2. Then after a break I introduced the central questions of AP Eng. Lit., which are "How do the parts of a work of literature contribute to the whole?" and "How does the way the work of literature is written contribute to its meaning (i.e. the development of themes)?
So we explored themes and related them to parts (often the quotations you selected in quotation response journals). We talked about the ambiguous nature of language (to what degree do gestures/words/signs/symbols really -- or clearly -- embody/mean the things/ideas/experiences they are supposed to represent); the paradoxical nature of existence (the proximity of death makes one feel most alive, etc.); the relationship between existence and imagination, the relationship between subjective reality (one's mind with its perceptions, imaginings, memories, dreams, desires, beliefs) and objective reality (i.e. the material world); the inevitability of collapse, death, decay, nothingness, non-being and what to do in response to that inevitability: what do the people in the cities do? what does Khan do? Polo? our civilization? you?
The most important thing we started do was relating big ideas to particulars. We honed the ideas as we tested them against the particulars. As we looked at particulars in the light of the ideas the particulars became more filled with meaning.
3. Then together we wrote a prompt which you will respond to by the next meeting (Monday, July 19):
Choose a passage (a quotation) from Invisible Cities. Analyze how the passage (quotation) is significant (or meaningful) in the work as a whole. Use at least two cities to develop your analysis. In other words, draw your supporting evidence from at least two cities. Your response shouldn't be shorter than, say, 500 words. It also shouldn't be longer than, say, a thousand words.
4. Then I introduced the other post-session assignment. Read one of the following works of literature. (Click on the link to read the story or poem.)
Readings to accompany Invisible Cities
“Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius,” Jorge Luis Borges (short story)
“The Library of Babel,” Jorge Luis Borges (translation James E. Irby) (short story)
“The Continuity of Parks,” Julio Cortazar (For the original Spanish version go here.) (short story)
“Ithaka, “The City,” or “Waiting for the Barbarians,” C.P. Cavafy (poems)
5. Then (as we wilted in the heat) I said a few words about Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. We're going to read the first eleven chapters of this novel before next session. The central question here is how does a person (with a full, rich, thoughtful, emotional, attentive consciousness) come to understand herself/himself and her/his environment (especially when, inevitably, the self and the environment are at odds). This is perhaps the number one question for any thoughtful young person (like you). And this is what Invisible Man is all about. Keep this in mind when reading and working on your quotation response journal. (Here you'll find a list of motifs to pay attention to as you read. Of course, if you're actively reading, you'll probably start to notice these yourself.)
Jacklyn L.
ReplyDeleteIthaka
Ithaka and Invisible Cities have various similarities,but are also different at the same time. Both talk of journeys to far off places whether they be cities or one island. More importantly though both raise the question of existence. Invisible Cities questions the existence of everything and questions the idea of something only being there because we have thought of it or if we are only here because someone has thought of us. Were as the poem, Ithaka talks about the god Poseidon and mythical creatures only existing because we have thought of them. Both works talk of cities tricking you and how they may play with your mind. The imagery is also similar because the cities and the island both represent human wishes and fears. However while the cities do so clearly upon visiting them in Invisible Cities. In Ithaka though the island only presents itself as a wish or a fear depending on the journey you took to get there. Though these two works are similar they are very different as well. The narrative style of the two works are very different. The author of Invisible Cities use third person throughout the book when describing the cities and the conversations between Khan and Polo. Where as the author of Ithaka uses second person throughout the poem. Due to the second person narrative used in the poem the character in the poem is always different because the character becomes the reader and so unless the character is similar to Khan or Polo the characters in the two works are always very different. In Invisible Cities the book mainly talks about the cities that Polo visits and never the journey the took to get there, however in the poem it is not so much about the island, but the journey one takes to get there.
Louisa B.
ReplyDeleteThe City
The City by C.P. Cavafy and Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino have significant differences, but are also alike in many ways. The most obvious difference is in their formats, The City is a poem while Invisible Cities is a short novel. Because of this, The City is naturally more concise, and says in sixteen lines what Invisible Cities did in 167 pages. The poem declares that we will spend our entire lives in one inescapable city, a theme which is also presented in Calvino's work. All places are fundamentally the same, and it is a waste of life to search for an outlier to that rule.
Another similarity between the two works is the way in which the narrator holds a dialogue with someone else. In Invisible Cities, Polo presents his stories as a conversation with Khan, and in The City, the narrator presents their opinion in a conversation with “you”, which could be the reader or another character. However, the general tones of each work is very different. The City has a rather depressing tone, in which the narrator tells the other character that they have wasted their life in a search for something new. In contrast, while reading Invisible Cities, I found the tone to be more hopeful and encouraging rather than the disheartening mood of The City. Polo does not look to discourage people from traveling, only points out that all the places they seek are in fact parts of a universal city, a city which one cannot escape.
Each works talks about the traveling though, whether it is done in vain like in The City, or done in exploration such as in Invisible Cities. Each work tells of a person who has searched for an oddity, but has come up decisively short, and has discovered that all places are the same.
Kelly B.
ReplyDeleteThe Library of Babel
“The Library of Babel,” by Jorge Luis Borges is a well written short story that can be seen to have multiple similarities to "Invisible Cities", by Italo Calvino. In both stories there seems to be a reoccurring theme that shows the strong connection between the two, that being time/age. In Invisible cities, nearly every city started out as something wonderful and fantastic. Yet as time wore on, the greatness of the city dwindled down and it turned out to be just like the rest of the cities Polo had described. In the "Library of Babel", the author is describing a most divine place that is perfect in every way possible. The only catch is that some things are not accessible. Not being able to have something depresses the human race and tends to make people unpleasant and unhappy. Between these two stories they both build the reader up to the climax, then instantly change the fortune from good to bad. It's funny how the mind of humans can only be entertained for so long, and then become bored with the once enthralling subject.
Now, these stories are not identical because if they were, it would be the same story. In each work the authors portray the main difference between the stories. In the Library of Babel, the reader sees this place that the author describes as a repetition of itself a million times over. Each room has the same number of books, the same amount of chairs, and even the same number of pages. That right there is the difference, where everything is identical in the Library, nothing is identical in Invisible Cities. Even though this topic was chosen as the contrast between the two, it also is seen as a similarity. Reason being that each city described by Marco Polo was allegedly one city the whole time. So each city was identical to another, because each city was really one.
Structure seemed to be a very important theme between both Calvino and Borges because they seemed to dwell on the subject matter throughout the whole story; but both had their own perception of what a model structure should be for a place.
EdanL
ReplyDeleteContinuity of Parks
"Continuity of Parks" is a neat little short story that kind of pulled my brain through a mental obstacle course. I really like the gradual shift in perspective, which turned out to essentially be the point of the story. Anyway, that I noticed right away that appeared in both Invisible Cities and Continuity of Parks was something similar to what Jacklyn said. The whole concept of existence was questioned in both pieces. Like Jacklyn said, Invisible Cities questions the validity of existence by asking about what exactly makes an object, person or place real. In Continuity of Cities, the reader can never be sure about whether or not the man reading the novel is in the novel himself, although the reader can assume so. It makes me wonder if the reader as well as the story that he is reading is real, or possibly that he is just reading a fictitious novel, created by the mind of some author. There is also the possibility that he does not exist, but instead that he is part of the novel that he is reading. What evidence is there to suggest that I am real, and not just an unwritten part of this story? The whole thing is really quite mind-bending.
Continuity is also a major theme of both of these works. Invisible Cities includes many passages about “Continuos Cities”. These passages are concerned with the question of where, when, and how does one thing end and the next begin (Cities, life, the universe, ect.). They also question how one thing can outgrow itself, forever expanding. After reading Continuity of Parks, I wonder if a story can be continuos. Can a fictional story that is written across a page continue into real life if left unhindered? Is everything that we read and do connected into a great big story? For most of the story, it appears as though the man that is reading is looking down on a scene from above, but maybe what he reads in that scene simply outgrows him to a point where he is just another character in the plot. To top it all off, it’s a story, which is meant to be read. I am reading about someone who is reading about someone else, who is about to murder the reader that I am reading about. If that’s not continuity then I don’t know what is...
Arica A.
ReplyDeleteThe Continuity of Parks
In Julio Cortazar’s “The Continuity of Parks,” I found more similarities of the themes related to Invisible Cities than I did differences. I had to read this story over twice to fully grasp what was going on, and in that I realized that the author does not want you to understand the work, but to make your own inferences and have the reader decide what is happening. I found myself really questioning the different possibilities of the story. When lost in a new reality, do we lose ourselves from the original? The theme most visible to me in this story was the relationship between existence and imagination. Edan, also reading The Continuity of Parks, did a great job of explaining the theme. The reader can never really be sure of what he or she is reading in this piece. Just like in Invisible Cities, this short story has the reader questioning which parts of what they are reading is real and which parts are not. This brings me to the next similar theme of both stories; the relationship between subjective and objective reality. How much of this story is imagination, and how much is true fact of what is happening? Both Invisible Cities and “The Continuity of Parks” have very questionable objects and ideas. Is the book in “The Continuity of Parks” real, or is the story being told real? The story is a question in itself.
Another connection between Invisible Cities and "The Continuity of Parks" is the use of paradox. In Invisible Cities we visit the idea that “the proximity of death makes one feel most alive,” while in "The Continuity of Parks" it is when the man gets away from his life and is relaxed that he is most vulnerable to harm.
Tori H.
ReplyDeleteThe Continuity of Parks
When reading The Continuity of Parks by Julio Cortázar, it is easy to pick up on the similarities between this short story and Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. Structurally, the two are incredibly similar; they are both sophisticated and incredibly detailed works. The way Cortázar describes the study that he is reading in, or the story he is reading is a lot like the way that Calvino describes Khan and Polo's hang out sessions, or the way that Polo describes his invisible cities. Also, these two authors really touch on your five senses (no pun intended). Imagery, the way things appear, feel, and sound are important. They help grab the reader’s attention because they can relate to, and visualize these scenes in their mind.
Existence plays an important role in both the novel and the short story. In Invisible Cities, Kublai Khan and Marco Polo constantly question their existence. Do the two of them exist and the people that surround them are simple figments of their mind? Or vice versa, are Khan and Polo figments of the people’s minds? In The Continuity of Parks, it is the same scenario; does the man in the green chair truly exist? Or does he not exist and he is just a part of a fictitious story? It makes readers wonder if they exist themselves. Maybe we are all just apart of somebody’s bigger story.
The two stories can make a reader’s mind go in circles. They make the reader think one thing, and then the perspective will change and they will think another thing. Calvino and Cortázar do an excellent job in making the stories and the stories within stories weave in and out of each other, to make the reader think. When you get down to it and summarize the two stories, that’s the main goal of the two; write a good story that readers will think about long after they’ve finished reading it.
Emily Powers
ReplyDeleteIthaka
I found that this poem had many similarities to themes found in “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino. Calvino talks of a city where in the journey of reaching the city man longs for the city itself, but when he reaches is he finds he is older, and wiser and does not long for the city anymore. In “Ithaka” the place is really about the journey there, you will become older and wiser as you travel towards your goal, but once you reach it, it is not what you were dreaming of. The destination itself looses the wonder and has nothing left to offer you. It seems that in the second paragraph, the poem is showing the wonder in the mind of the traveler when he thinks of his destination, the focus of the poem then shifted as it talks about how the traveler sees these things do not affect him as he thought they would. The city and destination was the reason you gained this new knowledge of yourself, but now holds nothing else beneficial to you. Although “Ithaka” is written in a different style of writing it seems the authors used similar methods to come to an understanding of a similar theme, Calvino also shifted the focus of the passage in a similar way that “Ithaka” shifted, starting with the journey, the city and what is there, then what the city has to offer and how man has outgrown it. I thought this passage was very similar to Calvino’s work in “Invisible Cities”.
Ethan Bergeron
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the Barabarians
I like to start off with being surprised about how few entries there are. I thought I would be one of the last people to respond to this online assignment but I’m looking at it now and there are only seven responses. Anyhow I skimmed over all the responses and I’ve noticed some universal similarities. All the excerpts that we are responding to are clearly short poems and not novels like Invisible Cities. All of these poems have a singular theme unlike Invisible Cities that branches out into several themes. For example I chose the poem “Waiting for the Barbarians” which is focused on the theme of everyone and everything building up for one singular event that doesn’t actually end up happening. It talks about how everyone in the city including the senate, the emperor, the consuls, and the people themselves have stopped all their regular activities in anticipation for the arrival of the barbarians. For these people life has lost all meaning because all life that matters to them will soon end with the arrival of the barbarians. At the end of the poem no barbarians show up. Like Invisible Cities you can relate “Waiting for the Barbarians” to anything, not just literally a horde of barbarians. The barbarians could symbolize the world supposedly ending in 2012. Why do anything if the world is going to end? What if the world doesn’t actually end? There are endless examples of connections like these that you can make in the novel Invisible Cities as well. In both pieces of literature the reader must make a personal connection or the story or poem will appear vague and pointless. The individual completes both the novel Invisible Cities and the poem “Waiting for the Barbarians”.
Kara Smith
ReplyDeleteThe Continuity of Parks
As I read through The Continuity of Parks by Julio Cortázar for the first time, I was surprised to see that I was having trouble finding similarities to Invisible Cities to touch on for this assignment. Until I got to the last line. “The door of the salon, and then the knife in his hand, the light from the great windows, the high back of an armchair covered in green velvet, the head of the man in the chair reading a novel.” This one single line changed the way I viewed the entire piece. It was a great little story to read, but took me a while to comprehend. So, after reading it a few more times through, my mind was in knots. Is the man in the green chair real or not? Or is he simply a part of the story he is reading? Like Arica said, I think that the author wants you to take his words, and make of them what you will. I do not think there is a ‘true’ or ‘real’ meaning to this story; it’s all what you make of it, just like with Invisible Cities. Also, in both stories, the concept of existence plays a huge role. As I mentioned before, trying to figure out if the man in the chair is real or not is something you could do for hours on end, just like Khan and Polo did in the gardens of Khan’s palace. They were just as puzzled over their existence as I am about this man’s.
Andrew Mizzoni
ReplyDeleteThe City
“The city” contains similarities and differences to “Invisible Cities in their tone and theories. In “The City”, C.P. Cavafy introduces a city much like those of “Invisible Cities”. In both texts the author describes and points out to you a theory of being trapped. C,P Cavafy discusses how no matter what surrounding you are if you are unhappy internally your opinion will never change. Cavafy believes that traveling the world for happiness is un-achievable if one is not open minded. Ties between the two texts strongly exist in this concept. In “Invisible Cities” Polo travels the world discussing the cities he sees through his eyes. Most of his observations are opinionated and negative to the city. Polo can be thought of as an example to the message presented by Cavary. Both present a strong message of being open minded and taking in your surroundings. Regarding the styles and formats, both texts involve one speaker addressing another. In “Invisible Cities” its Polo addressing Khan while in “The City” it’s the narrator addressing directly to you. The greatest similarities between the texts are how both can be classified as vague. When reading “Invisible Cities” you can interrupt the cities as being people or places. The book allows your mind to interrupt whatever you feel allowing you to connect to the book better. When a person connects more strongly to a book the person often enjoys the book more. Regarding “The City” the narrator does not discuss a particular city or problem connected with the place. A major difference between the two texts can be seen in their tones. Cavary sends a depressing and negative tone to his text while Calvino inscribes a more cheerful tone. Calvino and Cavary both try and touch on the same point but “Invisible Cities” can almost be read as humorous. Polo describes of places that to the reader seem depressing and negative but come off as humorous. Some of the places are so strange that it is almost not taken seriously when reading. Cavafy however is blunter to his message. He incorporates no humor and means no good, almost as if already given up hope. “Invisible Cities” contains hope in the cities full of good while Cavary believes there is no good.
Alea C.
ReplyDelete"Ithaka"
The world in which we inhabit is merely a reflection of what we believe is here. In both Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities and C.P. Cavafy's poem "Ithaka", the narrators' surroundings and destinies are in his own hands.Different and new worlds are created. The detail of these worlds identify who they are. Both of these works focus on the cities and paths it takes to get to the final destinations.
Something that stood out to me in Invisible Cities was how Marco Polo referenced his present state as just one out of many possible pasts. Every decision he had made lead him to the city where he was now. When the time came to change his future, he would make a new journey to a different city. In "Ithaka", the traveler's present must be enjoyed until he reaches his future. The narrator advises the reader to "hope the voyage is a long one". It is on this voyage that one truly discovers their surroundings. The travelers thoughts are what create the reality they see before them. It is previously decided that the traveler will end up in Ithaka, but the way they experience the journey there is completely up to them. In both pieces of literature, the writer stresses the importance of understanding one's present. No matter where the path leads, there is always going to be a different city to pass through, and a new experience awaiting to happen.
Until I had read Emily's comments about these pieces of literature, I didn't realize that they both express a similar idea of change. The cities, in the end, turn out to be something different than what was expected. Ithaka does not turn a poor man rich. It cannot magically give its visitors everything they have ever wished for. Ithaka works its magic by giving the travelers experiences along the way. Their thoughts of what Ithaka is changes by the end of the journey. The cities that Marco Polo visits are constantly changing. The visitors view of the city is what shapes it. Their past experiences and state that they are in now influence their feelings of the city they find themselves in. In the end, it all comes down to how the individual sees the world.
Krystina N.
ReplyDeleteThe City
C.P. Cavafy’s poem, “The City” is very similar to “Invisible Cities” in the themes that are portrayed. However, it is the way in which these themes are portrayed that really confers a distinction between the two works of literature. “The City” appears to have been written with a more pessimistic attitude about traveling and visiting different cities. “Invisible Cities,” on the other hand, depicts a more positive experience. Marco Polo speaks of his wonderful experiences and embraces it fully, while the narrator in “The City” only references it as a waste of time. In addition to the differences between the two, Cavafy’s poem speaks of one city in particular, compared to Calvino’s work, which incorporates many cities. After seeing past the differences, the similarities between them are inconspicuous. What links the two, seemingly opposite works of literature is the overall theme; the theme of discovering one’s self. It is the journey, not the city itself that holds the true meaning, and this meaning that we achieve is completely dependent on our own perception. All perception, whether positive or negative, is filtered through one’s self and there is no escaping who you are. It is often mistaken that a change in location can change the person you are, but in actuality the sense of self simply becomes stronger. In other words, both “The City” and “Invisible Cities” express a common theme that who you are is inescapable no matter where you are. The narrator of Cavafy’s work quotes, “This city will always pursue you,” meaning you cannot escape who you are destined to be. Similarly, as Marco Polo pursued the various cities, they were actually pursuing him by strengthening his sense of self and adjusting his personal perception. Therefore, as Louisa stated, we spend our whole lives in one city that we cannot escape, and that city happens to be a symbol of self.
Mac H.
ReplyDeleteThe City
Wow this poem has great similarities to Invisible Cities and gives almost the same vibe to how The City and all of the Invisible Cities are told. Just glancing at each title you expect a description of a city but what this poem makes obvious is the idea that every place is one place. In Invisible Cities, Calvino explains this directly but in The City, Cavafy makes it that no matter where this person goes they always see the same thing. This makes every city they see and live in into one city, a place that you can’t leave because you would only enter the same place. This almost negative feeling or vibe that no city is perfect is seen greatly in this poem and in Invisible Cities. Calvino found a way to show how each city had its problems and Cavafy has found a way to show how The City is a problem. One big idea I feel both authors try to show is that what makes the city is in the eye of the beholder. In this poem this person can only see this one city and they have wasted their life and destroyed the rest of the world because they can not see beyond this one city. I find what Krystina and Lousia said about how a city becomes a “symbol of self” to be another way of trying to understand the big idea of the two authors. This relates greatly with what I think the authors were trying to say in that it is personal perception that creates these cities. When Cavafy says, “This city will always pursue you,” I think he is trying to say it will always pursue you because this is all you see. It is not the city that you see but what you see in the city.
Megan K
ReplyDelete‘The City’
‘The City’ by C.P. Cavafy is a short poem about how the effects of one’s environment can determine the outcome of that person’s overall mind set over the course of their life. ‘You’ seemed to have spent so much time in their life in one particular city and had somehow come to lose all interest in the place so much so that they no longer found joy there but only pain. It is obvious that they wanted to leave and discover new places where they could forget about their original city, but the narrator made sure to point out that leaving the city would do no good for them because wherever they went the city would follow them in their mind and haunt their every move. Everything they did and saw in their new environment would remind them of the city and they would be figuratively trapped in the city that they were once literally trapped in for so long.
‘The City’ has many similarities to ‘Invisible Cities’ by Italo Calvino, one in particular though that I found interesting. In Krystina’s blog entry she talked about how she believed ‘The City’ was written in a negative way and how in ‘Invisible Cities’ Polo talked about how wonderful all of the cities he visited were. What I came to think of though when reading this was that maybe Polo, like ‘you’ in ‘The City,’ had somehow secretly become sick of the city he lived in, Venice, and that is why he became an explorer. By being able to explore all of these far off, seemingly better, places Polo was able to try to get away from his original city of Venice, but as we saw in each cities description they all started to sound like the same city in one way or another and maybe this one city that all of the other cities came down to was Venice. Like in ‘The City’ Polo became trapped by Venice and everything he came to see and do in every new city he visited just started to remind him of Venice and that is why the cities he described to Khan were so similar. Once he realized he was being reminded of Venice he would leave the place in search of a new city only for the cycle to start over again. In an interesting way Polo could be the ‘you’ that the narrator in ‘The City’ describes.
Josiah B
ReplyDeleteContinuity of Parks
Control is something that is challenging to gain, and a concept that is even harder to understand. The more control you have, the closer you are to losing it, thus creating a delicate balance between control and chaos. Similar to the idea that reality and fantasy are closely related, control and chaos are one and the same. As an individual gains control and power, they begin to realize the true responsibility that comes with it. It is an overwhelming realization, one that proves too much for even the most levelheaded personality. They start to think of what they can do to stop their downfall; they believe that their power can save them while in actuality, it is their power of control that ultimately fuels their downfall. Continuity of Parks represents this with great clarity.
Cortazar writes of a nameless man who finds himself obsessed with a certain novel. He reads it with great enthusiasm at every chance, and it becomes a part of him, or, on the same level, he becomes a part of it. As he reaches the climax, it becomes clear he has lost himself inside of the book, and cannot return. If he stops reading, the murderer will not reach his chair, therefore he is in control of his own life. The man knows this, and that is why he is not nervous to sit with his “back to the door” for he knows that even if someone is to approach, he will be able to escape reality. Still, sometimes we become so infatuated with our desires and fantasies, we forget that we can “put the book down” and escape from our personal Anastasia. The story ends in mystery, and could represent two things; did he escape and gain control of his life, or does he give into curiosity and the lure of escape and suffer the dire consequences? It is in the eyes of the observer to decide, and as Kara said, you can make it what you will.
Hilary Ellis
ReplyDeleteThe City
After reading both “The city” by C.P. Cavafy and “Invisible cities” by Italo Calvino numerous similarities can be found even though the tone and type of work are very different. The idea that, a person will waste away in the same place for their whole life while desiring and dreaming of something more, but never obtaining it, is found both in the short novel and short poem. In a gloomy and desperate attempt the speaker in “The city” declares that a person will waste their life in one place undergoing the same routine, never experiencing another world. On the opposite hand Marco Polo and Kublai Khan express the same idea, in a cheerful in upbeat manner. This can be seen in the way that Khan sits in garden as his empire melts around him listening and dreaming of outside places that can never be reached. The same is true for Marco Polo. He tells the tales of cities that no one has ever seen, but never tells of the beauty and wonders that can be found in his own city of Venice. The message is the same but the approach to making the reader understand it is very different.
Because “The City” is a poem, it is much more brief and outright with its message, than the descriptive and symbolic style of “Invisible Cities”. Because of the differentiation in length “The City” describes hope in finding another city, while “Invisible Cities” provides multiple different stories of places that a person could experience. Both C.P. Cavafy and Italo Calvino want the reader to obtain the information by having an outside look on a dialogue between two people. In “The city” the discussion is between the author and “you” while in “Invisible Cities” the reader will be pulled through a series of conversations between Kublai Khan and the young “explorer” or “story teller” Marco Polo. Both pieces of literature provide a story of a person who is trapped in one place dreaming of finding something else, but in the end discover that no place can fill their desires.
Tom M.
ReplyDelete"Ithaka":
What we believe to be where we live is entirely different from what our place of residency actually is. Through both Italo Calvino's novel "Invisible Cities" and C.P. Cavafy's poem "Ithaka", the locations visited are in the narrator's own mind, the same places, based on the passions and dreams of the individual. The places described through these works of literature are merely manifestations of imagination. The descriptions of these lands then in turn become what they are. For instance, in "Invisible Cities", the cities are based on the certain characteristics that make the city what it is, just as the cities in "Ithaka" are known for what you can find and see in them. These two works both center in on the bigger picture, that pure individual imagination is what makes the city what it is.
In "Invisible Cities" Polo saw his travels as experience that has made him who he is, they are his past, creating his future. His actions and thoughts created the cities he has been to and will go to. When he felt bored of his current state or location, he just created another world, a new reality. The same seems true for "Ithaka", where the narrator's current state is experienced in full until it is time for a new beginning, a new place. The traveler tells the reader to take the journey for what it is and all it's worth. This journey, this voyage is where once can fully understand themselves, realize who they are and where they are going. Just like in "Invisible Cities", the narrator's thoughts are what have created the cities, what have created their personal reality. The journey is for them to take in any path that they wish. What I took from the narrator's in both works is that it doesn't matter how they get there, all that matters is that they're going. Understanding one's current state is an important factor in each work. No matter where the traveler goes, there is always going to be a new city to experience, to take in.
However, in the end, every city that the narrator's have travelled to, turn out to be something quite different than what was previously expected. The travelers did not expect the changes that each city brought onto them. For instance, Ithaka does not give its visitors everything they have wished for, as described through the poem. Ithaka gives the travelers of its land experiences that then will in turn help them achieve everything they have wished for. The cities that Marco Polo has visited are continually changing, at the whim of the imaginer's content. The view of those who travel to the cities, Polo for instance, is what creates it into being. The dreams and passions of the travelers impact their view of the city they are currently in. Through both pieces of literature we can see how the view of the city is in the eye of the beholder. How you imagine it, how you see it, and how you believe it is what creates the city into existence.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlex L.
ReplyDelete“The City”
“The City” by C.P. Cafavy is a short poem that is in many ways similar to the book we read, “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino. The book describes the same city many different ways, some views are optimistic while others are pessimistic, and many times each short description in the book goes back and forth between the two. Through the poem the author is trying to search for a city that is better than the one he currently resides in. He desires something greater in life and just expects it to appear magically before him instead of seeking the joy in what he already has. This is an issue in “Invisible Cities” also. Many of the characters described throughout each city seems to be stuck in a repetitive pattern each day, and they desire something greater rather than learning to love the life he already has. The person in the poem also says that there is no escape from the city he lives in which is also mentioned many times in the book. There are many tales of cities in which once you enter you can never truly go back to the way your life was before. Both the poem and the book contain the most vivid descriptions of the cities, but you can visualize them very differently. As others have mentioned before, the tone of each piece of literature can be taken quite differently. Invisible Cities gives you a mostly positive image with negative details hidden in the stories. The City is completely negative and gives you a feeling of claustrophobia because there is no escape from the withering city. Both display detailed images of different cities and the life within them.
Ellie C
ReplyDeleteIthaka
During the course of travel, whether the journey is of the mind or the body, the traveler must keep in mind the effects the past have on the present. Marco Polo recalls his travels in a mental state that is supposed to exemplify the corners of the empire to Khan, with the subtle hope to ease the stress of the collapse of an empire. “Ithaka”, for those that aren’t aware was where Ulysses or Odysseus, depending on whether it’s the Greek or Roman translation, is pertually travelling the sea trying to return to his home island, Ithaka. In this story he has numerous encounters with Greek deities. In essence, just as the traveler’s past affects their future, the background history of “Ithaka” offers further insight into the philosophical and perpetually parallel aspects to “Invisible Cities”.
In retrospect, the use of hope an underlying hope in the narration is present, but in lieu of imagery “Invisible Cities” is on a different playing field than “Ithaka”. Throughout “Invisible Cities”, there is the presence of the inevitability of collapse. Through Marco Polo’s vivid recollections, he crosses the ideology of society with optimism, with the subconscious idea that the stress of Kublai Khan’s empire will be mentally eased. C.P. Cavafy’s “Ithaka” casts a similar light, with the idea that regardless of the journey, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, or in Ulysess’s case, a familiar island on the horizon. Though they both have a similar essential literary cornerstone, the imagery used in both works differentiates greatly from one to the next. The imagery and descriptions used in “Invisible Cities” is very vivid and gives Khan and the reader a lifelike portrayal of a city in Khan’s empire. Whereas in “Ithaka” little imagery is used with the hopes of relaying the idea that Ithaka does not physically exist, but is where the traveler should hope to be and use a motivation in their travels. Lastly, their motivations are different, from Polo to Cavafy. Polo is in denial for a part of the novel, before he recants to Khan that all his cities are aspects of Venice. Cavafy’s initial intention is to relay hope to the traveler. On levels of literary works, both pieces have parallel subtle themes, but other characteristics such as imagery and narrative motives differ.
Sean D.
ReplyDeleteThe Library of Babel
It is impossible to learn all of earth's mysteries. The characters of both Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities and Jorge Luis Borges' "The Library of Babel" fail to obtain their desires. Kublai Khan's empire is too vast for him to fully understand the various cities and their cultures. He is limited to using a base city to learn of the others, and as the novel progresses it is revealed that every city is essentially the same. Similar to the Khan's empire, Borges' describes an endless, labyrinth-like library. Every book is placed randomly throughout the library's infinite rooms, and the majority of these books are filled with meaningless, chaotic passages. The librarians spend their entire lives searching for those few meaningful books find their time to be wasted; the overabundance of books renders every book useless. Both the Khan and the librarians learn that the vastness of something is a curse.
The theme of duality also exists within both Invisible Cities and "The Library of Babel." I did not notice this theme until I saw that Kelly described the library as "divine" and as a utopia. I have to disagree with her as I see the universe of an endless, unorganized library filled with every possible book as hellish. The librarians are forced to wander for eternity throughout the endless library, inevitably doomed to never find what they are looking for. The seemingly infinite amount of information causes depression among the librarians. Some commit suicide, while others kill those who challenge their beliefs. This infinity cause cults to form, such as the "Purifiers," who destroy nonsensical books. While the library is seemingly perfect with everything one needs to live, its inhabitants live in a hellish society. This situation reminds me of the city of Beersheba, "a city which, only when it shits, is not miserly, calculating, greedy." This is the city that attempts to become heavenly, but, in the process, its citizens are creating a hellish society with their narrow views. Both the library and this city are essentially perfect. However, the societies within them are anything but perfect.
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino and the poem, The City by C.P Cavafy, have both similarities and differences. One difference is the format that the stories are written in. Invisible Cities is a book so the message of it is vaguely portrayed throughout it while Invisible Cities is a short poem in which the message is clearly stated in it. Another difference in the two works of literature is the attitude of the author. In The City, the tone of the poem is negative. The poem is displaying a depressing and somewhat angry attitude about traveling and how no matter what a person will always be attached and connected to the same city. Cavafy is saying that you will waste your life in the same city but destroy it by traveling to other cities. This is oppose to Invisible Cities which is expressed in a more positive and upbeat attitude. Marco Polo is describing his traveling experience as wonderful and exciting. He loves talking about the different cities he has traveled to. He shares his stories to Khan along with explaining the good parts of the new cities. He does not believe that traveling is a waste of time. Invisible cities expands to talking about multiple cities, while The City only focuses on one city, that someone is stuck in for their entire life.
ReplyDeleteWhile there a many differences between the two works of literature there are also a few similarities. In both works the author is reaching out to someone else. In Invisible Cities Marco Polo is sharing his stories with Khan and in The City; the author is reaching out to the individual who is reading the story. Another similarity can be seen near the end of Invisible Cities when we realize that all the cities Marco Polo has been talking about have really been the same one. This relates to the City because we realize that as the Cavafy is saying, no matter how much you travel and what you do you will always be connected to one place for your whole life. A person will find themselves trapped in one place for their whole lives searching for something more in their lives that can fulfill their dreams.
PStockman
ReplyDeleteThe Library of Babel
The greatest hazard for the reader of Calvino’s Invisible Cities and Borges’ The library of Babel is an overly-literal interpretation. They are both extremely allegorical pieces of literature, designed to illustrate abstract concepts in the most concrete way. Each of Calvino’s cities is a window into the same universe from a different point. Borges’ Library would easily fit in with rest of Calvino’s cities. One of the concepts that Khan discovers and the narrator in the Library ponders is the idea that there is no concrete and accessible meaning for anything. Khan seeks the meaning of the universe (in the form of the cities) as a way of controlling it. Borges’ Librarians seek the meaning of the Universe (in the form of the Library) as a way to escape their futile and perpetual wandering. The Library could be viewed as a sort of purgatory. Its librarians have nothing to do but wander and seek meaning in the never-ending collection of meaningless books, seeking a heaven they cannot find, that may not even exist. And yet, contrary to what you might expect, the narrator in the library finds reassurance in the notion that the universe is infinite and repeating. In Calvino’s cities this idea of infinite is frightening to the people. They take security in the idea that their universe and everything in it will, one day, end. The unknown and eternal future brings only unease. For example: in Laudomia the living people fear the idea of an infinite city of the unborn and the mystery it carries. They prefer to think of it as finite, like the bulb of an hourglass, the sand will eventually run out. The inevitable end of everything brings a sense of finality and security to the people of Calvino’s cities. The residents of Octavia are aware and comfortable with the inevitable end of their city. “The Life of Octavia’s inhabitants is less uncertain than in other cities. They know the net will last only so long.” In this aspect it could be said that Borges’ characters contradict themselves. The narrator takes assurance in the idea of an unending universe, yet the librarians are being driven by the limitless library. The vast number of books gives the people joy and hope because of the implication that somewhere, is the book that contains all of the answers they seek. At the same time it makes them insane because the quantity of books also means the answers they seek are impossible to find. It is this paradox that drives many of the Librarians to suicide. If you think hard enough about it this and many of themes from both The Library of Babel and Invisible Cities are comparable with things of our universe that we deal with every day.
Waiting for the Barbarians-
ReplyDeleteThe poem Waiting for the Barbarians is similar to Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities in several ways, the most outstanding of which is the sense of mystery that the works are based on. In waiting for barbarians all the reader is provided with one main piece of information: that this kingdom is waiting for barbarians to come. The reader does not know if these barbarians are really what they appear to be, or if they just symbolize something. The reader does not know why they are coming or why it is so important. The reader just knows that this is a mysterious kingdom, which, in this glimpse the reader sees, has a defining characteristic: perpetual waiting. Invisible Cities is very similar except that instead of one kingdom (or city) that is very mysterious and has a single defining characteristic, many are found in the book. The other similarity between the two works is that there is no definite time period in which the stories take place. In Waiting for the Barbarians there are several conflicting hints that indicates the time period in which the story takes place. These hints include the presence of barbarians, the fact that a monarch rules the area, and the presence of an acting senate. In Invisible Cities the contrasts in period are even starker. There are many small contradictions, but the largest one is the fact that the characters lived in the late 13th century, yet talk of airplanes.
There are several differences between the two works too. The biggest difference is that (admittedly it is hard to compare a poem and a novel) proportionately there is a lot more being told about each city in Invisible Cities than in Waiting for the Barbarians. Calvino is able to provide insight into each city, telling the reader of daily life in each individual city. While J.M. Coetzee tells an interesting story, the reader is not thrown into the world that is waiting for the barbarians.
Both pieces are unique and each provides the reader with a differing but relevant meaning that leaves the reader in wonder. There are similarities between the works, but the differences are definatly present too.
C.P. Cavafy’s poem, “The City” may seem like a totally opposite work of literature when compared to the novel, Invisible Cites by Italo Calvino. However, this poem and piece of prose do share a common theme in which they both indifferently portray. When “The City” was written then read, it seems that it gives off more of an “unenthusiastic” attitude in which it was more negative towards the idea of traveling and experiencing new cities and different places. Yet, Invisible Cities renders the more optimistic feel towards traveling and experiencing. As Marco Polo is traveling among cities, he openly and beautifully depicts his experiences there; and not only this but he also shares and speaks of the importance of traveling. In contrast in Cavafy’s poem travel and exploration are only depicted as being time wasted declaring no meaning in such searching.
ReplyDeleteIn “The City”, another contrast to that of Invisible Cites, is that it only encompasses one city to be reckoned with and discussed up on, while in Calvino’s work many cities are illustrated and pondered. In order to understand the theme one must still keep in mind the differences, but look beyond these at an important similarity between the two works of literature. It can be interpreted that both of the pieces hold the finding and discovery of one’s inner self as a prominent theme. When one travels, the journey or expedition taken to find a city or explanation is very significant to the discovery of inner truth and meaning. It’s not the outcome that should first matter but the efforts, labor, and the journey it took to reach whatever someone strives for. As many have said before me, the theme of finding one’s self is the prominent theme described in the two pieces of literature. Ultimately, the two reveal that no matter where you are or where you go, whether the place is greater than anything your wildest dreams could ever hope for, no one can escape the truth the lies in one’s self or the truth that lies in one’s heart.
Caroline B
ReplyDeleteBoth the poem “The City” by C. P. Cavafy and Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino share a similar theme of unenthusiasm and disinterest in the speaker’s city. In the poem “The City” the narrator takes a rather pessimistic view on the other speaker’s desire to escape from the city. The city described in this poem relates to several cities described in the book Invisible Cities. One city, Zemrude, has a similar tone to the way the first speaker talks in this poem. In Zemrude (Calvino 66) the city’s people are divided into two groups: upper Zemrude and lower Zemrude. Most civilians belong to lower Zemrude because they view Zemrude with a “the glass is half empty” attitude. These people are pessimistic and only see the problems and detriments to their city, much like how the first speaker says that he has wasted many years within this city.
The city Adelma (Calvino 94 – 95) also resembles the view the second speaker takes on the first speaker’s desire to leave the city described in the poem. The second speaker in the poem informs the first speaker that he will never leave the city. He will fritter his life away in the same old boring town; his life will be similar to reliving old memories. Adelma is described somewhat as a city of the dead. All the people that Marco Polo sees in Adelma resemble people that he knew that have died.
There are other cities in Invisible Cities that have similar thought processes. This book has a lot of pessimistic views on and disinterest in the cities described. The major contrast between the poem and the book is that the book also describes some cities in a positive light. Of course with only 16 lines, this poem does not have much ability to change the mood and view on one city; but the book’s wording describes beautiful, enchanting cities, vague and mysterious cities, disgusting and awful cities, and many other combinations.
Emily Collins
ReplyDeleteThe City
“The City” by C.P. Cavafy and “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino have similarities and differences. A big difference between the two is that “Invisible Cities” focuses on many different cities, 55 to be exact, but “The City” focuses only on one city. In the novel, the cities vary drastically from one another, but a main theme that I saw was that each city was an exaggeration of a problem or situation that is going on in real life. The city in “The City” is not perfect, and neither are any of the cities in “Invisible Cities”. No city is perfect.
The tones in the two stories are very different. In “The City” the attitude toward traveling is very dull and depressing. The person is looking for something better than they already have. They aren’t exploring to discover exciting new things, they are looking to replace something that is in their life, and seems to be an important part of their life. In “Invisible Cities” Marco Polo travels to discover new and exciting places. He traveled to discover things about himself. In “The City” the person wants to eliminate a previous city and replace it with something better. But like it is said in the poem, that is impossible because you can’t just escape the truths about yourself. You can’t just replace them with better truths. They will always be a part of you. Thats why the person in “The City” will never be able to replace the city he is in now. Also, it seems as though the person in “The City” has ruined his life somehow and thats what he is trying to escape. The person can’t expect to be able to start new somewhere else. Your troubles will always follow you.