messud’s works: multiculturalism, displacement and exile. The three themes first play out in When the World was Steady; a series of misfortunes displace the two in this story from the security of their homes and they are forced to make new homes elsewhere. In The Last Life, the fifteen-year-old Sagasse Le Basse is raised by multicultural parents whom circumstances have displaced from their native countries; the girl struggles with her identity. The same fate befalls the characters in A Simple Tale and The Hunters, the two novellas in Messud’s third book; the first novella is about Maria Poniatowski, a Russian woman who survives torture in a German concentration then loses her husband later the second novella is about an anonymous American scholar who is displaced from their country and finds refuge in a run-down neighbourhood in London. The chief character in The Woman Upstairs is Nora, a thirty-seven-year old third grade teacher; at her age, she is single and struggling with identifying her niche in a community that looks at women like her with scorn. Part 4: Rough Draft Three major themes run through Messud’s novels: multiculturalism, exile and displacement[Amo04]. Throughout her novels, female protagonists grapple with finding their niche and cultural identity in the midst of historical injustices and family problems. In When the World was Steady, the sisters have been brought up to value the security that the family has to offer [Amo04]. However, unexpected events disrupt that security. As a result, they embark on an emotional journey to adapt to the new realities. Following a bitter divorce, Emmy, the younger sister is forced to leave Australia for Bali. Virginia goes through a series of devastating events that cause her to question her faith. Together with her mother, Virginia travels from London back to their rural home in Scotland. Having been used to the comfort of life in big cities, the two sisters must now quickly come to terms with their new lives. Sagasse Le Basse, the main character in The Last Life is the fifteen-year-old daughter of exiled parents [Amo04]. Her mother is an American who was forced to move to France. Her father, a French-Algerian, is also forced to move to France in the wake of independence: his family considered him a traitor for collaborating with the colonialists. Thus, when their country gained independence, they expelled him from the family. In the face of forced relocation, unrealized family dreams and the ripple effects of many years of deprivation during colonialism, Sagesse must find her identity as a woman. The breakdown within (of) their family is brought to the fore when Sagesse’s commits what the girl considers a cruel act: she bars her from meeting her friends and making new ones. She must figure out who she is in a community that feels that history has conspired to deny them the opportunity to find their place in the society. Sagesse and her family struggle with such questions as to whether they are Algerians, French or Americans. In the end, she finds solace in America, itself considered the land of immigrants. The third work of Messud is a collection of novellas. Two of these will serve the purposes of this paper: A Simple Tale and The Hunters. A Simple Tale is the story the story of Maria Poniatowski, a Ukrainian woman who survives torture in a german (German) labor camp [Amo04]. At the beginning of the novella, Maria is already advanced in years, but still holds onto (holds on to) her job as a cleaner even though her sons want her to retire. Maria’s last client becomes bankrupt and is unable to run her home. As a result, Maria faces a unique form of displacement: she finds herself without the comforts of work and family that she has grown used to over the years. At around the same time that Maria loses her job, her husband dies. Shortly afterwards (afterward), her eldest son marries a woman she does not get along with (preposition at the end of a sentence). Increasingly, Maria feels lonely and redundant. The plot of the second novella, The Hunters, is quite different. The narrator of the story is an anonymous American scholar living in a run-down section of London [Mes11]. Unable to find a lasting relationship, the narrator grows more frustrated by the day. To escape their frustration, they immerse themselves into research on death. A Simple Tale gives the historical context by maria (Maria); by contrast, neither the gender nor the history of the narrator is revealed. Rather, the story focuses on the isolated inner life of the narrator. The story has been described as one of psychological suspense. The narrator becomes engrossed in the life of their neighbor, Ridley Wandor, a caregiver for the elderly who has lost several of their clients to death in recent years. The narrator believes that Wandor is a murderer and begins to investigate them secretly. Towards the end, Messud gives the story a twist that surprises both the narrator and the reader. The mismatch between appearance and reality that is inherent in the plot symbolizes the emotional and cultural displacement of the narrator. The Woman Upsatairs (Upstairs) is Messud’s latest novel. The novel’s main character and narrator is Nora [Mes13]. We soon learn that Nora is an angry woman who is struggling with her identity. Nora is a third-grade teacher who has spent her life ordering it right. Indeed, her life is ordered right in every respect except that at near forty she is single and childless. Nora’s mother’s hand was heavy in her becoming a teacher. Extremely unsatisfied with her marriage in the suburbs, she exhorted her daughter to get out in the world and find a job and life of her own: she must never be dependent on a man like her mother (wordiness). Teaching appeared the only option available to Nora even though she has always dreamed of being a high-profile artist living and working in the big cities. Thus, when she meets Sirena, an artist mother of one of her students, they quickly become friends. Part 5: Revision Revisions to the draft essay are highlighted in yellow and red colors. Part 6: Final Draft Three major themes run through Messud's novels: multiculturalism, exile and displacement (Amoia and Knapp 346). Throughout her novels, female protagonists grapple with finding their cultural identity in the midst of historical injustices and family problems. In When the World was Steady, the sisters have been brought up in a secure family (Amoia and Knapp 346). However, unexpected events disrupt that security. As a result, they must adapt to the new realities. Following a bitter divorce, Emmy, the younger sister is forced to leave Australia for Bali. Virginia goes through several devastating events that cause her to question her faith. Together with her mother, Virginia leaves London and returns to their rural home in Scotland. Sagasse Le Basse, the main character in The Last Life is the fifteen-year-old daughter of exiled parents (Amoia and Knapp 347). Her mother is an American who opted to move to France. Her father, a French-Algerian, is also forced to move to France in the wake of independence. In the face of forced relocation, unrealized family dreams and the ripple effects of colonization, Sagesse must find her identity as a woman. The breakdown of their family is brought to the fore when Sagesse's grandmother bars her from meeting her friends. She must figure out who she is in a community that does not know its place in the society. Sagesse and her family struggle with such questions as to whether they are Algerians, French or Americans. In the end, she finds solace in America, the land of immigrants[Amo04]. The third work of Messud is a collection of two novellas: A Simple Tale and The Hunters. A Simple Tale is the story the story of Maria Poniatowski, a Ukrainian woman who survives torture in a German labor camp (Amoia and Knapp 347). At the beginning of the novella, Maria is already advanced in years, but still holds onto her job as a cleaner even though her sons want her to retire. Maria's last client becomes bankrupt and unable to run her home. As a result, Maria faces a unique form of displacement: she finds herself without the comforts of work and family that she has grown used to over the years. At around the same time she loses her job, her husband dies. Shortly afterward, her eldest son marries a woman with whom she does not get along. Increasingly, Maria feels lonely and redundant. The plot of the second novella, The Hunters, is quite different. The narrator of the story is an anonymous American scholar living in a run-down section of London (Messud, The Hunters: Two Short Novels 102). Unable to find a lasting relationship, the narrator grows more frustrated by the day. To escape their frustration, they immerse themselves into research on death. Neither the gender nor the history of the narrator is revealed. Rather, the story focuses on the isolated inner life of the narrator. The story has been described as one of psychological suspense. The narrator becomes engrossed in the life of their neighbor, Ridley Wandor, a caregiver for the elderly who has lost several of their clients to death in recent years. The narrator believes that Wandor is a murderer and begins to investigate them secretly. Towards the end, Messud gives the story a twist that surprises both the narrator and the reader. The mismatch between appearance and reality that is inherent in the plot symbolizes the emotional and cultural displacement of the narrator. The Woman Upstairs is Messud's latest novel. The novel's main character and narrator is Nora (Messud 2). We soon learn that Nora is an angry woman who is struggling with her identity. Nora is a third-grade teacher who has spent her life ordering it right. Indeed, her life is ordered right in every respect except that at near forty she is single and childless. Nora's mother's hand was heavy in her becoming a teacher. Nora's mother is extremely unsatisfied with her marriage in the suburbs. Consequently, she exhorts her daughter to get out in the world and find a job and life of her own. She must never be dependent on a man like her mother. Teaching appeared the only option available to Nora even though she has always dreamed of being a high-profile artist living and working in the big cities. Thus, when she meets Sirena, an artist mother of one of her students, they quickly become friends. Works Cited Ref15: , (Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)), And13: , (Slouka), Rob13: , (Robson ), Son13: , (Sontag), Sha131: , (Shamsie), Sil13: , (Silverman ), Nel13: , (Nelson), Kak13: , (Kakutani ), Lez14: , (Lezard), Dow13: , (Downer), Jen13: , (Jensen ), Amo04: , (Amoia and Knapp 346), Amo04: , (Amoia and Knapp 347), Mes11: , (Messud , The Hunters: Two Short Novels 102), Mes13: , (Messud 2), Read More