Words Simple As Grass

Dickens Universe 2009 - David Copperfield

2009-08-27T14:35:00.001-07:00

Every summer, UCSC hosts a special event called the "Dickens Universe." The Dickens Universe is put on by the Dickens Project staff, John Jordan, Murray Baumgarten, JoAnna Rottke, and Jon Michael Varese. This event is held every August and invites students (UCSC or other), faculty, graduate students, general public fans of Charles Dickens, elderhostel, teachers and more. The events include lectures given by scholars, discussions groups , performances, book-sales, tea-time, and more. This seven-day event is a mixture of social gathering and scholarly conference and gives everyone a sense of community, no matter your level of familiarity with either the author or his writings. Students truly appreciate the challenging discussions among mixed groups.

The 2009 Dickens Universe selected David Copperfield to read. The 882-page book was assigned at the end of last year's conference, so there was plenty of time to read for those who attended last summer. However, since I had only signed up in May, I allowed myself a much smaller window of time. And, of course, having the audio version (abridged) and the PBS video to watch, I found that I was swimming in David Copperfield details. Once I was in attendance, however, the immersion truly began. The daily schedule consisted of: group discussion at 8:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m. lecture, 11:15 a.m. discussion group, lunch, 1:30 p.m. discussion group, 3:00 p.m. Victorian Tea, 3:45 p.m. lecture, 5:30 p.m. dinner, 6:30 Post Prandial Potations (seriously!), 7:30 p.m. lecture, and wrapping up the evening was a 9:30 p.m. film-screening. Whew! What a schedule that is for six days! Granted, not all of the events were required for the students taking the course for credit, but when you only have one week of school, it's hard to justify leaving early, eh?

This course was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn not only about an author that I knew absolutely nothing about prior to the course, but also for me to read a novel which I had never read. In fact, the only other novel of Charles Dickens' that I had ever read was "A Christmas Carol" as a child. David Copperfield is now everywhere for me. I see Mr. Micawber in someone across the street, Rosa Dartle lies in wait of her Mr. Steerforth to come towards her at the grocery store. And Uriah Heep? Well, I don't even want to tell you just how many of him there are in the Bay Area, slithering their way down streets and alleys. The Dickens Universe introduced me to a completely new world of language and rich details, bringing Dickens' characters to life in the first few lines of his book. While I will no longer be a student at UCSC next summer, I do hope to attend next year's event. We will be reading Sketches by Boz and Oliver Twist. I've already got my copies, do you have yours?

For more information, please visit: http://dickens.ucsc.edu/index.html

Feel free to help the program continue on to see its 30th year. The program's funding has run out (as of July 2009) and was able to continue for it's 29th year despite the lack of funding support. Without help from the Friends of the Dickens Project and other generous supporters, the program will be unable to continue. Please visit http://dickens.ucsc.edu/support.html to contribute your time and/or donation to a wonderful opportunity for students, teachers, and the community.

The Ocean or The Mills?

2007-12-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 17
English 48A
Dr. Scott Lankford
Authors I chose: Herman Melville and Rebecca Harding Davis

In Herman Melville's "Moby Dick," Ishmael is a lonely figure. The only passion which he discloses to his readers is his obsession for the sea. Though he has great passion for the sea, we don't learn much more about his feelings. Ishmael requires the sea to live but despises the fact that he needs it. He seems to justify this necessity by turning around and explaining how all man-kind needs it just as much.

Contrastly, in Rebecca Harding Davis' "Life in the Iron Mills," Wolfe's feelings are exposed at great length towards the end of the story. In his life, he had not desired much until the obvious moment where his world changed. He suddenly realized that his life was crap and that he needed to do something to get away from it. Of course, the opportunity that he was given was a curse in the end, but he did not have the ability to see the potential bad outcome. We learn a lot about the shift from accepting without understanding to desiring without achieving. Wolfe's tragic character is doomed to a sad existence, no matter which way you look at it.

So what do these two stories have in common? I believe that they have a strong connection. To me, they both seem driven either by their passion for something or by their hatred for something. Either way, they both are married to their professions. Of course, Ishmael chose his profession because of his love of the sea and Wolfe did not have a choice in his profession. However, it is clear that these two men - who are often solitary figures - ended their lives because of their jobs.

Wolfe saw that being a mill-worker was a requirement to just barely survive. He paid his measely little bills and drank at the bar. Other than that, his work was all that he had to belong to. Yes, there was Old Wolfe, Janey, and Deborah who were part of his family and his circle. But these were trepidatious relationships at the least. He simply felt sorry for Deborah (since that was his personality), his old man was a drunk and he never interacted with him, and Janey was just a poor kid who had become friends with the wrong person. She deserved more in life! So Wolfe needed something to belong to. To truly belong to. He put all of his time into his job and wanted nothing more than to exist in it without any troubles. He loved to sculpt but didn't see that as something that he could do all of the time. Perhaps he would have found that to be his passion at some point in his life if he had continued to work there without the interruption of the "businessmen." Who knows?

In Moby Dick, Ishmael's character was a man who loved his profession. He simply wanted to find ways to pass the time until the next chance that he got to go on a whaling expedition. He felt that the sea was an extension of his own body, in a way. He loved what he did and he loved to share it with the good people around him. Other than that, we don't know very much about his feelings. We never really learn much about his feelings for Captain Ahab. Yes, he observes that he has mood-swings and that the rest of the crew respects him, but we never learn what it is about him that Ishmael admires (or is repulsed by). He simply tells their stories.

In both of these instances, their jobs are the things that they live for - either out of necessity or want. In both, however, they are connected to their profession because it is their identity. Having your identity taken away from you can be one of the most devastating and lonely events in your life. You think that you know who you are and what you stand for until you realize one day that it no longer defines you. This can be a hard event for anyone, no matter what their chosen (or not) profession. I think that Ishmael and Wolfe both had struggles with this fear frequently in each story. This seems to be a strong connection between the two.

Secrecy and Shame?

2007-12-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 16
English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Nathaniel Hawthorne

One of our essay questions wanted us to explain why secrecy had such an important role in Hawthorne and Poe's writings. Below, I have expanded on some of my thoughts about the role that it has played in "The Minister's Black Veil."

I. "He has changed into something awful, only by hiding his face."

II. A parishioner sees Mr. Hooper approaching the church newly adorned in a black veil, covering only his face.

III. Nathaniel Hawthorne has used many different elements in the story "The Minister's Black Veil." He writes about a minister who appears one day wearing a black veil, which he does not take off for anything. The parishioners are all appalled by the idea of a clergyman wearing something so... daring? It appears as though he may be in mourning since this would be a traditional way to dress for a woman in mourning. However, since the minister is a man and he does not seem to be in mourning for anyone in particular, the sight of him is quite frightening to many.

When I initially read this story, it seemed to me that Hawthorne intended for Mr. Hooper to be wearing the veil as a protest or a statement. I felt that Mr. Hooper wanted to point out to his parishioners that they judged people too much by what their appearances were and did not accept people for who they were beyond appearances. In re-reading the story, it seemed that he was making a statement for the parishioners to model themselves after. He encouraged people to repent their sins - even on their deathbeds: "Dying sinners cried aloud for Mr. Hooper, and would not yield their breath til he appeared" (Hawthorne 1318). Is this his intent with the black veil?

Hawthorne leaves the meaning and purpose of the black veil a mystery to the reader, just as it was to the parishioners. Is the black veil representative of something different for everyone who reads about it or sees it? Does it symbolize our worst fears or most hidden secrets? Do we shudder at the sight of it because it reminds us of the evil within us? His writing purposely plays on these "insecurities" and deep sins within to create images much more potent than any that he would be able to describe in words alone.

Pure and Beautiful

2007-12-02T19:53:00.007-08:00

Journal No. 15
English 48A
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I chose: Rebecca Harding Davis

I. "As he might be! What wonder, if it blinded him to delirium, --the madness that underlies all revolution, all progress, and all fall?"

II. Wolfe is realizing what potential he has to be a "strong, helpful, kindly" man.

III. Wolfe has spent time wandering around, deciding what he must do with the check. He doesn't want to return it right away so instead contemplates what life would be if he could "buy" his freedom. He sees that he is a talented person and that he could take that talent (and the stolen check) to make his life liveable. He would create a world in which he could thrive, not just survive. He would have clean air and clear waters surrounding him. He would earn the respect of fellow artists and businessmen. He would fall in love with someone else who had dreams and aspirations just as big as his. He would create a world that he could only now dream of - all because of this stolen check. This truly was the "crisis of his life."

Of course, Wolfe failed to acknowledge the possibilities of failure that lay ahead of him. He ignored the possible consequences of running away not only from his job and home, but also away from the person whose money he had in his possesion. He was setting himself up to live in another prison, similar to that which he was threatening to leave.

Which prison would end up being the end of Wolfe? If you lived in a world which has beaten you down until you are just above surviving, would you really want to know what lay beyond your world? Would it benefit your senses to understand what beauty lies beyond the hills that are hidden in soot and smoke?

The Making of Men

2007-12-02T19:53:00.005-08:00

Journal No. 14

English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Rebecca Harding Davis

I. "If I had the making of men, these men who do the lowest part of the world's work should be machines, --nothing more, --hands. It would be kindness. God help them!"

II. Kirby is referring to iron-mill workers and wishing that they could be machines.

III. Rebecca Harding Davis writes of the "compassion" that Kirby has for the iron-mill workers. He is alarmed and ashamed for the people upon whose lives he is looking. He observes the lack of muscular form that Wolfe has and the bed of ashes which Deborah lies upon. He sees these things as the ultimate signs that their lives are torturous and meaningless.

In evaluating the opinions of Kirby's, the reader is challenged to scope out their own feelings and figure where they stand themselves. Do we feel sorry for Wolfe and Deborah? Is Kirby being insensitive to the true design of their lives? I believe that the reader is shown that Kirby was being sensitive to the fact that only "machines" should do such work. To reveal another life to the workers and people who live in the iron-works town is cruel. Seeing another possibility for a different, better life, Wolfe is only left feeling rejected and discarded. Had he continued in the fashion he had prior to meeting Kirby and the other businessmen, he would have existed merely to exist. But he would have known no additional cruelty and torture. Kirby simply wanted the men and women of the iron-works town to be able to do their duties without feeling the pain of the rest of the world beyond them. They would not be aware that there existed things to want and desire. They would not be teased with imagined scenes of clear skies and clean water. They would have no hope.

Slow Stream of Human Life

2007-12-02T19:53:00.003-08:00

Journal No. 13

English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Rebecca Harding Davis

I. "I look on the slow stream of human life creeping past, night and morning, to the great mills. Masses of men with dull, besotted faces bent to the ground, sharpened here and there by pain or cunning."

II. Rebecca Harding Davis tells the story as the narrator and describes the sad stream of people constantly flowing past her window.

III. Davis is able to tell how sad the lives of these people are not only by the stained clothing soot-covered faces, but by the features of the people themselves. She sees in the angles of the features a pain and desperation that has lived there all of their lives. From birth to death, she sees that the iron-mill workers have nothing to live for beyond work and pain. In the faces of the people of the town, there are stories to be read. Sad stories, but ones that are hard to ignore when looking into the eyes of people who have lived here for so long.

Davis further describes what she perceives to be a desperate situation beyond what the "average" reader might be experiencing in their more comfortable lives: "Breathing from infancy to death an air saturated with fog and grease and soot, vileness for soul and body. What do you make of a case like that, amateur psychologist? You call it an altogether serious thing to be alive: to these men it is a drunken jest, a joke." Reading this, I felt that I was challenged to look deeper into how I really felt for the characters Davis was describing. I was forced to connect with the true level of empathy which I was feeling. Was I feeling pity or disgust? Did I judge these men and women for the lives that they "chose" to live and the climate in which they did so? I found that I was obligated to be honest with myself about how I felt. I was drawn into the story even more because of this. I connected myself to the characters in the story at a level that I might not have had I gone on and asked "Why?"

Blossom of a Look

2007-12-02T19:53:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 12

English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Herman Melville

I. "More than once did he put forth the faint blossom of a look, which, in any other man, would have soon flowered out in a smile."

II. Herman Melville describes Captain Ahab in Ishmael's voice.

III. Ishmael observes that Captain Ahab is almost always in a foul mood. He often hides out in his cabin for days on end. However, once the weather becomes a little less gloomy, Captain Ahab's personality slowly starts to shift as well. He is connected - like a vein - to the conditions of the sea and of his ship. As Melville describes Ishmael's observations, he compares Captain Ahab to the changes of the seasons. "As when the red-cheeked, dancing girls, April and May, trip home to the wintry misanthropic woods; even the barest, ruggedest, most thunder-cloven old oak will at least send forth some few green sprouts, to welcome such glad-hearted visitants; so Ahab did, in the end, a little respond to the playful allurings of that girlish air" (2337). As the weather changes, not even the moping captain can escape the effects of the sunshine and the calm seas.

Captain Ahab is described to the reader as a flawed, brooding person whose emotions shift with the directions of the winds. The reader would most likely expect the captain of a whaling ship to be outgoing and commanding. However, as we see in Captain Ahab, his human qualities fall far below what his men expect of him. Perhaps it is his obsession with Moby Dick, perhaps it is another ghost which haunts him even more. Either way, Captain Ahab's shifting moods remind us just how vulnerable we all are.

Cataract of Sand

2007-12-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 11
English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Herman Melville

I. "Were Niagara but a cataract of sand, would you travel your thousand miles to see it?"

II. Herman Melville speaks of the desire of all human kind to seek out and to be near the water.

III. Melville writes in amazing detail about the agonizing relationship that he has with the sea and about the search for the connection with the sea that human kind is eternally conducting. The falls of Niagara are so vast and grand, yet they are "only water." What is it that draws us to their vistas? Would we truly be attracted to the same geographical location if there were but mere rivers and cataracts of sand? Melville asks the reader to search for their true feelings about the ocean. He is confident that everyone else has the sea in their souls, as well.

Melville's eloquent descriptions of the longing - no, obsession - to be near the sea lure the reader into a trance. As I read these pages, I felt as though Melville were speaking directly to me. I grew up in an ocean-side town and have never been able to shake away the need to smell the salt air and to hear the screeching of the gulls. The sounds of buoys and fog horns are just as familiar and comforting to me as the intake and exhalation of my own breath. The smell of the creosote covering the wooden pier pilings is as delightful to me as the feeling of the sand around my toes. The sea has imprisoned my soul and I can only escape it for brief moments in time. I am most unhappy when my warden sets me "free." Where else can I find the same happiness? I am best suited staying imprisoned, waiting for those brief reprieves in which I can keep as souveniers the sand stuck to my shoes and the salt crusted on to my bathing suit.

Doesn't everyone feel this way about the sea?

Sufficient Food

2007-11-20T17:00:00.003-08:00

Journal No. 10

English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Harriet Jacobs

I. "My mother had been weaned at three months old, that the babe of the mistress might obtain sufficient food... When they became women, my mother was a most faithful servant to her whiter foster sister."

II. Jacobs recounts, painfully, how her mother's duties were determined even as a small child.

III. Just as Douglass reflects on the cruelties of slavery, so does Jacobs. Jacobs did not realize that she was a slave until she was around six years old. She had experienced the loss of her mother and was thrown into her world upon her death. Reflecting on the treatment that her mother had received while still alive, she is told by people around her that her mother had been "a slave merely in name" (1811). Contrary to what Jacobs is told, it seems to me that Jacobs' mother was treated with cruelty as a baby. The priorities of a slave-owner are so much different than what we might consider "normal" today. If a mother needs to nourish her child, we would consider it amazingly cruel to force the mother to stop feeding the child. However, as Jacobs describes, her own mother's life was considered much less important than that of her own future owner's life. Jacobs' grandmother fed both children at her own bosom and was asked to treat her flesh and blood as a second-rate being and hope that the baby would be able to find nourishment without milk. What a cruel society! On top of this most horrible behavior, Jacobs' mother grew up to be the slave of the very same child who received nourishment from Jacobs' grandmother. This defines the morality of the time, for me. This description of events really puts things into perspective. Yes, the beatings and raping of slaves is so incredibly cruel, but to me, it is just as cruel to put a child at risk of death in order to sustain the life of another child which you deem more worthy of living. Who are we to say that one child should suffer in order for another to thrive? Do we continue to choose one life over another in our "modern" society?

Born To Be A Chattel

2007-11-20T17:00:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 9

English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I Chose: Harriet Jacobs

I. "The slave child had no thought for the morrow; but there came that blight, which too surely waits on every human being born to be a chattel."

II. Harriet Jacobs speaks from her personal memories about what limitations a slave grows up with.

III. Jacobs provides her readers with an intimate look into the lives of slave children. Growing up without a mother or father, many of these children are unable to connect with their families. If a child does get to stay with a family-member, it is likely that they will eventually be separated and sold off to another slave owner. Family is where children are able to get the most support and encouragement. When children do not have families (even non-biological families) to encourage them to thrive, they may not have the spirit or the will to do it on their own. In addition, slave children see their loved ones (friends and family) sold off or beaten for the slightest actions. When these children are forced to witness these cruelties they slowly become less optimistic and less motivated to live life. Not to be too cliche, but their spirits have been broken, in a sense. You have no ability to get the education that you see your white peers receiving, you'll always have the same raggedy shirt (and often no pants, as Jacobs points out), you'll never be allowed to keep your own children for long, and you may never be able to leave on your own free will. On top of that, if you were able to leave the plantation, you would never be able to apply for the better-paying job, no matter how much more qualified than your white counter-parts you might be. The world of this time was so cruel and abusive towards slaves that children were not spared the "ideals" that the masters had set forth. The world that they lived in usually began at birth and you never questioned what your lot in life was. I suppose in some ways, having no hope as a child was easier to live with than having hope that was cruelly crushed over and over again.

Kind Masters

2007-11-17T17:53:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 8

English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Frederick Douglass

I. "Slaves, when inquired of as to their condition and the character of their masters, almost universally say they are contented, and that their masters are kind."

II. Frederick Douglass explains that the brutality of slavery hides itself.

III. Douglass described an instance where a slave was encountered by his master. The master and the slave had never met since the master had so many slaves in his ownership. As the master went past the slave and asked how he was doing and how his master treated him, he was honest. Colonel Lloyd listened as the slave explained that he was treated poorly and worked too hard. The colonel then asked the slave to whom he belonged. "To colonel Lloyd." After the colonel hears this, he waits a while before deciding to take his revenge out on this slave. Lloyd was so viscious and cruel to this slave that many slaves heard about it and realized that they could no longer be honest. Fearing for their lives and realizing that spies were sent in to test them, slaves would answer questions with suppressed truths rather than revealing what really happened in their painful worlds.

This is one of the many painful ways that slaves were forced to live in order to survive. It took this poor man a horrible lesson to realize that he would never be able to speak his own opinion, no matter how honest. Speaking out against any white man would have been forbidden. Even if this had not been Colonel Lloyd's slave, I'm sure that he would have still found a way to punish him. He, like so many other men, felt that to insult one man of the white race was to insult all of the white race. If he had insulted the women - well, that would have definitely been a lynching!

Blood-Stained Gate

2007-11-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

Journal No.7
English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Frederick Douglass

I. "It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass."

II. Frederick Douglass is recounting to his audience the first occurrence of cruelty that he saw bestowed upon a slave - his aunt - by his owner.

III. Douglass is vividly describing the moment in time in which he left boyhood and crossed over into the "hell of slavery." This was not only the first time that he observed such great acts of cruelty, but this was also the first time that he had witnessed cruelty to someone that he loved. This occasion left unseen scars that ran deeper than any physical scars ever could. Douglass uses very bold and effective images of blood and flames to remind his readers of how "wrong" these actions (and slavery itself) are. His audience may have consisted of mostly white, male slave-owners, but they would have had some conscience within them to even listen to his speech or to read his book. There would have been something compelling them to listen and/or read what he had to say in the first place. Douglass needed to write and speak of the truth bluntly but still keep his standing with this somewhat skeptical and reluctant audience. Douglass' ability to master this fine balance plays out well even by today's standards.

Douglass literally went from being a young, innocent child who had witnessed hardly any cruelty or violence first-hand to becoming a tainted, oppressed young man. He no longer had the ability to believe in the naievete that he had understood for so long. He now knew that slavery was something that turned ALL people involved - slaves and owners both - into creatures that had to fight to survive. These were no longer people, they were creatures. In Douglass' own words, his master "was a cruel man, hardened by a long life of slave-holding" (2074). "He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush." Mr. Plummer had succumbed to a world of eternal hatred and misery. In order to become a slave-owner, you had to sell your soul to the devil.

House of Identities

2007-11-17T17:34:00.004-08:00

Journal No. 6
English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Edgar Allan Poe

I. "While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened...my brain reeled as I saw the mighty walls rushing asunder -- there was a long tumultuous shouting sound like the voice of a thousand waters -- and the deep and dark tarn at my feet closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the "House of Usher."

II. The fissure in the House of Usher has widened and the house implodes and falls into the earth.

III. The main character of the story is fleeing the House of Usher and looks back as he hears a sound only to see that the house itself has fallen to pieces. This image reminds me of a person who is struggling to be able to tell the difference between the real and the imagined. This is perhaps what happens in the mind of someone who is getting therapy for psychosis or schizophrenia. I believe that this person has created these characters and situations in their minds to avoid reality. Roderick and Madeline Usher could both be figments of the main character's imagination. When Madeline dies (or Roderick believes that she is dead), her death seems to be a representation of a specific portion of the main character's psychology that is missing or dead. When she returns or comes back to life, perhaps the main character is acknoweldging that part of his brain again. Roderick and Madeline then die together. Is this where the main character is losing more of his well-built fantastical world? As he flees from the home, the house destroys itself and falls deep into the ground. This could be the final representation of a mad man gaining sanity back, though to him it seems as though his whole world has literally come crashing down around him. He does not know where reality ends and where madness begins.

As I was reading the ending of the story, I was reminded of a recent account of the same situation. In the movie "Identity," ten characters all meet at a hotel, stranded in the middle of the night in the rain. One by one, the characters are killed off. At first, these seem to be people who are dying in brutal ways. However, we later realize that these are not individuals but instead the personas created by a man with schizophrenia. As each of these personas are exposed, they die off. There is a good cliff hanger at the end, though, and the murdering schizophrenic man gets away with murder. To me, the movie is clearly based on "The Fall of the House of Usher." It was not quite as well written, though. :)

Moss-grown Burial Stone

2007-11-17T17:33:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 5
English 48A
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I chose: Nathaniel Hawthorne

I. "The grass of many years has sprung up and withered on that grave, the burial-stone is moss-grown, and good Mr. Hooper's face is dust; but awful is still the thought, that it mouldered beneath the black veil!"

II. Even after his death, the parishioners and people surrounding Mr. Hooper did not remove

the veil to reveal what is beneath.

III. As Mr. Hooper dies, the people present at his death-bed wish to have him remove his black veil. He becomes angry and insists that the veil stay. Nathaniel Hawthorne is creating a dramatic image of the rotting body wasting away while the strong fabric of the veil continues on for eternity. This is perpetuating the symbol of fear that everyone else wanted to remove. If the veil is around for many generations to come, so are the sins and fears which prompted it's placement in the first place. If the veil lives on, don't the reasons for it's existence live on, too? If Mr. Hooper had intended to place the veil for symbolic reasons and to remind society of their sins, then the sins would only last as long as the veil did. People are inclined to still wonder why it existed in the first place if it continues to be so important even after Mr. Hooper's passing. The citizens would therefore continue to judge Mr. Hooper many years after his death simply because he wore a veil. I imagine that the veil acted more as a net or a sponge than an actual veil. Perhaps he was trying to keep something out (hatred and hypocrisy) rather than keep something in (hiding his own sins and fears). He has turned the tables on the people who judged him the most by keeping the veil in place, even long after his own body has been consumed by and returned to the earth.

Drawn Darkly

2007-11-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 4
English 48A
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I chose: Nathaniel Hawthorne

I. "Even amid his grief, Mr. Hooper smiled to think that only a material emblem had separated him from happiness, though the horrors which it shadowed forth, must be drawn darkly between the fondest of lovers."

II. Mr. Hooper understands (and even expects) that the veil will offer an opportunity for even those who are closest to turn on him in judgment.

III. Though Mr. Hooper is expecting Elizabeth to stand by his decision, he believes deep down that she too will leave him. He has chosen to believe in something that is out of the ordinary and uncomfortable for most people. The mystery that many of his parishioners have turned away from is the same mystery which has Hawthorne's readers turning pages for more. We, too, want to know what is "wrong" with Mr. Hooper. What did he do to pledge the rest of his life to secrecy and devotion so strong that he can not share even with the woman whom he loves? It is implied that he must have sinned. He could be repenting these sins by wearing the veil as a commitment to God. It is also possible that he could be hiding from his sins. Had he murdered someone, he might be grieving not only the loss of that person but also hiding away so that the rest of the world will never see the guilt in his face. He could also be hiding away to prove the sins of others around him. Is he really committed to making such a point that he has intentionally isolated himself from society for the rest of his life? These are just a few of the theories as to why Mr. Hooper is leading a lonely, defiant life. This is why this story works so well. The ominous intention of the veil is to not reveal but instead to present even more questions. Why?

Far-off Foes

2007-11-02T14:12:00.001-07:00

Journal No. 3

English 48A

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I chose: Henry David Thoreau

I. "I quarrel not with far-off foes, but with those who, near at home, co-operate with, and do the bidding of those far away, and without whom the latter would be harmless.

II. Thoreau points out that the local merchants are more threatening to the lack of humanity in the current society than are those who come from other countries.

III. In Thoreau's speech, he is stating that the local merchants who abuse human rights are much more oppressive than any war which the United States might engage in with another far-off country. These men and women who support slave labor and other dehumanizing acts are on the surface saying that they believe in freeing slaves and ending the war. However, their actions do not support these fragile and thin promises. Thoreau is crying out for forward momentum and would like to see his supporters demand the same change and action. He is desperately looking for change that can be felt across the board- not just in the pockets of politicians and businessmen. Thoreau warns people of the dangers of passing the buck. In order for action to happen, you must take it yourself. If you want to see change, make change happen yourself. "They will wait, well disposed, for others to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret" (1861). Thoreau's words are delicately placed in order to encourage action but to avoid raising suspicion or frightening anyone away. He made efforts to be thoughtful while calling for a massive movement against the standards that the society had accepted until then. He was in the midst of witnessing great change - and he wanted to help in leading that change in the right direction.

Lacks Nothing

2007-09-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Journal No. 2
English 48A
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I chose: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

I. "This land, in short, lacks nothing to be regarded as blest."

II. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca finds the Americas to have plenty of wealth and richness of culture and fertile soil. He believes that though the native peoples have very little in terms of European standards for riches, they have more than what most people could wish for.

III. Cabeza de Vaca speaks of a land that he has found himself stranded on and of a people with whose customs he is unfamiliar with. Yet, he understands the wealth that lies in the richness of culture and fertile land. While Columbus found no virtues in the Americas, Cabeza de Vaca finds beauty and wealth in spite of all of the troubles that he and his men have been through. While we can not help but be at least a little hesitant in believing the writings from these first explorers of the Americas, it seems that Cabeza de Vaca has the most to lose in championing his cause for a land of which he knows very little. However, Cabeza de Vaca places himself in jeopardy many times by deliberately disagreeing with those above him in great positions of power. Becoming a prisoner for speaking out about his beliefs, Cabeza de Vaca shows that he has not his own best interests in mind, but those of a people who can not stand up for themselves. This is certainly as different a position as you can find from that of Christopher Columbus'.

Nothing of Importance

2007-09-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Journal No. 1
English 48A
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I chose: Christopher Columbus

I. "They traveled three days' journey and found an infinity of small hamlets and people without number, but nothing of importance."

II. Christopher Columbus is writing to Luis de Santangel about his journeys into the Americas. He has sent two men to search for "a king or great cities" (Columbus 32).

III. Christopher Columbus has been paid by Spanish monarchs to travel to other countries to obtain wealth and riches. Upon his travels, Columbus writes frequently to narrate his journey to his benefactors. During this time, Columbus writes of successes frequently and downplays (or even completely alters) any mishaps. However, as Columbus is writing to his financial supporters, it seems as though his lack of enthuisiasm requires no effort. He seems to flawlessly "act" as though people have no importance and that the only riches are those of monetary value. I may be judging him too quickly and I may be biased due to the revelations of his true "conquests" since the original letters, but I do feel that even as a diplomatic reader, it would be hard not to believe that Columbus feels that the people that his voyage has affected do not matter. Disrupting the lives of countless people and traipsing through their land as though it belongs to you should conjure up a bit of remorse. I sense none in Columbus' letters and don't believe that he truly saw much beyond furthering his own career for the sheer purpose of obtaining more of his own wealth and fame. I understand the value of what he did for the Americas, but I'm not completely sold on the ideals that so many others have placed on him.

Shakespeare's Marlowe

2007-03-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

While my uncle is creating art on canvas and in sculpture, my husband (Aron) has an uncle who creates written art. Uncle Bobby (Robert A. Logan) teaches English at University of Hartford (in Connecticut) and has a loving obsession of Shakespeare. Recently, Bobby released his much anticipated book that compares the lives of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. The book discusses the influences that the two had on each other and theorizes on what might have become of each writer had Marlowe lived as long as Shakespeare. I am very excited to read this new book since I do not know very much about Christopher Marlowe. To me, learning of the reltationship between the two has put an entirely different spin on the works of William Shakespeare.

If you are at all interested in learning more about this pair, you can purchase Shakespeare's Marlowe. Yes, it is quite expensive, but if you enjoy Shakespeare, it may be worth it. Oh! And even better: Bobby's partner, John Wright, designed the cover. Since John is my favorite uncle-by-marriage, this makes the book even more special! :)

Leaped And Danced

2007-03-23T21:08:00.003-07:00

Journal No. 24
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Jack London

From "To Build A Fire"

I. "A little longer it dealyed, howling under the stars that leaped and danced and shone brightly in the cold sky. Then it turned and trotted up the trail in the direction of the camp it knew, where were the other food-providers and fire-providers."

II. Jack London is describing the end-scene where the dog waits to be punished and soon moves on after scenting that death is near. He moves on to the next master.

III. The dog has sensed for a while that the man has only been there to feed him and to scold him. He has not known any connection to the man and therefore does not feel a loss when the man dies. If the dog and man had been closer and had created a bond, I think that this scene would be much more sad. However, since the dog does not have ties to the man, he moves on to the next endeavor.

I think that the dog actually knows that the next camp is close by. He seems to be thinking, "Well, I'll just trot on over here and get me some good grub and some warm feet to lay on." The point of the story was to show the reader that man does not dominate all of nature and its wisdom. He simply relies on it and then discards it when he has filled his need. In this case, he ignored the dogs frequent pleas to move back to warmth and safety. He believed that the dog was just some dumb, lazy animal. He chose to ignore reasoning and paid the price for it. In the end, the dog proved to be the more intelligent creature. He knew that warmth was the only way to survive. He had instincts to bury into the snow. He knew that the camp was nearby. And yet, the man failed to "listen" to any instincts, including not only the dogs and the old man's, but his own as well. How many times do we pass our days ignoring little voices in our head that tell us how to choose from right and wrong? I know that I have regretted not listening to my instincts before. Now, I would like to believe that I might listen a little more intently the next time that I hear reasoning enter my thoughts.

Not In The Significances

2007-03-23T21:08:00.001-07:00

Journal No. 23
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Jack London

From "To Build A Fire"

I. "He was a newcomer in the land, a chechaquo, and this was his first winter. The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances."

II. Jack London is exposing the main character's flaws in the beginning of the story to lay out the plot. He gives the reader a foreshadowing of what's to come.

III. In the beginning of the story, London sets the reader up to understand what the man is about. He is committed to doing something and he is not going to back down. The man has wisdom about the things in life, but not about what makes the things in life what they are. This character is not too unlike Sui Sin Far's American young male neighbor in "Mrs. Spring Fragrance." Though he believes that he understands what it is to love and to lose, he really only understands the superficial aspects of love. With the man in London's story, he only understands what he wants to. He constantly fails to recognize that though he may be tough and strong, he is not smart. He forgets (or maybe completely failed to have knowledge in the first place) that he needs reasoning and rationale behind all of the vital decisions that he will be making to make it through to his goal. Though he has a goal, he does not take into consideration the scope of the goal and what it means to get there. He treats the dog with the same lack of respect as he does his own sensibility. He pretends that both are not there for the most part. While he does do several things to prove that he can make it, he puts forth as little effort as possible to accomplish this. Though he appears to struggle to survive throughout the story, his reckless abandonment makes one wonder if he had wished to die all along...

What You Do Not Love

2007-03-19T21:35:00.001-07:00

Journal No. 22
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Sui Sin Far

From "Mrs. Spring Fragrance"

I. "Is it not better to have what you do not love than to love what you do not have?"

II. Mr. Spring Fragrance is speaking with the "scholarly" young boy who lives next door about love and loss.

III. While Mrs. Spring Fragrance is speaking with Laura of love and loss, Mr. Spring Fragrance overhears the conversation and starts to contemplate the discussion. While Mr. Spring Fragrance is pretty sure that he and his wife love each other and have a good relationship, he is a little uncertain after hearing his wife speak of something loved and lost. As he walks outside, he notices the neighbor outside and asks him what American's think about love. The amazingly naive neighbor considers himself to be the ultimate expert on love and loss. Though he understands the basic meaning of Tennyson's poem, he fails to understand its deeper meaning and inspiration. Mr. Spring Fragrance expresses further confusion about the entire concept. It seems to be completely foreign to him - love is practical, is it not? In his own concept of love, he was probably better off. He might have interpreted the meaning of the poem incorrectly, but he would have saved himself quite a bit of heartache later on when he wrongly believes his wife to be in love with another man. Fortunately, the American version of love does triumph after all when all of the confusion is settled and Mr. and Mrs. Spring Fragrance are happily in love again and Mrs. Jade Spring Fragrance receives the necklace that she had so long been dreaming of. Awww! I just love happy endings!

Noble American

2007-03-19T21:34:00.002-07:00

Journal No. 21

English 48B

Dr. Scott Lankford

Author I Chose: Sui Sin Far

From "Mrs. Spring Fragrance"

I. "Is there not a beautiful American poem written by a noble American named Tennyson, which says: 'Tis better to have loved and lost,/ Than never to have loved at all?"

II. Sui Sin Far shows Mrs. Spring Fragrance speaking with a young girl from nextdoor about love.

III. Mrs. Spring Fragrance is speaking to the young Laura about what it really means to feel true love. In relaying this information to Laura, she is hoping to help Laura "get over" Kai Tzu. Ironically, Far is mocking Mrs. Spring Fragrance's own knowledge about love when she refers several times to Alfred Tennyson as being an American poet. Tennyson, in fact, is a British writer. Far is saying to the reader, "How can someone really know about a poem's meaning when you don't know the poet himself?" Although it is true that Mrs. Spring Fragrance is not as knowedgeable about Tennyson's origins, this does not take away her own experiences in loving someone and being loved back. Perhaps she is actually referring to the loss of her own two children, whom she only knew for less than a month. She seems to be reflecting that to have been able to love them and then lost them was far greater a privelage than never to have known them at all. While she certainly is good at mis-remembering important information about an author, she does know what she's talking about when it comes to love and loss.

Transplanted Into The Spirit Land

2007-03-19T21:34:00.001-07:00

Journal No. 20
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Sui Sin Far

From "Mrs. Spring Fragrance"

I. "Mrs. Spring Fragrance loved babies. She had had two herself, but both had been transplanted into the spirit land before the completion of even one moon."

II. Sui Sin Far is explaining that Mrs. Spring Fragrance would be visiting with many acquaintances who had recently had babies. She is also using many descriptive words to explain that Mrs. S.F. had lost two children of her own before they were each a month old.

III. Though Mrs. Spring Fragrance has lost two newborn babies of her own, she seems either to have "gotten over it," or to have not dealt with it just yet. Part of me believes that she has gotten over it with the belief that they have moved on to a more restful, spiritual world. Is this what helps people to move on with their lives after mourning a death of a part of you? Since I am not a believer in organized religion - for myself - I can not wholly understand or answer this. I wish to believe that this is one of the reasons that people choose to put their beliefs (and complete trust) in organized religion. I would hope that they do it to cope with the unexplainable and the seemingly unjust parts of the circle of life. Maybe being a cynical non-believer is not all that it's cracked up to be. If I put my "faith" into another entity, maybe I would find that the unanswerable things were indeed answerable after all - but only by the one being above all others. Would I find this to be satisfactory to my ever-inquiring and increasingly-curious mind? I find it hard to see myself accepting that when I lose a loved-one, they are going to be met by a supreme mind who has had a reason to take them from me in the first place. I don't believe that I can build my entire world around that. However, for Mrs. Spring Fragrance, it seems to have worked just fine. She seems content in knowing that the souls that once shared space with her own are now in good hands - and in a happier place. Me, not so much.

Celebrating Life

2007-03-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

I have very little connection with my Mexican-American heritage, as I have mentioned before. So when I have the chance to connect with family, I take the opportunity. This month, my mother's uncle, Manuel Santana, will be turning 80 years old. He is a very unique man. He has had a successful restaurant for over 40 years, he is a very talented artist, and he has contributed much to the community that surrounds him. I look forward to being among my family and celebrating the life of Manuel. In him I find the last little bits of Mexican pride. His strong, community-bound dedication gives me inspiration for what I want to do with my own life. I don't want to become President. I don't want to become a movie star. I don't want to discover the next great electronic miracle. I just want to be connected to where I came from and give that back to the people around me. What that means, I'm still trying to figure out. Who knew that you could still be looking to find yourself in your thirties?!

And by the way, if you're looking for the most delicious authentic Mexican food - and the best refried beans ever - you must visit Manuel's Restaurant in Aptos (just south of Santa Cruz on Highway 1) or Jardines de San Juan (in San Juan Batista).

Captured Young

2007-03-15T10:26:00.003-07:00

Journal No. 19
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. "Trembling with fear and distrust of the palefaces, my teeth chattering from the chilly ride, I crept noiselessly in my soft moccasins along the narrow hall, keeping very close to the bare wall. I was as frightened and bewildered as the captured young of a wild creature."

II. Zitkala Ša is describing what it is like for the little girl to leave her tribe for the first time to attend school in the Eastern land.

III. The little girl has dreamed of adventuring off to see and experience new things firsthand. She has always wanted to ride on the iron horse and to see how it is that the other little girls her age live among the palefaces. Though she has heard many scary tales of how evil the palefaces can be, she has also heard about a wonderful group of missionaries that might provide for her the experiences that she has always wanted.

As soon as the little girl leaves her mother's (reluctant) side, she already begins to fear what she does not know. What if the elders were right and the palefaces were going to harm her? What if she never got to see her family again? Once the little girl embarks on the train ride, she remains no more consoled than previously. The palefaces on the train stare and ridicule the little girl and the other natve-American children the entire journey. After a long, cold, and sometimes frightening journey, the little girl finally arrives at her new home which resides in a large brick building. Coming from the small tribe that she had, the little girl has never seen such a monstrous structure before. Among strangers and foreign facilities, the little girl is left feeling more bewildered and anxious than she had ever prepared to be. This was supposed to be a wonderful adventure, full of experiences that she had only before dreamed of. What was to become of her with only her friend Judéwin to turn to? What had she gotten herself into? Hadn't she begged her mother for the chance to see the rest of the world?

Heap Of Dead Ashes

2007-03-15T10:26:00.001-07:00

Journal No. 18
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. " 'My granddaughter made coffee on a heap of dead ashes, and served me the moment I came.' They both laughed...but neither she nor the warrior...said anything to embarrass me. They treated my best judgment, poor as it was, with the utmost respect."

II. The author is describing a scene where the little girl has been playing hostess to a tribe elder when her mother returns to see that she has not completely gotten things right.

III. The little girl is proud of her mother's ability to serve the people of the tribe when they pay visits to their home. The little girl has spent many days observing her mother and her maternal ways. She takes such good care of their visitors: she makes them coffee and serves them food while they are seated comfortably for good conversation. They are always made to feel welcome. Now, it is the little girl's turn and she wishes to emulate her mother's tasks. While she has observed her mother, she has never done these things herself so she is a little misguided in her efforts.

Though the little girl has made coffee from grounds over a dead pile of ashes, she has made the efforts nonetheless. This is something that her grandfather has recognized. He politely - if not proudly - accepts the refreshments just as quickly and graciously as he would had it been the little girl's mother serving him. When the little girl's mother arrives, the grandfather shares the occurence with her and they both have a light laugh over it. Just as discreetly as she can, the little girl's mother makes some "real" coffee. The quiet and unassuming behavior that the two adults share show the little girl that even though she has not done things correctly, her efforts are greatly appreciated. Without words, she has learned a lesson in what it means to be an adult. She feels their admiration and their respect, something which she even carries with her into her adult life.

Size And Sheer Will

2007-03-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

This is a poem that I read for another class that I'm currently taking. I completely fell in love with the images of what it is like to watch your child grow. I can see that it can be both a joyful and sad experience all at the same time.
..................................................................

Size And Sheer Will
By Sharon Olds

The fine, green pajama cotton,
washed so often it is paper-thin and
iridescent, has split like a sheath
and the glossy white naked bulbs of
Gabriel's toes thrust forth like crocus
this early Spring. The boy is growing
as fast as he can, elongated
wrist dangled, lean meat
showing between the shirt and the belt.
If there were a rack to stretch himself, he would
strap his slight body to it.
If there were a machine to enter,
skip the next ten years and be
sixteen immediately, this boy would
do it. All day long, he cranes his
neck, like a plant in the dark with a single
light above it, or a sailor under
tons of green water, longing
for the surface, for his rightful life.
..................................................................

Vital Bond

2007-03-14T15:56:00.003-07:00

Journal No. 17
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. "Before this peculiar experience I have no distinct memory of having recognized any vital bond between myself and my own shadow. I never gave it an afterthought."

II. Zitkala Ša is explaining the little girl's awareness (or lack of prior to this instance) of her own being and how it relates to the world around her.

III. The little girl has been playing and chasing her own shadow when she comes across a group of friends. When the friends ask what she is doing, she tells them that she is chasing her shadow. She then invites them to chase her shadow, as well. During this time, she never realizes that her shadow is in fact a part of her own self. She has assumed that her shadow has its own identity and its own purpose. It could choose to go anywhere it wanted to, and yet it continued to tease her, always staying just beyond her reach.

When the little girl invites her friends to join her, she never encourages them to chase their own shadows. She has invited them, instead, to only chase her shadow. I think that this is representative of the innocence that we possess at such a young age. We do not realize how we are connected to everything else around us. Not only has the young girl failed to recognize that she controls her own shadow, but she has also failed to realize that other people also have control of their own shadows. She is so captured by her imagined ability to keep this playmate constantly close that she fails to realize that she has an impact on the people around her as well as on herself. Ultimately, she is responsible for her actions as much as any other being might be of their own.

The Sun Hung Low

2007-03-14T15:56:00.001-07:00

Journal No. 16
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. "I was always glad when the sun hung low in the west, for then my mother sent me to invite the neighboring old men and women to eat supper with us."

II. Zitkala Ša describes the little girl's desire to hear the tales of the tribe's elders.

III. The little girl (who is never named- is it Ša herself?) enjoys the time when she is able to sit down on her mother's lap while listening to the elders of the village tell tales of adventure and intrigue. Often, her deceased uncle is mentioned in the tales since he was a much repsected and brave warrior. However, even if her uncle was not featured in the evening's stories, the little girl finds herself being happily whisked away into the centers of the stories.

The little girl seems to appreciate that tales and stories are entrances into other lands and sometimes even other worlds (spiritual worlds). She listens with intense curiosity to how the rest of the world lives beyond her own home. She finds an acceptable form of escape suitable for a seven-year-old girl as she listens to stories of magical moods, far-away fantasy lands, and even sinister events. While we do learn later on that she does have an unsatiated need for adventure, for now this is her closest chance at living a life outside of her own. Perhaps the tales that she listened to almost every evening enhanced the longing to experience these things on her own.

Wild Freedom and Overflowing Spirits

2007-03-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

Journal No. 15
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Zitkala Ša

From "Impressions of an Indian Childhood"

I. "Loosely clad in a slip of brown buckskin, and light-footed with a pair of soft moccasins on my feet, I was as free as the wind that blew my hair, and no less spirited than a bounding deer. These were my mother's pride, - my wild freedom and overflowing spirits."

II. Zitkala Ša is describing a seven-year-old girl who is free-spirited, even as her mother weeps.

III. Ša's introduction to this free-spirited little girl gives the reader a sense of eternal naivete. The little girl has just witnessed her mother crying and is wondering what makes her so sad. Quickly, the mother wipes the tears away and tells the child not to worry about the tears- never to worry about the tears. The mother then challenges the little girl to run as fast as she can. Just like that, the little girl has picked up the invitation to run and sprints around until she can't catch her breath anymore. She has quickly forgotten that there might be something to be sad or concerned about. She has instead replaced it with joy and delight.

The freedom and light-hearted spirit that this little girl has is what makes children's spirits so amazing. The ability to go from something uncomfortable, painful, or even tragic and then to be able to suddenly (at least for the moment) overcome it with laughter and play is almost magical. While children are quite observant, they can also be very resilient. They are able to take in the world around them, even the bad stuff, and filter out the things that they sense are harmful to their hearts and minds. While this is obviously a great "survival" skill, it can get to a point where it can also prevent children from learning how to cope with certain types of situations. Today, there are many children who grow up to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues that lack in reality-based coping. As a parent, how do you know what to do to encourage your children to play and laugh and learn while dealing with stressful and possibly traumatic incidences in their lives? If they bear witness to life's ups and downs, how do you encourage them to balance the weight of it with the importance to live life?

When I see children that are engaged in the world and who want to run and be free, I can't help but smile. They are happy children who don't feel like there is an ending or that there can be something to turn things upside down. They feel like life still has so much to offer to them. There is much left to learn. Their naivete is something that, once you become an adult, you never gain back. When is the last time that you ran through a stranger's lawn just to get to a sprinkler? I'd pick that over "dealing" with pain and loss any day. Can't we just go back to being kids again?

The Children's Hour

2007-03-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, I feel like I must be the last person on this planet to see (or to even know about) the movie "The Children's Hour" which was adapted from Lillian Hellman's play of the same title. Wow- this was a good movie! Starring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner (three wonderful roles for three wonderful actors), the movie is set among an all-girls school. The two headmistresses, Karen (Hepburn) and Martha (MacLaine) are caught up in the middle of one student's awful lies. When the entire community is alerted of the "scandalous" behavior ocurring in the private school, the children are suddenly removed from the care of Karen and Martha.

So, the little brat whispered into her grandmother's ear a horrible, awful secret! What was that secret, you ask? Why, Karen and Martha are LESBIANS! (gasp!!!) So of course, everyone in the community rallies together and marks the home of Karen and Martha with the scarlet letter and move on with their feeble little lives while Karen and Martha are forever condemmed to lives of solitude and shame. Why, they can't even be in their own home without someone else coming in to balk at them. As the delivery boy helps himsef into their home through the backdoor with his weekly grocery delivery, he even stares at them as they hang their heads down and yell at him to stop being so cruel.

Meanwhile, James Garner's character, Dr. Joe Cardin, is madly in love with Karen. He plays a lover who is desperate to marry and will wait for Karen, but gets a little impatient along the way since she has put the school and her life at the school ahead of their marriage plans. At least temporarily. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), Dr. Cardin is related to the little tattle-tale and the grandmother who have bulldozed the lives that Karen and Martha were leading before the rumors had started. He portrays a noble, respected man who believes strongly in the woman who he loves and wants to tell his nosey aunt that she can go to h-e-doublehockeysticks, dang it! He vows to run away with not just Karen, but Martha as well. He promises them lives of solitude and bliss when they move off to a farm somewhere else. However, Karen points out that there is no way to lead "normal" lives again. Not only will other people start talking again, but they will always doubt each other as well. They will never be able to run away completely from this haunting rumor. Dr. Cardin tentatively leaves, promising that he will be back for her after she has had a little time to "get over" her concerns about their future. As he disappears, Karen whispers, "No you won't" in response.

Now, Martha shares with Karen that she may be in love with her, after all. In "that" way, in fact. She also shares with Karen that when the little girl told the lie, she felt like she was somehow sure of who she was for the first time and that it all finally made sense to her. Martha is quite upset and inconsolable as Karen tries to "reason" with her and to comfort her by putting her hand on her shoulder and looking her in the face. Martha states that she can't bear to look at her or to feel her touch any more because she feels so dirty and disgusted with herself.

As Dr. Lankford so kindly pointed out to our class recently, there was the promised tragedy at the end of the story. This version of the movie has kept up the tradition that when a woman has "sinned" and proven herself "unworthy," she must kill herself. Great. Thanks for that positive ending! The camera work in this ending is really advanced and very artistic for it's time. Though we never see Martha hanging from the ceiling, we do see the shadow of the rope as Karen first enters the room, then the camera goes to the toppled chair with a dancing shadow of Martha's swaying feet right behind the chair. This was quite striking.

What a time to live in! What's really amazing however, is that though the film was made in 1961, the play itself was written in 1934! What a brilliant writer to be able to bring such an emotional subject to the theater during a time when nothing like this was so openly talked about. In the movie, I was very pleased with how honest and sincere Hepburn, MacLaine and Garner all were in their difficult roles. I was constantly impressed with Garner's stick-to-it-iveness and conviction. I wonder how difficult it might have been to be a man addressing such strong feminine issues during that time. Probably no more or no less than today.

In the 1936 film "These Three," the story takes on a different meaning. The roles are instead played by two woman and a man who are involved in a "heterosexual love-triangle." The Production Code's standards of the time prevented the actual subject-matter to be a part of the big screen. While the film had it's original subject-matter removed, Lillian Hellman worked on the screenplay and kept all of the play's original dialogue intact. I am very glad to see that just by 1961, which was still a very repressed time indeed, the true story came back to life in it's proud glory. I was of course very concsious of just how repressed these characters are in today's standards. However, looking at the time that they were living in in 1961, this was a brave taking-on of the conservative standards of morals and ethics. You have to love the shadows of the two women in the movie poster, too! Bravo!

If you are interested in learning more about the original play, the movie "These Three," or the movie "Children's Hour," please click here.

Prisoner Of Chillon?

2007-03-08T22:47:00.003-08:00

Journal No. 14
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Henry James

From "Daisy Miller: A Study"

I. "I would much rather go to Chillon with you."

II. Winterbourne is telling the new young lady that he has just met, Daisy, that he would be more than happy to be her guide to the castle across the lake from where they are standing.

III. Daisy has just finished telling Winterbourne that she has failed to find a good candidate for a guide to Chateau de Chillon. Winterbourne of course finds this so hard to believe that she hasn't found another suitable fellow to accompany this dear young lady. After inquiring, he admits that she cannot go alone or with her mother, who really does not want to go without Randolph. So, of course, Winterbourne would be the best person to take her to Chillon, right?

I find it interesting that James has perhaps used Chateau de Chillon as a symbol that was almost imperceptable at this point in the story. However, upon doing some research about the castle, I found that it indeed does seem to hold some meaning that would have otherwise remained undetected in my wee little brain. It seems that Lord Byron has written a poem about the exact same castle. The title is "Prisoner of Chillon." Hmmm... interesting, no? Well, I read bits of the (loooooong) poem and found that it was similar in some ways to the situation that Winterbourne later finds himself in. I thought that there might be more than just coincidence here. In "Prisoner of Chillon," the prisoner finds that he has become accustomed to and dependent on the very walls and chains that hold him there:

At last men came to set me free;
I ask’d not why, and reck’d not where;
It was at length the same to me,
Fetter’d or fetterless to be,
I learn’d to love despair.
And thus when they appear’d at last,
And all my bonds aside were cast,
These heavy walls to me had grown
A hermitage—and all my own!
And half I felt as they were come
To tear me from a second home

Winterbourne's fate seemed to be destined to end the same way as the Prisoner of Chillon's was. He had wanted to be free of Daisy's hold on him - so much that he convinced himself that he was disgusted by her behavior. But in the end, she had such a strong hold on him that when he heard of her own true behaviors with Giovanelli, he was devestated to know that even in death, she still had a strong hold on his love for her.

If you are interested in reading more of "The Prisoner of Chillon," please visit the Pennsylvania State University’s Electronic Classics Series.

Great Slanting Waves Of Optic Horror

2007-03-08T22:47:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 13
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

From "The Yellow Wall-Paper"

I. "...the sprawling outlines run off in great slanting waves of optic horror, like a lot of wallowing sea-weeds in full chase."

II. The main character of Gilman's story is observing the ever-changing pattern in the yellow wallpaper that covers her room of mental imprisonment.

III. The woman in the room has been left alone often, without a task to have to herself. She has been robbed of the ability to write (at least as far as her husband knows) and the ability to converse with her family and friends. She has been brainwashed into believing that she would harm their child if she dared to try and take care of him. She has been convinced that she is nothing but a fragile, desperate woman. She has been convinced of this so much that it is indeed becoming true. She has begun to believe that she is seeing things in the wallpaper's patterns. What would you do if all of your time was spent either looking outside through bars or staring at a horrid, sickly-yellow pattern that was torn and stained?

Gilman's use of imagery is wonderful here. As the character descends more and more into mental instability, so does the imagery that Gilman uses. As the reader continues, they are left feeling as dizzy and confused as the main character herself. The idea of seaweeds being able to chase something gives even more human-like quality, and therefore "reality," to the images in the paper. "Slanting waves" would imply that the pattern is moving severely and extemely in one, or possibly more than one, direction. And of course, my favorite would be the "optic horror." This is implying that the mess of movement and humanness of the paper is now taking on a frighteningly haunting form. The paper is no longer paper- it is a being that is there simply to haunt and possibly to posses the main character's already fragile spirit and to take over her soul.

Singularly Honest And Fresh

2007-03-08T22:46:00.002-08:00

Journal No. 12
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Henry James

From "Daisy Miller: A Study"

I. "...he saw that this glance was perfectly direct and unshrinking. It was not, however, what would have been called an immodest glance, for the young girl's eyes were singularly honest and fresh."

II. Henry James is describing what Winterbourne finds unique and refreshing about this new young lady that he has just met. Winterbourne finds that her behavior is unexpected at first, but certainly admired by her observer.

III. Ms. Miller is introduced to the reader as a young lady who dresses in all of the "latest" fashions and trends while not seeming to mind one bit if someone steals a glance her way. She is presented as a material woman who prefers to have a young man tripping over his own words just to get closer to her. At this point in James' story, Winterbourne is learning a very small part of Daisy's personality. She has so much more complexity than jus the direct stares and the "honesty" in her eyes. Winterbourne might have seen these things in the beginning as a symbol of how complex she might become later on in their strange relationship. If he had been able to figure out more of who she was, he might have saved himself many days of confusion and hurt. Winterbourne, however, is absolutely enamored with the young lady right from the start, noticing that her pretty features were nothing below the standards of feminine beauty. If Winterbourne had been able to see anything beyond Daisy's superficial offerings, he might have at some point noticed that Daisy really wanted his affection more than anyone else's. I wonder what might have happened if Winterbourne had realized that she "wanted" him in the beginning. Would she have been off galavanting with Giovanelli? She might have never even met him. Instead, she might have been inside on the sofa next to Winterbourne in front of a warm fireplace on the night that she caught the Roman fever.

An Aged Expression Of Countenance

2007-03-08T22:46:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 11
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Henry James

From "Daisy Miller: A Study"

I. "...a small boy came walking along the path - an urchin of nine or ten. The child, who was diminutive for his years, had an aged expression of countenance, a pale complexion, and sharp little features."

II. Henry James is describing a little boy whom the main character, Winterbourne, sees while he is sitting at his hotel-room patio. The little boy is wandering around the hotel grounds and trying to find things to busy himself with. As he wanders over to Winterbourne's table, he is poking a walking-stick at various objects just for the fun of it.

III. James describes his characters in long, sometimes drawn-out detail. In describing the little boy that we soon learn is named Randolph, he uses contrasting words such as "diminutive for his years" and "aged." These two word-choices show the reader that the boy is small and almost meek appearing, but he has perhaps seen or experienced more than other boys his own age have. While Randolph is certainly a little boy in many ways, he seems sometimes to have knowledge that his own behavior can be quite immature. He appears to be conflicted within his own self. It is unclear to me as to what might have caused Randolph to be so knowledgable about behavior since his own sister is quite immature in her behavior. I don't know if the family's travels was supposed to be the basis for Randolph's own awareness of people's behaviors or if he just learned from watching his sister meet with so many different gentlemen, but he has certainly picked it up from somewhere. My guess is that it is the latter: Daisy seemed to have met such a variety of young fellows not only throughout their travels abroad, but at "home" in Schenectady, New York as well. She played hostess to many young, American men who had hopes of winning over her heart. Randolph, being the ever-so-curious boy, had of course played witness to many of these charmed meetings, I'm sure. Either way, Randolph is indeed both a little boy and a little man in the same body. While he cannot help but run and skip and poke at dresses with his stick, he also cannot help but learn from the life - and death - of his own sister, Daisy Miller.

Without Special Direction

2007-03-08T22:45:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 10
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

From "The Yellow Wall-Paper"

I. "He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction."

II. Charlotte Perkins Gilman is describing a woman's thoughts about her husband and how "kind" he is to take such care of his wife while she is in need of resting her mind and body.

III. Gilman's main character, a nameless woman, has been feeling as though she is not very healthy mentally. Because of this, her husband John has decided to rent out a house that has "stood so long untended" for her mental and physical recovery. John seems to believe that the his wife is imagining her illness, though she knows that she is not happy at all. She brushes this off as though John would know better than herself as to what is really wrong with her. She seems to be suffering from depression. Or could it be suppression? While her husband John is certainly thoughtful superficially, he seems to think that this is something that women can choose to do on a whim. He seems to her to be very thoughtful, but he is treating her more like a child, and a burdensome child at that! While he has rented a home with a peaceful garden and terrace, he confines her to a room at the top of the stairs where he can lock her in all day if he chooses (i.e. if he needs to). The woman expresses interest in residing in a downstairs bedroom that has views of the garden and the terrace which is covered in beautiful blooms. She feels that this will help her to feel more alive and to remember what beauty really looks like. John disagrees, giving her the excuse that she really just needs to rest her mind and not think about a thing. He is forbiding her to have any beauty in her life, to find any joy in the simple things that she could surround herself with. John has fronted his true intentions with words of affection and mild concilation, but she is barely aware that these words are simply superficial. She has become quite a burden on John and his need to live his life fully in spite of her "whims." Despite his allegedly thougtful care and consideration of her well-being, the woman is indeed becoming more and more mentally unstable as she passes the time with only the ugly yellow wallpaper to keep her company.

Unfortunately, John is not unlike many men of his time. Fathers, husbands, brothers, physicians, and other men who had women in their lives were influential in their beliefs that women could just as easily end an "illness" as they were able to begin it. They believed that women had created these silly circumstances all on their own due to their desire to go off on vacation somewhere. They believed that women simply wanted an excuse to stop caring for the children, to stop taking care of their household and wifely duties. Therefore, the women obviously just needed to completely stop thinking for themselves- as though they were actually "permitted" to do so in the first place. The men of the time attributed these behaviors to "hysteria," which was a term that described many different "mental" inconveniences. Simply put, the women were often depressed, or as I stated above, suppressed. They were, in my mind, so stifled in what they could say or do that they ended up having anxiety attacks or went into depressions. Defining themselves by the way that they raised the children or by the dinners that they served was something that was making them feel ill. I believe that often times women were in need of social stimulation and a sense of a purpose of their own. They were not encouraged to go out and find things that would make them feel challenged or creative. They were often treated as though they were simply a window-dressing, expected to sit still and smile: Only nod or speak when addressed. And never, ever express a unique opinion of your own. Certainly not without asking your husband about it first.

Never Touched Cuban Soil

2007-02-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 9
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Kate Chopin

From "At the 'Cadian Ball"

I. "Calixta's slender foot had never touched Cuban soil; but her mother's had, and the Spanish was in her blood all the same. For that reason, the prairie poeple forgave her much that they would not have overlooked in their own daughters or sisters."

II. Kate Chopin writes of indiscretions that are considered forgivable simply because a woman was born with Spanish blood. She is a "racy" woman who doesn't mind being obvious in her coquettish ways. For this, she is forgiven since she was born into those ways.

III. Calixta is a beautiful cuban woman whose hair is kinked and unkempt. She has brown skin and wears dresses as thin as gauze. Her ears are apparently quite nibble-able (is that even a word?!) and has a contrast of feminine qualities mixed with the wildness of an untamed bronco. Calixta is, essentially, what I believe many women might want to be like. I think that all women are conflicted just a little bit with remaining feminine while maintaining a home or being successful at their career or involving themselves in activities. It is a hard thing to do, to juggle the roles that you partake in while still remaining feminine and sexy. Calixta is able to maintain all of these roles more openly than other women since her brassiness is excused by her family's heritage. So do we still put these stereotypes on women today? Do we "excuse" certain behaviors because of someone's heritage or skin color? I believe that we most certainly do. Today's roles have changed much for both men and women. However, we still do make exceptions for certain types of behavior and/or cultural practices. This is often necessary in living in a multi-cultural society, though. There are definitely negatively-toned instances where people are unfairly treated as though their cultural differences should be used as an excuse for their bad behavior, but for the most part I think that our society (here in the Bay Area) has done a decent job of realizing that different cultures do encounter different behaviors. Has anyone seen Borat? When do those behaviors become acceptable?! :)

Sarah Wyman Whitman

2007-02-28T15:16:00.000-08:00

Sarah Wyman Whitman is a name mentioned in the Norton Anthology headnotes for Sarah Orne Jewett. I was curious to find out who she was. So of course, I asked our trusty instructor. Since he seems to know of all that is literary, I figured that he would surely know who she was. Unfortunately, it seems that even he was puzzled by the woman so briefly mentioned in passing. So of course, I took Dr. Lankford's well-given advice and quickly looked her up on Google once I got home. I was fascinated by what I found- and also by what I did not find. I was able to find (just from deduction, unfortunately) that not only was Sarah Wyman Whitman a close friend of both Annie Fields' and of Sarah Orne Jewett's, but she also was an artist of many different talents. Whitman's works were most commonly found on the covers of books that were made for many authors, some of which included Sarah Orne Jewett, Henry David Thoureau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bret Harte, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and many others. This craft of hers came along during a time when bindings and bookcovers were becoming overwraught with ornate decoration, so much that it was becoming a bit much for many authors and publishers. It seemed to be a bit of a challenge to find a book cover artist who was able to express the author's intended beauty while preserving the mystery of what would appear on the interior pages.

While Whitman's talent was quite visible on the exteriors of some of the most famous literary works, she found other ways to express herself as well. Whitman's ability to capture beauty in many differnt types of media made her more accessible for the everyday person. Whether it be oil on canvas, pastel on board, or (amazingly so) stained-glass monuments, Whitman found many different ways to capture light and beauty and to share these with her fellow humankind. To read some of Sarah Wyman Whitman's correspondance with Sarah Orne Jewett (and many other personal letters), please visit The Sarah Orne Jewett Text Project. You will find many other interesting topics on Sarah Orne Jewett at the main page for the project, as well.

Fedoras and Furs

2007-01-25T21:14:00.000-08:00

In reading "Tahoe Transformed," I am thoughtful of my own family's history. Sarah Winnemucca has inspired me to learn more about the people who came before me. I have many times thought of approaching my own mother with the questions that any daughter might ask: Where did your family come from? When did they come here? What tribe did Grandma tell you that we came from? Ultimately, my family does not believe that these are questions that belong to us. My search for answers continues to leave me wanting.

I am from a diverse cultural background, just as so many of my peers are (I love the Bay Area for that!). My father is 100% Irish with a group of great-grandparents who came to the United States during the second bout of the Irish Potato Famine in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. This is all I know of my Irish heritage, but it is something. I do have family still in Ireland, though our connections have obviously been lost throughout the generations. My father is my only connection to his family and he and I will never exchange words again.

On the other side of my story, I have a mother who looks as though she and Sarah Winnemucca were first cousins. My mother's brother could have easily been Sarah's brother. My mother never wanted to learn more about her family's heritage since she always believed that Grandma would fabricate anything that sounded interesting. My Grandmother was the only connection that I had to my Native American "heritage," had it actually existed. Today, all I have left of my grandmother are a couple of sentimental pieces of jewelry, photographs of moments dear to me, her famous salt-shaker, and memories of a woman who intrigued me with her complex mixture of old-fashioned beliefs and modern-day practices. I had a chance to learn more about who I was and where I came from when she was alive. Instead, I chose to spend my time with her sitting on her bedroom floor, looking at photographs of her in her "hey-day" when her 4'8" stature was something of a novelty, her 3 1/2" heels painfully bringing her up so that she was just a head shorter than the rest of her gal pals. Her long, dark, perfectly coifed waves glistened in the scattered sunlight. She wears a fur coat and dark red lipstick. She is, of course, dressed in the lastest of fashions. The year is 1945, just nine years before my own mother is born. Uncle Dave was at the moment a thought about to take fruition. My grandfather is standing tall amongst the ladies, donned in a fedora and a double-breasted suit, his tie so tight that his thoughts can be heard outloud. This is the image of a proud, esteemed Mexican American family who has "made it big." This family lives in Los Angeles during the height of it's Metropolis appeal. Movie stars, starlets, producers, singers, and songwriters- they are everywhere. You would think at first glance that you were looking at the next group of female back-up vocals, waiting to belt it out for their new leading guy. But instead, this is my family feeling prideful. Feeling like they've made something out of their lives. Feeling like they are not Mexican anymore. They are now American. This means something to them. During these moments shared with Grandma, I don't need to know anything other than who she is. What things she experienced. What things brought her joy. I can not ask her about her past, about where her family came from. This is not who she is. She is the woman in the dark red lipstick. She will always be American to me.

Like The Sand In A Whirlwind

2007-01-25T21:05:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 8
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Sarah Winnemucca

Excerpt from Scott Lankford's "Tahoe Transformed"

I. "[Your enemies] will come like the sand in a whirlwind and drive you from your homes. You will be forced among the barren rocks of the north, where your ponies will die; where you will see the women and old men starve, and listen to the cries of your children for food."

II. Sarah Winnemucca is quoting a foreboding tale that her cousin Numaga had prophesized to her. He is telling her that if she tries to combat the "white" man, he will destroy her and her people. The white man has so much more than the Paiutes that there is no chance for survival once he has invaded.

III. Sarah Winnemucca is writing about the conversation that she had with Numaga. He was telling her, rightfully so, that she shouldn't try to battle with the "white" man. The Paiutes didn't have all of the artillery and battle skills that the whites did. They wanted only one thing- to defeat anyone who came across their paths and tried to stop them from "conquering" the territory. The Paiutes were later terrorized and brutalized. The survivors were split up into many different reservations, most of which were hundreds and sometimes thousand of miles away from one another. The devestating effects of this move is, I am sure, still causing a ripple effect on many tribes today.

This was a tragic tale, and it was even more tragic knowing that Sarah still fought for her people after they had been through the worst of it all. She was still trying to give the children a chance at a better life. One that she herself was unable to avoid.

It's hard to believe that this nation was filled with so many peaceful people who had been here for thousands of years before European occupiers. The indigenous people had such respect for the land and celebrated it often prior to the invasion of America, as we call it today. The same people who were the backbone of this country before are today treated as though they don't exist at all. If you aren't doing research on indigenous peoples, how would you know about them? Who tells you about their history? The history books? The government? How about the people who ostracized them in the first place? No- it seems as though they have long been forgotten. As Scott Lankford presents in "Tahoe Transformed," an article in an 1865 newspaper pushed for "a final solution of the great Indian Problem: by exterminating the whole race, or driving them forever beyond our frontier." I mean, what do they have to contribute to society today? The ones who are left are nothing but diabetic, overweight, drug-abusing, alchoholics who seem to think that they are owed something. Who do these people think that they are? The people who helped out the Europeans in their treks through trecherous territory? The friggin' first people to live in this country or something? Sheesh! The nerve of some people.

Swimmer's Dividing Water

2007-01-25T21:04:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 7
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Emily Dickinson

From Billy Collins' Poem "Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes"

I. "Then the long white dress, a more complicated matter with mother-of-pearl buttons down the back, so tiny and numerous that it takes forever before I can part the fabric like a swimmer's dividing water, and slip inside."

II. Billy Collins is using many similes to illustrate Emily Dickinson's femininity. He describes items that she is wearing as though they are the same delicate items that another very feminine, very sexual woman might possess.

III. As many texts have declared, Emily Dickinson was a highly educated, opinionated, talented woman who most see as a person without much depth to her sexuality. Mr. Collins is attempting to describe the ultimate feminine being as the hidden Emily Dickinson. He describes her clothing, movements, and actions in an almost endearing fashion. He is taking his time with the words and descriptions that he chooses, just as he might if we were watching him seduce her right in front of our eyes. His intended pauses and slow-on-the-tongue phrases make you feel almost drunk with the passion and tenderness. I do realize that this poem is almost tongue-in-cheek, deliberately telling readers and critics that she has more to her than what you first perceive, but I do really feel his careful scrutiny of her buttons in this quote. When Mr. Collins says "I can part the fabric like a swimmer's dividing water, and slip inside," he is conveying both beauty and eroticism at the same time. He is describing his tenderness for her by saying that what she is wearing is as though it were a dividing water. In addition, the parting of something and then "entering" is obviously a very sexual connotation. This is a very effective technique in bringing to light a very different woman than the strong, firecracker, asexual woman that we were led to believe that she was. This is by no means your mother's Emily Dickinson!

Agonized and Clear

2007-01-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 6
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Emily Dickinson

From the poem 67 ("Success is Counted Sweetest")

I. "Success is counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed. To comprehend a nectar requires sorest need."

II. Emily Dickinson is talking about how it feels to want something. People most often want something that they can't and don't have.

III. This poem is specifically mentioning a defeated soldier and how he knows now what triumph and victory feels like because he will never have it - he has only loss and death.

To understand what it is that you want, you must first not have that thing. Whether it be love, items, an experience or anything else that one can possess, a person can want it more than life itself because it is something that they will never have. And yet, those who have it may never really want it at all. If you don't struggle to possess or earn something, you may not understand what it is like to truly appreciate it.

I think that this is very true in today's society. Our country is very materialistic (as I'm sure many other countries are as well) and seem to hold too much importance in things that don't mean much to our real quality of life. Do we really need to own a $1000 purse or a $50,000 vehicle to make our quality of life better? Do we really need to be defined by these things? Ultimately, what is it that does give us true happiness? Love? Money? Power? I would hope that the ultimate happiness for most people is giving something to another person. I think that our society needs more practice in this idea. We don't all need to feed a nation of starving children (although that's not a bad idea), but we could do little things to make one other person feel important and cared for. Something little like saying "thank you" to someone who has helped you in a small way. Overall, I think that this poem reflects the same ideas (ideals?)- in a convoluted sort of way. I think that it is reminding us that we cannot truly appreciate what we have if we don't struggle to attain it or obtain it in some way.

The Darwin Conspiracy

2007-01-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

I promised Katja to post the name of the book that I am currently reading. The fictional book is called The Darwin Conspiracy by John Darnton. This book covers the time between Charles Darwin's famous travels aboard the Beagle and the publication of The Origin of Species. The author has created an interesting "flashback" between Darwin's voyages and a modern-day researcher who becomes a student of Darwin's biography. Later in the book, a third perspective is added: that of Lizzie (sometimes called "Bessie") Darwin, the mysterious younger daughter of Charles Darwin. Though there is little known about her, the author implies that what is known does not paint Lizzie in the best of pictures. Lizzie has previously been suspected as being an outcast, almost even mentally "slow." The perspective of Lizzie Darwin later proves to be one of an intelligent, mysterious woman. She was the only of Darwin's three children not to wed- for reasons that the book later divulges. She was a free-thinker and a very opinionated and curious young lady. She later develops a strong friendship with George Eliot and writes to the author frequently. Mr. Darwin and his wife agree that, for reasons that will again be covered in the book, Lizzie should remain a permanent resident of Down House, the family's homestead. Lizzie takes on her duty without complaint, finding solace in the slow routine that has at once become her prison and her freedom.

In reading what little history I have about Emily Dickinson, I am startled by the similarities between the fictional(?) character of Elizabeth Darwin and the famed poet Emily Dickinson. Even their initials are the same. :) Darwin was confined to live with her parents for the entirety of her adult life and found much solace in writing. She corresponded frequently with George Eliot and was considered to be a "modern" thinker- too advanced for a woman of her day and age. I find that these and other similarities between the two women a little too close- there must be some inspiration that came from the author's reading of Emily Dickinson.

I do hope that you get the chance to read the book- I am finding it very entertaining. I would recommend it, at least to compare the personalities and lives of the two women.

That's Some Writin' You Got Yerself There

2007-01-21T20:18:00.000-08:00

These images are of the original scroll containing Jack Kerouac's "On The Road." Now, mind you, I've never read his writing before, but I would love to (it's on my wish-list). I have a lot of admiration for the people who came before us to establish an entirely new genre of literature and poetry. We might have ended up looking rather Victorian today if it weren't for some amazing artists who came along. Enjoy the pictures- quite a kick and a half!

Unthinkable Arcs Of Oscillation

2007-01-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 5
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Ambrose Bierce

From the short story "An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge"

I. "Encompassed in a luminous cloud, of which he was now merely the fiery heart, without material substance, he swung through unthinkable arcs of oscillation, like a vast pendulum."

II. Ambrose Bierce is describing the moment-by-moment experience of Peyton Farquhar, who has just been hung, as he is slowly dying.

III. Bierce is using dramatic similes to describe the emotional and physical pain that Mr. Farquhar experiences. I wonder how "luminous" fits in with the rest of the description of what Mr. Farquhar is going through. Does Bierce mean to imply that there is a "resplendent" quality to his experience, in addition to the "fiery heart?" This was interesting to me- it seemed to be two opposite experiences at the same time. It seems that Bierce is implying that Mr. Farquhar is both reluctant and prepared to leave his physical being behind. Has he come to peace with death or is he simply seeing the "luminous cloud" as something to fear? I suppose that, as with much literature, it is something that one could never completely answer. My opinion is that Mr. Farquhar is both frightened and comforted by death. Though I am not a believer in organized religion, I think that we all have a deeply-rooted need to come to terms with death on some level. We may do it in different ways - even denial is a form of "dealing with it" - but it's something that we need to do to complete our life-cycle. My interpretation of Bierce's writing here is that this man has not done very little wrong in his life, he loves his family, and he loves his "cause." That may have brought even a fraction of peace to the final, horrific process of his very physical death.

I do understand that there is irony in this story, but I only "got" the overall irony. As we discussed in class, the first part of the story is written in a journastic style. Facts are frequent and impersonal. In the second part of the story, we understand who Mr. Farquhar is. We also learn of the events that brought him to Owl Creek Bridge. At the beginning of the third part of the story, we are led to believe that Mr. Farquhar has miraculously survived the hanging. At the end of the third part, we realize that Mr. Farquhar has, in fact, been killed by hanging. The only part that I understand to be ironic is that the reader has been mislead. I'm not sure that I understand Bierce's humor enough to see other ironies as well. I may be completely oblivious here since I'm sure that there are more examples, as well.

Metallic Percussion

2007-01-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 4
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Ambrose Bierce

From the short story "An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge"

I. "[The sounds] hurt his ear like the thrust of a knife; he feared he would shriek. What he heard was the ticking of his watch."

II. Ambrose Bierce is describing a man waiting to die. Peyton Farquhar is waiting to die and is being haunted by the slowness of the seconds before his death.

III. Mr. Farquhar is hanging above a railroad trestle with nothing between himself and death other than a thin piece of plywood, held in place by a man who knows nothing other than purpose and duty. He is waiting to experience the moment of horror as he is brutally hung. Mr. Farquhar hears a "sharp, distinct, metallic percussion like the stroke of a blacksmith's hammer unpon the anvil." The amount of vivid language that Bierce uses here is wonderful. You can feel time slowing, as if the seconds really were turning into years. His descriptions bring to thought the experiences that I have been through where all that you can hear is the rush of blood in your own ears while counting every laborious breath. It is very difficult to not jump out of your own skin in anticipation of the moment coming to fruition. I can not imagine how much more amplified the physical and emotional experiences would be when you are awaiting death in such a concrete, certain way. It makes you wonder- do you really want to be prepared for death, or would you rather have it happen without warning?

Humorous Place To Stay

2007-01-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, now this is just for fun: can you believe that there is an "Ambrose Bierce House B&B?" Not only that, but in the inn, there is an "Ambrose Bierce Suite!" I looked at the description- I find it humorous. It's got all of these ammenities that I'm sure share absolutely no likeness to the author himself. Very funny! Here's the link: The Ambrose Bierce House B&B

Behaviour Lawless As Snowflakes

2007-01-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

I do realize that this quote is one from a previous week (last week), but I didn't get around to posting something that I felt worthy in time for the end of the week. In spite of that, I'd still like to post it, just so that I can keep a record for myself of the works that we've read throughout the quarter.

English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Walt Whitman

From "Leaves of Grass [Song of Myself]"

I. "Behaviour lawless as snow-flakes...words simple as grass...uncombed head and laughter and naivete..."

II. Walt Whitman is describing himself as he imagines others, including students who admire him, might view him.

III. Whitman appears to view most people around him as students of his to some degree. In a previous stanza, he says "Eleves I salute you. I see the approach of your numberless gangs...I see you understand yourselves and me." Whitman seems to be addressing admirers of his work. He is describing himself, both as he views his own image and as these admirers view him. The students/admirers would be intelligent enough to understand that though he is almost bear-like, he is a man who is simplistic and loving. He is a kindrid soul. He acts out in funny, peculiar ways that only someone of his own ilk could truly understand. He uses simple, beautiful phrases to tickle the ear. His appearance can be somewhat offsetting as his dissheveled hair and rumpled clothing are not alway appropriate attire. His "laughter and naivete" are the best part of him, however. He oozes these qualities in his writing. He is so child-like and yet so thoughtful. He is a man of complexities that one must take the time to understand. Once you can "figure him out," he really is just a simple, loving person. "Song of Myself" is a reflection of all of these contrasting beautiful qualities.

Alarming Oaths

2007-01-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

Journal No. 3
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Bret Harte

From the short story "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"

I. "The philosophic Oakhurst alone remained silent. He listened calmly to...the alarming oaths that seemed to be bumped out of Uncle Billy as he rode forward."

II. In the middle of a procession of mules, horses, and refugees, Mr. Oakhurst is quietly, almost involuntarily, observing the actions of his fellow outcasts. He hears Mother Shipton ranting and raving about having been thrown out of town. He then hears the Duchess dramatically state over and over again that she will die in the road. Finally, he hears Uncle Billy swearing under each strained breath as he "bumps" forward.

III. Mr. Harte has just made this story more and more hilarious. The image of Uncle Billy (who, by the way, has about three teeth left in his head and hasn't bathed in weeks!) "bumping" along on his horse and trying to swear at the same time practically has me rolling. Uncle Billy is nothing pretty to look at, or smell for that matter. The language that Harte uses in this quote gives the reader much detail, beyond the direct meaning of the words. I can see him sweating profusely, dirt smudged all over his sunken cheeks, and a grimace against the sun that looks as though it's about to produce tears. The man is miserable. He was unhappy before he got kicked out of Poker Flat and now he's just right down pissed! A couple of sentences later, Harte explains that Uncle Billy "included the party in one sweeping anathema." Dang rascals! They're all just a bunch of no-gooders!

Easily Established Standards of Evil

2007-01-18T15:10:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 2
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Bret Harte

From the short story "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"

I. "[I]t was only in such easily established standards of evil that Poker Flat ventured to sit in judgment."

II. This quote is in reference to a group of "misfits" and "outcasts" whom the people of Poker Flat have chosen to throw out. The outcasts have acted out immoral behavior and therefore require judgment from the "upstanding" citizens of the town. The quote, however, indicates that the people sitting in judgment are nothing more than outcasts themselves. The "judges" have established themselves as immoral people long before the day that they chose to throw this poor, harmless group of people out.

III. This is another funny quote from the story. This one is only the third paragraph into the story, so they just keep coming. I think that Harte's usage of irony is very generous. And this works for his story. Harte continues to paint a picture of a town that is wearing white on its wedding day when it should be wearing red. With fishnet stockings and garters and stiletto heels. And a peek-a-boo leather bustier. Well, I'm sure that you get what I'm trying to say. Poker Flat wants to assume an image that it can not. Poker Flat tries to play the good guy, but all of the residents seem to be nothing more than gamblers, murderers, and other types of villains. The irony is pretty grand here.

Sabbath Lull

2007-01-18T14:37:00.001-08:00

Journal No. 1
English 48B
Dr. Scott Lankford
Author I Chose: Bret Harte

From the short story "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"

I. "There was a Sabbath lull in the air, which, in a settlement unused to Sabbath influences, looked ominous."

II. Bret Harte starts his story with a description of a gambler entering the streets of a "morally changed" town. He is looking around and noticing that people have stopped talking once he has approached. The quote above is describing the feeling about the town as he walks down the street.

III. I absolutely LOVE this quote. This quote gave me a real giggle when I first read the story (as you know, it is in the first paragraph). This is just so funny to me. The way that Harte uses such a "moral" connotation for his seedy character's observation as he leaves a poker game is brilliant. Harte insists that the story be taken lightly just by using such a teasing tone. He assumes that the readers of this c.1869 story are indeed very moral and do attend church "religiously" (pun intended, of course). His readers almost poke fun back at him by not realizing that Harte is indeed writing this story with tongue solidly lodged in cheek for the duration. I think that Harte may have had higher aspirations for his readers than what they were able to deliver.

This wonderful quote just begins to paint a picture of a town that is indeed lacking moral value. The town, after all, did just hand over its winnings to Mr. John Oakhurst. When I read this, I picture a black-clad man, wearing chaps and spurs, just coming out the front door of a building with a sign over the top: Tom's Saloon. As Mr. Oakhurst comes out the front door, he stops and lights a hand-rolled cigarette. He is about to shake out his match when under the brim of his hat, he catches sight of several clusters of usually mischievious men, all looking his way and whispering. Mr. Oakhurst continues to shake out the match, his pause only discernable if one was looking for it. As he walks down the street, he catches glimpses of whispering mouths and shadows of movement as people decide whether to scatter or just to cease all conversation. This is when Mr. Oakhurst observes, "There was a Sabbath lull in the air, which, in a settlement unused to Sabbath influences, looked ominous."

Entrez Vous, S'il Vous Plait

2007-01-10T16:49:00.000-08:00

Bonjour! Welcome to the Winter 2007 quarter. I am creating a new blog for my American Literature class, which focuses on the Gilded Age (1865-1914). The text that we will be using for the class is The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. I enjoy blogging for my personal use, but this is the first blog that I've done for a class. I've always liked the ideas of using journals for writing classes, but have always been a little bit intimidated by the prospect of such "free thinking." I don't have quite the confidence in myself that others have in their own writing. However, I do find that blogs are a good space for some honest feedback, both from instructor and from peers alike. I am not expecting to be a revolutionary writer, nor am I expecting revelations either. I am simply a humble person who has a hidden passion for writing. In fact, I was in my first class this past Monday and at one point my instructor was so enthuisiastic about a subject that I can so relate to that my eyes welled up. I must say that I think that I've found a niche for myself. Again, I will probably always sort of be in the background since I don't think that I've got anything profound to say, but I do appreciate learning so many different aspects of writing, literature, and poetry that I think that this will somehow enrich my life just being immersed in it. Just breathing it in.