After reading Madame Bovary and seeing the way that Flaubert writes, it is interesting to go into more detail about his life. This book is also opening my eyes to some of the different views that people have of Flaubert. Julian Barns is a man who recognizes Flaubert as being a great author, while during my reading of Madame Bovary I never noticed him as anything else then a man who is aggravated with romanticism. Also, listening in to what the class has to say has also come to interest me. Some find him hilarious while I only view him as slightly funny. It is neat to see the different perspectives. In addition, subsequent to reading the chronologies it gave me a better grasp for Flaubert as a whole. The final chronology allowed us to see Flaubert's life through his eyes. He doesn't view his life as anything extraordinary, rather frustrating. Many of the metaphors that he includes in these pages are expressing his feelings towards his life and literature, which he portrays to be ungraceful in a sense. He views himself as an annoyance, someone who throws up words, while others that have read his pieces find him magnificent. I guess what I am trying to say is that after getting a sense of his writing styles, it is entertaining to see his views towards himself vs. the views of his followers.