Appunti esame Letteratura inglese, prof. Deandrea, libro consigliato The lost child, Caryl Phillips

Emily's Guilt and Family Dynamics

Emily feels guilty for having left Charlotte alone. They have studied French in Brussels, but Emily doesn't like the Professor, so she returned to Yorkshire, while Charlotte fell in love with the professor and decided to continue studying there.

Emily imagines her brother, but he's dead! And her sister Charlotte, who is taking care of her, reminds her that he's dead. Branwell was sent to London to study arts, but he began to drink and ruined his life until he died. Branwell is the most adored child of the family, but he ruined his life with alcohol.

Emily adored her father, but he preferred his brother Branwell. In fact, even if Emily is on her deathbed, her father cannot be disturbed during the day, so he visits Emily during the night. Emily, here, is another lost child of the novel.

Patrick Bronte was Irish, and his real name was Patrick Brunte; but when he was young he changed his name because he was the object of other students' entertainment (because of his)

Irish aspect and accent): connection with Ronald Johnson.

In "The lost child", Emily refers to the child of "Wuthering Heights" (Heathcliff) as if he had existed, as if he had been brought by his father and not by the father of "Wuthering Heights". Parallelism between her dead brother Branwell and Heathcliff of "Wuthering Heights", who had been adopted by Mr. Earnshaw who had found him in Liverpool. Emily confuses her brother with a character of "Wuthering Heights". Charlotte answers that she's confused, that he's making confusion between Mr. Earnshaw of Wuthering Heights and their dad.

When the crazy woman dies, the gentleman brings the baby home ("The lost child").

At the end of the chapter, Emily describes a group of people around a pit (Emily's burial). She asks to join them, but no one answers. Then she realizes she's dead.

Chapter 5: Brothers

This chapter is about Ben and Tommy. Omniscent narrator.

Tommy is 10, Ben is 12 and they are in the care of a foster home. Mrs. Swinson is their guardian. They both go to the school, but they go to different schools. Ben is ashamed of his brother, in fact he says to his friends that he has no brothers or sisters. In order to establish a bond between him and Ben, Tommy steals a watch that he found in the changing rooms; the watch may be something that the two of them could share, but Mrs. Swinson discovers the theft and gets angry with both of them. Ben tries to protect his brother.

Chapter 6: Childhood

Ben is the narrator here.

Flashback: Ben remembers his life with his mother when they were in Leeds.

Flashback: he remembers when he has 7 years old and he listened to his mother crying.

Flashback: we're in Leeds again. Ben is 12 and he's going to a grammar school (more prestigious), while Tom, who is 10, is going to John Wardle's school, a less prestigious one. Ben wonders why his father never visits them; during the Christmas holidays,

Ben wrote him a letter, but received no answer.

Flashback: Ben is 12, Tommy is 10. They go to the foster house. Mrs. Swinson, their guardian, is a very nasty woman, who mistreats the children. For example, she got mad when she discovered the children watching the tv when they should have been in bed, and she insults their mother, saying that she's "a fast one" (=a prostitute). Tommy wants to go home, but Ben reminds him that her mother needs a break. Ben thinks that it was his fault that their father has left them.

Flashback: they're again with her mother, who turned up at the foster home.

Flashback: Ben is 13, Tommy is 11. Ben tells that their mother was always tired and she didn't have the energy to talk to them. Ben finds two jobs (postman and altar boy), but he gives most of the money to her mum. Derek comes to visit them, but Ben doesn't like him. Tom is very good at football, in fact a football team wants him to play for them, but Monica refuses because

Tom has to play for Derek's team. According to Ben, Derek is using their mum to get at Tommy (in fact, he still has a wife). Ben remembers that, after the summer, their mum was descending into a kind of madness. She doesn't want to talk and she doesn't want to listen to their sons.

Flashback: during the summer of 1972, Tommy disappears. He was away at a football practice and he never came back. From that moment on, he goes to a foster home for the second time (the Gilpins'), while his mother goes into a hospital. Ben often goes to the hospital to see her mum, but her mental illness is getting worse. The social worker says to Ben that her mother will come on Christmas Day, but she'll never come.

Flashback: after Monica died, Ben applies for the university.

Chapter 7: Family

Ronald Johnson, retired and in his late sixties, decides to visit his grandson Ben. He wants to make contact with his grandson while he knows where he is and before he loses sight of him.

comprare del cibo. Un giorno, mentre sta tornando a casa, viene avvicinata da un uomo che le offre del denaro in cambio di un favore sessuale. Monica accetta disperata, ma si sente disgustata da sé stessa. Dopo quell'esperienza, decide di cercare aiuto e si rivolge a un centro di assistenza per le donne vittime di violenza. Qui incontra una consigliera che la sostiene e la aiuta a trovare un posto sicuro dove vivere. Monica inizia a frequentare gruppi di supporto e a partecipare a terapie per superare il trauma che ha subito. Con il tempo, riesce a ricostruire la sua vita e a trovare un lavoro stabile. Ora è determinata a fare tutto il possibile per proteggere suo figlio Ben e assicurarsi che non debba mai affrontare ciò che lei ha passato.

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