Geoffrey Braithwaite

I just finished chapter seven, and i am beginning to really feel a connection with Geoffrey Braithwaite. In these past couple chapters he seems to ask my opinion quite frequently. He asks questions, addresses me as if if im right next to him, and overall makes me "participate" in the novel. I like this style because it allows the book to hold different meaning for each individual reader. When he was talking about the critic who thought Flaubert was careless because he depicted Emma Bovary's eyes various colors throughout the novel, i couldn't help but feel like i was having a conversation with Geoffrey Braithwaite. I find myself actually providing an answer to the questions he poses; it's quite strange to interact this much in a novel. At the end of chapter six i realized that Barnes wants the reader to understand Geoffrey's hatred towards critics, because often the critics do not do their homework. Flaubert's error in eye color of Emma Bovary was not at all carelessness, it was the fact that the person Emma was based off of had varying eye color. This also makes me despise critics because when they create their critiques they often don't fully comprehend the motives of the author, therefore their critques are inaccurate. As we move on to chapter seven, the first thing i noticed was the pharmacy, and i immediately thought of Homais, then later in the paragraph Barnes actually brings up Homais. I really liked the quote "Religion and Science Watching Together over the Body of Sin." pg. 85- sin being Emma. I don't know why, but this struck me as very powerful. Then on page 85 his take on the cliche "you can have your cake and eat it to" made me laugh. On the next page Barnes goes on to describe the omnicient author in realist novels - that he must be everywhere present and nowhere visible. In a way i agree with this, because if the author is taking part in the story, then you no longer get the whole view, you just get the author's character's perception. When they were talking about the mad man who would copulate with a corpse for a cup of coffee i was quite disturbed - who does that? Geoffrey's list of rules for novels is quite hysterical, and i think it pokes fun at those critics whom he despises. When Geoffrey was speaking about cheese and how soft cheese will collapse, hard cheese with indurate, but they both will mold, i couldn't help thinking he was comparing cheese to people - are some soft and some hard, but all destined to the same fate? I think the most confusing question Geoffrey asked was "Does the world progress?" pg. 105. Most people would assume yes because look at all our technology and new knowledge and bla bla bla, but in reality doesn't everyone say history repeats itself, therefore how do we know if we are actually progressing...