“You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you.”
—Sonsyrea Tate
Sonsyrea Tate’s statement suggests that “home” may be conceived of as a dwelling, a place, or a state of mind. It
may have positive or negative associations, but in either case, it may have a considerable influence on an individual.
Choose a novel or play in which a central character leaves home yet finds that home remains significant. Write a
well-developed essay in which you analyze the importance of “home” to this character and the reasons for its
continuing influence. Explain how the character’s idea of home illuminates the larger meaning of the work.
Choose a work from the list below or another appropriate novel or play of comparable literary merit. Do not merely
summarize the plot. NOTICE THAT THE GREAT GATSBY is on here and THINGS FALL APART. But you can use ANY of these works. You choose!
Absalom, Absalom!
All the Pretty Horses
Beloved
Bleak House
Candide
The Cherry Orchard
The Country of the Pointed Firs
Fences
A Free Life: A Novel
The Glass Menagerie
The God of Small Things
Going After Cacciato
The Grapes of Wrath
Great Expectations
The Great Gatsby
Home to Harlem
A House for Mr. Biswas
The House of Mirth
The House on Mango Street
The Inheritance of Loss
Invisible Man
Jane Eyre
The Little Foxes
Look Homeward, Angel
The Namesake
Never Let Me Go
The Piano Lesson
The Poisonwood Bible
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
The Road
Song of Solomon
A Streetcar Named Desire
Sula
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Things Fall Apart
Wise Blood
The Women of Brewster Place
Wuthering Heights
In The Grapes of Wrath, Tom Joad leaves home for four years and becomes arrested. When he gets out of all, he finds his way back home even though he did not talk to his family the entire time. They were not anticipating his arrival and when Tom went to go home, his home was no longer there. The Joads were kicked off of there land and went to move in with their uncle, but nobody thought to leave a note to Tom because they did not know where he was or what he was doing. He meets up with an old friend who tells him of his family's whereabouts and he is welcomed into the family soon before they leave their uncle's home for California.
ReplyDeleteThis short recap to our favorite book that we definitely did not write enough essays on explains that although Tom is the central character away from home, the entire family has to leave this place as well to seek jobs in California. Their home is no longer theirs, but even though they are robbed from it, they still bring a sense of home wherever they go.
Tate said that home wold never leave you, and this is true for the Joad family in respect of not a dwelling place, but a state of mind. Their big family obviously had to work hard together on the farm throughout their lives to set a family dependence on each other. This is why Tom returned. He got out of jail and probably needed a lot of help, so he went to get it from the people who helped him the most. Another example of the family dependence is the grandpa. Too stubborn to leave home(the dwelling place) to travel with the family, the mother drugged him and dragged him a long. She knew that without family, home would not be the same.
Throughout the story, Steinbeck moves this family around a lot. He emphasizes home as staying with the Joad family though because they stick together and struggle as a family. I like to think that this would be true for my own family. The things we have in our house are very nice and can bring us together as a family in a simpler way, but our relationship should be the ultimate feeling of home. Material goods should not be as much of a home as the people in it.
Grace, I like how you talked about home as the people who live together rather than material goods or a place. People are truly what makes a family. The Grapes of Wrath really exemplifies how people help each other when they have nothing left but each other. A family is built around the people within it, and they are the only thing that's important.
DeleteThe concept of home is definitely an important one in The Grapes of Wrath. The Joads are practically traveling throughout the entire novel, and I'd imagine it was hard for them to feel a sense of homeliness. However, in situations like that, it is more important than ever to keep in mind Tate's claim that "home will never leave you." I think that the Joads are a good example of a family who created a "home away from home." Each new home brought about new significant experiences for the family, and they were all there to comfort one another, and to aid in making life easier for their loved ones (with the exception of Rosasharn who just complained the whole time and Grandma and Grandpa who died). This strengthens Tate's claim by showing that the lessons the family learned about home and family life carried through even as they left their physical home.
DeleteThe novel, Things Fall Apart, illustrates the fall of a Nigerian village from being a home for many to a white mission, showing how quickly a home can be destroyed. The novel begins with the main character Okonkwo, working to build his own life and wealth in light of his father's disgrace. Okonkwo then has to kill his "adopted" son in order to seem strong among the men of the community. Okonkwo then accidentally kills a man during a ceremony, banishing him and his family to a nearby village. While he is gone, he longs for home, not fully knowing the extent of the white missionaries in his village. He finally comes out of exile and finds his home is overrun by missionaries. He also loses his son to the missionaries. Eventually, Okonkwo hangs himself which is the ultimate sign of disgrace because of the missionaries and the loss of his son.
ReplyDeleteOkwonko hangs himself because he has so much pride in himself he would rather die than live in a place with outsiders. Okonkwo has a skewed vision of home, based on his experiences with his father and his need to overcome his failures. Okonkwo allows this idea to be the deciding factor for not only himself but the entire community. Instead of stepping up as a leader, Okonkwo hangs himself out of sadness and pride.
This novel shows that home can either be an idea or the actual place of home. Okwonko's town and home were taken over, but if he would have not been so ignorant to his family and those around him he could have realized that home was the people that made up his community. Okonkwo could have drawn himself up as a prominent figure in the community and acted for the good of all instead of just foolishly acting on self pride.
With this in mind, Okonkwo's home quickly turned from a place of prosperity and safety to ruins at the hands of the missionaries. His idea of home quickly changed even though not much around him changed. He hated the idea of missionaries taking over his home, when his literal home was not affected. If Okonkwo could have looked at his home in a different fashion and acted as a leader of society the novel could have ended much differently.
Okonkwo did give up after his home as a place was taken over. He valued material goods and his reputation throughout the entire novel. If he did not look good, he did not want to be seen. He was embarrassed and had to keep his wealth. He did not find wealth in his family, though. He did not care much for his wives except for showing them off and he thought very low of his youngest son. This shows that the only home he ever cared about was the actual home in the village. Once this was taken, he had no depth in his family.
DeleteAbbey, I liked how you tied the location and idea of a home together. Often people have an idea of what a home should be and are disappointed when reality falls short. Many times this idea is tied to a place. Someone may remember their childhood home as a place of safety and happiness. When they return, it may have changed.
DeleteIn the novel The Great Gatsby, Nick is granted his longtime wish of leaving the Midwest in order to become a bond salesman. His family is reluctant to let him leave, but eventually agrees to his proposition. However, the East is not what Nick was expecting, and he eventually returns to his home. To Nick, a home is a place of morality, where others hold themselves to the same standards he himself has.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, Nick leaves the Midwest so he can get rich. He comes from a family that is well off, but not rich. This allows him to enter into the social realm that most of the novel takes place within. He was raised with a strong sense of moral justice, and told by his father not to judge others too harshly. He follows this advice to the best of his ability, but is not always able to do so. The fact that he tries is very important, and contributes to his distance from many of the other characters. His honest in regards to both himself and the story he tells also reveals his character. He tells the reader what occurred without changing the story to make people look better than they are. These details about Nick's home show how morality will influence him throughout the novel.
In the East, Nick's idea of home is tested. The people he meets and interacts with live entrenched in immorality. Tom Buchanan is having a blatant affair with a lower class woman. Gatsby is a bootlegger who came into his riches through unsightly schemes. Jordan Baker is a liar and a thief. Daisy kills a woman and shows no remorse for her actions. The corrupted lifestyles of his friends threaten to pull Nick in, and he almost succumbs. However, he is disillusioned after Gatsby's murder. This tragedy opens Nick's eyes, and he finally sees his friends for who they truly are. Tate's statement "Home will never leave you," is exemplified here. Even though he tried to fit in with his eastern friends, he was unable to because his values did not match with theirs.
Nick's idea of home exemplifies the theme of corruption throughout the novel. Fitzgerald uses The Great Gatsby as a way to comment on how social has fallen away from morality in pursuit of wealth. Nick's home represents the morality of the past, and the East represents the corruption of the present. By having Nick come to the East, Fitzgerald is able to show just how far society has fallen. Nick's moral upbringing influences his actions and thoughts about the people of New York, effectively removing the societal norm of immorality. The juxtaposition of morality and immorality is moving and applicable to the reader's own life.
I never thought about The Great Gatsby in this way, but you are completely right! Nick's home is neither a place nor family, but just genuine people in pursuit of something greater than wealth. Nick knows what is right and finally left his bond salesman life in scarification of this morality. There are so many ways to interpret Fitzgerald's themes in this novel. It is amazing!
DeleteAshley, I think that you looked at the novel in a very interesting way. Nick is so undefined in the novel, constantly searching for himself and for some idea of home that he is unable to find. As Grace said above, I think the amazing thing that draws people to this book is that it can be interpreted in so many different ways. But I think the ideas you gave here are extremely interesting.
DeleteIn Great Expectations, Pip leaves his home to go become a gentleman in London. In the beginning, he thought he was content to stay at his home and become a blacksmith. But then when he got a taste of life in London as a rich gentleman, he thinks he has it all. He does not want to go back to his previous life. But when his world collapses around him, it's the people from his home that actually help him.
ReplyDeleteThe novel begins with Pip meeting a convict in a graveyard. The convict needs help escaping his shackles, so Pip goes and gets him a file from his home so this convict can escape. Even though the convict was recaptured, he never forgot the kindness that Pip showed him. Later, Pip is living with his family, getting ready to become a blacksmith when he is told that an anonymous benefactor is sponsoring his education in London to become a gentleman. Pip has to leave his home, the only home he has ever known. He loved the people at his home, but he wants to take advantage of this opportunity.
While he is in London, he begins to change. He starts to forget about his previous home. He considers all of them to be of lower class. They are not even worth his time. So anyway, Pip is living it up and having a great time when the convict returns to reveal himself as Pip's benefactor. Pip does not even recognize him. In this way, it shows how much Pip has moved on and forgotten everything from his previous life.
The convict gets into trouble again though, and he ends up getting arrested. Because of this, all of his wealth gets confiscated by the government. This money used to be given directly to Pip, but since the government now has that money, Pip has no form of income at all. It also means he has no way to pay for his education, so he gets kicked out. The authorities are also after him for having such a large amount of debt. You would figure in Pip's time of greatest need, all of his friends from London would help him out. Turns out, they don't want to help someone who has just been booted into a lower class.
Pip now has no one to help him. He is basically desperate. He figures it couldn't hurt to try and return home. When he returns to his previous home, he is welcomed with open arms. The family pays off his debt, and he promises to pay them back. So Pip may have forgotten about his home, but his home did not forget about him
Gizzy, I really like your claim that the people who helped Pip through his hard time were not the people he encountered in his new lifestyle, but those from his hometown. It seems that so many times, this is the way things go. We leave our homes and loved ones in search of something better, not realizing that the things we wanted, we already had. Pip does feel a sense of homesickness as the story progresses, and he uses the things he learned during his life before leaving home to guide him back.
DeleteOkonkwo's home is not a place or even his loved ones. Okonkwo's idea of home is his prominent status in his village and his position of power. Okonkwo is a powerful village leader before everything falls apart with his fall from grace. It is not enough that Okonkwo is banished after he accidentally kills a boy from his village when his gun misfires. When Okonkwo returns, he does not get to resume regular life for long because the white men are closing in on their land and traditions. Okonkwo takes comfort in the traditions and customs of his people that he came to be an integral part of.
ReplyDeleteSoon Okonkwo's village is being turned upside down by the white men who are determined to civilize them and convert them to Christianity. This threatens what Okonkwo had made his secure home, his power. They assume the power recently held by the prominent citizens. With this, Okonkwo feels the same inadequacy he attributes to his bum of a father. By having such a superficial idea of home, Okonkwo ended up losing his son. His son seeks love and reassurance in the white men's religion. Nwoye lost his physical home when Okonkwo was banished, but instead of giving up, he seeks redemption through a higher power since he receives none from his father.
When Nwoye gives up this home, he finds a home in a religion of love with God. Okonkwo of course does not have any communication with the boy anymore, but Okonkwo was unable to give him an adequate home because he was too busy trying to make sure he was the one running the home.
Lauren, the theme of leaving home and returning is very prevelant in Things Fall Apart. And your take on his home is interesting. It's not enough that he could return from his exile and come back to the village. He wanted to come back and be the man in charge. But unfortunately, while he was gone things changed. He went back and he was not the man in charge. He wanted to lead a rebellion to restore things to the way they once were, but things had fallen too far apart at that point.
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ReplyDeleteIn the novel, The Great Gatsby, the narrator of the story has left his home to find prosperity in the lively lifestyle of New York City. Initially, Nick believes that this lifestyle will help him to attain the frequently sought after "American Dream." However, Nick soon discovers that this ostentatious way of life is not as inviting as it initially seemed, thus mirroring the theme of deceit that is so prevalent throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of deceit is one that is continually referred to in The Great Gatsby. It is not revealed until the end however, exactly how this concept plays a role in the overall theme of the story. As the storyline progresses, the reader is introduced to a wide variety of characters, many of whom are engaged in private love affairs bound to be exposed sooner or later. No better is the theme of deception exemplified than through the character of Tom Buchanan. The reader learns early on that Tom is being unfaithful to Daisy, and is having a love affair with an unnamed woman who turns out to be Myrtle Wilson. While Fitzgerald hints that Daisy was aware of the affair, the theme of betrayal is evident through this character. Daisy herself becomes involved in a love affair towards the end of the novel, with none other than Gatsby himself. Through these characters, the reader begins to see a recurring theme of dishonesty.
Additionally, Gatsby's character is a prime example of the way in which deception is depicted in the novel. Gatsby is initially portrayed as an impressive individual with a high social status and an enormous amount of wealth. He is known for his parties and his intimidating persona. However, as the story progresses, the reader finds out that Gatsby is not all that he appears to be. While he frequently refers to himself as "an Oxford man," it is revealed that he only attended the university for a few months. The books in his library also relate to the theme of deception. Gatsby possesses an enormous library in his home, which causes him to appear very intelligent. However, as "owl-eyes" points out, the pages have never been cut, meaning the books have never been read. This not only exposes Gatsby as somewhat of a fraud, but it also serves to add to the deceit that is so prevalent in The Great Gatsby.
In the end, Nick discovers that his life in New York City is less than satisfactory. While it seemed alluring initially, the negativity of his surrounding soon left him discontented. This fact is actually quite significant when considering the recurring themes that are extended throughout the novel. Nick realizes that his idea of the ideal "home" was distorted slightly, as what he sought was not what he ended up with. He discovers that while his "home" may not include a lavish lifestyle ultimately resulting in achieving "the American Dream," home is a place where one feels contented. Additionally, the reader soon learns that the deception Nick experiences during his life in New York actually mirrors the theme of deceit that Fitzgerald emphasizes in The Great Gatsby.
Mary, I think it was very unique to use the Great Gatsby as an example. The theme of leaving home is not initially very obvious, but you are absolutely right. Nick leaves his home where everything is rainbows and sunshine to go east to where he thinks there will be even more rainbows and sunshine. Unfortunately, that's not really what ends up happening. In the end though, he was able to move back out west to his real home.
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