Papers by Eduardo Barreto
“On Sandymount strand, Bloom masturbates to the tune of church bells and the noise of fireworks” ... more “On Sandymount strand, Bloom masturbates to the tune of church bells and the noise of fireworks” (Henke 153). However, instead of the desensitized modern reader, the audience that receives “Ulysses” finds it difficult to shrug their shoulders at a chapter that orbits the topic of masturbation. Even today, masturbation is rarely a topic of trivial dinner conversation, so it is not very surprising that the “Nausicaa” chapter leaves so many aghast. To some extent, it seems that after “Cyclops,” “Bloom's heroism may [have been] shamefully deflated by the “fall” that occurs in “Nausicaa” (Henke 153). His masturbation and the stream of erotic pictures he recounts, identify him as a “connoisseur of pornographic images” (“Alone in the Hiding Twilight” 825). What’s more, “the operation of Bloom’s visual pleasure in “Nausicaa,” along with his thoughts about it,” (“Alone in the Hiding Twilight” 825) seems difficult to excuse, if he is in fact “Ulysses’” hero. Although the chapter does not ascribe any fault (or guilt) to Bloom, those that read it, sometimes do. That’s important, because it suggests that Bloom’s masturbation (and even masturbation all together) is morally reprehensible. Although it is true that certain sexual behaviors, like adultery, pedophilia, bestiality and others are usually considered religiously (and socially) inexcusable, the question is still, why? Why is masturbation morally unjustifiable? To some, like Aquinas and Kant, masturbation is either ‘unnatural’ or ‘self-abusive’; however this research paper questions the ‘immorality’ of masturbation (Bloom’s masturbation) in order to defend Bloom’s actions and thoughts on Sandymount from the unbefitting criticism that relies on categorical definitions like ‘immoral’ or ‘adulterer’. By implication, Bloom is deconstructed from the qualities that define him as a character and reconstructed as a shadowy projection of those who read him.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably the play’s most memorable character; certainly he is eas... more William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably the play’s most memorable character; certainly he is easier disregarded than unnoticed, since he rarely leaves the stage for too long. He fits the part “in an endlessly ambiguous play” (Graves 51), yet the play also hosts many other intriguing characters that seldom appear, or appear when needed, but their absence creates a presence not to be dismissed. These are the characters mentioned, named, alluded to, but emptied of enough detail to accurately differentiate interpretation from speculation. These ‘marginal’ characters receive little attention for their little performance, but they are important – not so much for what they do, or think, but because the text does not allow them to do or think very much or very often.
Usually, a word that represents the negation of another word tends to maintain its opposite meani... more Usually, a word that represents the negation of another word tends to maintain its opposite meaning in mind; for example, ‘unclear’ would negate how ‘clear’ something is, as ‘unfair’ would do with ‘fair’. So then, ‘uncanny’, one would assume, would be that which is ‘not canny’ – ‘canny’ being synonymous with words like: ‘shrewd’ ‘prudent’ and ‘skilled’. It is worth noting that ‘uncanny’ has assumed different connotations, to the extent that to say ‘this is uncanny’ is not to say ‘this is not canny’. In essence, the only relation between uncanny and canny is that they are derivatives of knowledge, ‘ken’. Yet, etymology is not the only interesting aspect of this word. Its concept, that is the question of ‘the uncanny’, problematizes notions of awareness in as much as it destabilizes the definitions of the familiar, what Freud calls “Heimlich.” ‘The uncanny’ calls into question what is known or accepted when what is accepted cannot explain the why of its acceptance.
It only seems appropriate to introduce a novel by first asking what readers do not often ask, “wh... more It only seems appropriate to introduce a novel by first asking what readers do not often ask, “why do I read?” For many, if not all, the act precedes its intention. A reader learns to read, and continues to read, long before asking the question, “Why do I read?” For Robert Louis Stevenson, “anything fit to be called by the name of reading…[should be] absorbing and voluptuous. [Readers] should gloat over a book, be rapt clean out of themselves, and rise from the perusal, their minds filled with the busiest, kaleidoscopic dance of images…” (119). Implicit, in Stevenson’s statement, is the fixed nature of a novel; that is, novels remain unchanged while their readers “escape” into them, and by doing so, the thing that changes is the reader. Analogously then, walking into a book affords the reader the opportunity to “rise from the perusal [with] their minds filled” (119) – all the while the text remains as it ever was. Perhaps the goal of reading, as Stevenson and other writers have suggested over the years, is for the sake of self-discovery, and in the act of ‘escaping’ into a novel, we find ourselves.
Walk This Way: The Moving Panorama The canvas rolls open, as the viewers face the presentation, a... more Walk This Way: The Moving Panorama The canvas rolls open, as the viewers face the presentation, and a lecturer, accompanied by music and sound effects, narrates the journey the Moving Panorama. The experience can easily be paralleled with cinematography because it holds a similar level of engagement. The spectator is immersed in the proceeding. However, the role of the viewer has customarily been described as passive, suggesting that through physical inactivity the 'viewer' becomes a mere 'bystander' – incapable of fully experiencing the panoramic journey. On the whole, there are many articles, essays, and studies that address the fixity of display of the Moving Panorama, and the stationary 'trips' it offered its spectators. Yet, the issue of passive spectatorship is problematized by another – physical inactivity. The question thus becomes: does physical passivity suggest a 'passive spectator' whose viewing experience of the Moving Panorama is hindered? While some terms, like 'passivity' and 'experience' have yet to be explained, the simple answer is no. This research concerns itself with this assertion, and it is upheld by two central ideas: (1) it should not be assumed that mobility equals a 'higher quality' of experience, and (2) the Moving Panorama's paradoxical nature (that is, fixed progression of images) relies on the very perplexing notion of motionless bodies (the audience) moving only through gaze. While the discussion revolves around these points, and other interrelated ideas, this research also refers to the Pilgrim's Progress Moving Panorama as an exemplification of the propositions aforementioned.
The title of Cliff’s No Telephone To Heaven accentuates the thematic concern of the novel – ident... more The title of Cliff’s No Telephone To Heaven accentuates the thematic concern of the novel – identity. While ‘No Telephone’ suggests dis(ex)communication to/from, the prepositional phrase implies the direction of the interrupted discourse – ‘To Heaven’. The title’s goal (as well as the narrative’s) is to depict a disruption of dialogue, hence the phrase, ‘no telephone to heaven’. Similarly, the novel defines its title as representative for: “Cut off. No way of reaching out or up...Depression. Downpression. Oppression. Recession. Intercession. Commission. Omission…Yes, NO TELEPHONE TO HEAVEN…” (16-18). In the two definitions aforementioned, the relationship between a place and an individual is problematized, as well as the way that relationship shapes a person’s identity. However, identity is informed by many factors other than place (location, position). In fact, most of the central characters in the novel are in search of identity, whether it manifests through Boy’s racial identification, or by Harry/Harriet’s gender preference. Place is not as significant to their identity search as it is to Clare’s search, but they all experience a kind of ‘placelessness’ (that is, feeling ‘out of place’), which in turn implies a sense of dislocation, and displacement. Nevertheless, among the myriad of factors that mold identity, place is central in the discussion of this essay. The concern of this essay is not how identity is informed in Boy’s case or in Harry/Harriet’s case, though their specific circumstances will be used to examine identity. Rather, the aim is to explain how place influences the shaping of individual identity in the characters of the novel (of whom Clare is the primary example) and how a sense of ‘placelessness’ leads her to a kind of ontological dislocation.
“Time Passes” is rightly placed in Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, as the enlacing center between “The... more “Time Passes” is rightly placed in Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, as the enlacing center between “The Window” and “The Lighthouse.” In fact, the middle section of the novel becomes the empty center that completes the meaning of the other two sections with a kind of interminable brevity. The role of “Time Passes” is to be an ‘interlude’ between two ‘acts’; in fact, “The Window” and “The Lighthouse” would be incomplete without Part II connecting them. In theory, if “Time Passes” had never been written as part of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, and only the other two sections constituted the novel, the reader could still assume a progression of time passing between the first and the last section, due to the recurrence of characters and setting. Sure, but “Time Passes” does more than record the passing of time – it walks the reader through the passing of time with serenity. “‘Two blocks joined by a corridor’ is how Woolf describes “Time Passes” in the manuscript notes to the novel.
Accentuating ‘time’ in the exilic experience, as opposed to ‘place’, rightly titles Wiesel’s The ... more Accentuating ‘time’ in the exilic experience, as opposed to ‘place’, rightly titles Wiesel’s The Time of the Uprooted. While the concern of the novel is to articulate the plight of exile – the Jewish exile – the duration of ‘uprootedness’ is another major preoccupation. ‘Place’, were it The Place of the Uprooted instead, would imply mobility and transplantation, which would betray the intention of the title. Fundamentally, the phrase, ‘the time of the uprooted’, points to the transitory state of the exile while suggesting the dislocation from both point of origin, and point of destination. An emigrant, for example, is simply defined as one who leaves from somewhere, while an immigrant is the one who arrives somewhere else. But it is possible to be both and neither simultaneously. It is possible to leave and never arrive, to be stuck in between – lost in the middle.
This research aims to explore the place of marginality (or that which is not the immediate focus ... more This research aims to explore the place of marginality (or that which is not the immediate focus of narrative) in the context of the play and through the examination of the characters of Fortinbras and Horatio, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The intended outcome is to encourage diversified perspectives and approaches to the play by focusing on the marginal themes and/or characters.
The chapters address the characters of Fortinbras and Horatio; the first inverts the protagonist/foil relationship by reading Hamlet as a foil to Fortinbras, while the second uses Freud’s “The Uncanny” as a way to understand Horatio’s role in the play, as its uncanniest phenomena. Both are marginal to the text, but both are significant to the understanding of the text.
Essentially, the objective is to encourage readings of the play, and of narratives, that appreciate the complexity of marginality, in order to broaden the language for future research.
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Papers by Eduardo Barreto
The chapters address the characters of Fortinbras and Horatio; the first inverts the protagonist/foil relationship by reading Hamlet as a foil to Fortinbras, while the second uses Freud’s “The Uncanny” as a way to understand Horatio’s role in the play, as its uncanniest phenomena. Both are marginal to the text, but both are significant to the understanding of the text.
Essentially, the objective is to encourage readings of the play, and of narratives, that appreciate the complexity of marginality, in order to broaden the language for future research.
The chapters address the characters of Fortinbras and Horatio; the first inverts the protagonist/foil relationship by reading Hamlet as a foil to Fortinbras, while the second uses Freud’s “The Uncanny” as a way to understand Horatio’s role in the play, as its uncanniest phenomena. Both are marginal to the text, but both are significant to the understanding of the text.
Essentially, the objective is to encourage readings of the play, and of narratives, that appreciate the complexity of marginality, in order to broaden the language for future research.