Day 10 Blog
The American Landscape
Nature is a very important shaping factor in our life today. It can bring pleasure and horror. For example, we can admire the beauty after a rainstorm bringing flowers, green, and rainbows, but we can also see the horror of nature evident in Joplin, Missouri. In the readings today, nature is present.
In Jewett’s, “A White Heron”, a young girl named Sylvia takes her cow Mistress Moolly out to the pasture every day. The cow took “pleasure to hide herself away among the huckleberry bushes, and…she had made the discovery that if one stood perfectly still it would not ring.” Sylvia loved this. It was as if the girl played hide and seek with the cow. This cow was her only friend because “the child had no playmates.” Once Sylvia would find Mistress Moolly, she would bring her home. On this particular day, “they were so late.” Sylvia’s grandmother, Mrs. Tilley, knew the “difficulty of making this errand a short one”; however, Sylvia wondered what her grandmother would say since she had been gone so long. Sylvia could tell that she “felt sleepy.” All of the sudden, “this little woods-girl is horror stricken to hear a clear whistle not very far away…a boy’s whistle, determined, and somewhat aggressive.” The girl was very scared. She tried to hide in the bushes and leave the cow, but it was too late. The “tall young man” saw her. The strange man told her “‘I have been hunting for some birds…and I have lost my way…you think I can spend the night at your house.’” Scared because the young man had a gun, Sylvia took the young man back to her house to meet her grandmother. Mrs. Tilley was surprisingly welcoming to the young man. She fed him a nice meal and gave him a comfy bed to sleep in. The next day Sylvia accompanied the young man on his search for two birds left to complete his collection of birds. He was in search of a white heron. The boy would kill this white heron and stuff it. Sylvia knew that she had saw this white heron before, but she would not tell the boy where. She had become more comfortable with this man, and she was not as afraid of him. Unsuccessful, the two returned home to Mrs. Tilley’s house. In the middle of the night, Sylvia left. She left to find a “huge tree asleep.” She was convinced that if she climbed this tree, she could see to the oceans and also to where the heron nest was. So she climbed careful, and it “was harder than she thought.” She endured many scrapes and clothing tears. Finally, she made it to the top. She could see “the sea with the dawning sun making a golden dazzle”, and “the birds sang louder and louder.” She looked in search of the heron, and she found “the heron has perched on a pine bough not far beyond yours, and cries back to his mate on the nest.” She had found the heron and the nest! Quickly and carefully, she climbed down. When she returned back to her house, she was a mess. She was questioned by her grandmother but would not talk. The boy knew that she had seen the heron. He asked her for help finding the bird he wanted most. However, she refused to help, and the boy left. By Sylvia refusing to help this young man find the heron, she showed her love for nature. She knew this boy would kill this beautiful creature just for his own satisfaction, and she wanted to protect it. She took pleasure in seeing this creature just live, and she did not want some stranger to take that from her. She obviously loved nature, and it was evident in the poem. She has respect and loyalty for nature. There were such vivid and positive images of nature. For example, she talks about “the bright sunset still glimmered faintly…sparrows and robins in the woods below were beginning to wake and twitter to the dawn.” I believe that nature plays so prominently in this work because the author is trying to portray to you how beautiful nature is, and how we must protect it. It can bring such satisfaction to some people. She just wanted us to open our eyes and see the beauty of it.
In Frost’s poem, “After Apple Picking”, we learn of a man who is “done with apple-picking“ for the day. There is “a barrel that I didn’t fill” and “apples I didn’t pick upon some bough.” The man is becoming tired and says that he is “drowsing off.” As he is drowsing off, he dreams strange dreams. I wonder if he is about to die because in the poem it says, ”my long two-pointed ladder’s sticking through a tree toward heaven still.” I think he is on his final days, and he is about to die because his ladder, that he used throughout his life to do his job of apple picking, is pointing towards heaven. He is looking back on life, and in his dreams he sees “magnified apples appear and disappear.” He is picking apples in his dream, standing on a ladder because “my instep arch not only keeps the ache, it keeps the pressure on the ladder round.” The man has had enough of picking apples; he is “overtired of the great harvest I myself desired.” I believe that this man is sick of picking apples. He has been doing it for so long that he has become tired. The poem’s closing lines are “long sleep, as I describe its coming on, or just some human sleep.” I interpret this, again, as the man is going to die. He will forever be in a deep sleep, at rest. To me, the man in this poem loved nature. It was something that he desired to do because he says, “’of the great harvest I myself desired.” He had picked apples all his life, and he was starting to become tired of it. I think that the nature in this poem is used in a symbolic manner to represent something in the Frost’s life. These apples to me seem symbolic. How do you think these apples are symbolic? I think these apples represent something in Frost’s life that he desired, possibly a dream or a goal; however, once he achieved it, he was no longer happy.
In the three poems by Emily Dickinson, nature is her driving force. She is someone who loves nature, and it motivates her. In her first poem “Some keep the Sabbath”, she talks about how some people go to church to listen to the sermon and hear the chorus, but she enjoys “staying at home.” At home, on the Sabbath, she has “a bobolink for a chorister…and an orchard for a dome.” This means that she sits under orchard trees listening to a bird sing. Instead of listening to the bells at church, she enjoys listening to the “little sexton sing.” She finishes the poem with “Instead of getting to heaven at last, I’m going all along” meaning that she never has to leave her backyard to be in heaven. She is at peace when she sits and listens to what is her church at home. The thing that I am confused about is when Dickinson says, “I just wear my wings.” What does she mean by this? In the second poem, I had some trouble finding the meaning. I know nature is involved. Dickinson starts off by talking about how she “taste a liquor never brewed.” I believe that this means that the poem is not about alcohol. There is no such alcohol brewed like this, so it cannot be alcohol. Instead, she must be tasting something else, and my guess is nature. She goes on to talk about how “inebriate of air am I” meaning that she is intoxicated on nature. There are several references to nature including “drunken bee…foxglove…butterflies renounce their drams.” When she speaks of these beautiful creatures, she says “I shall drink the more!” meaning that she has so much love for nature that once she sees it, she wants more and more. The final poem is about “light on a winter’s afternoon.” This special kind of light “oppresses.” In the rest of the poem, the poet talks about how this light oppresses. It oppresses “like the weight of cathedral tunes”, and “hurt it gives us; we can find no scar.” This means that there is no damage on the outside that we can physically see, but there is emotional hurt. The poet then talks about how nature notices this light when “the landscape listens, shadows hold their breath.” I do not understand the meaning of this poem at all. I think she is using nature her to describe a certain time in her life. Is she talking about an experience in her life that she thought would lead her to the right path (“light”), but instead only caused her more hurt?
Emily Dickinson loved nature. From her two poems, it is evident that she took pleasure from all the beautiful things around her. Nature plays such a prominent role in Dickinson’s life. From the poems, it is clear that nature puts Dickinson at peace. She talks about how she is in heaven in the first poem, and how she wants to get drunk off nature in the second poem. However, the third poem confused me. It almost seems like a negative poem about nature. But I do not see how someone who loved nature so much could write negatively about it. Am I correct? Dickinson reminds me of my grandpa. My grandpa loves nature just as much as Dickinson did. He will just sit outside and admire his beautiful surroundings. Also, he loves listening to the birds chirp in his backyard. The only difference between Dickinson and my grandpa is that my grandpa actually goes to church on Sundays, and he does not sit in his backyard and keep the Sabbath by “staying at home.”
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Day 9 Blog
Day 9 Blog
When Your Pursuit of Happiness Conflicts with Another’s
In Tennessee Williams’, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, we deal with a family broken up from different morals. We have two sisters, Blanche and Stella. Each come from a prominent family that owned an estate called Belle Reve. It becomes known that Belle Reve was lost by Blanche when she comes unexpectedly to visit Stella. Stella had left the estate years ago, and married a Polish man named Stanley. The two have a skewed relationship, but both are madly in love with each other. Stanley and Stella live in “a two-story corner building on a street in New Orleans which is named Elysian Fields.” “This building contains two flats”, and Stella and her husband live in one of them. One day, while Stanley and Stella were at the bowling alley, Blanche arrives. Eunice welcomes her and shows her into Stella’s apartment. Blanche, annoyed with Eunice’s helpfulness, tells Eunice rudely, “I’d like to be left alone.” Eunice goes to find Stella. Stella returns back to her flat to greet Blanche. The two catch up and Blanche is demeaning to Stella telling her “You’ve put on some weight, yes you’re just as plump as a little partridge!” Blanche is also racist when Stella tells her husband is Polish. She asks if he is a “Polack.” As the conversation carries on, Blanche continues to talk about herself and put down her sister telling her that she did not expect her to live in such a dump. Blanche tells Stella to ask her questions all about herself. She seems very conceited. Finally, Blanche tells her about Belle Reve and how she lost it. She is defensive when she talks about it saying, “You left! I stayed and struggled!...all the burden descended on my shoulders.” Upset by everything, Stella runs crying into the bathroom. In the meantime, Stanley returns home from Bowling and has his first encounter with Blanche. It is evident that the two are polar opposites. Blanche is flashy and wants lots of attention, and Stanley will not give it to her. Later on, the two sisters must leave the house because Stella wants “to keep Blanche out till the party breaks up because I don’t know how she would take it.” Stanley is having his guy friends over for a poker party. The girls are going out for the night. Before leaving, Blanche takes a nice long bath, and Stanley is obviously annoyed with her. Stella breaks the news to Stanley about Belle Reve. Stanley is infuriated because under “the Napoleonic code according to which what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband and vice versa.” Stanley goes through Blanche’s trunk and becomes convinced that Blanche sold the place and kept the money to herself. Blanche has very nice clothing with “feathers and furs” and lots of jewelry. The rif raf dies down, and the two women leave for the night. When the women return back at 2:30 in the morning, the men are still at the table playing poker with “whiskey bottles and glasses” still on the table. Mitch, one of Stanley’s friends, becomes attracted to Blanche. The two dance in the room to the radio. Angered and drunk, Stanley comes in and throws the radio out the window. Stella and Stanley also get into a fight, and Stanley beats Stella. Stella tells Stanley that, “’I want to go away, I want to go away!’” Both Stella and Blanche go stay at Eunice’s place. Stanley, realizing what he did, called Eunice; however she hung up on him. So Stanley goes to the street to call for Stella. Stella comes out and the two go back to their flat. The next day, Blanche asks Stella why she stays with a man that beats her. Stella reassures Blanche that “it wasn’t anything as serious as you seem to take it…It isn’t all right for anybody to make such a terrible row, but-people do sometimes.” Blanche does not understand the love that Stella has for Stanley, and she tells Stella that “you’re married to a madman!” Blanche admits to Stella that she has no money, and that she must write a letter to Shep Huntleigh. Blanche also becomes romantically involved with Mitch. The two plan to get married because they are both lonely and need each other. The play goes on and Stanley is convinced that he has the scoop on Blanche and why she left town. He heard that she was very well known at a hotel, Hotel Flamingo, where she is from near Belle Reve. She got asked to leave her teaching job because she had a fling with a 17 year old boy. He is convinced of this and has numerous sources. This was the night of Blanche’s birthday. Mitch was supposed to come over but does not because Stanley told Mitch of this news. A fight breaks out with everyone, and Stella ends up going into labor. Later on, Blanche and Stanley are home without Stella. Blanche is drunk, and Stanley has just returned home from the hospital. From what I make of it, Stanley raped Blanche. The play ends with Blanche going crazy. A doctor and a nurse come to pick her up and take her to a psychiatric hospital.
In my opinion, a lot of Blanche’s demise she brought upon herself. I believe with all characters, excluding Stanley, she deserved what she had coming for her. Stanley, however, was an instigator towards Blanche. With the other characters Blanche was conceited. She thought only about herself and her desires. It is evident in the first scene when Blanche first sees Stella. She tells Stella to ask her all these questions. She is so proud of everything about herself, and she just puts down Stella. Also, she makes up a person, Shep Huntleigh, with whom she wants to be with for money. She tells Stanley, in Scene 9, that he called, and they will go off together. With all the men she was with back at home and the seventeen year old boy, Blanche deserved to have a bad reputation and get kicked out of the town. She had desires just to be accepted and comforted. She could not control those desires, and it got her into trouble. There are some things though that I am uncertain of. I do not know how much of her demise she brought upon herself in regards to her first husband being a homosexual and losing Belle Reve. Blanche did not know when she married the man that she could not fulfill his desires. That must be very rough and could have attributed to her behavior following. Also, it was not Blanche’s fault that Belle Reve was lost.
I am ranking the characters, in terms of likeability, as Stella, Blanche, then Stanley (Stella being the most likeable and Stanley being the least likeable). I rank them like this because Stella was portrayed as vulnerable. She was a woman during this time period who really was under her husband’s rule. She was beaten by him on numerous occasions including after Poker night with the boys, even when she was pregnant. The fact that she was pregnant made her even more vulnerable. After being beaten by her husband, Blanche goes back to him with open arms when Stanley stands outside screaming her name. This just made me angry at her. I also feel sorry for Stella because in the beginning of the play (scene one), Blanche completely puts down Stella. She puts down her home, her image, and her husband. She tells her that she didn’t expect her to live in such a dump, and that she looks plump, and her man is “common.” I rank Blanche second because I feel sorry for her because of her past. She has been through so much with finding out that her husband was a homosexual and catching him in the act, and then later that night, she saw him kill himself. I also feel sorry for her because she was raped by her sister’s husband, Stanley. Rape is a horrific act, and nobody deserves to be put in that situation. The fact that her sister wouldn’t even believe her that it happened made me feel even more sorry for her. She is likeable to me though because she is not afraid to stand up to Stanley. In this time period, a woman was under the rule of her husband, as it was evident from her sister, Stella. Blanche was not afraid to tell Stanley like it is and challenge him. However, I didn’t like her because she drinks too much, lies about it, and hides the bottles (on numerous occasions). Also, she had a lapse in judgment after the death of her husband where she got around, especially with people under the age. This shows her stupidity and weakness. Stanley is the least likeable. I do not like this man. He is a man that drinks too much. He is also a wife beater and controlling. To me he seems bipolar. He beats his wife one minute, and then the next minute he wants her back in his arms. This is not respectable to me. He tried to get rid of Blanche and destroy her in every way possible, even though he knew that Blanche had now where to go. He told Stella and Mitch about her past on Blanche’s birthday. Mitch was all Blanche had at that time, and he took Mitch away from her. The event that made me hate Stanley was when he raped Blanche. This was inexcusable, and for the rest of the play I did not like him.
At the end of the play, I was upset. I was upset with how it ended. I felt like Blanche had turned into something that could have been avoided, and I blame Stanley. Stanley treated her pretty terribly, and brought a lot of anxiety on Blanche that was not needed. I do not feel like justice was served at the end of the play. Yes, they did get rid of Blanche, but look at what it did to poor Stella. She was completely torn apart by it. Now, Stella has all the images of Stanley being a “common man” in her head from Blanche when before their marriage was perfectly fine, and the two were madly in love. I believe that their marriage will never be the same.
Throughout the play, there is a “blue piano” playing. There is also the music of the tune playing the night when Blanche’s husband killed himself. I believe that music was symbolic during this play. It played at times when there was a lot of tension and a fight was going to break out. Do you have any thoughts on what this music symbolized?
When Your Pursuit of Happiness Conflicts with Another’s
In Tennessee Williams’, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, we deal with a family broken up from different morals. We have two sisters, Blanche and Stella. Each come from a prominent family that owned an estate called Belle Reve. It becomes known that Belle Reve was lost by Blanche when she comes unexpectedly to visit Stella. Stella had left the estate years ago, and married a Polish man named Stanley. The two have a skewed relationship, but both are madly in love with each other. Stanley and Stella live in “a two-story corner building on a street in New Orleans which is named Elysian Fields.” “This building contains two flats”, and Stella and her husband live in one of them. One day, while Stanley and Stella were at the bowling alley, Blanche arrives. Eunice welcomes her and shows her into Stella’s apartment. Blanche, annoyed with Eunice’s helpfulness, tells Eunice rudely, “I’d like to be left alone.” Eunice goes to find Stella. Stella returns back to her flat to greet Blanche. The two catch up and Blanche is demeaning to Stella telling her “You’ve put on some weight, yes you’re just as plump as a little partridge!” Blanche is also racist when Stella tells her husband is Polish. She asks if he is a “Polack.” As the conversation carries on, Blanche continues to talk about herself and put down her sister telling her that she did not expect her to live in such a dump. Blanche tells Stella to ask her questions all about herself. She seems very conceited. Finally, Blanche tells her about Belle Reve and how she lost it. She is defensive when she talks about it saying, “You left! I stayed and struggled!...all the burden descended on my shoulders.” Upset by everything, Stella runs crying into the bathroom. In the meantime, Stanley returns home from Bowling and has his first encounter with Blanche. It is evident that the two are polar opposites. Blanche is flashy and wants lots of attention, and Stanley will not give it to her. Later on, the two sisters must leave the house because Stella wants “to keep Blanche out till the party breaks up because I don’t know how she would take it.” Stanley is having his guy friends over for a poker party. The girls are going out for the night. Before leaving, Blanche takes a nice long bath, and Stanley is obviously annoyed with her. Stella breaks the news to Stanley about Belle Reve. Stanley is infuriated because under “the Napoleonic code according to which what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband and vice versa.” Stanley goes through Blanche’s trunk and becomes convinced that Blanche sold the place and kept the money to herself. Blanche has very nice clothing with “feathers and furs” and lots of jewelry. The rif raf dies down, and the two women leave for the night. When the women return back at 2:30 in the morning, the men are still at the table playing poker with “whiskey bottles and glasses” still on the table. Mitch, one of Stanley’s friends, becomes attracted to Blanche. The two dance in the room to the radio. Angered and drunk, Stanley comes in and throws the radio out the window. Stella and Stanley also get into a fight, and Stanley beats Stella. Stella tells Stanley that, “’I want to go away, I want to go away!’” Both Stella and Blanche go stay at Eunice’s place. Stanley, realizing what he did, called Eunice; however she hung up on him. So Stanley goes to the street to call for Stella. Stella comes out and the two go back to their flat. The next day, Blanche asks Stella why she stays with a man that beats her. Stella reassures Blanche that “it wasn’t anything as serious as you seem to take it…It isn’t all right for anybody to make such a terrible row, but-people do sometimes.” Blanche does not understand the love that Stella has for Stanley, and she tells Stella that “you’re married to a madman!” Blanche admits to Stella that she has no money, and that she must write a letter to Shep Huntleigh. Blanche also becomes romantically involved with Mitch. The two plan to get married because they are both lonely and need each other. The play goes on and Stanley is convinced that he has the scoop on Blanche and why she left town. He heard that she was very well known at a hotel, Hotel Flamingo, where she is from near Belle Reve. She got asked to leave her teaching job because she had a fling with a 17 year old boy. He is convinced of this and has numerous sources. This was the night of Blanche’s birthday. Mitch was supposed to come over but does not because Stanley told Mitch of this news. A fight breaks out with everyone, and Stella ends up going into labor. Later on, Blanche and Stanley are home without Stella. Blanche is drunk, and Stanley has just returned home from the hospital. From what I make of it, Stanley raped Blanche. The play ends with Blanche going crazy. A doctor and a nurse come to pick her up and take her to a psychiatric hospital.
In my opinion, a lot of Blanche’s demise she brought upon herself. I believe with all characters, excluding Stanley, she deserved what she had coming for her. Stanley, however, was an instigator towards Blanche. With the other characters Blanche was conceited. She thought only about herself and her desires. It is evident in the first scene when Blanche first sees Stella. She tells Stella to ask her all these questions. She is so proud of everything about herself, and she just puts down Stella. Also, she makes up a person, Shep Huntleigh, with whom she wants to be with for money. She tells Stanley, in Scene 9, that he called, and they will go off together. With all the men she was with back at home and the seventeen year old boy, Blanche deserved to have a bad reputation and get kicked out of the town. She had desires just to be accepted and comforted. She could not control those desires, and it got her into trouble. There are some things though that I am uncertain of. I do not know how much of her demise she brought upon herself in regards to her first husband being a homosexual and losing Belle Reve. Blanche did not know when she married the man that she could not fulfill his desires. That must be very rough and could have attributed to her behavior following. Also, it was not Blanche’s fault that Belle Reve was lost.
I am ranking the characters, in terms of likeability, as Stella, Blanche, then Stanley (Stella being the most likeable and Stanley being the least likeable). I rank them like this because Stella was portrayed as vulnerable. She was a woman during this time period who really was under her husband’s rule. She was beaten by him on numerous occasions including after Poker night with the boys, even when she was pregnant. The fact that she was pregnant made her even more vulnerable. After being beaten by her husband, Blanche goes back to him with open arms when Stanley stands outside screaming her name. This just made me angry at her. I also feel sorry for Stella because in the beginning of the play (scene one), Blanche completely puts down Stella. She puts down her home, her image, and her husband. She tells her that she didn’t expect her to live in such a dump, and that she looks plump, and her man is “common.” I rank Blanche second because I feel sorry for her because of her past. She has been through so much with finding out that her husband was a homosexual and catching him in the act, and then later that night, she saw him kill himself. I also feel sorry for her because she was raped by her sister’s husband, Stanley. Rape is a horrific act, and nobody deserves to be put in that situation. The fact that her sister wouldn’t even believe her that it happened made me feel even more sorry for her. She is likeable to me though because she is not afraid to stand up to Stanley. In this time period, a woman was under the rule of her husband, as it was evident from her sister, Stella. Blanche was not afraid to tell Stanley like it is and challenge him. However, I didn’t like her because she drinks too much, lies about it, and hides the bottles (on numerous occasions). Also, she had a lapse in judgment after the death of her husband where she got around, especially with people under the age. This shows her stupidity and weakness. Stanley is the least likeable. I do not like this man. He is a man that drinks too much. He is also a wife beater and controlling. To me he seems bipolar. He beats his wife one minute, and then the next minute he wants her back in his arms. This is not respectable to me. He tried to get rid of Blanche and destroy her in every way possible, even though he knew that Blanche had now where to go. He told Stella and Mitch about her past on Blanche’s birthday. Mitch was all Blanche had at that time, and he took Mitch away from her. The event that made me hate Stanley was when he raped Blanche. This was inexcusable, and for the rest of the play I did not like him.
At the end of the play, I was upset. I was upset with how it ended. I felt like Blanche had turned into something that could have been avoided, and I blame Stanley. Stanley treated her pretty terribly, and brought a lot of anxiety on Blanche that was not needed. I do not feel like justice was served at the end of the play. Yes, they did get rid of Blanche, but look at what it did to poor Stella. She was completely torn apart by it. Now, Stella has all the images of Stanley being a “common man” in her head from Blanche when before their marriage was perfectly fine, and the two were madly in love. I believe that their marriage will never be the same.
Throughout the play, there is a “blue piano” playing. There is also the music of the tune playing the night when Blanche’s husband killed himself. I believe that music was symbolic during this play. It played at times when there was a lot of tension and a fight was going to break out. Do you have any thoughts on what this music symbolized?
Friday, May 27, 2011
Day 8 Blog
Day 8 Blog
The Struggle to Lead an Authentic Life
It is everybody’s dream to live an authentic life. An authentic life is a life where you can do what you want and be who you are. Living an authentic life is not an easy thing to do as it is demonstrated in today’s readings. The characters in each reading today struggle with their innermost self, each knowing who they want to be, however, struggling to get there.
In Eliot’s, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, a man, Prufrock, struggles to be his true self. The poem starts of talking about the city that Prufrock lives in. He describes it as “half-deserted streets...restless nights in one-night cheap hotels…and sawdust restaurants.” The way he describes the city is as though his surroundings are lonely and dull. He talks of nothing glamorous, and there is nothing around that appeal to his desires. He mentions how “in the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo.” Michelangelo is this powerful statue that is beautiful and confident. He is completely naked showing that he is proud of what he has to offer. This phrase is a recurring phrase in the poem which shows it has some effect on Prufrock. The effect that it has is evident in the next stanza of the poem when Prufrock talks of a house with “yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes.” In this house there is a gathering of women. He desires to enter but fights himself in wanting to. He reasons that “there will be time, there will be time” meaning that one day he will get the courage to go and talk to these women. However, when that time comes he asks himself, “’Do I dare?’” His self-consciousness becomes evident when he talks about “a bald spot in the middle of my hair.” He worries that the women will talk about him and say “’How his hair is growing thin!’” This man has a lot of stress and worry in his life. The man goes on to say how he is afraid of being inspected under the “sprawling on a pin.” Prufrock then says, “’I should have been a pair of ragged claws.’” I think that this possibly means that he wishes he had more strength. It is almost harmful to himself to think this. By saying this, he is admitting he is a weak person and wishing for more strength. The rest of the poem, Prufrock goes on in nervousness talking about all his desires with a woman, but he questions every single one of them. For example, he says, “Would it have been worth it, after all after the cups of marmalade, the tea, among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me.” When and if he does get a date with a lady, he must enjoy himself, and he must not destroy the date with his petty worries. Near the end, he talks of Prince Hamlet? Why does he say “No! I am not Prince Hamlet.”? Is Prince Hamlet someone he wishes he could be because Hamlet is good with the ladies? I never read “Hamlet”, so I do not know. The poem ends with Prufrock saying, “I grow old…I grow old.” This makes it seem that Prufrock is getting older, and he still has not changed. He still worries of his appearance, and he says “Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers.” This is a depressing poem of a man so self-conscious of everything about himself. He lets his anxiety and low self-esteem get in the way of living his authentic life. He worries too much about what people think of himself. He needs to have confidence in who he is, and others will then have confidence in him. All Prufrock desires is to be loved. He wants a woman that will love him that way that he would love her; however, he worries too much about his appearance and time. Time is not on his side. He is getting older and losing more hair. Prufrock just needs to take a risk. Talk to a woman. Let her get to know you and like you for who you are.
After listening to Ginsberg’s, “Howl”, I was deeply disturbed. First off, the images that he describes are disgusting, and the way he spoke on the youtube video was creepy beyond belief. When I think of the word “howl”, I think of animals howling to the sky. This poem reminds me of animals. The things that the people did in this poem is absolutely animal like and disgusting. These images did not sit well with me. The most bizarre image to me was when he described people “who threw potato salad at CCNY lecturers on Dadaism.” This is so immature and disrespectful. Also, another thing I noticed that there is no sentence form to this poem whatsoever. So many lines begin with “who” and these lines contain sentences, or thoughts rather, that run together. For example, “who jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge this actually happened and walked away unknown and forgotten into the ghostly daze of Chinatown soup alleyways & firetrucks, not even one free beer.” There are so many thoughts going on in this stanza. In this poem, Ginsberg speaks of women, sex, drugs, and alcohol. He says ,”with dreams, with drugs, with waking nightmares, alcohol” talking about all the things taken to lead up to crazy events in these addicts lives. What I got from the poem is that conformity, not being your authentic self, and politics are driving the “best minds of [his] generation” mad--“starving, hysterical, naked.” There are just some people who do not want to conform to society, and they will do some pretty crazy things to let people know that. When these people deviate from the norms of society, they become even more obscure, they get involved in even more drugs, alcohol, and sex. I believe that after these people deviate from society, they are not only hurting themselves, but they are hurting others. All these drugs are not good for them, but most importantly, the way they act has repercussions. Others have to go in and take care of the mess they have made such as “vomiting…stolen night-cars… potato salad.” These are just a few examples of the mess they made.
After reading the two poems for today, I believe that there is hope for those talked about in “Howl” to live an authentic life, but I do not believe that there is hope for Prufrock to live an authentic life. I believe that those in “Howl” will live an authentic life because they are doing what they want to do. By engaging in drugs, they are free. These individuals are not conforming to society; they are being who their true self is. I do not agree with the way they are doing it and rebelling. It seems to me a little extreme. However, whatever keeps them going. I believe that there is no hope for Prufrock because simply the man has too much anxiety and no self-confidence. It is evident from the poem that some time has taken place throughout the poem, and the man has not changed one bit. If he does not change during the course of the poem, he most likely won’t change after.
The Struggle to Lead an Authentic Life
It is everybody’s dream to live an authentic life. An authentic life is a life where you can do what you want and be who you are. Living an authentic life is not an easy thing to do as it is demonstrated in today’s readings. The characters in each reading today struggle with their innermost self, each knowing who they want to be, however, struggling to get there.
In Eliot’s, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, a man, Prufrock, struggles to be his true self. The poem starts of talking about the city that Prufrock lives in. He describes it as “half-deserted streets...restless nights in one-night cheap hotels…and sawdust restaurants.” The way he describes the city is as though his surroundings are lonely and dull. He talks of nothing glamorous, and there is nothing around that appeal to his desires. He mentions how “in the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo.” Michelangelo is this powerful statue that is beautiful and confident. He is completely naked showing that he is proud of what he has to offer. This phrase is a recurring phrase in the poem which shows it has some effect on Prufrock. The effect that it has is evident in the next stanza of the poem when Prufrock talks of a house with “yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes.” In this house there is a gathering of women. He desires to enter but fights himself in wanting to. He reasons that “there will be time, there will be time” meaning that one day he will get the courage to go and talk to these women. However, when that time comes he asks himself, “’Do I dare?’” His self-consciousness becomes evident when he talks about “a bald spot in the middle of my hair.” He worries that the women will talk about him and say “’How his hair is growing thin!’” This man has a lot of stress and worry in his life. The man goes on to say how he is afraid of being inspected under the “sprawling on a pin.” Prufrock then says, “’I should have been a pair of ragged claws.’” I think that this possibly means that he wishes he had more strength. It is almost harmful to himself to think this. By saying this, he is admitting he is a weak person and wishing for more strength. The rest of the poem, Prufrock goes on in nervousness talking about all his desires with a woman, but he questions every single one of them. For example, he says, “Would it have been worth it, after all after the cups of marmalade, the tea, among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me.” When and if he does get a date with a lady, he must enjoy himself, and he must not destroy the date with his petty worries. Near the end, he talks of Prince Hamlet? Why does he say “No! I am not Prince Hamlet.”? Is Prince Hamlet someone he wishes he could be because Hamlet is good with the ladies? I never read “Hamlet”, so I do not know. The poem ends with Prufrock saying, “I grow old…I grow old.” This makes it seem that Prufrock is getting older, and he still has not changed. He still worries of his appearance, and he says “Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers.” This is a depressing poem of a man so self-conscious of everything about himself. He lets his anxiety and low self-esteem get in the way of living his authentic life. He worries too much about what people think of himself. He needs to have confidence in who he is, and others will then have confidence in him. All Prufrock desires is to be loved. He wants a woman that will love him that way that he would love her; however, he worries too much about his appearance and time. Time is not on his side. He is getting older and losing more hair. Prufrock just needs to take a risk. Talk to a woman. Let her get to know you and like you for who you are.
After listening to Ginsberg’s, “Howl”, I was deeply disturbed. First off, the images that he describes are disgusting, and the way he spoke on the youtube video was creepy beyond belief. When I think of the word “howl”, I think of animals howling to the sky. This poem reminds me of animals. The things that the people did in this poem is absolutely animal like and disgusting. These images did not sit well with me. The most bizarre image to me was when he described people “who threw potato salad at CCNY lecturers on Dadaism.” This is so immature and disrespectful. Also, another thing I noticed that there is no sentence form to this poem whatsoever. So many lines begin with “who” and these lines contain sentences, or thoughts rather, that run together. For example, “who jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge this actually happened and walked away unknown and forgotten into the ghostly daze of Chinatown soup alleyways & firetrucks, not even one free beer.” There are so many thoughts going on in this stanza. In this poem, Ginsberg speaks of women, sex, drugs, and alcohol. He says ,”with dreams, with drugs, with waking nightmares, alcohol” talking about all the things taken to lead up to crazy events in these addicts lives. What I got from the poem is that conformity, not being your authentic self, and politics are driving the “best minds of [his] generation” mad--“starving, hysterical, naked.” There are just some people who do not want to conform to society, and they will do some pretty crazy things to let people know that. When these people deviate from the norms of society, they become even more obscure, they get involved in even more drugs, alcohol, and sex. I believe that after these people deviate from society, they are not only hurting themselves, but they are hurting others. All these drugs are not good for them, but most importantly, the way they act has repercussions. Others have to go in and take care of the mess they have made such as “vomiting…stolen night-cars… potato salad.” These are just a few examples of the mess they made.
After reading the two poems for today, I believe that there is hope for those talked about in “Howl” to live an authentic life, but I do not believe that there is hope for Prufrock to live an authentic life. I believe that those in “Howl” will live an authentic life because they are doing what they want to do. By engaging in drugs, they are free. These individuals are not conforming to society; they are being who their true self is. I do not agree with the way they are doing it and rebelling. It seems to me a little extreme. However, whatever keeps them going. I believe that there is no hope for Prufrock because simply the man has too much anxiety and no self-confidence. It is evident from the poem that some time has taken place throughout the poem, and the man has not changed one bit. If he does not change during the course of the poem, he most likely won’t change after.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Day 7 Blog
Day 7 Blog
The Celebration of Individuality
In Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard is “afflicted with a heart trouble.” Her sister, Josephine, and a friend, Richards, are there to tell Mrs. Mallard some terrible news about her husband, Brent Mallard. Richards was “in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received.” Mrs. Mallard’s husband’s was on the list of men killed in this tragic event. Both individuals, Josephine and Richards, are trying to calmly explain to Mrs. Mallard about her husband’s death. They cannot upset her because of her heart condition. At the news of her husband’s death, “she wept at once” and “went away to her room alone.” Mrs. Mallard “stood, facing the open window.” She notices outside all of the beautiful things that are living. She sit in the chair “quite motionless”, when she saw something in the distance. “She was waiting for it” because she knew something was coming. Soon, “she was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her. It was freedom to live her life. ” Then she started shouting “’free, free, free!’” She begins to see that how in the future she will live a long life, a long life that she will be free and no longer tied down by her husband. Her sister comes and knocks on her door, and the two go downstairs. Unexpectedly the front door opens, and “it was Brently Mallard who entered.” He was not killed in the accident. Suddenly, Mrs. Mallard died of a heart attack. The doctors said that “she had died of heart disease—of the joy that kills.” Basically, the doctors said that Mrs. Mallard died because she was filled with a happy feeling. Was she happy that her husband was actually alive, or was she still overcome by the happiness that she experienced knowing that she was finally free? I personally think that she is not happy that her husband is alive because just previously she said “she loved him—sometimes. Often she had not.” She died in the end because she can no longer live under her husband’s ways. She wants to be an individual, and she wants to do the things that she wants to do. In marriage, often you are bound to someone. You make decisions together, you live together, and so on. For once in her life since she first was married, she felt her independence. Once her husband returned, she felt like her independence had been taken away from her. She could no longer live a life of being “tied down.”
I noticed two symbolic things in this story. The first is when Mrs. Mallard went to the open window. This window is symbolic because it is open. It represents her independence now that her husband is dead. She can live the life that she wanted to live. She will no longer be tied down by her husband and her marriage. She can be free. The second symbolic thing in this story are the things that are living in the fifth paragraph (“rain…peddler…one was singing…countless sparrows”). All of these things represent the living and the free to Mrs. Mallard. These things are observed through an open window which means that they are within reach for Mrs. Mallard, however, she still cannot reach them. To be quite honest, I do not really know if Chopin’s story affirms or rejects the notion of individuality that Emerson and Whitman put forth because I had a lot of trouble understanding the last two pieces. Could anybody direct me in the right direction, please?
“The Story of an Hour” reminds me of the movie “Black Swan.” It reminds me of this movie because the main character, Natalie Portman, thinks that she killed her rival, the girl from California (Nina). However, a little later in the movie, Nina knocks on the door and comes in, just like Mr. Mallard, and comes in alive. Natalie Portman was very surprised of this just like Mrs. Mallard was surprised to see her husband alive.
Before I begin with “Self Reliance” and “Song of Myself”, I just wanted to give a fair warning that I struggled a lot with these two pieces.
It is evident from Emerson’s, “Self-Reliance,” that he supports non-conformity and individuality. In “Self-Reliance,” Emerson tells us how we must make our own decisions and use our own brain and “learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within.” We must act independently, and “trust thyself.” Others will be put into our lives to doubt us and what we say, but we must have the will power to stand by our thoughts and say what we are thinking. Emerson also talks about youth, and how “youth has no force.” The youth’s “voice is sufficiently clear and emphatic.” What I think Emerson is saying when he mentions youth is how youth say what they want. They do not care about other people’s opinions; Emerson says, “a boy is…independent, irresponsible.” He then talks about how Emerson himself is a nonconformist. He does not donate to the poor like everyone else because “Are they my poor?” He thinks that people perform all these “good actions as some piece of courage or charity”, and he believes that this is not right. These virtues that they perform “are penances” and people perform them only because that is what is expected of society. Emerson thinks why not be your own person and make your own decisions. He then goes on to talk about consistency. He says that “the other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word.” We often worry too much about what others think of us and what we have done in the past. He advises us to “Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again” meaning say what you feel. The ultimate judge at the end of the day is oneself; Do not conform to others. At this point in Emerson’s piece, I started to get lost, but I will to my best to explain my interpretation. Emerson talks about how we read a “costly book” or notice the “statue” in society around us, and we feel lesser from these accomplishments of others. We must not feel lesser than these material objects because we are worth so much more. He then talks about how “our reading is mendicant and sycophantic.” We read of all these successful made up men and compare ourselves to them. This only hurts our self worth. In the end, Emerson talks about four things: religion, self-culture and travelling, “intellectual action”, and society. He speaks of religion and prayer. He says that “Prayer that craves a particular commodity-anything less than all good-is vicious…and…prayer as a means to effect a private end Is meanness and theft.” In the second topic, self-culture, he talks about travelling. Most Americans travel because it “retains its fascination for all educated Americans.” However, travelling can be bad because some people may travel “with the hope of finding somewhat greater than he knows.” In the third topic, “intellectual action”, he speaks of how “our houses are built with foreign taste; our shelves are garnished with foreign ornaments.” I do not really understand what he is saying here, but possibly could he mean if we decorated our independence like we decorated our houses, we would all be independent and different. The fourth topic was society. Emerson says that” all men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man improves…Society never advances.”
All in all, I think that Emerson’s message here is to be your own person; do not fear to be different. Do not conform to society. A passage where I saw optimism towards celebrating the individual self was when Emerson talks about children. He says “A boy is…independent, irresponsible.” I believe that Emerson’s message here is that children are free, and I believe this. Children will do what they want and say what they want. They are too young to care what anybody thinks of them, and they will be unique. Another passage where I saw optimism towards celebrating the individual self was when Emerson says “envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide.” Basically, I believe that Emerson is trying to show people how we don’t want to be like everyone. It is like killing your own inner self to be like someone you are not.
In Walt Whitman’s, “Song of Myself,” Walt talks of himself and how he “loaf and invite my soul.” He then goes on to talk about how “houses and rooms are full of perfume.” Every individual has their own specific scent. He is explaining here how each person is unique with their smell which is an example of optimism towards celebrating the individual self because he “breaths the fragrance himself, and know it, and like it.” In the second stanza he talks of his own self and how he is alive. He says, “My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing of blood and air through my lungs;” He feels so alive because he can see, hear, touch, and feel all the beauty around him. In the sixth stanza, a child asks Whitman, “What is the grass?” Whitman is unsure of how to respond because he himself does “not know what it is.” To answer the child though, he comes up with a variety of different answers such as the grass is “a flag of my disposition…the handkerchief of the Lord…the grass itself is a child.” With all these answers that he gives the child, he thinks to himself what the grass is. The grass here is symbolic, but I do not know how or what it stands for. In stanzas fifteen thru seventeen, Whitman talks about all different types of people that he sees including “the bride” who “unrumples her white dress.” This list touches on many different types of people, and I believe this shows the individuality of many different people. Stanza fifteen, the stanza that lists of all different types of people that Whitman sees, is another example of optimism towards celebrating the individual self. Each person is different, and each person will take different steps through life. It is up to them as an individual to decide what path they will take. Hopefully, they will follow their heart and do what they want to do and not conform to society. In Stanza 24, Whitman talks about himself. He uses the word “kosmo” to describe himself. What does this word mean? Does it represent anything? He is “of might Manhattan”, and he is “Turbulent, fleshy and sensual, eating, drinking and breeding;” He has heard many “long dumb voices, voice of…slaves…persons…thieves and dwarfs.” What does he mean by this? Is this part of his past or family history? In Stanza 48, Whitman mentions “that the soul is not more than the body” meaning our body is something very unique. We must respect it and value it. He then talks about God. He mentions that “not God, is greater than one’s self is.” He is not trying to deny God of his powers; he still respects him. He knows that he will “hear and behold God in every object.” He also tells his readers to “be not curious about God.” The last sections almost seem as though he is contradicting what he said, like he does not believe it. He is also bidding farewell by saying, “I stop somewhere, waiting for you.” I notice that in the last section he says, “If you want me again, look for me under your boot-soles.” Is this related to the grass in stanza six? How does this tie together?
The Celebration of Individuality
In Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard is “afflicted with a heart trouble.” Her sister, Josephine, and a friend, Richards, are there to tell Mrs. Mallard some terrible news about her husband, Brent Mallard. Richards was “in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received.” Mrs. Mallard’s husband’s was on the list of men killed in this tragic event. Both individuals, Josephine and Richards, are trying to calmly explain to Mrs. Mallard about her husband’s death. They cannot upset her because of her heart condition. At the news of her husband’s death, “she wept at once” and “went away to her room alone.” Mrs. Mallard “stood, facing the open window.” She notices outside all of the beautiful things that are living. She sit in the chair “quite motionless”, when she saw something in the distance. “She was waiting for it” because she knew something was coming. Soon, “she was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her. It was freedom to live her life. ” Then she started shouting “’free, free, free!’” She begins to see that how in the future she will live a long life, a long life that she will be free and no longer tied down by her husband. Her sister comes and knocks on her door, and the two go downstairs. Unexpectedly the front door opens, and “it was Brently Mallard who entered.” He was not killed in the accident. Suddenly, Mrs. Mallard died of a heart attack. The doctors said that “she had died of heart disease—of the joy that kills.” Basically, the doctors said that Mrs. Mallard died because she was filled with a happy feeling. Was she happy that her husband was actually alive, or was she still overcome by the happiness that she experienced knowing that she was finally free? I personally think that she is not happy that her husband is alive because just previously she said “she loved him—sometimes. Often she had not.” She died in the end because she can no longer live under her husband’s ways. She wants to be an individual, and she wants to do the things that she wants to do. In marriage, often you are bound to someone. You make decisions together, you live together, and so on. For once in her life since she first was married, she felt her independence. Once her husband returned, she felt like her independence had been taken away from her. She could no longer live a life of being “tied down.”
I noticed two symbolic things in this story. The first is when Mrs. Mallard went to the open window. This window is symbolic because it is open. It represents her independence now that her husband is dead. She can live the life that she wanted to live. She will no longer be tied down by her husband and her marriage. She can be free. The second symbolic thing in this story are the things that are living in the fifth paragraph (“rain…peddler…one was singing…countless sparrows”). All of these things represent the living and the free to Mrs. Mallard. These things are observed through an open window which means that they are within reach for Mrs. Mallard, however, she still cannot reach them. To be quite honest, I do not really know if Chopin’s story affirms or rejects the notion of individuality that Emerson and Whitman put forth because I had a lot of trouble understanding the last two pieces. Could anybody direct me in the right direction, please?
“The Story of an Hour” reminds me of the movie “Black Swan.” It reminds me of this movie because the main character, Natalie Portman, thinks that she killed her rival, the girl from California (Nina). However, a little later in the movie, Nina knocks on the door and comes in, just like Mr. Mallard, and comes in alive. Natalie Portman was very surprised of this just like Mrs. Mallard was surprised to see her husband alive.
Before I begin with “Self Reliance” and “Song of Myself”, I just wanted to give a fair warning that I struggled a lot with these two pieces.
It is evident from Emerson’s, “Self-Reliance,” that he supports non-conformity and individuality. In “Self-Reliance,” Emerson tells us how we must make our own decisions and use our own brain and “learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within.” We must act independently, and “trust thyself.” Others will be put into our lives to doubt us and what we say, but we must have the will power to stand by our thoughts and say what we are thinking. Emerson also talks about youth, and how “youth has no force.” The youth’s “voice is sufficiently clear and emphatic.” What I think Emerson is saying when he mentions youth is how youth say what they want. They do not care about other people’s opinions; Emerson says, “a boy is…independent, irresponsible.” He then talks about how Emerson himself is a nonconformist. He does not donate to the poor like everyone else because “Are they my poor?” He thinks that people perform all these “good actions as some piece of courage or charity”, and he believes that this is not right. These virtues that they perform “are penances” and people perform them only because that is what is expected of society. Emerson thinks why not be your own person and make your own decisions. He then goes on to talk about consistency. He says that “the other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word.” We often worry too much about what others think of us and what we have done in the past. He advises us to “Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again” meaning say what you feel. The ultimate judge at the end of the day is oneself; Do not conform to others. At this point in Emerson’s piece, I started to get lost, but I will to my best to explain my interpretation. Emerson talks about how we read a “costly book” or notice the “statue” in society around us, and we feel lesser from these accomplishments of others. We must not feel lesser than these material objects because we are worth so much more. He then talks about how “our reading is mendicant and sycophantic.” We read of all these successful made up men and compare ourselves to them. This only hurts our self worth. In the end, Emerson talks about four things: religion, self-culture and travelling, “intellectual action”, and society. He speaks of religion and prayer. He says that “Prayer that craves a particular commodity-anything less than all good-is vicious…and…prayer as a means to effect a private end Is meanness and theft.” In the second topic, self-culture, he talks about travelling. Most Americans travel because it “retains its fascination for all educated Americans.” However, travelling can be bad because some people may travel “with the hope of finding somewhat greater than he knows.” In the third topic, “intellectual action”, he speaks of how “our houses are built with foreign taste; our shelves are garnished with foreign ornaments.” I do not really understand what he is saying here, but possibly could he mean if we decorated our independence like we decorated our houses, we would all be independent and different. The fourth topic was society. Emerson says that” all men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man improves…Society never advances.”
All in all, I think that Emerson’s message here is to be your own person; do not fear to be different. Do not conform to society. A passage where I saw optimism towards celebrating the individual self was when Emerson talks about children. He says “A boy is…independent, irresponsible.” I believe that Emerson’s message here is that children are free, and I believe this. Children will do what they want and say what they want. They are too young to care what anybody thinks of them, and they will be unique. Another passage where I saw optimism towards celebrating the individual self was when Emerson says “envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide.” Basically, I believe that Emerson is trying to show people how we don’t want to be like everyone. It is like killing your own inner self to be like someone you are not.
In Walt Whitman’s, “Song of Myself,” Walt talks of himself and how he “loaf and invite my soul.” He then goes on to talk about how “houses and rooms are full of perfume.” Every individual has their own specific scent. He is explaining here how each person is unique with their smell which is an example of optimism towards celebrating the individual self because he “breaths the fragrance himself, and know it, and like it.” In the second stanza he talks of his own self and how he is alive. He says, “My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing of blood and air through my lungs;” He feels so alive because he can see, hear, touch, and feel all the beauty around him. In the sixth stanza, a child asks Whitman, “What is the grass?” Whitman is unsure of how to respond because he himself does “not know what it is.” To answer the child though, he comes up with a variety of different answers such as the grass is “a flag of my disposition…the handkerchief of the Lord…the grass itself is a child.” With all these answers that he gives the child, he thinks to himself what the grass is. The grass here is symbolic, but I do not know how or what it stands for. In stanzas fifteen thru seventeen, Whitman talks about all different types of people that he sees including “the bride” who “unrumples her white dress.” This list touches on many different types of people, and I believe this shows the individuality of many different people. Stanza fifteen, the stanza that lists of all different types of people that Whitman sees, is another example of optimism towards celebrating the individual self. Each person is different, and each person will take different steps through life. It is up to them as an individual to decide what path they will take. Hopefully, they will follow their heart and do what they want to do and not conform to society. In Stanza 24, Whitman talks about himself. He uses the word “kosmo” to describe himself. What does this word mean? Does it represent anything? He is “of might Manhattan”, and he is “Turbulent, fleshy and sensual, eating, drinking and breeding;” He has heard many “long dumb voices, voice of…slaves…persons…thieves and dwarfs.” What does he mean by this? Is this part of his past or family history? In Stanza 48, Whitman mentions “that the soul is not more than the body” meaning our body is something very unique. We must respect it and value it. He then talks about God. He mentions that “not God, is greater than one’s self is.” He is not trying to deny God of his powers; he still respects him. He knows that he will “hear and behold God in every object.” He also tells his readers to “be not curious about God.” The last sections almost seem as though he is contradicting what he said, like he does not believe it. He is also bidding farewell by saying, “I stop somewhere, waiting for you.” I notice that in the last section he says, “If you want me again, look for me under your boot-soles.” Is this related to the grass in stanza six? How does this tie together?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Day 6 Blog
Day 6 Blog
The American Dream
Today’s assigned reading was the play “A Raisin in the Sun.” “A Raisin in the Sun” is a classic play from the 1950’s dealing with the American dream. In this play we deal with an African American family from the southside of Chicago living in poverty. The family, including Mama, Bennie, Ruth, Travis, and Walter, live in an apartment with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom shared by a number of other tenants. The living room contains “weariness,” and contains “couch covers which have themselves finally come to be more important than the upholstery.” This family is struggling, and it is evident because the tension in the house is very high. Walter and his wife Ruth argue often about how she “ain’t got no fifty cents”, money, and how their son sleeps on the couch. Each member of the family excitedly waits for an insurance check that comes that Saturday, even the youngest, Travis who asks him mother, Ruth, “Check coming tomorrow, huh?” Everyone explains to each other what they will do with the $10,000, even though it belongs to Mama. Mama wants a new house; Walter wants to open a liquor store, and Bennie wants to go to medical school. The only reason that the family is getting the check is because their father passed away.
That Saturday, the check comes. Everyone is ecstatic. Mama disappears for a while and returns with news. Mama, well, “she went out and she bought you a house.” She bought a house in the white neighborhood of Clybourne Park. She used only some of the $10,000, and she gave the rest to Walter to split between his sister and him so that they can fulfill their dreams with the money. We find out later on that Walter went and made a bad investment with the money and lost it all. However, in the meantime, everyone is so happy to hear that they will be moving out of the house where they have to clean for roaches all the time, and they all will have much more room. Moving day eventually comes, and a man by the name of Mr. Lindner shows up. He is from their new neighborhood, and he want to advise the Youngers not to move to that neighborhood because they are not welcome (but he says this in a civil manner). He offers them more than they paid for it to move out of the house, but proudly Walter denies this. Right after that, Bobo, one of Walter’s investment partners shows up and says that the other man that they invested with stole their money. Walter is very upset by this because he lost all his money. He goes away for a while, and returns later to tell his family that he asked Mr. Lindner to come back so they can make the deal with him and get money. His family is so mad about this. He has lost his pride. When Mr. Lindner returns, he pulls out the paper, but Walter steps up and says that “Well…we come from people who had a lot of pride... we are very proud people…we have decided to move into our house because my father-my father-he earned it for us brick by brick.” The play ends with the family walking out of their old life and into their new life in their new home.
My interpretation of the end of the play was that even though the family might not have the ideal American dream, they have their American dream. They have each other, and they have the love necessary to help them get through everything. They leave that apartment not knowing what the future holds, but they do know one thing. No matter what happens, they still have their pride. By standing up to Mr. Lindner, it said a lot. It shows how powerful this family really is. They move into this new house with hope. Hope for a better future. If I were to see a sequel to this play, I think that being in their time period in their new house, that it would be a very rough first few years. I believe this because of all the inequality between the races at the time this play was written. Eventually, with time though, I think that the Younger’s situation will get better. In the first years, they would be discriminated against in their house, and their house might even be vandalized. It will be hard for them to find work in the area they live in, so they might have to travel quite a distance in order to work. However, I see all of them having to work in order to keep up the house, even little Travis. How do you think the Younger’s life will be in the next couple of years? Do you think Bennie will go to medical school or go to Africa? Do you think that living in this neighborhood will affect them emotionally?
This play represents the American dream. My definition of the American dream and society’s definition of the American dream are both very different. Society’s American dream is living in a nice house, having lots of money, being well educated, driving nice cars, having the perfect family, going on nice vacations, and so on. All these things have one thing in common. MONEY! Money is ever so present in the American dream. Sure, it would be nice to have a lot of money, but it is not necessary in order to be happy in life. For example, the picture included in the homework assignment of Britney Spears wearing a t-shirt that says, “I am the American dream” sums up what I just said perfectly. She was famous, rich, and everyone loved her. She eventually brought on her own downfall probably due to money. Money can be a powerful thing, but it can also be so harmful. I define the American dream as living a healthy life, being well educated, having a loving family, and being supportive to yourself and others.
After watching the YouTube clip from “The Pursuit of Happyness,” the line “You want something. Go get it. Period,” is not really applicable to the Youngers. Will Smith and the Youngers are both living in two different time periods. Fortunately for Will, it is a lot easier to do things today without getting discriminated. The Youngers had to worry about being discriminated against, as it was evident when they wanted to move into the white neighborhood.” There are many things holding the Youngers back besides their race. They are very poor, and they do not have the money to do all the things that people living the American dream can do. Also, because they are poor, they might not have been able to afford college, which also limits them with job opportunities.
Today, with the economy the way it is now, it puts a lot of people in the Younger’s situation. Money is really tight for some families, and people are limited in many ways. This economy has been a drag and put a lot of people in a slump physically and mentally. They no longer have the will power to be active and take a part to change their future. They too believe that the American dream is far from reach.
Some say that optimism and determination are all that is needed to achieve the American dream, and I say that this is completely false. Sure, this is beneficial to have, but in order to be successful in life, you can’t just sit around wishing for something to happen. You have to be active and do something to make a change. You are in charge of your own destiny.
The American Dream
Today’s assigned reading was the play “A Raisin in the Sun.” “A Raisin in the Sun” is a classic play from the 1950’s dealing with the American dream. In this play we deal with an African American family from the southside of Chicago living in poverty. The family, including Mama, Bennie, Ruth, Travis, and Walter, live in an apartment with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom shared by a number of other tenants. The living room contains “weariness,” and contains “couch covers which have themselves finally come to be more important than the upholstery.” This family is struggling, and it is evident because the tension in the house is very high. Walter and his wife Ruth argue often about how she “ain’t got no fifty cents”, money, and how their son sleeps on the couch. Each member of the family excitedly waits for an insurance check that comes that Saturday, even the youngest, Travis who asks him mother, Ruth, “Check coming tomorrow, huh?” Everyone explains to each other what they will do with the $10,000, even though it belongs to Mama. Mama wants a new house; Walter wants to open a liquor store, and Bennie wants to go to medical school. The only reason that the family is getting the check is because their father passed away.
That Saturday, the check comes. Everyone is ecstatic. Mama disappears for a while and returns with news. Mama, well, “she went out and she bought you a house.” She bought a house in the white neighborhood of Clybourne Park. She used only some of the $10,000, and she gave the rest to Walter to split between his sister and him so that they can fulfill their dreams with the money. We find out later on that Walter went and made a bad investment with the money and lost it all. However, in the meantime, everyone is so happy to hear that they will be moving out of the house where they have to clean for roaches all the time, and they all will have much more room. Moving day eventually comes, and a man by the name of Mr. Lindner shows up. He is from their new neighborhood, and he want to advise the Youngers not to move to that neighborhood because they are not welcome (but he says this in a civil manner). He offers them more than they paid for it to move out of the house, but proudly Walter denies this. Right after that, Bobo, one of Walter’s investment partners shows up and says that the other man that they invested with stole their money. Walter is very upset by this because he lost all his money. He goes away for a while, and returns later to tell his family that he asked Mr. Lindner to come back so they can make the deal with him and get money. His family is so mad about this. He has lost his pride. When Mr. Lindner returns, he pulls out the paper, but Walter steps up and says that “Well…we come from people who had a lot of pride... we are very proud people…we have decided to move into our house because my father-my father-he earned it for us brick by brick.” The play ends with the family walking out of their old life and into their new life in their new home.
My interpretation of the end of the play was that even though the family might not have the ideal American dream, they have their American dream. They have each other, and they have the love necessary to help them get through everything. They leave that apartment not knowing what the future holds, but they do know one thing. No matter what happens, they still have their pride. By standing up to Mr. Lindner, it said a lot. It shows how powerful this family really is. They move into this new house with hope. Hope for a better future. If I were to see a sequel to this play, I think that being in their time period in their new house, that it would be a very rough first few years. I believe this because of all the inequality between the races at the time this play was written. Eventually, with time though, I think that the Younger’s situation will get better. In the first years, they would be discriminated against in their house, and their house might even be vandalized. It will be hard for them to find work in the area they live in, so they might have to travel quite a distance in order to work. However, I see all of them having to work in order to keep up the house, even little Travis. How do you think the Younger’s life will be in the next couple of years? Do you think Bennie will go to medical school or go to Africa? Do you think that living in this neighborhood will affect them emotionally?
This play represents the American dream. My definition of the American dream and society’s definition of the American dream are both very different. Society’s American dream is living in a nice house, having lots of money, being well educated, driving nice cars, having the perfect family, going on nice vacations, and so on. All these things have one thing in common. MONEY! Money is ever so present in the American dream. Sure, it would be nice to have a lot of money, but it is not necessary in order to be happy in life. For example, the picture included in the homework assignment of Britney Spears wearing a t-shirt that says, “I am the American dream” sums up what I just said perfectly. She was famous, rich, and everyone loved her. She eventually brought on her own downfall probably due to money. Money can be a powerful thing, but it can also be so harmful. I define the American dream as living a healthy life, being well educated, having a loving family, and being supportive to yourself and others.
After watching the YouTube clip from “The Pursuit of Happyness,” the line “You want something. Go get it. Period,” is not really applicable to the Youngers. Will Smith and the Youngers are both living in two different time periods. Fortunately for Will, it is a lot easier to do things today without getting discriminated. The Youngers had to worry about being discriminated against, as it was evident when they wanted to move into the white neighborhood.” There are many things holding the Youngers back besides their race. They are very poor, and they do not have the money to do all the things that people living the American dream can do. Also, because they are poor, they might not have been able to afford college, which also limits them with job opportunities.
Today, with the economy the way it is now, it puts a lot of people in the Younger’s situation. Money is really tight for some families, and people are limited in many ways. This economy has been a drag and put a lot of people in a slump physically and mentally. They no longer have the will power to be active and take a part to change their future. They too believe that the American dream is far from reach.
Some say that optimism and determination are all that is needed to achieve the American dream, and I say that this is completely false. Sure, this is beneficial to have, but in order to be successful in life, you can’t just sit around wishing for something to happen. You have to be active and do something to make a change. You are in charge of your own destiny.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Day 5
Day 5 Blog
Race and Equality
Racism and equality were a big issue hundreds of years ago, and it is still even a major problem in our society. Today, we look at poems and a short story of those dealing with these issues, how they are dealing with the problem, and if they will take any action to change.
One of the main differences that I noticed between all of the authors is that each one creates a person in their poems that feels differently about their race and equality. In McKay’s poems, “If We Must Die” and “America”, it is almost as if the narrator has accepted where he is at in society and believes that there is nothing more to do. He is giving up by saying “if we must die.” In “America”, he is just taking whatever racist thing is thrown at him and accepting it. He is not willing to do anything about it; it is only “giving me strength” because all the narrator will do is “darkly gaze into the days ahead.” In “How it Feels to be Colored Me”, the girl, Zora from Eatonville, Florida, is happy with her race, she sees nothing wrong how she looks. She has a positive image of herself and is not afraid to talk or wave at whites. She “usually spoke to them in passing” and “wave at them.” It was not until she was sent away to school in Jacksonville, Florida that she “was now the little colored girl,” but she is proud to be who she is. In both of Hughes poems, “Mother to Son” and “Theme for English B”, the narrators are not happy with where they are in society. They are willing to fight and be motivated to change things. With the last author, Cullen, in “Incident”, the boy speaks of a memory when he was “once riding in Baltimore” at the age of eight and he “smiled” at a white man. The white man responded and “poked out His tongue, and called me ‘Nigger’.” That is the only thing that the boy remembers from his visit in Baltimore that lasted from “May until December.” The boy being of such a young age shows his innocence, and could explain why he did not know better to not smile at this man during this time. However, this is the only thing that the boy remembers, and it can be assumed that the boy took no action from how he was treated. Granted, he might not have been able to do much because he was so young. The issue is that he just let’s this one event, that was about ten seconds long, eat away at him, which is why I conclude that he still has taken no action. If this one event is bugging him, there obviously is a bigger issue at hand; he obviously does not have the courage to stand up for his race and being treated equally. In “Yet Do I Marvel”, the narrator references God and “I doubt not that God is good”, but he questions what role God plays in why the world is the way it is. Our world is full of problems, and he talks about them throughout his poem such as being “blind” and that people “must some day die.” I do not understand the ending to this poem. When he says “To make a poet black, and big him sing!”, is he showing that he is proud to be African American? If this is the case, I feel that is sort of abrupt and totally changing the meaning of the poem.
When deciding on a similarity between each of the authors today, I found this quite difficult. When you look at each individual author and poem, all are so different; however, I have settled on the similarity that each write with a sense of hopefulness. Even though each author has different feelings towards their race and quality, each is hopeful for the future and what it holds. For example, McKay says “if we must die”, and there is a sense of hopefulness that they will not die. Also, in “America” there is a sense of hopefulness that the man’s teacher will understand him and “learn from me”, and in “Mother to Son” the mother hopes that her son will continue to carry on her strength and fight for equality.
The author that I see most closely aligning with the authors that we studied yesterday is Langston Hughes. Yesterday’s message was on freedom, and to never be satisfied with what you have. In sending this message, the authors yesterday used powerful words to ignite the people. In both of Hughes poems, “Mother to Son” and “Theme for English B”, the message that I interpreted was to not accept where your race is at in society. The moment that one is satisfied is the moment of failure. Everyone deserves to be treated equally, and at this point in history, we are not. Both stir up powerful emotions that try to trigger action into fighting for equality of the races. In “Mother to Son”, the mother explains to her son that “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” showing how she has struggled for equality and is still continuing to fight. She encourages her son “don’t turn your back” to give him the strength to fight for his equality in the hard times. It is an issue during their time, and the mother wants to send the important message of how it is necessary to stand your ground on freedom. In “Theme for English B”, a colored boy of “twenty-two, born in Winston-Salem” is at school where he is instructed to “go home and write.” The man, obviously frustrated with his class that he is taking, talks about how he “like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love” making him seem like any other person. He has had enough of being beat up and torn down because of his race. He just wants people to see that he is a person too, just like everyone else including whites because “being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races.” He is worried that his page “will be colored that I write”, which to me is absurd because a piece of writing has nothing to do with race. It just comes to show you how prejudice and hateful people were back then that they judged a person’s writing because of their race. He goes on to use powerful words and challenge the instructor by saying “sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me. Nor do I often want to be a part of you.” He finishes his poem with “ I guess you learn from me-although you’re older-and white-and somewhat more free.” In the end, I do not understand how the “teacher” will “learn from me”. What does this mean? Is the student saying that the teacher will learn from the student’s writing of what it is like to be an African American in this time?
These poems today remind me of the movie “The Green Mile.” This is one of my favorite movies! But, this movie demonstrates how an African American prisoner is not granted a fair trial and is wrongly accused, convicted, and murdered. Even though the white prison guards know that the man is innocent, they do not do anything about it. Overall, this movie demonstrates the inequality present because of race which is demonstrated in today’s readings.
Race and Equality
Racism and equality were a big issue hundreds of years ago, and it is still even a major problem in our society. Today, we look at poems and a short story of those dealing with these issues, how they are dealing with the problem, and if they will take any action to change.
One of the main differences that I noticed between all of the authors is that each one creates a person in their poems that feels differently about their race and equality. In McKay’s poems, “If We Must Die” and “America”, it is almost as if the narrator has accepted where he is at in society and believes that there is nothing more to do. He is giving up by saying “if we must die.” In “America”, he is just taking whatever racist thing is thrown at him and accepting it. He is not willing to do anything about it; it is only “giving me strength” because all the narrator will do is “darkly gaze into the days ahead.” In “How it Feels to be Colored Me”, the girl, Zora from Eatonville, Florida, is happy with her race, she sees nothing wrong how she looks. She has a positive image of herself and is not afraid to talk or wave at whites. She “usually spoke to them in passing” and “wave at them.” It was not until she was sent away to school in Jacksonville, Florida that she “was now the little colored girl,” but she is proud to be who she is. In both of Hughes poems, “Mother to Son” and “Theme for English B”, the narrators are not happy with where they are in society. They are willing to fight and be motivated to change things. With the last author, Cullen, in “Incident”, the boy speaks of a memory when he was “once riding in Baltimore” at the age of eight and he “smiled” at a white man. The white man responded and “poked out His tongue, and called me ‘Nigger’.” That is the only thing that the boy remembers from his visit in Baltimore that lasted from “May until December.” The boy being of such a young age shows his innocence, and could explain why he did not know better to not smile at this man during this time. However, this is the only thing that the boy remembers, and it can be assumed that the boy took no action from how he was treated. Granted, he might not have been able to do much because he was so young. The issue is that he just let’s this one event, that was about ten seconds long, eat away at him, which is why I conclude that he still has taken no action. If this one event is bugging him, there obviously is a bigger issue at hand; he obviously does not have the courage to stand up for his race and being treated equally. In “Yet Do I Marvel”, the narrator references God and “I doubt not that God is good”, but he questions what role God plays in why the world is the way it is. Our world is full of problems, and he talks about them throughout his poem such as being “blind” and that people “must some day die.” I do not understand the ending to this poem. When he says “To make a poet black, and big him sing!”, is he showing that he is proud to be African American? If this is the case, I feel that is sort of abrupt and totally changing the meaning of the poem.
When deciding on a similarity between each of the authors today, I found this quite difficult. When you look at each individual author and poem, all are so different; however, I have settled on the similarity that each write with a sense of hopefulness. Even though each author has different feelings towards their race and quality, each is hopeful for the future and what it holds. For example, McKay says “if we must die”, and there is a sense of hopefulness that they will not die. Also, in “America” there is a sense of hopefulness that the man’s teacher will understand him and “learn from me”, and in “Mother to Son” the mother hopes that her son will continue to carry on her strength and fight for equality.
The author that I see most closely aligning with the authors that we studied yesterday is Langston Hughes. Yesterday’s message was on freedom, and to never be satisfied with what you have. In sending this message, the authors yesterday used powerful words to ignite the people. In both of Hughes poems, “Mother to Son” and “Theme for English B”, the message that I interpreted was to not accept where your race is at in society. The moment that one is satisfied is the moment of failure. Everyone deserves to be treated equally, and at this point in history, we are not. Both stir up powerful emotions that try to trigger action into fighting for equality of the races. In “Mother to Son”, the mother explains to her son that “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” showing how she has struggled for equality and is still continuing to fight. She encourages her son “don’t turn your back” to give him the strength to fight for his equality in the hard times. It is an issue during their time, and the mother wants to send the important message of how it is necessary to stand your ground on freedom. In “Theme for English B”, a colored boy of “twenty-two, born in Winston-Salem” is at school where he is instructed to “go home and write.” The man, obviously frustrated with his class that he is taking, talks about how he “like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love” making him seem like any other person. He has had enough of being beat up and torn down because of his race. He just wants people to see that he is a person too, just like everyone else including whites because “being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races.” He is worried that his page “will be colored that I write”, which to me is absurd because a piece of writing has nothing to do with race. It just comes to show you how prejudice and hateful people were back then that they judged a person’s writing because of their race. He goes on to use powerful words and challenge the instructor by saying “sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me. Nor do I often want to be a part of you.” He finishes his poem with “ I guess you learn from me-although you’re older-and white-and somewhat more free.” In the end, I do not understand how the “teacher” will “learn from me”. What does this mean? Is the student saying that the teacher will learn from the student’s writing of what it is like to be an African American in this time?
These poems today remind me of the movie “The Green Mile.” This is one of my favorite movies! But, this movie demonstrates how an African American prisoner is not granted a fair trial and is wrongly accused, convicted, and murdered. Even though the white prison guards know that the man is innocent, they do not do anything about it. Overall, this movie demonstrates the inequality present because of race which is demonstrated in today’s readings.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day 4
Day 4 Blog
American Notions of Equality
Even hundreds of years later after our country were founded; we are still having problems with equality. Equality is and was a big issue among America. In each of the readings assigned for today, equality is present in different notions. Over two hundred years ago, our Founding Fathers were supporting the “Declaration of Independence” written by Thomas Jefferson. In this sacred document, he talked about how “all men are created equal” and “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” He names off all of the terrible things that the king has done upon the poor colonies that does not make them equal to that of Britain, such as refusing “to pass other Laws” and “cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world.” Also, he has kept “Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures” and has been “imposing Taxes.” He asks Americans why we have moved and settled in America, and it is our time for equality and democracy which he defines as “all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and out to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States…do.” Religion is a factor in this document in the beginning where it states “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Basically, Jefferson is saying that as human beings, God has given us rights that we must not be denied, and Great Britain is denying us of these rights. This document is ever present today in the United States and supports contemporary notions of equality. We as Americans are subject to our rights as humans and should not be controlled by another country. We have the right to vote and run in office. We are our government, and it is run by our own people. We mustn’t be controlled by other countries, and we are willing to do whatever it takes to keep our independence.
However, in Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, it is evident that not all men were being treated equally. Rather, we had the horrible event of slavery upon us. This poem starts off in a positive manner, whereas this young girl is happy to be brought to America because “’twas mercy.” It was because of being brought to America where this girl learned “that there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too.” She says how this God has taught her so much. In America she sees how people look at her “sable race with scornful eye,” however, one day she knows that God will make them all equal and all will “join th’angelic train.” These are some pretty powerful words. It is evident that the young girl in this poem has some very strong faith. In this poem, Wheatley knows that there is not equality among the races yet, however, she does have the strength and faith within God that there will be soon. It is evident in the poem that there is not mention of when this equality will occur, but she knows that it will. Wheatley conceives equality and democracy in America of when people will not look at “our sable race with scornful eye”, and all men will be created equal. She wants people to not be judged because of the color of their skin, and she does not want skin color to be a deciding factor in equality. I believe that our contemporary notion of equality in America reflects this poem. This poem is a perfect example of how the “perfect” America would be. Yes, we want all men to be treated equally and not be judged on the color of their skin, but I do not believe that we can say that this is the case yet. We Americans, like Wheatley, want equality of the races, yet like her, we do not know when it will come.
Thomas Paine’s, “The Crisis”, speaks most powerfully to me of all the assigned readings today. It is similar to the Declaration of independence where it acts as a way of angering the people of the colonies and “firing” them up, just as the Declaration did when talking about all the terrible things that the king has done to the colonies. The short pamphlet starts out by saying that we are in hard times right now, and “these are the times that try men’s souls.” But, these hard times, are expected. We want freedom, but freedom is difficult to obtain. This will be difficult because if you want something that is important, it will not be easy to obtain because anything “we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.” Freedom is necessary; we must fight for our colonies because the king believes that he is allowed “ ‘to bind us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER’ “ and that “power can belong only to God.” In trying to obtain freedom, we must not question our decisions; we must just go with it. We have “avoided the calamities of war” for too long. In this war, we must create panic. Panic is both good and bad. It is bad because the “duration is short”, and it is good because it “bring things and men to light.” Paine then goes on to try and reassure people that we have done this before, and that even though we have a small army, we can conquer Britain’s’ large army. It is the time now, and we all must unite because words cannot fix this trouble we have on our hands. Parents should want to fight because “let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.” The time is now; “American will never be happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion. He is calling everyone to help, and says that God will repay you for your help. Paine informs them that his army is recruiting, and lots of men are signing up. He is almost advertising that “everyone is doing it” to get more people to sign up to fight.
In this pamphlet, Paine conceives and defines equality and democracy as being free from Great Britain. He is willing to do whatever it takes even if it includes starting a war. Today, our notions of equality are similar to that of Paine’s notions of equality. It is evident because of the war going on in the Middle East. We are willing to do whatever it takes to keep our equality and independence.
God is ever present in “The Crisis” because Paine states that “God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish.” He makes the readers feel as though God is on their side, and will be until the very end. God will not lash out against us for starting this war. Also, God will no longer support or help the king. The king has gone too far. It is time now to act!
In the last work, “Letters from an American Farmer,” I had some trouble understanding the writing. I get the gist when de Crevecoeur explains how Englishmen become Americans and how America is just a better place to live overall because of the land and religious freedom. Everything that America embodies is the idea of equality and freedom to him. He goes on to explain that there is not much difference between the rich and the poor because in America there are “no courts, no kings, no bishops.” Also, America is just a good place to live because of the “mild government, all respecting the laws, without dreading their power.” The land here is good; this continent is so big and “who can tell how far it extends?” You can settle along the shore, in the middle settlements, or in the woods, whatever deems fit for you. This is just a place that accepts everyone; people with many different talents come to this country and find work that suits them: Those that have “any particular talent…exerts it in order to procure a livelihood, and it succeeds.” America is not a crowded place, it is open to everyone. To de Crevecoeur equality is simply living in America. You have the right to live wherever you want, work in the field you desire, worship whatever religion you must, and marry out of your religion. de Crevecoeur did mention religion and God. He goes on and on talking about how we may follow whatever religion we wish because religion is “allied to all.” He talks about how religion does not “concern the welfare of the country, or of the province at large.” Our neighbors of different religions “scandalizes nobody…persecutes nobody, and nobody persecutes him.” We are free to worship as we want. Today, the ideas expressed in “Letters from an American Farmer” are what we know America as today.
What I noticed most about this short story is that de Crevecoeur compares humans to plants and animals. For example, it is said in the short story “It is with men as it is with the plants and animals that grow and live in the forests; they are entirely different from those that live in the plains.” Why does the author relate plants, animals, and humans?
I believe that our authors from today’s writings talk about the ideas of equality and freedom that we all know today.
American Notions of Equality
Even hundreds of years later after our country were founded; we are still having problems with equality. Equality is and was a big issue among America. In each of the readings assigned for today, equality is present in different notions. Over two hundred years ago, our Founding Fathers were supporting the “Declaration of Independence” written by Thomas Jefferson. In this sacred document, he talked about how “all men are created equal” and “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” He names off all of the terrible things that the king has done upon the poor colonies that does not make them equal to that of Britain, such as refusing “to pass other Laws” and “cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world.” Also, he has kept “Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures” and has been “imposing Taxes.” He asks Americans why we have moved and settled in America, and it is our time for equality and democracy which he defines as “all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and out to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States…do.” Religion is a factor in this document in the beginning where it states “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Basically, Jefferson is saying that as human beings, God has given us rights that we must not be denied, and Great Britain is denying us of these rights. This document is ever present today in the United States and supports contemporary notions of equality. We as Americans are subject to our rights as humans and should not be controlled by another country. We have the right to vote and run in office. We are our government, and it is run by our own people. We mustn’t be controlled by other countries, and we are willing to do whatever it takes to keep our independence.
However, in Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, it is evident that not all men were being treated equally. Rather, we had the horrible event of slavery upon us. This poem starts off in a positive manner, whereas this young girl is happy to be brought to America because “’twas mercy.” It was because of being brought to America where this girl learned “that there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too.” She says how this God has taught her so much. In America she sees how people look at her “sable race with scornful eye,” however, one day she knows that God will make them all equal and all will “join th’angelic train.” These are some pretty powerful words. It is evident that the young girl in this poem has some very strong faith. In this poem, Wheatley knows that there is not equality among the races yet, however, she does have the strength and faith within God that there will be soon. It is evident in the poem that there is not mention of when this equality will occur, but she knows that it will. Wheatley conceives equality and democracy in America of when people will not look at “our sable race with scornful eye”, and all men will be created equal. She wants people to not be judged because of the color of their skin, and she does not want skin color to be a deciding factor in equality. I believe that our contemporary notion of equality in America reflects this poem. This poem is a perfect example of how the “perfect” America would be. Yes, we want all men to be treated equally and not be judged on the color of their skin, but I do not believe that we can say that this is the case yet. We Americans, like Wheatley, want equality of the races, yet like her, we do not know when it will come.
Thomas Paine’s, “The Crisis”, speaks most powerfully to me of all the assigned readings today. It is similar to the Declaration of independence where it acts as a way of angering the people of the colonies and “firing” them up, just as the Declaration did when talking about all the terrible things that the king has done to the colonies. The short pamphlet starts out by saying that we are in hard times right now, and “these are the times that try men’s souls.” But, these hard times, are expected. We want freedom, but freedom is difficult to obtain. This will be difficult because if you want something that is important, it will not be easy to obtain because anything “we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.” Freedom is necessary; we must fight for our colonies because the king believes that he is allowed “ ‘to bind us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER’ “ and that “power can belong only to God.” In trying to obtain freedom, we must not question our decisions; we must just go with it. We have “avoided the calamities of war” for too long. In this war, we must create panic. Panic is both good and bad. It is bad because the “duration is short”, and it is good because it “bring things and men to light.” Paine then goes on to try and reassure people that we have done this before, and that even though we have a small army, we can conquer Britain’s’ large army. It is the time now, and we all must unite because words cannot fix this trouble we have on our hands. Parents should want to fight because “let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.” The time is now; “American will never be happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion. He is calling everyone to help, and says that God will repay you for your help. Paine informs them that his army is recruiting, and lots of men are signing up. He is almost advertising that “everyone is doing it” to get more people to sign up to fight.
In this pamphlet, Paine conceives and defines equality and democracy as being free from Great Britain. He is willing to do whatever it takes even if it includes starting a war. Today, our notions of equality are similar to that of Paine’s notions of equality. It is evident because of the war going on in the Middle East. We are willing to do whatever it takes to keep our equality and independence.
God is ever present in “The Crisis” because Paine states that “God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish.” He makes the readers feel as though God is on their side, and will be until the very end. God will not lash out against us for starting this war. Also, God will no longer support or help the king. The king has gone too far. It is time now to act!
In the last work, “Letters from an American Farmer,” I had some trouble understanding the writing. I get the gist when de Crevecoeur explains how Englishmen become Americans and how America is just a better place to live overall because of the land and religious freedom. Everything that America embodies is the idea of equality and freedom to him. He goes on to explain that there is not much difference between the rich and the poor because in America there are “no courts, no kings, no bishops.” Also, America is just a good place to live because of the “mild government, all respecting the laws, without dreading their power.” The land here is good; this continent is so big and “who can tell how far it extends?” You can settle along the shore, in the middle settlements, or in the woods, whatever deems fit for you. This is just a place that accepts everyone; people with many different talents come to this country and find work that suits them: Those that have “any particular talent…exerts it in order to procure a livelihood, and it succeeds.” America is not a crowded place, it is open to everyone. To de Crevecoeur equality is simply living in America. You have the right to live wherever you want, work in the field you desire, worship whatever religion you must, and marry out of your religion. de Crevecoeur did mention religion and God. He goes on and on talking about how we may follow whatever religion we wish because religion is “allied to all.” He talks about how religion does not “concern the welfare of the country, or of the province at large.” Our neighbors of different religions “scandalizes nobody…persecutes nobody, and nobody persecutes him.” We are free to worship as we want. Today, the ideas expressed in “Letters from an American Farmer” are what we know America as today.
What I noticed most about this short story is that de Crevecoeur compares humans to plants and animals. For example, it is said in the short story “It is with men as it is with the plants and animals that grow and live in the forests; they are entirely different from those that live in the plains.” Why does the author relate plants, animals, and humans?
I believe that our authors from today’s writings talk about the ideas of equality and freedom that we all know today.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day 3
Day 3 Blog
Freedom to Assert Oneself; Non-conformity
In Melville’s work, “Bartleby the Scrivener”, the main character portrays non-conformity. To begin the short story, the narrator a lawyer who works on Wall Street and is a “ rather elderly man”, gives background information on “myself, my employees, my business, my chambers, and general surroundings.” The narrator has three men currently working for him: Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut. Turkey is a short man “somewhere not far from sixty”. He is well tempered in the morning, and ill-tempered in the afternoon. This suggests that he is an alcoholic because he returns like this every day after lunch. On the other hand, Nippers, who is not a morning person, is ill tempered in the morning, and well-tempered in the afternoon. So both men balanced out the business. Nippers was known for “receiving visits from certain ambiguous-looking fellows in seedy coats, whom he called his clients.” It was evident that he ran a business on the side of some sort. Nippers did not wear the best clothes; “His clothes were apt to look oil and smell of eating-houses. He wore pantaloons very loose and baggy in the summer.” Finally, the third employee of the lawyer office was Ginger Nut. Ginger Nut was “twelve years old.” He was employed “at the rate of one dollar a week” and he works in the office “as a student at law, errand boy, and cleaner and sweeper.” He was often sent on errands by Turkey and Nippers to get ginger nuts. However, the narrator needed one more scrivener or copyists, so he put an ad in the paper. A man by the name of Bartleby responded, and he was hired. The first couple of days “Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing” and was excelling at the firm. However, on the “third day” everything took a turn for the worst. Bartleby refused to write because he would “prefer not to.” This went on for a while, and the lawyer simply ignored him in hopes of Bartleby returning to work one day. However, Bartleby never wanted to write or speak of the reason why he wanted to write. He just responded that he “would prefer not to.” One Sunday, the narrator discovered because of his “restless curiosity” that Bartleby was in fact living in his small headquarters in the narrator’s office. The narrator surprisingly kept his cool by all of this, but soon after, Bartleby was asked to leave. Bartleby simply said that he “would prefer not to.” The narrator could do nothing to change Bartleby’s mind, and in a way, the narrator felt bad for Bartleby and told him he would help him financially. In the end, the narrator had to end up moving to a new office. Bartleby stayed in his old office and was a bother to the new tenant. The new tenant had him thrown in jail. In jail, Bartleby would not eat. A few days later, he died. The narrator discovered after Bartleby died that he “had been a subordinate clerk in the Dead Letter Office at Washington.” Once the narrator found out this news he cried out, “Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!.”
Some questions that I have about this piece are who was the man Adam that was mentioned in the story? Was this the narrator’s name or was it somebody symbolic? Also, why did Bartleby act the way he did? I know it was not because of pure laziness. Was it because of his previous job? I realize that what he did at the post office was pretty tough. He was responsible for reading letters sent to dead people and disposing of them. I imagine that is difficult knowing that you hold all the words that people want sent to the dead.
Non-conformity is present in this story in Bartleby. Bartleby is different from the rest of the crowd. He refuses to do work because he simple “prefers not to.” He simply just sits and stares out the window into a brick wall, and his diet is abnormal. All that he eats are ginger nuts.. I wouldn’t say that Bartleby celebrates his non-conformity in the same way as Lady Gaga, however, he does make it known. He is not rude about it; it is simply just the way he is. He does what he wants with no sign of “uneasiness, anger, impatience or impertinence in his manner.” Bartleby was lucky to have such an understanding and patient person dealing with him (narrator). If it were not for the narrator, I do not know how many other people would have accepted his different ways of doing work when he prefers to. Because of an understanding boss, Bartleby exposing his different side was not that difficult of an endeavor. It is evident that there are pitfalls of non-conformity. Many people do not accept people who are different and “beat to their own drum.” Bartleby was put in jail by the second tenant of the building where he died. His new boss would not have for his unique ways. He was unwilling to get to know Bartleby and understand him. Everyone is different, and we all work differently.
Bartleby and his situation remind me of my brother. He reminds me of my younger brother, Joey, because Joey simply refuses to do work. When asked, he tells my parents no. I think this is terrible. However, my brother beats to his own drum. Eventually the work gets done, just not when he is asked to.
In Ginsberg’s, “Sunflower Sutra”, the poem is about two men who are not ready to conform to what society has become. They sit “down under the huge shade of a Southern Pacific locomotive”, and his friend Jack is sitting on “a bused rusty iron pole.” Both seem sad and want to “cry.” They reminisce on the beauty of the land now gone because of the industry. There are “no fish in that stream, no hermit in those mounts.” One then notices a “Sunflower.” This sunflower seems out of place in a place built up by industry. He thinks of Harlem, all the buildings built there. The beauty of the town is gone, and the sunflower turns “gray.” The two men think about what our country has become. The beautiful lands have been destroyed. In the end, the narrator “grabbed up the skeleton thick sunflower and stuck it at my side.” I have one question from this poem. Why does the narrator keep repeating the word locomotive? The Sunflower portrays non-conformity because it holds all this beauty, and we look at what the world has become: bland, many buildings, metal in nature and so on. It is just sitting in a place where it does not belong being beautiful. It is growing out in the open surrounded by ugliness. I believe that this sunflower is celebrating its non-conformity. I feel as if it is mocking all the gray, undesired buildings around it by being the only sunflower to grow out of place. Yes, it is a difficult endeavor, and there are benefits. People can admire the beauty of this sunflower and all the things that this land once was. However, the pitfalls are that how can this one sunflower change the beauty that this land once was. Everyone says that one person can make a difference, but how can this one sunflower make a difference and bring back all the beauty.
Freedom to Assert Oneself; Non-conformity
In Melville’s work, “Bartleby the Scrivener”, the main character portrays non-conformity. To begin the short story, the narrator a lawyer who works on Wall Street and is a “ rather elderly man”, gives background information on “myself, my employees, my business, my chambers, and general surroundings.” The narrator has three men currently working for him: Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut. Turkey is a short man “somewhere not far from sixty”. He is well tempered in the morning, and ill-tempered in the afternoon. This suggests that he is an alcoholic because he returns like this every day after lunch. On the other hand, Nippers, who is not a morning person, is ill tempered in the morning, and well-tempered in the afternoon. So both men balanced out the business. Nippers was known for “receiving visits from certain ambiguous-looking fellows in seedy coats, whom he called his clients.” It was evident that he ran a business on the side of some sort. Nippers did not wear the best clothes; “His clothes were apt to look oil and smell of eating-houses. He wore pantaloons very loose and baggy in the summer.” Finally, the third employee of the lawyer office was Ginger Nut. Ginger Nut was “twelve years old.” He was employed “at the rate of one dollar a week” and he works in the office “as a student at law, errand boy, and cleaner and sweeper.” He was often sent on errands by Turkey and Nippers to get ginger nuts. However, the narrator needed one more scrivener or copyists, so he put an ad in the paper. A man by the name of Bartleby responded, and he was hired. The first couple of days “Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing” and was excelling at the firm. However, on the “third day” everything took a turn for the worst. Bartleby refused to write because he would “prefer not to.” This went on for a while, and the lawyer simply ignored him in hopes of Bartleby returning to work one day. However, Bartleby never wanted to write or speak of the reason why he wanted to write. He just responded that he “would prefer not to.” One Sunday, the narrator discovered because of his “restless curiosity” that Bartleby was in fact living in his small headquarters in the narrator’s office. The narrator surprisingly kept his cool by all of this, but soon after, Bartleby was asked to leave. Bartleby simply said that he “would prefer not to.” The narrator could do nothing to change Bartleby’s mind, and in a way, the narrator felt bad for Bartleby and told him he would help him financially. In the end, the narrator had to end up moving to a new office. Bartleby stayed in his old office and was a bother to the new tenant. The new tenant had him thrown in jail. In jail, Bartleby would not eat. A few days later, he died. The narrator discovered after Bartleby died that he “had been a subordinate clerk in the Dead Letter Office at Washington.” Once the narrator found out this news he cried out, “Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!.”
Some questions that I have about this piece are who was the man Adam that was mentioned in the story? Was this the narrator’s name or was it somebody symbolic? Also, why did Bartleby act the way he did? I know it was not because of pure laziness. Was it because of his previous job? I realize that what he did at the post office was pretty tough. He was responsible for reading letters sent to dead people and disposing of them. I imagine that is difficult knowing that you hold all the words that people want sent to the dead.
Non-conformity is present in this story in Bartleby. Bartleby is different from the rest of the crowd. He refuses to do work because he simple “prefers not to.” He simply just sits and stares out the window into a brick wall, and his diet is abnormal. All that he eats are ginger nuts.. I wouldn’t say that Bartleby celebrates his non-conformity in the same way as Lady Gaga, however, he does make it known. He is not rude about it; it is simply just the way he is. He does what he wants with no sign of “uneasiness, anger, impatience or impertinence in his manner.” Bartleby was lucky to have such an understanding and patient person dealing with him (narrator). If it were not for the narrator, I do not know how many other people would have accepted his different ways of doing work when he prefers to. Because of an understanding boss, Bartleby exposing his different side was not that difficult of an endeavor. It is evident that there are pitfalls of non-conformity. Many people do not accept people who are different and “beat to their own drum.” Bartleby was put in jail by the second tenant of the building where he died. His new boss would not have for his unique ways. He was unwilling to get to know Bartleby and understand him. Everyone is different, and we all work differently.
Bartleby and his situation remind me of my brother. He reminds me of my younger brother, Joey, because Joey simply refuses to do work. When asked, he tells my parents no. I think this is terrible. However, my brother beats to his own drum. Eventually the work gets done, just not when he is asked to.
In Ginsberg’s, “Sunflower Sutra”, the poem is about two men who are not ready to conform to what society has become. They sit “down under the huge shade of a Southern Pacific locomotive”, and his friend Jack is sitting on “a bused rusty iron pole.” Both seem sad and want to “cry.” They reminisce on the beauty of the land now gone because of the industry. There are “no fish in that stream, no hermit in those mounts.” One then notices a “Sunflower.” This sunflower seems out of place in a place built up by industry. He thinks of Harlem, all the buildings built there. The beauty of the town is gone, and the sunflower turns “gray.” The two men think about what our country has become. The beautiful lands have been destroyed. In the end, the narrator “grabbed up the skeleton thick sunflower and stuck it at my side.” I have one question from this poem. Why does the narrator keep repeating the word locomotive? The Sunflower portrays non-conformity because it holds all this beauty, and we look at what the world has become: bland, many buildings, metal in nature and so on. It is just sitting in a place where it does not belong being beautiful. It is growing out in the open surrounded by ugliness. I believe that this sunflower is celebrating its non-conformity. I feel as if it is mocking all the gray, undesired buildings around it by being the only sunflower to grow out of place. Yes, it is a difficult endeavor, and there are benefits. People can admire the beauty of this sunflower and all the things that this land once was. However, the pitfalls are that how can this one sunflower change the beauty that this land once was. Everyone says that one person can make a difference, but how can this one sunflower make a difference and bring back all the beauty.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Day 2
Day 2 Blog
Freedom of Religion
In Stevens “Sunday Morning,” a young lady is sitting in on a Sunday morning drinking coffee, enjoying the beautiful things around her like the “oranges in a sunny chair, and the green freedom of a cockatoo.” Then, “she dreams a little,” and she starts to think about church. The beautiful things around her “seem things in some procession of the dead.” She travels to Palestine in her dream to the Last Supper and Jesus’ Tomb. The women questions “why should she give her bounty to the dead?” when she takes just as much pleasure from the “comforts of the sun.” The woman then goes on to talk about birds in the field, but “‘…when the birds are gone, and their warm field return no more, where, then is paradise?’. “ She is content with the beauty of the birds. But, then she starts to think of death, and thinks that “death is the mother of beauty, mystical, within whose burning bosom we devise.” She then comes across some men chanting a “chant of paradise.” Some questions that I have about this poem are that in the first stanza, there are a lot of images of vivid colors. I know these vivid images are symbolic in some way, but how? Also, who is Jove in the poem? And what is the purpose of mentioning him here? Finally, who are these men chanting, and what are they chanting? What is the message that is trying to be sent to the woman?
In Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Edwards starts off by talking about “the wicked unbelieving Israelites.” These Israelites were “always exposed to sudden unexpected destruction.” These Israelites would “walk in slippery places” and were “liable to fall, he cannot forsee on moment whether he shall stand or fall the next.” Edwards goes on to talk about how “There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God.” God is the one that ultimately has the final say as if we go to heaven or hell, and we do not want to be under God’s angry spell because “God is a great deal moreangry with great numbers that are now on earth.” Basically, this whole sermon is about how the people of this church need to become better people because we do not know when our judgement day will occur. And, when this judgement day does come, we do not want to fall under God’s angriness. Edwards likes to instill fear into people in this sermon. He uses harsh and vivid details to compare to the people of what could happen in their future. The first detail that particularly scared me was “The wrath of God burns against them…the first is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow.” This part was scary because imagine being above the fires of hell knowing the man who has the ultimate say if you will be cast there is angry with you. The second scary image was “ if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge to the bottomless gulf….would have no more influence to uphold you…than a spider’s web would have to stop a fallen rock.” This is powerful. I can just imagine falling to the depths of hell and seeing something that would stop me. I would only be mistaken to think it was a spider’s web that has the strength of a piece of wet tissue paper. Edwards uses to great details that can paint a picture in your mind perfectly.
In Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown,” Goodman Brown parts from his wife Faith for the night to embark on a journey that is unknown to his wife. Brown feels bad about leaving his wife for the night but tells her to “say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee” to ease her fears of being by herself for the night. Brown begins his journey and goes deep into the woods with the “gloomiest trees of the forest.” In the woods, he is greeted expectedly by the man and the two “walked onward, side by side.” As the two walk further and further into the woods, Brown becomes unsure of what is going on and wants to turn around. The man offers Brown his staff to help him walk on, and tells Brown that he knew his father and grandfather. The two then see a women up ahead which turns out to be Goody Cloyse, “who taught him his catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual adviser.” Goody claims that this man is the devil. The man continues to walk on, however, Brown does not want to join him any longer, so Brown hides in the woods. Brown hears familiar people of the town pass. Brown calls into the woods for his wife but there is no answer. He follows the sounds of noises to the “red light before him.” He, as well as a unknown woman approach the congregation. A woman, who is thought to be his mother tries to warn him not to. In front of everybody, he sees everyone he knows sins. Then he sees Faith, and tells her “Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!” Then, Brown returned to the village the next morning and could see all the sins of every one and cannot look at them the same, and this includes his wife because he saw her sins the night before. He lives the rest of his life in gloom and died in misery. I have a couple of questions about this story. I am confused as to why he turned so sour in the end. Yes, he was saved from the devil, or was he? He returned back to his normal life but was a changed person for the worst. Why was this? This short story reminds me of the play A Christmas Carol. It reminds me of this because even though A Christmas Carol is not about religion, Scrooge is taken back in time with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Scrooge becomes a changed man because these ghosts let Scrooge experience what others less fortunate go through. Although, Scrooge changes for the better and Brown changes for the worst, both change do to “supernatural experiences.”
Edwards’ sermon is different from Hawthorne’s story in the way that both take a different approach into talking to people about religion. Edwards takes the approach of instilling fear into people so that they will follow God and obey their religion because of the unknown, whereas Hawthorne takes a softer and more personal approach of letting Brown see and experience the sins of people. While Brown is seeing and experiencing these sins people have partaken in, he feels. This is different from Edwards’ sermon because there is just fear and no known to what can happen, whereas Brown can feel and see what it is like and actually experience the devil first hand. Because of Brown’s firsthand experience he can live his religious life because he somewhat knows what is beyond life. However, people who listened to Edwards’ sermon only act in a more religious manner because of fear of the unknown. The people feel fear. Overall, both approaches are very effective in persuading people to become more religious.
“Sunday Morning” is similar to both “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and “Young Goodman Brown” because messages about religion and becoming a better Christian are being sent to everyday people living normal lives. However, I believe that “Sunday Morning” is more similar to “Young Goodman Brown” because a message is being sent to a single person by letting that particular person experience their thoughts on religion, death, and life after death. From these experiences, the individual can continue to live their life based on what conclusions were drawn from their “dreams” or “travels.” “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” just instills fear in the people of the church and leaves them to think the unknown. Because of this, each individual acts out of fear.
I believe that “Sunday Morning” most accurately reflects the contemporary American viewpoint of religion. I believe this because, it is typical of any American to sit in on a Sunday morning and enjoy having their coffee and reading the Sunday newspaper. It is almost as if the character in “Sunday Morning” is trailed off to a dream because of guilt, and I believe that it is guilt that drives a lot of people to church: guilt of losing a job, guilt of losing a loved one, guilt of losing your health, guilt of being put in an unsafe situation, and guilt of so much more. This fear drives people to become religious because they do not want to be put in situations such as this. The question is do people really go to church to be a better person? Or do people go to church because of guilt? (This is my sole opinion.)
Freedom of Religion
In Stevens “Sunday Morning,” a young lady is sitting in on a Sunday morning drinking coffee, enjoying the beautiful things around her like the “oranges in a sunny chair, and the green freedom of a cockatoo.” Then, “she dreams a little,” and she starts to think about church. The beautiful things around her “seem things in some procession of the dead.” She travels to Palestine in her dream to the Last Supper and Jesus’ Tomb. The women questions “why should she give her bounty to the dead?” when she takes just as much pleasure from the “comforts of the sun.” The woman then goes on to talk about birds in the field, but “‘…when the birds are gone, and their warm field return no more, where, then is paradise?’. “ She is content with the beauty of the birds. But, then she starts to think of death, and thinks that “death is the mother of beauty, mystical, within whose burning bosom we devise.” She then comes across some men chanting a “chant of paradise.” Some questions that I have about this poem are that in the first stanza, there are a lot of images of vivid colors. I know these vivid images are symbolic in some way, but how? Also, who is Jove in the poem? And what is the purpose of mentioning him here? Finally, who are these men chanting, and what are they chanting? What is the message that is trying to be sent to the woman?
In Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Edwards starts off by talking about “the wicked unbelieving Israelites.” These Israelites were “always exposed to sudden unexpected destruction.” These Israelites would “walk in slippery places” and were “liable to fall, he cannot forsee on moment whether he shall stand or fall the next.” Edwards goes on to talk about how “There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God.” God is the one that ultimately has the final say as if we go to heaven or hell, and we do not want to be under God’s angry spell because “God is a great deal moreangry with great numbers that are now on earth.” Basically, this whole sermon is about how the people of this church need to become better people because we do not know when our judgement day will occur. And, when this judgement day does come, we do not want to fall under God’s angriness. Edwards likes to instill fear into people in this sermon. He uses harsh and vivid details to compare to the people of what could happen in their future. The first detail that particularly scared me was “The wrath of God burns against them…the first is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow.” This part was scary because imagine being above the fires of hell knowing the man who has the ultimate say if you will be cast there is angry with you. The second scary image was “ if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge to the bottomless gulf….would have no more influence to uphold you…than a spider’s web would have to stop a fallen rock.” This is powerful. I can just imagine falling to the depths of hell and seeing something that would stop me. I would only be mistaken to think it was a spider’s web that has the strength of a piece of wet tissue paper. Edwards uses to great details that can paint a picture in your mind perfectly.
In Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown,” Goodman Brown parts from his wife Faith for the night to embark on a journey that is unknown to his wife. Brown feels bad about leaving his wife for the night but tells her to “say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee” to ease her fears of being by herself for the night. Brown begins his journey and goes deep into the woods with the “gloomiest trees of the forest.” In the woods, he is greeted expectedly by the man and the two “walked onward, side by side.” As the two walk further and further into the woods, Brown becomes unsure of what is going on and wants to turn around. The man offers Brown his staff to help him walk on, and tells Brown that he knew his father and grandfather. The two then see a women up ahead which turns out to be Goody Cloyse, “who taught him his catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual adviser.” Goody claims that this man is the devil. The man continues to walk on, however, Brown does not want to join him any longer, so Brown hides in the woods. Brown hears familiar people of the town pass. Brown calls into the woods for his wife but there is no answer. He follows the sounds of noises to the “red light before him.” He, as well as a unknown woman approach the congregation. A woman, who is thought to be his mother tries to warn him not to. In front of everybody, he sees everyone he knows sins. Then he sees Faith, and tells her “Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!” Then, Brown returned to the village the next morning and could see all the sins of every one and cannot look at them the same, and this includes his wife because he saw her sins the night before. He lives the rest of his life in gloom and died in misery. I have a couple of questions about this story. I am confused as to why he turned so sour in the end. Yes, he was saved from the devil, or was he? He returned back to his normal life but was a changed person for the worst. Why was this? This short story reminds me of the play A Christmas Carol. It reminds me of this because even though A Christmas Carol is not about religion, Scrooge is taken back in time with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Scrooge becomes a changed man because these ghosts let Scrooge experience what others less fortunate go through. Although, Scrooge changes for the better and Brown changes for the worst, both change do to “supernatural experiences.”
Edwards’ sermon is different from Hawthorne’s story in the way that both take a different approach into talking to people about religion. Edwards takes the approach of instilling fear into people so that they will follow God and obey their religion because of the unknown, whereas Hawthorne takes a softer and more personal approach of letting Brown see and experience the sins of people. While Brown is seeing and experiencing these sins people have partaken in, he feels. This is different from Edwards’ sermon because there is just fear and no known to what can happen, whereas Brown can feel and see what it is like and actually experience the devil first hand. Because of Brown’s firsthand experience he can live his religious life because he somewhat knows what is beyond life. However, people who listened to Edwards’ sermon only act in a more religious manner because of fear of the unknown. The people feel fear. Overall, both approaches are very effective in persuading people to become more religious.
“Sunday Morning” is similar to both “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and “Young Goodman Brown” because messages about religion and becoming a better Christian are being sent to everyday people living normal lives. However, I believe that “Sunday Morning” is more similar to “Young Goodman Brown” because a message is being sent to a single person by letting that particular person experience their thoughts on religion, death, and life after death. From these experiences, the individual can continue to live their life based on what conclusions were drawn from their “dreams” or “travels.” “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” just instills fear in the people of the church and leaves them to think the unknown. Because of this, each individual acts out of fear.
I believe that “Sunday Morning” most accurately reflects the contemporary American viewpoint of religion. I believe this because, it is typical of any American to sit in on a Sunday morning and enjoy having their coffee and reading the Sunday newspaper. It is almost as if the character in “Sunday Morning” is trailed off to a dream because of guilt, and I believe that it is guilt that drives a lot of people to church: guilt of losing a job, guilt of losing a loved one, guilt of losing your health, guilt of being put in an unsafe situation, and guilt of so much more. This fear drives people to become religious because they do not want to be put in situations such as this. The question is do people really go to church to be a better person? Or do people go to church because of guilt? (This is my sole opinion.)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Day 1
Day 1 Blog:
Social Freedom Doesn’t Come Easy
Is freedom really free? Yes, we do have certain but limited rights without impinging on others rights, but what about social freedom? Social freedom, as demonstrated through the works of Bradstreet, Irving, and Gilman does not come easily.
In Anne Bradstreet’s, “The Author to Her Book”, Bradstreet writes of a book, an “ill-formed offspring of my feeble-brain” that was not fully complete do to Bradstreet’s obsessiveness. However, her book was “snatcht from thence by friends, less wise than true.” Now, her work is in “critic’s hands” to be torn apart. Social Freedom is demonstrated in this poem by Bradstreet because it shows that even though we have the freedom to say and write what we want, it always comes with consequences. In Bradstreet’s case, her book being taken from her will be in the hands of real people and critics who are the main people threatening to hold her back from being truly free. These people and critics now have the ability to tear apart her work and “made thee in rags,” and even “where errors were not lessened (all may judge)”. People fail to see that Bradstreet is a real person too, she is subject to her own thoughts and opinions, and in doing so, she will make errors, just like everybody does. Another problem was that social freedom was difficult to attain because she is a women in an era where women were not supposed to be writing and whose opinions are not supposed to be taken seriously. It becomes evident deep into the poem whey Bradstreet was so obsessive. She knew that the book would be torn apart because she cannot please everyone. Even if Bradstreet did obtain social freedom with this book, how can she keep writing to please readers of her books and most importantly herself? It is a constant tug of war and quite frankly difficult to achieve due to her obsessiveness and desire for perfection. Even though Bradstreet does not necessarily obtain social freedom in this poem, she does get what she wants to say out. The question is though, is it really worth it? Her freedom is not really free because of her obsessiveness. It causes her so much stress which could lead to further problems. Bradstreet can be related to the character Hotchner from the TV show Criminal Minds. The man is so obsessive and into perfecting his work, that he forgets about his family. Therefore, his family life suffers from this and he loses his wife to a divorce.
In Bradstreet’s second poem, “Prologue,” I am having trouble deciphering the message, however, the message I get out of this poem is feminism. Bradstreet, a women in the Puritan era, was not looked upon as worthy. Every women had her job and that was in the house, not out writing. Yet, she wanted to write of history, “to sing of wars, of captains, and of kings, of cities founded, common-wealths begun.” However, she knows that this is not her place in society and demeans herself saying, “for my mean Pen are too superior things.” Men in the Puritan society warn her with “each carping tongue,” and tell her that “ my hand a needle fits better.” I believe that from this poem, Bradstreet will not achieve social freedom when it comes to her writing, and even if she did achieve social freedom, it will not be accepted like she states in her poem, “If what I do prove well, it won’t advance, They’ll say it’s stol’n, or else it was by chance.” In this particular poem, men are what is holding Bradstreet back from being truly free to do what she wants, which is write. A question I have about this poem is why does she talk about the Greeks? How does this have to do with her Puritan society?
In Bradstreet’s third poem, “To my Dear and Loving Husband,” Bradstreet writes of her love for her husband… “If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were lov’d by wife, then thee.”. Being from the Puritan era where not all marriages were based on true love, this marriage is a rare one. Women of this time were expected to be housewives and provide for the men and children. This is a relationship where there is a passion and love for each other. Social freedom of marriage was not always the case in these times, however, Bradstreet and her husband achieved it. Both were in love with each other, and it is evident because Bradstreet says, “I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold or all the riches that the East doth hold.” Mines of gold and riches are things that are very important to some people and hold great prestige, however, Bradstreet says that her husband means more to her than even some of the most prized possessions. The fact that she uses the word “prize” shows that she is proud of her husband and proud of her relationship. There is a notion of freedom with Bradstreet. She is different from other women in this era; she has a successful relationship on both ends. To other women in unhappy marriages, they are the biggest issues holding Bradstreet back. These unhappy women could do anything in their power to try to make Bradstreet as unhappy as they are. It is unknown in the poem if this is the case, however, it could be. Also, another thing that might hold Bradstreet back from achieving freedom is the fact that her husband might not love her back like she loves him. I assume from the poem that Bradstreet and her husband’s love are equal and reciprocated, but this could also be the case for a marriage that does not lead to freedom.
In Gilmans, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a woman (the narrator) is taken to a summerhouse by her physician husband John. The woman just delivered a baby and is in a state of depression. From the start, the woman feels as if there is something wrong with the house because the price to rent was “let so cheaply….and stood so long untenanted.” During the summer stay, the woman is to stay in a room with yellow wallpaper. This yellow wallpaper bugs the woman. The problem with this wallpaper progresses throughout her stay at the colonial mansion. It goes from a slight annoyance (“ the color is repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight”) to complete insanity. This complete insanity is thought of as a single woman that comes out of the paper to several women coming out of the paper. The narrator writes of herself watching the women creep around outside. This I believe is symbolic because she is imagining these women as what she wants to be. She wants to be the woman outside creeping through the garden and wonderful woods, but instead, she is trapped inside of this room with yellow wallpaper. Eventually, this yellow wallpaper makes the narrator so crazy that she tears it off. The issue of social freedom is very evident in this short story. It is that during this time period, is a women really free even when she is married? Or, is she under the control of this man? It is evident that the narrator, is in fact not free in her marriage. Her husband controls her physically, mentally, and emotionally. In this case, he physically makes her stay in a room until she will get better and mentally stronger. Also, he emotionally abuses her by making her think, that he is always right. “ ‘Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so?’ “ The narrator knows that society will take a man’s word over a woman’s, especially that of a physician. This woman knows no freedom except in her freedom to write and keep that from her husband. Her husband, her depression, and this house that she is locked in are the three main issues that are keeping the narrator from being truly free. Her husband has the power over her that is making her believe things that are not necessarily true, such as him telling the narrator that she is starting to get better when in fact she is getting worse. Her depression is also holding her back. All-in-all, the narrator has no social freedom within her marriage when locked in this room in the house. Her only form of freedom is her ability to write about what is going on inside her head and hide that from her husband.
In Irving’s, “Rip Van Winkle,” Rip, the main character, is “a simple good natured man” in his town. “He would never refuse to assist a neighbor even in the roughest toil”, and was loved by all the children in the town. He has an overpowering wife, Dame Van Winkle, whom he despises and avoids at all possible costs. “Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own.” His overpowering “wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family.” Eventually he travels up to the mountains one day with his dog Wolf (his lazy companion), where he meets a “short square-built old fellow, with thick bushy hair, and a grizzled beard.” He follows the odd looking man to a group of men drinking and having a good time. He himself starts drinking and “one taste provoked another….and he fell into a deep sleep.” When he woke up, he went back to town and nobody remembered him. It turns out that he had slept for twenty years. He was soon accepted back into society, and he lived with his daughter. I believe that social freedom is a very evident theme in this short story. First, Rip has achieved social freedom amongst his peers and fellow towns people. He was loved by everyone even the children. He would go and talk with his buddies at the Inn and be free to speak of what he desired. I believe that this proves how easy it was for men of this time to achieve social freedom. Men were looked up to, and everybody trusted and believed them. Once Rip returned after twenty years, he was easily welcomed back into society after a few questions were asked. If that was a woman, would that have been the case? I do not think so. However, Rip may have been free within the members of his town, however, he was far from free when it came to his wife, and she was the main issue holding him back when it came to social freedom. He was controlled verbally by her, and he was afraid of her. He did not have the freedom to say or do what he wanted with her. However, he did have the freedom to leave her which is exactly what he did. This short story raises the issue of differences between men and women. Men of this time definitely had much more social freedoms than women did. Unfair, yes, however, this was simply how it was. Some women of the time stood up to it, like Bradstreet, however, others just simply let life as they know it take its course like the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
Social Freedom Doesn’t Come Easy
Is freedom really free? Yes, we do have certain but limited rights without impinging on others rights, but what about social freedom? Social freedom, as demonstrated through the works of Bradstreet, Irving, and Gilman does not come easily.
In Anne Bradstreet’s, “The Author to Her Book”, Bradstreet writes of a book, an “ill-formed offspring of my feeble-brain” that was not fully complete do to Bradstreet’s obsessiveness. However, her book was “snatcht from thence by friends, less wise than true.” Now, her work is in “critic’s hands” to be torn apart. Social Freedom is demonstrated in this poem by Bradstreet because it shows that even though we have the freedom to say and write what we want, it always comes with consequences. In Bradstreet’s case, her book being taken from her will be in the hands of real people and critics who are the main people threatening to hold her back from being truly free. These people and critics now have the ability to tear apart her work and “made thee in rags,” and even “where errors were not lessened (all may judge)”. People fail to see that Bradstreet is a real person too, she is subject to her own thoughts and opinions, and in doing so, she will make errors, just like everybody does. Another problem was that social freedom was difficult to attain because she is a women in an era where women were not supposed to be writing and whose opinions are not supposed to be taken seriously. It becomes evident deep into the poem whey Bradstreet was so obsessive. She knew that the book would be torn apart because she cannot please everyone. Even if Bradstreet did obtain social freedom with this book, how can she keep writing to please readers of her books and most importantly herself? It is a constant tug of war and quite frankly difficult to achieve due to her obsessiveness and desire for perfection. Even though Bradstreet does not necessarily obtain social freedom in this poem, she does get what she wants to say out. The question is though, is it really worth it? Her freedom is not really free because of her obsessiveness. It causes her so much stress which could lead to further problems. Bradstreet can be related to the character Hotchner from the TV show Criminal Minds. The man is so obsessive and into perfecting his work, that he forgets about his family. Therefore, his family life suffers from this and he loses his wife to a divorce.
In Bradstreet’s second poem, “Prologue,” I am having trouble deciphering the message, however, the message I get out of this poem is feminism. Bradstreet, a women in the Puritan era, was not looked upon as worthy. Every women had her job and that was in the house, not out writing. Yet, she wanted to write of history, “to sing of wars, of captains, and of kings, of cities founded, common-wealths begun.” However, she knows that this is not her place in society and demeans herself saying, “for my mean Pen are too superior things.” Men in the Puritan society warn her with “each carping tongue,” and tell her that “ my hand a needle fits better.” I believe that from this poem, Bradstreet will not achieve social freedom when it comes to her writing, and even if she did achieve social freedom, it will not be accepted like she states in her poem, “If what I do prove well, it won’t advance, They’ll say it’s stol’n, or else it was by chance.” In this particular poem, men are what is holding Bradstreet back from being truly free to do what she wants, which is write. A question I have about this poem is why does she talk about the Greeks? How does this have to do with her Puritan society?
In Bradstreet’s third poem, “To my Dear and Loving Husband,” Bradstreet writes of her love for her husband… “If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were lov’d by wife, then thee.”. Being from the Puritan era where not all marriages were based on true love, this marriage is a rare one. Women of this time were expected to be housewives and provide for the men and children. This is a relationship where there is a passion and love for each other. Social freedom of marriage was not always the case in these times, however, Bradstreet and her husband achieved it. Both were in love with each other, and it is evident because Bradstreet says, “I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold or all the riches that the East doth hold.” Mines of gold and riches are things that are very important to some people and hold great prestige, however, Bradstreet says that her husband means more to her than even some of the most prized possessions. The fact that she uses the word “prize” shows that she is proud of her husband and proud of her relationship. There is a notion of freedom with Bradstreet. She is different from other women in this era; she has a successful relationship on both ends. To other women in unhappy marriages, they are the biggest issues holding Bradstreet back. These unhappy women could do anything in their power to try to make Bradstreet as unhappy as they are. It is unknown in the poem if this is the case, however, it could be. Also, another thing that might hold Bradstreet back from achieving freedom is the fact that her husband might not love her back like she loves him. I assume from the poem that Bradstreet and her husband’s love are equal and reciprocated, but this could also be the case for a marriage that does not lead to freedom.
In Gilmans, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a woman (the narrator) is taken to a summerhouse by her physician husband John. The woman just delivered a baby and is in a state of depression. From the start, the woman feels as if there is something wrong with the house because the price to rent was “let so cheaply….and stood so long untenanted.” During the summer stay, the woman is to stay in a room with yellow wallpaper. This yellow wallpaper bugs the woman. The problem with this wallpaper progresses throughout her stay at the colonial mansion. It goes from a slight annoyance (“ the color is repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight”) to complete insanity. This complete insanity is thought of as a single woman that comes out of the paper to several women coming out of the paper. The narrator writes of herself watching the women creep around outside. This I believe is symbolic because she is imagining these women as what she wants to be. She wants to be the woman outside creeping through the garden and wonderful woods, but instead, she is trapped inside of this room with yellow wallpaper. Eventually, this yellow wallpaper makes the narrator so crazy that she tears it off. The issue of social freedom is very evident in this short story. It is that during this time period, is a women really free even when she is married? Or, is she under the control of this man? It is evident that the narrator, is in fact not free in her marriage. Her husband controls her physically, mentally, and emotionally. In this case, he physically makes her stay in a room until she will get better and mentally stronger. Also, he emotionally abuses her by making her think, that he is always right. “ ‘Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so?’ “ The narrator knows that society will take a man’s word over a woman’s, especially that of a physician. This woman knows no freedom except in her freedom to write and keep that from her husband. Her husband, her depression, and this house that she is locked in are the three main issues that are keeping the narrator from being truly free. Her husband has the power over her that is making her believe things that are not necessarily true, such as him telling the narrator that she is starting to get better when in fact she is getting worse. Her depression is also holding her back. All-in-all, the narrator has no social freedom within her marriage when locked in this room in the house. Her only form of freedom is her ability to write about what is going on inside her head and hide that from her husband.
In Irving’s, “Rip Van Winkle,” Rip, the main character, is “a simple good natured man” in his town. “He would never refuse to assist a neighbor even in the roughest toil”, and was loved by all the children in the town. He has an overpowering wife, Dame Van Winkle, whom he despises and avoids at all possible costs. “Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own.” His overpowering “wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family.” Eventually he travels up to the mountains one day with his dog Wolf (his lazy companion), where he meets a “short square-built old fellow, with thick bushy hair, and a grizzled beard.” He follows the odd looking man to a group of men drinking and having a good time. He himself starts drinking and “one taste provoked another….and he fell into a deep sleep.” When he woke up, he went back to town and nobody remembered him. It turns out that he had slept for twenty years. He was soon accepted back into society, and he lived with his daughter. I believe that social freedom is a very evident theme in this short story. First, Rip has achieved social freedom amongst his peers and fellow towns people. He was loved by everyone even the children. He would go and talk with his buddies at the Inn and be free to speak of what he desired. I believe that this proves how easy it was for men of this time to achieve social freedom. Men were looked up to, and everybody trusted and believed them. Once Rip returned after twenty years, he was easily welcomed back into society after a few questions were asked. If that was a woman, would that have been the case? I do not think so. However, Rip may have been free within the members of his town, however, he was far from free when it came to his wife, and she was the main issue holding him back when it came to social freedom. He was controlled verbally by her, and he was afraid of her. He did not have the freedom to say or do what he wanted with her. However, he did have the freedom to leave her which is exactly what he did. This short story raises the issue of differences between men and women. Men of this time definitely had much more social freedoms than women did. Unfair, yes, however, this was simply how it was. Some women of the time stood up to it, like Bradstreet, however, others just simply let life as they know it take its course like the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
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