Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Caesar's Column: The Gorgeous Shell
In Caesar's Column by Ignatius L. Donnelly, Donelly describes the rich as a "gorgeous shell" then proceeds to say that "it is a mockery". What Donnelly means by this is that on the surface, the rich present themselves as well civilized and kind people, but this is a false "shell" on the inside they are closer to that of "dead men's bones". They are a cruel and uncaring bunch, only thinking of themselves, and never thinking about how their actions affect others. Men and women are capable of good, we have gained knowledge and experience over time to learn rightnd wrong. Yet with all this civility some people are still cruel to one another, and others allow themselves to be corrupted. This is true within the novel, the people who are well dressed, present themselves as cultured, and are considered beautiful, are the people with the cruelest intent. They gain their fortunes by stepping on the back of the poor, they have no regards for rules and break the law because they can get away with it. The outer appearance of their beauty and civility is a lie, because within this beauty is malice.
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I like how you contrast the idea of a "gorgeous shell" hiding "dead men's bones" to present your argument that in this novel the rich use culture to hide their malice. I also liked your use of language particularly in the last sentence. The idea that "culture" is used as a tool by the rich is expressed again and again with both science and religion being used to propagate the idea of social Darwinism both amongst the rich and the poor. May I suggest that you explore the church chapter to expand on your ideas even further.
ReplyDeleteMy questions now are,
What are other examples of the rich using culture to hide their malicious intent?
How does the beauty of the rich compare to that of Estelle, another character who is described as beautiful but in another way?
I think you picked a topic that a lot of people can understand. The beautiful-on-the-outside, ugly-on-the-inside thing has practically become a cliché, so you got that going for you. I really like the judgmental tone that you have when you are referring to the rich people. I think modern middle-class and lower-class people have very negative attitudes towards rich people, therefore your message is very appealing to them regardless of the fact that you don't back up your claims with much evidence. As you can see, I think this is a strong post. I wouldn't really bring up any further questions, but this is a great topic to expand on.
ReplyDeletethis was a very direct and simple blog, although it contains much more than it shows on the surface. you made a great point by using symbolism and interpreting it to a real world situation which could be well-reflected in our world today. However, it would be useful if you pointed out any symbolic language used to represent the middle class, as Angel mentioned. If you decide to use this topic for your second essay, it would be a great topic to work with. Contrasting the two sides of the story would work quite well. Do you believe that Max could be lumped into the category for those who are living inside a "golden shell"? do you think if the positions were switched around, where the lower class people were in charge, even if they experienced this level of abuse from the poor, that they would rule in the same way?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on that. There was a passage in the novel mentioning America being a dream or something similar. I believe it meant America didn't live up to its expectations as people from other countries would believe. As someone pointed out in class, we're supposed to be "the land of the free". But yet, some have to settle for low income jobs in order to stay alive since nothing is actually free. And it is this that contributes to the division of classes of which the wealthy is superior and more cruel. Those are the realities of an American society
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I love the idea you displayed between looking the part of the culture, yet so cruel on in the inside. A question came to my mind: if the poor are ragged on the outside and does not fit in the culture, what does it make them on the inside? When they start riots and commit crimes, do we look at both rich and poor the same? or the poor's action are determined by the rich?
ReplyDeleteThis was awesome man!
Best,
Brian Ramos