Keerthi Konuganti
Tragedy is a dense cloud of smog—discoloring the pale blue sky, overpowering the scent of fresh air—enveloping one’s senses and perception entirely. In her novel, The Secret History, Donna Tartt explores tragedy, revealing its impacts on a small group of college students. In this passage, Richard Pappen, the main character, recollects his days in the country with his classmates prior to Bunny’s death. Using juxtaposition, allusions, and repetitive imagery, Donna Tartt illustrates how Bunny’s death undercuts Richard’s romanticized perception of Hampden College, revealing how tragedy ceaselessly and inescapably impacts one’s thoughts, displacing their glamorized perceptions of the world and creating a new sense of pessimism. In significance, tragedy causes society, as a whole, to replace romanticism with gloom.
Despite claiming these days to be happy, Richard’s descriptions and memories repeatedly allude to death—showing how continuous Bunny’s death is in his thoughts. For example, Tartt writes “Bare willows clicked on the window panes like skeleton fingers” (Tarttt 93), using juxtaposition and symbolism to reference mortality. Fingers are associated with movement, utility, and control. Thus, they imply a sense of life. However, a skeleton represents a lack of life. Similarly, trees typically represent life. However, the use of the word “bare” undercuts this meaning—creating a sense of death and emptiness. In other words, Tartt uses juxtaposition by using descriptions that allude to death for symbols of life. Furthermore, tapping on a window pane is seen as a greeting, a way to announce one’s presence. Thus, this description symbolizes how death is constantly announcing its presence in Richard’s memories—revealing how inescapable pessimism and gloom becomes once tragedy is introduced. Later in the passage, Tartt writes “stubborn wildflowers died” (Tartt 93). As flowers, wildflowers are associated with life and beauty. Since Richard associated the days previous with perfection, the deaths of these flowers, therefore, can foreshadow Richard later seeing the flaws in his friends and no longer seeing them as perfect. Additionally, the wildness in wildflowers causes it to represent the chaotic, free aspects of nature, which are qualities seen in Bunny. Thus, the use of wildflowers and death create a juxtaposition that, once again, alludes to the death of Bunny. Therefore, the repetition in his descriptions show how the impact of Bunny’s death on Richard’s psyche is pervasive—his entire view and perspective on these memories are constantly tinged with death. The fact that Richard, who seems to dedicate himself to romanticizing his college and friends, has a perspective tinged with disillusionment reveals how tragedy has long lasting and inescapable impacts.
Furthermore, Richard’s recollections show how romanticized views on liveliness, vibrancy, and beauty are lost to death. Donna Tartt uses juxtaposition, writing, “wind became sharp and gusty” (Tartt 93). Wind is associated with freedom and liveliness. In contrast, sharp implies something tough, cutting, and unyielding. Moreover, a gusty wind implies a wind that is strong, powerful, and forceful. Thus, the fact that wind, something associated with freedom, became sharp and gusty creates a contrast that foreshadows how the freedom and lightness he felt in those days is gone, currently. Additionally, in the passage, Donna Tartt writes, “gray, wrinkled surface of the lake” (Tartt 93), using color symbolism to reference mortality. Gray is a color that is associated with death, and wrinkles are associated with age. These descriptions for a lake are unexpected since lakes are usually a pale blue, associated with thriving life, youth, and peacefulness. Thus, this description creates a contrast that emphasizes how Richard’s recollections are abnormal—his perception of these events is different than the reality- with symbols of youth being seen as symbols of age. Additionally, Richard describes Francis reading, “Mémoires of the Duc de Saint Simon” (Tartt 93), creating an allusion to the book. This book is about Duc de Saint-Simon’s perspective and recollection of both the beauty and corruption of the Palace of Versailles. Thus, this represents how Richard’s recollection of Hampden College, while beautiful, is corrupted by the later events. Therefore, there is a theme that romanticized beauty and liveliness are lost to death.
All in all, The Secret History reveals how personal tragedies can overpower one’s perspective—seeping through their memories, thoughts, and worldviews. The impact of tragedies, therefore, on society as a whole, requires significant amounts of work and support to overcome. Thus, considering the significant impact death can have on one’s perception, as with Richard, it’s important to explore how to recover from it.
MultiModal Component
Works Cited: A