Re-creating Visions of Childhood in Livelys Oleander, Jacaranda :: Oleander Jacaranda

Re-creating Visions of Childhood in Lively's 'Oleander, Jacaranda'  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Penelope Lively's 'Oleander, Jacaranda' is a novella that incorporates three large, complex issues. Lively describes aspects of her childhood, discusses the philosophy behind these 'frozen moments' as she tells of the incidents she recollects and gives a thorough portrayal of Egypt in the nineteen thirties and forties. Lively uses a number of different techniques and language skills in this rather complicated novel. I will discuss the way she attempts to achieve this and will summarize with my personal opinion as to whether or not I think she succeeds. The author writes about the 'brilliant frozen moments' that are the static images from her childhood that are lodged firmly in her' head. I think the statement she makes regarding these 'moments' in that they are 'distorted by the wisdom's of maturity' is an accurate point to make. The images are presented in the present tense giving the feeling of realism to her childhood perceptions. I think Lively demonstrates her passion for these memories in the language she uses to describe them. The images are not always pleasant ones. For example, she writes about her fear of the animals that she doesn't understand: 'The stuffed form of a Nile catfish of great size' leaves her 'shuddering'. Her fear of the ferocious creatures that inhabit the environment she lives in are brought alive by her vivid descriptions. The lion house where the animals 'slink to and fro' harbors a potent 'unmistakable' smell, which she imagines she smells at Bulaq Dakhrur.   Here she illustrates her fear by the use of clipped short sentences that are questions as she is obviously uncertain for her safety as she'belts towards the house, given wings by primeval terror'. I think it is apparent that the frozen moments have remained with clarity in her mind due to the enormous emotional content of each one. She remembers leaving Bulaq Dakhrur and discovering the kit bags of the boys who never came back. At the beginning of Chapter 4, at the young age of six, she is taken by her mother (another unpleasant event linked with her mother) to a'pre-Dynastic burial' where she views a skeleton lying in the 'foetal position'- a startling juxtaposition of life next to death. At other times, she uses sensual descriptions to emphasise a single moment- 'the blurry chintz' the 'clacking needles' all sounds and textures and smells that engulfed her in her 'filmy white tent'. Re-creating Visions of Childhood in Lively's 'Oleander, Jacaranda' :: Oleander Jacaranda Re-creating Visions of Childhood in Lively's 'Oleander, Jacaranda'  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Penelope Lively's 'Oleander, Jacaranda' is a novella that incorporates three large, complex issues. Lively describes aspects of her childhood, discusses the philosophy behind these 'frozen moments' as she tells of the incidents she recollects and gives a thorough portrayal of Egypt in the nineteen thirties and forties. Lively uses a number of different techniques and language skills in this rather complicated novel. I will discuss the way she attempts to achieve this and will summarize with my personal opinion as to whether or not I think she succeeds. The author writes about the 'brilliant frozen moments' that are the static images from her childhood that are lodged firmly in her' head. I think the statement she makes regarding these 'moments' in that they are 'distorted by the wisdom's of maturity' is an accurate point to make. The images are presented in the present tense giving the feeling of realism to her childhood perceptions. I think Lively demonstrates her passion for these memories in the language she uses to describe them. The images are not always pleasant ones. For example, she writes about her fear of the animals that she doesn't understand: 'The stuffed form of a Nile catfish of great size' leaves her 'shuddering'. Her fear of the ferocious creatures that inhabit the environment she lives in are brought alive by her vivid descriptions. The lion house where the animals 'slink to and fro' harbors a potent 'unmistakable' smell, which she imagines she smells at Bulaq Dakhrur.   Here she illustrates her fear by the use of clipped short sentences that are questions as she is obviously uncertain for her safety as she'belts towards the house, given wings by primeval terror'. I think it is apparent that the frozen moments have remained with clarity in her mind due to the enormous emotional content of each one. She remembers leaving Bulaq Dakhrur and discovering the kit bags of the boys who never came back. At the beginning of Chapter 4, at the young age of six, she is taken by her mother (another unpleasant event linked with her mother) to a'pre-Dynastic burial' where she views a skeleton lying in the 'foetal position'- a startling juxtaposition of life next to death. At other times, she uses sensual descriptions to emphasise a single moment- 'the blurry chintz' the 'clacking needles' all sounds and textures and smells that engulfed her in her 'filmy white tent'.