DIV 5

Summary

• Aschenbach discovers that there is Cholera in Venice
• Aschenbach continues to stalk Tadzio
• Musicians visit the hotel
• He tries a youthful new look
• The polish family prepare to leave
• Aschenbach dies

Themes/Motifs

• Sickness and death
• Scent
• Control
• secrecy and denial
• religion
• dirt and heat
• Black
• entrapment
• Dream vs Reality
• Rationality
• Degeneration
• love and obsession
• Red
• Suspicion
• White
• absurdity
• Nightmare
• Youth vs age
• Hourglass
• Time running out
• Authority and Control
• Guilt
• Fire
• God
• Banality exterminated
• Sound and Noise
• Desire and Lust
• Rejuvination
• Shame
• Grey
• Facade
• Heat
• Myth and deity
• seperation

Character

Aschenbach

Becomes increasingly obsessed with Tadzio. He also develops paranoia at his feelings being discovered and vanity at his age. He is becoming more and more a slave to Pleasure and ease rather than harsh logic as was his way. He feels that time is running out for him which is displayed in the image of the hourglass with rust red sand falling through it. His dream is also significant as he does not awake disgusted as one would think but instead resolved to stay in Venice with Tadzio in the land of dreams.

Tadzio

In this final chapter there are hints that tadzio returns Aschenbachs affection. He is frequently dressed in white, the colour of purity and innocence.

Miscellaneous

The Musician once again has red hair and is described as snub nosed ( a Nietsche reference?) He seems to highlight the absurdity of Aschenbach's and the tourists predicaments. By reflecting an exaggereated cameo he depicts to the reader how foolish the tourists are.

Narrative Voice

frequent references to scent, especially of discenfecant or sickness. Towards the end of the chapter ordinary things are described with adjectives connotating, heat, oppressiveness and sickness. This depicts Aschenbach's failing health and is a good example of how Mann can be telling the story from Aschenbach's point of view.

Setting

Crumbling sick Venice is still the setting. The facade of dreams appears to be falling yet Aschenbach denies this and strives to hang onto his dream of remaining in magical Venice with its vast freedom of being a tourist, with Tadzio, the forbidden fruit.

DIV 4

Summary

• Aschenbach's obsession grows

Themes and Motifs

• Obsession and stalking vs love
• beauty and art
• divinity
• god
• Myth
• dissatisfaction
• chance and happiness
• Melody
• Sculpture
• sun
• age vs youth
• wise vs desirable
• inspiration
• cowardice
• fire

Character

Aschenbach becomes obsessive in his 'love' of Tadzio. He lacks any rationality which previously governed him.

Tadzio has greek mythology poured over his head until he begins to embody that persona i.e beautiful, promiscious, easy to love... etc

Narrative Voice

The mythology is laid on. The sun becomes a much more important motif, although i'm currently unsure of its exact significance. The description is far more optomistic whereas before it was far darker. This is a chapter of love to allow the reader to realise how deep Aschenbach is into this.

Setting

Still set in Venice. Venice as a setting is less important. The beach becomes highlighted as Aschenbach;s haunt for his stalks. It symbolises freedom, relaxation and dreams. Things that are not usually acceptable are on the beach for instance wearing less...

DIV 3

Summary

• Goes to Pola but then decides he doesn't want to be there
• goes on a boat to Venice
• meets an old man who fakes being young and is disgusted by him
• Has a rather odd experience with a fake gondolier without a licence
• sees many different peoples around him including a polish family with a curiously beautiful son
• Feels ill and decides to leave
• Ends up not leaving due to luggage problems but is quite glad as he changed his mind
• Realises part of the reason he didn't want to leave was Tadzio

Themes and Motifs

• discipline vs spontaneity
• black
• death
• circus
• old vs youth
• facades
• omens
• dreams and myth vs reality
• obscenity and reservation
• lion and the snake
• seduction of death
• yellow
• rebellion
• Hell
• forbidden fruit
• religious imagery
• Divinity
• sickness
• Grey
• Simplicity vs opulence
• escape
• Red

Character

Aschenbach

He isn't developed but we see a change begin to develop in him. He becomes more open to spontanerity and relaxes from his strict discipline. He allows dreams to govern more than logic.

Miscellaneous

There are a few characters such as the gondolier, the old young man and the captain who are worth mentioning. Firstly it seems significant that they all have yellow or reddish hair. They all stand out and turn out to be more than they appear. Indeed the colour yellow seems to have connotations of ill omen as it appears again and again in sickly connotation.

Tadzio

Appears to Aschenbach as a piece of Greek Mythology and great beauty. However, he has blonde hair and is proclaimed to look sickly. The characters that Aschenbach associate tadzio with have controversy covering them.

Narrative Voice

Smell becomes important and is frequently brought up. The lavish description continues. Religious imagery contrasts the mythical imagery.

Setting

Set in Venice. The rules are different in this new place and has physically changed Aschenbach. rather than rigid and planned as Munich is; venice is haphazard, full of chance and mystery as well as swamped in history , particularly Renaissance and Byzantium.

DIV 2

Summary

Indepth background of Aschenbach. we learn about his family, upbrinign and strict lifestyle and how others percieive him.

Themes/Motifs

• Foreign
• travel
• unknown
• family
• fame
• toil and responsibility
• discipline
• ambition
• art and divinity
• ugliness and death
• rebirth

Character

We learn more about the extent of Aschenbach's self discipline. Ambition within his writing is important to him as well as the great responsibility and weight he puts upon himself. His thinking and philosophy is emphsised more than his marriage and appearance which is mentioned in the last two paragraphs.

Narrative Voice

By prioritising what the reader is told about Aschenbach we get a sense of what Aschenbach prioritises. For instance his work appears of far greater importance than his family who are mentioned in a few sentences on the last page of this chapter. Aschenbach comes over monk like with his severity and discipline of mind and writing.

Quotes

'you see, Aschenbach has only ever lived like this' -and the speaker closed the fingers of his left hand tightly into a fist- 'and never like this' -and he let his open hand hang comfortably down along the back of the chair.' pg 203

'Elegant self control concealing from the world's eyes until the very last moment a state of inner disintegration and biological decay.' pg 205

'miracle of reborn naivety' pg 207

'only the eternal intellectual vagrant is bored and prompted to mockery' pg 207

'cloisteral tranquility' pg 209

Death in Venice 1

Summary

• Set in roughly 1912 in Munich initially.
• Reader introduced to Gustav Aschenbach
• Aschenbach goes for a walk and decides to satiate his desire to travel and break his strict writing routine.

Themes/motifs

• self deprivation
• strictness
• art
• red haired man with straw hat
• tigers

Character

The reader is briefly introduced to Gustav Asschenbach. A writer with a strict sense of routine. He is also seen as observent, he notices the 'odd' man at the tram stop. He is inquisitive and has an active imagination.

Narrative Voice

Very descriptive and flowery. Complex. Philosophical?

Setting

Set in Munich although a few other foreign places are described as possibilites for travel. The walk describes many beauteous buildings and places in Munich itself. It appears neat and orderly. The man with the straw hat is easily picked out as an anomaly.

The Unbearable lightness of being review

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a book very unlike any other. It has a particular charm that entices you into its depths despite it being a novel that at times can be very frustrating, repetitive and complicated. If you want a story for light reading this is most undoubtedly not the right choice for you.

In a nutshell, the unbearable lightness of being is a book that explores relationships in all their vast variety set in the background of the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia 1968. Kundera explores, in a frankly philosophical manner, what makes opposites attract, and what the best path is for happiness. Along the way his characters experience infidelity, death, intrigue and politics; growing and living all the way.

The communist background is incredibly interesting especially as Kundera brings the issue into much wider context, comparing Communsim to the American dream and Kitsch. This concept of the wider context is returned to again and again as the four main characters' lives intertwine by the slightest of events or compare in the bowels of their past.

The plot line, when it is existent in the realm of philosophy, focuses down on the survival of a relationship between Tereza and Tomas. '... with his mistresses , he could never quite put down the imaginary scapel. Since he longed to take posssesion of something deep inside them, he needed to slit them open'. Tomas' infidelites are the axis for all the philosophical musings of the novel. Tomas and Tereza display two complete opposites. Tereza is the vulnerable, dependant innocent. Tomas, however, is the control freak who needs to dominate those around him. Against his best intentions Tomas falls in love with Tereza and yet he is unable to stop seeing his mistresses or meeting new women. Tereza in her dependance on Tomas can do nothing to prevent this but her deep unrest is demonstrated through her dreams. For instance, there is one instance ( when Prague is deeply under the control of the communists which adds to the dark feel to that particular chapter), when Tomas sends Tereza to Petrin Hill in order to be shot. The interesting thing about this encounter however, is that it is never made clear that this event is a dream. ''No, no it wasn't my choice at all!' but she could not imagine betraying Tomas'. This dream demonstrates just how desperate Tereza feels and how under Tomas' control she truly is. There is sense of fear imbedded into this encounter, along with lack of choice and freedom which seems to reflect Prague as a whole. It is made clear to the reader that unless Tomas changes his behaviour and life he will lose Tereza, not from her leaving him, but from something closer to suicide. The other two main characters, Franz and Sabina, are Tomas and Tereza's parallel decisions in life, exploring how other relationships can fall apart despite the fact that at a glance Franz and Sabina appear the stronger couple.

This is a joyous read to anyone who is genuinely interested in pondering mild philosophy and learning about what life is like in a communist country. Kundera writes to teach his readers and he makes this clear by breaking from the narrative frequently to make a specific lesson or message that he is trying to put across crystal clear. However, a reader who longs for an exciting narrative with lots of adventure and twists should not pick up the Unbearable Lightness of being as you will then find yourself skipping large chunks of pages to find the next piece of narrative. Skipping the philosophy undermines what Kundera wanted from the Unbearable Lightness of Being. Kundera was not writing a quaint story about life in a communist country with a relationship in the background, he was writing philosophy of people in realtion to their relationships with communist Czechoslavakia in the background. Yet, i, not knowing what manner of book i had delved into, thoroughly enjoyed it. Kundera is a craftsman who manages to break with the narrative without the reader even noticing. At times it is as if Kundera is talking directly to me. Telling me stories from his youth with the names and places slightly changed. It is refreshingly simple in its premise and personal in its delivery.

ULOB- Karenin's smile

Summary

1. Tereza and Karenin's happy life in the country
2. Karenin's cancer
3. Karenin gave birth to two rolls and a bee, tomas recieves a mystery letter
4. Tereza's idyll- paradise
5. Karenin's death
6. Tomas is shot and turns into a rabbit
7. Mystery letters explained- the dance and happiness

Themes and motifs

• Camera
• innocence
• paradise
• banality
• shame
• love
• death
• strength and weakness
• rabbit
• dreams
• missions

Characters

Tereza

This section follows Tereza again. There is a sense that she is far happier than she has been at any other time. She still feels vulnerable but not as much as before. Oddly, she seems comforted by Tomas' incresing vulnerability as he ages. Karenin;s sickness and death greatly disturbes her. However, as Karenin seemed to represent all of Tereza's doubts of infidelity ( that being the reason why he was bought and why she poured all of her love into him) his death also foreshadows Tereza's trust in Tomas and thus her happiness

Tomas

Tomas has found peace in the countryside. He is no longer able to cheat on Tereza but this seems to benefit both of them. He is resolved as to that surgery was not his reason for living. It was his experieinces and emotions ( such as loving Tereza)

Narrative Voice

The narrative voice is much happier and content than it has been for most of the book. The symbols are less to do with death and depression than for most of the book. Kundera has left the heavy issues of politics to pursue the emotional ending of his characters and pass on his message for life and love. The ending is sudden and leaves one hanging. This could reflect real life ( it ends suddenly) or just an interesting way for Kundera to end the novel.

Place

The countryside seems to represent paradise found. Tereza especially mentions this fact. Things that are banal and odd are the norm. No one has shame. Kitsch does not rule.