Journal #44: Postmodernism in Movies

The movie Beastly, which is based off of a book by the same name, shows many characteristics of Postmodernism. Probably the most obvious theme of Postmodernism present is the different/multiple worlds theme. People in our world, to the best of my knowledge, do not make a habit out of getting placed under a spell that horribly disfigures them for the sake of finding true love. A lot of people in this world don't even believe in true love, let alone magic enchantments. Also, there is the undercurrent of fear that the main character faces throughout the movie. He's mostly afraid that he wont be able to turn himself back to normal. Then he becomes afraid that he may have lost his girl. Not to worry, though. He gets his girl, and they apparently live happily ever after. Another, slightly less obvious, characteristic of Postmodernism found in Beastly is the embracing of traditional storytellers. Beastly is basically just a more modern take on the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, which is about as traditional as a story can get. Another thing is the blurred line between fiction and nonfiction. While the story is fiction, it is told as if it is nonfiction. This is a common theme in Postmodernism. Another indicator of at least the time period of Postmodernism is the use of computers throughout the movie. They are also present in the original version of the book. The use of computers places the setting firmly in this time period. The main character is also eager to stand out at the beginning, which shows the trait of how postmodernists tried to fight assimilation in society. He's a total snob about it, but , following his way of thinking, he's pretty, so why should it matter? And the final and least scholarly characteristic of postmodernism in this movie is that I liked it immensely. More often than not, if I enjoy a movie, book, poem, or whatever it's from the postmodern age.

Modernism Project

Byrd, Steven. "Modern America, 1914." The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/lit/index.htm.

"Introduction to Modernism and Postmodernism." Walters State Virtual Campus. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. http://vc.ws.edu/engl2265/unit4/Modernism/all.htm.

"James Thurber Biography - Life, Family, School, Book, Information, Born, House, Time, Year." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. http://www.notablebiographies.com/St-Tr/Thurber-James.html.

"Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus - A Poem by William Carlos Williams - American Poems." American Poems - YOUR Poetry Site. 20 Feb. 2003. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/williams/1335.

"Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus by William Carlos Williams." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/landscape-with-the-fall-of-icarus/.

Langley, John. "Introduction to Modernism." Lecture. Mr. Langley's Digital Classroom. Apr. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. http://sites.google.com/site/mrlangleysroom/treasure-chest/video-lessons.

Thurber, James. "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." Web. 21 Apr. 2011. http://www.monte.k12.co.us/delta/ola/classes/eng3/The%20Secret%20Life%20of%20Walter%20Mitty.htm.

Journal #43: Jazz Imagery on a Blue Train

The song Blue Train by John Coltrane was pretty cool. Made even cooler by the fact that the song title rhymes with his name. That's a pretty ringing endorsement from me considering that I usually don't go for music that doesn't have any words. This song made good background music as I did this blog and my many other subjects of homework.
As for imagery in this song, I obviously thought of a train as I was listening to it. Given the title, I'm sure that's only natural. It also made me think of being in a really classy restaurant/ blues club and listening to this song. I have a really good imagination, so it was easy to imagine myself there as this was being played way back when. This song also made me feel nostalgic for my childhood. I used to watch the two Fantasia movies all the time when I was younger. This song just seems like something that would fit in perfectly with the other songs in the movie. That means that, in addition to the two other images mentioned previously that I had in my mind, I also had this little cartoon version of the song running through my head in true Fantasia style. The cartoon was a messy thing about workers in a train yard. The workers look vaguely like the cartoon character Popeye. Towards the end of the song, when my little cartoon has played out, this song gets me thinking of street performers. Last winter in Chicago, I stopped to listen to this one performer that I found. He was really good, so this song brings back a pleasant memory of that time for me.
This song also seems like it would be good elevator or lounge music. Like I said earlier, it's easy to listen to it and do other things like homework, so it would be ideal to put in a lounge-type area or an elevator.

Modernism vs. Realism

Modernism and Realism are very similar and slightly different types of American Literature. Both reflected the vast changes undergone by society at their times. Realism was brought on due to the aftermath of the Civil War and the changes that it caused when people needed something solid or "real" in their lives. Modernism was brought on by the two World Wars, as well as other wars and changes in society such as the Prohibition and the roaring twenties. Society during the Modernism period wanted to create something distinctly theirs so as to again have a solid foundation amidst all the change. Both literary isms also share a focus on individuals and the psychology of the individual. They are also similar in that, for the most part, they both focus on things that could actually happen. This is true for Realism especially. Also, both Realism and Modernism authors considered each piece its own work of art that could be studied as a unit ("Introduction"). The language of the two literary periods is also the same. Both used the common language of the people, particularly that of the middle class, which was greatly expanding during this time period.
For as similar as Realism and Modernism are, there are also some major differences. While Realism and Modernism were both very descriptive, Realism was more into a stating of facts and Modernism used more of an image approach, particularly with the Imagist subcategory. In modernism, the description of (and use of images in)the event was just important as the event itself and what was happening in the story. In Realism however, the happenings of the story often got lost in the sea of detail (a.k.a. boring facts) that were used to describe the events. The authors apparently were just fine with that, and the aspect of boredom that permeates many Realism works has become a defining characteristic of Realism. Also, Modernism often places its ordinary hero in extraordinary situations, while Realism wouldn't dream of such things. One example is "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber, Walter, a painfully ordinary man, has vivid fantasies of extraordinary situations. While he isn't actually in them himself, the imagery (which is a major characteristic of Modernism) is enough so it seems that he is. The last difference that I want to mention is that for as much of the change that went on right before the Realism period, I think that Modernism had much more change that went on in its time. That just makes Modernism more legitimate in my mind.
While I'm on the topic of personal differences, I much prefer Modernism to Realism. Realism gets boring really quickly for me. That's not to say that I don't find Modernism boring at times, but Realism is boring practically all the time. I think the only Realism work that I can remember that was not boring for me was "The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Bierce. In Modernism, it was easier for me to find stories/poems that I liked, which I appreciated.

Job Shadowing Reflection

I had a great time at my job shadowing experience. I went to the Illinois State Library. This was a good experience for me because I had never even thought of being a research librarian before, let alone heard of the Illinois State Library before. I thought it was going to be really boring, but it was actually really interesting. I saw so much of the library that most people don't get to see. This job shadowing definitely made me consider being a research librarian. I knew I wanted to be a librarian, but this gave me more options. It was really helpful because I went around to all the different departments and got a broad view of what they do there every day. I also got good advice on possible colleges from the people who work there. They were all really nice, and I'm glad that I was able to on this job shadowing experience.

Journal#42: Dickinson or Whitman?

If I lived at the same time that Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson were writing, I really don't think I would like either of them very much. The time period has nothing to do with anything. The only bearing it would have on my opinion would be that it was new poetry, rather than the "classic" stuff that it is taught as today. Sure, it might have been shocking to some people, but whether it was shocking or not, it doesn't really effect the overall quality of the poem. Personally, I don't think that I would have been able to read the poetry of the time. If I was actually in that time period, and that poetry was really considered that shocking, I doubt that my mother would have let me read such things. I doubt that anyone's mothers would approve. Especially because Whitman's topics include such things as homosexuality and incest. My mom doesn't even like me reading anything like that nowadays. I can't even imagine what she would be like almost a hundred years ago. I have a feeling that I would still find them boring. I would probably have to say that - if I really had to choose - I would like Whitman better. I think I enjoy reading maybe five or six of Whitman's poems as opposed to three or four of Dickinson's. Also, Dickinson's subject matter seems boring to me. Honestly, how much life experience can a shut in have? At least Whitman was out in the world doing things. Dickinson was just watching the birds in her garden. They were both pretty pompous in their writing though. They probably thought they were so cool, being a bridge between Realism and Modernism. In the words of Shania Twain, "That don't impress me much." Also, the fact that I was forced to read their work in class puts a damper on my enjoyment of their work. Had I read them of my own volition, I might have actually enjoyed them.

"I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road" Analysis

"I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road" by Emily Dickinson is a poem about thieves robbing a house. She is saying that she knows some ideal houses for people to steal from. The houses she describes are back from the road, and they are inhabited by elderly people who would not notice right away that someone had been in their house. She describes how such a theft might take place and what the robbers might steal, such as "Tankard, or spoon, earring, or stone, a watch, some ancient brooch" (Dickinson). This poem is a typical Dickinson work in some ways, but it is different from her usual works as well. She uses lots of descriptive words and really paints the scene so that it is easy to imagine the robbers peering in the window and creeping through the house. She also uses personification often, which is a common element in her poems. The last line is a great example of personification: "While the old couple, just astir, think that the sunrise left the door ajar!" (Dickinson). Since sunrises cannot, to the best of my knowledge, open doors, this is an example of personification in "I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road". These literary techniques are characteristic of not just Dickinson's poems, but Modernism as well. Her word choice is very careful, which is important in any writing, but especially in Modernism. I personally like how she used the word "chanticleer" instead of rooster in the line "The sun has got as far as the third sycamore. Screams chanticleer, 'Who ’s there?'" (Dickinson). Using that word gives the poem a more classy air, not to mention it sounds more lyrical than just saying "rooster". She also writes about a realistic occurrence that could have actually happened in real life. This is a characteristic of Realism. A characteristic of both Realism and Modernism that Dickinson uses is that she does not use any particular meter or rhyme scheme. The fact that Dickinson had characteristics of both makes her a sort of in-between poet, given that she does not fully fit into either category. An analysis of the setting in Dickinson's poems by Douglas Anderson stressed the importance of the setting. The setting is very important in this poem, as it is with others by Emily Dickinson. Had the houses been not so far off the road, the thieves would have had a more difficult time of stealing from their elderly inhabitants. Also, had it not been night time, said elderly inhabitants would not have been asleep, also making it harder for the thieves to take their valuables. I thought this poem was pretty good. It actually made sense to me, unlike half of Dickinson's other poems. I also thought that she picked a somewhat interesting topic for once. Instead of a snake in the grass or a robin on her lawn, we get all the action of a robbery. Also, unlike some of her poems, "I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road" is pretty literal and straightforward. Not a whole lot of hidden meaning to be found in the robbery of an elderly couple.


Anderson, Douglas. "Presence and Place in Emily Dickinson's Poetry." The New England Quarterly 57, no. 2. (June, 1984): 205–224. Quoted as "Presence and Place in Emily Dickinson's Poetry" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Emily Dickinson, New Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=MCVED03&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 22, 2011).

Dickinson, Emily. "15. "I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road." Part One: Life. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. .

Journal #41: Analyzing Dickinson

For this journal's purposes, I will be analyzing "Unto my books so good to turn" from Part One: Life of Emily Dickinson's works. Basically, this poem is talking about how Dickinson escapes into her books at the end of the day. She spurns the company of her "retarded guests" at their banquets, and the time that she spends waiting to escape to her library just makes it that much sweeter when she can actually get away. I'm sure Dickinson did not mean retarded in the offensive way that the word is commonly used in speech today, but, given Dickinson's contempt of most people, she very well may have meant that she thought they were slower mentally than everyone else.
Like Dickinson, I love to read. I am not a hermit; however, so books are not my only friends like they apparently were for the speaker in this poem.
Like many of Dickinson's other poems, "Unto my books so good to turn" has individual thoughts represented by each stanza that are similar throughout the whole poem. The first stanza is about how Dickinson likes, at the end of the day, to relax with a good book. The second stanza's idea is a metaphor comparing the speaker's small library with a feast with many merry guests. The third stanza basically says that no matter how ugly the world looks or what may be going on outside, books can always provide an escape to a happy place. The last stanza is about how the speaker cherishes the books as on would a friend, despite how plain they may look.
If one were religiously inclined, one could substitute the Bible for the books that are present in this poem. I know of many religious people who cherish the Bible and would therefore experience the emotions that Dickinson presents in this poem.
This poem was one of Dickinson's more literal poems. Except for the metaphor of stanza two, most of the language can be taken at face value.

Journal #40: Self...Again

Self from my perspective is basically a convoluted mess of little importance. Whitman even said himself that it was very near impossible to try to find out exactly what makes up Self. Considering that he actually cared about and spent years looking for the elusive "Self", and I have neither the desire nor time to spend on such a thing, I think I'll leave the Self-analyzing to Whitman. There is no way that I will ever know everything about myself, and I usually fail at guessing what other people think, especially when whatever they are thinking of involves me. You really can't analyze chaos.
Personally, I kind of hate the idea of Self, at least Whitman's definition of it. It annoys me that he could be so egotistical, but then turn around and be self-depreciating in the same sentence. Personally, given that I only enjoy a handful of his poems, I don't think Whitman is a good enough writer or poet to feel entitled to this discovery of Self. It's one of those mysteries in life that mere human beings are not supposed to be able to solve. That's the main reason this journal has a rambling, ranting sort of tone. No one will ever figure this stuff out, so I say, "Why try?" All it will do is make me feel again how insignificant I am in the grand scheme of things.
I also don't like Whitman's view of the Holy Trinity. I think that he doesn't fully understand it himself. Then he goes and writes that since God is in everyone, everyone is God. I don't know where exactly I stand on Self, but I know that's not a part of my definition. To say that is arrogance to the extreme. It's even worse than the scenario presented by the saying "everyone is special, so no one is". If everyone is God, then God loses much of His power. That's not even accounting for the atheists of the world. I'm sure that they would disagree with Whitman on this point.

"Not the Pilot" Analysis

"Not the Pilot" by Walt Whitman is about the burden a poet faces in describing America in a poem. As most people who know about Whitman are aware, Whitman was very patriotic. A good example of his patriotism is the well known poem "O Captain! My Captain!" which is about President Lincoln. In this poem Whitman is expressing his concern that he may not be good enough to write a poem that can fully encompass the American spirit. After reading some of his other, more egotistical works, this uncertainty was a nice change of pace for Whitman. I write sometimes myself, so I can see where Whitman is coming from when he writes, "More than I have charged myself, heeded or unheeded, to compose a march for these States" (Whitman) and that Whitman is a bit overwhelmed by the task at hand.
His use of imagery is very effective in painting a scene of a struggle. His bold language also helped make an imprint in my mind. "Not the pilot has charged himself to bring his ship into port, though beaten back and many times baffled" (Whitman) really stuck out, and it seemed really memorable to me.
In this poem, Whitman is saying that even though pilots and pathfinders' jobs are daunting, the poet's job is even more so. The pilot's task has been done before, as well as the pathfinder's. Poets have yet to succeed in their quest "to compose a march for these States, For a battle-call, rousing to arms if need be, years, centuries hence." (Whitman). Obviously, poets can be remembered for centuries after they are alive. Fine examples include Homer and Dante. I do not think this is exactly what Whitman is talking about here. I think he means the poem. The one that says exactly the right thing and lasts forever. The ultimate poem.
Surprisingly, almost none of Whitman's usual themes are present in "Not the Pilot". There is really no mention of love of any kind in this poem. Not even any that you could find between the lines. None of Whitman's then-shocking musings on homosexuality are present. Religion is not present, even in metaphoric form. Jesus cannot be substituted for the narrator at this time like He is in many of Whitman's other poems. Nature is not disscussed either, as it is in a few of Whitman's other poems. The only usual characteristic is Whitman's almost obnoxious love of America that is present in many of his poems.
At first, I did not understand this poem very well because all I could think of was an epic war adventure. I read an analysis by Charles Oliver that helped me to understand that this poem was about writing a poem. I thought that this poem was pretty good and got Whitman's message across effectively. It was a plus that he managed to do so in so few words as well. "Not the Pilot" is short, but it is still effective in getting Whitman's frustration across to the reader.

Oliver, Charles M. "'Not the Pilot'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 8 March 2011. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW296&SingleRecord=True.

Whitman, Walt. "NOT THE PILOT. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. .

"I Heard You Solemn-Sweet Pipes of the Organ" Anaylsis

"I Heard You Solemn-Sweet Pipes of the Organ" by Walt Whitman is about a man who is walking past a church. He hears the choir singing and the organ playing, and the emotions that the music causes him to feel remind him of his love. This poem contains all of the usual trappings of a work by Whitman. Themes of religion are present in the church and the music. Religion could also be present in that the love that Whitman is feeling is the love he felt for Christ as he was praying the night before. Love is represented by his thinking of his love when he hears the music. The poem itself is written in free verse, with no rhyme scheme. Nature is also present in the line, "Winds of autumn, as I walk'd the woods at dusk I heard your long-stretch'd sighs up above so mournful" (Whitman). I liked that imagery, and I think it ties in nicely with "I heard you solemn-sweet pipes of the organ as last Sunday morn I pass'd the church" (Whitman). Both images bring to mind that same kind of low pitched wind sound that I have always found relaxing.
At first I did not really understand this poem, but then I read the analysis that I found by Charles Oliver, and that really helped me to understand it better. Oliver brings up the issue of whether or not the lover that Whitman mentions is a male or female. That he brings this up at all shows previous knowledge of Whitman's other forays into the world of homosexuality. Oliver just assumes that the lover is a woman based on the title of that particular section being "Children of Adam". Anyway, that whole question is also typical of Whitman. He often left things deliberately ambiguous, which, at the time, was pretty scandalous. Now it just kind of seems like a waste of time.
The Everyman is present in this poem if you squint and read heavily in between the lines. Anyone could be walking past a church or through a forest and hearing music and the wind respectively. Hearing such things, many would become reflective, and some might even think of their lovers. That's kind of a far leap, but it could happen.
Whitman uses a lot of imagery in this poem. He likens his lover's pulse to little bells ringing in his ears. He describes the sound of the pipe organs as "solemn-sweet", which I liked because those two words really do describe how a pipe organ sounds.
Self is really only present in this poem, as far as I understand, in the way the poet is reflecting on something that he holds dear as he hears the wind and the pipe organ. Our Self is shaped by those around us, and the poet has obviously been deeply impacted by the person he is thinking of in the poem.
Whitman successfully manages to relate music to love, and then he reflects upon that love. Though this poem was short, it still managed to artfully capture a moment in time.

Oliver, Charles M. "'I Heard You Solemn-Sweet Pipes of the Organ'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW198&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 6, 2011).

Whitman, Walt. "I HEARD YOU SOLEMN-SWEET PIPES OF THE ORGAN. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. .

Journal #39: "Bardic Symbols"

"Bardic Symbols" is basically an expression of Whitman's frustration with the world and with his inability to understand the world. In this poem, he is walking along the beach and watching the waves washing various debris onto the shore. As he stares at them, he tries to find some deeper meaning to them, then begins to ponder the world itself. He soon comes to realize that he can find no deeper meaning, and that all of his poems up to that point are worthless because they fail to express Whitman's true meaning. "But that before all my insolent poems the real one still stands untouched, untold, altogether unreached...Striking me with insults till I fall helpless upon the sand." (Whitman). This was kind of depressing poem, but a very familiar feeling for many artists, I'm sure.
The Everyman, America, and spirituality are all common themes in Whitman's poetry. The everyman idea is sort of represented in "Bardic Symbols" in the way that no one really understands the world, and most of us have felt some sort of anger at that before. America is not in this at all, no matter how you squint at it. Spirituality is presented in much the same roundabout way as the Everyman. Through trying to understand the world, Whitman is basically trying to understand God, which is impossible pretty much no matter what you believe.
William Dean Howell's criticism of "Bardic Symbols" is confusing sometimes, much like Whitman's poetry. Howell was trying to make the point that Whitman's poetry is different for everyone who reads it. The bardic symbols for which the poem is named could mean any number of things for each person. "No one, even after the fourth or fifth reading, can pretend to say what the "Bardic Symbols" symbolize." (Howell). This is largely due to Whitman's layering of meaning in his poems. Howell also makes a mention of the fact that the critics and the public were divided over Whitman's work. I think this would have pleased Whitman, who would have wanted his poems thought upon, not just read.


Howells, William Dean. ""Bardic Symbols"" The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt. "Bardic Symbols." The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.

"A Clear Midnight" Analysis

I actually really liked this poem. It made me feel so calm at a time when I've been so stressed. In "A Clear Midnight", Whitman describes midnight. He paints the picture of the perfect midnight. He's alone, and the world expects nothing of him. "Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done" (Whitman). This line suggests that the night is Whitman's own. Since his lesson is finished, he can do whatever he wants. This image was really attractive to me because, as someone with a lot of pressure on them, I would love to have a night like this. In this night, Whitman ponders various things in a self-reflective manner. This is characteristic of Whitman and his quest to discover that elusive Self. This is; however, only one layer of this poem. On the surface, this looks to be a poem about a night spent on silent reflection. Underneath this facade is a metaphor for death. Unlike some poems that paint death as a horrible experience, this poem sees it as the ending of a day. Whitman makes death sound peaceful in this poem by comparing it to a clear midnight. I especially liked the first line which goes, "This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless" (Whitman). "The wordless" suggests the afterlife, that place where words don't matter because words can't describe it. The last few lines give away the death metaphor: "pondering the themes thou lovest best, Night, sleep, death and the stars" (Whitman). All of those things in one of Whitman's notorious lists has been associated with death at some time or another. Obviously death itself is represented in that list. If that wasn't obvious enough, Whitman provides other clues throughout the brief poem. His line, "Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done" (Whitman), provides further insight into the metaphor between midnight and death. The day is often used to represent life because that is when life flourishes. When the day is erased, life ceases to exist.
A literary analysis that I read by Charles Oliver mentioned something that I had noticed, but I hadn't really connected it to anything. He writes that "A Clear Midnight" acts as a transition between two collections of poems in Whitman's Leaves of Grass. It fits rather nicely between "From Noon to Starry Night" and the "Songs of Parting" sections. "From Noon to Starry Night" is about living your life until the end, where "Songs of Parting" suggests it is about the things that happen after death. "A Clear Midnight" being a representation of death fits well as a connector between the two.
Whether this poem is taken at face value or not, it is still, in my opinion, one of Whitman's better works. This imagery is very calming, and the metaphors are easily understood. It is also a good bridge between sections of Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Though the brevity of the poem actually makes it more difficult to understand than usual, it is still a fine example of Whitman's skill as a poet.

Oliver, Charles M. "'A Clear Midnight'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW094&SingleRecord=True.

Whitman, Walt. "A CLEAR MIDNIGHT. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. .

Journal #38: Reaction to the Ploughman

Whitman's "As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing", like most of Whitman's poems can be taken literally or metaphorically. When taken literally, it is about a man watching another man plow a field. The Everyman idea is apparent here in the fact that, during Whitman's lifetime, many people were farmers, so it would not be uncommon to see a man in a field. When taken metaphorically, the ploughman represents the Holy Trinity. To me, the "sower sowing in the fields" is the Holy Spirit part of the Holy Trinity. When there was nothing, the Holy Spirit created the world, much like when there is nothing in the ground the sower comes along and stirs up life in the form of seeds. The ploughman would be Jesus in this scenario because Jesus came along and saved the people at a time when they needed it, much like the ploughman who takes out all the weeds and rejuvenates the soil. Finally, the harvester would be the Father. When we die, according to the Christian belief, we go to Heaven where the Father waits for us. He takes in all the souls of the dead as a harvester would take in his crops. This metaphor made a lot more sense to me than many of Whitman's other metaphorical works. This whole poem was actually refreshingly understandable. The society of the times is represented in this poem because, nowadays, you really don't see many farmers working out in their fields with their own two hands. We now have machines that do a better job of that. Thus, Whitman's time is reflected in the method of farming. Also, this poem would be more easily understood in Whitman's time because a lot more people were more devoted to the church. Therefore, they would have understood the metaphor sooner than many on today's time would. All in all, though I did not think this was a very good poem, "As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing" was still one of the better poems by Whitman, in my opinion.

Journal #37: Reaction to “Whitman’s Language of the Self”

This analysis seems to be written in the style of Whitman himself meaning that there is no discernible style preference. Like many of Whitman's poems, it was uncomfortably lengthy. It was also contradictory, though that mainly resulted from pointing out all the contradictions of Whitman in his various poems. Bauerlein then went on to explain how all these contradictions were just a part of Whitman searching out his idea of Self. I did appreciate all the quotes from the poem. They helped me to understand the points that the author was making. Especially considering that I have not read the poem "Song of Myself" and do not intend to anytime soon. I especially liked the quote "But that before all my arrogant poems the real Me stands yet untouch'd, untold, altogether unreach'd, Withdrawn far, mocking me with mock-congratulatory signs and bows" (Bauerlein). This means that even though Whitman has spent all this time writing about his Self, he has not succeeded in adequately exploring or explaining it. This makes me like him a little bit better because Bauerlein explains the quote as Whitman calling his own poems arrogant. They try to explain Whitman's Self, but fail despite all their grand words. The fact that Whitman was able to acknowledge this makes me have more respect for him as a poet.
This article also talks about how Whitman's Self is not really authentic. He manipulated how others viewed him, so that they would see him as "the good, gray poet" (Bauerlein). I found it interesting that he even asked biographers to send him copies of their manuscripts so that he could tweak them the way he wanted. While I can see how people might want to make sure things were accurate, I think it is pretty weird and slightly inappropriate for Whitman to change things just so others will see a different version of his Self. This analysis helped me to understand Whitman a bit better, but also made me question some of his motives.

Bauerlein, Mark. "Whitman's Language of the Self." American Imago 44, no. 2 (Summer 1987). Quoted as "Whitman's Language of the Self" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Song of Myself, Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. Web. 3 March 2011. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=MCISOM004&SingleRecord=True.

Journal #36: Food Imagery

I do not necessarily have a favorite meal. I have lots of foods that I really like to eat, but not any one favorite combination. Some foods that I really like are chicken coleslaw wraps, red velvet cake, and grape Crush. I know grape Crush is not, in fact a food, but it's one of my favorite sodas, so it is included. If I had all of these foods in a meal, I think it would be as close to a favorite as I have. I guess I'll start my description with the chicken coleslaw wraps. My dad found this recipe a while ago. He breads chicken strips in a special way until they are a nice golden-brown. When I add the chicken to the coleslaw and wrap it up in a tortilla, it results in one of my favorite textures for foods. The chicken is hot and spicy and the coleslaw is sweet and cold. It's a pretty indescribable feeling. I also like how the colors look together. The coleslaw's got the standard green and a bit of orange because my dad makes it with mango for some reason. And the chicken and tortilla give the food a few shades of brown. If I had red velvet cake with it, I would have the deep maroon of the cake to go with all the other colors. Also, I love red velvet cake because, if you make it right, it actually feels like you're eating velvet. The grape crush would complete my rainbow of a meal by throwing purple into the fray. I also love the way grape Crush smells. Like most grape products, it doesn't actually smell like grapes, but I still love it anyway. And it fizzes more often than other sodas, and I like to listen to sodas fizz. This a really randomly put together meal, but it includes lots of color and texture and nice smells, all of which I am draw to like a raccoon is drawn to shiny things. Obviously, they also taste good, otherwise this wouldn't be my almost-favorite meal.

Journal #35: To be a War Reporter

Personally, I think it would suck to be a reporter that was on the front lines with the troops. It would also suck to be the soldiers that are being observed. I still think it would be worse to be the reporter though. At least the soldiers have had combat training and know slightly better than the reporters how to handle themselves. Then again, this journal topic is not very realistic because reporters are not often "in the trenches" with the troops. That image just brings to my mind the tactics of WWI, with it's almost pointless trench warfare. I don't mean any disrespect for the troops with this journal because I have a lot of respect for the troops. I just think war is stupid. At the very least, we should go back to the tactics of a previous era and fight all our wars with swords and bows and arrows and the like. It just seems more honorable to me to take someone down in hand to hand combat than sneaking around dropping bombs on people. Also, it would be healthier for the environment.
It would also suck to be a war reporter because you would not get to report anything you wanted. Even if your network approved your story, if it was really big, the government might censor it. I am not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist or anti-government because I am not those things. I am just saying that stuff like that happens probably everyday, only we don't know because we trust the government to run our lives. Sometimes it is a necessary matter of national security. But it would still bother me if I were a war reporter. Not to mention the fact that I really don't think I would like to be right in the middle of a war. I really don't think anyone would like that or really want to be there. I also feel bad for the reporters because they have to leave their home and go to a dangerous place.
The whole time I've been typing this blog I've been thinking about the character Hannah from the TV show Bones. She's a war reporter who was covering the war in Afghanistan. She was really cool and actually seemed to like her job, which I find kind of surprising. I guess different jobs just require different people.

"To Build a Fire"

Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire" is primarily a Naturalism work. It shows a fine example of Darwin's natural selection theories. "To Build a Fire" is about a man who is traveling on the Yukon Trail. He is trying to get back to the boys at his camp by six in the evening. It seems like he might accomplish this, but then things start going wrong. This is where the "survival of the fittest" comes in. The man has a dog with him. The dog can sense that it is much colder than is safe to be out alone in. The man, however, like an idiot, still believes that it is no lower than fifty below. Turns out, it is seventy five degrees below zero. It takes the man a ridiculous amount of time to figure this out. The cold temperature is just the first in a long string of misfortunes to befall the man. The next thing he does wrong is fall through a thin patch of ice into water up to his knees. He knows that in order to keep his feet from freezing, he needs a fire. Like a newbie, he builds his fire wrong, and it goes out. He cannot get another one started, so he starts to run. He eventually gets too tired and just lies down and dies. Throughout all this, the dog is kept warm by natural means and just runs off into the night when it senses that the man is dead. The dog proved to be the fittest in this case.

An exhaustive amount of detail is put into describing what exactly is happening to the man as he goes along on his journey. A great deal of attention is also spent on the fact that it is cold. "There was no mistake about it, it was cold." (London 408). This attention to detail, particularly to nature, is indicative of Realism. The protagonist of "To Build a Fire" is also a standard issue Realism hero. He seems to be an ordinary man who gets put into a difficult situation. Government and religion do not have anything to do with this story. Nature plays a large role, as stated earlier. It is the antagonist in this case giving us the man vs. nature conflict that was so common to Naturalism. Ultimately, nature wins, but that really is not important to the whole Naturalism thing.

Human nature is not addressed very much in "To Build a Fire". The man and the dog's basic survival instincts are there, but other than that, human nature is not explored in any depth. There is also the basic desire to beat the odds that is present in the man's determination to make it to camp. The American Dream is also irrelevant to this story. Society as a whole is also missing from this story, but that makes sense considering that the man is in the middle of nowhere in weather that no smart man would be out in. There is no civilization for miles, so no form of society is present.

London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 603-614. Print.

Edwin Arlington Robinson

"Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy" are both poems about people wanting what they can't have. In this way, both poems show characteristics of Naturalism. "Richard Cory" is about a man who is apparently named Richard Cory. He has the best of everything. When he walks through town, "We people on the pavement looked at him..." (Robinson "Richard Cory" 575). He seemed to have the perfect life, therefore everyone was shocked when "Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet in his head." (Robinson "Richard Cory" 575). This shows that even if a person appears to have it all, they can still be horribly depressed. This poem also shows Realism in the way that events like this, sadly, happen all the time. Someone will be at the peak of their life then suddenly end it for no discernible reason. Society plays a larger part in this poem than in many other of the Realism works so far. Society had this perfect image of Richard Cory, which may have contributed to his suicide. He probably grew tired of trying to live up to everyone's expectations of him. There must have been a lot of pressure on him to be perfect all the time. The American Dream is also present. Richard Cory seems to have obtained that elusive American Dream and then some. Apparently it was too much. Or maybe he realized that his life was as good as it was going to get and could not stand the thought. Either way, it seems almost selfish for him to just throw it away like that.

Minivier Cheevy is a man who is not content to chase after the American Dream. His dreams are more grand, filled with epic adventures and amazing people. He was a man hwo was born too late in the world. Society's view of Miniver Cheevy is almost the complete opposite of its view of Richard Cory. They hold Richard Cory in the highest esteem, while they look down upon Miniver Cheevy for his foolish dreams. He is more of a typical Realism hero than Richard Cory. Miniver Cheevy could be any man who wants more from life. Naturalism is shown in "Miniver Cheevy" because it briefly mentions fate. "Mininver coughed, and called it fate, and kept on drinking." (Robinson "Miniver Cheevy" 576).

Again, government and religion play no part in these poems. Nature is also not important here. The writing style shows Realism qualities: it is simple, flows nicely, and does not tend toward the excess of flowery words. Details are common, such as in "Miniver Cheevy": "Miniver cursed the commonplace and eyed a khaki suit with loathing; he missed the medieval grace of iron clothing." (Robinson "Miniver Cheevy" 576).

I liked both these poems, though "Richard Cory" was my favorite of the two. It had the kind of unexpected ending that showed Realism's roots in Romanticism. These poems were probably derived from those of the Dark Romantics who also had such twist endings in their works.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Miniver Cheevy." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 576. Print.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Richard Cory." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 575. Print.

Paul Laurence Dunbar

"Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask" are two short poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Both deal with sad and desperate emotions, and they both have a psychological overtone that speaks of Naturalism. "Douglass" is a plea to the great speaker and civil rights leader Frederick Douglass. Dunbar is lamenting at the way the world is at that time. He says that he wants Frederick Douglass, or someone like Frederick Douglass, to come and inspire the world to be better again (Dunbar "Douglass" 570). "We Wear the Mask" is about how everyone wears a metaphorical mask to hide their emotions. It says that even though the mask may be cheery, the person underneath is most likely very depressed or in pain. These poems both have a feel like they were written for an African American audience, seeing as how Frederick Douglass was African American, and the Africans often had to hide their true suffering for the benefit of others. Despite this, I feel that both poems could be applied to a much broader audience.

The only Naturalism quality these poems possess is that they are both narrated by a person who is apparently African American, making them a lower class person in a horrible situation. Regionalism is not in here at all, seeing as how a specific region is not mention, nor is that region described in detail. Realism is not a factor here either. Some characteristics could be found in a roundabout way, but they would be so insignificant to the overall tone of the poem.

Nature is not mentioned at all in either of these poems, nor is government. Religion is only mentioned briefly when in "We Wear the Mask" Dunbar writes, "We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries to thee from tortured souls arise." (Dunbar "We" 571). That is it. "Douglass" does not have any mention of religion at all. Nature is not mentioned in both poems either. Human nature is present in the way that humans are not the best at letting people close to them. This is present in "We Wear the Mask" to some degree.

Both poems feature a simple rhyme scheme and simple language. As well as being a major characteristic of Realism literature, it makes the poems easy to understand. This would have been important because at the time, African Americans were still not receiving a fair education. These poems don't require much reading between the lines, so it could have appealed to a broader audience when it was written. There is figurative language in here, obviously, because these are poems. Poems tend to ave figurative language. My favorite example is the comparison of the plight of the Negroes to a storm at sea in these lines from "Douglass": "Not ended then, the passionate ebb and flow, the awful tide that battled to and fro; we ride amide a tempest of dispraise." (Dunbar "Douglass" 570). I thought that was a good metaphor for the situation, especially when Dunbar went on to compare Frederick Douglass to the captain that guides the ship toward calm waters.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 570.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 571.