Our Two Deceased Authors and Ourselves as Living Persons
Excerpt 1:
In examining human experience in their works, it is evident that both James and Dickinson, as deceased authors, still remain relevant to ourselves as living persons. Each artist embodies a unique spirit which continues to intrigue; their art is a lasting testament to their genius. Based on this, our deceased authors are similar, if not identical, to ourselves. Though he lived in a different period, James and his explorations of freedom and choice in The Portrait of a Lady, social relationships in "The Real Thing" and "Daisy Miller," psychological horror and trust in The Turn of the Screw, and grappling with loss, death, regret and human possibilities in "The Middle Years," "The Beast in the Jungle," and "The Jolly Corner" are all a part of the issues we have dealt with, or will likely deal with in the future. As Spencer Brydon faces his possible alter ego, we too face ours; as Dencombe begs desperately for a second chance, so do we beg. James remains relevant because he deals with the essential issues of life and death. Perhaps our relationship as modern readers of Henry James to Henry James himself is comparable to Dr. Hugh's relationship to Dencombe. Though the author has died, he has, in essence, received a second chance through his writings. Ultimately, James has defeated death through his own incredible creations. We all "work in the dark," but James, truly a literary "comforter," sheds a brilliant light on that dark, bringing us his unique insights into the human condition to us from beyond the grave.
Dickinson also deals with the dichotomy between life and death; it might be asserted by some that it was the central obsession of her work. However, though poems such as "I died for Beauty - but was scarce" and "If I shouldn't be alive" clearly examine the concepts of death and dying, they are, in the end, more about life and living it. Though she may (sadly) be forever portrayed as a "doom and gloom" poet of death, Dickinson was really a poet of life, and seemed to see death as an essentially negative force which robs life from us. Despite her numerous poems about happily trotting off to heaven to be with God and/or Christ, there is an overwhelming sense of doubt in even her most positive examinations of death, such as "Good night, because we must" and another one which is eluding me right now (and I'm kicking myself for not making note of it earlier). Still, Dickinson will continue to remain relevant for the same reason as James: she deals with the issues that affect us all: love, death, nature, god, religion and more. Truly, both of these authors have left tremendous bodies of work which will continue to engage, intrigue, and many times confound us for generations to come.
Excerpt 2:
It is obvious after the final presentations that we in this classroom have many of the qualities of James and Dickinson. We are ambitious, creative, and in a sense, perfectionists. It may not be in literature or writing that we excel as James and Dickinson, but we excel. We all have something which we are essentially "good" at. Dickinson was good at her poetry, James at his concise language, and us, at whichever form we chose to express in class. We may be slightly behind James and Dickinson, or a little more crude in form, but we have the ability. We also have more advantages in our time than our deceased authors had in theirs. We all express emotion -- we are all humans.