I think Avatar is a good example of Post Modernism. There are a lot of things in and about the movie that represent Post Modernism. First off, the movie was made almost all the way with a computer. The Avatars and the Avatar world is all completely computer animated, and it took the director a really long time to make it. This shows Post Modernism because Post Modernism is all about technology. Almost everything in Post Modernism has at least something to do with technology, so I thought this movie would be a great example of Post Modernism. Some technology that was used in the movie was one, just to make a movie in general takes technology, two, they had to come up with a whole different language for the Avatars called Na'Vi, three, all of the characters would technologically turned into Avatars instead of using make-up and other usual theater tricks. This movie represents the dawning of a new era of movie making. It is an ear filled with more technology and less old time theater stuff. I like all the technology in the movie.
The movie also represents Post Modernism because the hero, or the main character, Jake, becomes a Post Modernist hero by taking a bad situation and turning it into a better situation. He has to work through a lot of problems with the Avatars and the regular people there that are trying to get the Unobtainium. He is a hero because he turns a bad situation into a good one by working hard. He is not a perfect person, he has flaws, which is what Post Modernist heroes have, but it overcomes those flaws to do what needs to be done. It is a little sketchy that he falls in love with an Avatar though. I thought the movie was actually pretty dumb once you really thought about it. All of the graphics and special effects were awesome, but the actually story has be done before a few times I think. It is a lot of Dances With Wolves, but that is okay because in Post Modernism they change take ideas from the past and turn it into new ideas for the future. So the director took ideas from Dances With Wolves, but he made it more modern by making it in another planet and more technologically advanced.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Modernism Project
Works Cited:
Brown, Lois. "McKay, Claude." Encyclopedia of the Harlem Literary Renaissance. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EHLR0597&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 27, 2011).
McKay, Claude. "If We Must Die." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets. 2011. http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15250. Web. Apr. 2011.
Langley, John. "Introduction to Modernism." Lecture. Pleasant Plains High School, Pleasant Plains. Apr. 2010. Mr. Langley's Digital Classroom. Mr. Langley. Web. Apr. 2011.
Werlock, Abby H. P., ed. "Welty, Eudora." The Facts On File Companion to the American Novel. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CANov0928&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 27, 2011).
Welty, Eudora. "The Petrified Man". 1909-2001. http://www.mondowendell.com/petrify.htm. accessed April 20, 2011.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Journal #43: Jazz
The jazz song we had to listen to for this journal really only reminded me of a cool coffee shop in a cool sleek city. The time period for this coffee shop is maybe the 1950s or so. The city that the coffee shop is in is just some short of quiet little city, and this coffee shop is the only "hip" place in town. Everyone knows each other in this town, and they all come to the coffee shop to socialize.
The walls of the coffee shop are made of brick, and on the inside there are a lot of cool pictures of bands and musicians that have come to play at the coffee shop, and they have signed the pictures. The coffee shop has a counter with five bar stools in the right corner right when you walk in, and it has a small stage in the far left corner with two seated round tables around it. The tables are black, and the chairs are black with red seats. There are one person bathrooms in the back right corner of the room, and the lights are dimmed just a little bit in the shop. The walls on the inside of the shop are brick just like on the outside, and whenever someone walks in a small bell above the door jingles.
The man behind the counter of the coffee shop is a nice, somewhat plump man, who loves listening to all the musicians that come in. Everyone knows this man, and he is friends with everyone. His name is Burt. The coffee shop sells coffee (of course), but it also sells nice warm baked goods like muffins, small cakes, and cookies. It also has hot chocolate for any of the younger kids that may come in. Nothing costs more than a dollar in this small, honest coffee business, and the shop gets a lot of customers every day.
The musician that is playing the song that we had to listen to for this blog is a young musician who is trying to make a name in the music industry. This coffee shop is one of the first places that he has played, and the crowd loves him already.
The walls of the coffee shop are made of brick, and on the inside there are a lot of cool pictures of bands and musicians that have come to play at the coffee shop, and they have signed the pictures. The coffee shop has a counter with five bar stools in the right corner right when you walk in, and it has a small stage in the far left corner with two seated round tables around it. The tables are black, and the chairs are black with red seats. There are one person bathrooms in the back right corner of the room, and the lights are dimmed just a little bit in the shop. The walls on the inside of the shop are brick just like on the outside, and whenever someone walks in a small bell above the door jingles.
The man behind the counter of the coffee shop is a nice, somewhat plump man, who loves listening to all the musicians that come in. Everyone knows this man, and he is friends with everyone. His name is Burt. The coffee shop sells coffee (of course), but it also sells nice warm baked goods like muffins, small cakes, and cookies. It also has hot chocolate for any of the younger kids that may come in. Nothing costs more than a dollar in this small, honest coffee business, and the shop gets a lot of customers every day.
The musician that is playing the song that we had to listen to for this blog is a young musician who is trying to make a name in the music industry. This coffee shop is one of the first places that he has played, and the crowd loves him already.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Realism vs Modernism
Realism and Modernism are two different kinds of writing. In Realism, the author tries to depict the story as it really is. They choose certain details to make things seem real and like every day life. We have looked at many Realist authors and poets for homework. Some of these authors and poets include Mark Twain, Kate Chopin, and Rebecca Harding Davis.
As an author, Mark Twain is a great example of the Realism writing style. Some of Mark Twain's most famous novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn depict the lives of young boys and their adventures. Twain does a great job of depicting life by the Mississippi River which he loved so dearly. He has many great details to make the stories seem so real and easy to relate to, which is what a Realist writer does.
"Realism is the attempt to depict life as it actually exists, not as the author wants it to be in the present or the future, or imagines it was in the past. A realist carefully chooses details that illustrate this vision, unlike the naturalist who tries to include all possible details. The difference between realism and naturalism is compared often to that between a painting as opposed to a photograph, assuming that the photographer also does not choose which details to include in the frame of the picture. The difference between romanticism and realism was a philosophical difference over the purpose and function of literature, adherents of the former believing that it should idealize life by empathizing desirable features, those of the latter that it should be a faithful representative of facts as they appear to the senses" (Werlock).
Modernism, on the other hand, is more about what is happening now. The start of the Modernism period was around World War I. People started writing more about what was happening during that time period, and how it affected the people and themselves. They started to describe things and uncover places as they really were instead of leaving off small details.
"Modernism as a movement was shaped by discoveries in science and advancements in technology and various fields of thought that began to develop in the nineteenth century—including Sir James Frazer's writings on cultural anthropology and Sigmund Freud's work in psychology—that transformed the way human beings regarded themselves, their world, and their place in the world. William R. Everdale finds its origins "in an often profound rethinking of the whole mind set of the nineteenth century." Modern thought "gave up the stubborn old belief that things could be seen 'steadily and whole' from some privileged viewpoint at a particular moment" and embraced a "nonlogical, nonobjective, and essentially causeless mental universe." The catalytic event that created the modern world for many American writers was the catastrophe of World War I, a conflict that revealed the bankruptcy of many nineteenth-century ideals.
In discussions of literature the term modernism is frequently used carelessly and imprecisely. The word modern is sometimes used as an adjective to broadly suggest when a writer was writing or a work was written. If one is told that a poem or a novel is modern but not given its date of composition or publication, then it is safe to assume only that it was written sometime after the Great War and sometime before right now" (Anderson).
Works Cited:
Anderson, George Parker. "modernism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1234&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 18, 2011).
Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0575&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 18, 2011).
As an author, Mark Twain is a great example of the Realism writing style. Some of Mark Twain's most famous novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn depict the lives of young boys and their adventures. Twain does a great job of depicting life by the Mississippi River which he loved so dearly. He has many great details to make the stories seem so real and easy to relate to, which is what a Realist writer does.
"Realism is the attempt to depict life as it actually exists, not as the author wants it to be in the present or the future, or imagines it was in the past. A realist carefully chooses details that illustrate this vision, unlike the naturalist who tries to include all possible details. The difference between realism and naturalism is compared often to that between a painting as opposed to a photograph, assuming that the photographer also does not choose which details to include in the frame of the picture. The difference between romanticism and realism was a philosophical difference over the purpose and function of literature, adherents of the former believing that it should idealize life by empathizing desirable features, those of the latter that it should be a faithful representative of facts as they appear to the senses" (Werlock).
Modernism, on the other hand, is more about what is happening now. The start of the Modernism period was around World War I. People started writing more about what was happening during that time period, and how it affected the people and themselves. They started to describe things and uncover places as they really were instead of leaving off small details.
"Modernism as a movement was shaped by discoveries in science and advancements in technology and various fields of thought that began to develop in the nineteenth century—including Sir James Frazer's writings on cultural anthropology and Sigmund Freud's work in psychology—that transformed the way human beings regarded themselves, their world, and their place in the world. William R. Everdale finds its origins "in an often profound rethinking of the whole mind set of the nineteenth century." Modern thought "gave up the stubborn old belief that things could be seen 'steadily and whole' from some privileged viewpoint at a particular moment" and embraced a "nonlogical, nonobjective, and essentially causeless mental universe." The catalytic event that created the modern world for many American writers was the catastrophe of World War I, a conflict that revealed the bankruptcy of many nineteenth-century ideals.
In discussions of literature the term modernism is frequently used carelessly and imprecisely. The word modern is sometimes used as an adjective to broadly suggest when a writer was writing or a work was written. If one is told that a poem or a novel is modern but not given its date of composition or publication, then it is safe to assume only that it was written sometime after the Great War and sometime before right now" (Anderson).
Works Cited:
Anderson, George Parker. "modernism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1234&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 18, 2011).
Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0575&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 18, 2011).
Friday, April 1, 2011
Job Shadowing
My job shadowing experience was surprisingly awesome. I went to UIS to job shadow a music professor there. Our day started at 8:30 am, and I met the professor at his office. He showed me all the stuff he does to prepare for the day, which is basically to just check his email. We talked for a little bit about why I decided to job shadow a music professor, then we went to a class that he had at 9:00 am. He told me that I could bring my clarinet to play along in the class. It was pretty fun playing with his students, although they actually were not very good. A lot of his students were musicians who have not played in a while, so they were basically learning all over again. After the class we walked across the campus to a cafe to get a muffin and talk more about music education. The professor explained to me that at this particular college it is sometimes hard for him to have classes like the one that I attended because his students are at very different levels of playing ability. They do not have private lessons at UIS, and many different instruments are in the same class at the same time, so he has to make a lesson plan that will accommodate everyone. He says he has to push the less experienced musicians more to make them keep up with everyone else. One thing that I really liked about his class was that at the beginning of the class he had everyone pull a scale name from a hat, and then they had to play that scale in front of everyone and they were graded on it. I think it is important for people to know their scales, so I thought that was a good exercise.
Once we went to the cafe we talked a lot about how the man that I was job shadowing got to be where he was. He is from Louisiana, so he went to the University of Louisiana, and he received two majors: one in music and one in music education. He then went to the University of Arkansas to get his masters degree in music education. He landed a job as a high school music teacher, and one summer he applied to go to a music festival during the summer in Italy. (He is a tuba player by the way). He did not get to go that summer, but the next summer he was chosen to go. He got to go play in Italy for a whole summer which is one of the coolest things I have ever heard of. I totally want to do something like that. Then he found a flier from a world renowned tuba teacher to take a two week lesson from him for 600 euros. He decided he wanted to do that, so he got to go to Greece to study with this teacher. He then went back to the United States after becoming great friends with his music teacher. His music teacher then invited him to take lessons from him in Canada and then in England. He lived in England for a year until his music teacher decided to take a job in Japan. He then went back to the United States and got a job as the music professor at UIS.
Music professors have to have a doctorate in music, but he got this job because UIS is not really big on music I guess. He is getting his doctorate now at the University of Illinois.
After talking for awhile, he showed me the behind the scenes stuff of the UIS auditorium which is a really great auditorium. Then we went back to his office, and he showed me some music that he will be playing this summer at another music festival. He said another part of his job is to play music so that he can stay musical and help his students. He says he studies every piece of music before he plays it, and the piece that he is playing this summer is about three different piazzas in Italy, so we went of google and were able to look at each of the piazzas to see why the Italian composer wrote what he did about each one. It was pretty sweet.
From this job shadowing experience I think I would definitely consider being a music teacher. I like all the stuff that this music professor does, and I think being a regular music teacher would be great too. He gave me a lot of advice as to what to do in college and what majors would be good for what I am interested in. From this job shadowing experience I really think I have a better idea of what path I want to take in college. I definitely do want to do something with music, so this job shadowing definitely helped me to see that.
Once we went to the cafe we talked a lot about how the man that I was job shadowing got to be where he was. He is from Louisiana, so he went to the University of Louisiana, and he received two majors: one in music and one in music education. He then went to the University of Arkansas to get his masters degree in music education. He landed a job as a high school music teacher, and one summer he applied to go to a music festival during the summer in Italy. (He is a tuba player by the way). He did not get to go that summer, but the next summer he was chosen to go. He got to go play in Italy for a whole summer which is one of the coolest things I have ever heard of. I totally want to do something like that. Then he found a flier from a world renowned tuba teacher to take a two week lesson from him for 600 euros. He decided he wanted to do that, so he got to go to Greece to study with this teacher. He then went back to the United States after becoming great friends with his music teacher. His music teacher then invited him to take lessons from him in Canada and then in England. He lived in England for a year until his music teacher decided to take a job in Japan. He then went back to the United States and got a job as the music professor at UIS.
Music professors have to have a doctorate in music, but he got this job because UIS is not really big on music I guess. He is getting his doctorate now at the University of Illinois.
After talking for awhile, he showed me the behind the scenes stuff of the UIS auditorium which is a really great auditorium. Then we went back to his office, and he showed me some music that he will be playing this summer at another music festival. He said another part of his job is to play music so that he can stay musical and help his students. He says he studies every piece of music before he plays it, and the piece that he is playing this summer is about three different piazzas in Italy, so we went of google and were able to look at each of the piazzas to see why the Italian composer wrote what he did about each one. It was pretty sweet.
From this job shadowing experience I think I would definitely consider being a music teacher. I like all the stuff that this music professor does, and I think being a regular music teacher would be great too. He gave me a lot of advice as to what to do in college and what majors would be good for what I am interested in. From this job shadowing experience I really think I have a better idea of what path I want to take in college. I definitely do want to do something with music, so this job shadowing definitely helped me to see that.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Journal #42: Go Dickinson!
So if I lived in Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman's time period and I had to choose between the two to say which one I would like better it would be Emily Dickinson all the way. Walt Whitman is straight weird. I do not like him at all. I really dislike every idea he has. I think his "everyman" or whatever it is called is soooo dumb, and I really dislike how he tries to incorporate God in all of his poems. I just really dislike it. Every poem that we have read of his in class I have not liked, therefore, Emily Dickinson is a better choice for me.
All of Walt Whitman's poems are supposed to be so spiritual and absolutely inspiring. His poems do not inspire me at all. A lot of his poems make him sound like a self absorbed jerk. A lot of his poems seem very egotistical and narcissistic. He is so annoying. I really do not like him at all. I really really really really really really really do not.
Emily Dickinson is not much better than Walt Whitman, but she is not annoying and ego-centric like Whitman appears to be at times. A lot of her poems are more easy to read and understand. They do not have a billion meanings like most of Whitman's poems do. She tends to write with a more literal meaning which is more entertaining because then the reader does not have to try to think of what the writer is saying. I think that is what poetry should be like. Who wants to read something FOR ENTERTAINMENT and have to actually think about it? I guess people in that time period were more philosophical then we are today.
So far there is like one poem that I like of Emily Dickinson's. I do not remember what it is called, but it is about a girl who has a crush on a boy and she gets all fumbly with her speech and stuff and she cannot do anything right and then across the room the boy is the same way. I thought it was funny, and I actually understood it the first time I read it so that was awesome.
All of Walt Whitman's poems are supposed to be so spiritual and absolutely inspiring. His poems do not inspire me at all. A lot of his poems make him sound like a self absorbed jerk. A lot of his poems seem very egotistical and narcissistic. He is so annoying. I really do not like him at all. I really really really really really really really do not.
Emily Dickinson is not much better than Walt Whitman, but she is not annoying and ego-centric like Whitman appears to be at times. A lot of her poems are more easy to read and understand. They do not have a billion meanings like most of Whitman's poems do. She tends to write with a more literal meaning which is more entertaining because then the reader does not have to try to think of what the writer is saying. I think that is what poetry should be like. Who wants to read something FOR ENTERTAINMENT and have to actually think about it? I guess people in that time period were more philosophical then we are today.
So far there is like one poem that I like of Emily Dickinson's. I do not remember what it is called, but it is about a girl who has a crush on a boy and she gets all fumbly with her speech and stuff and she cannot do anything right and then across the room the boy is the same way. I thought it was funny, and I actually understood it the first time I read it so that was awesome.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Emily Dickinson: There Came A Day At Summer's Full
"XIII
THERE came a day at summer’s full
Entirely for me;
I thought that such were for the saints,
Where revelations be.
The sun, as common, went abroad, 5
The flowers, accustomed, blew,
As if no sail the solstice passed
That maketh all things new.
The time was scarce profaned by speech;
The symbol of a word 10
Was needless, as at sacrament
The wardrobe of our Lord.
Each was to each the sealed church,
Permitted to commune this time,
Lest we too awkward show 15
At supper of the Lamb.
The hours slid fast, as hours will,
Clutched tight by greedy hands;
So faces on two decks look back,
Bound to opposing lands. 20
And so, when all the time had failed,
Without external sound,
Each bound the other’s crucifix,
We gave no other bond.
Sufficient troth that we shall rise— 25
deposed, at length, the grave—
To that new marriage, justified
Through Calvaries of Love!" (Dickinson).
After reading this poem by Dickinson I think that it is about two lovers during an afternoon. They are not really supposed to be together, but they like each other a lot, so they make time to see one another. The first two stanzas of the poem describe the setting. Dickinson says that it is summer, and during this particular day she feels that it is a day for her and no one else. During the second stanza we can conclude that it is a the summer solstice, and although she feels the day is different, nature goes on like any other day. The third stanza says that she does not need to speak, because the meaning of why she is where she is, is already known by herself, so she does not need to say it. She says this feeling is like when you are at sacrament at mass and God knows what you are thinking, so you do not need to explain.
I think the fourth stanza is saying that the author and her lover both belong to different churches, so they are not allowing to see each other or get married. The fifth stanza is saying that the time is passing by fast while they are together, and they soon have to look back to their different lives and leave one another again. I think the sixth stanza is saying that when they have to leave, they take the others crucifix, so they will have something to hold on to from their lover.
As for the last stanza, I think it means that they have decided that they want to get married, and they will keep that promise to each other no matter what anyone says. The last line, "Through Calvaries of Love"(Dickinson) basically means through sufferings of love, so they are suffering because they love each other so much but are not allowed to get married.
This excerpt from Bloom's Literary Reference Online can help one conclude that this poem is about two lovers who cannot be together. This quote says that the poem is about a love that is formed and then taken away within the same day because the lovers cannot be together. It says that they can only be together after death, so they must wait until their life is over to be together.
"Unlike the great majority of Dickinson's poems, this famous and much-debated narrative appears to contain a specific "scene" from the poet's life: a day within the summer solstice, June 21 and 22, when a love is consummated and virtually simultaneously renounced. Appropriately, within this season of weddings, a "marriage" takes place, yet its only "future" is in the life to come. The poem is Dickinson's most complete expression of this central theme of a reunion with the lost beloved in God's heaven, a vision evoked in other poems of this period" (Leiter).
Works Cited:
Dickinson, Emily. "XII: There came a day at summer’s full". Part Three: Love. Complete Poems. 1924. http://www.bartleby.com/113/3013.html
Leiter, Sharon. "'There came a Day—at Summer's full—'." Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCED126&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 22, 2011).
THERE came a day at summer’s full
Entirely for me;
I thought that such were for the saints,
Where revelations be.
The sun, as common, went abroad, 5
The flowers, accustomed, blew,
As if no sail the solstice passed
That maketh all things new.
The time was scarce profaned by speech;
The symbol of a word 10
Was needless, as at sacrament
The wardrobe of our Lord.
Each was to each the sealed church,
Permitted to commune this time,
Lest we too awkward show 15
At supper of the Lamb.
The hours slid fast, as hours will,
Clutched tight by greedy hands;
So faces on two decks look back,
Bound to opposing lands. 20
And so, when all the time had failed,
Without external sound,
Each bound the other’s crucifix,
We gave no other bond.
Sufficient troth that we shall rise— 25
deposed, at length, the grave—
To that new marriage, justified
Through Calvaries of Love!" (Dickinson).
After reading this poem by Dickinson I think that it is about two lovers during an afternoon. They are not really supposed to be together, but they like each other a lot, so they make time to see one another. The first two stanzas of the poem describe the setting. Dickinson says that it is summer, and during this particular day she feels that it is a day for her and no one else. During the second stanza we can conclude that it is a the summer solstice, and although she feels the day is different, nature goes on like any other day. The third stanza says that she does not need to speak, because the meaning of why she is where she is, is already known by herself, so she does not need to say it. She says this feeling is like when you are at sacrament at mass and God knows what you are thinking, so you do not need to explain.
I think the fourth stanza is saying that the author and her lover both belong to different churches, so they are not allowing to see each other or get married. The fifth stanza is saying that the time is passing by fast while they are together, and they soon have to look back to their different lives and leave one another again. I think the sixth stanza is saying that when they have to leave, they take the others crucifix, so they will have something to hold on to from their lover.
As for the last stanza, I think it means that they have decided that they want to get married, and they will keep that promise to each other no matter what anyone says. The last line, "Through Calvaries of Love"(Dickinson) basically means through sufferings of love, so they are suffering because they love each other so much but are not allowed to get married.
This excerpt from Bloom's Literary Reference Online can help one conclude that this poem is about two lovers who cannot be together. This quote says that the poem is about a love that is formed and then taken away within the same day because the lovers cannot be together. It says that they can only be together after death, so they must wait until their life is over to be together.
"Unlike the great majority of Dickinson's poems, this famous and much-debated narrative appears to contain a specific "scene" from the poet's life: a day within the summer solstice, June 21 and 22, when a love is consummated and virtually simultaneously renounced. Appropriately, within this season of weddings, a "marriage" takes place, yet its only "future" is in the life to come. The poem is Dickinson's most complete expression of this central theme of a reunion with the lost beloved in God's heaven, a vision evoked in other poems of this period" (Leiter).
Works Cited:
Dickinson, Emily. "XII: There came a day at summer’s full". Part Three: Love. Complete Poems. 1924. http://www.bartleby.com/113/3013.html
Leiter, Sharon. "'There came a Day—at Summer's full—'." Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCED126&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 22, 2011).
Journal #41: If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking
"IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain" (Dickinson).
"If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking" is a poem by Emily Dickinson. Dickinson did not name many of her poems, so the first line of her poems are often taken as the names.
This short poem is Dickinson saying that if she can make one person happy in life, then she will be happy (Dickinson). She is saying that she will not live in vain if she can make at least one person's life seem happy and good. In the fifth line Dickinson is saying that it does not have to be a person that she helps, she can also help an animal like a robin (Dickinson).
A lot of people can relate to Dickinson's poem. A lot of people want to feel like they have made a difference in someone's life. I think that is one of the main meanings of life: to help others. That is, at least, a very highly emphasized point in my life. Some people do not care to help others though, which I think is kind of sad. I think people should help each other to succeed and live a great life. I think that is what human nature is for. People should help others, so that everyone can feel better about themselves and we can all live in harmony.
Like Dickinson's poem says, if she can help one person, make one person feel good about themselves and live a great life, she will be happy and not live such a horrible, sad life. I think all people feel this feeling of needing to help people and needing to be helped by people. Everyone loves to be loved and to love others, so everyone likes to help the people that they love. One thing that can make someone feel even better and not live their life in "vain" is if they help someone that they do not really know.
Works Cited:
Dickinson, Emily. "If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking". Part One: Life. 1924. Accessed 22 March 2011. http://www.bartleby.com/113/1006.html.
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain" (Dickinson).
"If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking" is a poem by Emily Dickinson. Dickinson did not name many of her poems, so the first line of her poems are often taken as the names.
This short poem is Dickinson saying that if she can make one person happy in life, then she will be happy (Dickinson). She is saying that she will not live in vain if she can make at least one person's life seem happy and good. In the fifth line Dickinson is saying that it does not have to be a person that she helps, she can also help an animal like a robin (Dickinson).
A lot of people can relate to Dickinson's poem. A lot of people want to feel like they have made a difference in someone's life. I think that is one of the main meanings of life: to help others. That is, at least, a very highly emphasized point in my life. Some people do not care to help others though, which I think is kind of sad. I think people should help each other to succeed and live a great life. I think that is what human nature is for. People should help others, so that everyone can feel better about themselves and we can all live in harmony.
Like Dickinson's poem says, if she can help one person, make one person feel good about themselves and live a great life, she will be happy and not live such a horrible, sad life. I think all people feel this feeling of needing to help people and needing to be helped by people. Everyone loves to be loved and to love others, so everyone likes to help the people that they love. One thing that can make someone feel even better and not live their life in "vain" is if they help someone that they do not really know.
Works Cited:
Dickinson, Emily. "If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking". Part One: Life. 1924. Accessed 22 March 2011. http://www.bartleby.com/113/1006.html.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Journal #40 My Self
Walt Whitman portrays his "self" in all of his poems. Or, it is said that he portrays his "self" in all of his poems, sometimes it is kind of hard to see it. Walt Whitman's "self" is like the everyman. He is religious, and someone that can relate to everyone.
If I had to make up my own "self", which I do because that is what this assignment says to do, I guess I would describe my "self" as follows...
My "self" would include a lot things. I guess I would be somewhat religious, but not as weird crazy so called religious that Whitman is. Whitman is just a very strange man. I do not really like him. My kind of religious would be just to follow the Then Commandments and go to church and do good things for others. I am not really a die hard Christian, and I do not ever want to be a die hard Christian. I believe you should have a religion and believe in something and have faith in God, but I think it is a little inappropriate to go all crazy about it. I especially do not like people who insult other religions and other people's beliefs. People can believe whatever they want. No one has the right to tell other's what they can and cannot believe. I think that is soooo annoying. And yeah, that one "religion" that is all about science is pretty dumb, but I am not going to go tell the people who are apart of that religion that what they believe in is stupid. I, honestly, believe in the scientific formation of the Earth because there is an extremely high possibility that it is true. Maybe God made the certain particles and stuff that all smashed together for the Big Bang Theory. You never know.
My "self" would also include honesty, perseverance, a good attitude, and all of that other good stuff. I really just do not like Whitman or his idea of finding one's "self". I think it is dumb, and I really do not like his "everyman".
If I had to make up my own "self", which I do because that is what this assignment says to do, I guess I would describe my "self" as follows...
My "self" would include a lot things. I guess I would be somewhat religious, but not as weird crazy so called religious that Whitman is. Whitman is just a very strange man. I do not really like him. My kind of religious would be just to follow the Then Commandments and go to church and do good things for others. I am not really a die hard Christian, and I do not ever want to be a die hard Christian. I believe you should have a religion and believe in something and have faith in God, but I think it is a little inappropriate to go all crazy about it. I especially do not like people who insult other religions and other people's beliefs. People can believe whatever they want. No one has the right to tell other's what they can and cannot believe. I think that is soooo annoying. And yeah, that one "religion" that is all about science is pretty dumb, but I am not going to go tell the people who are apart of that religion that what they believe in is stupid. I, honestly, believe in the scientific formation of the Earth because there is an extremely high possibility that it is true. Maybe God made the certain particles and stuff that all smashed together for the Big Bang Theory. You never know.
My "self" would also include honesty, perseverance, a good attitude, and all of that other good stuff. I really just do not like Whitman or his idea of finding one's "self". I think it is dumb, and I really do not like his "everyman".
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Journal #39 Bardic Symbols
Walt Whitman's poem, "Bardic Symbols" is pretty much about a main character who is going back and forth between his mother (ocean) and his father (land). The main character is drift wood.
"As I wend the shores I know not,
As I listen to the dirge, the voices of men and women wrecked,
As I inhale the impalpable breezes that set in upon me,
As the ocean so mysterious rolls toward me closer and closer,
At once I find, the least thing that belongs to me, or that I see or touch, I
know not;
I, too, but signify a little washed-up drift,—a few sands and dead leaves to
gather,
Gather, and merge myself as part of the leaves and drift" (Bardic).
As this quote shows, the narrator (main character) is drifting between his mother and father like children do. During the course of a person's life, they drift back and forth between their mother and father seeking advice from either of them. This portrays the Everyman because in everyone's life they go back and forth between their parents. They not only do it in their childhood, being the mommy or daddy's girl or boy, but they also do it within their whole lives.
In William Dean Howell's review of the Bardic Symbols he is very confused. William Dean Howell pretty much says that the reader cannot interpret the Bardic Symbols, but you pretty much can because in class we said that the symbols could represent a father, mother, and child. His opinion is said below:
"No one, even after the fourth or fifth reading, can pretend to say what the "Bardic Symbols" symbolize. The poet walks by the sea, and addressing the drift, the foam, the billows and the wind, attempts to force from them, by his frantic outcry, the the [sic] true solution of the mystery of Existence, always most heavily and darkly felt in the august ocean presence. All is confusion, waste and sound. It is in vain that you attempt to gather the poet's full meaning from what he says or what he hints. You can only take refuge in occasional passages like this, in which he wildly laments the feebleness and inefficiency of that art which above all others seeks to make the soul visible and audible" (Howell).
Works Cited:
"Bardic Symbols." Atlantic Monthly 5 (April 1860): 445-447. Revised as "Leaves of Grass. 1" in Leaves of Grass (1860) and reprinted as "Elemental Drifts," Leaves of Grass (1867). The final version of the poem, "As I Ebb'd With the Ocean of Life," was published in Leaves of Grass (1881–82).
[Howells, William Dean]. ""Bardic Symbols"." The Daily Ohio State Journal (28 March 1860): 2.
"As I wend the shores I know not,
As I listen to the dirge, the voices of men and women wrecked,
As I inhale the impalpable breezes that set in upon me,
As the ocean so mysterious rolls toward me closer and closer,
At once I find, the least thing that belongs to me, or that I see or touch, I
know not;
I, too, but signify a little washed-up drift,—a few sands and dead leaves to
gather,
Gather, and merge myself as part of the leaves and drift" (Bardic).
As this quote shows, the narrator (main character) is drifting between his mother and father like children do. During the course of a person's life, they drift back and forth between their mother and father seeking advice from either of them. This portrays the Everyman because in everyone's life they go back and forth between their parents. They not only do it in their childhood, being the mommy or daddy's girl or boy, but they also do it within their whole lives.
In William Dean Howell's review of the Bardic Symbols he is very confused. William Dean Howell pretty much says that the reader cannot interpret the Bardic Symbols, but you pretty much can because in class we said that the symbols could represent a father, mother, and child. His opinion is said below:
"No one, even after the fourth or fifth reading, can pretend to say what the "Bardic Symbols" symbolize. The poet walks by the sea, and addressing the drift, the foam, the billows and the wind, attempts to force from them, by his frantic outcry, the the [sic] true solution of the mystery of Existence, always most heavily and darkly felt in the august ocean presence. All is confusion, waste and sound. It is in vain that you attempt to gather the poet's full meaning from what he says or what he hints. You can only take refuge in occasional passages like this, in which he wildly laments the feebleness and inefficiency of that art which above all others seeks to make the soul visible and audible" (Howell).
Works Cited:
"Bardic Symbols." Atlantic Monthly 5 (April 1860): 445-447. Revised as "Leaves of Grass. 1" in Leaves of Grass (1860) and reprinted as "Elemental Drifts," Leaves of Grass (1867). The final version of the poem, "As I Ebb'd With the Ocean of Life," was published in Leaves of Grass (1881–82).
[Howells, William Dean]. ""Bardic Symbols"." The Daily Ohio State Journal (28 March 1860): 2.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Journal #38 As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing
As I Watch’d the Ploughman Ploughing
AS I watch’d the ploughman ploughing,
Or the sower sowing in the fields—or the harvester harvesting,
I saw there too, O life and death, your analogies:
(Life, life is the tillage, and Death is the harvest according.)
"As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing" is about people going about their every day lives. This shows the "everyman" that Walt Whitman usually writes about. The ploughman in the field, the sowers in the field, and harvesters are all going about their every day lives in this poem. They are performing their every day tasks, and they are doing it well.
All of these men could be made into one man who could be thought of as God. They could be thought of as God because God created the earth and made everything how it is. This farmer is acting like a god to his farm.
The seperate farmers could be seen as the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. The ploughman could be the Father because God created the earth (he plowed the fields for everything to be made or in the ploughman's view, planted). The sower is the Son because he told everyone to follow God and do holy things. The harvester could be the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit takes you up to heaven when you die.
These poem could also be taken another way. The farmers could be seen as actual farmers. They all have very simple jobs and everything. This poem portrays the time period because most people had very simple jobs, and they led a very simple life. This poem could be said that the men lead their simple and happy lives, and if they do well and plant things and help them to grow, they will die a nice and happy death, and they will go up to heaven and be happy.
This portrays the everyman because the everyman lives a very simple life, and he hopes to go up to heaven and be happy.
Life and death is like a harvest. Each life is a season and the death is the end of the season. Every new harvest is a new life and every end of the harvest is a death.
AS I watch’d the ploughman ploughing,
Or the sower sowing in the fields—or the harvester harvesting,
I saw there too, O life and death, your analogies:
(Life, life is the tillage, and Death is the harvest according.)
"As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing" is about people going about their every day lives. This shows the "everyman" that Walt Whitman usually writes about. The ploughman in the field, the sowers in the field, and harvesters are all going about their every day lives in this poem. They are performing their every day tasks, and they are doing it well.
All of these men could be made into one man who could be thought of as God. They could be thought of as God because God created the earth and made everything how it is. This farmer is acting like a god to his farm.
The seperate farmers could be seen as the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. The ploughman could be the Father because God created the earth (he plowed the fields for everything to be made or in the ploughman's view, planted). The sower is the Son because he told everyone to follow God and do holy things. The harvester could be the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit takes you up to heaven when you die.
These poem could also be taken another way. The farmers could be seen as actual farmers. They all have very simple jobs and everything. This poem portrays the time period because most people had very simple jobs, and they led a very simple life. This poem could be said that the men lead their simple and happy lives, and if they do well and plant things and help them to grow, they will die a nice and happy death, and they will go up to heaven and be happy.
This portrays the everyman because the everyman lives a very simple life, and he hopes to go up to heaven and be happy.
Life and death is like a harvest. Each life is a season and the death is the end of the season. Every new harvest is a new life and every end of the harvest is a death.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Walt Whitman's "Self"
Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in Long Island, New York (Biography). His mother was barely literate. Whitman’s father never read any of his poetry. He was a carpenter, and he built a lot of houses. He was too busy trying to provide for all of his children. Whitman was one of nine children, and four of his brothers and sisters were handicapped. When Whitman was young he was pulled out of school, and he became an apprentice of a printer. He then began to love writing. Whitman mainly taught himself, and he soon became familiar with a lot of well known authors and books (Biography).
Most of Whitman’s poems are about finding one’s “self”. A lot of his poems are about the character being lost and not being able to know who they really are, or they could be about how someone feels after loosing someone they love. In Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” Whitman writes about how he feels when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated (Whitman, “O Captain!”). Whitman describes a mighty vessel, a ship, in his poem which represents the entire American nation. The captain, Lincoln, was killed in the poem which represents his assassination. In the poem, the captain does die, but his ship makes it safely to shore. This represents all the good that Lincoln did, like guiding the nation through the Civil War and abolishing slavery. The ship still makes it to shore because after Lincoln was assassinated, the United States became one Union again, and slavery was abolished (Whitman, “O Captain!”)
In this poem Whitman is finding his “self” because he is describing how he feels when someone he loves has died, but he describes how good of a man he was and how much people loved him. “For you bouquets of ribbon’d wreaths – for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning…” (Whitman, “O Captain!”) This poem could also be related to Whitman's spiritual "self" because Lincoln could be seen as Jesus who sacrifices himself for his people.
In Whitman’s “Myself and Mine” Whitman describes himself. Whitman gives many examples of things he finds important in life (Whitman, “Myself”). Whitman says, “I give nothing as duties; What others give as duties, I give as living impulses; (Shall I give the heart’s action as a duty?) Let others dispose of questions – I dispose of nothing – I arouse unanswerable questions; Who are they I see and touch, and what about them? What about theses likes of myself, that draw me so close by tender directions and indirections?” (Whitman, “Myself”). Whitman describes how he is and what he feels in this small excerpt from the poem. He is finding and describing his “self” in it because he is talking about what he personally believes in.
Song factors into “self” because songs are a lot like poems, and they describe how someone is feeling. Most songs tell a story about someone’s life or what is going on in their life right then. A lot of songs are also about finding out who that person wants to be, or what they should do in a given situation. That is how song relates to “self”.
Whitman is yet another poet/writer from a small background. He has grown, like many other writers, into a famous and terrific author. Whitman writes a lot about finding one’s “self” which is what “O Captain! My Captain!” and “Myself and Mine” are about. Finding one’s “self” can be literally finding out who a person is, or it could be finding out what a person should do in a given situation, like when a loved one is lost. Whitman does a great job in describing what finding one’s “self” is like in many of his poems. He is a terrific writer, and his works are always a pleasurable read.
Works Cited:
“Biography of Walt Whitman”. American Poems…Your Poetry Site. Gunnar Bengtsson:
2000-2011. Accessed 23 Feb 2011. http://www.americanpoems.com
/poets/waltwhitman.
Whitman, Walt. “Myself and Mine”. Leaves of Grass. 1900. Print.
Whitman, Walt. “O Captain! My Captain!”. Leaves of Grass. 1900. Print.
Most of Whitman’s poems are about finding one’s “self”. A lot of his poems are about the character being lost and not being able to know who they really are, or they could be about how someone feels after loosing someone they love. In Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” Whitman writes about how he feels when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated (Whitman, “O Captain!”). Whitman describes a mighty vessel, a ship, in his poem which represents the entire American nation. The captain, Lincoln, was killed in the poem which represents his assassination. In the poem, the captain does die, but his ship makes it safely to shore. This represents all the good that Lincoln did, like guiding the nation through the Civil War and abolishing slavery. The ship still makes it to shore because after Lincoln was assassinated, the United States became one Union again, and slavery was abolished (Whitman, “O Captain!”)
In this poem Whitman is finding his “self” because he is describing how he feels when someone he loves has died, but he describes how good of a man he was and how much people loved him. “For you bouquets of ribbon’d wreaths – for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning…” (Whitman, “O Captain!”) This poem could also be related to Whitman's spiritual "self" because Lincoln could be seen as Jesus who sacrifices himself for his people.
In Whitman’s “Myself and Mine” Whitman describes himself. Whitman gives many examples of things he finds important in life (Whitman, “Myself”). Whitman says, “I give nothing as duties; What others give as duties, I give as living impulses; (Shall I give the heart’s action as a duty?) Let others dispose of questions – I dispose of nothing – I arouse unanswerable questions; Who are they I see and touch, and what about them? What about theses likes of myself, that draw me so close by tender directions and indirections?” (Whitman, “Myself”). Whitman describes how he is and what he feels in this small excerpt from the poem. He is finding and describing his “self” in it because he is talking about what he personally believes in.
Song factors into “self” because songs are a lot like poems, and they describe how someone is feeling. Most songs tell a story about someone’s life or what is going on in their life right then. A lot of songs are also about finding out who that person wants to be, or what they should do in a given situation. That is how song relates to “self”.
Whitman is yet another poet/writer from a small background. He has grown, like many other writers, into a famous and terrific author. Whitman writes a lot about finding one’s “self” which is what “O Captain! My Captain!” and “Myself and Mine” are about. Finding one’s “self” can be literally finding out who a person is, or it could be finding out what a person should do in a given situation, like when a loved one is lost. Whitman does a great job in describing what finding one’s “self” is like in many of his poems. He is a terrific writer, and his works are always a pleasurable read.
Works Cited:
“Biography of Walt Whitman”. American Poems…Your Poetry Site. Gunnar Bengtsson:
2000-2011. Accessed 23 Feb 2011. http://www.americanpoems.com
/poets/waltwhitman.
Whitman, Walt. “Myself and Mine”. Leaves of Grass. 1900. Print.
Whitman, Walt. “O Captain! My Captain!”. Leaves of Grass. 1900. Print.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Journal #36: Foooooooooooooooood : )
I have a lot of favorite foods. I really like pizza and sometimes Mexican foods, but my favorite food is chicken parmeson!!!!!! It is so yummy. I love it a lot.
Chicken parmeson is very delicious. It is my favorite food because I like chicken, and I like Italian food. Chicken parmeson tastes absolutely amazing. Chicken parmeson is chicken, breaded or grilled, (but the breaded is sooooooooooo much better)and it has spaghetti sauce, parmeson cheese, and sometimes pepperoni on it. Sometimes it also has Italian herbs on it.
Chicken parmeson smells really good. It smells very Italian. Italian food smells delicious. I have had chicken parmeson from a whole bunch of different restaurants. Whenever my family and I travel and we go out to eat and there is chicken parmeson on the menu, I get it. My favorite place to have chicken parmeson is from a little restaurant in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Its on The Hill which is a street full of Italian family restaurants. You can either get regular chicken parmeson there, or you can get chicken parmeson with pepperonis on it too. It is sooooo delicious! It come's with salad and your choice of spaghetti or a baked potato. I really do not like spaghetti, so I get a baked potato instead. Their salad and baked potatoes are equally as delicious as the chicken parmeson. Their chicken parmeson is a very large portion, so I usually eat about a fourth to a half of it, and I never finish my salad and potato. It is not healthy to eat all that food. You should not eat until your full, you should eat until you are comfortable and not hungry anymore because when you are physically full, a lot of that food turns into fat.
The chicken parmeson at my favorite restaurant is two whole breaded chicken breasts covered with spaghetti sauce, parmeson cheese, some herbs, and sometimes pepperoni. It is so good, but the restaurant is very expensive.
Chicken parmeson is very delicious. It is my favorite food because I like chicken, and I like Italian food. Chicken parmeson tastes absolutely amazing. Chicken parmeson is chicken, breaded or grilled, (but the breaded is sooooooooooo much better)and it has spaghetti sauce, parmeson cheese, and sometimes pepperoni on it. Sometimes it also has Italian herbs on it.
Chicken parmeson smells really good. It smells very Italian. Italian food smells delicious. I have had chicken parmeson from a whole bunch of different restaurants. Whenever my family and I travel and we go out to eat and there is chicken parmeson on the menu, I get it. My favorite place to have chicken parmeson is from a little restaurant in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Its on The Hill which is a street full of Italian family restaurants. You can either get regular chicken parmeson there, or you can get chicken parmeson with pepperonis on it too. It is sooooo delicious! It come's with salad and your choice of spaghetti or a baked potato. I really do not like spaghetti, so I get a baked potato instead. Their salad and baked potatoes are equally as delicious as the chicken parmeson. Their chicken parmeson is a very large portion, so I usually eat about a fourth to a half of it, and I never finish my salad and potato. It is not healthy to eat all that food. You should not eat until your full, you should eat until you are comfortable and not hungry anymore because when you are physically full, a lot of that food turns into fat.
The chicken parmeson at my favorite restaurant is two whole breaded chicken breasts covered with spaghetti sauce, parmeson cheese, some herbs, and sometimes pepperoni. It is so good, but the restaurant is very expensive.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Journal #35: War
To be a reporter reporting a war while standing right in the middle of the war is plain stupid. Why would you ever in a million years want to report a war while laying in a trench? You could die. This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. If I were a reporter (and believe me, I will never be a reporter) I would not go to the center of a war and write little notes about it. That is so dumb. If you are going to go report something right where it is taking place, go write your report at like a chocolate factory or a parade...something fun and not harmful...not in the middle of a war.
Anyways, if I absolutely positively had to go be a reporter in the trenches in the middle of a war, I guess I would most likely write about the war...that is the logical thing to do. I mean I guess I could say how scared I am, or maybe I should try and interview someone while they are right in the middle of fighting someone. That is a terrific idea.
Okay, being serious now...it would be so very scary to be a reporter covering a war with the troops in the trenches. I suppose I could have a gun or something, but only for self defense, I mean, I am not there to actually fight, only to cover a story. It would be a good experience though, and it would be a great story. I could actually write about what it feels, smells, and looks like. Those are all great elements for a story. The sense are what makes a story real and awesome, and I would be able to cover all the senses if I was actually laying right in the middle of my story. I could also write about how all the men are acting and reacting to things, and I could describe what they look like and what they (and I) fear.
Anyways, if I absolutely positively had to go be a reporter in the trenches in the middle of a war, I guess I would most likely write about the war...that is the logical thing to do. I mean I guess I could say how scared I am, or maybe I should try and interview someone while they are right in the middle of fighting someone. That is a terrific idea.
Okay, being serious now...it would be so very scary to be a reporter covering a war with the troops in the trenches. I suppose I could have a gun or something, but only for self defense, I mean, I am not there to actually fight, only to cover a story. It would be a good experience though, and it would be a great story. I could actually write about what it feels, smells, and looks like. Those are all great elements for a story. The sense are what makes a story real and awesome, and I would be able to cover all the senses if I was actually laying right in the middle of my story. I could also write about how all the men are acting and reacting to things, and I could describe what they look like and what they (and I) fear.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Jack London — "To Build a Fire"
Jack London was born in San Francisco (Wilhelm). He lived with a family friend because his mother was very unstable and his father did not want to claim him. London got jobs to earn money for his family at a very young age. He soon trained to be a sailor and signed up to work on a ship going to Siberia. Later, London worked on freight trains and traveled the western United States. While on those trains, London saw how terrible some people's lives were out west, so he decided he wanted to educate himself rather than try and get odd jobs due to his strength. London soon finished high school and college, and then he rushed to the Klondike. He did not find any gold, but from his experiences London wrote "The Call of the Wild" and made big bucks from that novel. He then became a million dollar writer, but he usually spent more money than he was making (Wilhelm).
Jack London's "To Build a Fire" is a great depiction of Naturalism. Naturalism is a subset of Realism that focuses on nature and a human's approach to it (Werlock). Jack London's short story is about a man who tries to survive in Alaska in the winter with his Huskie (London). It is obviously very cold because it is Alaska, and it is in the winter. London's "To Build a Fire" resembles Naturalism a lot because the main character has to battle the elements to stay alive (London). The main character has to make many decisions to keep himself and his dog alive, and, as the title says, he builds a fire, which is a very important thing to have in the Alaskan territory in the middle of winter (London). This short story resembles Naturalism because it deals completely with nature and man's interactions within it which is basically what Naturalism is.
At the beginning of the short story the main character and his dog go out in search of gold in the Alaskan territory which is a lot like what London actually did during his early years (London). The main character does not find any gold, and he soon becomes engulfed in the wilderness. The man starts to become like another animal who is only concerned with surviving (London). This short story has a lot to do with man vs. nature and Darwin's survival of the fittest ideas (Welock). This story definitely illustrates the survival of the fittest idea, but the main character is not competing against any specific person but against himself and nature. The protagonist must fight against his own will and the elements of nature to survive which is a lot of what Naturalism is about.
Nature is a definite main focus of this short story. The main character and his dog are both caught in nature, and they have to try to overcome it to survive (London). Psychology is also present in "To Build a Fire" because the main character has to overcome his own will to survive and to keep going (London). The American Dream is also a part of this short story because the protagonist is in Alaska in search of gold which is most likely a part of the Klondike rush which is definitely a part of the American Dream because a lot of people were moving out west to find gold, and they eventually went to Alaska for gold also.
Works Cited:
London, Jack. From "To Build a Fire." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. . Print.
Werlock, Abby H. P. "naturalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0501&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 8, 2011).
Wilhelm, Jeffrey. "Meet Jack London." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 601. Print.
Jack London's "To Build a Fire" is a great depiction of Naturalism. Naturalism is a subset of Realism that focuses on nature and a human's approach to it (Werlock). Jack London's short story is about a man who tries to survive in Alaska in the winter with his Huskie (London). It is obviously very cold because it is Alaska, and it is in the winter. London's "To Build a Fire" resembles Naturalism a lot because the main character has to battle the elements to stay alive (London). The main character has to make many decisions to keep himself and his dog alive, and, as the title says, he builds a fire, which is a very important thing to have in the Alaskan territory in the middle of winter (London). This short story resembles Naturalism because it deals completely with nature and man's interactions within it which is basically what Naturalism is.
At the beginning of the short story the main character and his dog go out in search of gold in the Alaskan territory which is a lot like what London actually did during his early years (London). The main character does not find any gold, and he soon becomes engulfed in the wilderness. The man starts to become like another animal who is only concerned with surviving (London). This short story has a lot to do with man vs. nature and Darwin's survival of the fittest ideas (Welock). This story definitely illustrates the survival of the fittest idea, but the main character is not competing against any specific person but against himself and nature. The protagonist must fight against his own will and the elements of nature to survive which is a lot of what Naturalism is about.
Nature is a definite main focus of this short story. The main character and his dog are both caught in nature, and they have to try to overcome it to survive (London). Psychology is also present in "To Build a Fire" because the main character has to overcome his own will to survive and to keep going (London). The American Dream is also a part of this short story because the protagonist is in Alaska in search of gold which is most likely a part of the Klondike rush which is definitely a part of the American Dream because a lot of people were moving out west to find gold, and they eventually went to Alaska for gold also.
Works Cited:
London, Jack. From "To Build a Fire." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. . Print.
Werlock, Abby H. P. "naturalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0501&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 8, 2011).
Wilhelm, Jeffrey. "Meet Jack London." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 601. Print.
Edwin Arlington Robinson – "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy"
Edwin Arlington Robinson's "Richard Cory" is a great portrayal of Realism. The poem is about a man who seems to have everything he needs (Robinson, "Richard"). All of his neighbors are jealous of him and he dresses and carries himself, but in the end of the poem, Richard Cory kills himself (Robinson, "Richard"). "He was a gentleman from sole to crown, clean favored, and imperially slim. And he was rich-yes, richer than a king- and admirably schooled in every grace: in fine, we thought that he was everything to make us wish that we were in his place. So on we worked, and waited for the light, and went without the meat, and cursed the bread; and Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head" (Robinson, "Richard"). This exert from the poem is a definite description of Realism because it tells what really happens, and it describes life as it really is. All of Richard Cory's neighbors thought that he was the best person ever (Robinson, "Richard"). They practically thought he was a god, but there was obviously something wrong with him because he killed himself (Robinson, "Richard"). This represents Realism because it is real and it is what really happened.
Another poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson called "Miniver Cheevy" is about a man who loves all kinds of things and scorns others, but he is really just a drunk who is prtty much crazy (Robinson, "Miniver"). "Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn, grew lean while he assailed the seasons; He wept that he was ever born, and he had reasons...Miniver loved the days of old when swords were bright and steeds were prancing; the vision of a warrior bold would set him dancing...Miniver Cheevy. born too late, scratched his head and kept on thinking; Miniver coughed, and called it fate, and kept on drinking" (Robinson, "Miniver"). This poem represents Realism because it tells what Miniver Cheevy is thinking and what his life is really like. The poem could be taken two ways. Either Miniver Cheevy is drinking because he is upset that he was not born in Meideval times, or because of his drinking, he somehow feels that he should be a night in shining army. Either way that it is taken, this poem represents Realism because it tells the reader what is really going on in Minivel Cheevy's head.
Religion, government, the American Dream, the Hero, figurative language, and nature do not really have an important part in either of these two poems, but human nature and psychology both have a pretty large role in them. Psychology and human nature is used in "Richard Cory" because everyone is jealous of Richard Cory- jealousy being a part of human nature- but something was going on in Richard Cory's life which made him want to kill himself (Robinson, "Richard"). "Miniver Cheevy" has psychology in it because Miniver Cheevy is kind of a crazy man, and he somehow believes that he should be living in Medieval times (Robinson, "Miniver"). Neither of the poems really reflect their time period either. "Richard Cory" somewhat reflects society because all of Richard Cory's neighbors are extremely jealous of him and everything that he has (Robinson, "Richard").
Works Cited:
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.
Another poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson called "Miniver Cheevy" is about a man who loves all kinds of things and scorns others, but he is really just a drunk who is prtty much crazy (Robinson, "Miniver"). "Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn, grew lean while he assailed the seasons; He wept that he was ever born, and he had reasons...Miniver loved the days of old when swords were bright and steeds were prancing; the vision of a warrior bold would set him dancing...Miniver Cheevy. born too late, scratched his head and kept on thinking; Miniver coughed, and called it fate, and kept on drinking" (Robinson, "Miniver"). This poem represents Realism because it tells what Miniver Cheevy is thinking and what his life is really like. The poem could be taken two ways. Either Miniver Cheevy is drinking because he is upset that he was not born in Meideval times, or because of his drinking, he somehow feels that he should be a night in shining army. Either way that it is taken, this poem represents Realism because it tells the reader what is really going on in Minivel Cheevy's head.
Religion, government, the American Dream, the Hero, figurative language, and nature do not really have an important part in either of these two poems, but human nature and psychology both have a pretty large role in them. Psychology and human nature is used in "Richard Cory" because everyone is jealous of Richard Cory- jealousy being a part of human nature- but something was going on in Richard Cory's life which made him want to kill himself (Robinson, "Richard"). "Miniver Cheevy" has psychology in it because Miniver Cheevy is kind of a crazy man, and he somehow believes that he should be living in Medieval times (Robinson, "Miniver"). Neither of the poems really reflect their time period either. "Richard Cory" somewhat reflects society because all of Richard Cory's neighbors are extremely jealous of him and everything that he has (Robinson, "Richard").
Works Cited:
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"
In Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Douglass" he writes about Frederick Douglass, a former slave who escaped and became a speaker and leader against slavery (Dunbar, "Douglass"). Dunbar tells how Douglass' voice and speeches have helped the slaves get through their tough times. In Dunbar's poem, slavery is represented by a giant storm. The slaves are a ship that ride against the storm, and Douglass' voice leads them through the way to safety (Dunbar, "Douglass").
This poem represents Realism because it talks about the things that happen to the slaves. It may not talk about those things directly, but Dunbar uses figurative language and symbolism to get his point across. "We ride amid a tempest of dispraise...now, when the waves of swift dissension swarm...Oh, for thy voice high-sounding o'er the storm, for thy strong arm to guide the shivering bark, the blast-defying power of thy form, to give us comfort through the lonely dark" (Dunbar, "Douglass"). As said before, the boat is a symbol of the slaves, the storm is a symbol of slavery, and Douglass' voice helps the boat (slaves) get through the storm (slavery) (Dunbar, "Douglass"). Realism is present here because the underlying message of the poem is that the slaves are being tossed around by their slave owners, and they need someone to help them through the tough times. This is Realism because Realism because of what is real and what is true, and the way the slaves are feeling is real and true.
Dunbar's next poem, "We Wear The Mask", is about people who wear a mask around others who only see them for who they are when they wear "the mask" (Dunbar, "We"). In reading this poem one can come to the conclusion that the people wearing the mask are slaves, and the people who see them for who they are only when the wear the mask are the white people. "Why should the world be overwise, in counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while we wear the mask" (Dunbar, "We"). The slaves wear a mask while working in the fields and on the plantations so that they white people cannot see what they are really feeling. They wear a mask through every aspect of their lives so that the white people cannot get any satisfaction from beating them or treating them unfairly. This is why the poem says, "Nay, let them only see us, while we wear the mask" (Dunbar, "We").
This poem represents Realism because the speaker talks about how he and his people are treated unfairly, but that they wear a mask so that people cannot see how they really feel. This is a representation of Realism because the poem tells the reader what is really going on, and why they protagonists are acting the way they are.
Both of these poems reflect society during their time period because they are about slaves. The poems are about how slaves are mistreated, and they speak of the quiet way they express their feelings towards the way they are being treated. These poems do not really talk about the American Dream, the Hero, government, or psychology. The first poem talks about nature because it describes slaves and slavery as a ship and a storm on the sea. The second poem only talks about religion in one sentence, "We Smile, but, O great Christ, our cries to thee from tortured souls arise" (Dunbar, "We"). This line does tell the reader though that they narrator of the poem is religious.
Works Cited:
Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 570. Print.
Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 571. Print.
This poem represents Realism because it talks about the things that happen to the slaves. It may not talk about those things directly, but Dunbar uses figurative language and symbolism to get his point across. "We ride amid a tempest of dispraise...now, when the waves of swift dissension swarm...Oh, for thy voice high-sounding o'er the storm, for thy strong arm to guide the shivering bark, the blast-defying power of thy form, to give us comfort through the lonely dark" (Dunbar, "Douglass"). As said before, the boat is a symbol of the slaves, the storm is a symbol of slavery, and Douglass' voice helps the boat (slaves) get through the storm (slavery) (Dunbar, "Douglass"). Realism is present here because the underlying message of the poem is that the slaves are being tossed around by their slave owners, and they need someone to help them through the tough times. This is Realism because Realism because of what is real and what is true, and the way the slaves are feeling is real and true.
Dunbar's next poem, "We Wear The Mask", is about people who wear a mask around others who only see them for who they are when they wear "the mask" (Dunbar, "We"). In reading this poem one can come to the conclusion that the people wearing the mask are slaves, and the people who see them for who they are only when the wear the mask are the white people. "Why should the world be overwise, in counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while we wear the mask" (Dunbar, "We"). The slaves wear a mask while working in the fields and on the plantations so that they white people cannot see what they are really feeling. They wear a mask through every aspect of their lives so that the white people cannot get any satisfaction from beating them or treating them unfairly. This is why the poem says, "Nay, let them only see us, while we wear the mask" (Dunbar, "We").
This poem represents Realism because the speaker talks about how he and his people are treated unfairly, but that they wear a mask so that people cannot see how they really feel. This is a representation of Realism because the poem tells the reader what is really going on, and why they protagonists are acting the way they are.
Both of these poems reflect society during their time period because they are about slaves. The poems are about how slaves are mistreated, and they speak of the quiet way they express their feelings towards the way they are being treated. These poems do not really talk about the American Dream, the Hero, government, or psychology. The first poem talks about nature because it describes slaves and slavery as a ship and a storm on the sea. The second poem only talks about religion in one sentence, "We Smile, but, O great Christ, our cries to thee from tortured souls arise" (Dunbar, "We"). This line does tell the reader though that they narrator of the poem is religious.
Works Cited:
Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 570. Print.
Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 571. Print.
Chief Joseph – "I Will Fight No More Forever"
Chief Joseph of a chief of the Nez Perce Indians located in Northwest Oregon in Wallowa Valley (McCloskey). In 1877 the Nez Perce were ordered to live in a reservation, but they refused. Instead of going to the reservation, Chief Joseph attempted to lead his people to Canada. They crossed Idaho and Montana, and they fought the United States army the whole way. Chief Joseph's people were trapped about forty miles outside of Canada, and they then had a five day fight. All of the Indians who remained after that fight were beaten. Chief Joseph then made his speech on October 5, 1877 at the Bear Paw's battleground in Montana (McCloskey).
Chief Joseph's speech says:
"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever" (McCloskey).
This speech depicts Realism because Chief Joseph was very real with the men he was talking to. He finally kind of gave up and said, "look, this is how things are for us right now, I need time to find my people and make sure they are okay." This is an example of Realism because Chief Joseph told the people what he was feeling and thinking, and he was very real about it. This speech could be an example of Naturalism because the listener to the speech is put in Chief Joseph's place when they listen to this speech. They hear the chief's troubles, and the chief pretty much asks them to put themselves in his shoes by saying that he needs to find his people (in which case he is actually asking to find his people, which is why he is asking the listener to put themselves in his shoes because they would want to find their people too if they were Chief Joseph at that time).
Chief Joseph concludes with, "Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever" (McCloskey). This is another example of Realism because Chief Joseph is being real when he says that he is very tired of fighting. Chief Joseph, and other Indian chiefs, had to fight for their people for a long time during the American expansion period. They had to fight for their land, their food, and even just their culture and way of living. Not only was Chief Joseph sick of fighting for that, but he was literally sick of fighting in combat (McCloskey).
Chief Joseph's speech reflects his society during his time period for the reasons stated above. A lot of Indian tribes were being forced out of their land given to them by the government and into small reservations. The government ties into his speech because they were forcing the Indians to move onto reservation which is what Chief Joseph did not want to do. The typical "Hero" we talk about in literature does not make an appearance in Chief Joseph's speech, but I think Chief Joseph is a hero for trying to save his people and take them to a better part of the continent where they could live peacefully. I also think he is a hero because he stopped fighting because his people were getting very hurt, and they were sick, cold, hungry, and tired which is what a true leader should do. They should always be looking after their people which is what Chief Joseph was doing.
Works Cited:
McCloskey, Mary Lou. "Surrender Speech of Chief Joseph". obtained 15 Feb 2011. http://www2.gsu.edu/~eslmlm/chiefjoseph.html.
Chief Joseph's speech says:
"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever" (McCloskey).
This speech depicts Realism because Chief Joseph was very real with the men he was talking to. He finally kind of gave up and said, "look, this is how things are for us right now, I need time to find my people and make sure they are okay." This is an example of Realism because Chief Joseph told the people what he was feeling and thinking, and he was very real about it. This speech could be an example of Naturalism because the listener to the speech is put in Chief Joseph's place when they listen to this speech. They hear the chief's troubles, and the chief pretty much asks them to put themselves in his shoes by saying that he needs to find his people (in which case he is actually asking to find his people, which is why he is asking the listener to put themselves in his shoes because they would want to find their people too if they were Chief Joseph at that time).
Chief Joseph concludes with, "Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever" (McCloskey). This is another example of Realism because Chief Joseph is being real when he says that he is very tired of fighting. Chief Joseph, and other Indian chiefs, had to fight for their people for a long time during the American expansion period. They had to fight for their land, their food, and even just their culture and way of living. Not only was Chief Joseph sick of fighting for that, but he was literally sick of fighting in combat (McCloskey).
Chief Joseph's speech reflects his society during his time period for the reasons stated above. A lot of Indian tribes were being forced out of their land given to them by the government and into small reservations. The government ties into his speech because they were forcing the Indians to move onto reservation which is what Chief Joseph did not want to do. The typical "Hero" we talk about in literature does not make an appearance in Chief Joseph's speech, but I think Chief Joseph is a hero for trying to save his people and take them to a better part of the continent where they could live peacefully. I also think he is a hero because he stopped fighting because his people were getting very hurt, and they were sick, cold, hungry, and tired which is what a true leader should do. They should always be looking after their people which is what Chief Joseph was doing.
Works Cited:
McCloskey, Mary Lou. "Surrender Speech of Chief Joseph". obtained 15 Feb 2011. http://www2.gsu.edu/~eslmlm/chiefjoseph.html.
Mark Twain – "Two Views of the River"
Samuel Langhorne, whose pen name is Mark Twain, lived in Missouri during his childhood (Wilhelm). He lived in Hannibal. Twain fell in love with the Mississippi River at a very young age, and he had always wanted to be a riverboat pilot. His father died when he was very young causing him to find a job as a printer's apprentice. After several years though, Twain managed to have his dream job. Later in life Twain moved to Nevada. From his experiences in Nevada, Twain wrote his short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County". Twain later wrote "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from his experiences he had as a riverboat pilot. These two novels made him a very well known and iconic writer. Twain also wrote, "Two Views of the River" from his river boating experiences (Wilhelm).
Mark Twains, "Two Views of the River" is about his life as a riverboat pilot. Twain has wanted to be a riverboat pilot all his life (Wilhelm). Once he finally becomes a riverboat pilot and is one for a very long time, he finds that something is missing that used to be there (Twain). Twain soon finds that a river that he once loved very much has no interest to him anymore, and it is very sad.
This story portrays Realism in that it shows a lot about an American Hero chasing after his American Dream. Twain grew up without a father, so he did not have a lot of money (Wilhelm). He had to get a job at a very early age, so his dream of being a riverboat pilot was far from attainable. Somehow, Twain was able to obtain his American Dream, though, going from "rags to riches", (riches being his dream of being a riverboat pilot) and he soon was living a pretty good life (Wilhelm). Unfortunately though, in Twain's "Two Views of the River" the reader of Mark Twain's novels finds out that his extreme love for the Mississippi River and passion for river boating have come to an end (Twain). Twain finds that something is missing in what he used to love, which is a very sad thing for one to read about because that same thing happens to a lot of people. It is extremely sad to here it happen to one's favorite author though.
Nature is also present in Twain's "Two Views of the River" because Twain is talking about a river which is definitely in nature. Twain always describes how beautiful and peaceful the river is and how he always looks at it in awe (Twain). This is a trait of Realism because nature is a main element in telling a story how it really happens. Nature tends to have a huge impact on a story especially in Realism.
Human nature is somewhat a part of "Two Views of the River" because Twain tries to get his reader to think about what they really want (Twain). He describes how his love for the river and being a riverboat pilot of died, and he asks the reader to think about what they really want which brings out the human nature in all of the readers (Twain).
Works Cited:
Twain, Mark. From "Two Views of the River." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 504-505. Print.
Mark Twains, "Two Views of the River" is about his life as a riverboat pilot. Twain has wanted to be a riverboat pilot all his life (Wilhelm). Once he finally becomes a riverboat pilot and is one for a very long time, he finds that something is missing that used to be there (Twain). Twain soon finds that a river that he once loved very much has no interest to him anymore, and it is very sad.
This story portrays Realism in that it shows a lot about an American Hero chasing after his American Dream. Twain grew up without a father, so he did not have a lot of money (Wilhelm). He had to get a job at a very early age, so his dream of being a riverboat pilot was far from attainable. Somehow, Twain was able to obtain his American Dream, though, going from "rags to riches", (riches being his dream of being a riverboat pilot) and he soon was living a pretty good life (Wilhelm). Unfortunately though, in Twain's "Two Views of the River" the reader of Mark Twain's novels finds out that his extreme love for the Mississippi River and passion for river boating have come to an end (Twain). Twain finds that something is missing in what he used to love, which is a very sad thing for one to read about because that same thing happens to a lot of people. It is extremely sad to here it happen to one's favorite author though.
Nature is also present in Twain's "Two Views of the River" because Twain is talking about a river which is definitely in nature. Twain always describes how beautiful and peaceful the river is and how he always looks at it in awe (Twain). This is a trait of Realism because nature is a main element in telling a story how it really happens. Nature tends to have a huge impact on a story especially in Realism.
Human nature is somewhat a part of "Two Views of the River" because Twain tries to get his reader to think about what they really want (Twain). He describes how his love for the river and being a riverboat pilot of died, and he asks the reader to think about what they really want which brings out the human nature in all of the readers (Twain).
Works Cited:
Twain, Mark. From "Two Views of the River." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 504-505. Print.
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