Personally, I liked this text better than the one last week. I found it refreshing. I do not know quite…
Posted in Aragon, Blogs | Tagged with Aragon Paris Peasant, Peasant, Reading Two
Compared to Marcel Proust’s Combray, I had a much more enjoyable time this week reading Paris Peasant by Louis Aragon. Nevertheless, the unique structure of the text did take some time to get used to. Even at first glance, the physical copy of the book is oddly shaped compared to other novels. Instead of conforming […]
Before reading “Paris Peasant” by Louis Aragon, I was a little cautious yet intrigued with what a “novel-that-was-not-a-novel” could mean. After the previous week, I knew for certain this collection of literature was not something I was used to, so diving into this text, I wasn’t sure what to expect (or not expect). Honestly, like … Continue reading Week 3: Aragon’s “Paris Peasant” →
Reading Aragon’s Paris Peasant felt like a brain workout at one hand, and an imaginary escape at another. With a conventional bias, I struggled to find the “plot” of the story, like many of my peers reading this book. I constantly searched for a plot; however, in the process of doing so, I realized that […]
Before reading Paris Peasant, I learned that this novel is more of a “novel-that-was-not-a-novel”, which was an idea I found quite interesting as I had never read a novel like this. Therefore, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this novel. As I read the novel, I felt pretty lost, as what was happening […]
This week’s book really threw me for a loop. Throughout the story, I was trying to question what I was reading in hopes of understanding the story, and the meaning behind it all, but most times my thoughts came up blank. My understanding was that Argon’s goal was to emphasise the idea of surrealism, …
This reading had me reading with caution based off the fact that it was in evidently written off well-developed, personally-deep opinions and ideas. Majority of the book is written in often disorienting surrealism and although there is some imagery I would not characterize it as vivid. Surroundings of the specific Arcade, or mini-mall, are described […]
This week I was challenged with the novel Paris Peasant by Louis Aragon. Although I found myself struggling to find a plot, the key themes and meanings behind the text stood out to me and I think I was able … Continue reading →
Posted in Aragon, Blogs | Tagged with modernism, society, Surrealism
Louis Aragon’s Paris Peasant is a very interesting text. It does not depend on a plot to tell a story, as it is a confusing retelling of events. It reminds me in ways of the last book we read. There was not much told and it was told almost as if it were thoughts. Once again, it felt like there was a lot of description for very little content, which is not a bad thing. It makes the reader think more thoughtfully in an attempt to grasp the greater meaning of the text.
Paris Peasant is a very important piece of literature to surrealism as it depends on the reader being able to use their imagination. Aragon relies heavily on description to invoke feelings within the reader. He is able to relate to a wide audience range by using everyday experiences. He explores the underbelly of Paris in a very thoughtful way. “The trouble is that you fail to appreciate the limitless strength of the unreal. Your imagination, my dear fellow, is worth more than you imagine.” (page 61) This quotation stuck out to me as I feel it described one of the major themes of the text. It encapsulates the goal of the surrealism movement as imaginary and avant-garde. I also just found this quotation very thought provoking as it makes one wonder, if imagination was not scorned through adulthood, would there be a difference in the world? Throughout the reading, you can tell that the author truly believed in the importance of surrealism and its contribution to the literary world.
The author uses personification for various objects and themes. This creates a more vivid image in the minds of readers. It makes the reading more enjoyable as you feel you are imagining exactly what the author intended.
A major theme I found troubling in this reading was the depiction and objectification of women. He gets lost on tangents discussing women’s hair, eyes and bodies. My greatest issue with old literature is how women are depicted in the minds of the authors or narrators. It is an obvious answer to my question, but why has there always been a fixation on the appearances of women in literature? So often the quality of a woman is dependent on the way she presents herself. It has always saddened me that male authors present women in an objectified context. Aragon relies on the old ‘ideal’ woman as submissive and shy, waiting to be pursued. Has the idea of a woman needing to be pursued continued on and negatively affected the way that our generations understand dating?
Louis Aragon’s Paris Peasant is a very interesting text. It does not depend on a plot to tell a story, as it is a confusing retelling of events. It reminds me in ways of the last book we read. There was not much told and it was told almost as if it were thoughts. Once again, it felt like there was a lot of description for very little content, which is not a bad thing. It makes the reader think more thoughtfully in an attempt to grasp the greater meaning of the text.
Paris Peasant is a very important piece of literature to surrealism as it depends on the reader being able to use their imagination. Aragon relies heavily on description to invoke feelings within the reader. He is able to relate to a wide audience range by using everyday experiences. He explores the underbelly of Paris in a very thoughtful way. “The trouble is that you fail to appreciate the limitless strength of the unreal. Your imagination, my dear fellow, is worth more than you imagine.” (page 61) This quotation stuck out to me as I feel it described one of the major themes of the text. It encapsulates the goal of the surrealism movement as imaginary and avant-garde. I also just found this quotation very thought provoking as it makes one wonder, if imagination was not scorned through adulthood, would there be a difference in the world? Throughout the reading, you can tell that the author truly believed in the importance of surrealism and its contribution to the literary world.
The author uses personification for various objects and themes. This creates a more vivid image in the minds of readers. It makes the reading more enjoyable as you feel you are imagining exactly what the author intended.
A major theme I found troubling in this reading was the depiction and objectification of women. He gets lost on tangents discussing women’s hair, eyes and bodies. My greatest issue with old literature is how women are depicted in the minds of the authors or narrators. It is an obvious answer to my question, but why has there always been a fixation on the appearances of women in literature? So often the quality of a woman is dependent on the way she presents herself. It has always saddened me that male authors present women in an objectified context. Aragon relies on the old ‘ideal’ woman as submissive and shy, waiting to be pursued. Has the idea of a woman needing to be pursued continued on and negatively affected the way that our generations understand dating?
