traveling

In World Literature, we began this semester by learning about travelers. So, tonight I starting thinking about the past sixteen weeks and began to see the path that I have traveled and all of the things I have learned. It is amazing to me that writers in general can write fiction to explore social issues and maybe take a poke at the idiotic way that some parts of society act. These stories, if taken on face value can be a source of entertainment but you could dig a little deeper into a story and into yourself and get so much more from the literature. It is so amazing that they can construct their stories in a way to make you think differently or make one reader see a creature differently than the other reader does. This reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite philosophers Kahlil Gibran: “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” the way we look at life can determine the way we look at literature and I really enjoyed traveling through these stories with all of my classmates and Mrs. Baldwin. I hope that I can step back and see things from others perspective and learn to be a better person. In the words of Candide’s oracle Pangloss I wish all of you “the best of all possible worlds”(528).

Slavery in America

Of all the readings assigned to us throughout the course of the semester, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave is the story that I liked the most and made the biggest impact. He, like all of the other’s slaves, had no fault or control over his situation. All he knew was the cruelty of the white people whom separated him from his mother and siblings at an early age. What do you do if you don’t know any better, if most of the people like you have the same sad story and those who can enlighten you to the truth and the justice do everything they can to keep you in the darkness and ignorance? Frederick fought; he fought for his freedom, for the privilege of reading what most slaves could not read. In his life, he witnessed many horrible crimes committed against people like him, like when Mr. Gore “raised his musket to [Demby’s] face, taking deadly aim at his standing victim, and in an instant poor Demby was no more.” (Douglass 933). Demby had to die so that other slaves would not become unmanageable like him. However, I think that the real reason why Demby died was because Mr. Gore liked to feel superior and way too powerful compared to the slaves, and what better way to do so than ending their lives. Another thing that I find amazing about his story is the way he describes the conditions in which he lived in as a young kid, “The allowance of the slave children was given to their mothers, or the old women having the care of them. The children unable to work in the field had neither shoes, stockings, jackets, nor trousers, given to then; their clothing consisted of two coarse linen shirts per day. When this failed them, they went naked until the next allowance-day.” (Douglass 927). I think Frederick’s story is one to be remembered and admired.

It is Finished!!

On completion of the World Literature class, I would like to say that I really enjoyed all the assignments and different literature that we read. Above all stories Hedda Gabler was my favorite. I agreed with Summer today as she told me that this was one of her favorites also because of the sexual energy it had throughout the plot. On one hand we see Hedda as a mean and deceitful person, but on the other hand I have to respect her for the control she has over men in the era. Back during this time period women were the lesser being and were thought of as just a means to keep house and bear children, but Hedda is really neither and still has more control than most women. Not only does she have complete control over her husband Tessman, but two other men also - her ex-lover, Loevborg and Judge Brack. The way in which she controls Judge Brack is typical of the modern woman - through sexual tension and teasing… “HEDDA There’d have been no one to receive you. I’ve been in my room since lunch, dressing. BRACK You haven’t a tiny crack in the door through which we might have negotiated? HEDDA You forgot to arrange one” (Ibsen 1482-83). Hedda uses her womanly attributes to her advantage and uses them to control all the men in the story. To a point, I think all women can connect with Hedda on some level with using our bodies and brains together to get what we want. In the end of the story Hedda takes ultimate control by taking her own life… “TESMAN [Screams to BRACK.] She’s shot herself! Shot herself in the head! By Jove! Fancy that! BRACK [Half paralyzed in the armchair.] But, good God! People don’t do such things” (Ibsen 1518)!

Poetic Justice In The Flesh

After all of the literature that we have read as a class in World Literature this fall of 2010, I find that when a poet reads their own work, a unique life is given to their poetry. As I listened to T.S. Eliot read his poetry, I realized that the poet with their poetry is like a mother with her babies. In reading Sandy Longhorn’s poem Psalm For The Color Red, I guessed that it was written in the 20th century: maybe from the Enlightenment or Realism era. In Longhorn’s Etude a shadow of old timey Realism/Romantic is hinted at, so I was a little surprised. While examining the lines of her free verse writing style in Psalm For The Color Red, I was drawn into the life of her vibrant spirit as she read, “What do you do with the boy who never learns…” and goes on to say “who puts his hand on the burner because the explosion of pain is the color red,” (Longhorn 53). Can you not just visualize the little boy who seems to be an unhappy kid, not doing the usual happy, busy kid stuff? Then to get the insight from whence these lines originated, was especially nice to know: you don’t always have a chance to quiz the poet. Etude was more of a yearning for freedom for the daughter and a not wanting to let go for the mother. Longhorn’s use of nature’s elements shows the flow of gracefulness of the dancing girl and this is expressed by stating, “She walked with that much grace. Some days I watched her test the law of gravity—the wind her patient lover” (Longhorn 52). Here is a vivid picture of a girl who is graceful and light on her feet like a schooled ballerina. After hearing the poem read aloud by Mrs. Longhorn it made much more sense. This was one of my favorite blogs, I saved the best for last!

LITERATURE

Word Literature is a very challenging subject. It can be easy depending on if you read the many readings you have. The game we played in class today, Are You Smarter Than A Literature Student was very challenging, but fun. I love the class lectures we have, but I have to admit the game was the best. I also must add, although my team won, team yahoo did a great job also, even though the questions they had was far more easier than ours, lol. Learning about the Enlightment Period, Romanticism, 20th Century, and the other Periods was very interesting. Some of the stories that were assigned were great. However, reading the stories were okay, but with the discussions with the class, I got a better understanding. Overall I think the class was great, except the critical analysis on Mary Shelley's Frankenstien, because that was extremely complicated, but I did pass, so I won't complain, just got to strive to do better in the future.

The Readings of a World Lit.Student

Upon completion of my World Lit. class I have chosen to write about my favorite stories First off I enjoyed reading "The Barrelmaker Brimful of Love", I really liked the story. I had no problem reading it, unlike others ( Frankenstein! & Celebi). Also this story had many story lines going on at one time. I truly enjoyed the "sexual aspect" and the unexpected ending. The main thing I liked was the insight into Japanese culture. One of my favorite characters is "the Old women" or also referred to as "Old Nanny". She was a funny character who tried to play matchmaker. I also enjoyed "Hedda Gabler", which was another sexual charged story. I liked how it was a play. The story was jammed packed with action, with twist and turns. I personally didn't like how Hedda killed herself, but then again it does make for the best ending. Overall I enjoyed the readings that were chosen ( except for Frankenstein).

As Free As The Wind

In Sandy Longhorn’s Etude, she creates a captivating picture of the nature of freedom, and the loss that is felt in it’s absence. In Etude, Longhorn uses learning to dance as an act of coming of age for the daughter in the poem, and writes “After my daughter learned to dance, I called her Stepping Water” (Longhorn). In Longhorn’s poem, dancing is representative of beauty and freedom, though we are also shown how that freedom causes fear for her mother. We can also see the reaction that some people have when faced with the loss that must accompany freedom, when Longhorn writes “I only did what any mother would do” (Longhorn). By it’s very nature freedom means to be free of someone else’s rule, and in this case Longhorn is writing of both the freedom that the daughter discovers, and the accompanying loss of power that her mother experiences at the same time. I think this poem does a good job of showing both sides of freedom, and helps us to understand that while freedom is a beautiful thing, it does come with a measure of responsibility to use that freedom wisely and with consideration for others. I found it interesting how this ties into what we have been studying, as we try and determine who has the power in writings. While the mother had control, and the ability to tie her daughter down with coins and gems, it was a very fragile power, and largely dependent on her daughter’s submission. Ultimately when the daughter chooses to be free, then she flies away and experiences the freedom that she sought.

The Lake Isle Of Innisfree - W. B. Yeats

I'm not sure how to actually embed the video, so here is a link to one I thought was enjoyable.

After reading the assigned material of Yeats, I chose The Second Coming to write my blog about. This poem is about change. Yeats has inmind that a change will occur when a upside down society finally self-destructs. He relates this change in a christian sensewith the phrase, the second coming of christ. He is comparing the change to be as important to or as the second coming of christ referred to in the poem as Spiriyus Mundi. "The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out when a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi troubles my sight;"(Yeats 1705). When he speaks of the creature that is part man and part animal it seems that Yeats has the Book of Revelation from the Bible in mind. You can read about many like images in Revelation. There is a tragic doomsday feeling from his writing.Nothing can stop the change. The new ways will rise up as the old ways die. "That twenty centuries of stony sleep were vexed to nightmares by a rocking cradle"(Yeats1705). The rocking cradle speaks of the new born ideas that will destory the old society.

It's Alive!

Extra credit- Pictures

T S Eliot Reading The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock

W.B.Yeats Reading His Own Verse

Walt Whitman "I have said that the body is not more than the soul" Poem ...

"from Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman (poetry reading)

When You Are Old

I have always liked poetry because it sounded pretty, it rhymed, and poems many times included words that I had to look up because I didn’t know what they meant. It wasn’t until this class that I’m learning how to appreciate poetry and what to look for when I’m reading a poem. I’ve also learned that every writer has his own style, and it is influenced by his experiences in life; where he was at the moment he wrote the poem, where he comes from, what social class he belonged at the moment they wrote the poem, his marriage statues etc. William Butler Yeats was a very interesting 20th century writer. He used allusive imagery and large symbolic structures in his writings. Most of his poems in this book contained two or more paragraphs, each with four or more lines and were very well structured. His tone in the poem When You Are Old is kind of dismal. This poem talks about life in general, how when you were young, “many loved your moments of glad and grace,” (Yeats 1703), and when you are old, “love fled and paced upon the mountains overhead and hid his face amid a crowd of stars.” (Yeats 1703). I think the first example makes the comparison that when you are young, you can do many different things; like having friends, go out and everyone likes you because you don’t depend on them. On the other hand, when you are old, even your own family abandons you because they don’t want to take care of an old person.

training (video)

Pisssst!...., Hey you… you want to hear something that THEY want tell you. Come closer, closer stop! (Clearing my throat) this is going to be shocking, but here goes. They will be alright without you, stupid. Killing yourself to improve someone else’s way of life isn’t helping them it’s hurting them. I know it’s hitting you like a shock from a taser but take heed. So, even after you have run yourself into the ground, carrying their weight and yours, they will still need help from someone else. “If I weren’t holding back because of my parents, I would have given notice long ago” (Kafka 2000). The truth of the matter is that if we neglect the things we want to do to improve everyone else life it’s not helping neither you nor them. Instead of being a helper and provider you become a prop or a handicapper.
“Well, I haven’t abandoned all hope once I’ve saved enough to pay off my parents’ debt to him-that should take another five or six years- I’ll go through with it no matter what” (Kafka 2000). Not only was George hurting his parents by baling them out. He was using the fact that he’s helping his parents to defer his own dreams. Could that be fear of advancement? I think so.. if we let our fears keep us ion or comfort zone how can we advance.
My favorite part of this reading is when the family leaves like “oh well now sports.” “ Leaning back comfortably in their seats, they discussed their future prospects and concluded that, upon closer perused, these were anything but bad; for while they had never actually asked one another for any details, their jobs were all exceedingly advantageous and also promising” (Kafka 2030). I think Kafka proves that if you pull the crutch from under them people will still make due.

I know you are woundering, "what is that a picture of." a couple of years ago i went to this Taser training class not knowing I was going to be the test dummy. Here's the video..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zUJjzOYe98

Thoughts on “When You Are Old”

There were a few odd things about this poem that struck me as I read it, and I have yet to figure out. The poem follows an off-set rhyme style of A B B A, with three stanzas and a steady tempo, but what struck me the most about it was the choice of words and tone, which seem to almost contradict one another in a few places. On the first line of the the second stanza, Yeats sets a dismal and almost melancholy tone as he writes, “How many loved your moments of glad grace” (Yeats 1703). However later in the poem in the second stanza, he reverses that tone when he writes that “But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you” (Yeats 1703). The contrast between these two lines seems quite severe for them to come from the same stanza, as the first one (and indeed the first stanza as well), seem to indicate lost chances and border on hopelessness, yet the third line of the second stanza seems to stand out as a positive note in an otherwise sad story. The speaker’s word choice also seems to stand out in the last stanza, where love is capitalized in the middle of a sentence, and love is given a male identity. It seems that the poem is written about a woman, but even so it just struck me as odd that love (which is normally considered feminine), was described as male, and capitalized out of place.

Etude

Ms. Sandy Longhorn’s visit today was very interesting. I always thought that poetry was the poet’s innermost feelings, today I learned that it’s not always about the poet. Ms Longhorn was very interesting today. I like that she was very pleasant and down to earth. When she read her poetry today it was great it made the poems more interesting. Just like when we listen to T.S. Elliot read his poetry it made it more interesting. Ms Longhorn used a lot of imagery in the poem Etude, such as “I weighted her with gems and coins sewn in the hems of her long scarves and skirts.” This quote signifies the Mother trying to hold on to her daughter. “Some days I watched her test the law of gravity – the wind her patient lover”, when I first read this I thought the Mother had caught her daughter with a men. Ms Longhorn stated that it was the young lady basically growing into her own and testing her freedom which I can also see. What I like most was her stating that with poetry it can be interpreted any why the reading likes because we all see something different and it doesn’t make it right or wrong. One of my classmates stated that she seen poetry different so she didn’t have much to say, I wish she had of because you learn so much from people that have a passion for something. They help you to see the beauty in what they have a passion for, because you see it through their eyes. I like the poetry that rhymes but after studying it in this class I have a better understanding of how and why poets write in different styles.

"What Teachers Make," by TAYLOR MALI

I really liked this one better, but I figured everyone else would post it.

"I Could Be a Poet," by TAYLOR MALI

I tried to add this to my Post, But I had a hard time figuring it out. Hope this works!

Really? Did he have to turn into a Dung Beatle?

In my opinion, The Metamorphosis can been seen in many different ways. First, you have Gregor that is very independent and lives to support his family. His family, in whom he supports financially, is selfish and do not care that they have to depend on someone for support. One way to interpret the story is to think that Gregor was set free of his “imprisonment,” as a practical slave to the family. He not only had to work and support his family, he was paying off their debts… “Well I haven’t abandoned all hope; once I have saved up enough to pay off my parents’ debt to him - that should take another five or six years…” (Kafka 2000). Another way to see the story is as a lesson to Gregor’s family, and to help them become independent. But why did the lesson to the family have to come at such a big price for Gregor? He has been turned into a nasty bug! “So for amusement, he got into the habit of prowling crisscross over the walls and ceilings. He particularly like hanging from the ceiling. It was quite different from lying on the floor: he could breathe more freely and a faint tingle quivered through his body” (Kafka 2015). Which ever way you take the story of Gregor and his family - it is bizarre! No one seems to notice that there very own family member has been turned into a dung beatle; Gregor does not even seen to notice or care. He just carries on like nothing is different.

Meet the Author

Today during class, we had the wonderful privilege of having a visitor. Mrs. Sandy Longhorn came and was every so gracious to real aloud two of her poems:"ETUDE" and "PSALM FOR THE COLOR RED". Upon hearing the original poet read aloud I was a able to get a better insight into what the poem was supposed to sounded like. While Mrs. Longhorn was reading I followed along and marked the spots were she paused for emphasis. Later after rereading the poem "PSALM FOR THE COLOR RED" I really felt like I was able to gain a deeper insight into what Mrs. Longhorn was trying to get across to us, since I now knew where the correct pauses were. When I got home today I read "PSALM FOR THE COLOR" to my husband, with and without the correct pauses and he seemed to have a different views on each reading of the poem. When Mrs. Longhorn read "ETUDE" I noticed that she rarely paused in the reading and that her voice was very mono-toned, almost like it was on long poem. The poem seemed to flow off of her lips and float in the air,(wind)just like in the poem. I have never had the experience before to attend a poetry reading. I truly enjoyed it and love to attend more,(as long as the subject matter is along my liking). Also in class today we watched a clip from Taylor Mali, who poked fun at the terrible job we do of making mistakes while writing papers.

Man or Beetle: Other People's #%@!

And I thought Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels was a wildly over exaggerated way of highlighting and pin-pointing certain characteristics of what we call ‘human nature’ and civilization as a whole….But to use a dung beetle as a personification of the many different forms of degradation experienced by Gregor is magnificently brilliant. Kafka’s illustrious illustration of Gregor as the sole bread winner of the family after his father’s business went belly-up is shown rather vividly as it states, “They had simply grown accustomed to this, both the family and Gregor; they accepted the money gratefully…” (Kafka 2013). A great deal of dependence and co-dependence is depicted here as well as the wrong reasons for the promotional stature of Gregor’s occupational aspects. Yes, I would have to expound on the fact that Gregor seems to have been a very smart and hard working young man to have achieved so much so rapidly; his overnight like promotion from clerk to traveling salesman showed his diligence at work and the conscientiousness of supporting his family. Though Gregor’s earnings was all but given to the family’s cause the ripple effect of this and the stress that he was experiencing from living on the road as a traveling salesman had taken its toll on his physical and mental health. This adverse reaction is seen in Gregor’s expression:
“Oh, God,” he thought, “what a strenuous profession I’ve picked! Day in, day out on the road. It’s a lot more stressful than the work in the home office, and along with everything else I also have to put up with these agonies of traveling—worrying about making trains, having bad, irregular meals, meeting new people all the time, but never forming any lasting friendships that mellow into anything intimate. To hell with it all!” (Kafka 2000).
Gregor has had enough of swallowing the human bile of his job and probably just a little overwhelmed with his life and of the added pressures of his financial gratuities to his family obligations. Tired of rolling others dung.

The Poet

I really enjoyed class today and our speaker Sandy Longhorn. I believe that hearing her read her own poetry was very enlightening. As she was reading her poems to us, I kept thinking how great it would have been to have some of the previous authors we have read throughout this semester come and read exerts from their works. It was really exciting to find out what the speaker meant when she wrote in Etude"In my nightmares,she gifts the hills with her bounty-weight as she twirls and twirls, until all that's left is silk"(52). When I read that line, I thought that it was a mother seeing her child disappear as if she were growing up and I found out that it was the child unraveling her clothes and running into the wind.I think that it is a wonderful thing to be able to read a poem and see your own interpretation but it equally wonderful to know the intentions of the poet. And in Psalm For The Color Red The speaker says " like the shoes she gave him secret wings.In church they sing about flying away, and the feathers begin to move. He starts to dance, just a little, in the boy-sized space between the pews. How do you make still what won't be still?"(53). My interpretation and the real meaning were close. But the part i thought was fascinating was how Mrs. Longhorn gave us the image of a bird about to fly instead of giving us just an image of a boy who is a little weird and can't sit still. Thank you Mrs. Longhorn.

Gregor and his Condition

I think the reason why Gregor became an insect was to prepare his family for his death. In part I, he is introduced like a hard working young men who takes care of his family. That is a great responsibility for someone who is not the head of the house. Gregor’s transformation is introduced like something that happened from one night to the next morning, which is exactly what happens with some extremely bad illnesses such as cancer; you are fine one day, then you go to the doctor and get the news and most of the time, your life starts to decay with time. I think it’s kind of sad how he feels after his family finds out of his transformation, “That morning, when the doors had been locked, everybody had wanted to come in; but now that he had opened one door, and the rest had clearly been opened during the day, nobody came, and the keys were on the other side.” (Kafka 2010). Also in part I, women are portrayed as weak creatures that sob and cry as they found out about Gregor’s condition. A good example is when Gregor’s parent’s see him for the first time, his mother reaction was: “The mother, who, despite the office manager’s presence, stood there with her hair still undone and bristling, first gaped at the father, clasping her hands, then look two steps toward Gregor and collapsed, her petticoats flouncing out all around her and her face sinking quite undetectably into her breasts.”(Kafka 2006). Whereas his father reaction was, “The father clenched his fist, glaring at Gregor as if trying to shove him back into his room, then peered unsteadily around the parlor before covering his eyes with his hands and weeping so hard that his powerful chest began to quake.” (Kafka 2006). Even though the father still showed some emotion, I think the mother and his sister are portrayed as weak, and during the process of Gregor’s death, they became stronger and independent.

VULNERABLE

In reading Metamorphosis, I was surprised at how one man's life changed overnight. Gregor was a hardworking man, who was dedicated to his job. He also was very independant and his family backbone, he worked to take care of them. Waking up one morning not his usual self, in which he thought was a dream, Gregor had turned into a dung beetle. Everything about his life had changed. He was no longer able to be the sole providor he once was. Gregor was vulnerable. The roles changed and Gregor was depending on his family to help him, like he did for them. Although Gregor was trying to cope with his new shell, his family wasn't ready to accept the fact that he wasn't his normal self. However, his sister stepped up and did her best in helping Gregor. "Come on, he's out of sight( Kafka2016). After the sister noticed Gregor behavior and decided to move out the furniture so he can have enough room to move around with the help of her mother. "Oh God, Oh God(Kafka2018)! The mother had seen Gregor, and couldnt come to grasp that that was her son. Gregor was not about to let them take his picture, after all it was his. Everything in the room was his for the past five years.

A better day

I have to wonder about Gregor in the story Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Gregor is very melancholy and doesn’t seem to grasp the severity of the situation he woke up in. He is a dung beetle for goodness sake! All he seems to worry about is how he is going to go to work and about his family not how it will affect him and his future. This made me think. Did Gregor ever think of himself? I found myself thinking about how sad his life had been and then to end up as a dung beetle. Gregor was completely selfless and warranted a lot better than he ended up. Although I am not sure if living a life completely for other people and never thinking of yourself may not have been so great either. He also seemed to be holding his family back and his absence made them have to get a life. He at first enable his family and kept them in the security of knowing he would take care of them. Then he became the burden in the bedroom. I think that the metamorphosis for the family and Gregor was necessary even though the ending was sad for him. The family grew resentful. Even the sister that cared for him said “things cannot go on like this. You may not realize it , but I do. I will not pronounce my brother’s name in front of this monstrosity, and so all I will say is: We must try to get rid of it” (Kafka 2026). In the end I have to wonder if the family quit seeing the beetle as Gregor but as a bug instead. Grete’s metamorphosis was probably the most poignant. She learned from her brother and still understood that she needed to have a life. This is expressed very well in the last line “And it was like a confirmation of their new dreams and good intentions that at the end of their ride the daughter was the first to get up, stretching her young body” (2030). Gregor’s death gave her a chance at a life and a brighter future.

From Realization to Recognition

While analyzing the Eastern culture and their literary connotations one can still envision rudiments that stem from the Enlightment Era: societal traditions that are yet enforced to suppress certain knowledge as well as to contain chaos and remain as an orderly respectable society. Lu Xun’s Diary of a Mad Man displays a great deal of greed and power in a communistic way in which the conformity in their society is revealed. The cannibalistic overtures can and does come from the history of early 20th century China, whereas the belief of devouring human flesh is symbolic of attaining one’s spirit and power within themselves, thus gaining supremacy amongst their community and officials. This is depicted as the narrator states, “[b]ut the more courage I had, the more that made them want to eat me so that they could get a little of it for free” (Lu Xun 1924). These feelings and thoughts show that the narrator thinks that the people around him hold true to their customs of obtaining what the next man has through cannibalistic ingestion and fears for his life. Are these the mad preposterous ramblings of a mental patient? Or does his way of thinking have merit? How about when the narrator noticeably accepts the ways of his tradition at the end of the story and suspiciously remarks, “Although I wasn’t aware of it in the beginning, now that I know I’m someone with four thousand years’ experience of cannibalism behind me, how hard it is to look real human beings in the eye!” (Lu Xun 1929). The evidence of guilt is illustrated with the recognition of his traditional societal customs and the solemnity of his acceptance to the realization that he practices cannalbalism too.

For the good or the bad?

For the Good or the Bad?

In the story of Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, we can see that there are some good point within this story along with the bad points. While Gregor starts the story out about being a dung beetle we can see that he lives off of the excitement of his family, and trying to take care of them as much as he can until the change of life captures him. He tried to care for his family by stating this “ If I weren’t holding b back because of my parents, I would have given notice long ago” (2000). We can see that he was taking care of his family by working all them time,which people would call him a work workaholic. In one way this could be for the good, but when Gregor because ill it turns to the bad. We can see that his family became stronger by going back to work so they can be more dependent like their son. When he dies as it is stated here, “ Gregor's body was utterly flat and dry; they realized this only now when it was no longer raised on its tiny legs and nothing else diverted their eyes.” (2029). For us the be able to read the story we can see that Gregor's death was for the better, because it made his family realized that they could finally be able to take care and provide for the family. So can we say it is for the best? Yes we can say that.

Ewwwww! Cannibalism!

During the discussions today, I wanted to do some research on cannibalism. I would have never thought it could exist. Especially in this modern day, but during my research I found that some people (supposedly) still practice cannibalism today. Lu Xun's story is based on the fear of cannibalism - "...My elder brother is a cannibal! I'm brother to a cannibal" (Lu Xun 1924). During the story, we are reading a diary from a "madman" that thinks everyone is out to eat him and reflects on the history of cannibalism in China... "There's an old story from ancient times about Yi Ya boiling his son and serving him up to Jie Zhou" (Lu Xun 1927). Cannibalism is horrid in itself, but the Chinese culture is said to push the envelope even further: the Chinese say that eating an infant or a fetus helps improve their health and overall wellbeing. This concept is so popular in china and there is such a demand for the fetus’ that they (supposedly) have a purchasing agreement with the hospitals. To keep in with the Chinese’ social culture the male fetus’ are considered to be the best, as far as human meat goes. Some even believe that this horrendous act is just another form of “art!’ In thinking about the Chinese culture and how their population is so large and how strict they are about the number of children you can have, the abortion rates are probably high; therefore, supplying ample “parts” for the act of cannibalism. When looking this up on the internet, there were even pictures of the people making soup with baby parts visible in the stew! Only the rich are able to afford the contracts that the hospital provides. I just went to look up cannibalism and found a whole new subject in the matter - one in which I was not happy to find. Hopefully this is a hoax just floating in the internet and it is not in practice.

Don't Call Me Hedda!
When Henrik Ibsen, set out to write the play "Hedda Gabler", one can't be sure he didn't mean to make Hedda into a villain. One may not like her, but really one can't blame her for being a victim of her society. If one looks close they can see how her up bring; such as her education and lack of a mother figure impacted her. Along with her environment in which she was exposed, this helps form her entire outlook on life. As one reads the play, one can feel oneself become deeply engrossed in the actuality of each characters emotional baggage. While one may not agree with what Hedda is feeling, she is a very strong female. Who truly wants to have her cake and eat it to. While Hedda does use her sexuality to control both men and women, is this not common place?However this is more accepted now a days, but can one argue that
men take advantage of women, also. Men often use power to get there way, take Judge Brack for example. Once he has Hedda right were he wants her he demonstrates his power over her; "[w]ell luckily there's no danger as long as I hold my tongue" (1517). This leaves Hedda with weak and exposed. Once she realizes she this she proclaims; "[i]n other words, I'm in your power, Judge.From now on, you've got your hold over me" (1517). While both are used to playing cat and mouse games neither one wins the battle. Judge Brack ends up alone, and he is faced with the cold hard fact that he let Hedda elude the law. This leaves Hedda with but a few options, forcing her to become irrational. Therefore she chooses to commit suicide. While this may seem fitting for the play. This outcome can be seen as shocking for some. They may have been expecting rainbows and butterflies. However one should have know better.

How Mad Was He or Was He Mad At All

In reading Diary of a Madman you have to think back to the time of the 1900's. The story really tells a story of the Chinese and their opression. It tells of its history, especially its social life. The Chinese people at this time were literally starving to death and some cannibalism did take place. The main point of cannibalism was used to represent the man eater society in China. The survival of the fitest. Only the strong survive. The madman tells us, "Savage as a lion, timid as a rabbit, crafty as a fox"(Lu Xun 1925). The narrotor visits a pair of brothers who were very close to him while in school. One of the brothers, the youngest, was stricken with a mental defect or diesase. Later in life he became better, took a job, and moved to another city. He kept a diary during his sickness that the narrator was allowed to read. How many really mentally ill people would think to keep a diary of his times through their illness. The younger brother tells of his paranoia of the people around him. He tells of the way they look at him an even mentions the way the dog looks at him. He believes that they are cannabls and he is confident that he is going to be eaten. He decides his older brother is also a cannibal. He wonders if his brother has been one all along or if he goes with the flow knowing it is wrong. "If I'm going to curse cannibals, I'll have to start with him. And if I'm going to convert cannibals, I'll have to start with him too"(LU Xun 1925).

An interesting video

Here's a somewhat funny animated version of Metamorphosis, it's only the first part of it though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DfrBcjisVo&

Society: 1 Individuality: 0

Lu Xun’s Diary of a Madman does an excellent job of conveying the fear that must have gone along with acting outside of the social norm in the restrictive Chinese culture of the early 1900’s. In a lot of ways I think this piece actually mirrors Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler in that it is about conformity, and the suppression of individuality. Where Hedda was at odds with her gender’s accepted place in society, and her desire to break away from that place, The Madman is at odds with how society eats individuals; unlike Hedda however, The Madman makes a dramatic transition through the story. Early on in his diary The Madman writes, “Even though I don’t eat human flesh, I still have a lot more courage than those who do.” (Xun 1923), as he fights to assert his independence from society and it’s customs. I think that this passage is important because by it’s tone it is putting down society for ‘eating people’, but at the same time his tone indicates some level of acceptance of the way society works. I think that represents the turning point for The Madman, as he begins to realize that despite his individuality he is still a part of society whether he likes it or not. Towards the end of the story, The Madman writes “Although I wasn’t aware of it in the beginning, now that I know I’m someone with four thousand years’ experience of cannibalism behind me, how hard it is to look real human beings in the eye” (Xun 1929), indicating his acceptance that while he disliked society, he was still a part of it, and indeed still responsible for his own part in it. Diary of a Madman seems to bridge the gap between Romanticism and Enlightenment, presenting a compromise of sorts between Society and Individuality, and recognizing both as having merit.

The Manipulator

In readint the play Hedda Gabler, I was so intrigued by the way she was treating Mrs. Elvsted. Mrs. Elvsted comes to Hedda and George to tell them Loevborg was in town. Then Hedda wants to know what does Loevborg has to don with Mrs. Elvsted, so she pulls her into another room so she can interrogate her about Loevborg. Mrs. Elvsted tells her all she wants to know and how she thinks another woman stands in between them, an all along the other woman was Hedda. Hedda then wants to know what all did he tell Mrs. Elvsted about her, and she states, ' he said when he left her she tried to shoot him with a pistol' (Ibsen 1477). Hedda stated, "people dont do such things'(Ibsen1478). That was the same thing Judge Brack said after Hedda killed herself. Mrs. Elvsted was so naive, she didn't even know that she was in the company of the other woman feeding her all the informationn she wanted to know.

Hedda, master of manipulation...

I’m pleased to finally see a woman with as a leading character in one of the stories of this class. However, I do not like that the way she empowers herself is by stepping over people being selfish in almost every aspect of her life. Hedda Gabler is I woman of society, everyone praised her, even Miss Tesman mentioned that she was: “General Gabler’s daughter! Think of what she was accustomed to when the General was alive. You remember how we used to see her out riding with her father? In that long black skirt? With her father and her hat?” (Ibsen 1465). Social class is definitely a key element for this story and Hedda’s life. I wonder why she ended up marrying Tesman, after all, it seems like even the judge came from a higher social class. Hedda empowers herself using lies, manipulation and by using tricks to make people tell whatever it is she wants to hear from them. I was amazed by the tactic she used with Mrs. Elvsted, making her feel like she was her friend so that Mrs. Elvsted felt comfortable and told Hedda her story. It took Mrs. Elvsted a while to feel like Hedda was on her side, since they had attended the same school in the past and Hedda had been mean to Mrs. Elvsted. I feel like Hedda trapped Mrs. Elvsted by asking her questions over and over again to see if she would give a different answer, and in some cases, she did, like when Hedda asked her, “Well, if he sends you all the way down her to look for him—[smiles almost imperceptibly.] Besides, you said so yourself to Tesman.” (Ibsen 1476) and then Mrs. Elvsted replied, “[With a nervous twitch.] Did I? Oh yes, I suppose I did. [Impulsively, but keeping her voice low.] Well, I might as well tell you the whole story. It’s bound to come out sooner or later.” (Ibsen 1476). That’s how Hedda traps Mrs. Elvsted into telling her the truth.

Hedda is under control

In the play Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen the main character is a woman. A strong woman who is striving for power and prestige. This alone would be a great acknowledgement for the time period but this woman is so manipulative and selfish that she is not a good example of a leading woman. She displays many characteristics Jealousy, sexual manipulation, and selfishness to name a few. She proves her selfishness when she talks a man into killing himself just to end her own feelings of jealousy and then has the nerve to say “Eilert Loevborg, listen to me. Do it-beautifully!”(1508). As if to add to the insult of her power over him. She uses her sexuality to battle Judge Brack‘s advances. But he wins the war by using the knowledge of the origin of the pistol Loevborg used to kill himself to try to blackmail her into a life of misery as his unwilling mistress and Hedda confirms that by saying “Nevertheless, I’m in your power. Dependent on your will and your demands. Not free. Still not free! --- No I couldn’t bear that. No” (1517). Although she exerts power over the men and women in this play she is never truly powerful because in the end she cannot overcome the tangled mess she created and then powerless and selfishly she kills herself. She never once considers the child she is carrying or the father of that child who will find out she is pregnant after her death from his aunt JuJu. Hedda is not a honorable woman.

Control This

Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler had a lot going on but it was all centered around Hedda she had her hand in everything. I know in this time period women had a place in society but Hedda step out of that place. She wanted what she wanted and did whatever she could to obtain it. She was very selfish and manipulative. Everything that she did was centered around her feelings and her needs. There was one person in the story that gave her a run for her money and that was Judge Bracks. He wanted her with a passion and always made it a point to let her know. “I’ve been so much longing for you to come home”, lets her know that she has a home with him whenever she wanted it. He longed for her so much he did not hesitate to use his power and status to obtain her. Hedda shows this in this quote “In other words, I’m in your power, Judge. From now own, you’ve got your hold over me.” Judge Bracks thought he had Hedda in the palm of his hand. Hedda refused to be controlled by him or anyone else by the end of the story Hedda had destroyed life for herself and instead of give in to the life that Judge Bracks and her husband had laid out for her she kills herself which is very tragic because of life had been shaped by her. The manipulation of the people in her life destroyed her.

To Particular For Her Own Good

As you read this story you can tell without any problem that Hedda and Tesman don't have anything close to a perfect relationship. Hedda is to particular. She can't be pleased. She is so bad, that Bertha is worried about pleasing her even before Tesman arrives. Hedda stated "Tesman we really can't go on keeping this maid"(Ibsen 1470). Hedda blames Bertha for leaving her old hat but finds out it belongs to auntie Ju Ju. "Look at that! she left her old hat lying on the chair"(Ibsen 1470). I have found through life that there are many people just like that. They are unhappy and really can't say why.They enjoy blameing their unhappiness on whoever is available at the time.That is a sign of being spoiled and that is exactly what Hedda is, a spoiled brat. Tesman notices Hedda's rudeness and tries to get her to be nicer to aunt Julie. Naturally this fails. Even when Hedda was showing with weight gain from her being pregnant by George, she refuses to admit that she was with child or that her body was changeing. Tension mounts as the truth starts to come out. Tesman is so uncarring or so stupid that he doesn't notice her being pregnant.

During discussion today, we talked about how women are inferior to men in literature and the different ways that Hedda tried to take control in a “manly” world. There are 2 key instances where the struggle for superiority is shown. In the beginning of the play Tesman notices… “how strong and healthy…and how filled out” (Ibsen 1470), Hedda had become since their honeymoon. It does not take a scientist to figure out that Hedda is pregnant with George’s baby. With Hedda wanting to be in control. the pregnancy is seen as almost a death sentence in her mind. She is now forever tied to George - a man that she seems to really loathe. In a sense, she is considered “tainted” material and now she may not have as much control over the male species with a baby on her hip. Will she be as fought over between all of the men after she has had a child; or will the pregnancy make the relationship between her and George seem more permanent and make men ( the judge ) back off from pursuing her? A second key symbol of the power Hedda tries to control is the way she loves to shoot guns. “[Raises the pistol and takes aim.] I’m going to shoot you judge Brack” (Isben 1482). In the time period this play was written women were supposed to be refined and seen as a lady-like figure. Hedda loved to shoot the weapons because it made her feel in control and powerful. In my opinion, she could have been more powerful if she would have just used her sexuality alone. Women in all time periods can be seen as a powerful figure because of the way we can control men with their bodies and in the way they can flirt to take control of situations.

A Woman of Grace or Disgrace?

Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler reminded me somewhat of Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman, a play that I previously read back when I was taking my English Composition II class. In mentioning the similarities of the plays with the suicidal deaths and the fact that I find it such a display of cowardice, I perceive that the victims are weak and mentally unstable. Hedda, contrary to what one may think, is not a heroine; she is depicted as a foolishly despicable and miserably unhappily married woman who has lost control of the situation in which she has maneuvered herself into. She visualizes and thinks that to take one’s own life is a noble act of selflessness when in fact most of society views it as a selfish deed. She conveys her thoughts and feelings to Eilert Loevborg as she assists him with one of her father’s pistols and states “Here! Use it now!,” as he places the pistol in his pocket Hedda exclaims, “Do it beautifully, Eilert Loevborg. Only promise me that!” (Ibsen 1508). Here as a vivid picture of a truly deranged woman that has lost control of her mental facilities. She has no idea of what it means to live on life’s terms as she lives her life by her own egotistical devices. Hedda is at a loss for words when Brack whispers how and where Loevborg really dies with the impression that if she doesn’t want it publicized that it was her pistol then she will do as the Judge wants and says. This is revealed when Brack says, “Well, luckily there’s no danger as long as I hold my tongue,” then he goes on with his implications and in an undertone murmurs “Hedda, my dearest— believe me —I will not abuse my position,” when Hedda becomes aware of the power that Brack is threatening to use over her he casually states that “[m]ost people resign themselves to the inevitable, sooner or later” (Ibsen 1517). She realizes that when she refuses to live with the Judge’s blackmail or the scandal of it being one of the pistols to her set, she decides to do beautifully what Loevborg couldn’t: shoot herself in the head. Hedda chose death over blackmail and /or scandal and thought that she was displaying an act of bravery and grace when in fact it was just the opposite and deemed a disgraceful display of shamefulness.

Walt Whitman vs Emily Dickinson

Walt Whitman vs Emily Dickinson

As we know that both of them are romantic time period writers, we can see that they both have different styles of showing that. In Walt Whitman we can see that he talks about everyone else but he relates back to himself a lot in the poem Song of Myself. One of the examples where it shows where he is talking about himself would be “I loaf and invite my soul./ I lean and loafe at my ease overview a spear of summer grass” (Whitman 982). Which we can see that indeed that he does relate back to himself throughout his poem which would be in the Romantic time because of the individuality. One other example out of his poem would be where he repeats “For Me” (Whitman 983). Now as for Emily we can see that she uses a insiders perspective other than expressing herself. We can see that she does the individuality speaking and relates back to someone. We can see that here in this line “I died for Beauty—but was scarce” (Dickinson 1053). One other time would be “'For Beauty. I replied.'” (1053). Both of the Poets can write with different styles as of Whitman is more of a freelance writer while Dickinson is more of an personal writer. We can see that both of them write in the Romantic time period. Even thought both writers have the style of writing that they choose we can honeslty say that both can belong in the Romantic time period of writing.

Whitman's Song of Myself

In Whitman’s Song of Myself, section 7, he presents a speaker who is open minded and accepting, but at the same time the speaker is innocent and naive of evil. The first stanza sets an interesting tone for the rest of the section, as the speaker says, “Has anyone supposed it lucky to be born? I hasten to inform him or her it is just as lucky to die, and I know it” (Whitman 983). This statement is playing on the audience’s preconception of life and death, and asserts a connection between life and death; presenting them as identical events in the course of life. In the second stanza the speaker again associates life and death when he says, “I pass death with the dying and birth with the new-washed babe” (Whitman 983), and again tries to bend the listener to acceptance of death and it’s union with life.

I’d like to contrast that perspective of utmost optimism and acceptance with the writings of Frederick Douglass. In Douglass’s Narrative Of The Life, he writes of one particular incident in his life that “It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass. It was a most terrible spectacle. I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I beheld it” (Douglass 925). I think the differences in view between Whitman and Douglass are extreme to say the least, with Whitman writing of acceptance and even writing, “Undrape! you are not guilty to me . . . “ (Whitman 983). Whitman’s writings, while inspirational and well written, show a level of innocence that is separate, and perhaps ignorant of the cruel and evil nature that some people possess, as was demonstrated in Douglass’s account.

The Guiles of a Woman

Women are most known for their cunning and manipulative ways especially when they are upset or displeased about a matter. They have been known to adjust any situation to placate their emotional circumstance. Hedda was born and raised as a snooty military brat that was catered to by her father, General Gabler. When she was old enough to marry, she married for convenience instead of love. With these facts in place we can see that she was a woman who was all about self. When she received Mrs. Elvsted’s visit and became aware that the woman was involve with her former suitor, she desires to disrupt their relationship by slyly extracting pertinent information about Eilert Loevborg and his manuscript from Mrs. Elvsted. This cunning disguise of friendship is shown as Hedda states “Well, now we must try to drift together again. Now listen. When we were at school we used to call each other by our Christian names –” (Ibsen 1475). This statement was a bogus recollection of high school friendship that Mrs. Elvsted had no memory of; she only remembers the ugly displays of mischief that were carried out by Hedda. Yet she goes on to share with her illusory friend how she has left her husband and has intentions of finding and living with Eilert Loevborg. Mrs. Elvsted unknowingly reveals her deep feelings for him by exclaiming “I only know that I must live wherever Eilert Loevborg is. If I am to go on living” (Ibsen 1477). With this declaration of passion expressed about Loevborg, Hedda is then conjuring a way to insure that further association between them will not occur.

I think that the way black slaves were treated in the United States was inhumane and cruel. Masters many times forgo that slaves were actual human beings and in many cases treated them as animals. I’m content that it is not like that anymore, I mean, there are still racist people, but at least racism and discrimination is not legal in this country anymore. It took people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks to achieve equal rights for all. However, during the process and before the process, some of the ways cruelty towards slaves was expressed were the urge and need of the masters to keep slaves ignorant: “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master—to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world.” (Douglass 937) Some masters wanted to teach their slaves to read and write, but unfortunately they didn’t get much support from other masters: “If you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever until him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master.” (Douglass 937). Personally, I find these quotes very interesting because they reflect the mentality of slavery in which white masters tried to keep their black slaves ignorant as long as possible because if a slave stopped being ignorant, it would get them in trouble, like it did.

A Woman of Discontent

The play Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen is about a neurotic, self-centered woman who is trying to gain status by trampling on the lives of other people. Hedda married her husband not because she loved him but because she was bored. Then she was disappointed when he couldn’t keep her up to the standards she thought she deserved. She could not be contented and says so when she says “why on earth should I be happy. Can you give me a reason?” (Ibsen 1486). She was a newlywed and maybe pregnant with a home and a nice life but couldn’t think of a reason to be happy. Fearing that Loevborg’s writing would outdo her husband and being jealous of another woman she hands him a pistol and encourages him to kill himself after he thought he lost his most important manuscript and desperately needed her support. All of the time Hedda knew where it was and could have restored it to him and saved his life. This is a evil woman who would put her status above the life of another man. She makes herself miserable because she could not be content with life as it was. I think Loevborg said it best when he said “Yes, Hedda You’re a coward at heart”(1494). It takes a truly strong person to do the right thing and a coward to choose to manipulate people for their own satisfaction. It was impossible for Hedda to be happy because she looked at life materialistically and though I know that life was not equal for men and women in this time period but she held more power than most of the men in this story. After all how many people can say they were instrumental in a man’s suicide?

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” -Kahlil Gibran

Surprise!! You are at the Malcom Scott Oscar award program. You have gone out and purchased the best fashion for our red carpet, (on me of course). You have cleared your busy schedule for the weekend to take part in our exclusive ball and after party. You also have front row seats to the concert featuring Prince, Jay-z and Tim McGrath featuring Faith Hill. You arrive with one question in mind “Who will be this year Enlightenment Period Character of the Year. Maybe you have your own person in mind and maybe you don’t care you’re just waiting on the after party and the open bar. Wait no longer its time.

After all our readings about the Enlightenment Period and the characters, some I understood their actions while others I questioned. I‘ve decided to dedicate my entire blog to this one character. This one guy doing the whole reading if something could go wrong it did. Now a slight hint to thicken the tension “Isn’t the devil at the root of the whole thing” (please forgive me for improper citing, don’t want to give it away just yet). He’s also my pick for the million dollar prize on Survivor because he has survived several knife fights, a lynching, an earthquake, and even Boat wreck. Now if that’s not a tuff guy who is? This young man stayed optimistic even though his friends took sides their respected sides on the philosophy he had been taught all his life. “Pangloss still maintained that everything was for the best, but Jacques didn’t agree with them” (ok this is the last one).

Without further a due, the winner of the 2010 character of the year (drum roll please) Candide!!!! You guessed it Candide was voted the most popular character, because he started out as a knuckle head that believed every word he was told “It is clear , said he that things cannot be otherwise that they are, for since everything is made to serve an end, everything necessarily serves the best end” (Voltaire 520). To a man who achieved the right to chose what he believed and even took an opportunity to educate the educator. “That was very well put, said Candide, but we must cultivate our garden” (Voltaire 580). Good for you Candide.

Hope of Freedom

After reading Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler I find myself disagreeing with the introduction. The introduction portrays Hedda as a vicious and malicious woman, however I believe that she was only responding to the circumstances others placed her in; not acting out of malice. We’re given a picture of Hedda as being aloof and haughty, but what is only hinted at is the manipulative nature of the people who surround her.

All of the men in the story are obsessed with Hedda, even to the point of self destruction. Judge Brack actively pursues her, despite her turning down his advances, and Eilert is equally obsessed, and desires her greatly. Even her husband is so focused on her that he ignores his growing debt, and overlooks her faults to avoid confrontation; but none of them truly loves Hedda, and they only seek to control her. Where the introduction paints Hedda as being malicious, I think that she simply felt trapped by all of the people trying to control her life, and responded in the only way that she knew how; which was to try and control them as well. We’re shown how Judge Brack desires to be Hedda’s “. . . trusted friend . . . ” (Ibsen 1484), and gives Hedda strong indications of his true desire. However it is not until he gains power over Hedda by blackmail. We’re also shown how Eilert tries to manipulate her into giving herself to him when he says “Didn’t you love me either? Not - just a little?” (Ibsen 1493), and later when he tells her “Yes Hedda. You’re a coward at heart” (Ibsen 1494). Her husband George also tries to manipulate her, and in essence bribes her to become his wife by promising her the freedoms of social life, but when his career plans fall through, he immediately reneges on his promises.

Hedda wanted freedom, from the men who constantly hounded her, and from the society pressuring her to be something she was not. When Judge Brack blackmails her and she realized that she would never be free, and that she was “Dependent on [his] will, and [his] demands. Not free. Still not free!” (Ibsen 1517), Hedda took the only path that she saw remaining; that of suicide. In doing so she did what she envisioned for Eilert, and had “. . . the courage and the will to rise from the feast of life so early” (Ibsen 1515), and found her freedom.

Slavery vs. Romantic

In the reading by Fredrick Douglass called the Narrative of the Life, slavery was brought up a lot. In my opinion yes slavery was bad but that is the way the life was back then. Can we say that slavery is in the Romantic time? Well as stated here, “he would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave” (925). With this being pointed out we could say that yes it is talking about one slave, but he doesn’t mention on exact slave but he does talk about the individual group among with the rest of the world. So in a way we can say that slave in this time period was about of the Romantic period but was also apart of the Enlightenment, but it was opening the door up for the new society out reach. One other part of his reading would be, “ I told him as well as I could, for I scarce had strength to speak. He then gave me a savage kick in the side, and told me to get up” ( 953). We can see once again he is talking to one single person within a group. For Douglass to be able to pull some of the enlightenment period into the romantic period is great. What I mean by that is he takes a group of people, which are the slaves, but turns it into one person a single slave being taken advantage of when he is doing the work that he was told to do by his master. So yes Slavery would be apart of the Romantic period.

A Religion I don't Want

In my reading of Frederick Douglass, the subject of religion caught my attention. Does not religion teach kindness? Does not religion teach love for your fellowman? What kind of religion did these arrogant white slave owners have? They had one that I don't want. " In August, 1832, my master attended a Methodist camp-meeting held in the Bay-side, Talbot county, and there experienced religion" (Douglass 947). Douglass hoped this would make his master, Captain Auld, free his slaves and if not at least make him more kind and humane."If it had any effect on his character, it made him more cruel and hateful in all his ways; for I believe him to have been a much worse man after his conversion than before" (Douglass 947). What kind of religion had Captain Auld and his fellow ministers been converted to? Definitely not from God. A godly person is God like. A christian is christ like. A Godly person does not mistreat, beat, rape or starve anyone for any reason. Instead they are kind, loving and giving. Religon? Maybe some type, a Godly conversion, not a chance.

Slavery

Slavery is horrible. I know that a Romantic piece of literature is suppose to be all about the main character of the story, but I think Frederick Douglass deserves to speak of himself and all the trails we went through as a slave. Being an ignorant person and living in the age I am living, I did not know the severity of the treatment of slaves on the old plantations. The people are being treated worse than any dog in our society - we have organizations and people that stand up against the inhumane treatment of animals, but we never stop to think of the treatment that was given to slaves “I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood” (Douglass 925). How could a human being treat another in this manner? The slaves were doing the work they were “hired” to do; why couldn’t this be enough for the owner of the plantation. I do not understand why they felt the need to whip, rape, and torture these innocent people that should have had the same rights as any other person. I found myself, later on in the story, being happy that Mr. Douglass battled Mr. Covey and would not let him beat on him anymore… “My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. I did not hesitate to let it be known of me that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me” (Douglass 955).

The Profit of Knowledge

Had Thomas Nast been laid off by Harper's Weekly, we never would have had such powerful cartoons as this 1867 illustration, "The Georgetown Election," which mocked President Andrew Johnson's (left) stance on suffrage based on race.

Fredrick Douglass was born a slave and through relentless pursuits reaches his life’s achievement of education and freedom. After tasting the refreshing nectar of knowledge he became adamant about learning how to read. Douglass knew within himself that this would be his ticket to freedom: his vow to himself was to obtain the knowledge necessary that would release him from the bondage of slavery at all costs. After Mr. Auld chastised his wife for teaching Fredrick his alphabets, he came to a certain realization and this is shown as he states “I now understand what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty – to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man…. I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom” (Douglass 937). His quest for knowledge and freedom became his immediate and ulterior goal. Not only was Douglass teaching himself through tactful manipulation how to read, but also he began to share what he had learned with the other slaves. His compassion for his fellow slave brothers and sisters is depicted in his role as their teacher and friend. He sees himself as one of them and he speaks of their love for one another at the close of school each Sunday. Douglass expresses an unselfish desire to empower them with knowledge and this is seen as he states “They came because they wished to learn. Their minds had been starved by their cruel masters. They had been shut up in mental darkness. I taught them, because it was the delight of my soul to be doing something that looked like bettering the condition of my race” (Douglass 959,960). Here is a firm display of betterment; of one’s self along with one’s own community.

The physical abuse described in Douglass was very appalling and cruel to say the least. I even agree that the mental anguish was just as harsh if not difficult to read or imagine. Yet I find that the attitude of some slaves that they were better than other slaves, for whatever reason, just plain sad “It was considered being bad enough to be a slave; but to be a poor man’s slave was deemed a disgrace indeed!” (Douglass 931). How could it be possible to convince a person or train a man, to forgo his own thoughts and beliefs to offend against his own kind or another human being for that matter? How great of a motivator would one man or system of cruelty have to be to convince another person to spy, whip, and even kill another human being? Not because of war or for the betterment of a greater cause no, only because of cotton, crops, wealth and economy. “The principal products raised upon it were tobacco, corn and wheat” (Douglass 926). This disturbs me more than anything. My mind has no way of understanding what the procedure could be to convince another man to do my biding in such a harsh manor just to ensure the crops would be harvested before sunset.
“The slaveholders have been known to send in spies among their slaves, to ascertain their views and feelings in regard to their condition” (Douglass 931). I recognize that slaves were treated in the most mortifying manor known to this country’s history. But after reading works like Douglass the question that still remains on my mind is,” why not rebel stand and fight from day one.” Many people may find this question as a little on the unsympathetic end, but it’s the contrary. I hadn’t been beaten in a physical since. Nor have I seen my Aunts and Uncles hands and feet bounded as if they where wild game, hanged from post outside of the shack I call my home. But I have seen people disrespected and rejected because of their race. I’ve been denied a chance to better take care of my family, because of the way I talk and my mannerisms. I’m not downplaying the struggles that my Great Great Great Grandparents went through. But this would be all the more reason to stop it, to rise up against it, to get mad and do something about it. Instead of spitting in the masters coffee use rat poison its quicker. Instead of taking an untimely break in the field while the master isn’t looking form an alliance with the other slaves and kill the Master and the horse.
If I don’t fight and attempt to change the things that I know is wrong I’m a part of the problem. This is a personal choice but what if every Niggars took a similar stand, American history would be written in a different way. I may have been killed in the process but the thought of my child seeing someone beat his father and I lie down and take it gives me a death every time I look at him. “A still tongue makes a wise head” (Douglass 931). As a Father, Son, Brother and Uncle I would rather die a thousand times and see my entire family die, than for any one of us to die a coward’s death from the inside out.

We Don't Know The Half Of It

In reading about Frederick Douglas, I was very impressed by his writings and accounts of his life. It was a very easy and educational read. It kept my attention span at a high level. The situations he wrote of were real life situations and were educational. They showed that slavery was not just words but were a forced way of life. A hellish nightmare lived everyday by the people involved. It was very different from the dull mostly fictional readings of Candide and Gulliver's Travels. Douglass readings were presented in an on edge, educational way. Fredick Douglass accomplished much, He was an overcomer. This was very hard times for the black community but Douglass was able to achieve much. His writings gained world recognition and he became the most exciting, electrifing speaker and writer produced by black america in the ninneteeth century. We sometimes here stories of slavery and just blow them off as just words and are guility of not realizing the realism of those truths. Douglass tells of his life accounts in a way that helps me to better understand the real meaning of slavery. We make the mistake of not putting ourselves in the shoes of the slaves and the terrible hardships they indured. To the people of slavery it was very real and was a forced everyday lifestyle and nightmare from hell. Douglass tells of one such incident where a slaveowners overseer was involved. Mr. Plummer, the overseerer, was a drunken evil man. He swore nearly every breath and seemed to enjoy cruelity and inducing much pain on the slaves. Douglass describes him as a savage monster who the slave owner even had issues with. The owner would even become enraged at his needless cruelity.Douglass tells about being awakened at dawn by shrieks and screams of his aunt. "No words, no tears, no prayers, from his goery victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she scremed, the harder he whipped;and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest" (Douglass 925). A needless punishment for a female longing for the attention of a young male. Hardly a crime and definitely not worthy of a beating.

Birth of Individuality

In reading the work of Frederick Douglass I feel that I am starting to see the distinction between the Enlightenment and Romantic periods much more strongly, and getting a better grasp on what that distinction means. Whether by design or accident, I actually see a lot of those same differences in Douglass’s work as he describes his own education, and eventual acquisition of identity as a person. During the early parts of Douglass’s story he shows us how the slave masters did everything in their power to deprive their slaves of a personal identity, and Douglass writes that “I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday” (Douglass 923). In a lot of ways this reminds me of the Enlightenment view of society vs. individual, as the slave masters tried to suppress personal concerns in the slaves, in an attempt to govern them as a group. As Douglass progressed in educating himself he gains awareness of both himself and his surroundings, and begins to understand both why the slave masters suppressed their individuality, and the horrific nature of their scheme. When Douglass becomes aware of just how cruel his own circumstances were, he writes, “It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out” (Douglass 941). I think that as Douglass learned more about himself, he realized that being a slave was a state of being, not a personal identity.

There seems to be a strong relationship between Douglass’s early state of being a slave and the Enlightenment system of dealing with society rather than individuals, further, Douglass’s discovery that he was a person and not some meaningless part of a societal caste of slaves, fits very well with the idea of Romanticism.

Empowering Myself

In Frederick Douglass narrative of his life he shows how as a slave he in powered his self to overcome slavery. He realized that there was another way of living. His journey started when he left his first master’s house and went to live in Baltimore. His new master’s wife began to teach him to read. When the master found out he made this statement “A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master.... [L]earning would spoil the best nigger to the world. Now if you teach a nigger (speaking of myself) to read, there would be no keeping him” (Douglass 937). This put the first sparks of in his heart and he worked hard to learn to read. His second step came when he experience the cruelty first hand. He obtained knowledge very valuable to him from another slave and did as he told him. When he returned back he found that this knowledge had merit when he fought his master and several others and thrashed them. His thoughts after this were “This battle with Mr. Covey was a turning-point in my career as a slave” (955). Third was when he helped his follow slaves to read and some of them planned to run. The plan was stop but he went back to Baltimore and learned a trade. After some difficulties he started making his own money. At this point he had empowered himself with the assets to make it if freedom was obtained, “I now come to the part of my life during which I planned, and finally succeeded in making, my escape from slavery” (967). Douglass was one of the many black slaves that empowered themselves to accomplish freedom.

THANK YOU

Slavery was a cruel time for my race it was a time where we had no rights and only existed to be controlled. Frederick Douglass was one of the first groups that realized that there was another way of living and actually achieved it. Douglass’s Narrative of Life was a very graphic and very descriptive of the cruelty that they had to endure. He describes the first time he witness this cruelty, “I remember the first time I ever witness this horrible exhibition… [I]t struck me with awful force. It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery” (Douglass 925). This cruelty was life for slaves, the beatings, the living conditions, not enough to eat and nothing of their own. During this time they had no rights, they did what they were told or was punished. He describes on incident were a slave refused to be beaten and his was killed. This cruelty was justified by this statement “He argued that if on slave refused to be corrected, and escaped with his life, the others would soon copy the example; the result of which would be the freedom of the slaves and the enslavement of the whites” (933). My race lived this way for generations to come. But those like Douglass and Harriet Tubman fought for freedom and achieve it and help other’s to obtain freedom. I can say that I’m thankful to those that suffered and fought for freedom because without them enduring the cruelty and overcoming I would not have the freedoms that I have today.

Cruelty of Slavery

Slavery was abolished with the 13th amendment of the US constitution. Prior to that, back people went through very harsh things, things that some white people wanted to forget, since it's so shameful. It took individuals such as Frederick Douglass who wrote about his experiences as a slave to keep recorded in history of what really happened during the time of slavery. Back in the time of slaves, there were laws created by US law makers that made slavery legal. When finally slavery was overcome, the problem of segregation came into place, giving black people another obstacle on the road of total freedom. Frederick Douglas wrote about his childhood as a slave, he mentioned the inhuman conditions that he lived in as a child, “The allowance of slave children was given to their mothers, or the old women having the care of them. The children unable to work in the field had neither shoes, stockings, jackets, nor trousers, given to them; their clothing consisted of two coarse linen shirts per year. When these failed them, they went naked until the next allowance year.” (Douglass 926). In today’s society, one cannot even imagine a child (black, white, asian, latino or whatever culture the child may come from) living under this extreme and cruel conditions. If it did, severe punishment would be given to the person in charge of them. However, children who lived as slaves, many times never learned to read and write or lived to see their offspring liberated from the chains of slavery. Douglass detailed descriptions of events that marked his life and made him become the man he became are full of cruelty especially from the slaves' master: “ if one slave refused to be corrected, and escaped with his life, the others slaves would soon copy the example; the result of which would be, the freedom of the slaves, and the enslavement of the whites” (Douglass 933). Such actions, as killing a slave and given the explanation above was somewhat common back then, and we would have never known of it if it wasn’t for brave men as Frederick Douglas.

Obssed

It would be easy to just say that Victor’s creation was the monster because it wasn’t really human, having been created from stolen body parts, a creature that takes innocent lives and destroys without a bit of regret. But what caused the creature to behave this way? The creature was a created by the true monster of this story. Victor was a man unable to understand the meaning of what he was doing, a man possessed with fame and fortune, an irrational man who had no respect for family, friends, or the beauty of life which what I had seen to be his obsession. Victor was a spoiled child, raised in a world of privilege by doting parents where he was never made to accept responsibility for his actions, and from an early age thought the world revolved around him: “Much as they were attracted to each other…I was their plaything and their idol, and something better - their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed upon them by Heaven…”(Shelley 40). Victor didn’t care for family or friends and felt that they were not as important as his desire to learn about science, “…I was capable of a more intense application, and was more deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge“(Shelley 43). Although Victor had everything and got everything he had this big obsession of recreating life.

women

Ok first let me slide this in here, I hate technology. I have been fighting with this blog for 20 hours now and had to reregister AGAIN. But, in light of it all, I am determined to be up with the tech age and submit my thoughts.
I did not mention or write about the first option about the “what if” in regards for women’s status in the Enlightenment period. I think that the roles giving and putting women in the cookie cutter of being in the kitchen set them up for greater later on. In the south we see our women in the family as monarchs of the entire family. Yes, they may have had a rough start in the beginning of the Enlightenment period, Gulliver said that they are weapons, “spreading vicious diseases” (Swift) In Candide, his lover had control over him otherwise he wouldn’t have been traveling and killing for her. Their role of being in the kitchen staying home and raising the kids is a lot better than the caveman days were women were more of an object and raped when ever men wanted. And in the Enlightenment period there developed family units. Now a days this role gives women the power over the family. “what momma says goes,” and “If momma ain’t happy no one is happy, “ these are saying that show that we as woman do hold a higher role. There was an unnecessary delay if the rise of female respect given.

A Monster Inside of a Monster
Frankenstein created a “being” that had the features of a monster and the heart of a man. When the monster was first brought to life, he knew nothing of the ways of the world. His first contact with human nature was disastrous because of his size, color and appearance. His encounter with mankind taught him to become a distrusting and angry villain. Although he was aware of his difference, he was really just a man filled with fear and anguish. After living and learning from the family that he daily observed he knew that he wanted to have a relationship with them but was afraid of how they would receive him. This is clearly shown when the monster tries to befriend the old man and is seen when he says, “I tenderly love these friends; I have, unknown to them, been for many months in the habits of daily kindness towards them; but they believe that I wish to injure them, and it is that prejudice which I wish to overcome” (Shelley 90). Here the monster is trying to get accepted before the old man’s children return and see him: not for who he is but for what he looks like. After being treated as an outcast and shunned, he does what the typical man would do; change. Society played a big part in him changing from being a sensitive and caring person to the monster that he became. After being discovered and beaten the monster has finally gotten tired of trying to become friends with anyone and allows the real monster inside of him to be born. The monster lividly states “Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you so wantonly bestowed?... [M]y feelings were those of rage and revenge” (Shelley 91-92). What man that you know would lie down and accept being mistreated? Can you not see how society helped to create this monster? Not to mention how his own creator abhorred and rejected him.