Student Blogs

(Particular to Part 1) First things first, this text had me truly puzzled and even felt chaotic at times. Specifically, it hopped from describing one thing to another so quickly, almost without transition. It was difficult for me to stay focused and keep a general idea of what was occurring throughout all of my reading, […] read full post >>

I dived into Proust's Combray completely unaware of what to expect. The first thing that caught my attention was the language. It was very descriptive, thus allowing me to envision every room and meal as the narrator experienced it. Secondly, I noticed the stream of consciousness that the narrator seemed to be traveling along while narrating. What started in a room with an insight into the intricacies of sleep and wakefulness turned into a formative childhood memory. This form of writing intrigued me immensely because of how naturally it flowed. I almost did not notice the transition until I read about the narrator's next idea!

I must confess that I did get a little bit confused when the narrator switched to talking about his childhood experience from his ideologies as an adult. However, once I picked up on the difference I was able to enjoy the innocence with which the child craved to be with his mother. As seen in the scene below, Proust's description of the raw emotion of longing from a child's perspective makes the scene more impactful and its sentiment that much deeper. 

"But I implored her again: 'Come say goodnight to me,' terrified as I saw the light from my father's candle already creeping up the wall, but also making use of his approach as a means of blackmail, in the hope that my mother, not wishing to find me here, as find me he must if she continued to refuse me, would give in and say: 'Go back to your room. I will come.'"

I found this particularly significant because of how palpable and tangible the emotions were in this extract. 

Additionally, the lecture touched upon many points that I did not consider while reading but added to the importance of the text upon considering them. One of these points is regarding the multiple perspectives we experience in the chapter, but only through the narrator's eyes. We learn about M. Swann, the narrator's great-aunt and grandmother, and how they all share a great number of opinions on varying societal issues. But once again, all of these thoughts are shrouded by the narrator's perspective which as a child was solely focused on gaining his mother's attention. Proust therefore sheds light on an important question worth considering: how do we perceive each character's perspective differently when the narration is only through one person's point of view?

Hence, as stated in the lecture, we only get to see a portion of what happened because of the gap which exists in relaying information.  This drives us to make assumptions to fill in the spaces and to keep reading to see if what we thought was true. I feel like this text has prepared me for the other literature in this course because of its unique writing style and the type of reading it demands. 

I look forward to reading more and discussing this text in class with everyone! 

read full post >>

I dived into Proust's Combray completely unaware of what to expect. The first thing that caught my attention was the language. It was very descriptive, thus allowing me to envision every room and meal as the narrator experienced it. Secondly, I noticed the stream of consciousness that the narrator seemed to be traveling along while narrating. What started in a room with an insight into the intricacies of sleep and wakefulness turned into a formative childhood memory. This form of writing intrigued me immensely because of how naturally it flowed. I almost did not notice the transition until I read about the narrator's next idea!

I must confess that I did get a little bit confused when the narrator switched to talking about his childhood experience from his ideologies as an adult. However, once I picked up on the difference I was able to enjoy the innocence with which the child craved to be with his mother. As seen in the scene below, Proust's description of the raw emotion of longing from a child's perspective makes the scene more impactful and its sentiment that much deeper. 

"But I implored her again: 'Come say goodnight to me,' terrified as I saw the light from my father's candle already creeping up the wall, but also making use of his approach as a means of blackmail, in the hope that my mother, not wishing to find me here, as find me he must if she continued to refuse me, would give in and say: 'Go back to your room. I will come.'"

I found this particularly significant because of how palpable and tangible the emotions were in this extract. 

Additionally, the lecture touched upon many points that I did not consider while reading but added to the importance of the text upon considering them. One of these points is regarding the multiple perspectives we experience in the chapter, but only through the narrator's eyes. We learn about M. Swann, the narrator's great-aunt and grandmother, and how they all share a great number of opinions on varying societal issues. But once again, all of these thoughts are shrouded by the narrator's perspective which as a child was solely focused on gaining his mother's attention. Proust therefore sheds light on an important question worth considering: how do we perceive each character's perspective differently when the narration is only through one person's point of view?

Hence, as stated in the lecture, we only get to see a portion of what happened because of the gap which exists in relaying information.  This drives us to make assumptions to fill in the spaces and to keep reading to see if what we thought was true. I feel like this text has prepared me for the other literature in this course because of its unique writing style and the type of reading it demands. 

I look forward to reading more and discussing this text in class with everyone! 

read full post >>

On Part I Having read the introduction by Davis, I mentally prepared myself to be thoroughly confused and worked up my capacity for patience. To my surprise, for how long Proust’s sentences and descriptions are, they flow extremely well and are very lovely to read. That being said, I am impressed by how much can […] read full post >>

At the Thursday zoom lecture, there was a classmate who mentioned how they are afraid of not being able to understand or missing an important point in the novel, since english is not their first language. I can totally relate to that, since it is not my first language as well. I am able to read and understand the words but not the meaning behind it. The beginning of Proust was super confusing to me. I even asked my friend if it is normal that I don't understand a single thing. I need to re-read them a few times to fully get them into my head. In this blog, I will mainly focus on my thoughts and ideas on this reading.

In the beginning, the narrator often switched between his dreams and reality. However, the excessive amount of transitions could be distracting to the readers. I personally found it distracting as I have to pay more attention to whether it's been switched to reality or to a different dream. Fortunately, it got easier to understand as the story progressed. The story became more focused and clear as it focused on one specific memory, which is the narrator's memories back when he was in Combray. 

One of the most vivid parts for me was how attached and close he is to his mother. The narrator would wait for his Mama to give him a goodnight kiss before he fell asleep. However, he is not able to ask for another one as his father, who found it absurd, would be irritated. It made me wonder if the fact of him not being able to sleep is due to the insecurity he has. As he is not able to ‘fulfill’ his attachment needs with his Mama.  

The other vivid part for me was “[...] lacking a confidant whom she could communicate with, she announced them to herself” (p.52). That part made my heart ache. After his aunt’s husband has passed, she has been in a state of grief. She has no one else to talk to which then gives her a habit of talking to herself/thinking out loud. 

When I first read this book, I noticed how he used a lot of descriptive words and comparisons which provided a lot of imagery to the readers. I am able to picture the memories the narrator had recalled while dreaming. I also wonder if the reason he drowned himself into his memories was because of nostalgia or perhaps because of his desire to escape from reality. My question for you is: Which part of his memories gave you the most vivid image? and Do you think there is a reason why he drowned himself into memories?

read full post >>

At the Thursday zoom lecture, there was a classmate who mentioned how they are afraid of not being able to understand or missing an important point in the novel, since english is not their first language. I can totally relate to that, since it is not my first language as well. I am able to read and understand the words but not the meaning behind it. The beginning of Proust was super confusing to me. I even asked my friend if it is normal that I don't understand a single thing. I need to re-read them a few times to fully get them into my head. In this blog, I will mainly focus on my thoughts and ideas on this reading.

In the beginning, the narrator often switched between his dreams and reality. However, the excessive amount of transitions could be distracting to the readers. I personally found it distracting as I have to pay more attention to whether it's been switched to reality or to a different dream. Fortunately, it got easier to understand as the story progressed. The story became more focused and clear as it focused on one specific memory, which is the narrator's memories back when he was in Combray. 

One of the most vivid parts for me was how attached and close he is to his mother. The narrator would wait for his Mama to give him a goodnight kiss before he fell asleep. However, he is not able to ask for another one as his father, who found it absurd, would be irritated. It made me wonder if the fact of him not being able to sleep is due to the insecurity he has. As he is not able to ‘fulfill’ his attachment needs with his Mama.  

The other vivid part for me was “[...] lacking a confidant whom she could communicate with, she announced them to herself” (p.52). That part made my heart ache. After his aunt’s husband has passed, she has been in a state of grief. She has no one else to talk to which then gives her a habit of talking to herself/thinking out loud. 

When I first read this book, I noticed how he used a lot of descriptive words and comparisons which provided a lot of imagery to the readers. I am able to picture the memories the narrator had recalled while dreaming. I also wonder if the reason he drowned himself into his memories was because of nostalgia or perhaps because of his desire to escape from reality. My question for you is: Which part of his memories gave you the most vivid image? and Do you think there is a reason why he drowned himself into memories?

read full post >>

As I initially began reading the text, I thought the main theme would be around the inability to sleep, and how the mind can race at night much to one’s dismay. Ideas of lucid dreaming or sleep paralysis came into my mind. Early on, Proust mentions the thought of falling asleep waking him up, this […] read full post >>

From the first paragraph of Proust’s Combray, the author’s intrinsic, attentive, and stunning control over language is evident. The manner in which he captures the disorientation of hovering listlessly in the place between sleep and awake–that long moment of disequilibrium as we return to ourselves following a dream (“it seemed to me that I myself […] read full post >>

blog#2 – Combray and Childhood Guilt — While reading Proust’s Combray, I automatically and unconsciously tried to categorize it in my brain with themes of other texts and books I’ve read in the past. The result was somewhere between ‘intimacy-deprived only child soliloquy‘ and ‘anxiety fueled mommy issues‘. Though Combray left with me with more […] read full post >>

Reading Proust’s “Combray” was such a delightful experience, especially thanks to his wonderful use of descriptive language. One line that quite amazed me was this: “[…] she derived from this very constraint one more delicate thought, like good poets forced by the tyranny of rhyme to find their most beautiful lines […]” (24). The simile […] read full post >>

After our conversations about our attitudes towards reading in class on Thursday, I was definitely more intentional and considerate about my reading patterns and behavior while I read Combray. In my contemplative state during my reading, I actually picked up on synchronicity between the conversations we had in class and the author’s attitudes towards reading […] read full post >>

Before I relate to the text, I would like to admire the lofty imagery that we are left with when reading Proust’s Combray. It is almost like a string of thoughts that we are bombarded with and is an open ground for feeling many of the emotions and the experiences that the author himself has […] read full post >>

  This first section of Michael Proust’s Combray is to me a tangled web of meaning and tangential breaks that feels as disconnected and warped as the narrator feels when dealing with sleep. First things first that was a lot … Continue reading → read full post >>

Hello everyone! My name is Abi Franceschetti and I am one of the many students in Rmst202. I think it is sort of cool that the course is structured like this where we write blog posts in a setting like this compared to canvas and all, so that will be exciting! Im a first year […] read full post >>

Marcel Proust’s Combray utilizes elegant and complex language to introduce the memory of the narrator. Although the work seems to be an autobiographical reflection on Proust’s own life, its classification is closer to that of a semi-autobiography in my opinion, as the descriptions used by him are associated with an extremely significant amount of details. […] read full post >>