From reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor, I learned that weather is never just weather." The rain, snow, sun, warmth, and cold all act as a plot device. The weather makes characters act in ways that they normally wouldn't and changes their actions. The weather has the power to propel the characters into circumstances that may help them or hurt them.
For instance, Thomas Foster cites Thomas Hardy, The Three Strangers where three men are forced together because of the rain. Foster states that weather contributes to the atmosphere of the novel. Rain can be "mysterious, isolating, murky, and miserable. " With a little bit of wind and a lot of rain, a character can die of pneumonia. Weather is democratic and affects all of the characters in a novel whether they are rich, poor, young or old.
Foster explains the symbolic importance of rain. If the writer wants to "cleanse" a character, he'll bring in some rain and have them walk through it. The rain transforms the character. Rain is also restorative. It brings the earth back to life. Rain is associated with Spring and "new life, new hope, and new awakenings."
When a writer uses fog in his work, he means a physical, mental, or ethical fog that blankets the characters. Fog literally means the characters can't see clearly. Snow is another powerful tool that can mean perceived differently. It is clean, quiet, severe, inviting, and isolating. Foster discusses the use of snow in The Pederson Kid by William H. Gass and in The Dead by James Joyce. In both books, the authors use snow to symbolize abstract thought and death.
In Life of Pi, Yann Martel writes about a cargo ship that gets hit by an awful rainstorm at sea. This one weather event, kills Pi's entire family along with anyone else aboard the ship. The storm signifies devastation. As the book continues, Pi drifts off into the ocean under a beating hot sun for a seemingly endless amount of time. The sun is relentless and makes Pi rig a water catching device, so he can drink rain water, therefore effecting the actions of the character.
Isabella, I agree with what you stated and that Foster has changed the perspective of how you look at weather. It has done the same to me as well. I never really thought about how weather can have a deeper meaning than just rain, snow, or sunshine. I think it is amazing that rain can have so many different emotional connections towards it. If we stop and think about how we feel on certain days, it only makes sense that author uses them in books. If its dark and dreary out people are sad and depressed. On the other hand, when summer is coming and the sun is shining, everyone is positive.
ReplyDeleteIsabella,
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about how the effect weather can have on the meaning of a scene in a novel until I read Foster’s chapter about it in “How to Read Literature Like a Professor.” It is interesting, really, that the weather can mean so many different things. I have always merely perceived weather as weather and nothing else, but now I am always aware of the weather that is happening in a certain scene in novels. For instance, in the last chapter in “The Grapes of Wrath,” a huge rainstorm hits and it starts flooding the Joads’ camp. At first it came down really hard and then it turned into a soft rain. I took the hard rain to mean something bad was about to happen, and it did—Rose of Sharon lost the baby. I could not get any meaning out of the rain turning into a soft, light drizzle until I read your blog. You say that rain could also be related to “bringing the earth back to life,” or “new life, new hope, and new awakenings,” then it clicked what the transition of the rain meant. The poor no longer had to worry about daily life struggles anymore because they would be receiving “new hope.” That is what the rain meant. It could also mean that all the rain would cause their farmland to be used again, which restores them with jobs. It is just a thought. I think it is interesting that I was able to get all that from the rain.
Isabella (Catherine and Riley as well),
ReplyDeleteFoster does captivate his audience with the revelation that weather is indeed NEVER simply weather. However, sometimes the weather is not so straightforward as rain means rebirth and snow means clean. I think that weather is up to the readers interpretation. I also think that each individual reader interprets the mood different as well. This is a great thing, though, because the setting and weather can come off as multiple different emotions to every different reader. I think that what you can take away from the book should be personal, therefore the weather can never have an exact definition. I agree with your statements that weather is in fact a symbol, however I just think that every different type is open to a plethora of meanings.