Day 12 Blog
The Need for Human Connections to Sustain a Community
In Wharton’s, “Roman Fever”, we deal with two women, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, who are on a trip to Rome with their daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The two older women have been “intimate since childhood.” The two grew up living across from each other on “East Seventy-third street.” Each woman is different. Mrs. Ansley was “exquisitely lovely…and far more beautiful than her daughter, Barbara.” Mrs. Slade was “awfully brilliant, but not as brilliant as she thinks…an extremely dashing girl.” The women were similar because “both ladies lost their husbands.” With her husband gone, Mrs. Slade “felt her unemployment more than poor Grace ever would.” The two sit in Rome outside discussing how times have changed between generations, “To our grandmothers, Roman fever; to our mothers, sentimental dangers…to our daughters, no more dangers.” Mrs. Slade had developed a jealousy towards Mrs. Ansley, and she tells her I “envy you.” Mrs. Slade then brings a topic up that has obviously been bugging her for a very long time. She asked Mrs. Ansley about her “Great-aunt Harriet” who sent her younger sister out at night for a flower because they loved the same man. The younger “sister caught the fever and died.” This leads Mrs. Slade into talking about “The colosseum” where “lovers met…who couldn’t meet elsewhere.” Confused, Mrs. Ansley tries to follow along with Mrs. Slade. Mrs. Slade brings up how Mrs. Ansley went to the colosseum “to meet the man I was engaged to-I can repeat every word of the letter that took you there.” Mrs. Ansley is very confused because she burned that letter almost immediately, but Mrs. Slade can repeat the letter because she was the one that wrote it. Both women know “it by heart.” Mrs. Slade is very angered by all of this, and that after so long her friend finally admits to it. She finds out that Mrs. Ansley responded to the letter and that Delphin actually had met her at the colosseum just as everything was arranged in the letter. Mrs. Slade is shocked that the two actually met, and she knows that Mrs. Ansley does not feel guilt by any of this but rather some sort of feelings. Mrs. Slade thought that Mrs. Ansley had no feelings because soon after the meeting between the two, Mrs. Ansley’s mother sent her off to be married. To try and show Mrs. Ansley up, Mrs. Slade says “After all, I had everything; I had him for twenty-five years. And you had nothing but that one letter that he didn’t write.” But, Mrs. Ansley responds saying, “I had Barbara” meaning that Mrs. Slade’s husband fathered Barbara that night the two met. I feel that Mrs. Slade brought this upon herself. She was the one that antagonized and wrote the letter. It all makes sense now why Mrs. Ansley was sent off so soon after the meeting with this man. She had become pregnant and her mother did not want her to be shunned because she was pregnant out of wedlock. I would classify the relationship between Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade as fake. It is filled with jealousy and envy and there is nothing truthful about it. A deep dark secret has been hidden for so long. Once this secret is exposed, I believe it is the end of their relationship. Even though the two continued a fake relationship built on lies for so long, I believe this is the end because this is too big of a secret revealed to simply ignore.
“Roman Fever” reminds me of the movie “Mean Girls.” In this movie, we deal with catty girls (possibly why Katie is spelled Cady in the movie-sounds similar to catty) who backstab and have secrets from each other just like in “Roman Fever.” Basically, this whole movie is about how girls can be mean and rude, and Mrs. Slade says in “Roman Fever”, “girls are ferocious.”
In Bishop’s, “One Art”, the poet speaks about losing things. These things that are lost start off as insignificant things but turn into objects that are much more important, such as “you”. The poet speaks of losing “door keys…places, and names…my mother’s watch…two cities…a continent…you.” It is evident that the progression of things lost holds much more significant value to the poet. The poet tries to write of losing things and make it seem as though she is not saddened by the loss. However, to me, I think that she is covering up her feelings. She is hurt about losing things especially this person, “you”, that meant a lot to her. In her poem she repeats the line “The art of losing isn’t hard to master.” I believe that she does this because she is trying to convince herself that everybody loses things, and they eventually get over it. She keeps saying this to help her get over her loss. It is evident that the poet is deeply hurt by this loss of “you” because in the final stanza she repeats her line “the art of losing’s not too hard to master”, but she adds on to this sentence with “though it may look like (write it!) like disaster.” This sentence painted the image in my mind that after she lost “you”, she was a complete mess, a disaster. This person held her together and obviously meant a lot to her. However, once this person was gone, she completely fell apart into a disaster.
In Frost’s, “Mending Wall”, we learn of two neighbors who are separated by a wall. Once a year, the two “meet to walk the line and see the wall between us once again.” It is the narrator who “let my neighbor know” of the time when the wall is supposed to be fixed. Over the course of the year “gaps” appear in the wall from weather and the “work of hunters.” In this “spring mending time”, the wall becomes fixed and the two men go about their business. The narrator does not understand why the neighbor wants a wall. He says, “He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines.” This means that the narrator thinks that there is no reason to have a wall between the two houses. His trees stay on his side, and my trees stay on mine. This confuses me though because it is the narrator that lets the neighbor know the day that both will mend the wall. Does anybody have any answers to why the narrator seems to contradict himself? I think it is because he knows that this wall is what keeps his relationship with his neighbor civil. In the rest of the poem, the narrator tries to convince the neighbor that no wall is needed, but he just responds by saying that “’good fences make good neighbors.’” This wall is symbolic. This wall is similar to how people build walls between themselves in relationship, only this is a physical wall. This physical wall is a way of keeping peace between the neighbors and dividing what is theirs. By keeping everything separate, the two neighbors do not have to fight about what is theirs and trying to keep their privacy. Rather the two can be in agreement that this wall divides them. With this division they can be friendly and compatible neighbors. In my opinion, God (represented through nature) does not love a wall. It is over the course of the year that nature destroys this wall. Little pieces fall and holes develop in this wall, and I believe that this is God’s way of sending a message to take down the wall. Walls are what hold us back from a true friendship. In “Mending Wall”, the wall keeps falling down because God does not want it there; however, this wall has worked for so long between these two neighbors that they keep repairing it. These neighbors believe that the wall is what keeps them friends, so in this poem, good fences make good neighbors.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Day 11 Blog
Day 11 Blog
The Need for Communities to Stand up for what is Right
In Winthrop’s, “A Model of Christian Charity”, Winthrop aims to inform people with his oration given on the way to the New World or people in the New World. He informs people of what it takes to make a good society. He wants this New World to be looked at and admired. He first starts by saying that there are different types of people in this world, “some must be rich, some must be poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others in submission.” He says that God created all of us with a plan. There are reasons that God wanted different types of people in this world. The first reason for diversity is because He is “delighted to show for the glory of his wisdom…and difference of the creatures, and the glory of His power in ordering all these differences.” The second reason is because there are more people to spread “the work of his Spirit.” The third reason, the reason that I think is the most important, is “every man might have need of others.” By creating people with differences, he hopes that all will be brought “together in the bonds of brotherly affection.” The message that Winthrop is trying to give these people is that in this New World, there will be different people. We must love and accept them, for we were all created in God’s image. Winthrop then goes on to ask questions, but he provides objections and numerous answers to each. Such questions that he asks are “What rule shall a man observe in giving in respect of the measure?...What rule must we observe in lending?...What rule must we observe in forgiving (a debt)?...What rule must we observe and walk by in cause of community of peril?” These questions inform his listeners that we must offer up what God has given us “for first he that give to the poor, lends to the Lord and He will repay him.” If a man does not repay his debt, “thou must forgive.” However, if there was some “surety or a lawful pledge” then one must pay the debt. Winthrop then gets into the topic of love. Love, to Winthrop, is the most important part of a community because “it is the fulfilling of the law.” He gives the definition that “Scripture gives us of love…: Love is the bond of perfection.” Love “is a bond or ligament…it makes the work perfect.” It also makes us “contiguous to others,” and we can “mutually participate with each other, both in strength, and infirmity, in pleasure and pain.” He sums love up by saying that “true Christians are of one body in Christ.” Since we are part of one body, we feel together. Also, “the ligaments of this body which kit together are love” and “nobody can be perfect.” We need to be sensitive and sympathetic towards each other because we are all one body. He then goes on to talk about how love comes about and how we exercise love. He says that “love cometh of God and every one that loveth is born of God, so that this love is the fruit of the new birth, and none can have it but the new creature.” Also, he says, “the exercise of this love, which is twofold, inward or outward.” He compares this to how “a mother loves her child.” To sum up again, he explains that “love among Christians is a real thing…and this love is absolutely necessary to the being of the body of Christ…this love is a divine spiritual nature.” He finishes his oration by telling people traveling to the New World that “He hath taken us to be His.” This gives the people hope and calms them knowing that God is with them in their decision. However, he warns them that if they become “corrupted”, and if their “hearts shall turn away…it is propounded unto us this day, we shall surely perish out of the good land.” Overall, Winthrop wanted to give this oration as a way to unify people in this New World. He wanted to make them aware of what it will take to be a successful community and that includes following God, accepting others’ differences, and loving.
In Thoreau’s, “Resistance to Civil Government”, Thoreau speaks to all Americans making them aware that our government is corrupt. He calls upon them to take action and to not be part of the majority. Do what your conscience believes, and do not let the majority make decisions for you. Take action to make a change for what you believe; voting is not the best way to do this. Our system is too flawed to get anything accomplished in our lifetime if we depend solely on a vote. Thoreau believes “that government is best which governs least” making it evident that he is not happy with the government. Thoreau is makes it clear that he will not support a government that goes against his conscience. He does not want no government, but rather “a better government.” He still calls himself “a citizen” and not a “no government men” meaning he still has some faith in his government, but he “cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave’s government also.” Thoreau is an abolitionist, and he is very opposed to slavery. He cannot see how “men serve” the government when the government only sees these men “as machines” that “have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs.” In this piece, Thoreau brings up “machines” several times. What does referencing machines mean to you? To me, referencing machines means that he is referring to Americans. We are all so programmed to do what the government tells us that we cannot think for ourselves or stand up to them. Thoreau is willing to go so far as to spend a night in jail for not paying his taxes. He refuses to pay a tax for his church and “all the societies which I never signed on to.” In jail, he was “as free as I was.” The government thought that they were doing him harm in jail, but rather, he had so much time to think and let his conscience be free. A day later, however, he was bailed out of jail by his aunt who paid his tax. This angered him because she just bowed down to the government. All-in-all, Thoreau wants us to take action, and he does not want us to be afraid and stand up for what our conscience believes.
When looking at both, Thoreau and Winthrop, I see more differences than similarities. Yes, both want to have a more perfect community and government, but both are very different. Thoreau seems to want equality between people, being an abolitionist, whereas, Winthrop says that there will be different types of people in the New World because this was God’s image. This gave me the feeling of inequality between people. Also, Thoreau talks of changing laws and taking action to do so, and Winthrop does not mention any laws at all. He talks of being a good person and neighbor. However, they are similar in regard to Winthrop is doing everything he can to create a good government in this New World, where Thoreau is condemning his government, but only to make the government a better system.
When looking at the similarities, Prof. Stansell said to look at how morality guides people’s actions. It is very clear in Winthrop’s oration that morality is what is going to drive this community to be admired and function successfully. However, when looking at Thoreau’s piece this theme was not clear to me. Can anyone explain how morality guides people’s action in “Resistance to Civil Government”? Is it present when Thoreau talks about how we must follow our conscience because we know what God would want? One similarity that I found was that this was presented to the same audience, people of the New World. I took both pieces as a way to unify the people and encourage them to do what is right. Both men agree upon making this New World the best that it can possibly be, and both men know that it takes actions of the citizens to be an uncorrupt society and be successful. We cannot rely solely on other people, but we must take action ourselves. Winthrop says that we must reach out to others in need for we are one body of Christ, and Thoreau says that we need to take action because a vote will only go so far.
The Need for Communities to Stand up for what is Right
In Winthrop’s, “A Model of Christian Charity”, Winthrop aims to inform people with his oration given on the way to the New World or people in the New World. He informs people of what it takes to make a good society. He wants this New World to be looked at and admired. He first starts by saying that there are different types of people in this world, “some must be rich, some must be poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others in submission.” He says that God created all of us with a plan. There are reasons that God wanted different types of people in this world. The first reason for diversity is because He is “delighted to show for the glory of his wisdom…and difference of the creatures, and the glory of His power in ordering all these differences.” The second reason is because there are more people to spread “the work of his Spirit.” The third reason, the reason that I think is the most important, is “every man might have need of others.” By creating people with differences, he hopes that all will be brought “together in the bonds of brotherly affection.” The message that Winthrop is trying to give these people is that in this New World, there will be different people. We must love and accept them, for we were all created in God’s image. Winthrop then goes on to ask questions, but he provides objections and numerous answers to each. Such questions that he asks are “What rule shall a man observe in giving in respect of the measure?...What rule must we observe in lending?...What rule must we observe in forgiving (a debt)?...What rule must we observe and walk by in cause of community of peril?” These questions inform his listeners that we must offer up what God has given us “for first he that give to the poor, lends to the Lord and He will repay him.” If a man does not repay his debt, “thou must forgive.” However, if there was some “surety or a lawful pledge” then one must pay the debt. Winthrop then gets into the topic of love. Love, to Winthrop, is the most important part of a community because “it is the fulfilling of the law.” He gives the definition that “Scripture gives us of love…: Love is the bond of perfection.” Love “is a bond or ligament…it makes the work perfect.” It also makes us “contiguous to others,” and we can “mutually participate with each other, both in strength, and infirmity, in pleasure and pain.” He sums love up by saying that “true Christians are of one body in Christ.” Since we are part of one body, we feel together. Also, “the ligaments of this body which kit together are love” and “nobody can be perfect.” We need to be sensitive and sympathetic towards each other because we are all one body. He then goes on to talk about how love comes about and how we exercise love. He says that “love cometh of God and every one that loveth is born of God, so that this love is the fruit of the new birth, and none can have it but the new creature.” Also, he says, “the exercise of this love, which is twofold, inward or outward.” He compares this to how “a mother loves her child.” To sum up again, he explains that “love among Christians is a real thing…and this love is absolutely necessary to the being of the body of Christ…this love is a divine spiritual nature.” He finishes his oration by telling people traveling to the New World that “He hath taken us to be His.” This gives the people hope and calms them knowing that God is with them in their decision. However, he warns them that if they become “corrupted”, and if their “hearts shall turn away…it is propounded unto us this day, we shall surely perish out of the good land.” Overall, Winthrop wanted to give this oration as a way to unify people in this New World. He wanted to make them aware of what it will take to be a successful community and that includes following God, accepting others’ differences, and loving.
In Thoreau’s, “Resistance to Civil Government”, Thoreau speaks to all Americans making them aware that our government is corrupt. He calls upon them to take action and to not be part of the majority. Do what your conscience believes, and do not let the majority make decisions for you. Take action to make a change for what you believe; voting is not the best way to do this. Our system is too flawed to get anything accomplished in our lifetime if we depend solely on a vote. Thoreau believes “that government is best which governs least” making it evident that he is not happy with the government. Thoreau is makes it clear that he will not support a government that goes against his conscience. He does not want no government, but rather “a better government.” He still calls himself “a citizen” and not a “no government men” meaning he still has some faith in his government, but he “cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave’s government also.” Thoreau is an abolitionist, and he is very opposed to slavery. He cannot see how “men serve” the government when the government only sees these men “as machines” that “have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs.” In this piece, Thoreau brings up “machines” several times. What does referencing machines mean to you? To me, referencing machines means that he is referring to Americans. We are all so programmed to do what the government tells us that we cannot think for ourselves or stand up to them. Thoreau is willing to go so far as to spend a night in jail for not paying his taxes. He refuses to pay a tax for his church and “all the societies which I never signed on to.” In jail, he was “as free as I was.” The government thought that they were doing him harm in jail, but rather, he had so much time to think and let his conscience be free. A day later, however, he was bailed out of jail by his aunt who paid his tax. This angered him because she just bowed down to the government. All-in-all, Thoreau wants us to take action, and he does not want us to be afraid and stand up for what our conscience believes.
When looking at both, Thoreau and Winthrop, I see more differences than similarities. Yes, both want to have a more perfect community and government, but both are very different. Thoreau seems to want equality between people, being an abolitionist, whereas, Winthrop says that there will be different types of people in the New World because this was God’s image. This gave me the feeling of inequality between people. Also, Thoreau talks of changing laws and taking action to do so, and Winthrop does not mention any laws at all. He talks of being a good person and neighbor. However, they are similar in regard to Winthrop is doing everything he can to create a good government in this New World, where Thoreau is condemning his government, but only to make the government a better system.
When looking at the similarities, Prof. Stansell said to look at how morality guides people’s actions. It is very clear in Winthrop’s oration that morality is what is going to drive this community to be admired and function successfully. However, when looking at Thoreau’s piece this theme was not clear to me. Can anyone explain how morality guides people’s action in “Resistance to Civil Government”? Is it present when Thoreau talks about how we must follow our conscience because we know what God would want? One similarity that I found was that this was presented to the same audience, people of the New World. I took both pieces as a way to unify the people and encourage them to do what is right. Both men agree upon making this New World the best that it can possibly be, and both men know that it takes actions of the citizens to be an uncorrupt society and be successful. We cannot rely solely on other people, but we must take action ourselves. Winthrop says that we must reach out to others in need for we are one body of Christ, and Thoreau says that we need to take action because a vote will only go so far.
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