The Crying of Lot 49

Upon the completion of this book (The Crying of Lot 49, by Thomas Pynchon), my original declaration that this book was eccentric and confusing, stands confirmed. Before I really delved deep into the book, I was aware that the novel would have hallucinations and a sense of paranoia (as vividly displayed by the music band “The Paranoids” that were constantly present). From the onset of the book there was this general consensus from literary elements as well as the cultural elements of the time, that this book was unusual and was a depiction of the times. At the very beginning of the story, Oedipa’s doctor is randomly calling her in the wee hours of the morning attempting to convince her to take LSD: “When can you let us fit you into our schedule.”(8). This random and abrupt incident serves to set the absurdity of the tone for the story. Occurrences such as these are common happenings in the novel and they add to the confusion as well as ridiculous nature. The next major act presented in the story that hinted to me that this would be a strange tale of everyone being “paranoid” was the continuous presence of “The Paranoids”. Each time The Paranoids were around, naturally, I assumed (as the characters felt) an eerie feeling was around. The band seemed to appear in the most random, awkward, and strange moments, like when the minor character, Manny Di Presso suddenly runs up on Oedipa and Metzer claiming to be a lawyer bringing a case against the estate of Pierce Inverarity: “Metzer looked around. The Paranoids and their chicks may have been out of earshot…. ‘They’ve been listening’, screamed Di Presso, ‘thosde kids. All the time, somebody listens in, snoops; they bug your apartment, they tap your phone-‘” (48). The Paranoids seem to add even more absurdity to bizarre situations. Everyone is on the edge of their seat. Everyone believes that there is some great conspiracy out there and the presence of the Paranoids adds to the mood of their anxiety. This was another indicator to me that this book would be full of delusions. The last and one of the most important indicators of the certain in congruency of the story was the use of drugs/the attempt to get others to take drugs. Drugs such as LSD and mushrooms were highly popular drugs during the 1960s and the topic of drugs surrounds this entire story. Each chapter has some mention of drugs and has representations of the side affects of drugs: “They had all been smoking, snuffing, or injecting something, and perhaps did not see her at all.” (98).. Even though Oedipa refuses to take them, she herself is constantly surrounded by people who are taking them and the atmosphere is mostly convoluted with these drugs, that even though she does not directly take these drugs, she still suffers the side affects such as hallucinations and confusion. These hallucinations interfered with her every day functioning as she was willing to admit to herself that: “Later, possibly, she would have trouble sorting the night into real and dreamed.” (95). With such conflict and confusion amongst the main character, I knew that I myself was doomed to be confused, because if she herself did not know whether or not the events she believed to be happening were real or not, then how was I suppose to know. I think Pynchon did this (wrote the story this way) to heighten the story so it would not only fit in the time period by its topic and allusions, but also in the mood of the times.

The Brooch

It is quite possible that Howard suffers from the Oedipus complex in which he unconsciously dreamed of killing his father to marry his mother, however since his father went away after six months after his birth it is quite possible that his eccentric attachment to his mother is “the marriage”. With his competition gone (his father), Howard has claimed his mother as his woman and he has a weird and twisted relationship to his mother and toward other girls. It seemed as if Howard was not even really interested in women, by the angelic look he had on his face as he passed by these women without looking at them. “…hurried with averted head, even when his mother was not with him, past young girls in the streets…” (648). If he had already formed a solid “relationship” with his mother, there was no need for him to betray her messing with other women. Their strange relationship continued even when he went to college she moved with him. They had grown so dependent on each other with the absence of strong male figures in both of their lives (she being husbandless and fatherless) gravitate towards each other. They are filling that missing void with each other, esp. Howard’s mother. She reminds me of Narcissa in “There Was a Queen”, because Narcissa did the same thing after the death of her husband and all she had left was her little son. Getting stuck in the Oedipus complex is very unhealthy and will inevitably lead to unhealthy relationships with women in the future, thus with Howard, he went from one extreme to the next: He married a “loose” woman (who was doomed to have unhealthy relationships as well, because she was an orphan and had no one around to teach her how to build healthy relationships with men). The first signs that their relationship was doomed to be dysfunctional was when he was so eager to marry her so quickly and then his physical aggression towards her. “She fell back a little as he gripped her shoulder…he dragged her, screaming and struggling…across the dance floor…took her across his lap and spanked her.” (651). Howard is assuming a father role in spanking her. This is obviously not a typical husband-wife relationship. Being in a relationship with someone other than his mother was definitely hard for him that is why his relationship with his wife, Amy, was so messed up, because he really did not know how to balance his emotions and feelings in a relationship with a woman. Eventually the battle between his weird relationship with his mother and with his wife (with neither of them working out successfully) leads to his suicide.

There Was a Queen

“There Was a Queen” by William Faulkner depicts the triumph of the New South and the fading away of the “Old South”. This depiction is paralleled to the young Bayard wife, Narcissa, and the last “true” Bayard woman, Miss Jenny. Miss Jenny is the last blood true full blooded member of the Satoris family and she herself is close to death. In direct opposition to Miss Jenny is Narcissa the young wife of the last dead Bayard. Miss Jenny represents the fading South, while Narcissa represents the new age of the South, which is full of change.
Miss Jenny is the Queen referred to in the title. She has been reigning over the family land and slaves ever since the death of the rest of her relatives. As she continues to age, times are drastically changing during this post Civil War period; however she, like most Southerners deeply rooted in their own mindsets, is stubborn to change. Even the house servant Elnora notices this change with the coming of Narcissa and she does not like it either. With much disdain and disgust, Elnora declares that Narcissa is unlike the Sartoris family and has no business attempting to fit in. “I ain’t got nothing against her. I just say let quality consort with quality, and unquality do the same thing.” (734). Elnora (and Miss Jenny) recognizes and feels that Narcissa is unlike the Sartoris family in many ways and she does not have a good feeling about the future changes that may come along with her presence.
Despite her resilience to the changes, she and Elnora must endure them through Narcissa. Narcissa is disrupting Southern traditions as she changes the food they eat. No longer is cornbread or biscuits a normality at the dinner table, but rather they eat sliced bread. Most true old Southerners are willing to shout their love for biscuits and cornbread at the top of their lungs, however with Narcissa representing the “New South”, she is already breaking with once firmly traditions. Narcissa persists in doing things atypical of a normal Southern woman as she brings a Jew home for dinner. Miss Jenny had done well with holding her tongue up until that point. “…she knew at once he was a Jew, and when he spoke to her her outrage became fury and she jerked back in the chair like a striking snake, the motion strong enough to thrust the chair back from the table.” (736). She just could not under any circumstance tolerate a Jew at her dinner table, which is completely understandable, because those were the beliefs steadfastly lodged in her brain. Northerners were the enemy and a Jew was even worse.
As all of these changes continue, Miss Jenny is slowly dying and fading away to the background. The final straw that sealed the fate of the New South completely overtaking the Old South was when the new of Narcissa’s sexual encounter to retrieve old love letters was revealed. Receiving love letters from a man that was not your husband, was in itself bad enough, however to sleep with a man to obtain some sort of “treasure” in return, for whatever reason, was completely unacceptable and uncommon in the Old South. Miss Jenny could not take it. This news was too much for her and she herself realized that this battle was lost. Narcissa was too much for her to combat alone in her old age and fragile state, thus she faded away into death. She placed her bonnet on her head in despair and denied access to the light: “…a slender, erect figure indicated only beside the window framed by the sparse and defunctive Carolina glass.” (742).

Gertrude Stein's Work

Upon my first reading of Gertrude Stein’s writings, I was highly confused. The words seemed randomly placed on the paper in a meaningless fashion as if it was painting canvas just splashed with paint and called art, yet in this situation it would be called “literature”. After taking a step back and reading the biographical note by Linda Wagner Martin, I realized that Stein’s writing was a unique form of literature misunderstood by many. Linda Wagner Martin explicitly explains the inimitable nature if Gertrude Stein’s work: “Diligent in her efforts to create a meaningful language, one that would reach the reader's consciousness in ways that most writing did not, Stein plumbed areas of communication that are as often non-verbal as linguistic.” In her writings, Stein used the random and sporadic, yet continuous placement of words to add to the meaning and rhythm of her writings. For example in “Susie Asado”, Stein uses repetition to form a sort of rhythm to go along with her subject. Susie Asado was believed to have been an actual dancer (either flamenco or salsa), thus the recurrence of, “sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet tea” (1149) can seen to be a sort of beat for the reader to catch as they imagine Susie Asado. Another example of Stein’s attempt to use her erratic repetitive words to form pictures is in “Preciosilla”. Stein is depicting a sex scene in and the rhythm of these two lovers can be caught and imagined as Stein says, “….go go go go go go, go. Go go. Not guessed. Go go.”(1150). Stein has created fragment sentences that on the surface seem to make no sense, however as one listens to the words, one gets a sense of the scene that is taking place. So like that piece of art work we might view which we might see as merely paint splashed on a canvas, Stein’s literature is really complex and picturesque, however one must view her uninhibited use of words as literature that draws upon more of our senses beyond sight. We must attempt to hear the piece or we will not get an accurate reading of the literature.

Desiree's Baby

Armand Aubigny seemed to be the typical male during the times when Kate Chopin wrote, “Desiree’s Baby”. Armand was a white man of affluence and wealth as well as a prideful and demanding man. He liked to be in control of the things around him (such as exerting his control over his Negro slaves and his household), so one day when he looked at his baby and realized that there was something off about this beautiful, white, and pure child, he was expectedly perturbed. As the child grows older, Armand realizes that this child that he has cherished and adored is not a purebred white baby. This notion disgusts and hurts him. His pride does not allow him to accept this love child of him and wife instead he turns away from her. “He thought that Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him; and he felt somehow, he was paying Him back in kind when he stabbed thus into his wife’s soul.” (362). Being a man who likes to be in the forefront and have a considerable amount of influence in all situations, Armand is despaired by this “unjust act” of God, so he decides to repay this injustice done to him, but punishing his wife. He is unwilling to hear any sort of argument posed by his wife (admittance or refute), he feels as if he must come out on top at the end of this as if he is equivalent to God and can stand toe to toe with him in affecting people’s lives.
Not for one second does Armand stop to think that maybe this trace of blackness in their child could have somehow come from him. He immediately assumes it was his wife and does not waver in this proclamation. Being a man during those times in which most men were chauvinistic and domineering, he had to protect his reputation and good name. He didn’t want people to know that his wife was breeding black babies and he found it acceptable and would continue to love her. “Moreover he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name.” (362). Armand was a prideful man, who had a reputation to protect, thus it was only plausible that he expel his wife from their household and from his life. It was such a frightening thought as to what the country people might say if they found out that Desiree had produced a mulatto baby: maybe she was part black or maybe she cheated on her husband with a black man. He would be mocked and looked down upon if this ever occurred. The possibilities were horrible and Armand had to protect his good name.
Also within this piece I found the notion of blackness being evil presented through the baby. When it was discovered that the baby had vestiges of black into it, suddenly the house, Armand’s mood, their marriage, as well as the tone of the book, became dark and gloomy. Happiness was gone with the birthing of this blackness. Even though Armand loved this baby initially as soon as he saw blackness presenting itself in his child, his demeanor toward the child quickly changed. Armand allowed this notion of blackness being evil to ruin his marriage as well as his life (because possibly he would have not found out about his own black heritage if he did not start that fire to burn all lasting memories of Desiree and their child, until later on in his life). It was such a sin back then to be the parents of a mulatto child. Those parents were shunned and seen as evil and impure themselves, because blacks were still seen and treated as dirt, so to procreate with one of them was an unpleasing thought and one that people believed would turn the whole world upside down if it was warmly accepted.

The Birth of a Friendship

One of the most crucial developments to follow in Mark Twain’s novel, Huckleberry Finn, is the blossoming of Huck and Jim’s relationship. Initially their relationship is one of mere associates and on in which Huck takes precedence over Jim, however as they spend more time together Huck’s view of Jim begins to change.
Initially, Huck does not view them as equals, thus the element of respect is missing from their relationship (in terms of Huck respecting Jim). When we are first introduced to Jim in the novel, it is through Huck and Tom’s childish pranks and teasing. Jim is viewed by the boys as a sort of a game, just something humorous to pass time with. They completely disregard Jim’s feelings and well-being. On the occasion in which Tom wants to tie Jim to a tree and commence to tease him, Huck rejects this idea, for his own sake not for Jim’s. “But I said no; he might wake and make a disturbance, and then they’d find out I warn’t in.” (74). Huck’s fear of getting caught and being punished guides his actions more so than morality and kindness. Jim is not even viewed as a human being. He is seen as property and thus Jim feels as if he can treat him however, unless it will cause some sort of unwarranted backlash on himself.
This treatment continues even as Jim becomes a sort of protector over Huck as their paths cross on Jackson Island after they both flee the mainland. Even though Huck expresses some joy in stumbling upon Jim, his emotions are all one sided and centered around himself. His joy over Jim is that now he does not have to be alone; now he has a form of entertainment and even someone to assist him in whatever dangers he might encounter. Huck and Jim do not have a friendship yet. Steps toward a friendship begin as Huck nervously and dubiously agrees not to turn Jim in for running away from his masters. This is a momentous step in their relationship and even though much doubt crossed Huck’s mind while he was agreeing to this promise, this shows that Huck cares for Jim some, because this promise not only continues Jim’s loyalty to Huck, but it initiates Huck’s loyalty to Jim. They are now bound together, however the relationship is still not quite 50-50 in equality, because Huck still encounters many experiences in their journey in which his childish and immature nature cause him to revert back to viewing Jim as a sort of concrete and emotionless joke/game in which he can toy with, for example, when Huck gets lost in the fog temporarily, Jim is worried about him and makes a big fuss, yet Huck tells him he dreamed it all up. “Well. This is too many for me, Jim. I hain’t seen no fog, not no islands, nor no troubles, nor nothing. I been setting here talking with you all night till you went to sleep about ten minutes ago, and I reckon I done the same.” (141). Jim knows this to be a joke and he views it as a cruel act from Huck, because Jim views Huck as his friend (esp. since Huck promised not to turn him in for being a run away).
I viewed this scene as the most crucial turning point in Huck and Jim’s relationship. I feel it was this occurrence that really bound Huck and Jim together, despite some of the doubt hat crept into Huck’s head from time to time. Here Huck began to view Jim as a human being, a person, a friend, whom he really did care for, because only when we care for someone do we allow for ourselves to be moved by their emotions. This only happens with people we hold dear; their sorrows become our own and we are able to empathize with them. Huck begins to realize how he has hurt Jim and he does not like the way that makes him feel, so he apologizes. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger-but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t have done that one if I had a knowed it would make him feel that way.” (142). Huck has accepted Jim as a person and as a friend. They now have a special bond that moves beyond loyalty and sense of duty. There is feeling and emotion involved.

"I like the look of Agony" by Emily Dickinson

Too many times in history when the country, continent, or world is undergoing great difficulty or conflict, there is always that person (or group of people) who attempt to “sugarcoat” the situation. For different reasons people attempt to downplay the seriousness of momentous occasions. I like this Emily Dickinson poem, “I like the look of Agony”, because I feel as if she is speaking out against those phony facades and saying how precious the truth looks to those of us who desire it. “Because I know it’s true” (2). Dickinson did not write this poem for sadistic or gloomy pleasure derived from depression rather in advocating purpose of promoting the truth and realness. Dickinson does not concentrate on how delighted she is by the look of agony, but she is focusing on the look of agony itself and the emotions shown in the face. “Men do not sham Convulsion, nor stimulate a throe…” (3-4). No one walks around with the look of agony for no reason. There is always a reason behind this look of anguish and the best way for the issues behind these emotions it to express them, so a person could assist in relieving these cares and stresses. In relation to the Civil War, if the generals and leaders were lying or keeping the truth from the civilians, the civilians were walking around with a false sense of self and security, however even though disturbing news will cause their faces to become distorted and their attitudes changed, it is most beneficial in the long run. “The Beads upon the forehead by homely anguish strung” (7-8). This is quite a vivid picture of the beads of sweat that collect themselves upon the forehead of those in distressed. These beads of sweat look quite disgusting and can make a person nervous, however Dickinson loves the look of this because the this is an indication of the truth speaking, no matter how disturbing the news. All of the ducks are in a row now. Dickinson chooses to use such violent and frantic words to describe this look of anguish, because admittingly it is not a pretty site, but as they say, the truth isn’t pretty. Dickinson isn’t glorifying depression, but merely calling for honesty in the midst of hard times. If Dickinson was writing this poem in relation to the dishonesty and information held back from the public, she is declaring that she would rather be sweating in a panic, while informed of every major occurrence, rather than blissfully ignorant.

Walt Whitman's "Beat! Beat! Drums!"

“Beat! Beat! Drums!” by Walt Whitman is definitely supporting Mark Neely’s assertion that Whitman concerns seemed to lie more in liberation and contentment for the Union rather than emancipation for the slaves. “Into the school where the scholar is studying....would the singers attempt to sing? Would lawyers rise in the court to state his case before the judge?” (3-16). All throughout Whitman’s poem it seems as if he is mentally traveling through the town and observing the different scenes that the beat of war drums would disturb and none of these scenes involve the slaves; the scene focus on places in which one would imagine White people to be at (such as the lawyer at the court house). Whitman is insinuating that the beating of these war drums and the blowing of these war bugles are going to greatly disturb the everyday lives of the people, however he seems to leave out a very large group of people, who this war is going to affect more than anyone else: the slaves. Whitman’s omission of the slaves rightful rises eyebrows from scholars and historians, because he is known to be a man greatly concerned about the nation and seems to really push for democracy and freedom, however the plight of the slaves is absent from his expressive writings.
“Mind not the timid-mind not the weeper or prayer, mind not the old man beseeching the young man, let not the child’s voice be heard, nor the mother’s entreaties.” (17-19). Whitman is concerned about the child, the old man, the religious, the shy, and the emotional, however where is his concern for the slave? The cotton picker? The Negro? The powerless? Those searching for liberation? All of these people are overlooked and not mentioned, even though it would be expected to see some plea for them, because the war was truly over their place in America; however as Neely suggested it seems that Whitman is more concerned about the unity of the of the country, rather than equality for all, because he completely ignores the issue of slavery. It is this issue that makes Whitman’s poem comparable to Timrod’s poem “The Cotton Boll”. Both Timrod and Whitman both ignore the issue of slavery in their poems and focus on the North and South, respectively. Timrod is glorifying the South and its cotton, while Whitman is rehashing all of the wonderful people in his home town that will be disastrously disturbed from their daily routine with the Civil War. As evidenced by their poems, both authors are making the Civil War seem as if it is not about the issue of slavery, but rather a compromise that needs to be made between the North and the South for mutual respect and freedom for both.

Henry Timrod's "The Cotton Boll"

In reading Henry Timrod’s poem, “The Cotton Boll”, I felt as if this poem was a typical pro-South piece of literature that I learned about in high school history. The poem exhausted itself in talking about how glorious the cotton was, which was often the main perspective and argument given by the Southerners in their fight for slavery, because they often tried to avoid admitting that the war was really about the unjust enslavement of a people.
Timrod begins this poem in a quite relaxed yet smug mood. “While I recline at ease beneath this immemorial pine, small sphere!” (lines1-4). Timrod is in a state of content state of mind as he inspects this cotton boll. He seems carefree and worriless, despite the fact that the Civil War is going on in the country right now. This initial presentation of a self satisfied state of mind shows that this is not going to be one of those pieces of literature that is bashing blacks and the Northerners, but rather shining a positive light on the Southerners. “By dusky fingers brought this morning here and shown with boastful smiles (5-6).” As I read this line, I realized that this line could be interpreted a few different ways; those dusky fingers are most likely from the hands of a Negro slave, however that boastful smile could be either be his own boastful smile or oddly enough a boastful smile from the slave. Timrod could be insinuating that the slave is proud of this perfectly white cotton boll that he has picked or this boastful smile could come from Timrod himself in a gloating manner, because it feels good for him to know that he has a slave out there working hard for him and bringing him that beautiful white boll of perfection which feeds the South. As Timrod carries on in his description of this cotton boll, he is becoming quite vivid and colorful that the image of the cotton boll is seen by the reader. “Through which the soft white fibres peer…unite like love, the sea-divided lands…thread by thread, draw forth the folded strands…” (8-12). It seems as if Timrod has slipped into a state of bemusement. He is infatuated with this cotton boll and his description of the boll seems to be dictated by a trance-like state. Timrod, in his bemused state, goes as far as to call this cotton boll, “the loveliest fragment of the earth!”.
Timrod’s attitude as well as his words become even more typical of a Southerner attempting to stray from the real reason for their enslavement of blacks, as he begins his discussion about how the North does not recognize the beauty and importance of cotton and how justice will see the South prevail. “The source wherefrom doth spring that mighty commerce which, confined to the mean channels of no selfish mart, goes out to every shore of this broad earth...” The excuse for the profitable side of slavery is used here, however note that in this poem, Timrod does not use the word “slave” nor does he touch on that subject. This is because in justifying the system the Southerners attempted to take the focus away from the unlawful and unjust enslavement and more towards the benefits. They made it seem as if the Northerners and their allies did not understand the importance of the cotton to America as well as making it seem as if the North didn’t want the South to prosper. Timrod says “thy foes be hard and cruel as their weapons”. Timrod’s arrogance is causing him to name the Northerners as the bad guys and make it seem as if they do not understand what it is good for the country.
Timrod’s arrogance continues to flow even though towards the end he attempts to act as if he will be sad once the war is over (with a Southern victory), because of all of the blood shed. “O Lord! We cannot all forget that there is much even Victory must regret…and therefore not too long delay our just release!” Timrod is sympathetic for about one second when he admits that with every winner there is a loser, however he completely loses all sympathy (from me at least) when he has the audacity to call on the Lord to help speed up the victory of the Couth. This was another typical occurrence from Southerners during that time. They would often say that the Lord was on their side and that the Bible validates slavery and therefore it was alright, because the Bible even said that Blacks were inferior.

The Birthmark

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Birthmark”, Hawthorne exposes the superficiality of the people of the time as well as their attempts to surpass Mother Nature and God. More often than not people do not realize that in their futile attempts to achieve perfection they are sacrificing happiness. “Yet, had Aylmer reached a profounder wisdom, he need not thus have flung away the happiness, which would have woven his mortal life of the self same texture with the celestial.” (2286-7). Aylmer grows more and more bothered by the scar on his wife’s face as each day passes. As a respectful and loving wife, Georgiana, is fearful and wants to please her husband by all means necessary, so even as his obsession with her scar becomes more and more hurtful she still tolerates it, because she loves him despite the despotic thoughts conquering his mind. “Until now he had not been aware of the tyrannizing influence acquired by one idea over his mind, and of the lengths which he might find in his heart that to go, for the sake of giving himself peace.”(2278). This obsession with Georgiana’s scar has taken over his mind and having a profound impact on their relationship. His emotions are dictating their relationship. His dissatisfaction with her scar is causing her to doubt her own beauty, even though she always considered this scar to be “a charm”. Thus, when Aylmer comes to her with the notion of ridding her face of this scar, she is eager to comply. “. . . let the attempt be made at whatever risk. Danger is nothing to me; for life-while this hateful mark makes me the object of your horror and disgust-life is a burthen which I would fling down with joy. Either remove this dreadful Hand, or take my wretched life!” (2278). Aylmer’s tyrannical nature has gotten into Georgiana’s head and now she is willing to do things she never fathomed. He has taken control over her mind and emotions. Every time she sees him looking upon her face, she turns pale out of shame.
Aylmer’s attempts to be a force greater than a “retired” scientist and husband of Georgiana continues beyond being a tyrannical ruler; he even attempts to surpass the greatness of Mother Nature. “ . .. what will be my triumph, when I shall have corrected what Nature left imperfect, in her fairest work!” (2279). Aylmer believes he can play God, yet he does not realize that there is no such thing as perfection and that all of nature’s flaws have a purpose. Despite his many failed experiments he also failed to realize that he can not truly perfect the flaws; rather he can damage them even more (like in the case of his wife). “She permits us indeed, to mar, but seldom to mend, and like a jealous patentee, on to make.” (2279). All of Aylmer’s foolishness and attempts to be perfect and make his wife perfect display his shallowness and ignorance and only creates more dissatisfaction and discontentment.

Edgar Allan Poe Reading

When first reading, “The Man of the Crowd”, by Edgar Allan Poe, one gets the sense that the title applies to the unnamed narrator. The reader is somewhat led to believe that the man of the crowd is the unnamed narrator, because in the short story he is literally a man in the crowd who is people watching. “With a cigar in my mouth and a newspaper in my lap, I had been amusing myself for the greater part of the afternoon, now poring advertisements, now in observing the promiscuous company in the room and now in peering through the smoky panes into the street.” (2486). Poe does not take the time to set up any character or give us any background to this unnamed narrator, except the fact that he was previously sick, but now his health was returning. Whenever a character is not developed or set, one gets the impression of their importance or their mundane nature. “The man of crowd” sounds like a generic and mundane, whom has nothing unique about himself; he does not stand out in the crowd, rather he meshes into it so well that his presence is only faintly (if at all) detected. Thus, it would not be off the wall to assume that this character being called the man of the crowd would be this unnamed narrator himself.
However, just as one becomes comfortable in this thought and assumption, situational irony puts an entirely different twist on the story title. In observing the many people that pass by, the unnamed narrator becomes consumed with the passing of an elderly man. “. . . there came into view a countenance… which at once arrested and absorbed my whole attention, on account of the idiosyncracy of its expression… I felt singularly aroused, startled, fascinated.” (2489). The narrator’s attention is caught up in the expression and the story he is curious to understand that is the root behind it. After proceeding to stalk this character the remaining time of the story, the situational irony comes into play. “‘This old man is the type and the genius of deep crime. He refuses to be alone. He is a man of the crowd. It will be in vain to follow; for I shall learn no more of him, nor of his deeds. ’” (2492). The unnamed narrator calls this elderly man of the curious visage, the man of the crowd, after many readers were probably led to believe that he himself was this man of the crowd, because of the fact that he merely melts into the background and people watches. However, this narrator pointedly suggests that this man is the man of the crowd, because of the fact that he is on a mission, yet this mission involves little action or true progress. This man just walks in circles all over the city and out of it, just to be out among the people; he goes into stores and bars, yet never buys anything and is kicked out, however he does not mind, because he is out among people, which is all his soul desires.
In linking these two characters, I would say that they are quite similar, because both of them are men of the crowd, because both are obviously lonely and merely being out among people with no real goal (of shopping, eating, or fraternizing) is fulfilling their lives. They are both men of the crowd and are fascinated by people and are fulfilling the voids in their life by being out among people and merely existing. They are both searching for the same gratification in being out with people.

Wheatley Poetry

In reading Phillis Wheatley’s poems I temporarily forgot that she was a former slave. Her writing was very well written and used an interesting choice of allusions and vocabulary all contributed to a tone that would definitely be seen as far more advanced than any former slave or African during that time period. At times I thought her language to be a little over the top, but once I took the circumstances in consideration (she was an African and wanted to be taken seriously and respected, as well as she probably wanted to inspire and motivate Washington, the students at Cambridge, and William, Earl of Dartmouth), I understood the importance of her language. She signed her two letters as ‘Your Lordship’s most obedient and devoted Humble Servant.’ and ‘Your Excellency’s most obedient humble servant.’ Often when people are placed at certain disadvantage, they tend to speak with flowery and exciting language in order to cancel previous notions made about them as well as to impress their audience (a type of brown nosing). In addition to this adoring language used to revere her audience, her writing contained many descriptive words that illustrated her points vividly and with color. Plain words were apparently not good enough, because each word expressed an emotion or feeling, so strongly that the reader could feel the mood. In one instance when she was extremely happy, she sounded like, “Hail, happy day! When smiling like the morn… congratulates thy blissful sway: Elate with hope…each soul expands, each grateful bosom burns….” (lines 1-6). However her as the situations she is writing about changes, her tone changes as well as her word choice, as if they go from one extreme to the other. “…by seeming cruel fate was snatched from Africa’s fancied happy seat: what pangs excruciating must molest, what sorrows labour in my parents breast! Steeled was that soul, and by no misery moved…seized his babe beloved…tyrannic sway.” (lines 24-31).
I found the strikingly different stories of Wheatly’s abduction from Africa and slavery captivity to be quite strange. In one instance she uses the tale of her captivity to compare it to the colonists “slavery” from Britain and to elicit strong emotion from the Earl of Dartmouth, however when she tells the story to the students at Cambridge she calls it a rescue from obscurity. While addressing the Earl she is attempting to explain why she an African and former slave feels so fervently about American freedom (because during these times African American freedom was not even a major topic) she brings up the issue of tyranny, which the American people were feeling from Britain during this time. “Steeled was that soul, and by no misery moved, that from a father seized his babe beloved: Such, such my case. And can I then but pray others may never feel tyrannic sway?” (lines 28-31). She is using the word “tyrannic” to really capture the Earl’s eye, because that word was in heavy rotation from the colonists during that time, so in using this word and comparing her enslavement to the situation of the colonists, she was appealing to him and attempting to induce strong emotion that would motivate him to work harder to secure American independence. In sharp contrast, when Wheatley is referring to her enslavement she is making it seem as if she was saved by her captors. “‘T was not long since, I left my native shore, the land of errors and Egyptian gloom…” (Poem 2, lines 3-4). Her audience has changed thus she must use her enslavement to fit her current situation and her audience. She is speaking to Cambridge students about religion, so she is taking her negative situation and proclaiming that God saved her from it. “Father if mercy! ‘t was thy gracious hand brought me in safety from those dark abodes.” (Poem 2, lines 5-6). She is preaching to the students about God’s great grace and mercy and convincing them trust in Him for all situations. She conveyed her enslavement as a positive thing, because it freed from the “dark abodes” in Africa and now here she is a free woman in America, all thanks to the Lord. Wheatley used different spins and outlooks on her captivity to inspire people in different situations as she saw fit.

Franklin Reading Part 1

In reading Part 1 of Franklin’s autobiography, the presence of great adoration and admiration for his father is strong. “He was ingenious, could draw prettily, was skilled a little in music, and had a clear pleasing voice…very handy in the use of other tradesmen’s tools…sound understanding and solid judgment in prudential matters…”. The laundry list of praises to his father was quite extensive, most likely for him to demonstrate why he had the values he had. There was not an extensive list like this for his mother, which I found rather interesting. I suppose because of the times; women did not have much say in household matters or what the future of their sons would be. All throughout Part 1, he attributes his success and many of his character traits to his father’s words of wisdom. It seemed as if he felt an overwhelming duty to continuously praise his father for everything he did, whether good or bad. I found this pattern to be rather over the top, because it seemed as if Franklin was beating this admiration for his father on the top of his readers’ heads. “At the table he…always took care to start some ingenious or useful topic for discourse, which might tend to improve the minds of his children.” Here Franklin’s father reminded me of my own, because my father is not a fan of idle conversation, he is a believer in enriching the mind at all times. At times I felt as if Franklin sounded like a father himself. Franklin himself also reminded me of my father, when my father tells me that I should listen to him, not only because he is always right, but also because he only has my best intentions in mind. Franklin did this a considerable number of times when he was discussing all of the diversions and vices he does not engage in, because they will not benefit him.
I found a lot of things that occurred in his life to be ironic. It was ironic how as pure, driven, and determined of a person he was he always seemed to attract a lazy and drunk crowd, like Ralph, Collins, and Meredith. These were some of his closest friends, yet they seemed so opposite from him, either by their drunkenness or their lack of drive. Franklin preached so much about staying focused and doing the right thing, however the company he kept sometimes served to hold him down. With all of the advice that Franklin was giving to the reader one would have expected him to not attract such company or worse, keep it. There were many occasions when Franklin was trying to advance his business or social connections and network, yet one of his friends would have professional people of high status to be suspicious of Franklin. The entire situation is ironic, because on one hand he attracted a crowd of guys who loved to read, write, and debate and who were also fruitful in the work, however it seems his closest friends were always the ones, who were not quite as determined or destined for success as he was.

Jefferson Writings

Even though some people believe that the main reason for Thomas Jefferson’s defense of Native Americans lies in his defense of America, he pointed out many valid points to assist in the understanding of the Native American people in light of the many stigmas placed on them by many Europeans, like Count Buffon and William Byrd. Jefferson dissects each piece of the critics’ argument against Native Americans and justifies them and places them in a positive light. Jefferson’s motive behind this was most likely to continue to promote his idea of natural equality (which was a thematic phrase in his argument) and in promoting that idea, he most likely realized that he could not exclude different ethnic groups. Jefferson took an educational/scientific approach to argument; he used intelligent and rational reasoning to prove his points, such as the numerous charts. He wanted to clearly distinguish his argument as being one of careful and intellectual foundation as opposed to the many opinionated arguments (which he disdainfully compares to Aesop’s fables) of his peers.
It was interesting to see how the Jefferson and Buffon differed in their belief of how the Native Americans became the way they are. Buffon that it was nature, while on the contrary, Jefferson preached circumstance. Buffon says, “Nature, by refusing him the power of love, has treated him worse and lowered him deeper than any animal.” Buffon has personified Nature into making it seem as if it is of some Godly force, which has the power to dictate whom gets what characteristics. In his eyes, Nature has dehumanized the Native Americans . Buffon’s view also matches up to Byrd’s description of his travel through Carolina. In Byrd’s more intimate account of his travel (The Secret History of the Line), there are continuous examples of the lusts and sexual ardor of the Englishmen as they encounter women. These are the examples of the fervor that Buffon calls natural to the European man and believes sets the Europeans apart and above the Native Americans. He says “They lack ardor for their females…their heart is icy…they look upon women as beasts of burden…and this indifference to the other sex is the fundamental defect which weakens their nature…”

John Locke's Essay

John Locke’s “Book II: Essay Concerning Human Understanding Of Ideas” presents the idea of tabula rasa in which it is said that humans are born with a blank slate for a mind and that their feelings, opinions, views, and ideas are formed by the experiences they have. Locke is so self – assured in the philosophy he is presenting, despite not having any scientific evidence or proof. He uses rationality to prove that it only makes sense for a person’s opinions to be formed around the experiences and situations they go through in life. When he tells the reader to look inside themselves and evaluate the reason why they feel the way they do about certain things, it is a challenge to the reader to prove it to themselves that is philosophy is correct. Tabula rasa makes perfect sense for people who want a simple and rational explanation for their emotional reactions.
It can even serve as a possible scapegoat for people who have endured a particularly hard time. For example in today’s time, when scientists and analysts are arranging statistics for things such as poverty rate, crime rate, or illiteracy rate in certain areas, many argue that the reason why these statistics are so much higher in these areas is because of the environment and the experiences that one endures in these environments. They call themselves “products of the environments”; this can be seen as a modern and modified version of tabula rasa. Same principle applies.
Locke’s self-assurance in his philosophy is evident in his declarations of his thoughts. He doesn’t attempt to explain his principles in a scientific or formal manner, rather he let’s the reader know that this is what HE is calling these feelings and actions. This is a recurring instance in his essay. This shows his confidence in himself and what he declaring. He is admitting that these thoughts derived from him and his experiences. Locke is speaking in a tone in which he is reaching out to the common man. He wants everyone to grasp the concepts that he is presenting (he even capitalizes key words that he wants the reader to really pay attention to such as Reflection and Sensation). He makes sure he is speaking generally and explaining his vocabulary perfectly, so that there is no misunderstanding in the message that he is attempting to convey.
In contrasting Locke’s writing with that of Edwards’s writing, one gets the sense that Edwards would believe that the divine light of the spirit of God would serve to enhance the natural elements of the human mind, such as the sensations and reflections that Locke discusses. Edwards would say in response to Locke’s assertions that the Spirit of God assists the mind in all work, such as reflections, to a larger and further extent than if it was missing. Also I believe that Edwards’ would second guess and maybe even doubt the practicality and reliability of Locke’s declarations, because Edwards declares that the spiritual light reveals no new doctrine not in the Bible, however when people are examining themselves or others an incorrect conclusion not of God’s goodness or grace might be arrived at which could lead a person off the path of righteousness and into one of sin.

"A Sermon" by Jonathan Edwards

While reading Jonathan Edwards’ “A Sermon”, I originally expected to be bombarded with vehemently written sermon infused with uncontrollable emotion, especially considering how important and popular of a minister Edward’s was during that time leading into the Great Awakening. The tone of the sermon was rather professional and formal. Points were clearly outlined and he clearly stated where he was going with each point, thus leaving the audience to do nothing but listen/read the information and absorb the material, rather than drawing their own conclusions. I believe Edwards did this so that his audience would recognize the truth in his sermon as opposed to thinking that he was embellishing or over exaggerating the circumstances. Edwards wanted the people to get an realistic impression of the difference between a true connection with God and one in which the person merely believes with their mind in God’s divinity, however does not truly believe with their heart. Edwards wants there to be a clear path for the people to recognize that his doctrine is factual, thus he leaves attempts to leave out emotion which would interfere with the conveyance of the message. He even repeats that he wants people to take notice that not only is his doctrine rational, but it is also scriptural. He wants the people to be attentive to the religion behind all of the philosophy of the times. He is bringing people back to the scriptures (thus he intertwines scriptures throughout the sermon).
In the midst of the formality of the tone of the sermon, Edwards did seem to make it a point to emphasize how sweet God’s holiness and divinity was. He continuously made his way back to this sweetness after every point he made. The recurrence of words such as, excellence, sweetness, beauty, and loveliness, serve to reinforce the basic doctrine of the Lord (that He is the divine light which cannot be achieved through natural means and with the acquisition of this light, one will be blessed with the sweetness of God’s grace. From reading the sermon it seems as if Edwards feels as if the people believe in God and his holiness, however not truly feeling it in their soul. Their connection with the Lord is one built on rationality instead of spirituality.

Hello Class!

Hello Spring Semester English 122! My name is Chelsea Journigan and I am a freshman here at UNC-Chapel Hill. I am excited about this class. American Literature is a personal favorite of mine and I look forward to the reading assignments we will get.