Part 1- Faraday
According to the author of this extract, what aspects of Faraday’s life and work contributed to his reputation? How does the picture presented here compare to the picture of Faraday’s reputation in his own lifetime presented in Book 1, Chapter 4?
In the extract, Faraday’s reputation is solely based upon the work that he did as a scientist and things that other people have said about him- it doesn’t include anything about his life before his experiments. One aspect that would substantially change a person’s view of Faraday is that “Faraday loved science for the sake of science” (The Times, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2011, p. 23) which would astonish a lot of people as many scientist want to experiment to make a breakthrough and gain fame from it; Faraday experimented and worked on his theories because he loved science- he had no ulterior motives.
Another aspect that you learn from the piece of writing, which also contributes to Faraday’s reputation, is that his religion influenced his decisions with his career a lot as “he felt that his path in life was marked out for him” (The Times, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2011, p. 23).
This made him give up the job that, at that point in time, was his only source of income but he still managed to do his experiments and continue his successful life in science. This shows that he was dedicated and had determination; the public could see this and admired him for his aspiration but also his religious beliefs.
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The chapter in the book, however, does go further into his life and achievements; it tells you more about his situation before he became an outstanding scientific lecturer. It refers to Faraday’s early life, commenting on how he was from a working class family and that “Those who did hold scientific positions were generally university trained and did not come from the working class” (Isobel Falconer with Frank James, 2008 p. 90) showing how extraordinary Faraday actually was, as although he didn’t come from money and wasn’t university trained, he managed to become a successful scientist. This reflected in his reputation as he gained a lot of respect through his hard work. Although, in contrast to the extract, the book uses his early life to make him sound more impressive than he already was.
It also says how Faraday would’ve been undiscovered if he hadn’t have had a job in media before he attempted his scientific career. This creates an image of a man trying to gain fame from his experiments and discoveries although in the initial extract from The Times, it says that he “loved science for the sake of science” (The Times, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2011, p. 23) which are conflicting views. His reputation in the chapter is one to be desired as the picture created shows a man that is not well educated, is lucky and would have got nowhere if it weren’t for his previous job.
Also, it draws attention to his lack of formal education- he did “little more than the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic at a common day-school” (Isobel Falconer with Frank James, 2008, p. 90) which would put anyone, scientist or not, in a negative light. Making a point of including this gives Faraday a bad reputation as he wrote his essays in very plain and simple language and had to get somebody else to revise them. In the aforementioned article by The Times, it doesn’t say anything about his education or inability to write a comprehensive essay and his reputation is upheld as an outstanding lecturer.
Part 2- Reading Poetry: The Faber Book of Beasts.
Read the following poems by Thom Gunn and Thomas Flatman in The Faber Books of Beasts (pp.5-6).
In no more than 600 words, compare the ways in which the two poets represent cats.
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In ‘Apartment Cats’ there is no real form to the poem and it doesn’t follow a rhythmic sequence, it is the opposite to ‘An Appeal to Cats in the Business of Love’ that follows a strict form and rhyming sequence of A,A,B,B,C,C… This gives the feel of the poems, as Apartment Cats portrays a completely different cat to that in An Appeal to Cats in the Business of Love- the rhyming form in An Appeal to Cats in the Business of Love gives the feeling of seductiveness and sleaziness whereas in Apartment Cats, the lack of rhythmic form shows spontaneity and playfulness.
The views that Thom Gunn and Thomas Flatman take upon cats are contrasting to the highest degree. A cats purr has two different meanings for each poet- Apartment Cats shows an innocent, affectionate cat; “They rub my leg and purr” (Thom Gunn, 1997, p. 5) as this portrays a cute, little cat that shows love towards the owner and in An Appeal to Cats in the Business of Love, the cat’s purr is shown as an invitation of sexual liaisons; “If the business of love be no more than to purr” (Thomas Flatman, 1997, p.5) which shows the cat in a bad light, one where it is sleazy and disgusting.
Thom Gunn obviously has a positive view upon cats as Apartment Cats presents an image of a playful, youthful, cute cat. It is clear to tell that the cat that he is writing about is young and playful as it has a “White bib exposed, and stomach of soft fur” (Thom Gunn, 1997, p. 5), which are traits, held by kittens or gentle cats. He also describes a fight between two cats as a “blind hug of close defence” (Thom Gunn, 1997, p. 5) which isn’t a fight at all, but a play fight where neither of the cats get hurt.
Thomas Flatman, on the other hand, presents an image of a promiscuous, seductive, disgusting cat. This can be seen in the line “I appeal to your scratches and you tattered fur” (Thomas Flatman, 1997, p.5) which shows that this cat in his poem has seen the worst and isn’t as cute and cuddly as the cat in Apartment Cats. He also differs from the portrayal of cats in Thom Gunn’s poem as a fight between cats in An Appeal to Cats in the Business of Love isn’t playful and they “Both hazard their necks in the fray” (Thomas Flatman, 1997, p.5) showing that they are vicious and maybe stray. Using the word ‘hazard’ expresses the horrible nature of what is happening between the cats.
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Although both poets have written about completely contrasting cats, they do have one similarity, which is applauded, though not obviously, in both poems. Both cats are portrayed as being smart and agile- in Apartment Cats they know “How to stalk off in wise indifference” (Thom Gunn, 1997, p. 5) and in An Appeal to Cats in the Business of Love they “Keep their feet, mount their tails and away” (Thomas Flatman, 1997, p.5) which shows that both cats shown are agile and smart and, although completely different, still have the qualities that make cats… cats.
The two poems show cats in different lights and both a valid opinions- they make it possible for the audience to see how cats can differ and that they are not all the same. It also gives the animals some kind of personality, which can either make people fall in love with them or make them hate them.
Bibliography
Muldoon, P. (1997) The Faber Book of Beasts, London, Faber and Faber Ltd
Moohan, E., Falconer, I. and James, F. (2008) ‘Faraday’, in Moohan, E. (ed.) Reputations (AA100 Book 1), Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 87-109.
Price, C. and Brown, R. D. (2008) ‘Reading Poetry: The Faber Book of Beasts’, in Price, C. (ed.) Tradition and Dissent (AA100 Book 2), Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 41-58
The Times, Editorial on the celebrations of centenary of Faraday’s birth, p. 9; reprinted in AA100 Assignment Booklet, (2011), Milton Keynes, The Open University, p. 23
Hamilton, J. (2009) Faraday: The Life, HarperCollins
