Literary Analysis 1

Literary Analysis 1

“The Voyage Out” by: Virginia Woolf

1.     Rachel who’s greatest adventure in
life is going down town to look at her future purchase goes on a ship that
hauls her down from London to South America. The waters bring change and self-discovery
on a boat that has more character then most of the passengers. After touching
the edges of the cabin mates some characters mainly Rachel come the conclusion
that the world though vast and intricate so are the personal worlds of every
person, but when you break those worlds down to just what is immediately happening
they become closed off and stale. Upon reaching this anonymous South American village
most of these actions are put into mundane little voyages out of the ship such
as shopping at the closest store to find small trinkets or gawk at the locals. All
while this is going on Rachel falls in love with a likeminded individual named
Terrence. After finally reconfirming that thy do in fact love each other and
want to create their own little expanse with one another, Rachel falls ill and
dies of a fever with her last deliberate actions being directed towards
Terrence and trying to solidify their love for one another. Once the news of Rachel’s
passing makes its way back to London the other characters reflect on what life
means to them, what’s next, and how a death could possibly hold light.

2.     Voyages both grand and mundane told
from the perspective of a curious girl, a boy looking for love, and anyone from
a misogynist to the wealthy carefree aunt. Every person’s head is their own
little universe and when they collide with others it either creates a new
entity entirely or becomes something toxic. This is the theme of the novel
discovery whether in oneself or discovering what other heads hold through the
voyages we have.

3.     Empathy in ones trials when in the
process of self-discovery.

“I feel so intensely the delights of shutting oneself up in a
little world of one’s own, with pictures and music and everything beautiful.”

      The Author also
expresses her distaste for violence by using another character as her voice.

“It is impossible for human beings constituted as they are
both to fight and to have ideals.”

      The author feels
that varying perspectives can change how others view us and has a reflective
tone towards discovery.

“To feel anything strongly was to create an abyss between
oneself and others who feel strongly perhaps but differently.”

4.     “the river which had a certain amount
of troubled yellow light…” pg.3

Woolf uses synesthesia in this quote to better illustrate
what she is describing, and also to create a connection between the senses in
this case sight and feeling.

            “Hewet
contemplated the angular young man…” pg.66

To describe someone as angular not only gives the reader
interesting visuals but also alludes to the personality of the person being
described.

            “What solitary
icebergs we are, Miss Vinrace! How little we can communicate!” pg.45

Using metaphor to show that people, much like icebergs only
show a fraction of what they ate before they melt, sink, or fuse to another
iceberg.

            “There’s an
abyss between us,…” pg.133

This metaphor was another way for Hirst to try and communicate
and say that he felt he was too complex of a person because he was a guy and
that women have it easier because in his mind they are simpler.

            “Finally,
Hirst’s odious words flickered his mind like a whip,…” pg.158

This is a simile used to describe his sudden realization. Woolf
will always use metaphor but when she uses similes it is usually used to describe
something that is happening rapidly so the reader doesn’t get confused and have
to think about what she is trying to express.

            “…the
evening was unusually dull, the women unusually badly dressed, the men unusually
fatuous.”pg.112

Repetition is used to better describe the mood of the party
and the event unfolding before the characters.

Characterization

            1.When Rachel
describes her aunt she tells Hewet that they are little frail and clean old ladies
who usually spend their time shopping this is direct characterization and is
used so that Rachel can express what she thinks about the people she lives with
out loud, and to paint a better picture of what her aunts are like to live
with.

            When Rachel
was being described in the beginning of the novel by the author she is
described as musical. This trait is also the reason why in school she was
allowed to learn nothing but music. Direct characterization was used by the
author to show what Rachel had a talent for rather than just folding clothes
and sheets.

            Rachel is
subjected to indirect characterization through her actions with Terence when
they still doubt each other’s love for one another, she becomes withdrawn and
shy not knowing what to do and letting fear take over her actions.

            Hewet acted
vey childish and stubborn when his prejudices were put under scrutiny by many
of the characters throughout the duration of the novel showing how he was
conditioned to believe that because he was a man and his opinion was always
justified and valid

            Authors such
as Woolf use direct characterization as a way for the characters to acknowledge
something about another character, or it is used for traits that are not so
obvious and need to be explicitly stated or else the reader may pass over them.

            Indirect
characterization is used in instances where a character trait is so obvious
that it requires no further mention and the reader can reach the same
conclusion as the author through inference alone.

            2. Throughout
the novel the author usually keeps the same syntax and diction and I think she
does this either for her own personal writing preferences of so that the reader
feels that all the characters share a common ground when they speak or think.

            3. The protagonist
Rachel is a complex and dynamic character, halfway through the novel many of Rachel’s
beliefs about what life is about and how others act have changed. Rachel goes through
an internal metamorphosis and becomes more and more of the person she dreamt of
becoming with each chapter and experience that passes. She is a sensitive and
gentle individual that can also hold her ground and fight back when need be.
She acts illusive and timid when dealing with most of the characters for the
first time but later becomes open and unafraid. Rachel is a complex character
thrown in a simple world with simple dogmatic values.

            4. If I felt
like I met any character it would be Rachel, due to the constant insights into Rachel’s
thoughts and feelings her reactions and vibrancy as a person.  “She looked at him and smiled, but soon a
slight look of fatigue or perplexity came into her eyes and she shut them
again.” In this passage Rachel is clinging to life and is only having small
fits of consciousness but she uses those to communicate to her love happiness.