The Role of Transformation in Three Literary Works
Summary:
Three examples in literature in how the physical environment can affect the inner self, triggering a person's imaginative journey.
A journey can be defined as a course of travel from one place to another. However, during a journey, some sort of transformation is always obtained. This alteration can be spiritual, corporal and even psychological. I'll be exploring the ways particular texts convey this notion.
Peter Skrzynecki's poem "Post Card" traces his inner growth as a result of a post card sent from Warsaw. Although he has never been to Warsaw this poem illustrates the power of physicality over the inner self. For instance in the second stanza the town is personified, "Warsaw, Old Town, I never knew you." This shows the city's demand for recognition and worship. It too, becomes a point of realization because the town is no longer something distant. The tone in this stanza also becomes more reflective as he starts to refer to it directly. Patriotic images are used in the third stanza "And drink to freedom under the White Eagle's flag" symbolising liberty. Conflict is raised when the persona tries to overlook a heritage pull. Stanza four ends with a rhetorical question "What more do you want besides the gift of despair"" This suggests the city wants more from him than he can give. The question is left unanswered because he ignores his obligation. However, his insularity is brought to an end when he confronts the inevitable, "A lone tree whispers: 'we will meet before you die'." This reinforces the power of his cultural heritage.
Likewise, Shirley Geok-Lin Lim's "The Town Where Time Stands Still" implies spiritual journeys and transformations can accompany physical ones. The idea that people take on physical journeys have other motives besides profit and pleasure is illuminated with the use of a metaphor, "threaded their baser motives of profit and pleasure." Lim describes the real motive behind traveling as "the search for the genii loci" or the ultimate level of mental ability. This impression is also demonstrated through the use of play on words, "people hope to be moved rather than to move." A simile is used to describe the power physical surroundings have to evoke inner journeys: "act on their internal psychology like an irresistible force."
Correspondingly, the same idea is portrayed in Gillian Armstrong's "Little Women." The film follows Jo's progression towards maturity. Jo who is naive and believes she'll never marry, dreams of being a great writer one day. When she travels to New York long shots are used on her arrival to show the busyness and vastness of the city. She meets a professor who acts as her mentor. When Jo returns home and he comes to visit her, long shots are used on his departure down a road and as Jo is running towards him. As they come together a medium shot is used to emphasise their unity. Uniting on the road symbolises the long journey they have ahead of them as well as the road behind them representing Jo's past.
Using various techniques and mediums, composers shape their interpretations. Peter Skrzynecki, Shirley Geok-Lin Lim and Gillian Armstrong have created their own accounts using their personal experiences as an influence. Through their works, it is clear that the alterations acquired would not have occurred if a bodily journey was not undertaken.
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