Realism

*painting = imagination = Romanticism / photograph = detail = Realism*


TASK ONE:

+--The Story of an Hour--+

1) Details

I noticed right away Chopin's attention to detail. Realism stories generally include an elaboration of detail in order to prevent the reader from having to use their imagination. Not that imagination is a bad thing, but when you want to persuade a reader to feel a certain way, using elaborating details is an effective method. In The Story of An Hour, Chopin describes the scenery, the senses, and the thoughts and feelings of the character Mrs. Mallard in great detail.

"There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves."


2) Social Issue

Another effective means of persuading the reader is to describe a common life issue (this could be political, social, or personal). Usually, the author describes the issue and then uses the characters to react to the issue in a way that provides the reader with information on how some people respond to the problem at hand. In The Story of An Hour, Chopin elaborates on the issue of male-dominated marriages. Through Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death, the reader can understand that she felt suffocated under his dictation.

"When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!"

"But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome."

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TASK TWO:

+--The Battle with Mr. Covey--+

1) My Response

Compared to Douglass's former disposition as a young slave, he's come a long way. I am appalled at how he came out of his prison of slavery such a strong writer with an innate sense of justice. This is a rare and incredible feat for anyone under such a harsh disposition as slavery. What I like most about Douglass's writing is his style and descriptions. He is very down-to-earth, and rather than bitterly, spitefully divulge the cruel details of his life (though after what he'd been through he was definitely entitled to) he lays the story out in front of you, explains how he felt, what he did, and leaves you to your thoughts. This is why realism is one of my favorite kinds of writing, though it often indulges on depressing or shocking topics.

With Douglass in particular, the way he explains situations is incredibly realistic (hence the name...) yet intricately laced with metaphors. I'm also fond of the way he refrains from writing in rage. Though he very well could have been angry or vengeful when writing, his story doesn't imply a tone of rage or yelling. It's much easier to understand a serious point when it is explained calmly, and this is most likely where the pressure of being a Realist lies. When an event occurs in your life that is particularly tragic or traumatic, the last thing you'd want to do is write calmly about it.

"If at any one time of my life more than another, I was made to drink the bitterest dregs of slavery, that time was during the first six months of my stay with Mr. [Edward] Covey."

"Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!"


2) Details

There is a plethora of detail provided in Douglass's The Battle with Mr. Covey. The story itself is fairly descriptive, but the scenes Douglass wants you to pay closest attention to are very clearly laid out. This is a very effective means of informative persuasion, especially in this story. Douglass wants the reader to understand the effect of the cruelties placed upon him. I noticed an especially descriptive point in the story: when Douglass describes the head wound he received from Mr. Covey.

"I then presented an appearance enough to affect any but a heart of iron. From the crown of my head to my feet, I was covered with blood. My hair was all clotted with dust and blood, my shirt was stiff with briers and thorns, and were also covered with blood. I supposed I looked like a man who had escaped a den of wild beasts, and barely escaped them."

Douglass also focuses on his own emotions in this story, spanning from submission to hope. I particularly enjoyed a paragraph near the end of the excerpt, when Douglass decides he will no longer take physical punishment from anyone.

"This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning- point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood. It recalled the departed self- confidence, and inspired me again with a determination to be free. The gratification afforded by the triumph was a full compensation for whatever else might follow, even death itself. He only can understand the deep satisfaction which I experienced, who had himself repelled by force the bloody arm of slavery. I felt as I never felt before. It was a glorious resurrection from the tomb of slavery to the heaven of freedom. My long- crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and now I resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact."


2) Social Issue

Writing, as a way of communicating to the public, is extremely useful for conveying a hardship or social issue. Writers like Douglass have fully utilized this skill and used it to create a clear message to the world. In this story, the obvious issue at hand is slavery. Rather than provide examples of how Douglass is writing about slavery (because that should be really obvious) I'll show you some phrases in the story--regarding slavery, of course--that are much more intellectual and creative than flat out saying "Slavery is bad and I hate it with a passion". The examples I'll provide are much deeper than that, and contain the shocking proof necessary to convince anyone how a slave, a human being, was being mistreated. With these examples he portrays how his superiors regarded him as property, mistreated him, and took advantage of him.

"I spent that day mostly in the woods, having the alternative before me,- - to go home and be whipped to death, or stay in the woods and be starved to death."

"Master Thomas ridiculed the idea that there was any danger of Mr. Covey's killing me, and said that he knew Mr. Covey; that he was a good man, and that he could not think of taking me from him; that should he do so, he would lose the whole year's wages; that I belonged to Mr. Covey for one year, and that I must go back to him, come what might; and that I must not trouble him with any more stories, or that he would get hold of me."

"Mr. Covey enjoyed the most unbounded reputation for being a first- rate overseer and Negro- breaker. It was of considerable importance to him. That reputation was at stake; and had he sent me- - a boy of sixteen years old- - to the whipping- post, his reputation would have been lost; so, to save his reputation, he suffered me to go unpunished."

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TASK THREE:

+--Realism Example--+

1) Detail

The example I chose to provide for Realism is the movie "Stand By Me" directed by Rob Reiner (based on "The Body" by Steven King). As you may or may not recall, the movie follows four teen boys searching for the body of a missing local, a boy their age. The detail in this movie is abundant two ways: One, in the scenery and layout (it's much easier to show detail in a movie than with a book). The majority of the movie takes place in rural forest. Two, with the characters. The director stresses the boys' feelings and emotions throughout the movie: particularly how they feel about the search and how they feel about themselves. There are two conjoined scenes that I want to use as my favorite examples:

1) The initial discovery of the body:
The imagery is realistic; the boy's body appears as if it had been sitting for weeks: pale, grotesque, and stiff. The four boys' reactions are generally the same: shock and silence. Rather than focus on any one character's thoughts, the director plainly shows their reactions. The find had a very strong impact on the main character, Gordie, because his brother had recently died. The director makes a point to focus more on Gordie's initial shock and post-depression.

2) Gordie and Chris:
My memory of the events leading up to this next scene are a little vague, because I can't remember what the boys decide to do with the body. I'm pretty sure they either covered it or built it a stretcher... Like I said, vague. But more importantly, I remember that as the group was leaving the area, Gordie goes back and sits beside the body. The alpha male of the group, Chris, comes back and consoles him. Gordie, very upset and vulnerable, explains that he should have died instead of the boy they found. He believes his father resents him for staying alive when his brother died and repeats the line: "I'm no good."


2) Social Issue

This story has many social issues wrapped in the plot. I could go into great detail of many of them, but I'll focus on the ones that stuck out to me the most. One would be the social issue of death and how it affects a young generation. In this case, I'm referring to Gordie's dead brother and how Gordie is so deeply affected by it.

Another social issue I found apparent in the story was that of stereotypes: that young boys are supposed to learn to be tough and adventurous. The director disproves this with Gordie, showing the audience that "boys can cry".

As I mentioned before, there are many more social issues present in the plot, some more subtle than others, but those were the ones I found the most appealing.

Dark Romanticism

TASK ONE:

+--The Spectrum--+

I would fall closer to being a Dark Romantic than a Transcendentalist, but not by an exceeding amount. I believe some of the Dark Romantic ideas while rejecting others, and the same goes with the Transcendentalists. In short, I do not believe in original sin, I do not believe that everyone's thoughts are the voice of God, and I do not believe that every thought should be acted upon. However, I agree with the Transcendentalists in that with hard work and self-reliance, you can succeed and reap the benefits. I also agree with the Dark Romantics in that every thought in your head isn't be pure and wonderful and that there are corrupt people in the word.

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TASK TWO/THREE:

+--The Masque of the Red Death--+

1) Imagination

One major connection I've noticed between Dark Romantic authors is their attention to detail and elaboration on the bizarre. This is especially true with Poe. In the Masque of the Red Death, the metaphors are endless and I was constantly analyzing the different situations into meaningful symbols or ideas. One good example would be the description of the rooms.

"The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue."

Although seemingly realistic, the room descriptions prompted a sense of metaphor in me. One speculation I have is that each room represents different emotions or feelings. Kind of like those cheap mood rings you can buy that come with a list of different colors and their 'meanings'. (Generally, colors like blue are 'calm' while reds are 'angry'.) Another idea, spurred from one of Mr. Siegmund's, was that the rooms represent a passage of time--or a person's life--starting from the east to the west--or from birth to death (the last room, of course, is black).

In the few pieces of Poe's literature I've read, I've noticed there is always an object, or symbol, that represents something deeper. This object is usually unrealistic. In this case, I would mean the masked figure in The Masque of the Red Death. You would obviously need a good imagination to read about the masked figure, who is described as a corpse, because at the end his outfit turns out to be empty.

"...the revellers at once threw themselves into the black apartment, and, seizing the mummer, whose tall figure stood erect and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped in unutterable horror at finding the grave-cerements and corpse-like mask which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible form."


2) Proof of Anti-Transcendentalism

There is a plethora of statements against the Transcendentalists concealed in this story (it seems to me that Poe had a very distinct way of proving them wrong). When Prince Prospero (a quite ironic name for him, really) took his people and fled from the Red Death, he eventually brought the end to them all. This is clearly a statement against Transcendentalist belief for these reasons: 1) Prospero followed his intuition but in the end it killed him.
2) Evil lurks everywhere; Prospero tried to hide away but he only ended up locking himself in with it.
When Poe describes the black room, I immediately thought that this could represent Prospero's 'grain of evil' (that Original Sin that the Dark Romantics believe in). This 'evil' ended up killing Prospero.

I'll use the ebony grandfather clock from the story as my last example. Poe, as a Dark Romantic, believes that Transcendentalists are fools for their belief in 'all good intuition and thoughts'. In the story, whenever the 'evil' clock chimes, the party would die down and everyone would appear worried and frightened. I believe that here, Poe was saying that even the Transcendentalists were worried of evil, simply because evil was everywhere.

"...there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation."

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TASK FOUR:

+--The Raven--+

1) Imagination

As with most of Poe's writing, it's clear to see the different ways you must use your imagination while reading the piece. The raven is the best example in this story. There are many ideas and arguments about what the bird stands for:

1) It's a real raven that the character imagines talking to him because he's going crazy with grief
2) It's a figment of his imagination that represents his hopeless despair
3) It's a ghost or imagined demon come to depress him
4) It's a real bird that's actually talking to him

Any one of these would require a good deal of imagination to understand. The idea I chose to go with was number 2. In the character's misery and grief, he imagines an answer to all his questions. Will I ever see Lenore again? No. Will I ever feel better? No.
Perhaps then, if the raven is fictional, it represents more than answers to his questions. Maybe it represents his own beliefs. While trying to feel better, the main character's 'seed of evil' slowly takes over his mind and convinces him that his life will always be horrible. It just happens to take the form of a black bird because that is much more imaginative than the character sitting and talking to himself the entire poem.

"In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more."


2) Proof of Anti-Transcendentalism

The evidence here for Anti-Transcendentalism is unmistakable. Poe uses the main character of the story as proof himself. In the beginning of the poem, the main character attempts to bury his fear of the tapping in the darkness by saying 'tis the wind and nothing more!' To me, this appears to be the character having dark thoughts of the unknown evils lurking outside his home--when he (as a representation of a Transcendentalist) should be assuming it's something good and harmless, like a visitor.

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."

Then again, when the narrator is faced with the raven, he speculates that the bird is a gift from heaven to take away his sorrow and pain of the lost Lenore. Even when the bird says 'nevermore', the narrator still hangs on to hope, asking the raven if he will ever feel good or see Lenore again. Of course, the raven says, 'Nevermore'.

"`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"

"`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!...
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"

By the end of the poem, Poe is showing the reader that Transcendentalist beliefs are flawed and useless as the main character falls apart and gives up all hope. The raven represents all the doubt to his questions and hopes. His intuition, where as a Transcendentalist should soothe and guide him to feel better, ends up destroying and depressing him.

"And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!"

Independent Reading - WEEK SEVEN

Okay, so here's another week that I didn't read a darn thing (unless you count advertisements on the bus...). I'm planning on getting either the Twilight series from my friend or Catcher in the Rye from Mr. Siegmund. So far I'm leaning toward Catcher in the Rye simply because I'm not extremely excited to read Twilight (that series has been somewhat ruined for me by squealing fan girls and an obsessive society).

Independent Reading - WEEK EIGHT

During week seven, I picked up the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I've been curious to read it for about a year, and so far I am far from disappointed.
First off, I absolutely love the way Salinger writes. It's a kind of first-person informal chatter, a rambling of the thoughts and opinions of Holden. And I've taken a liking to Holden's views on people, especially when he calls everyone "phonies". I also find it hilarious that he calls everything and everyone "crumby". The book is humorous but also depressing in a way because Holden is extremely lonely and desolate in the first half. Also, since it was written in the 1940s or whereabouts, there are a lot of very strange terms that I took a while to understand. Like how Holden always says that Stradlater is giving girls "the time". I suppose they used these extremely vague terms because outright saying what they really meant was very inappropriate and taboo for that era.

I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of this book.

Independent Reading - WEEK SIX

For week six, I finally finished Shadow People by Joyce McDonald. It was a fairly good read, but I wasn't as in to it as I could've been. Basically, the last half of the book consisted of the character Gabriel trying to decide whether he wanted to be a bad boy in the gang with his "friends" (Lydia, Alec, and Hollis) or be a good guy with his to-be girlfriend Gem. The gang also starts doing bigger things (being lead by genius Hollis) like exploding an abandoned factory about to be remodeled for use.
I liked the book, don't get me wrong, but I just wasn't that involved in it. I was mostly curious to finish it rather than eager.
One thing I would like to speculate on is the character Hollis: he was like, fourteen or something and Joyce McDonald describes him as a chubby yet eerie genius learning to control his older gang members' actions and decisions. I really didn't like his character, not because he was fat and creepy, but because it seems very unrealistic to me that he, at such a young and inexperienced age, should know how to manipulate people. In the end, when the gang gets caught, Hollis is let off easy because of his young age.
Well, I'm not disappointed in the book. It wasn't one of those books that you read and feel your intelligence level dropping or anything. I actually enjoyed the ending because it was slightly inconclusive. I tend to enjoy endings like that because they leave the reader to freely think about what might happen next. These kinds of endings make some people really mad though because they want to know that everything turns out well.

Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism:

1) Being SMART!
2) Abolish slavery and give women rights
3) Declare independence from England (and top their writers)
4) Romantics who adopted philosophies from other cultures
5) The "oversoul" (all peoples' souls connected)
6) Open-mindedness
7) All people = pure
8) God communicates through mind, intuition, and nature
9) Did NOT believe in Original Sin
10) Rejected gov't and organized religion


TASK ONE/TWO:

+--Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson--+

1) Story Review

In Nature, what I noticed to be most prominent was Emerson's constant depiction of nature reflecting pure man. His style is much easier to understand than, say, Thanatopsis or Of Plymouth Plantation, and his story very much so reminds me of Romantics. However, what separates Emerson from a Romantic is the fact that he mentions God less (and when so he describes him as being a part of nature) and stresses the importance of being connected to nature and the universe. These ideals, especially purity, remind me of certain Buddhist and other Asian and Indian culture beliefs: chi, the soul, meditation, and chakras. I mostly focused, however, on Emerson's use of nature mirroring man and how nature is good to us through childhood and adulthood. So far I am enjoying Transcendentalist belief because it connects to my own more so than the previous projects. I very much so love what he says about youth and infancy:

"The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood."

"The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood."

"In the woods, too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods is perpetual youth."

Nature goes beyond "being in nature because it is good." Emerson talks about The Universe (as an entity, it seems) and the stars and our connection to them. He goes beyond your regular "nature"--the word that makes you think of trees and streams and happy little birds--and refers to the entire universe. What I'm curious about now, especially since Transcendentalists are so focused on being knowledgeable, is what a Transcendentalist would think of life beyond our planet (yes, aliens). If they even considered extraterrestrials, would they not feel that they were connected through the "oversoul"?


2) Proof of Transcendentalism

This piece of writing is a good example of Transcendentalism. In the introductory paragraph, I saw a few sentences that perfectly captured the ideas and thoughts behind Transcendentalism:

"Why should we not also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should we not have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?"

This is pretty much the epitome of Transcendentalism belief. Rather than focus on the traditions of morals and religion (like the Puritans did), the Transcendentalists combined their original idea of pure, open-mindedness with the imaginative freedom of the Romanticists.


+--Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson--+

1) Story Review

What I first noticed about Self-Reliance was how it seems almost too good to be true in the way Emerson describes human nature. Yes, we can have all the good qualities he describes, but many people choose to be not quite so heroic and refuse the capability of being good or bettering oneself.

"And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not pinched in a corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but redeemers and benefactors, pious aspirants to be noble clay plastic under the Almighty effort, let us advance and advance on Chaos and the Dark..."

However, my observation was mostly positive. I do like this story, I just feel that Emerson wants everyone to feel the same way, and that is not possible. Not everyone will decide to be great. However, I do believe that everyone has the potential to be transcended into betterness with hard word.
On a separate note, I do like the way Emerson describes social pressures and societal rules. He seems to understand the way society can act negatively against individuals. He also mentions an interesting view on how society should work, which I liked.

"Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of everyone of its members."

"Society is a joint-stock company in which the members agree for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder."


2) Proof of Transcendentalism

Emerson touches many times on 'working hard to reap rewards'. In a Transcendentalist view, this means doing hard work (mentally or physically) is the only way to receive; or: only by self-reliance can you expect to gain what you initially desired. I think the main idea behind Transcendentalism is getting what you want by utilizing the power you have within you--and that everyone has the power to do anything using their minds.

"...That though the wide universe if full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till."

"It needs a divine man to exhibit any thing divine."

"A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what
he has said or done otherwise shall give him no peace."

On a last note, I noticed that Emerson also talks about how many people don't utilize this ability:

"We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents."


+--Resistance to Civil Government--+

1) Story Review

Thoreau appears to me a mix between a philosopher, an economist, and someone who uses too many metaphors. I found the story good, but slightly confusing from the way he clutters his sentences together. However, I got the point of the story. Thoreau is against all forms of government. Near the end, he seems to give in and say that at least a better form of government should exist, but in the beginning he feels strongly about abolishing it altogether. He has quite a complex view on why government should not exist, but I feel that this quote sums it up quite well:

“The government itself, which is only the mode in which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it.”

What I found interesting about the first half of the story is how Thoreau gradually goes from saying 'government is bad' to 'government controls the people'. It's as if he believes the government has a will of its own. I disagree with him in this respect because any system of government is created by people. I do believe that the government can represent the population it governs, but any Transcendentalist would likely disagree, especially Thoreau. To believe this would mean to believe that the government can become corrupt because the people can, and in a Transcendentalist mind, people aren't corrupt in the first place. It is very easy to me to see why Transcendentalists were so against any form of civil government.

“I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be once step toward obtaining it.”


2) Proof of Transcendentalism

Although it seems as though Thoreau is simply going off on an anti-government tangent, there are many Transcendentalist viewpoints in his writing. A resistance to government in the first place is a Transcendentalist idea: they would rather rely on their own minds than a bigger system of minds. If the minds of the people are good, then let them make choices rather than a system that decides for them.

“Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?”

[He questions the governmental authority to decide for people]“Why has every man a conscience, then?”

“The only obligation which I have a right to assume, is to do at any time what I think right...”

[Thoreau mentions his stay in prison, in which he meets a man he presumes innocent] “I asked him in my turn how he came here, presuming him to be an honest man, of course, and as the world goes, I believe he was.”

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TASK THREE:

+--Wilderness--+

I liked the video, mainly because I would personally enjoy going to live in the wilderness for a while (but not for as long as he did...). What I find most pleasing about being in nature (without distractions like my cell phone or iPod or anything) is the fact that I feel so much at peace. I find that it allows me to positively reflect on events in my life, when normally thinking of certain events would cause me distress or anxiety. Evidently, Proenneke feels the same way.
He mentions in the video that being in this wilderness allows him to test himself--see what's deep in his mind and contemplate the power he has to achieve things.

"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life--no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair."

"Yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both."

The entire time Proenneke is in the woods he is working. He adds to his home and collects/hunts for food. Proenneke practices a strong Transcendentalist belief here by completing pure, hard work in order to reap the rewards and get what he wants. These kinds of actions also remind me of a disengagement from civil government, because Proenneke is able to be free of any control except the natural intent of his own mind.

"The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried."

(I could not find a quote from Resistance to Civil Government that fit exactly what I was trying to say, so I took what I learned from the story and made my own.)

"In disconnecting with government, man has the free ability to concern himself with his own affairs--rather than the affairs of the State."

(Project formatting.)

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"Quotes; 2nd Red. Asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf. Can be centered or normal."

More normal text. End of task. Asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf.


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Independent Reading - WEEK FIVE

Hooray, I did it!!! My motivational level skyrocketed (after a long time of self-convincing) and I finished reading Animal Farm!! Let me start by saying that George Orwell is an extremely creative, intricate, clever, and strongly motivating author. Not to mention he's got skillz--and guts.

In Animal Farm, the political references were very obvious to me, as I have become quite familiar with Orwell's style. As with 1984, Animal Farm grew progressively complex as it went on, and the atmosphere in the story grew more depressing (and totalitarian). I can see the political references easily, but not so easily am I seeing what particular events Orwell is shadowing. But despite this I find it more viable that I understand the deeper meaning behind his story.

(Spoiler warning: My next entry may give away some plot events from Animal Farm. So consider yourself warned!)

There were some events I found most shocking and intriguing in the book, which I will go into further detail for.

1) When the 7 Commandments painted on the barn wall were secretly changed.

2) Snowball's defeat

3) Squealer convincing all the animals of the opposite of what they formerly thought (an example of blackwhite* from 1984), such as when he changed the Commandments and told the animals they had always been this way or when he lies by telling the animals that Snowball was a against the farm all along.

4) The Farm gradually partners with humans after Napoleon takes command, while when Snowball was in charge, humans were evil and forbidden.

Overall, I'm very pleased to have completed another of Orwell's books and I'll probably continue reading them in the past. :D

* If you remember back to 1984, the term "blackwhite" identifies the procedure carried out by Big Brother (and all his followers) to convince the general public of anything, no matter how obscure.

Independent Reading - WEEK FOUR

Okay, so I have a bad habit of forgetting to read books, even if I'm very enthusiastic about the particular material being read. In this case, you probably figured I'm talking about Animal Farm, and you would be right. :)

Week Four I spent not reading Animal Farm or Shadow People, so I definitely need to get my butt in gear and read them!

American Romanticism

TASK ONE/TWO:

+--Rip Van Winkle--+

1) In Rip Van Winkle there are dozens of evident examples of Romanticism. The first one I came across was the landscape itself; the peaceful, quiet, farming village, the vividly colorful mountains beyond the village, and even the forests around the village. These are all very pure and nature-oriented, a big difference from when America was being industrialized; when pollution and machinery were swallowing the land and blinding the sky.

"Every change of season, every change of weather, indeed every hour of the day, produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains..."

2) Every character in the story provides me with some evidence of Romanticism. The most prominent example I noticed was that of the Innkeeper, who was described as being silent but perfectly understood by his comrades.

"It was true, he was rarely heard to speak, but smoked his pipe incessantly. His adherents, however, (for every great man has his adherents), perfectly understood him, and knew how to gather his opinions." (Then Irving describes how he smokes his pipe differently to convey different emotions.)

3) When Rip leaves his house (to escape from his demanding wife) he enters the forest to calm his nerves. This is a perfect example of Romanticism because the main character leaves all his troubles behind and escapes to a pure nature setting.

"...his only alternative, to escape from the labor of the farm and the clamor of his wife, was to take gun in hand and stroll away into the woods. Here he would sometimes seat himself at the foot of a tree..."

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TASK THREE:

+--Thanatopsis--+

The foremost Romantic aspect of the poem that I noticed was how Bryant personifies nature and death as living entities, giving them humanistic qualities such as voices. This is the first suggestion he gives in his attempt to convince the reader not to fear death or nature but to hold them in appreciation.
From here, Bryant focuses mostly on the concept of death, as the title of the poem suggests he would. He describes a person's life as being nurtured by the Earth. Once the person dies, they would then be absorbed back into the Earth and become Earth itself. Nature, then, is our grave marker.

"The vernal woods--rivers that move
In majesty, and the complaining brooks
That make the meadows green; and pour'd round all,
Old ocean's grey and melancholy waste,--
Are but the solemn decorations all
Of the great tomb of man."

Lastly, Bryant puts much detail into expressing how you should feel comforted in nature and in death. He describes how death is not a lone, toiling journey into darkness but a relaxing slumber in which you wake surrounded by many people.

"Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustain'd and sooth'd
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."

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TASK FOUR:

+--The Ropewalk--+

The Ropewalk is a perfect example of Romanticism because it carries out a scenario in which a worker is escaping to his thoughts as he works. He uses his imagination to guide him in his daydreams. In the quote below, the worker is comparing his composition of thought to the wheel spinning in the rope factory.

"While within this brain of mine
Cobwebs brighter and more fine
By the busy wheel are spun."

In the rest of the poem, he describes scenes in his head of people performing tasks or having fun. He uses descriptive and clever words in order to maintain the charm and magic of the poem. This is exactly what Romantics would call Romantic.

"And a woman with bare arms
Drawing water from a well;
As the bucket mounts apace,
With it mounts her own fair face,
As at some magician's spell."

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TASK FIVE:

+--Romantic Art--+

Well, most obviously Romantic in the painting are the colors and nature. The lavender mountains in the backdrop, the deep reds and oranges of the vast, swirling sky, The red of the river reflected by the sky, and the trees scattered in the foreground. This painting leaves it up to your imagination to interpret its meaning, which is a Romantic quality. Simply the fact that it's pure nature with no sort of industry involved is a Romantic aspect.
I chose this piece (which I obtained from Google Images) because I feel that forests are part of the epitome of Romanticism. Being in nature is very important to them. I especially like this painting because it depicts a man-made path (but notice not a cement or tar one) leading off to a brighter part of the forest. This, to me, symbolizes growth, or moving on, to better times.

The Rationalists

TASK ONE:

+--Puritans VS Rationalists--+

The most evident difference between these two ideas is the belief of where God stands in the people's lives. The Puritans would say that God created everything and controls everything, including the lives of the people. Completely opposing that is the Rationalist idea that God is not vengeful; that he created people and left it up to them to understand life and make individual decisions. Puritans leave it up to their God to control events around them while Rationalists look for scientific or mathematical explanations. A major difference between these two is their ideas of evolution: Puritans believe that God created everything, and Rationalists believe in Darwin's theory of evolution.
I found a rather interesting example of Puritan belief being instilled upon America today: the very Pledge of Allegiance. While the pledge's meaning has changed as our nation has, the phrase 'one nation under God' has Puritan roots. It reflects on the Puritan belief of running a nation under God's control. Rationalism, on the other hand, has influenced our country more strongly so than Puritanism. This is evident in the Declaration of Independence, such as when it states that everyone has the right to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness'. Organizations like the Human Rights Watch are good examples of Rationalist movements because they focus on the 'unalienable' rights of human beings rather than the rights of humans controlled by God.

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TASK TWO/THREE:

+--Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography--+

In the autobiography, Franklin is very motivated and drives on to better his life. He cares for himself and for other people. Franklin talks about being raised with Puritan beliefs but never feeling like those beliefs suited him.

"My parents had early given me religious impressions, and brought me through my childhood piously in the Dissenting way. But I was scarce fifteen, when, after doubting by turns of several points, as I found them disputed in the different books I read, I began to doubt of Revelation itself."

Next, I read about Franklin's experience after reading a Deist book. He explains how they had such an effect on him that he became "a thorough Deist". Benjamin Franklin strove to better himself, especially after becoming a Deist. He began to use Rationalist ideas in his life, such as using honesty and righteousness in his everyday life. His ideas later were a major influence in The Enlightenment.

"I grew convinc'd that truth, sincerity and integrity in dealings between man and man were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life; and I form'd written resolutions, which still remain in my journal book, to practice them ever while I lived."

"I had therefore a tolerable character to begin the world with; I valued it properly, and determin'd to preserve it."

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TASK FOUR:

+--13 Virtues--+

1. INDISCRIMINATION. To pass no judgment or discrimination upon myself or upon others.
2. RESOLUTION. To regularly resolve to better those deeds or actions of mine in which I see opportunities for betterment.
3. PLACIDITY. To practice tranquility in my daily life to avoid unnecessary stress or worry on my mind or my body.
4. HEALTH. To will strive to care for and improve my body in a manner that suits my personal needs.
5. SINCERITY. To be honest and trustworthy to myself or others.
6. JUSTICE. To refrain from acting unjustly toward myself or others.
7. EXPRESSION. To always express myself freely through any means I so choose.
8. EMPATHY. To strive to understand and accept myself and others when I or others make decisions contrary to what I believe in.
9. REWARD. To practice the importance of rewarding myself when I accomplish a goal.
10. COMMUNICATION. To regularly keep in touch with friends in order to avoid depression.
11. MODERATION. To pace myself in achievable integers in order to accomplish a lengthy goal.
12. LIBERATION. To allow myself to freely feel any emotion that surfaces and to avoid restraining them.
13. DEYLAH. To practice feeling totally content! (The meaning of my name.)

These thirteen virtues are imprinted in my mind, since I am constantly on the voyage of self-improvement, but after writing them down they seem much clearer to me. I tried to make the list cover every ordeal I've ever been through, like social pressure or self-doubt. One of the main things I'm trying to accomplish is self-acceptance, or using my Liberation and Empathy virtues in order to stop judging myself and to reduce my stress when I feel down.
I do not believe in moral perfection because I believe in balance. The 'ups and downs' or 'yin and yangs' of life are extremely important, because without one you could not see the importance of the other. While I (and probably every other person in the world) favor feeling good and happy, I know that feeling bad is the first step to appreciating when you feel good. So perhaps I do believe in a type of moral perfection, or understanding and accepting the constant cycle we live in.

Independent Reading - WEEK THREE

Hooray! I've managed to procrastinate even more! How do I pull it off? (Poor Animal Farm is sitting sadly in my bag, waiting for me to finish it...)

Well, my interest is now involved in a new book I picked up at Habitat--Shadow People by Joyce McDonald. (I was drifting around the book section at the thrift store and Shadow People was calling to me eerily on the shelf... actually I just saw it and thought, 'Looks interesting. Guess I'll get it', but mysterious whispering between shelves of books sounds much more epic.)

So the book is about a group of teenagers: how they interact, how they each feel, how they act versus what they think, what their completely different worlds are like, and what is similar between them. So in other words, it's the style I've been striving for. It's a realistic description of humans, a method I'm drawn to when I write.

I'm mostly focused on how Joyce McDonald writes about her characters rather than the actual plot, but the plot is very interesting too. It's mostly focused on the one character, Gabriel, the young, depressed heartthrob who is silenced from the haunting memories of his dying brother. Then there's Gem, the restless, free-spirited girl who's in love with Gabriel, Lydia, the quiet, angry girl who favors alcohol and who's trapped in the insane world her father has built around the family, and lastly Alec, the wild, tough, gun-wielding bad-boy with emotional damage.
I like how the characters are so vastly different but in the story they meet together at least once a week to join forces and get into trouble.

I'm almost done with the book, because I can tell that the epic climax is getting closer. I like that I'm not already predicting the ending, because I tend to do that. This story is staying a fair distance from any stereotypes, which makes it easier for me to enjoy because I'm not sitting here already knowing what's going to happen.

Independent Reading - WEEK TWO

Well, what with the snow days and all, I didn't get any reading done (even though I was out of power for a few days and was forced to do activities that didn't require electricity...).
I guess I'm a pretty good procrastinator because I've had Animal Farm for about two months now and keep 'forgetting' to finish it.
I suppose I'm intimidated by the book (and by George Orwell) due to the immense amount of political and economic events constantly portrayed throughout the book. I'm not an expert on any specific governmental styles, nor am I very well educated on the goings-on of foreign countries, so trying to interpret Animal Farm is a difficult task for me. But that's why we have the Internet. :)

The Puritans

TASK ONE:

The Puritans believe in quite a few basic but frightfully depressing religious ideas: They say that everyone is born a sinner and that God views us as 'loathsome; he holds us above the fire as one would hold a despicable insect'. Besides regarding everyone as worthless bugs, God plays favorites, saving only 'the worthy'. Going along with that idea, Puritans say that Jesus only died for a particular group of people. Aside from worshipping God for keeping us suspended above the fiery pit of Hell, Puritans believe that the only ones comparable to God's glory are the saints and prophets. Lastly, and at this point not surprisingly, Puritans describe God's grace as being freely given; there is no way to deny it--and no way to earn it.

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TASK TWO:

+---Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God---+

To be frank, Puritanism goes against everything I believe in. The phrase 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' is the most basic summary of Puritan belief, and is also what I declare immoral (but not without good reason). If I were asked to summarize Puritanism into a few words, I would say: 'Religious corruption'. This religious corruption is evident in how the saints ruled over their followers--through fear. They would preach that '[humans] deserve the fiery pit [of Hell]', and that 'You have offended Him infinitely more thant ever a stubborn rebel did his prince'. Through fear and constant reuse of Hell references, these 'saints' were able to gain total control over the Puritans. Was Puritanism created because God truly despised his people? Or was it invented by man to control man? I allege that the Saints in that time were using God as a 'tool' in which to bend and persuade the minds of the people.
In the video, there were several different evident beliefs I heard. Basically, Puritan principles all state the same thing: that God hates all of us, sometimes chooses to like a few people, and can and should toss us into Hell at any given moment. God to the Puritans was like a playground bully, his power great and his love rare. Going back to the their belief of Unconditional Election and Limited Atonement, what I'd like to know is--how does God decide who is worthy of his love and protection? If we are all born unrepentant sinners--and all of us deserve Hell--then why should God save any of us? If the only difference between God and Satan was that God happened to be holding us back from Hell if we prayed excessively, then would God not be considered a demon as well? He just happened to be a demon with a tough love complex.


+---Of Plymouth Plantation---+

A reoccurring idea I saw in Of Plymouth Plantation was that God was the only mentioned source for the Pilgrim's abundance and gifts. When good things happened to them, (such as their initial landing in the New World), they praised God and stated their good fortune to be a result of God's grace rather than of their own actions. This core belief ties in to another of the Puritan's ideas: that everyone is born a sinner and God only saves the 'chosen ones'. The Pilgrims were apparently 'chosen ones' because they survived the treacherous journey. And of course, they were so trained by now that their first thoughts were 'this is God's work!' This idea, to me, is misleading and sadly manipulative. While I do believe in some unseen, protective force watching over us, I primarily support the idea that every individual holds immense power in shaping the world around him/her. The Puritans didn't think for a second that they held any power individually or as a whole.
The Puritans believed they were all sinners incapable of making good things happen for themselves. That much I've gathered so far. In the complex story of the Pilgrim's struggle in the New World, there are countless obstacles for them to overcome, but after each one was triumphed, they would only worship God for the turnout. 'The Lord is never wanting unto His in their greatest needs; let His holy name have all the praise...' Even the events occurring outside the Pilgrim's control were 'heaven sent'. When an Indian named Squanto came to assist them and be their translator, they turned their eyes straight to the sky. 'Squanto continued with them and was their interpreter and was a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation'. 'For the good beyond their expectation'. This phrase indicates that the Puritans, while accepting that the only good would come from God, didn't expect anything good in the first place.
Perhaps my interpretation of the Puritans' lifestyle is comparable to a harsh, judgemental accusation, or perhaps it hits the bull's eye, but either way I firmly believe that these were the most miserable people of that time. How could you not be when God hated you for all eternity and couldn't wait to drop you into hell?

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TASK THREE:

+---Total Depravity - Everyone is born sinful---+

"Let them confess before the Lord His lovingkindness and His wonderful works before the sons of men."

"And here is to be noted a special providence of God, and a great mercy to this poor people."

"...they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it..."

"...and they have done nothing in the least to to appease or abate that anger..."

The Puritans believed they were all sinners incapable of doing enough good to please God. The only living things capable of being saved were the saints and prophets--the chosen ones interpreting God's will.
Though it's not very clear, these words hint how the Puritans believed that they were sinners. "Let them confess before the Lord His lovingkindness." Because the Puritans were convinced they were sinners, they would confess to God and praise him for his kindness. I'll revert to the schoolyard bully again--the Puritans were children bowing down to him, attempting to please him by telling him of his glory and kindness despite that he was always ready to destroy them. "...a great mercy to this poor people." In the sermon (the last two quotes), it is much easier to see how the Puritans were looked upon and how they looked upon themselves.

+---Unconditional Election - God saves only a few people---+

"What could now sustain them but the Spirit of God and His grace?"

"...were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice and looked on their adversity."

"Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good: and his mercies endure forever."

"Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, show how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor."

"...neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment..."

"...it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up."

The power of Unconditional Election was in God's hands, and the Puritans could never utilize it, nor could they earn or deny it. In each of these quotes is a suggestion that God was choosing to save the Puritans from hell--using Unconditional Election to keep them from burning in the fire. "...He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor." I sense, especially when reading Of Plymouth Plantation, that the Puritans were frightened of God, paranoid that he would neglect to offer them any forms of aid. "...neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment..."

Independent Reading - WEEK ONE

It's been a slow process, but I read about 50 pages from Animal Farm by George Orwell. It's a very interesting book so far. I'm a fan of Orwell, so I knew I'd probably like it, but I wanted to find out for myself rather than rely on rumors of its content. Anyway, I heard that it's supposed to be a subtle depiction of some major war event happening at the time Orwell wrote it, but I'm not sure on the details of that... What I see from the book is an explanation of a specific type of government, somewhat libertarian and somewhat democratic. I sense a feeling of anarchy in Orwell's books, mainly because the two that I've read have been about revolt and a disengagement from 'the norm'. I don't see Orwell as an anarchist, but as an enthusiast to change current forms of government, ending corruption.