Peer Feedback #1 essay 1

George Eliot Concept of Leisure

            The now “leisure” will be outdated in the new “leisure”. In other words, perspectives change with each changing decade and era. Every decade has a different view because generations change and evolve to meet demands of innovation.  George Eliot’s perspective of the “Old Leisure” is different from the idea of leisure in her own time. Eliot has a sense of nostalgia towards the “Old Leisure”, while the society of her own time conveys a sense of fervor for the new and technological. Eliot utilizes imagery and personification to distinguish between the two leisures.

            Eliot lives in one time era yet dreams of another. She yearns to return to a time where life was simple and not complicated by political feuds. An agrarian lifestyle that is not tainted by the greed of men. Eliot perceives that when the “engines of the “new leisure” come rolling in, greed will follow suit as people take advantage of capitalism. She wants to live in a time where people don’t question everything and just accept anything. She yearns to stay in this time yet time always changes perspective, and people in her time have already pioneered a new perspective of leisure.

            “As the world's sole remaining super power and economic powerhouses, our nation's ability to be at the forefront of innovation and production has enabled unparalleled economic success of our nation's workforce (Leonard Boswell).” This thought process is what drove many people to diversify and become a new lesiure that meets the demands of the time. This “new leisure” is fast paced and questions the norm in order to improve. If you want to get rich, which I’m sure everyone does, you have to be an entrepreneur and be willing to take risks. People changed because of these risks and sense of competition therefore the perspective of leisure had to change as well.

            Eliot makes use of personification and imagery to convey how diverse the two leisures are. Eliot personifies both leisures by using pronouns, such as “he”. Also, each leisure does some sort of an action that distinguishes both characteristics. For example, old leisure “was a contemplative” and “he lived chiefly in the country.” Whereas new leisure is described as a person being “prone to scientific theorizing,” and “cursory peeps through microscopes.” These descriptions/actions are what a person would do and these two “people” are different indeed. One leisure is a contemporary scientist questioning life and the other is an old fashioned “gentleman” who wants life as simple as possible. Imagery is also used to convey an image of old leisure as a farmer who goes to church every Sunday and spends most of his day on his agriculture. I can also imagine new leisure as a man in a suit traveling by boat upstream using a steam engine, while reading a scientific novel for entertainment. The imagery utilized dissimilates the two leisures even more.

            Eliot reveres and yearns for the old leisure while her society moves forward and innovates with time. Eliot’s nostalgia of the old leisure is evident as she describes the simplicity of this lifestyle. Her society has developed a fast-paced and inquiry based lifestyle because of technological advances, such as the steam engine. The imagery utilized and the personification of two leisures dramatically dissimilates the two.