How far do you agree that by the end of chapter 8 the reader is engaged with the novel?

I disagree to an extent as it is in this chapter that the reader begins to understand that Joe's world is very much centered around himself. This is because he delves into his regrets of becoming a science journalist and how he'd much rather be a physicist, and we learn yet more of another one of his upcoming articles - all giving the reader the impression that his head is often occupied with thoughts of his own personal life. At the end of the chapter Joe expresses his yearning to do more with his life - 'I was a journalist, a commentator, an outsider to my own profession. I would never get back to those days.' From this quote among many others we understand his devotion to science and how this obscures his ability to acknowledge any other ways of how life began even if he does not believe them, which makes it hard for the reader to like him or engage fully with him or the novel.

This quotation also may distant the reader from the novel, and primarily from Joe, as his tenacity to relate science to all events becomes tedious. He appears to have no other way of looking at things, and the lack of emotion makes it hard for the reader to establish a connection with the main character. He talks of the science behind a baby's smile, showing his ability to turn something to innocent and beautiful into a series of scientific theories, and Clarissa widens the gap between the reader and any emotional connection by the contrast of her opposite view that, 'the truth of that smile was in the eye and heart of the parent, and in the unfolding love which only had meaning through time.' This demonstrates her more romantic view on things which distinguishes she and Joe, making Joe seem all the more prudential which is hard to engage with.

The beginning of this chapter is Joe talking about the baby's smile, neo-Darwinism and his and Clarissa's different views, and then his run in with Parry and the police phone call. He then goes back to how he feels about himself and science, showing a cycle in his mind. This is evidence that despite what happens around him, Joe always returns to thoughts of himself or his failed career as a physician, and it is only the last page of the chapter that Joe returns to thoughts of Parry, 'There were three work messages, leaving Parry's score at twenty nine.' The line itself - of Parry's obsession - is engaging, but as expected following this Joe begins to wonder 'how I came to be what I was', and how he might achieve something new before he was fifty. The reader is forced to be brought back to Joe's world that they have already heard so much about which becomes tedious.

Over all, I think that it is difficult for the reader to be fully engaged with the novel by the end of chapter eight. This is because Ian McEwan presents many obstacles such as Joe's personality and how easy he makes it to dislike him, his obsession with himself and science, and emotional deprivation. Joe's character leaves much to be desired in terms of emotion and therefore this is very hard to become engaged with.

To what extent do you agree that Auden’s poetry is largely about human suffering?

I agree with this statement to a large degree as many of Auden's poems, namely Miss Gee and 1st September 1939, involve varying levels of human suffering. For example, 1st September 1939 talks of 'fear and uncertainty', was written around the time of the second world war, and republished the day after the World Trade Center was attacked. Therefore, it almost exists as a symbolisation of human suffering.

In the poem Miss Gee, there is a recurring theme of loneliness. Miss Gee asks, 'Does anyone care that I live on Clevedon Terrace, on one hundred pounds a year?' This is deeply self-pitying and raises the idea that the worst way to suffer is by being alone. Another theme in this poem is religion; Miss Gee attends church and is a devout Christian, however regardless meets her demise through cancer despite her devotion to God. She suffers in old age through having no one, suffers through cancer, and then it may be said that her body suffers after her death when dissected and used for medical research.

Victor is another one of Auden's most prominent poems when regarding human suffering. In this poem, Victor is recited the bible for many years by his father. Again it is almost like the protagonist is being punished by their faith, - ''Father, will she ever be true?' And the oaks and the beeches shook their heads and they answered: 'Not to you,' - as in the end Victor looses his mind and murders his promiscuous wife, which is like the gateway to Victor's inevitable suffering following this as punishment for his actions. It is not as though the entire poem focuses on this, Victor does not endure any notable suffering for majority of the poem, however like many of Auden's works, the ending centralises on some form of affliction. Of course, Victor is not the only character who suffers, as the last stanzas including Anna feature her fearing for her life and eventually being stabbed.

O What Is That Sound applies to the rule implied at above, that the poems do not necessarily have to be surrounded by suffering, but ends this way due to some external element. The husband and wife in O What Is That Sound seem a happily married and in love couple at the beginning of the poem, referring to each other as 'dear', and in the eighth stanza, 'I promised to love you, dear, but I must be leaving.' However even here is when the disequilibrium has taken hold and the husband is being torn away from his wife by the 'scarlet soldiers', to which the connotations of the words change and the mood is pained, reinforcing the inescapable theme of human suffering.  

How is the story told in Victor?

The poem is in ballad form so it is songlike, therefore reinforcing the idea that it may be a rhyme told to children as a cautionary tale or story like other Auden poems. It is in quatrain form which allows the poem to read almost like a story, in distinctive events. This adds to the idea of a cautionary tale. The use of an omniscient narrator makes it seem like it is a parent reciting the tale of Victor to their children to show them never to go against God. Linear chronology is used and this is shown through the use of the months in consecutive order to follow Victor growing up, for example, 'It was a frosty December', 'It was the First of April', and 'It was the middle of September'. This allows the reader to become familiar with Victor and his religious upbringing.

Religion is a prominent theme in the poem and the story is told through excessive reference to it, 'His father took a Bible from his pocket and read: 'Blessed are the pure at heart.'' This makes it all the more shocking when Victor disregards all this through the murder of his wife. The tone and mood changes toward the ninteenth stanza when Victor learns his wife is unchaste as his feelings toward religion begin to change, 'I am the Alpha and Omega, I shall come to judge the earth one day,' which suggests he is God himself, but also the be all and end all as alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This again makes it more shocking considering how his father raised him.

The voice is very objective and unbiased, factual, 'Victor stood as still as a statue', 'Victor walked out into the High street', showing no resent toward Victor for his actions or Anna for her ways and this may be representative of God, ironic when considering how Victor is punishing his wife whilst he believes that he is the Holy Father. This is effective as it so hugely contrasting and makes the reader wonder whether Victor is actually being punished by his faith.

The wind and the river is personified, 'the wind said: 'She must die', 'the river answered: 'Kill'. This shows Victor's state of mind, which is unstable and is greatly contrasting from the beginning of the play when he was a normal boy, if quiet. This almost raises empathy within the reader for a character that has lost his mind. The pace slows in stanza twenty eight, when Auden writes, 'It wasn't the King or Queen of Hearts but the Ace of Spades reversed'. This is because the Ace of Spades symbolises ill fate and death - foreshadowing Anna's future - and therefore makes everything feel very real and dark, reading almost like a horror story.

Reading journal - 1st September 1939

• Setting - 52nd Street, New York, in a dive reflecting upon life
• 'uncertain and afraid' - feelings of most people, Auden representing/speaking for society
• metaphorical language - 'blind skyscrapers' - dictators, blinded by their power, unable to see anything past their own vision?
• 'euphoric dream' - dictatorship, their idea, or perhaps the euphoric dream of America who are not involved in the war
• symbolic of stormy relationship between countries - war
• time is shown through historical figures - Nijinsky, Diaghilev
• irregular rhyme scheme, enjambment - stream of thoughts, Auden's own feelings
• speech - collective voice, again speaking on behalf of everyone- 'I will be true to the wife, I'll concentrate more on my work'.
• Linz - third largest city of Austria - Adolf Hitler grew up here, hence 'What huge imago made a psychopathic god'
• contrast - 'bright' and 'darkened' - illustrating change in people, from being hopeful to hopeless
• 'Offends the september night' - personifying the night, representing those offended by the situation? War?

Reading Journal - Victor

• ABCB rhyme scheme and in ballad form - again telling a story, has a song like feel, reinforcing the idea that, like many of Auden's poems such as Miss Gee and O What Is That Sound, it may be a rhyme told to children
• linear chronology -  following the process of his life from being a baby, 'Victor was a little baby, into this world he came', to growing up, 'Victor was only eighteen', and then getting married. Allows reader to become familiar with Victor and his religious upbringing. Also the use of months to show passing time - 'It was a frosty december', 'It was the first of April', and 'It was the middle of september'.
• religion - all the way through, dramatizes Victor's actions at the end of the poem thus making them more shocking
• mood/tone change - at the beginning his father is lecturing him on being a good man, 'don't dishonour the family name', and 'blessed are the pure at heart,' to Victor disregarding all of this at the end and murdering his wife. Also actually believing he himself is God - 'Prepare to meet thy God', 'I'm the resurrection and the life', and 'I am Alpha and Omega, I shall come to judge the Earth some day.' - Alpha and Omega meaning God and Christ
• voice - objective, unbiased showing no emotion or resent toward neither Victor for his actions nor his wife for her ways, not judgmental - like God?
• personification of river and wind - 'the wind said: she must die', 'the river whispered: 'kill' - to illustrate his state of mind, unstable, insane?
• 'It wasn't the King or Queen of Hearts, but the Ace of Spades reversed.' - Ace of Spades symbolising ill fate or death, foreshadowing Anna's imminent death
• change in pace - poem reads quickly at the beginning and slows down when it is discovered Anna is a cheat and Victor begins to lose his mind, dramatizes situation, acccentuating importance of event

Reading Journal - Musee des Beaux Arts

• Setting - art gallery, 1940
• Voice - Auden, no character, personal observations
• Ekphrastic - the poem is talking about another work of art, Icarus
• Omniscient narrator? - he is seeing all and writing about it, reflective
• 3 stanzas - enjambement - one stanza is a single line that stands out among others - 'Scratches its innocent behind on a tree' - done to show how people will ignore others in suffering to satisfy own needs, however trivial, or how one may stand out among others but still be overlooked by everyone else
• No sense of time - to show issue is ongoing?
• Lack of humanity 
• Language is colloquial in some parts  - 'doggy life', 'scratches its innocent behind on a tree' - to appeal to children? - fable? relation to Miss Gee and O What Is That Sound - many of Auden poems cautionary tales or like nursery rhymes in some way?

Reading Journal - O What Is That Sound

• Phonetics - repeated, 'o', sound of woe, repeated 'd' in drumming, drumming - heartbeat, coundown
• ABAB rhyme scheme - song like - ballad form - nursery rhyme (Miss Gee)
• Childlike - inquisitiveness - 'what is that sound', 'what is that light'
• Quatrain stanzas - help to easily identify change in mood/tone
• Extended metaphor of sickness - again, nursery rhyme, may be used to show the soldiers and war as a plague
• Present tense throughout entire poem - done to make the reader feel like they are living it too, also to show the character feels like she is reliving it constantly, cannot escape haunting memory
•  Imagery and sound - 'scarlet soldiers', 'white hair', 'drumming', 'flashing', 'brightly' - almost hazy, phantasmagoria? - dreamlike, she doesn't want to accept reality
• Call and response - poem is a conversation between husband and wife 
• Subjective - poem is filled with the character herself, and a lot of emotion toward the end - helps to put reader in her position