Analysis of “the Mark on the Wall” by Virginia Woolf Essay Sample

As a modernist author. Virginia Woolf isn’t interested on depicting the world as it truly is. but she wants to favor the imaginativeness and the autonomy of creative activity. In her short narrative “The Mark on the Wall” . a simple component like a grade on the wall is responsible to the narrator’s deeply contemplation about life and stimulates the imaginativeness of the reader. Although. there are many elements in this short narrative that are capable of being discussed. this analysis merely points out some of them. The first point that can be considered really of import is the symbolism of the grade on the wall. During all the narrative. the storyteller imagines what that grade could be. but he/she is ne’er certain about it: “But for that grade. I’m non certain about it ; I don’t believe it was made by a nail after all ; it’s excessively large.

excessively circular. for that. I might acquire up. but if I got up and looked at it. ten to one I shouldn’t be able to state for certain ; because once a thing’s done. no 1 of all time knows how it happened. ” This confusion about the individuality of the grade on the wall can be interpreted as the confusion that people have in relation to the significance of life.

As in the short narrative that merely in the concluding the storyteller discovers the true individuality of the grade. the human existences will likely cognize what life is merely in its terminal. Other of import component of this short novel is the unfavorable judgment to those people that don’t develop their ain thoughts. although they follow somebody’s thought: “Everybody follows person. such is the doctrine of Whitaker” . However the tougher unfavorable judgment is taken to the realists that wanted to depict the world and the human being as they are in fact. This literary form was really discussed by the modernists. because they defend that the world and the adult male are altering all the clip and it would be impossible to turn out or cognize something in its entirety. Even for a person. it is hard to cognize himself/herself profoundly. for the ground that anyone has the certain about his/her attitude in forepart of a large job. for illustration.

This point of position of the modernists can be verified in some parts of this narrative. such as the minute that the storyteller inquiries the world and even himself/herself: “No. no nil is proved. nil is known” . “ Where was I? What has it all been about? A tree? A river? The Downs? Whitaker’s Almanack? The Fieldss of a asphodel? I can?t retrieve a thing. Everthing’s traveling. falling. stealing. vanishing…” Finally. the last of import facet of this short narrative that will be discussed is the unfavorable judgment to the faith. that ever imposes its tenet and people have to follow it. without oppugning. This use of thoughts is profoundly criticized by modernists. because it contradicts the autonomy and the power of creative activity. In fact non merely the faith is censured by the modernism. but as it was said before. every individual that doesn’t have his/her ain thoughts and accept sentiments and discourses pre-constructed by person else.