Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Text TOW#14)

       Written as a prologue for James Agee’s prize winning work “A Death in the Family”, “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” is a surprisingly serene and peaceful piece. Though written in 1938, on the eve of the famous and devastating Second World War, the family portrayed by Agee is still living in the summer of 1915, enjoying the sunshine, the flowers, and the natural scenery of American South.

       James Agee himself, perhaps, was never really a man of worries. Graduated from Harvard University, Agee always found jobs when he needed it, including offers from the famous Time magazine. Ironically, his piece, now universally acceptable to all type of audiences to read, at that time probably was mainly for white and literate readers, sadly leaving a tint of racial inequality in such peaceful work of art. His intention toward the piece, however, was never infiltrated by racial prejudice. Instead, the piece contrasts between the void and beauty of life, giving the readers a sense of emptiness mixed with appreciation.

       With a mixture of poetic narration and imageries, Agee gives the reader a picture of life in its most indelible form. Descriptions of how hoses in the garden “turned to the size and style of stream as any violin” (Oates 172), how “sleep, soft smiling, draws children unto her” (Oates 175), and how “[homes] but will not, oh will not, not now, not ever; but will not ever tell people who they are” (Oates 175) instantly gives readers a poetic first impression of life, then a contrasting second impression toward living. The alliteration and harmonizing syntax Agee chooses to use simply is a sign of brilliancy, drawing readers into the poetic world with the prose as a bridge. In addition, the contrasting impressions the poetic sentences build upon the reader, the sense of musical, even ethereal beauty, juxtaposed with a sense of uncertainty, of ambivalence, almost pushes the readers off the cliff named “life” and forces them to experience both the beauty and void, both the exciting and boring----in essence, the common, banal, and every day, aspects of life.

       And life in its most natural form is presented.

The Diary of a Napoleonic foot soldier (IRB TOW #13)

       “Peace” is a term many people in the modern times take for granted, especially those living in fairly well-off societies. However, little did they thought of the men, the regular Napoleonic foot soldier who fought for his very life few hundred years ago, the lucky yet terrified survivor from Napoleon’s erroneous Russian campaign; little did they thought of Jacob Walter. Written in the form of diaries and eventually collected into a coherent book, “The Diary of a Napoleonic foot soldier” details the story of Walter when he served in the Napoleonic army and contrasts in vivid detail the state of war and peace.

       Walter himself, when writing the diaries, probably never expected his writings to be a precious primary source for both the historians and future citizens to read and reflect upon. His writings were meant to be a self-reflection, a way for him to memorize the struggles he went through as a Napoleonic soldier. Yet, the apparent juxtaposition of tone and imagery Walter used from the start of his hellish Russian campaign to his eventual survival and retirement transcends his initial purpose of preserving memory, and to modern day readers, the text establishes a convincingly portrayal of the ineffable value of peace.

       The anxious tone and despondent imagery that characterized Walter’s description of his Russian campaign was distinctly contrasted with the joyous tone and delightful imagery of Walter when he reached his town and was at peace at last. The horrifying anxiety and sense of foreboding, the belief that “I might be taken over by the peasant village and killed”, the need of “to ride as quickly as possible over crack of ice to avoid the villagers” (Walter 97) changed imminently to the happiness of seeing his friends, “the feeling of heavenly joy, of the providence of God, and of the miracle of nature” (Walter 107) when he returned to a state of peace. No longer does Walter feel the danger of being killed nor the need to ride quickly. His peaceful position, as the tone portrays, allows Walter to slow down and feel happiness, feel God, and feel nature.

    
   Walter is lucky; he is one of the few who truly comprehends the great value of peace.