Oscar Wilde
Hardcover | Pages: 32 pages Rating: 4.23 | 25236 Users | 839 Reviews
Present Books Supposing The Happy Prince
| Original Title: | The Happy Prince |
| ISBN: | 0525453679 (ISBN13: 9780525453673) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Explanation Conducive To Books The Happy Prince
I've always liked Oscar Wilde's prose, if not his drama, but I thought this was an exercise in hypocrisy, or perhaps it was just Oscar Wilde, locked out of the gates of the wealthy aristocracy, just venting his spleen on them. You would think a man who lost everything because of the prejudice against his homosexuality might just not drop casual anti-semitism into what purports to be a children's story, wouldn't you? But perhaps he was so angry and bitter against Society that he could only see things from that viewpoint. That, like all underdogs, he was always looking for an even lower cur to kick.As it turns out, despite being able to recite that old chestnut, "some of my best friends are Jewish", Wilde was deeply anti-semitic, a couple of quotes:
'It's unnecessary to debate with Jews. When you overrun them today, they come tomorrow with the same arguments. When you overrun those arguments, they come the day after with the same arguments as the day before.' [De Profundis].
This is just one from the many in the (wonderful) Picture of Dorian Grey,
'A hideous Jew, in the most amazing waistcoat I ever beheld in my life, was smoking a vile cigar. He had greasy ringlets, and an enormous diamond blazed in the center of a soiled shirt. Have a box, my Lord?' he said, when he saw me, and he took off his hat with an air of gorgeous servility. There was something about him that amused me. He was such a monster.'
At the same time he was being persecuted for his homosexuality and writing his Ballad of Reading Gaol detailing the terrible conditions and cruelty he suffered by imprisonment, he betrayed his best friend's plan for a small group of people to free Dreyfuss from his wrongful imprisonment and clear his name, and went further, befriending Dreyfus's persecutor, Esterhazy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_...). Wilde lost his best friend, Blacker, over this and seemed never to truly understand why. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/articl...
The troll (is there another word for one who writes negative and rude personal comments about a reviewer?) seeks to justify his remarks by saying he is a Christian which really hasn't got anything to do with it, as apart from anything else, many anti-semites and their sympathisers have identified as Christians, but also by saying that it was part of the times.
There is some truth in that statement. Racism in all its forms seems to be part of every time. And it was part of that time especially in those who considered themselves wealthy aristocrats, but it wasn't a majority feeling. Disraeli, who was a Christian convert (he considered Christianity 'completed Judaism') had been elected Prime Minister by a majority vote. The Dreyfus Affair was a major topic in Britain and sympathisers with Esterhazy, Wilde included, were not on the winning side. Emile Zola's The Dreyfus Affair: "J`accuse" and Other Writings was massively popular both in France and, in translation, the UK. Wilde was out there in a minority, characterising Jews as 'hideous', 'horrid' 'greasy' and 'vile', seeing Jews as a race (as do all anti-semites) rather than a religion, so that conversion would make no difference to him. So the casual anti-semitism of The Happy Prince is maybe just a little jibe, a little way perhaps of influencing the childen to whom the book was addressed to his own way of thinking.
Originally this review, a short one-paragraph review, had just one sentence directed at the casual anti-semitic remark made by Wilde, but in the light of the derogatory comments left on the review, I decided to expand it. However, knowing all of Wilde's history, my appreciation, or otherwise, of Wilde's work hasn't changed, I still love his prose, don't like his plays all that much, think his witty epithets among the best of quotes and one of them has always been a favourite of mine, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
Details Of Books The Happy Prince
| Title | : | The Happy Prince |
| Author | : | Oscar Wilde |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 32 pages |
| Published | : | January 1st 1995 by Dutton Books (first published May 1888) |
| Categories | : | Classics. Short Stories. Fiction. Fantasy. Childrens. Fairy Tales. Literature |
Rating Of Books The Happy Prince
Ratings: 4.23 From 25236 Users | 839 ReviewsPiece Of Books The Happy Prince
The Happy Prince led a privileged and sheltered life and knew only pleasure. In the city, his image as the Happy Prince was immortalized in the form of a bejeweled statue covered in fine gold leaves, set aloft on a tall column. But a transformation came over the Happy Prince when his new vantage point opened his sapphire eyes and leaden heart to the suffering of the poor in the city. The Happy Prince began to weep. Oscar Wilde wove an uplifting story of friendship, loyalty, compassion andI thought this was Oscar Wildes story, but this is retold by Elissa Grodin. I assume this is still his story. Oscar wrote this fairy tale for his students and kids. They loved it. He thought this would be a good story for all ages. I agree.A sparrow finds a beautiful park with a statue of the Happy Prince. The mayor is proud of this beautiful statute. The prince never left the palace when he was alive and he never knew the sadness in the world around him. He is high in the air so he can see his
I have read this story when I was at middle school but I had like zero feeling for the book. Now I get to reread it and wow I cry. The sacrifice for love, for friendship is really admired. Five stars from me !!
This book is about the friendship between a swallow and a statue of a Happy Prince. The Happy Prince truly was just that- happy- in life because he lead a sheltered existence. "My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness." This distinction foreshadows the story's intent to outline for us a deeper meaning in happiness. In life, the Prince was shielded from all misery. He passed, and was immortalized in the statue, which looked down upon the city. We
Whatever I read by Oscar Wilde I really like, and it always gives me a bittersweet feeling. The pattern in Wilde's literature is so beautiful. This one is no different. Similar to "The nightingale and the rose" this one is about great sacrifices for people in need, sacrifices that go unnoticed by the shallow and rich people - which could really make a big difference.My reviewhttp://thereaderdiary.blogspot.com
El precioso espejo de lo que representa la amistad, el altruismo y la verdadera felicidad.La prosa de Wilde, es, sin duda alguna, una bocanada de aire fresco."My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot chose but weep."
I've always liked Oscar Wilde's prose, if not his drama, but I thought this was an exercise in hypocrisy, or perhaps it was just Oscar Wilde, locked out of the gates of the wealthy aristocracy, just venting his spleen on them. You would think a man who lost everything because of the prejudice against his homosexuality might just not drop casual anti-semitism into what purports to be a children's story, wouldn't you? But perhaps he was so angry and bitter against Society that he could only see
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