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Essay / A review of Virginia Woolf's book, to The Lighthouse
Focus and the use of indirect interior monologue are used in the novel To The Lighthouse to explain the general theme that humans are complex and complex individuals. often have more to respond to their wants and desires. motivations, than what may appear at first glance. By using internal focus, Woolf allows readers to understand this theme because she allows the story to be told through many different lenses and perspectives. In the novel To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf uses internal focalization and indirect internal monologue to express each character's innate desires and, in doing so, elucidate the theme that humans and their relationships with each other are more complex than what exists on the ground. superficial level. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay On the surface, many characters have relationships whose dynamics are commonly known. For example, Mrs. Ramsay plays the role of a mother figure throughout the novel, and the common assumption about mother figures is that they hold a family together. This is evident several times throughout the novel, such as each time Mrs. Ramsay expressed anger toward her husband for destroying James' dream of going to the lighthouse (5). Or all the times Mrs. Ramsay insisted that “people should get married; people should have children” (50). On a superficial level, Mrs. Ramsay appears to be very family oriented. However, what is special about To The Lighthouse is that readers are able to understand why Mrs. Ramsay is the way she is and, through this, understand that there is more to Mrs. Ramsay that meets the eye. When the main focus becomes that of Mrs. Ramsay, the reader is opened to a window that allows them to see her role more deeply and understand her emotions and wishes. One of these emotions that Mrs. Ramsay feels is fear. Mrs. Ramsay's fear is "the destruction of the island and its engulfment in the sea" (14) and the fact that life is as "fleeting as a rainbow." This speech is an indirect internal monologue of Ms. Ramsay, in which she reflects deeply on life and death and what constitutes a fulfilling life. Through this, the reader can see that Mrs. Ramsay's obsession with marriage comes from the fact that she believes that life is short and that to have a fulfilling life in such a short time, one must get married and have children. The reader recognizes that Mrs. Ramsay is no more than just a woman obsessed with getting her children married, but rather that Mrs. Ramsay believed that “marriage…was essential” (50). In other novels such as Pride and Prejudice, the focus never really changes, so readers are not given the opportunity to understand the purpose behind the actions of the characters, for example Mrs. Bennet, who, like Mrs. Ramsay, is obsessed with the idea of marriage. Because of this lack of discussion of motivations, those like Ms. Bennet are only what meets the eye, while Ms. Ramsay appears to have more to her desires and intentions than what exists in direct dialogue. This allows Woolf to explain her theme that there is more to humans than meets the eye. Additionally, Mrs. Ramsay's role as a mother is also explained through her thoughts. Several times throughout the novel she expresses the protective nature of James in particular, but of all her children in general. From the outside, Mrs. Ramsay appears to be just a mother, but in her thoughts she repeats, “I keep you, your support” (14). As the reader is led to read the thoughts of Mrs.Ramsay, he can understand the type of relationship Mrs. Ramsay shares with her children. A relationship where she is their guardian. This helps recognize that Mrs. Ramsay is more than just a mother, but rather sees herself as someone who must protect her children. This helps develop Mrs. Ramsay as a character and explains the types of wishes she has and why she has them. The focus not only helps grasp each character's goals, but it also helps recognize the complexity of relationships human. For example, without changing the point of view between the characters, one would simply believe that the relationship shared between James and Mr. Ramsay is like any other strained relationship between son and father. However, because Woolf uses focalization to explain the thoughts of James and Mr. Ramsay, the reader is fully able to perceive the extent of the hatred that exists between them and the reasons behind it. The novel moves from less superficial to something more profound and advanced. For example, at the beginning of the novel, James expresses his hatred towards his father and also expresses that he believes his mother was much better than his father (4). However, in a novel that is not written like To The Lighthouse, unless the book is told from James' point of view, one would not be able to get a full insight into James' anger. Since Virginia Woolf allows entry into James's mind, readers can feel "the extreme emotions which Mr. Ramsay aroused in the breasts of his children" (4). Additionally, through a change in focus, Mr. Ramsey's motivations become clearer. When Mr. Ramsay tells James that he cannot go to the lighthouse and the focus turns to Mr. Ramsay, he says that he had "not only...the pleasure of disillusioning his son and ridiculing his woman… but also. ..a secret vanity as to his own accuracy of judgment” (5). With this change, Mr. Ramsay's personality is highlighted more. Mr. Ramsay now goes from being a simple “father who always says no” to a father who sought to have some sort of power over his family and was “happy” to have that power. Through this, readers are able to gain full insight into the deep ongoing conflict between Mr. Ramsay and James, stemming from James' need to go to the lighthouse and Mr. Ramsay's need to be in control of it. Due to the internal focus, the reader can now see that James absolutely hates Mr. Ramsay due to Mr. Ramsay's need to exert control over others. The perspective then shifts to Mrs. Ramsay who, as a protective mother, despises Mr. Ramsay for having that kind of power, but settles on the fact that Mr. Ramsay was always right, and when he believed he could not not go to the lighthouse. , then that would be the fact. Without Virginia Woolf's use of internal focus to express the thoughts of individual characters, readers would not be able to understand that there is more to the relationship between James and Mr. Ramsay or Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay than what we see. The focus also helps provide a perspective of different characters based on the opinions of other characters. For example, at the end of the novel, for a brief moment, Cam becomes the main lens through which the story is told, and through this readers can better see the relationship between James and Mr. Ramsay. Cam says, “There you go!… You finally have it. Because she knew that's what James wanted... he understood it, he was so happy that he didn't look at her, or her father, or anyone else" (202), when Mr. Ramsay congratulates James on his work in sailing. James reacted coolly, but with a hint of surprise. Without focus, we wouldn't be able to know why James reacts the way he does. However, as the..