The Definition Of The Concepts Of Time English Literature Essay

The Definition Of The Concepts Of Time face Literature EssayTranscending Temporality Escaping the Shackles of adept-dimensional Time. The concept of sentence is one which eludes the affiliationard dictionary definition that etymologists so simply thrust upon the more concrete words that compose the English language. Perhaps beat defies the world power to be defined as a result of its ubiquitous nature military personnels find judgment of conviction to be so ordinary that it calculates virtuosoless to seek out a regularity with which to describe it. Perhaps it evades an explanation because hostel is so specifyd on its flight rather than its existence. Or perhaps it give nonicenot be defined because it is merely a figment of the human imagination a method of mental metre to maintain sanity. Over the course of literatures development, m all have strived to craft a allegory that serves as an accurate portrayal of the human engender of beat. As the modernist literary movement began, this concern evokeed towards the forefront, and one author emerged who artfully fashion a novel that moved beyond the simplicity of plot and preferably delved into the depths of the human subconscious. Through her creation of To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf produces an avant-garde illustration of the expression in which humans undergo the passage of magazine in order to comment societys fascination and fixation with the future(a). passim her novel, Woolf collapses the steady progression of linear era and instead utilizes an interplay between the historical and coeval dimensions of time to more accurately usher the way in which humans truly feature generation progression. In the late 1980s, a historian by the name of Dominick LaCapra revolutionized the way in which scholars view time. Essentially, The LaCaprian theory of time theorizes time to be a multidimensional phenomenon composed of a structure consisting of both a flat and a vertical plane. This horizontal plane is representative of what LaCapra calls historical time, or the passing and progression of both hackneyed and significant events, while the vertical plane, which represents synchronic time, concerns itself with the passing of time when one fixates upon the thin details of every splitn event (LaCapra 138). Virginia Woolf, in To the Lighthouse, transcends the simplicity and monotony of diachronic time and interpolates passages that are written from a synchronic perspective, thus increasing the complexness of her work and allowing her to break free from the constraints caused by a plot establish solely on linear time. If Woolf were to write exclusively in the diachronic plane, her depiction of everyday intent would not be nearly as profound as synchronic descriptions allow it to be (Gemmill 2). Her synchronic passages give her the ability to convey the details of manifestly simple events that hold deeper typic implication. However, it is Woolfs ability to seaml essly transition between diachronic and synchronic descriptions that causes her portrayal of time to be so truthful to the human experience in any given period, one event whitethorn seem to fly by quickly while one may notice every minute detail of another. This interchange is facilitated through a use of menstruum of ken narration.By utilizing a flowing of consciousness format of narration, Woolf facilitates the ability to advantageously down the apparent progression of time in order to synchronically play up the significance of certain indorsements or memories. As the modernist literary movement reached its peak, a narrative technique known as stream of consciousness became progressively popular. Stream of consciousness narration allows for insight into the thoughts of a character, presenting them to the reader in the exact method in which an individual would process them. For example, the vivid physique painted by Woolf as James is sitting on the blast cutting out dep icts from the illustrated catalogue of the Army and Navy stores, endowed the picture of a refrigerator, as his mother speaks (Woolf 12) demonstrates James processing of all that is occurring about him, offering insight into his thoughts. fleck James actions in this moment seem unremarkable, stream of consciousness narration helps to focus on an infinitesimal moment in time and elaborate upon it, a technique which Woolf calls upon practically. In essence, Woolf utilizes stream of consciousness narration to enhance the impact of synchronic moments by gain ground lengthening the description of each portion of a moment, much in the way that a specific moment in the human experience can be drawn out by the mind. As Albert maven once said, When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours-thats relativity. Woolfs use of stream of consciousness allows her audience to experience the progression of time in the same modality as her characters-as they fixate on a moment, so does the audience. The significance of this effect and of Woolfs use of stream of consciousness lies in her choice of when to employ it-she delves into the synchronic dimension of seemingly insignificant moments, focusing on the colorizes and auras (Stewart 3) of everyday living. Through this method, Woolf captures an true(p) recreation of the human experience, henceforth increasing the validity of her criticism of it.In stark contrast with her ability to extend a nanosecond on the synchronic plane, Woolfs use of brackets creates a harsh and unexpected severity and hastiness end-to-end the second portion of the novel that serves to illuminate societys desensitization to the significance of the moment. Throughout part two of the novel, Time Passes, the harsh typographical appearance of the incidental marks used by Woolf themselves (Gemmill 3) emphasizes the abrupt nature of Woolfs return to a diachron ic description of a linear progression of events. Woolfs return to a dry, delaying portrayal of events deep down these brackets signals a choice to return to linear time as she states that Prue Ramsay died that summer ( Woolf 132) and Mr. Carmichael, who was reading Virgil, blew out his candle (Woolf 127) highlights a strike syntactical pattern. It is evident that the events depicted within Woolfs brackets reflect simplicity within both their syntax and diction, causing them to be portrayed as commonplace even in cases when they are rather tragic. Each set of parentheses contains one or more brief, telegraphic sentences written with simplistic diction and a blatant lack of detail, understating the significance of the event contained within and signaling a shift to a more omniscient perspective (Sang 3). A shift from the personable, relatable stream of consciousness style to this newfound omniscience stems from Woolfs desire to highlight how desensitized society has become to eve nts such as death. To focus upon the synchronic dimension of time is to be personal, dramatic, to embody the carpe diem ideals of seizing each moment. Hence, Woolfs regression to diachronic depictions signals a step away from this ideal, and mirrors modern societys lack of concern with the significance of the moment. While it may be argued that Woolfs use of juxtaposition in terms of color is the virtually essential tool in the conveyance of her views regarding society (McCarthy 1), it is this ability to delve into and then fall away from a synchronic question of time that truly buttresses her disdain for humanitys choices. By using a entirely diachronic attempt towards the description of death, Woolf downplays its significance to suggest that an individuals priorities are go against placed in a concern with life rather than its impend end.As Woolfs characters struggle with the understanding of lifes ephemerality, many of them grasp for some sense of permanence as they preoccup y themselves with the future and whether or not they testamenting be remembered, paralleling that which Woolf believes is currently occurring in society. Mr. Ramsay fears that his work will be easily forgotten as a result of virulentity and the brevity of human life, so he seeks out some sort of permanence in the intellectual sphere which he hopes will cause his memory to stand the test of time. His attempts to make a lasting philosophical contribution demonstrate Woolfs views regarding the human involve for individuality and competitive success. Essentially, the alacrity of Mr. Ramsays frantic attempts at rising above the relaxation method of society allows insight into Woolfs distaste with the need in todays society to focus on future personal exertion rather than happiness in the present. When Mrs. Ramsay dies, causing Mr. Ramsay to lose touch with the order of the sensual world (Doyle 9), his attempts become scarcer, and his feelings of worthlessness reflect Woolfs view t hat humans rear end their sense of self-worth upon their permanence. This fixation with that which will come in the future is equivalently visible in the character of Lily Briscoe. Lily dreads the fact that one day her paintings will be thrown into the attic and never again seen by the rest of society, leading to a fear of lifes ephemerality reminiscent of Mr. Ramsays. Whereas Ramsay searches for permanence in the intellectual world, Lily turns to her artwork for comfort. Her paintings act as methods of synchronically capturing events in diachronic time, exhibiting the duality between the two dimensions of time and leading to insight as to Woolfs intent. Lilys paintings existence forgotten parallels society forgetting the significance of that which has occurred and is occurring as a result of a preoccupation with the future and that which is to come. The colors included within Lilys paintings are ones which often are associated with cheerfulness or happiness (Stewart 2), symbol ically indicating that Woolf believes humanity is forgetting the bliss that is connected with living life. In addition, Woolf includes many aspects of her life into the novel, and it is often argued that Lily may be a representation of Woolf herself, signaling that Woolf has undergone an inner struggle similar to this one (Brivic 9). Woolfs personal connection to this issue may serve as an explanation as to why she wishes for her knowledge to take on a didactic tone regarding a carpe diem mentality.Finally, during the denouement of the novel, Lily Briscoe comes to terms with the fact that her life is ephemeral and that time will progress afterward she is gone, further demonstrating Woolfs views regarding societys fixing with permanence. Lilys ability to last-placely fulfill her artistic vision comes completely after letting go of her need for permanence as she lays down her brush in extreme fatigue (Woolf 209) in the last line of the novel. This final portion of the novel is w ritten in an extremely synchronic manner as Woolf painstakingly drags out every last moment of the plot, capturing the significance of each and every detail and underscoring the significance an instant of time can have. This is done in order to mirror the human experience of self-actualization as Lily reaches a sense of closure, further validating Woolfs portrayal of time. Because this closure comes only once Lily has accepted the inevitableness of the ephemerality and transience of a mortal life, it is indisputable that Woolfs aim is to didactically demonstrate the downfalls of an obsession with the future and a refusal to accept the temporary nature of ones time on earth. This conclusion to the novel reinforces the significance of this fascination-fundamentally, Woolf posits that without recognizing the aspects of life that are truly important, humanity will not be able to reach the same self-actualization that Lily is able to accomplish. Woolf essentially wishes to curve her aud ience that embracing the synchronic dimension of time (Gemmill 5) and leading a life focused on the present rather than the future is the most meaningful manner in which to spend a lifetime.By meticulously illustrating the human experience of relativity and the progression of time through the approach of a two-dimensional interplay, Virginia Woolf is able to point out a tonality fault in modern society. Her emphasis on societys fixation with the future and straying from a carpe diem lifestyle illuminates a potentially dangerous peculiarity of that which humanity is becoming. Essentially, To the Lighthouse reveals that societys path towards living without being able to revalue the significance and importance of each and every moment in time is one which will ultimately lead to its downfall if not reversed.