What is the Prelapsarian Language?
In Stillman’s first conversation with the protagonist the story invokes an idea that language in its prelapsarian state involves words correlating to an object’s function and physical exterior. When Quinn asks Stillman his purpose for collecting broken objects, Stillman replies that he’s “invent[ing] new words that would correspond to the things”. This can be interpreted as … Continue reading What is the Prelapsarian Language? →
Master-Slave Relationship between Language and Human Perception
Hi everyone! Wow! :O I can’t believe we’ve already reached the end of the year! It’s a miracle we survived! And sorry that this is late! I felt that it would be better that I do it now rather than regretting that I never did later. In my perspective, I found the story to be delivering … Continue reading Master-Slave Relationship between Language and Human Perception →
The Role of Names in City Of Glass
In City of Glass, Paul Auster depicts a detective story that is really a mission for finding truth. The narrator we later realize is an actual character that problematizes the novel for readers. It problematizes the reliability for the narrator, … Continue reading →
The Significance of Font Variation in the Graphic Novel Adaptation of City of Glass
The graphic novel adaptation of Paul Auster’s City of Glass by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli illustrates each significance voice with a distinct font. The typewriter font is used for the narrator to indicate the final draft of the narrative as the … Continue reading →
Humpty Dumpty and the Great Fall
For some reason, I found the Humpty Dumpty/egg motif in City of Glass really interesting. At first I thought it was just a humorous idea put in to make Peter Stillman Sr sound even crazier, but the egg motif continues … Continue reading →
City of Glass
Strangely enough, Auster’s City of Glass was quite possibly my favourite novel this entire year. It was weird, confusing, at times disturbing – but surprisingly relatable. Quinn, a writer without any goals, wandering aimlessly, finding himself everywhere yet nowhere. He finds himself in reality, yet at the same time, does not see himself as real. Despite the […]
Falling For Auster’s Trap
“What he liked about these books was there was nothing wasted, no sentence, no word that is is not significant. And even if it is not significant, it has the potential to be so – which amounts to the same thing….Even the slightest, most trivial thing can bear a connection to the outcome of […]
Mystery and identity in City of Glass
In Arts One this week we discussed City of Glass in two versions: the original novel by Paul Auster, and a graphic novel adaptation by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli. We only had one seminar discussion on these two works rather than the usual two we have in a week, due to the Easter holiday. […]
Lack of Detective/Reader Relationship
Yeah, this book definitely messed with my mind, but I still enjoy it in a way. The narrator was definitely what made this experience more interesting for me as the mystery of their existence intrigues me. Actually, it’s more a mix of intrigue and yet confusion. As a matter of fact, this is actually the…