Word Choices - AP English Literature - Blog

Audit Shmaudit

In my Chinese class, I did a current events report on Foxconn City and factories like it. There have been reports of coerced, often unpaid labor of underaged children and young adults who are told that "working experience" will help them get a better jobs later on. Yeah right. The fact that Apple has been auditing since 2007 and no significant steps have been taken to prevent employee abuse really make me doubt the purpose or effectiveness of the FLA inspections. The deaths and injuries that occur only go to show that no action is beign taken to fix conditions for factory workers. Not so much that Apple created these factories and is directly responsible for their conditions, but their lack of oversight is appauling. Audit my ass. They need to go clean up their messes. 

The fact that people want to bring jobs back over here is of no object in this debate. Bringing jobs back to the U.S. would be wonderful, but at the same time, human rights are human rights no matter where you go.

Old Woman Magoun's Daughter

We really do not know that much about Lily's mother besides the fact that she died from eating "sour apples and milk". But that is enough information for me to make an opinion about Old Woman Magoun. We can infer that she killed Lily's mother. Some people have said that she killed Lily's mother in order to preserve Innocence, and she killed Lily to do the same. However, when the Grandma killed her daughter, her daughter had already stopped being innocent for at least more than nine months. Also, Grandma (most likely) killed her daughter AFTER Lily was born, which means she never let Lily experience a mother's love.

I am still not sure if Old Woman Magoun's action of killing Lily was justified or not, but I am sure that she was crazy. Now whether or not a crazy person can make justified and rational decisions is a whole other can of worms.

 

Short Stories

I've enjoyed reading the short stories over the past week.  I feel like a good short story can make you feel as if you've read a hundred pages about the characters instead of just five, which I think says something about the quality of the short story.  Along with that, the compact style of a short story makes it more interesting, for me, because everything is happening at once and there are no dull bunches of pages where nothing happens.  

That being said, I've felt as though there has been a recurring theme in the endings of our stories...unhappiness.  So far we have yet to read a short story where at the end everything ends up nice and dandy, which makes me wonder if short stories can have happy endings or if by design they are more likely to end in darkness.

When I think about the structure of a short story it's clear that the writer has a short time to awe his or her audience.    The author must create a lasting impression in just a few pages and I think the technique used (at least in the stories we've read) is to write about things that make readers think because they puzzle them.  For instance, today we talked about Magoun's decision to let Lily die.  It was strange that after raising Lily her whole life that Magoun could just let her poison herself, but maybe Jim was really that bad that death would have been better.  Is death ever better though and should Magoun have let Lily make her own choice about it?

My point is this, sad things seem to make us think more about them, and adding in the fact that there is no right answer or possible happy ending in a lot of these stories just makes them get stuck in our heads even more.  It's easy to read a happy story becuase once it's over, it's over; you leave feeling good about yourself and it doesn't come back to mind.  It's stories  that leave you trying to figure out if you feel bad for the wretched girl who got her peg leg stolen by a fake christian that leave you endlessly pondering.

She Sets Him Free!

I remember how adamantly I expressed my dislike for romantic comedies in class last week (earlier this week?). However, I immediately thought of an exception to the weird girl-turned-mainstream model: "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World!" Keira Knightly plays Steve Carrel's quirky, newly-single neighbour. After finding out that, well, the world's gonna end, they accidentally run into each other trying to escape when their building is swarmed and looted. What I like about this movie is that there is only positive change. No one has to compromise themselves. They only become happier people, even with the impending dooms day. Also, this movie is about 70% comedy 30% romance, in my opinion. The fact that the main focus is on the male lead makes it even better. It's about him overcoming his unhappiness and awkwardnes, patching up his relationship with his dad, and being satisfied with his fate. This movie doens't look ahead to marriage or children, but focuses on the now, which is actually pretty great. 

 

 

 

Same Old Story

 

I can't argue that my favorite romantic comedy is some how less cheesy than any of the others and therefore deserves more credit, but I can say that mine is the best because Will Smith is in it.  Hitch is your typical feel good movie that tracks a couple of love stories that, after a few bumps in the road, inevitably reach their fairy tale happily ever after ending. 

The two aspects I like most about the movie are the ideas that everyone is only human and love knows no boundaries.  The first idea is focused around the main character Hitch, a man who seems to have it all figured out in the ways of women.  At the beginning of the film, Hitch appears to be living a life desirable to anyone: he is happy, he is successful, and he possesses the knowledge to make a man desirable to any woman he wants.  However, his confidence and knowledge comes crashing down once it's his turn to play the game of love.  His struggle to work it out like every regular man he has been helping over the years makes Hitch one of my favorite movies, because I think it shows that there are things people can't understand, or people aren't suppose to understand them.

The second component of the story that I enjoy centers around the other main character Albert.  This part, clearly the more cheesy and cliche of the two, maintains that true love isn't restricted to social classes.  Albert loves a very rich woman, though not for her money, named Allegra and since he is just a normal financial advisor their ever falling in love, or her even noticing him at all, seemed unlikely due to their differences in social status.  But of coarse Albert, under the guidence of Hitch, and Allegra do meet and begin a wonderful relationship.  The twist at the (spoiler alert) is that, after talkling to Allegra about her relationship with Albert, Hitch realizes he had nothing to do with their falling in love.  Allegra loved Albert not for the things Hitch told him to do but for the dorky things Albert simply couldn't help doing, thus showing that love can exist from the most opposite of people.  

I Do Not Understand Why People Do Not Like Rom Com's...

I'm sorry, regardless of the cheesiness, no matter how awkward they can get, I love romantic comedy movies. Now don't get me wrong, I am an avid movie watcher into many genres, but I still love them. Save for a few, they must be taken with a grain of salt because, sure some of the situations may happen in people's lives, which some do take to heart, but for the most part it's best to remember that is just a movie. 

Now, personally I have watched many of these movies, and no not alone... But with friends, and, my mother... But my top three are definitely The Proposal, Love Actually, and Notting Hill, with favorite being Notting HIll.

This is a movie with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. It's a just a good ol' love story between the lives of a movie start (Julia Roberts) and a normal british man (Hugh Grant) who impossibly fall in love, suffer a split neither could take, and a happy sappy reuniting at the end of the movie.

I have two parts of the movie though that I would like to share with you. The first is a line and quote that I personally love and will never forget, but just makes you smile a little.

 

 

And the second, is that wonderful sappy coming together again of the characters, watch from 1:35 to 3:30

 

 

Love this movie, give it a watch, oh and this isn't the only love story that happens in this movie either ;)

 

Parental Supervision

Even though we didn't get to talk about it in In class today, I thought it was worth mentioned the fact that it was irresponsible of Reba & Pilate to let a distraught, lovesick Hagar roam the streets by herself. I understand that she is an adult, but when looking out for family, we don't usually let our crazy relatives roam free. As a result of their carelessness, she contracted pneumonia (or something) & died. I am surprised that neither Reba nor Pilate felt any guilt over this. It seems as if they didn't even realize that it might have been their fault.

I'm not sure why, but I am not very inclined to blame Milkman for anything that Hagar went through. People get mistreated all the time, & I'm not advocating for it, but I don't think anything he did was so terrible that she should've lost her mind.

A Potter's Creation

As the potter starts his next creation, they cuts his clay from the block.

With a loud thud, it is dropped on the wheel.

They reach over into the pot with clay diluted water

and places their fresh sponge in it.

 

The water drips, and runs slowly down his arms as he squeezes.

It washes over the fresh clay and he starts to work. 

At first, as he forcefully pushes on it but with total control, it turns into a

perfect dome, and that is when the real magic happens.

 

Fingers push into the center of the clay dome and are pulled.

The clay easily conforms to his gentle, experienced touch,

and it starts to take shape into a perfect vase, he stops the upward pull.

He knows if it is worked too much that it will become too thin or will crack.

 

However as he is finishing the piece, he has a thought.

And while he stares out his little cracked studio window,

in front of the wheel that he has grown to love and has become a part of him,

he thinks of his son and wonders.

 

He wonders if he worked him over too much or stretched stretched him too thin,

causing his son to crack, but what he never did was break.

His son never broke, and with that defining thought,

the potter lashed out at his new piece, and flung it everywhere.

 

Individuality or Irresponsibility?

What struck me, and most of my class, the most about Edna's suicide was not pity for a character who felt she had no other option to happiness except death, but incredulity at her total disregard for how her actions affected others. 

Throughout The Awakening, Edna treats her children similarly to how she treats most of the men she knows. While she loves them from time to time, she resents how they limit her freedom. Admittedly, she did not have much of a choice in her marriage, or becoming a mother, but their existence is not the fault of the children. Edna looks at her suicide as a way to escape her responsiblities as a mother and fulfill her own desires. 

Each action people take or choice they make has some sort of influence over the people around them. This scene brings up an interesting question of where, exactly, to draw the line between when one's responsiblity to the people they affect should trump his or her desire for self-fulfillment. In Edna's case, was it right for her to abandon her children in order to liberate herself from her identity crisis? In general, should we consider how our decisions affect the well-being of others? The emotions of others? 

This question is one that has been disputed by philosophers decades ago and my friends just last week. While there is probably no definitive solution, actively thinking about where I fall on the continuum - between valuing actions affecting my self-interest versus the well-being of others - has helped me better understand myself and those around me.

Political Incorrectness & Decoy Motifs.

I found it very interesting when Mr. Heidkamp brought up race and how it is represented in The Awakening.  Chopin seems really removed and uncomfortable with the topic of race. She mentions black house servants several time throughout the book, referring to them as "negro" and "darky."  It's as if she didn't know how to portray them as real people, and therefor fails to give them personalities.  I've never read a novel where a black person was referred to as a "darky," and it makes me as uncomfortable reading it as I'm sure Chopin was writing it. I didn't see it in Frederick Douglass's narrative & I didn't see it in Huck Finn, either- and if you'd expect to find language like that anywhere, that's where it'd be.

 

Another thing I found bothersome was that Chopin made the lady in black a recurring image, but never took the character or idea of her in any direction or gave her presence any meaning.  Sure, she was always one step behind the lovers, always clad in black, but the question I have is why?  I'm sure she was there for a reason, but what exactly does she represent?  I always thought she was some sort of bad omen, but nothing ever became of her.  

Marie

While many people argue that Marie is sort of a hindrance to Meursault, I give her credit for staying with Meursault as long as she did. Marie brings up the ideas of love and marriage to Meursault on several occasions. Each time Meursault responds with indifference saying that it doesn't really matter, which for him is true but for Marie, it is not. Meursault disregards the idea of love and marriage as social inventions with not real meaning, which must have been difficult for Marie to understand and accept. One can tell that she holds these values in high esteem because she continues to ask Meursault about them, but after Meursault's indifferent response, she takes a second, and then seems to shake it off and move on. If she were bent on the social values she would have felt broken down by the fact the Meursault didn’t "love" her. Instead she seems to linger on the topic but she does get over it, which adds a dimension to Marie that I think many people are missing. She doesn't understand why Meursault rejects these concepts but she comes to accept him for who he is, which is an honorable concept even if she isn't an "existentialist."

Meursault's Existentialism

    Meursault exemplifies existentialist principles when he rejects social norms. An example of his repudiation of society’s values is his indifference to the job promotion in Paris. After Meursault’s seeming indifference to what his boss thought was something Meursault should have been excited about, the boss says that Meursault lacks ambition. What is interesting is that Meursault says on page 41 that he had “lots” of ambition when he was a student but “[he] learned very quickly that none of it really mattered.” It brings up the question: what changed in Meursault’s life that caused this drastic change in belief? But, even in ignorance of the answer to the preceding question one can gather that Meursault has surmised the fallacy in the values that others hold in high esteem.

    However, he does not understand why "nothing matters" until the end of the novel when he has an epiphany. On page 121 he says “I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I hadn’t done that.” Meursault essentially says, whatever one does in life does not really matter. On the next page when he thinks about how Maman had taken a fiancé before she died, Meursault says, “And I felt ready to live it all again too.” He no longer dreads his execution. Instead, he simply lives life, realizing that nothing else in life matters because the meaning of live can be found in life itself. In the end, Meursault is content with his fate because lived life, and there was nothing more he needed to do.

What A Lovely Day For Existentialism

I think Existentialism is a lovely concept! I can only Imagine how much happier and fulfilled I would feel if I didn't spend time thinking of "what if's" working toward my next goal -- if only I had time to enjoy the present. Sadly, senior year is the death of Existentialism. All we will be doing for the next eight months is looking toward the future. Unlike our friendly neighbourhood Existentialist, Meursault, I don't have time to stare out the window ponder my days away. As much as I would like to, I don't think I'm meant to. Our society does not permit such activities. We are all constantly on the move, in search of something, working for some sort of end. I think this type of philosophy is more of a theory & less of a practice, because in the end, how well did it work out for Meursault?

The Real Meursault

I dunno if Part Two has provided anyone else with this same feeling, but I feel like I finally understand Meursault! The big moment for me was on page 65 when he said "...my nature was such that my physical needs often get in the way of my feelings." This creates such a strange character because as people, most of us don't think or operate this way. We will often do our homework well into the night despite our exhaustion because we know that is the right thing to do. Physical sensations and needs don't dominate our decision making process. He isn't influenced by all of the social constructions that we talked about in class, he is "radically subjective", in my opinion. Meursault says that he didn't show much emotion the day Maman was buried because he was "tired and sleepy, so much so that I wasn't really aware of what was going on." It's as if he doesn't understand the gravity of the situations he's in, not that he is indifferent to them. To him, the trial isn't a situation, and after a while, neither is being placed in jail.

 

I love this book. I'm getting excited about it. I really like Meursault.

Harry Potter Is An Existentialist

I was really fascinated with our discussion today in class about how that if we just say "screw you" to the universe we can own our fates and maybe be happy when society says we should be miserable, like Sisyphus. I like the idea that if a person can accept their fate for what it is, they can forget everything else they are supposed to feel. Not to be cheesy and cliche, but what this really reminded me of was Harry Potter. In the last book, after all of his struggle with evil wizards and Voldemort, he realizes that he has to die for the wizarding world to be saved. Once he accepts his fate, death loses its hold over him and there's a happy ending (the fact that he comes back to life is irrelevant.) The same thing happened to Sisyphus; once he accepted his fate, the gods lost their power over him. As far as real life, I also think that Sisyphus sets a good example. Any situation is really what you make of it, and by not having huge expectations, one is more likely to have their expectations met; ie, instead of Sisyphus dwelling on what he was missing out on and wishing to go back to the human world, he found satisfaction in his life as it was, which I think is an important lesson for people to learn. Not that people shouldn't try to better themselves or their situations, but if someone is damned for eternity by the gods, it's probably a good idea to get used to it asap.

Bartleby Vs. Mearsault

Bartleby and Meaursault seem to share many similarities- especially before we get to know Meursault a little better in Part Two of The Stranger.  They both seem to be extremely indifferent to what is going on around them, and when asked for their opinion, they'd "prefer not to" share.  However, it seems that Bartleby's case of despondence is more extreme that Meursault's.  Meursault goes with the flow while Bartleby is clearly against doing anything ever for any reason.  Meursault sees "no reason not to", while Bartleby sees no reason to bother.    

I'm sure someone else has thought of this already, but this is just the way that I see it.

Sickened

A couple months ago I read Sickened by Julie Gregory. It's a book about a girl whose mom has Munchausen by proxy which is a disease that takes over the mind. The disease made the mom believe her daughter was always extremely sick and by giving her different medicines and prescriptions, the daughter actually became very sick. The mom would bring her to multiple doctors who would tell her there was nothing wrong with her daughter but she wouldn't believe them. She went as far as putting her through surgery and having her heart monitored multiple times. I thought it was a very disturbing book but the end was very liberating and I thought it was very interesting. I was very entranced in the book so I showed a lot of emotion while reading. Sometimes I would even yell at the characters...

What's Mersault's Deal?

Mersault, the protagonist of The Stranger, is perhaps most notable - in the first three chapters of the book and, as I assume, throughout its remainder - for displaying little emotion or subjective investment in his surroundings. As if shrugging off his mother's death like a fly on the windshield wasn't insulting enough to her memory to drive more emotional readers to hatred of him, he follows through by sleeping at her funeral.

What's his deal?

My theory, as it was when I threw it into the metaphorical fishbowl today during AP English with Heidi, was that Mersault is actually afraid of his emotions - or at least of what might happen if he displays them. He knows that he should feel guilty not just about his mother dying - apparently, he could have treated her better while she was alive even if he could not have prevented it - but about the fact that he seems both to himself and to others not to care that she is dead. He knows that if he was to have a "normal" emotional reaction to her death, he would be distraught and hate himself while still having no power to bring her back. It strikes me as a twisted version of sour grapes.

Another time this repression of emotions surfaces is when he sees the dog in all of its crusty, blistery glory: he knows that he should care about its well-being but does not. This one I know less about.

Chur Boy's thoughts on Identity

So this is really the first time chur boy really thought about identity in literature. I've always figured a character knew who they were to some extent and figured they didnt really need re-assurance. However, Mr.Heidkamp proposes a compelling idea. The thought that many people seek recognition to, in some sense, convince themselves of their own identity, is very interesting. In the selection of novels we read, bartleby peeked my interest. Would it be safe to safe to say that he in fact knew exactly who he was? I'm thinking that he did'nt need anyone to tell him who he was, I figured he was very independent. Bartleby is so independent that he does outlandish things because he knows he can (or at least he can attempt them). I don't know if i'm doing this right but this is my first post so....it's ok. Thoughts? (._.")

Welcome!

Welcome to the weblog for our AP College English class. Here's the place we will be continuing conversations from class and starting new ones. We'll be discussing and debating literary conundrums and so much more. We might even see a little poetry.

So, what's a blog? And how will we be using it class?

For information on blogging and how to join and post to our blog, see "All About Blogging."

You are continuing a blog that AP College English students have been maintaining for over eight years. The past four years have are in the posts below, but you can also take look at even earlier versions of the blog in the Blog Archives.

To spice up your post, please add a title that "hooks" the reader into reading your post. Also, do not be afraid to add relevant links, images or video (ask if you need help with adding them).

To make sure your post looks inviting and professional (for writing that appears on the web), remember the following:

• do not indent paragraphs; instead, put a space between paragraphs to indicate the transition
• spellcheck -- both through the blogging program itself but also using your own internal ability to revise.
• double-check your punctuation and capitalization; make sure it is consistent, above all
• always give your post a category or two to make it easier to search.

We're looking forward to a great year.

Quarencia

The quarencia assignment was very neat and interesting for me. Never before had I considered a place that calms me down as having any basis in physical space, but now I realize that this isn't necessarily true. the different outlook is, to me, a very new way of looking at what constitutes as a "home". This assignment allowed me to be creative to an extent I have never really been able to get into this year. In a way it was very relaxing to get the opportunity to write without having to analyze so deeply on things like thematic statements and instead focus on the creative edge in a writing peice. Wahoo! I hope we do something like this again very soon. 

Winning the Youth

When you look at the morality of motivating the youth there is a fine line I believe between simplifying things like in KONY in order to get the support of the youth and then propoganda.  The question you have to ask is whether it is ok to give the youth simplified facts in order to quickly get support their for a good cause that needs mass support.  Rather than giving a more honest portayal of what is going on which allows the youth to make more of a personal assesment of the situation.  In this case there might be less support because if the situation is complicated a certain number of people might misunderstand the situation and be unwilling to support the cause or they might not have enough interest to do the reasearch on their own.  There are positives and negatives to each side.  

This is where the fine line comes in.  I feel that when, in the simplification process, the truth is stretched or facts are twisted in order to make a better point to get more support the line has most defintely been crossed.  If you have to do this in order to get support for the cause, then maybe those people trying to get support for the cause need to rexamine what they are trying to do.  

I don't think there is a definte answer that cold hard facts or simplifications are better in all cases, I think it depends on different situations.  If simplification will get the job done getting supporters and there is no specifically identifiable cases where the truth is stretched to a great extent then it is ok.  But if facts are twisted in order to get support then it should be more to a full interpretation of the situation by everyone.  

Kony

A few weeks ago most of us didn't know who Joseph Kony was.  Until the recent surfacing of an informational video about the problem in Uganda, we were pretty much oblivious to what has been going on for 26 years. While I am supportive of this movement, I do find it kind of odd that everyone is just now becoming interested and jumping on the band wagon.  Horrible things like this have been going on for years and we havent done anything to raise awareness for it.  Well some people have, but my point is that it is strange that now everyone is trying to become an advocate for this issue.  Posting on Facebook and Twitter isn't really going to do anything for the thousands of kids already captured and put through hell.  But it is going to raise awareness which is the goal of the Kony 2012 movement.  For me, the most interesting aspect of this is that a man made a little home video and in turn informed about 100 million people in a few short weeks about the problem in Uganda.  And then a few weeks later, the creator of the video is found naked talking to himself in public during an apparent psychotic episode.  It is so intriguing to me that someone so ordinary, much like any one of us, can raise so much awareness about a problem. 

The Quarencia!

I really enjoyed our quarencia assignment because it gave me a reason to think about what is my favorite place. When I was able to contemplate my home town of Monmouth, IL, many memories sprang out at me that I hadn't thought of in years. Monmouth is as much of a part of me as my body is, in fact, I'm here right now! When it comes to writing assignments, I usually don't like them because I don't connect with them ( yes, I know that's not the point of writing prompts for books.) But this one was very different. It allowed me to re-embrace who I truly am and what made me who I am. I'm actually kind of flabbergasted at the amount of content that was able to be used for this assignment, although beforehand, I thought I'd have trouble. I guess this a sort of thank you. So thanks! 

Call Me A Cynic...

Call me a cynic, call me a terrible person, call me whatever you want, but as much as I know that videos and movements like Kony 2012 are supposed to inspire and bring the world together, they absolutely enrage me. The video takes a serious issue, and turns it into a trend. Think about it.

TOMS, Product (RED), all those Obama "Change" T-shirts and now Kony 2012 take serious issues that should be addressed head on, and turn them into trendy ways for Americans to spend money, get a cool pair of shoes, or iPod, or Tshirt and make them feel like they're a part of something bigger. I love that Kony informs and acknowledges the absolutely horrific situation that is facing the Congo, Sudan, and other parts of Africa. I really do. The thing is, however, that the video doesn't really describe what Kony is actually doing. It tugs at your heart strings, and makes you think about how horrific it would be if your own hypothetical child were to be taken, but it gives very little information about the true atrocities of what Kony and his army have done.  The video inspires its viewers, telling us that if we work together we can do great things (which I don't argue with), but I think it lacks real substance. The video gets people to care without truely informing.  The video concludes with listing the three simple things you can do to get involved: sign a petition, buy a box filled with colorful posters and bumper stickers, or donate the the same amount of money as a couple of vanilla frappuccinos to TRI.  All these methods are hands off ways to confront a very serious problem. They allow people to feel like they're doing something good for the world without having to know much about the cause.

It makes me angry that the causes that attract attention seem to only encourage passive forms of combating them. Like I said in the beginning of this post; I have yet to see a group of teenagers raise money and collect shoes to donate to children in developing countries who don't have access to them, yet everyday I see dozens and dozens of people wearing TOMS.  In 2008 and even today, it became in style to wear Tshirts with Obama's face and inspiring messages underneath, however few were aware of Obama's policies and even fewer actually participated in his campaign. I am not questioning the validity of the causes, in fact I think it's great that people care enough to start them in the first place. I am saying, though, that it bothers me that I seem to see more people get involved through methods like buying a product or signing a petition online without really knowing about the cause they claim to feel so inspired by.

I'm not trying to be condescending, because I am as much a part of this as anyone. I even own a pair of TOMS (They're comfy).  But I'm just saying that I think the power we have as individuals is put to much better use when we find a cause we really understand, strongly care about, and put real time and effort into fixing whatever it is we feel passionate about fixing. I felt very strongly about electing Obama, so I went to Gary, Indiana and knocked door to door. I volunteered in phone banks. This past summer I helped register voters and work for the Democratic Party in Oak Park. I feel like the time and effort I spent doing that was much more rewarding because it is a cause I feel strongly about. I think once everyone finds that thing they really care about, we can improve the world, but it's going to take more than a video on YouTube to do it.

The Rejects

After watching the movie Dead Man, I noticed a lot of similarities between William Blake and characters that we have read about throughout this year.  After watching the first five minutes of the movie, I could tell that Blake stood out like a sore thumb.  After reading The Awakening, Light in August, Heart of Darkness, and Song of Solomon, I have noticed the reoccurring theme of characters that do not fit into society.  Meursault's lack of passion and emotion leave him isolated.  Joe's inability to fit a stereotype leaves him in a category by himself.  The technologically advanced Europeans have trouble adjusting to the primitive lifestyle in the depths of the Congo.  Most recently, I saw how Milkman has trouble finding himself throughout his life.  The protagonists every story go against the societal standards.  William Blake continues this theme.  He is newly exposed to the western culture and it causes him to stand out.  He dresses differently, has trouble adjusting, and is not used to the lifestyle.  I just find it interesting that the main characters in these stories share one significant characteristic: the inability to "fit in."

Where's the Love in Romanticism?

So far in English class we have learned that Romanicism requires powerful emotion and expression, a spontaneous freedom, a relationship with nature, imagination, and individualism.  As Bernie showed us the slides of Romantic art, it seemed fitting that they were examples of Romanticism because they all showed powerful emotion through the earth-tone colors with deep reds for example--and I thought, "Oh, red! Like red as in love...Romanticism!"....but no; red, as in blood, death, or hell.  Nowhere is Romanticism classified as love or affection (besides the love for nature.)  Where does this image and common definition of "Romanticism" as lovey-dovey even come from? 

America, 2012

After reading England, 1802, I realized that I feel a lot like Wordsworth today. Wordsworth uses the rhetorical strategy apostrophe to inform Milton, a dead man from England, about the current problems in England. Wordsworth explains that England is as good as a swamp and needs to be reminded of its culture. He asks Milton to "give us manners, virtue, freedom, power." I definitely think that our society could use a similar wake up call. For starters, today's culture is ridiculously materialistic. We are always trying to buy the next best thing, and consuming amounts way beyond our basic needs. We also need to refresh our manners. I think it is very concerning that some of our most glorified shows are about parties and fights on Jersey Shore, Dance Moms (enough said), and the daily lives of rich families such as the Kardashians. I agree that these shows can be highly entertaining, but they are affecting our morals. Many people are beginning to believe that the lifestyles they watch on reality tv are acceptable. Lastly, I think that the media needs to portray better virtues. Models in the media today are all flawless and stick thin. This advertisement is creating negative body images and poor self esteem for people everywhere. I think that like Wordsworth it is important to take time out to consider the direction that our society is headed. 

Can you think of any other ways that we are losing our manners, virtue, freedom, or power?

For The Last Time, I Don't Have Any Tobacco

From the beginning of Dead Man, William Blake is portrayed as an introverted, literal man who is clueless about many aspects of life. He is appalled at the fact that his position as accountant was already taken by someone before he arrived in the town of Machine. He is also shocked to see the working conditions at the factory and the atmosphere of the town. In addtion, throuhout the film, people continued to as William Blake is he had any tobacco. Every time he was asked, William Blake replied, "No, I don't smoke." The townspeople who asked him for tobacco all wanted the drug for their selfish purposes. However, I believe Nobody's intentions were a bit different. 

It is a custom in Native American tribes for tobacco to symbolize healing and wellness. When Nobody meets William Blake, he is as good as dead. William Blake was shot in the heart, confused, naive, and wanted for murder. Nobody wanted him to have a respectable departure from the physical world, so he set out to create an honorable death for William Blake. Was Nobody asking for tobacco in order to use its healing powers and to put William Blake's sufferings at ease?

Mr. ROY G BIV

I want to ask Bernie what the MPAA rating for Dead Man was because I thought OPRF had a strict PG movie rating rule. Adult themes were rampant throughout the movie and I cannot sleep at night. Anyway, I think that Dead Man raised life questions that I've been battling with recently. Is life black and white or is there any gray area? The movie was filmed in black and white. Blake comes from the most boring city in the United States and travels to Machine, the most happening place with sex, pistols, and paper flowers. Blake changes from accountant to killer in a matter of days. The film highlighted life's extremes and, in a way, suggests that there is little gray area in life. But I would say that almost everyone lives their lives in the gray, staying away from extremes and absolute conclusions. Personally, I was all settled in the gray, but perhaps we will never find red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet without first living in black and white.