Arcadia - Connections to other Works

The connection between Arcadia and Sherlock Holmes is that both masterpieces make the reader think. I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. What I admire about Sherlock Holmes is that the book gives readers subtle but noticable clues which help the reader deduct the mystery before it is actually solved. In Arcadia, we are given subtle hints which help us identify Septimus as the HERMIT. Combine that with the amazing tear-dropping tragedy which befalls Thomasina and indirectly causes Septimus to fulfill his role as the Hermit... the thought of knowing what's about to happen after Thomasina's 17th birthday but not knowing how it's going to happen and how it will affect Septimus. The play is just amazing!

In Scene three, when Septimus and Thomasina are talking about equations of things, Septimus says that "He (God) has mastery of equations which lead into infinities where we cannot follow." This reminds me of Blake's poem "Tyger" and how he wonders if God could make two creatures that were so different from each other. The two just seemed to be related as they both make God out to be one who creates dynamic things that we can't comprehend.

 I actually really like this connection, and after Mr. Scotese mentioned the movie in class I felt like I needed to say it. If you are unfamiliar with the notebook, it is about a Guy reading a story to a woman. It flashes in between the present and the past, but that isn't the only connection. We, as we watch the present, unravel more and more clues that illuminate the past's story until the ending when we know exactly what happened where. While this work is obviously not as good as Arcadia, the connecton should be made. 

  After today's reading, Thomasina's theory of the world being a mathematical equation really related to Grendel and what the dragon said his purpose of life was.  In math "y"  and "x" will always have that set value for an equation. Likewise, Thomasina sees the world as if it is fate. In Grendel, the dragon tells him that his purpose in life was to be the evil being that mankind will better themselves from. So, in a sense the dragon is saying that fate chose him to be who he is. I found all of this to really detract from the Romantic Age, because this age is more about spontanity and not on fate.

After the second day of te play, I thought this play made numerous connections to The  French Lieutenant's Woman. The first relation that came up to me was obviously the period of history that both the play and the novel focused on. Because there were characters living in the Victorian Age in both works, the mood of the story was the same. The atmosphere of the work reminded me of the industrial revolution's factories pumping out hot gas out of its smokestacks to foul the clean air. Also, in Arcadia, we can see intellect and love together.

There are people who Stoppard intended for us to believe as smart such as Thomasina and Chloe. Within these characters there is also a growing passion of love for the people around them. This passion for love will only interfere with their minds and their studies. This relates to FLW a lot because in that novel we saw a struggle between the mind and the heart. Charles Smithson tried to resist loving Sarah because he should have loved Ernestina but since love cannot be retionalized, Charles was led to Sarah.

The concept of noise was introduced in both eras and it mainly obscured people from being able to decipher solutions. Is it possible to extend this to more than just things we seek? What i mean is that there isn't just noise when we're trying to understand, there is always noise and that sometimes leads to ignorance unintentionally because we are unaware that it's there. For example, in Grendel there was always such a hate for how humans and animals behave. I vividly remember him continuously throwing a rock at a ram because he did not agree with its behavior but it's possible that he was wrong. Although he didn't bother to understand the noise was present. There was distortion in what Grendel believed benefited the ram and what the ram believed was best for it. The same attitude was seen throughout the book but while reading it we got a new understanding of him aside from the previous perception from Beowulf. But that's exactly what I mean, there's always noise. There was noise that did not let the townspeople see Grendel as we did and there was probably noise that did not let Grendel see the ram accurately. In the end the noise distorts our perspective and perception and impedes any full understanding from developing in both Arcadia among equations, everyone's personal theories, and affairs and in Grendel with his interactions with others.

In scene 4 Valentine was denying Thomasina's genius because he couldn't accept that she had been ahead of her time. In my opinion, he was so against acknowledging anything because of his failure with his own theories. He automatically had the defeated mentality that if he could not do it then it was impossible for her to have been able to centuries ago which makes perfect sense and struck a familiar chord. While reading the French Lieutenant's Woman Charles set high standards for him because they were accepted of him and so it was specifically only for gentleman to be able to be have a pastime in his case be a "scientist" and to prevent any failures. Similarly Valentine makes being able to do iterated math a thing that could only be done by modern, educated people could do and by doing that he sets the standard of completing his data higher therefore, such as Charles had done before, justifies not being successful yet and elevates his task to what is accepted from a mathematician with a PhD.

Even though everyone has been commenting on the stirring of the pudding and how things cannot be undone, I have to say that that is really true to everyone. The way people live reflects the idea and sometimes the "pudding" stirred can be regretful and some can be a spark to a person's life. Sometimes we even thinking adding and adding will make everything better, but really it just makes things worst. When Viola was not open to Wessex about her feelings for him, she ended up regretting marrying him. Even though the queen separated, that wasn't the right way to handle it. It just reminds me of how we should know the things we should say and do, and when to say and do them. Just like how we should know the right amount of pudding and the time to stir. Some things can't be fixed.

I think one of the many the connections between Arcadia and Grendel is the chaos theory. Maybe the reason we can't take the cream out of the coffee or unstir the puidding is because it was predestined to be that way. Everything is going to happen the way it's supposed to one way or another so the cream will always have to be mixed in with the coffee. Those two will have to coexist with each other because it was meant to be that way.

Its also similar to the way people think they have soul mates. Soul mates are two people whos souls were once one before birth and by being born that one soul was torn apart into two people. These people will live their lives trying to find each other to make that soul one again. The coffee is mixed with the cream and creates something different but still the same. This is just like the two people finding each other. It is all presdestined to happen.

 In Scene 6 Hannah says that nothing really matters and that instead everything is trivial. She believes that what matters is the fact that you're trying for it because that is more important than actually achieving something. This idea reminds me of the song "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. In that song she says "I can almost see it

That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

This idea (of trying for something and having that attempt be the thing to be proud of) is reflected in the song. Also it's similar to the Wordsworth idea found in one of his poems saying that your goals have to be beyond reach otherwise you won't have to try for them.

This is the second time we have encountered a hermit in class. In the Ancient Mariner the hermit is the one who saves the Mariner before his ship sinks. He saves the Mariners soul also even though he must walk the world and tell his story. The hermit of Sidley PArk lives in a hermitage (solitude) and writes. Tens od thousands of papers were found in the hermitage. They both were symbols of a lot of knowledge.

reading arcadia reminds me of the once and future king. even though the two books are quite distinct the one big connection they have in common is the mixing of fiction and nonfiction events to make the plays books more credible. the authors by throwing in facts and events that the reader knows are capable of pccuring than that adds more credibility to the book overall. this is a really neat technique becouse it allures the reader and keeps us engaged.