3/14/2011
e-journal #7 (3/17)
Respond to the fourth Consideration Prompt after this play, which states: Scholar Thomas Kilroy has noted that Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation” and that she separates herself from the family and the community, showing “a contempt for the values that are left behind” (Mosaic, Spring 1971). Do you agree with this comment? What evidence can you offer to either support or refute Kilroy’s view of Maurya?
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Yes, I do not agree with the comment of “a contempt for the values that are left behind”(Mosaic, Spring 1971). The reason that I agree with Kiloroy is that Maurya has lost many children due to the sea. Maurya gives me the impression that being that she has suffered tremendous lost of her sons.After suffering so much lost Maurya shuts off her emotions of the surrounding world around her. I don't feeling that Maurya does not care about her sons and husband who have lost their lives to the sea. I feel it is more of that she keeps feeling the lost of someone who she nurtured and grown. Mauraya begins to not give her sons her blessing not because she not sympathetic or caring about her sons life. Mauraya is aware of the dangers that her son’s are going to face and has a motherly instinct telling that they are not able to sustain the dangerous waters that awaits. “He is gone now, God spare us, and we’ll not see him again. He’s gone now, and when the black night is falling i’ll have no son left me in the world (91-93). Maurya expresses that she does have faith in God and his plan of life for her son but, hopes for a blessing of sparing one of her sons life to the sea. The Maurya comes to the realization that the event’s that will take place will happens weather she agrees or not and expects that she would be losing another son despite if she gives her blessings or not.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Hoch
ReplyDeleteEnglish 200
Professor D’Amato
Blog Entry #7
3/16/11
“Blog Entry #7”
I agree with the quote “a contempt for the values that are left behind.” I feel that not only does that fit Mauyra’s characterization perfectly, but that it is the only way that she can be adequately portrayed.
One form of evidence that I feel proves my point is when Cathleen asks her why she said such distasteful comments towards her brother Bartley, to which Maurya responds with silence as she pokes at the fire. This means that she feels no remorse for her actions. This is important because it fits right in with the character traits a person like her would have: stubborn, set in her ways, and not willing to budge on what she feels is wisdom collected over her lifetime.
Another piece of evidence that I feel proves my point is when she says that Bartley’s faith will lead to his death, just like all the other men in her life. This means that she is used to things not going well in her life. This is important because this reinforces her behavior towards the way she handles crises in her life.
One last point that I would like to make is the overall tone in general whenever Maurya opens her mouth. She does not come into play until about midway through the third page, and whenever she speaks it usually is not for a long time. However, the very brevity of her words in themselves are so powerful, as her words lay the mood for the entire play, which is that of a dreadful attitude. Also, some of her lines are inquiries as to what is going on. However, she follows those lines up with a simple remark like we would say in Modern English: ‘oh’.
I agree with when he says “finds a freedom in isolation” Because there comes a time in life when we need to be alone, not talk to anyone just listen to ourselves and understand why thing are happening? Not because we don’t enjoy the company yet we need to be alone sometimes isolated from the world itself. In the play we see this with Maurya went through all these tragic events, losing his sons. We can see her attitude towards life & death. She becomes stronger after each incident. The reason why she doesn’t show emotion when Cathleen asks her why she talks about the way she does about her brother in such a bad way and Maurya just pokes the fire. I feel she does this because she doesn’t want to get to attached to him like she might have been to her other sons and lost them. Even though she didn’t cry when the first accident happened. Some reader might see Mauyra as heartless person that doesn’t care about her sons because she shows no feeling towards them. YEt, if we look outside the box I… We come back to the same quote “finds a freedom in isolation” . When we look at quote “a contempt for the values that are left behind” if we don’t look closer at chracter we assume that she is heartless person that doesn’t care for no values, which proves this quote.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment that Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation” and that she separates herself from the family and the community. The reason I agree with this comment because Maurya has dealt with a very big tragedy. She has lost her sons to the sea. As the reader reads the drama one can understand the reason that Maurya likes to be alone all the time and mostly stays quiet. This woman has dealt with a great loss in her family. Anyone who has dealt with a loss similar to this they can understand the feeling of sorrow, and aimlessness. She feels as though nobody can or would understand. Also I feel as though this quote describes her personality very well. She is a person that does not have much to say but has a lot to feel. Cathleen asks her why she said such offensive comments towards her brother Bartley and Maurya does not respond to what Cathleen said. The reason that she did not respond to it is because she does feel guilty for it, this is her way to make it seem like he deserved what he got. She puts on a tough exterior but one can see that she is hurting inside about the incident. People always say actions speak louder than words; Maurya’s actions towards Cathleen’s comment shows signs of sorrow, and despair. She is an example of a person who does not know how to act towards a tragedy but this is indeed human nature.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the quote, “a contempt for the values that are left behind” because I feel Maurya has a change in her attitude to life and death (Mosaic, Spring 1971). Maurya has lost her men of the house to the sea. As the play begins Maurya’s daughters, Cathleen and Nora, receive word that a body was found and that it may be Michael whom has washed up on shore. Since the news of her last surviving man of the family, she has changed her perception on life by basically no caring about anything anymore. My opinion is justified when Maurya asserts, “No man at all can be living for ever, and we must be satisfied” (Synge l.286-287). Maurya goes through a series of deaths of her loved one, but I do feel that deep down she cared at first but towards the end she gives up on life due to the deaths of the males in her family. I found the poem to have a mood of gloomy and the tone was very serious. The message seems to be to when life is rough to ignore it and not let it get to you. Overall, I found the piece to be entertaining and I liked it a lot despite its dark presence.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kilroy comment, "Maurya finds freedom in isolation and contempt for values are left behind". I agree with Kilroy comment because Maurya lost all her sons to the sea and basically living in darkness because a tragedy always occurs with the men in her family. After the lost of the last remaining male member in her family she becomes careless because her suffering has finally ended because all her beloved sons have passed away and she feels she has nothing else to lose so she views this as a brighter path.Maurya plays a character in which the sea is her enemy because it has taken away the lives of her loved ones and Maurya is in a win and lose situation because the sea killed all her sons, her husband and brother in law however, it will no longer claim the lives of her family so no more harm can be done to her. Maurya already knew that by the end of the night all her sons will be deceased and predicted the death of her last son, Bartley so death to Maurya was something that she expected. Towards the closing of the play Maurya felt a small relief had overcome her because she says that "they're are all gone now, I'll have no call to be up crying and praying when the wind breaks south...." Maurya felt that her worries have come to an end.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Scholar Thomas Kilroy’s view of Muarya. He states that Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation” and that she separates herself from the family and the community, showing “a contempt for the values that are left behind.” His view on Maurya to me seems to be right about Maurya. Maurya is an elderly woman who has seen a lot through out her life. She lost her husband and all of her sons. Realistically anyone who has gone through so much pain would have reacted the same way as she did, or maybe reacted worse. I think she isolates herself from her family because they don’t seem to listen to her often. In the drama, when she is talking, her children deliberately ignore her. Also maybe she isolates herself from her family because of fear. She had already lost 6 people she loved dearly, so maybe she doesn’t want to get close to the others in fear of closing them.
ReplyDeletePerhaps she isolates herself from the community because they are the ones that always seem to be giving her the bad news about her family. Being isolated probably gives Maurya a chance to express herself and grieve a little.
I disagree with the comment “a contempt for the values that are left behind.” When Cathleen says, “she maybe sleeping, if she’s able” to answer Nora’s question, where is she This gives us a hint that Maurya is distressed due to the loss of her family members, which are also all men, therefore finds sleeping difficult. Furthermore the way Nora walks in, softly, and Cathleen and she have conversation, in a low voice, at the beginning of the play gives the reader a feeling of delicate environment. When Nora and Cathleen brings a shirt and a plain stocking of drowned man to confirm if they are Michael’s, they act very cautiously so that their mother, Maurya, doesn’t get the hint that her another son might be dead too, because she is already in a great sorrow. “For she will be getting her death with crying and lamenting” the priest further explains. The priest’s comment shows his experience with Maurya’s reaction when she hears the death news of her sons each time, “crying and lamenting.” This also points out that Maurya is concerned about her lost. When Maurya tries to stop Bartley, her only son left, from repeating the same mistake, the mistake that brought death to others, but he simply ignores her and converses with Cathleen instead. According to this we can figure out that Maurya must have tried to stop others as well but was unsuccessful. So when Maurya finds out that the Michael, her other son, is no more she is heartbroken as she says “my heart is broken from this day.” and she is completely devastated when she found out that Bartley is dead too because she could not stop him. But in the end she says “they are all together this time” in order to comfort herself and grasp the reality for the sake of one that is living, possibly her daughters. This shows that Maurya does care.
ReplyDeleteIn Scholar Thomas Kilroy’s view of Muarya, he states that Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation” and that she separates herself from the community and even her own family this shows “a contempt for the values that are left behind.” I agree with his statement because Maurya, have been in deep mourning, she is an elderly woman who has seen a lot through out her life, she finds freedom in isolation knowing she had already lost many whom she loved dearly. Maurya’s actions towards Cathleen’s comment shows signs of sadness, and much sorrow. Being isolated from her family and community gives her hope for the better, she wants a chance to express herself and grieve. After going through so much in her life, Muarya just wants to be alone, she fears that she will lose another.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kilroy’s comment that Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation” and that she separates herself from the family and the community, showing “a contempt for the values that are left behind”. Maurya can think about whatever she wants in “isolation”. When she’s alone she might be able to escape that fact that numerous men in her life have died. Maurya comes of as a little bitter when talking to Bartley. I think this is only because she doesn’t know any other way to express herself to him. It’s sort of a mask she puts on to show others and doesn’t really mean what she says but she won’t let anyone know that. Maurya holds everything in contempt because she is used to all these bad things occurring in her life. She’s grown to dislike all of these things, but doesn’t think of anything in a positive way because she knows she can’t change or do anything about it. At the end of the play (L. 286-287) Maurya says, “No man at all can be living for ever, and we must be satisfied”. I believe that over time with all her experience with death, she has learned to accept this painfully true phrase.
ReplyDeleteYes I do agree with the author when he says “Maurya finds freedom in isolation”. She lost her son to the sea. Although the sea could be a beautiful majestic thing it could be very dangerous too. Maurya losing your children is a very traumatic thing. She probably isolates her self from everyone to be alone with her feelings she has lost so much. She may not be able to express her self and feels as if being alone is good for her. Anyone who has experienced a lost could relate to Maurya reaction in some way. Another reason she may rather be isolating herself because she has lost 6 kids, she maybe be afraid to get close to people anymore in the fear that she might lose then also. In the end Maurya gives up on hope its self when she says “they’re all gone now, and there isn’t anything more the sea can do to … I’ll have no call now to be up crying and praying…”when she state this she is admitting her defeat and accepting the cruel reality of their death. I can relate to this feeling when you are anxiously waiting on the news of someones condition and you find out they are dead there is nothing you can do but except the truth.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Thomas Kilroy’s view that Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation” and that she separates herself from the family and community. The reason I agree with the comment is because of her tragic life. She is a poor victim of the sea, which takes over all the male members’ life in the family, her husband and her six sons. When she noticed that her last son, Bartley decides to go to the sea, she begged him, but unsuccessful. Cathleen forgets to give Bartley his bread, Maurya tries to deliver it and her blessing to him. Up to this point, Maurya is still the woman who cares about the family. However, when she is back, she puts herself in isolated mode, from her family and the surroundings. She cannot hear her daughter’s conversation, and cannot see the people around her. At this point, Maurga has a feeling that Barlty cannot come back anymore. She lost her last son, the last surviving male member in her family. So she separates herself, because this way, she can protect herself suffer the pain again. The sea can cause no more harm to her. Also, she can ignore, doesn’t have to see the mercy in people’s eyes, which reminded her, she lost all her sons, and the pain is going to bring up again.
ReplyDeleteI find myself in agreement with Kilroy's comment that Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation”. She separates herself from the family and community because of the loss of the males in her life. Her husband, father-in-law, and sons were all taken from her by the sea so perhaps isolating herself is her own way of coping with these tragedies. It is not unusual for people to become distant and lonely after losing a loved one, and considering Maurya lost seven including all of her sons, it is very likely that her detachment from society is influenced by this. All of the values she has left behind in contempt are due to her loss in faith. Even though she still prays to God, she has no hope when her son leaves to go sailing. She says “He's gone now, God spare us, and we'll not see him again. He's gone now, and when the black night is falling I'll have no son left me in the world” (Synge 1.92-94). Her son has not even died yet, but she has no faith that he'll survive.
ReplyDeleteI agree that she separates herself from the community. Her time is spent between sleeping and worrying about her family. However I disagree with his statement that she "shows contempt for the values that are left behind." Maurya has lost all of the men in her life and is mourning their deaths. In my opinion it seems like the women in this society do not have lives of their own. I believe that most of their day is spent caring for and worrying about those men. And now that Maurya's husband and sons are deceased then she has no interest in performing the normal acts of the women in that society. For example praying all night to ask that the sailors and fisherman(men in the village) are brought home safely. She knows that she will be able to rest and relax instead of crying all night.
ReplyDeleteI can really connect wit the her when she says that she "finds freedom in isolation". i believe this is true as in many cases we can think more when were alone and even create a story or scenario in our heads that with people around couldn't be made because of fear of rejection from people around them. yet when people are not around we find ourselves more opened to different ideas, ideas that may not be logical or even make sense at all but ideas that are our own and that satisfy us. i believe this is true in moderation as in too much of this can lead to craziness and complete isolation from other people which is bad but i believe that its very true that we find fredoom in isolation because wen were isolated we really are the person we are and not the person society wants us to be.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Scholar Thomas Kilroy, Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation” and that she separates herself from the community and even her own family this shows “a contempt for the values that are left behind.” I agree with this statement because there are times when people feel the need to isolate themselves from people after having a tragedy such as losing loved ones and in this case, Maurya did this. She lost her husband and all of her sons and seeking comfort in other people probably isn’t her preference on how to deal with such a tremendous loss. It seems like isolating herself from people is a way of escaping negativity. In the play, there seemed to be nothing but bad news being brought to her about her family. It seems like by isolating herself, she could try dealing with the loss of her loved ones by reminding herself that they are gone and that there is nothing that can be done to bring them back. It is her way of trying to get over it or just to cope with it. She contempts for values left behind because when she kept warning Bartley not to go out to the sea because she feared that he would die. When he went anyways, she was upset with him and said things to him out of anger because she felt that he was being stubborn and as a mother, she expected him to listen to her because she older and wiser than him. Since he didn’t listen, she was probably offended and felt that he was trying to give her grief even though that was not what he was trying to do.
ReplyDeleteMaurya "finds a freedom in the isolation" and she separates herself from the family and the community, showing "a contempt for the values that are left behind." I agree with this comment. Maurya is a Irish mother who has lost many loved ones to the sea. If I was a mother who had watched my family die in the depths of the sea, I would also want to isolate myself from the world. Maurya spends most of her time alone, sleeping and worrying about the rest of her family. One may think that Maurya is a weak individual who cannot cope with the loss of her loved ones but others may say it is perfectly fine to behave how she is. I cannot personally relate myself to Maurya in the sense that she has lost her family. I have been fortunate to have most of my family around and I believe if and when I do lose a loved one, I would definitely react the same way as Maurya.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Thomas Kilroy’s statement about Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation”. I believe Maurya has been introduced to a big trauma caused by the sea. Dealing with losing all the men isn’t easy; dealing with death in general isn’t easy. So maybe her isolating herself is her way of not dealing with death anymore. By not having anybody around you, the only death that going to come up is your own. In my opinion she is trying to protect the rest of her family, she lost six people that she loved, so in fear she is protect herself by not dealing with death. I believe there might be other reasons for her isolation but that being that central reasons. Other reasons might be is to grieve a little, and change her perspective on her enemy, the sea.
ReplyDeleteMaurya has been through incredibly dreadful events throughout her life.She now have little to no grief left to give. Her whole life is falling to apart. Now once again another son wants to leave her, causing her to suffer once again. She has grown accustom to loneliness. She has found that keeping connections to people such as your family is too much of a burden on her emotions. That is why she now chooses isolation over the community and family. I agree with Kilroy’s idea because Maurya associated family with heartache, so isolation would now bring her the satisfaction of not having to worry about any more devastation. Maurya begins to resent Bartley for now too wanting to leave her, as her other sons have done before.
ReplyDeleteLife is full of tragedies, some are ok and some are worst that cannot be explain in words like what happened to Maurya. I disagree with Kilroy's comment that Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation”. She separates herself from the family and community because of the loss her six sons and her husband to the sea. The felling of losing of one son can’t be explained but in her case she lost her husband and all her six sons to the sea and that’s the worst thing in life that could happen to her. If you stop believing in god which mean you just gave up in life and we can see that when she sad, “He’s gone now, God spare us, we’ll not see him again. He’s gone now, when the black night is falling I’ll have no son left me in the world (91-93). If you are isolated from the family and the community then you just give up your life. When we face tragedies, family and the community will help us to go thru our worst time but if we give up your life by being isolated then the pain will continue to grow and evenly that will lead you to suicide. Maurya still have to remember that she still has two daughters and she just can’t give up her life by being isolated from her own family. Maurya have to remember that she will never have freedom by being isolated from the family, only way to go thru your worst time to is to face your problem and being surrounded with people she love which is her daughters.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Thomas Kilroy's arguement that Maurya finds "freedom in isolation" and has "contempt for the values that are left behind". When she finds out that her last son dies, she feels relief that now she would not have to worry or greive any more and would not need to care about how violent the wind is or how tumultuous the sea is. Her only concern is that she might be hungrier now since the "wet flour" and spoiled "fish" might not provide as much nutritional supplementation. She also feels that everyone around her is disrespectful and says "Isn't it a hard and cruel man won't hear a word from an old woman, and she's holding him from the sea?" Maurya feels that those around her are reckless and do not want to listen to what they think are the irrational ravings of a grief-stricken elderly woman. Whenever Maurya says something, the characters generally ignore it or provide a condescending answer.
ReplyDeleteDeath is something everyone has to face in their lives. It may take time to heal from it. But isolating oneself to deal with it, sometimes just doesn't make sense. Keeping yourself isolated from the world to deal with your pain will mean that the death of your family or close friend, will constantly be on your mind as time goes on. In other cases opening yourself up to your family and friends, may help a person to get over the situation quite quicker than they thought they would have. As a result, I feel that she would not be totally free from her hurt and pain by isolating herself.
ReplyDeleteI concur with the quote that Thomas Kilroy has noted that Maurya “finds a freedom in isolation” and that she separates herself from the family and community showing “a contempt for the values that are left behind” (Mosaic. Spring 1971). Maurya has lost many of her children due to the sea. In fact, like any mother would during the death of a child, Maurya has suffered tremendously. She finds freedom in isolation because she needs recovery of the deaths of her sons. Everyone needs time to be alone and think. In my opinion, having time to oneself is very relaxing and mind clearing. But what we do acknowledge as readers is that each death is just a resignation that she finds within herself. The experiences that she has encountered have not only made her stronger but also has hardened her heart. The reason why she makes such harsh comments about her son is because she is afraid. She is fearful of losing her child, but she holds this information within. She puts on the face of braveness not to display the weakness of emotions that haunt her. It is like she is leaving behind her motherly instinct so that she can gain strength to take in any farther disappointment.
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