Final Paper Idea

I am very excited to dive into this final paper assignment and investigate form and perform an analysis of the fictional conscious in Pride and Prejudice. I will be evaluating how the narrative functions in Jane Austen's novel in terms of the complexity of the fictional consciousness and "levels of intentionality". I will be utilizing Lisa Zunshine's "Theory of Mind and Experimental Representations of Fictional Consciouness" as a guide for how I should assess the narrative and throughout my paper I will be citing examples of multiple levels of the "levels of inteionality" Zunshine refers to in her essay. I am also going to evaluate how Pride and Prejudice operates within the context of cognitive science, just as she explains why the reader would be "afraid" of Mrs. Dalloway. I hope to lay forth a thorough argument that is backed up by the text, Zunshine's essay and other sources.

"Most people who have been exposed to traumatic stressors are somehow able to go on with their lives without becoming haunted by the memories of what has happened to them. That does not mean that the traumatic events go unnoticed." -van der Kolk and McFarlane, The Black Hole of Trauma

The Black Hole of Trauma, written by Bessel van der Kolk and Alexander McFarlane, is an interesting study of post-traumatic stress disorder and the systematic processing of information in those who have the disorder. Having recently read Persepolis, I was immediately reminded of the war atmosphere that Marjane Satrapi experienced in her society and how war literally hit close to home. Marjane experienced things that a Westerner couldn't begin to fathom--family and friends who were either going missing, becoming refugees, or killed; bombs in her city of residence in Tehran, a bomb striking her neighbor's house and killing them. All of this is enough to set anyone over the edge and into a "black hole of trauma"; however, Marjane appears to have had the mental stability to deal with these traumatic stressors and overcome the stress, without getting "stuck" on certain events and then going on to write about it. Even in her auto-biographical graphic novel, she is seen moving to a different country and experiencing relatively normal teenage rebellion and confusion, albeit with the added complication of being an Iranian in Europe and having witnessed war. Marjane is truly an unshakeable woman and her ability to overcome the terrors of war are a testament to her strength as a person.

East vs. West-- A Different Childhood

“Marji’s rebellious spirit is much celebrated by reviewers; they often remark on how she—like all children—rebels against adult authority. However, hers is more than just the youthful rebellion supposedly universal to all children; in the specific context of revolutionary Iran, the play and children’s culture depicted in the text take on qualities of political subversion.” –Naghibi, Estranging the Famililar

“We demonstrated in the garden of our house.”

“Down with the king! Down with the king!” –Satrapi, Persepolis p. 10

Estranging the Familiar is an interesting discussion of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis in which the authors discuss the way in which the Satrapi’s graphic novel was perceived in the West, as well as the dichotomy of the familiar and alien throughout it. It is especially interesting to note the differences between Satrapi’s childhood play and the play of children in the West. It is not typical for Western children to pretend that they are demonstrating against the government or war, whereas on page 10 of Persepolis, Marji and her friends are demonstrating in her backyard, holding fake guns and ammo and shouting “down with the king!” Such activity is not seen in the United States, unless, of course, it is pretend, because war isn’t fought on US soil and there is no regime to protest. To see a different way of life is fascinating, especially to someone who has led a sheltered life, unlike Marji. From a Western perspective, Marji’s way of life in Iran is foreign and almost exotic but mostly it is a sobering reminder that any problems I experience are insignificant and small when looked at from a global perspective.