Thursday, March 12, 2009

Modernism

I have decided to put my focus on the Harlem Renaissance only for the mere fact, I was interested.I want to achknowledge the works of the African Americans who were coming straight out of the war. I want to see how the looked at life, how they felt, and also what ideas they stumbled upon.

The story "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston, was a sad story with a good moral to it. The story was about a woman who decided to work for the "whites" to make money to support her family, but her husband completely didn't approve of her decision, and hated her completely all around because of it. The woman would work then come home and clean and cook for him and her both while her husband was out man hoeing around with all different women. When he would finally return home he would fuss and carry on and often beat her. "Ah done tole you time and again to keep them white folks clothes outa dis house." "He picked up the whip and glared at her." This stuck in my mind and I could see it clear as day. It bothered me because no one deserves to be treated this way, and yes I know that how most marriages were back in the day but it was just exteremly wrong and these types of situations occur still to this day. It is completely not acceptable for a man or a woman to treat there spouse that way, or anyone for that matter. Something needs to be done. This story ended good, because Delia was terrified of snakes, or basically anything that moved. Well one day as a mean thing to do her husband went and put a rattle snake in her clothes basket. The snake slithered out shaking his tail, but she ran off. The next morning her husband came home and got attacked by his own set up. "Outside Delia herd a cry that might have come from a maddened chimpanzee, a tricken gorilla. All terror, all the horror, all the rage that man possibly could express, without a recognizable human sound."

In "Sweat", Zora relates this story to the Harlem Renaissance by showing the dialect of the African Americans to show a piece of their lifestyle. "You ain't got no business doing it, Gawd knows it's a sin. Some day Ah'm gointuh drop dead from some of yo' foolishness. 'Nother thing, where you been wid mah rig? Ah feeds dat pony. He ain't fuh you to be drivin wid no bull whip." Another example of the African American culture she describes is the way the women lives day to day. She shows how Delia doesn't have all the rights that the white people have, but she has to do what she can to survive.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Realism

1. Realism focused on the facts. So they made sure their writing was very detailed. The Story Of An Hour it shows this aspect very well. it details everything to the motions of her breathing, "Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously." It makes you picture the woman and exactly whats she is doing how she looks and her reactions and also her surroundings. It describes how her illness and how the loss of her husband has taken a toll on her. "Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach her soul." The woman is very tired and her body has become to much to even pick up, becaus she has let her emotions get the best of her. When she sits all her weight drops on top of her. It describes the outside and how the weather is. My favorite line was, "The delicious breath of rain in the air." It put you in a place in time of how it smells after it rain, that refreshing smell, and i love that peaceful picture i get in my mind.

The woman was experiencing heart problems before, but it's obvious her husbands death took a toll on her and led her to harsh grieving and cause her to pass. At the end of the story right before she dies, her husband walks into the door. "It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He was no where around the scene of an accident and had no clue that an accident had even occured. The news reported that Brently had been killed in the accident when in actuality he wasn't. The matter to be fixed in this story is accuracy. People needed to get better about getting the facts right. They reported him dead without even knowing he was for sure, and because of this, his wife died.

2. The part that caught my attention in The Battle With Mr. Covey was the trip Frederick Douglass took through the woods and the fight. It was so detailed that you could picture the image in you head. "After lying there about three quarters of an hour, I nerved myself up again, and started on my way, through bogs and briers, barefooted and bareheaded, tearing my feet sometimes at nearly every step;" it set you in that place, watching him travel across the thorns, briers, and all sorts of things tearing through the bottom of his feet. "While he was in the act of doing so, I watched my chance, and gave him a heavy kick close under the ribs. This kick fairly sickened Hughes, so that he left me in the hands of Mr. Covey. This kick had the effect of not only weakening Hughes, but Covey also. While he saw Hughes bending over with pain, his courage quailed." This explains that when Hughes came to help Mr. Covey while they were fighting he kicked him down and sickened him. After seeing this Mr. Covey knew he was helpless against Frederick.

The problem that appears doing this story is slavery. Its displays how horribly slaves were treated. Went sent from owner to owner, he worked harder than he ever had. They worked in all types of weather. The hot was never to hot, the cold was never to cold, and it never rained snowed or hailed to hard for them to not work in the field." Nobody should have to be worked that hard, certain weather should excuse a day working out in the fields.

The poor man was not even able to enjoy his days off. "At times I would rise up, a flash of energetic freedom would dart through my soul, accompanied with a faint gleam of hope that flickered for a moment, and then vanished. I sank down again, mourning over my wretched condition." Romantics would set you in the slaves dreams, the dreams of him being a free man and having an extravigant life, and a realist well they believed that was unnecessary. The problem needed to be put in peoples faces, the real problem not dreams of someone who is suffering. The problem with slavery needed to be brought to light and dealt with. This story invites you into what it was like for slaves so that maybe you could see how much of a problem it truly was.

3. I chose a quote about life as my example of Realism. The quote states, "I've made mistakes in my life I've let people take advantage of me and accepted way less then I deserve, but I've learned from my bad choices and even though there are some things I can never get back and people who will never be sorry I'll know better next time and I won't settle for less than I deserve." This is the prime example to me of realism. It doesn't cover coat at all. I'm letting you know that I've made bad decisions and let people run over me, but because I let that negative in my life before its made me a stronger person and it won't happen again.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Transcendentalist

1. In nature it explain how nature is a calming place. A place where you can go and it be you, your thoughts, god, and the peace of the nature. Its a place where you can be by yourself and not be influenced by others, a place where you can make your own decisions.This part stuck out to be the most "But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile." That is the best time to connect with nature to me. Being able to look up at the dark sky with all the stars and the moon, hearing the noises of all the different animals you're able to imagine and dream about the impossible, or atleast I know I am. If its only for a slight moment its just a calming state of mind. Relying on oneself, is the self-reliance. Its meaning is that you should trust in yourself and follow your conscious regardless of where it might lead you to. This statement stuck out to me "To be great is to be misunderstood..". To me it saying if you want to be great you have to be different. If you're like all the rest then you don't have greatness you have what everyone else has. In the first paragraph of Resistance to Civil Government it is obvious to notice that the character does not agree with government. The sentence, "...which also I believe--'That government is best which governs not at all';" makes it clear that he does not agree with government. He feels that it holds people back from their true potential and that man could do so much more without the government restricting them.

2. Transcendentalist beleive that if you connect with nature that you are connecting with God because God created nature. They believed that you speak to God through your minds, and since you are connecting with nature through your mind then your connecting with God.The first line of the text states, "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society." Transcendentalist pricieved solitude as speaking to God. To do the this they would have to forget about their worries and get completely away from there problems, which includes not dealing with others problems either. They needed a peace of mind and focus on their own thoughts and believe in what God was saying to them. Self-relevance is also connected to Trancendentalist. The sentence "Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today-" Is saying speak what your heart tells you today no matter what it is, and then tomorrow speak what your heart tells you even if it is the complete opposite of what you spoke the day before. That you should alway go with what your mjind tells you.

Transcendentalist did not agree with the government. They felt like the government was putting restrictions on their beliefs because they weren't able to speak what God was telling them. That without the government God would be incontrol and everything would be just fine. The sentence, "The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way." This relates to Transcendentalist because they believe that their minds will lead them to whatever needs to be done, but the government will forbid them to go with that.

3. In the video, Alone in the Wilderness, a man sets out with himself into the wilderness for a year. Just the title alone relates me to Transcendentalists. Nature was something created by God. To take on the wilderness by yourself would be a way to connect with God with no one else around and no other distractions. The man states, "What was I capable of that I didn't know yet?" This shows that he wants to go out by himself, with nothing to rely on but his own mind and conscious. This is exactly what Transcendentalist believed one should do.

The man uses his own hands to do the work he thought he wasn't capable of doing. He built a house in the woods just in the right spot. When talking about the wood on his cabin hanging off and how he needed to cut them shorter he says, "..you can't rush it." he realizes that rushing isn't the way to do things. To take it slow and get right the first time. Listening to his heart is what helped him. By not having anyone else to pursade him he was able to follow his conscious.

This video can relate to the Transcendentalist, because they believed that listening to your heart and not being influenced by anyone but God was the way to be. This man survives in the nature alone by using nothing but his intuition and what he knows.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Dark Romanticism

1. I think I fall more into being a Dark Romanticism. There is no way that everyone is pure. i mean look at our world today, with all the hatred, people killing one another, child molesters, and abusers there is no way that everyone is pure. I think that no matter who you are you have some type of evil in you, and some display it way more than others. I do agree that there is a such thing as original sin and that it has made us all sinners. But that's why Jesus Christ died on the cross for us. To take away our sins and purify us through prayer.

2. Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe is about a man who was completely and underlly insane. He was possessed by evil and eventually let it control every aspect of his life. First he started freaking out about his cat and started becoming agitates by it, the eventually he he hung the cat. He soon after got another and started becoming annoyed with it also, he was about to kill the cat with an ax when his wife saw him and stopped him. Which it probably wasn't the best idea because in return she got her head chopped off with the ax and then was buried inside of a wall in their house with the cat. When the police came to search the house for the woman they didn't find anything until the man hit the wall to show how strong they held up and after foing so a thud noise came which was from the cat. When the wall was torn apart they found both the corps and the cat. They story was very distrubing to me, and I can't see how anyone can be that sick minded. I mean I know people have angre but I can't imagine it being that bad. They are just sick minded.

Transcendentalist that everyone was of puriness and of a good heart. The man in this story was obviously evil. In the story Black Cat the man is apparently evil. He commits evil acts just to commit them. In the text it says, "--hung it because in doing so I knew I was committing a sin--" I hung the it because he knew it was a sin and he wanted to be sinful for no reason, "--to do wrong for the wrong's sake only." Dark Romanticism believed there was evil inside of everyone. This story obviously shows that.

3. The Raven is about a man who is confused because he thinks the bird is of the devil. The man hears a knock on the door in the middle of the night, so he gets up to go see what it was but when he gets to the door there is nothing there. The man then returns to his bed, a moment later the man hears a knock on his window he goes to the window opens it to see what is causing the knocking. As he opened the window a Raven flew in and perched on his door.

When the Raven was sitting perched on his door he says to it, " 'Prophet!" said I, 'thing of evil!--prophet still, if bird or devil!'--" This line stood out to me. He thinks that the bird is evil and may be possessed by the devil. This frightens him.

This is an example of the Dark Romanticism because Transcendentalist believe everything is of good blood and pure. They think that the ever creature created by God is good they would never think of a bird of something of the devil.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

The Rationalist

1.Rationalist are completely and totally opposites when it comes to Puritans. Rationalist, do although, believe in natural law, they are created by God, but he left them to make their own decisions. While Puritans, on the other hand, believe that God controls every aspect of life, and if anyone where to think otherwise then it would go against God, which to them is terribly wrong.

2./3.In the Autobiography, by Benjamin Franklin, he demonstrates rationalism. He states in the biography "I wished to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural inclination, custom, or company might lead me into." I believe he is trying to become cleansed and become on of God's people, or one with God. Benjamin Franklin is trying to accomplish this by making a list and then running experiments to try and reach the "Puritan" moral perfection.

4. List
*Achievement- Giving it my best no matter what is my be, never having to feel like I didn't give it my all.
*Peace- A feeling of calmness for myself, and others.
*Loyalty- Being able to trust myself and others around me.
*Silence- Giving the negative to myself
*Pride- Being comfortable with myself and my past, present, and future.
*Budget- Knowing how much to spend, and not going over board.
*Respect- Treating others around me how I would like to be treated, whether I like them or not. *Happiness- Being satisfied with myself, inside and out.
*Honor- Being worthy of myself and to others.
*Cleaniness- my body, my thoughts, my surroundings.
* Compassion- A real love for myself and others.
*Reliabilty- Being able to count on someone, and have someone who can count on me.
My list stated above are things I feel as if I could work on to become a better person, but I don't feel as if they could make me reach moral prefection. Like the Puritan's said because Adam and Eve ate the fruit, all persons are born into sin. So no matter how long a make this list, or even how short, moral perfection is never possible, not even for the Puritans.

Puritans<3

1.Puritans believe that all are born into sin, because of Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the garden. They also believe that God only saves those who he chooses to save, meaning that if you are living right by God and never do any wrong then God has given you salvation. Those who are chosen by God will go and preach his word. If you are to disobey any of God's grace then you are going against his will- which is totally in moral to Puritans.

2. In the Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God, the Puritans had beliefs that we were all sinners in some way. In the movie at the beginning there were quotes about how God had chosen one’s of us who would be safe. They felt as if we didn’t have any good in us. I feel that these people are the real sinners who are looking down on us. The Puritan’s are the ones who should seriously rethink their way of life.Then there were the ministers who preached about all of our sins and told stories of us going to hell. In the movie the minister talked about us being wrath, and that God would drop us into hell in any minute. I didn't agree with what he was saying. God isn't just holding us in the palm of his hand waiting to drop us in fire at any point. They make it seem like whenever we get on God's nerves then he'll just drop us and not think twice because we don't matter. They lived life’s that were not suitable for anyone to live, but yet they judged others. The Puritan’s were big fakes in my opinion.Since they always talked about we were chosen, in the Plymouth Plantation tells the Governor died of an unknown reason. It speaks of him complaining about his head the few days before he died, but the point is he just got sick and died. With that happening I think that The Puritan’s way of believing in things was not true and they should think of their way of living. To the Puritans with the Governor dying, he may had did something wrong to cause him a sin so God was punishing him by taking his life. In the paragraph that I read, it told that the Governor’s death caused a big pain in many of the people’s life, but the Puritans thought that God just chose him to be the next thrown into the pit of hell.Shortly after the death of the Governor his wife died, because she was weak and couldn’t take his leaving her. The Puritan’s lifestyle may have had everyone thinking that when we died it was because we were being punished because we were sinners. I don’t like any of the signs that the Puritans put out to others. They felt as if they were left here to remind us all of our sins. The Puritans were the number one sinners in my point of view.

3.Total Depravity in the Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God is said that through Adam and Eve we all fall sinners. Meaning that because of their sins we suffer from them also. This is the concept of an Original Sin. Since this is the original sin for all humans, we all must pay for it. The Puritans didn’t think that we were perfect in any way.In the movie, Jonathan Edwards quotes “we are all sinners, being held over the pit of hell by god, and can be dropped at any time. “ We can all be dropped into hell at anytime because of the sin that Adam and Eve committed and therefore we have to pay for that also. With him stating his quote it seems as if he’s saying that we’re all going to hell. Total depravity is affecting us all.Unconditional Election is saying that God “saves” those he wishes- only a few are selected for salvation. This is an example in William Bradford’s Plymouth Plantation. This is a meaning that’s saying God only chose a few of us to be saved and the rest of us are sinners. In this belief not all of us are going to go to heaven but rather hell. This was strongly believed by the Puritans.In a part of the Plymouth Plantation that I read, I found an example of unconditional election. This is what was said “Governor Mr. John Carver, who was working out in a field when he became sick, he complained greatly of his head hurting and he lay down and within a few hours he was dead.” In this example it would mean that he wasn’t one of God’s chosen few for salvation, but maybe he did something wrong to be a sinner and he died. Even though this isn’t a proven fact, this is what the Puritan’s would have believed. Just because the Governor died he wasn’t one of the perfect one’s that was saved.